What Good This Deafness

by Leafy

Rating: PG-13 for scary imagery, violence, bad attitudes, and tense situations.

Disclaimer: I own nothing Tolkien or Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

For additional writer's schtuff, see the first chapter. :o)

Thanks for all the fabulous reviews, everyone!

LilyBaggins: Thanks for the great reviews! I'm glad you like this so far. Hope you like what's to come. :o) Love your screenname, btw. :o)

Mariana Nimeneth: Thank you for the review and the spoons! Groak explained that he was actually making little ice cream bowls for the plot bunnies. Turns out he's raising several of them under his murphy bed. Go figure… oh, and he appreciates that you like this story! You should hear him grumble about the plot headaches he's getting. As for Lenablin, good luck! But at least you know where he is now. You know, speaking of invisible muses, Shala, my poetry muse, seems to have gone on vacation. Well, maybe she'll turn up as soon as we finish wallpapering her room. :o) BTW, yeah, you're right about Boromir. Anarril said the same thing. I'm gonna correct that. :o) BTW, my address in LaLa Land is Now that's the cyber address. As soon as I get my business cards back from that local printing press I'll let you know the street address. :o)

LatestSin: Thanks for the review. Yeah, I know what you mean. Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up! Hope you like it! :o)

Anarril: Thanks for the review! This chapter straightens out where everyone is now. Gimli and Boromir are on top of the mountain that Aragorn and Frodo fell into. The times between the two passages are a little out-of-synch. Also, thanks for the correction. I'll change that ASAP. :o) Hope you like this new chapter!

Star-Stallion: Thanks for the great review! We'll actually be finding out about Legolas and another member of the Fellowship in the next chapter, and the others soon after. :o) I'm glad you like this story and I hope you like this chapter!

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Chapter 3

'Don't Look Down'

"Are you alright?" Boromir inquired as Gimli situated himself on the level rocks again.

"As well as can be expected," Gimli mumbled in reply, standing up now and looking out over the rocks behind them. "And why are you here, and the others are not? I am not ungrateful for your aid, but I wonder why our numbers have suddenly dwindled."

"As do I," Boromir added glumly. "Truth be told, I thought I was alone here, and could scarcely believe it when I heard your voice. For a moment even I thought I might be dreaming."

"One might hope for that at a time like this," Gimli said, walking to the edge of the rocks opposite those he had just climbed up. "These rocks don't appear likely to allow anyone up or down them smoothly. Though I suppose some must have--," he halted, thinking better than to share with Boromir his thoughts on what must have happened to the rest of the Fellowship. He turned to the man. "Well, listen," he said, coming back over to him. "It's obvious that we seem to have fared the best in this situation. And I think it would be best for us now to seek the others, as I don't intend to give up until it is as plain as the rocks beneath us that hope is lost."

"Indeed," Boromir returned mildly. "But, where shall we start?"

"Well, I think we should start down there," Gimli indicated the mountain's side he'd just come up, with his gaze. "It was where I started, and perhaps the others are somewhere near there as well."

Boromir got up, going over to the edge and leaning out over the rocks again. Now that he looked at it thoroughly, he saw that it was quite treacherous. The face sloped inward near the bottom, and the rocks that jutted out seemed barely substantial footholds for an Elf, much less a human. Still, Boromir could plainly see the ledge farther below where Gimli had obviously landed, and he saw down further, fogged by distance, more ledges. It seemed that the going got easier as one descended, and it was quite possible that at least some of the others had been thrown that way, perhaps eventually able to climb down to the bottom. He turned back to the dwarf.

"I suppose you're right," Boromir said. "But it looks treacherous going down this way."

"It looks treacherous the other way too," Gimli responded. "And if we came down the other side, we'd have to round the mountain as well."

"Very well," Boromir said, straightening the shield on his back and looking down the face of the rocks once more. "I'll go first."

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Frodo found himself surprising adept at climbing the rocks, though perhaps this was due to the incentive of the ever-approaching lighted hole that was their escape.

He pulled himself up and out of the hole, sitting prostrate for a moment as he had done on the bank below. As Aragorn came up, he looked first at Frodo, then at the land around them.

They were back on top of the mountain it seemed, though their hole was the only one left open, and this crumbled in on itself as Aragorn pulled his last foot out and moved away from it. He caught Frodo's eye as the hobbit looked at this part of the ground in dismay.

"What is it?" Aragorn smiled feebly. "It's not as though we'll want to return to that."

"Yes, but where do we go now?" Frodo responded, looking where Aragorn had been looking now. Truly, he knew he couldn't have expected all of the others to just be standing up here waiting for them, but this almost looked like a different mountain they had come up to. Frodo got up, going to the mountain's edge and looking over.

"Frodo--," Aragorn started, rising also.

"I'm just having a look," Frodo said softly, beginning to make a slow circle around the plateau. He halted suddenly, not looking at the ranger but raising his hand and hurriedly beckoning him to him.

Aragorn hurried to his side, looking out over the rocks with him. The vertical side that was visible had clearly been used--and not smoothly. There was a plain straight path downwards, almost like a ditch in the side, and the sizeable pile of rocks on the ledge about fifty feet below seemed to indicate that someone had made an unintentional slide of the mountain. The rocks to each side of the rut hadn't been used, and it was clear why, as they were naught but shallow grooves in the side.

"Who do you suppose did that?" Frodo asked, not knowing whether to assume or hope that it was a member of the Fellowship, as whoever had climbed down this way had not had an easy time of it.

"I don't know," Aragorn said, "But I don't believe we should follow in his footsteps."

"What?" Frodo came back from the side of the cliff. "What do you mean? It's obvious someone back down that way, most probably someone we're looking for! We can't simply leave--,"

"I didn't say we would," Aragorn interrupted him. "I didn't say we couldn't follow him, just not in his path. The one he chose looks treacherous."

"So, which way should we go?" Frodo asked.

Aragorn turned and began surveying the area as Frodo had just been doing, looking about over the edge of the mountain. Frodo followed him, looking as well, though to him, the rest of the mountain looked barely safer than the first section.

Aragorn frowned as he looked down. The entire north side was flat and practically smooth, making anything but birds incapable of coming up or down it. The east side looked a bit more promising with its lumpy rocks, though worrisome briars stuck out between some of these. The south side was just as bad as the north and then it was back to the perilous west side. He approached the east side again, looking down the slope doubtfully. Though it was formed a bit like a slide, it was still too steep for true comfort. And those briars really looked like they could be a problem, not to mention the fact that a comforting ledge was nowhere in sight.

"Should we go this way?" Frodo said doubtfully, moving ahead of Aragorn and standing on the balls of his feet to get a better look at the rocks. "It doesn't look much better, I don't think."

"Nor do I," Aragorn concurred quietly. "But it looks better than the other side. Come."

Aragorn approached the side of the cliff, swinging one leg and then the other over so that he was standing with his feet on the edge of the cliff, his hands holding onto the rocks that rimmed the mountaintop.

"I'll go first," Aragorn said, looking back at Frodo, who was looking more unsure than ever. "Just follow my lead."

The ranger started his descent, dipping below the rocks. Frodo stood still for a moment and then, unable to contain himself longer, ran to the edge, to see the top of Aragorn's head about ten feet below. Aragorn looked up slowly.

"Alright," he said. "Hold onto the rocks and bring your leg over the side."

Frodo swallowed, taking the rock edging, gripping it like it was his life source (which, at present, it probably was), and shakily bringing his foot first to the top of it, then over the side, though only his toes touched the outer edge of the wall.

"Bring your other foot over," Aragorn said, unaware that Frodo's foot couldn't touch the ground.

Frodo gritted his teeth, bringing his other foot over slowly, scraping the heel against the top again and losing his balance, unintentionally letting go of the rocks. Frodo toppled backwards, circling in midair as he passed the ranger.

"Frodo!" Aragorn cried sharply, stretching his arm out but not fast enough as Frodo went past, falling down into the fog.

Frodo let out a shout of despair, which was quickly cut off by what sounded like someone falling into the bushes.

"Frodo?" Aragorn called, looking down.

"I'm alright," Frodo said. "I caught something."

Aragorn descended quickly. Frodo was to the left on the cliff's side, clinging with his upper hand to a thorn-filled branch, and with his lower hand to a rock at his side.

"Are you alright?" Aragorn said, coming down to his side.

"As well as can be expected," Frodo responded, turning his face to Aragorn's, offering him a shaky smile. "Let's just get down this as quickly as possible."

***End of Part 3***