Disclaimer: For full disclaimer, please see chapter 1.
A/N:
Well, here it is, the last chapter before I go to England for a month. Ahhhhhhh!!! *ducks several heavy objects* Now, calm down, calm down, let me explain! *gives angry readers careful looks*
Okay, so first: I have bought a laptop (and it's beautiful! *sighs in adoration*) and I really hope that it will arrive before I leave. If it does, I will be able to update quite frequently, probably starting again in six or seven days. If not, I really have no idea when or if I'll be able to post, but I'll promise to try my best, okay?
Second: I'm moving out of my flat today and everything is rather ... chaotic right now, so there is no way I can post again before Wednesday.
And third: The next chapter's a cliffy, and I would really not want to leave you like that. It might have detrimental effects on your - and my - health, so I think it's better to post it once I know I can update frequently.
*folds arms across chest* See? I knew you would be reasonable! *ducks yet _more_ heavy objects* Wow, you're a tough crowd... *g*
Oh, and I must say that I am surprised! Fliewatuet has just founded the 'Celylith lives' foundation - you guys really like him, huh? *shrugs* You'll all find out what happens to him, in chapters 18/19, so only a bit longer and you'll be there!
Well, enough ranting, on to the story!
Here's chapter 17, written while sitting on a box in an near-empty room with only a naked lightbulb... *g* Okay, what do we have... As I said, rather annoyed and vengeful elves, we see more of Adruran and his evil plans and they really get to Erebor, therefore this is also the first chapter with dwarves. *huggles her dwarves* They're sweet, I love them...
So, enjoy and review, please!
Chapter 17
"No, Aragorn."
"Legolas, please…"
"No, dúnadan. And that is final."
"Celylith, talk to him."
"No, Estel, I will not. This is madness, and he is right."
Aragorn looked at the two elves that were standing in front of him in his room, the pale morning light surrounding them and reflecting off their fair hair. Both wore expressions of equal stubbornness, a sight that would have had lesser men – or elves, for that matter – run in panic.
"Legolas, listen to me. There is no other way. They will not harm you."
"That is not my concern," the elven prince replied icily, not prepared to rise to his friend's bait. "I will not go to that mountain asking the dwarves for information, and nothing you can say will change my mind."
"You have a duty to your people."
"…damn you."
Aragorn grinned evilly at his elven friend who was right now very occupied with glaring daggers at him.
"What will you do if this really descends into war? We can stop this now, Legolas! And if I have to swallow my pride and go and ask the dwarves, I will do just that. And so will you, my friend."
Legolas glared at the young human who wore an exceptionally smug expression right now. Aragorn was right of course, he admitted after a second, he would never let his personal pride get in the way of what needed to be done for the sake of the kingdom, and that annoying man knew that perfectly well.
"You are right," he mumbled after a second.
Aragorn was too intelligent to tease his friend any further, knowing full well what it had cost the elf to admit this. He flashed Legolas a brilliant smile that tended to either convince people of his innocence or awoke in them the powerful urge to kill him. In this case, he hoped for the former, since he really didn't think that Celylith would protect him. It appeared that the silver haired elf loathed his idea even more than Legolas.
"Then let us be off," he addressed the elves in front of him, walking over to his bed and about to pick up his weaponbelt, "It shouldn't take us longer than three hours to reach the Front Gate of the mountain. I really would want to arrive before they had the chance to drink more ale than is good for their judgement."
"Judgement? Dwarves?" Celylith asked in a low voice, "We really need to address this matter, ranger. Rather sooner than later, if you ask me."
Aragorn rolled his eyes as he slung the belt around his middle, trying to hide a wince when the dull ache reawoke in his left side. He quickly masked his facial expression, but it was not quickly enough to fool the keen elven eyes of his companions.
Legolas looked at Celylith, a wicked grin on his face that was mirrored by the other elf after a second. Before Aragorn could react, he had stepped closer to his human friend and pressed him down onto the bed while Celylith quickly left the room to get his healing utensils.
"You are going nowhere before we have changed those bandages," he told the man with a smug look on his face.
Aragorn vainly tried to dislodge the hold the blonde elf had on his uninjured shoulder, scowling darkly at him.
"I am perfectly alright!" he hissed at the elven prince.
"Oh, but of course you are," Celylith assured him, just entering the room with an armful of bandages, small pots and flasks. "We just don't want those burns to fester now, do we?"
The young ranger glared at the elves, shrugged Legolas' hands off and started to unbutton his shirt.
"You are doing this just because of the dwarves, admit it."
Legolas and Celylith locked eyes for a second.
"Yes."
"But that's not the point," Celylith insisted, starting to unravel the linen straps. "They really need to be changed." He looked at him with a friendly smile. "Would you like a sleeping potion?"
If looks could kill, Celylith would have dropped dead right now and then.
"No," Aragorn snapped testily, trying not to wince openly when the elf was starting to wash the nearly healed burns. "I am fine, thank you very much."
Legolas grinned at the young man on the bed that was obviously just trying to intimidate Celylith with his look, which didn't really work since the silver haired elf adamantly refused to meet his eyes.
"Come now, Aragorn, be sensible! If we can see the necessity to visit the naugrim, then you can see the necessity there is for changing the bandages, can't you?"
The ranger looked up at his elven friend, eyes narrowing in annoyance.
"I never liked that expression, you know."
"What expression?" Legolas asked, honestly confused now. "'Stunted'? But that's what they are, stunted, loud, impolite annoying little…"
"I see your point," Aragorn quickly assured him. "And I would really advise you to watch what you're saying when we get to Erebor. It would not help at all if you insulted them in their own halls."
The elven prince just looked at him haughtily.
"Dwarves could never learn a word of Elvish, not even to save their mithril or those ridiculous beards they treasure so much."
"Are you so sure about that?" the dark haired ranger shot back, smiling his thanks at Celylith who was just rewrapping his chest. "Why not?"
Legolas gazed at him with a look of pity in his silver-blue eyes.
"Why not, human? Because they just can't, that's why. Besides, they would never want to learn a language that does not have more than two dozen words for 'stone' or 'rocks'."
"But you know some Dwarvish curses, don't you?" Aragorn asked, grabbing his shirt and quickly pulling it over his head. The fire had already burnt down, and it was rather chilly in here, for a human, that was.
"Well, yes," Legolas admitted, rolling his eyes at the inability of his friend to understand that dwarves could really not be compared to the eldar. "But that's different."
"I can't see how," the man countered, getting up from the bed and fastening his weaponbelt around his waist. "Just try and be a bit diplomatic. Please," the said, seeing the expression on his elven friend's face that could only be described as fierce loathing, "Do it for me. I really am too young to have my head chopped off by an irate dwarf just because you couldn't resist the temptation of calling him names."
Aragorn turned to Celylith who was just carefully putting the healing utensils back into a bag he had found next to the man's bed.
"That goes for you too, Celylith. Don't insult them."
The silver haired elf looked up in mock surprise.
"Me? Strider, I am hurt! I would never do such a thing!"
The ranger merely gave him a friendly smile.
"But of course not, mellonamin, what was I thinking? Then the dwarves count as fascinating creatures as well?"
The elf looked at him with a mixture of surprise and disgust in his eyes.
"Don't be ridiculous, Estel."
Aragorn looked at the silver haired elf, musing that he didn't really see how one could love spiders but dislike dwarves, especially when one was an elf. Dwarves may be proud, stubborn and hot-headed at times, put then again, so were elves. He shook his head slightly. He would very much like to see the day an elf and a dwarf spent some time together, learned to value the other's virtues and strengths and actually admitted that they weren't that different at all. The ranger would almost have laughed aloud. That day would never come, and if it somehow did, he would be long since dead.
He grabbed his cloak and grinned at the two elves in front of him that looked about as cheerful as prisoners in the dungeons of Barad-dûr.
"Let's go then. Remember what I told you, and, in Elbereth's name, try to keep that annoying, stiff elven haughtiness in check, will you?"
Before his companions could say anything, he had quickly slipped out of the door, his grin only widening.
"'Stiff'?" Celylith asked after a speechless moment, raising a dark silver eyebrow.
"'Elven haughtiness'?" Legolas added, looking at his elven friend.
From the direction of the stairs that led to the ground level of the inn something that could only be described as an evil laugh could be heard.
"You heard me!" Aragorn announced loudly, chortling with laughter.
"My lord," Celylith began, righting the quiver on his back, "I know that you like that … that human, but do you think it would be possible for me to hurt him just a bi…"
"Absolutely, mellonamin," the elven prince nodded, a wicked light shining in his eyes. "What is Arda coming to when a mere human may insult us and go unpunished? Besides, I still have a score to settle with him about that little hair incident." He looked grimly at his childhood friend as they made their way down the wooden staircase. "Estel needs to be taught a lesson, I'm afraid."
The other elf looked at his friend, grinning broadly now.
"I will of course assist you in any way I can, my prince. Do you have anything specific in mind yet?"
"No," Legolas shook his head, giving the dark haired human that was waiting for them at the door that led to the courtyard behind the inn a friendly smile. "No, not yet, but I think we will have more than enough time to think of something on the way to that accursed mountain of his, wouldn't you agree?!
Celylith nodded his head at that, still grinning like a cat that had just caught sight of a particularly tasty-looking mouse.
"Aye, my friend, we definitely will. I will show him 'elven haughtiness', Eru help me!"
Aragorn looked from one grinning face to the other, and quickly asked himself if King Dáin would allow him to stay in Erebor for the next few days. He didn't care if the dwarves wanted to start a war with Dale or not, he would be incomparably safer there than in the company of his elven friends, that much was obvious.
Adruran was standing on a little hill just next to the new campsite they had chosen, surveying the surroundings with a keen glance.
Dale lay a few hours worth of travel to the East, hidden behind a great, towering slope of the Lonely Mountain, now a bit farther away than it had been from the last camp. Besides, it was closer to the Lake-men's, and the distance wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Of course, it did make everything a bit more difficult, especially transporting provisions and other things here, but it also reduced the risk of discovery.
The Men of Dale were maybe not exactly born soldiers, but they were also not stupid, and it had only been a matter of time until they would have been discovered.
But still, the camp was too open for his liking. It was a bit too close to the Lake-men as well, but this had been the only more or less acceptable place more than five leagues in either direction. So he had ordered to make camp here, even though he was anything but happy about the arrangement.
'This is not good,' he decided for about the thirtieth time today. 'No, this is not good at all.'
To be precise, everything had gone from bad right to catastrophic the exact moment Hanar had arrived at their new campsite yesterday evening, looking as if he had just seen a ghost or at the very least a person he had not expected to see ever again…
"Would you care to repeat that?"
Hanar shuffled his feet and studied the dusty tips of his boots with obvious fascination.
"They are here."
Adruran resisted the urge to burrow his face in his hands and glared at the other man instead.
"And who, pray tell, would 'they' be?"
"The elves and the ranger, sir," the younger man quietly said, eyes still fixed on the floor as if he might find something unbelievably interesting there.
"The ranger?" his captain asked, lifting his eyebrows. "The same ranger you and the dear Lomar chose to 'have a talk' with, the one that would 'talk the soonest'?" When the other wouldn't answer, he added, rather close to shouting now, "Answer me, man!"
Hanar jumped slightly and finally raised his eyes to meet his superior's, wincing inwardly when he saw his irate face.
"Yes, sir. The same."
Adruran had to fight hard not to do something that would cost him yet another of his men.
"So you are trying to say that the elves – and the ranger of course, let's not forget about him – are here, in Dale, just a few hours away, and that at the worst possible moment? That they are here because you and Lomar didn't think before acting and led them straight here? Is that what you are trying to say?"
The other man swallowed nervously, not at all sure what was the right answer to that question. In fact, he wasn't even sure if there was a right answer at all.
"Yes, sir."
His captain looked at him, clenching his teeth.
"Did they see you?"
"No, sir. I am sure that they did not."
Adruran almost gave a loud sigh of relief. Finally, a tiny ray of hope.
"Get out," he said quietly, shaking his head. "Get out and don't show your face again any time soon."
Hanar obeyed only too willingly, slipping out of the tent as quickly and quietly as he could. He didn't know what his superior was planning, but he was rather sure that now was not the time to ask.
Adruran looked after the man, asking himself again why every single one of his plans seemed to fail before he had even had time to execute them properly on this mission. It must be connected to the elves, he finally decided. They were nothing but trouble, the whole lot of them.
And to that opinion he still held, Adruran decided with another look at the camp. If you had any chance at all to avoid that particular race, you would do well to do just that. The same went for rangers, who weren't even entirely human in his opinion. The ones he had seen in his lifetime had been more than a little bit elvish, and sometimes he even believed the rumours that said that they had elven blood, as weird and ludicrous as that thought might seem on first glance.
"Sir?" a rather timid voice behind him sounded, and he turned to look at Tiddryr, his red-haired lieutenant.
"Yes, Tiddryr?" he asked, not even trying to hide the exasperation in his voice. "What is it? Please do not tell me that the elves are already here. I think that is the only thing that could make this day any worse."
"No, sir," the other man assured him quickly, deciding inwardly that the appearance of his captain's sarcastic humour was anything but a good sign. He had been on several missions with Adruran, and the fact that he had returned alive from all of them spoke for the older man's skills and expertise. He had known him long enough now to know that it was not a good thing when the brown haired man was beginning to make sarcastic remarks. It was usually a sign that his plans went astray, and that was not something you wanted to experience if you wanted to return home alive.
"No," he repeated, looking at the other man, "No, they are not here. The men that we sent to Dale to replace Hanar will report should they leave the town. We will be warned in time."
"Good," Adruran mumbled, inwardly not really seeing how this was good at all. The appearance of the elves was seriously jeopardising his plans, and that was something he did not appreciate in the slightest.
"But," Tiddryr continued, obviously plucking up his courage, "What will we do if they come here? We cannot abandon the camp, and we won't be able to hide it from them." When he saw the darkening face of his superior, he quickly added, hoping to appease him, "Sir."
Adruran looked at his lieutenant, trying to decide whether he should kill him for his presumptuousness or tell him of his plans.
'Plans?' he thought inwardly, 'What plans? All the plans you ever had have just disintegrated like snow in the rain.'
Oh, there was that as well: Snow. He was getting tired of it, actually, and in his opinion he was getting too old to camp outside when there was a snow cover on the ground that partly reached your hips.
After a few moments that served to increase Tiddryr's nervousness tenfold, he finally decided that killing the man would solve no-one's problems, especially not his. Besides, it was an unreasonable thing to do, and one could say what one wanted about him, but he wasn't unreasonable.
He turned away from the man to look over the campsite again, beckoning him to step closer.
"Tell me what you see."
Tiddryr complied and stood next to his superior, lifting copper eyebrows in confusion.
"The camp, sir."
Adruran snorted and shook his head.
"That is not what I see," he told the younger man, turning to face him. "I see a disaster waiting to happen. Nobody within a few miles will be able to overlook this camp, no matter how stupid or blind they are. If the elves really come looking for us, we're done for."
Tiddryr decided wisely that Adruran didn't really expect an answer to this and did not comment on his assessment.
His captain continued, glaring darkly at the sight that spread out before his eyes.
"You were watching the Lake-men's camp yesterday with me, were you not? Then tell me what you saw there."
The red haired man swallowed nervously, having the feeling that this was turning into an exam of some sort. And growing inside of him was the bad feeling that you would not get a second chance if you failed that particular test.
"Amateurs," he answered after a second. "They were just as careless and naïve as all the other times, but…" He looked at the expressionless face of the other man that was watching him closely, "But I think they were even more excited and headless than usual."
Adruran smiled grimly.
"And why do you think that is?"
"If I had to make a guess, I would say that they are very close now," Tiddryr stated carefully. "The fact that almost all of them have left the camp this morning supports that theory."
"Very good, Tiddryr," Adruran smiled. "It appears that you have some power of observation after all." He turned back to the camp with a scowl. "That is just what I think. In my opinion they will finally reach the treasure today, and, Great Ones, it took them long enough, too."
"So what will you do?" Tiddryr asked, a little bit comforted that his captain hadn't cut off his head already. He wasn't exactly known to do such things, because he was, after all, a reasonable man. With Geran it would be a different thing though, he thought suddenly. If Geran were their captain, he would defect as quickly as possibly, even risking the wrath of his liege who used to hang soldiers that did this. After some time in the dungeons of course, a time that made every normal person wish for death in an amazingly short amount of time.
No, he thought again, Geran did enjoy other beings' pain far too much, a trait that would land him into real trouble one of these days. He noticed that Adruran began to speak, and concentrated on the conversation at hand. After all, his captain might be a reasonable man, but he didn't take kindly to disrespect either.
"Do?" Adruran asked and looked at him. "Well, I fully intend to wait until they have really found that elusive treasure. I am sure neither you nor your men are too intent on digging for it, are you?"
"No!" Tiddryr assured the older man quickly, "No, of course not. Then we will strike this evening?"
Adruran looked at the other somewhat quizzically.
"No, we will not."
"We will not?" Tiddryr asked surprised. Somehow his captain was enjoying this I-know-what-is-going-to-happen-but-I'm-not going-to-tell-you attitude far too much.
"No, Tiddryr, we will not," the brown haired man told him, looking at him as if he was an especially thick-headed child that just didn't want to understand that the sky was up and the ground was down. "And you know why not? Because, if we act now, we will have not only the Lake-men to worry about, but the elves and the ranger as well. The last thing we need now is to be surprised when we are just taking over their camp. Don't misunderstand this," he said, seeing his lieutenant's rather confused look, "I do not think that everything would be lost if they indeed managed to find us. We are twenty, after all, and they are only three."
"But?" Tiddryr asked, sensing his superior's hesitancy.
"But two of them are elves, and that is something one should never underestimate," Adruran explained, looking over his camp in thought, eyes not really seeing what lay in front of them. "Only a fool underestimates an elf, or a ranger at that matter. Most of those who do end up dead, rather quickly I might add." He looked at the red haired man with hard, flinty eyes. "I do not intend to make that mistake. I will not underestimate them, not for a second. The fact remains that they could severely disturb our operations here, and they will come looking for us. It is only a matter of time, especially if the ranger is still alive as Hanar claims. I do not think he will be willing to forget this little episode just like that, or what do you think?"
The younger man mutely shook his head, and Adruran continued, speaking faster now, obviously having come to a decision.
"No, I wouldn't have thought so. The point is, Tiddryr, that I really do not want them to disturb us. It is hard enough to keep those accursed dwarves away from the site with all this racket these imbeciles are creating, so the last thing I want is to have them appear here just like that."
"But, sir, then what…"
"…are we going to do?" Adruran asked, smiling slightly. "We will take steps so they won't disturb us tomorrow when we will finally act. We will undertake a little journey this night and make sure that they will not find us before we find them."
Tiddryr nodded slowly.
"That does sound like a good plan."
"This is not something open to debate!" Adruran snapped suddenly, once again rather close to losing his temper. "If I want your opinion about my plans, I will certainly ask you for it!"
The red haired man ducked his head, once again deciding that going on this mission had been one of the dumbest things he had ever done. If even Adruran was slowly losing his nerve – which was not something he was planning to tell him, by the way – then this whole enterprise was really not going well. Something that he had known for some time, anyway.
"Yes, sir."
The older man glowered at him, trying hard to get his annoyance under control.
'You're letting up,' he told himself disgustedly. He hated it when he lost his temper; it was nothing but a sign of weakness, proving that he could not control his emotions.
A flurry of activity down in the camp caught both their attentions, and with a last dark look at his lieutenant Adruran slowly descended the small hill they were standing on, taking care not to slip. The very last thing he wanted now was to fall flat on his face in front of the entire camp, but the ground was frozen and covered with snow and it was therefore rather hard to manoeuvre.
After a few minutes the two of them arrived in the camp, and Adruran soon spied the reason for this small disturbance: One of the two men he had sent to Dale in place of Hanar was just dismounting, greeting the men who had come to welcome him.
Adruran gave the man some time to dismount and arrange for his horse to be taken to the others by one of the younger men before he stepped closer, studying the other's face closely. He had to take only one look at him to know that something had just gone wrong. Again.
'And there goes my next plan,' he sighed inwardly. 'This entire mission is cursed, that's what it is. Cursed!'
"What is it?" he asked the man gruffly.
The younger man looked nervously from his captain's face to Tiddryr's, understanding in an instant that they were both not in a mood to be trifled with.
"They left Dale, sir."
Adruran closed his eyes shortly and forced himself to count to ten, very, very slowly. Damn these elves, damn the ranger, damn them all…
"When and where?" he asked after he had fought down the urge to beat his head against the next tree he came across.
"They left the inn about three hours ago, captain," the man reported and fixed his eyes on the tent behind his superiors. He would be damned if he gave any of them the opportunity to take their dark mood out on him. "We followed them to the northern gates and separated there. I came back here while Bleon stayed in the city in case they came back early, but we both don't think they will."
"Why?" Tiddryr asked, mildly confused. "Why didn't you follow them?"
"Because they wouldn't even have got farther than a few hundred feet before the elves would have put a few arrows in them," Adruran explained not so patiently. He turned to the man, nodding slightly. "It is well that you did not trail them. Where have they gone?"
The man swallowed, trying to suppress his anxiety. Adruran would not like this…
"They … they headed North, towards the Lonely Mountain, sir."
Adruran looked blankly at him, his mind spinning faster and faster. So the elves had left Dale, and no-one knew when they would be back. That much about his plan to pay them a visit tonight, he thought, shaking his head inwardly.
But there was something definitely wrong about all this, he decided after a second. Elves that went to visit dwarves? He had to hide a small smile. If he was lucky, they might just kill each other and spare him a lot of work…
"But there's more," the man added, carefully eyeing his captain.
"And what would that be?" Adruran asked somewhat exasperatedly.
"They went to visit the king yesterday," the other reported. "From what we've been able to gather, they were granted an audience and spent at least an hour inside of Bard's residence."
Adruran clenched his jaw. Wonderful, he thought, it was really amazing how much worse everything could always become. No matter how much you believed that everything was as bad as it could possibly get, life had an uncanny way of proving you wrong.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the man again.
"Did they have their baggage with them? Provision, water?"
"No, sir. Bleon guessed that they went to talk with the dwarves about the things that have happened and were probably planning to come back later today."
Adruran nodded, his mind already planning his next steps. He turned to his red haired lieutenant.
"Get the men ready. We will leave in half an hour. Only the sentries that are watching the Lake-men will remain here and one man to have an eye on the camp."
He dismissed the men with a small move of his hand, and turned around to come face to face with Geran, his youngest lieutenant. Behind him stood Hanar, the man that had recognised the elves and the ranger yesterday evening.
"We are leaving, sir?" Geran asked neutrally.
"Yes," Adruran nodded curtly, feeling much better now that he had decided what to do. "We are going after the elves and the ranger."
He noted with a flash of worry that at these words both of the other men's eyes seemed to light up. It wasn't the light that you normally saw when men were looking forward to a fight or action, no, it was something more sinister, something that would only cause trouble, that much he was sure of.
"Now?" Geran asked, with one hand unconsciously stroking the hilt of his knife.
Adruran raised an eyebrow and looked at him, once again reining in his temper.
"Yes, Geran, now. You have heard what he said, haven't you?"
"Aye…"
"Then you also know that we are in a corner now," Adruran stated, studying Geran's face closely.
"Because they went to the king," the younger man said slowly, understanding dawning on his face.
"Exactly," his captain nodded. "We cannot wait any longer for them to come to us. If we allow them to mediate, everything will truly been lost and all our hard work for naught."
Geran returned the nod, shooting Hanar who was grinning from ear to ear a warning glare.
"I will get my men ready then, sir."
Before the younger man could turn to walk away, Adruran had grabbed his arm, halting his progress.
"This is an operation under my command, Geran," he said in a low, warning tone of voice, "Not one of your little hunting expeditions. If I see that you cannot control your actions when the elves are concerned, the consequences will be dire. Understood?"
"Understood, sir" Geran echoed, his brown eyes dark and serious.
Adruran released his arm, and his lieutenant turned without a word and left, calling out for the men that were under his command. The brown haired captain turned as well and headed for the place where they kept the horses, close to the trees that protected two sides of the camp against the snow and chilly wind.
He was not at all looking forward to this encounter, but now he had no other choice left. If he let the elves and the ranger solve Dale's little problem, all his work would have been in vain, and that was something he would definitely not allow.
Aragorn wondered, not for the first time by the way, how it had come that he had ended up in the company of two obviously deranged elves and an absolutely crazy elven horse that eyed him as if it was seriously contemplating forsaking the life of a vegetarian and starting a new one as a carnivore. And he was apparently supposed to be the first course.
'First course: Ranger chops with steamed vegetable and a light creamy sauce.'
The young human quickly shook his head; this was a morbid line of thought even for him. He unobtrusively turned his head to the left and shot Rashwe a furtive glance. The horse looked back and sneered at him, if such a thing was even possible. He resisted the urge to shake his head again, quickly breaking the eye contact.
This was intolerable, he thought with a frown. He was afraid of Legolas' horse, in Elbereth's name! But it was unbelievable how … human that horse could be. Or elvish, Aragorn corrected himself quickly, that horse was definitely elvish.
The fact that Legolas and Celylith were very obviously planning something that just couldn't be conducive to his health didn't help his anxiety either. The ranger looked to the left again, trying to understand what the two of them were saying under their breath.
"Naeg … baul … amarth … agar…"
He gulped silently. This was not sounding good, no, not good at all. Where were Elladan and Elrohir when you needed them? But then again, they would probably only take Legolas' side to annoy him, and he would have to deal with four incessantly mumbling elves and not only two.
"We will be there in a few minutes," he said, not really expecting anyone to listen to him, which they didn't either, of course.
He looked straight ahead, sighing slightly.
"We will arrive at Erebor in a few seconds," he repeated, and this time the two elves even lifted their heads and gave him a mildly interested look.
"Oh, really?" Legolas asked, manoeuvring his horse closer to Aragorn's which tried to scoot away to the right to avoid the proximity. Apparently the animal agreed with its master's assessment of Rashwe's character.
"Is that so?" he added and turned to his silver haired friend. "Did you hear that, mellonamin? We are almost there! In a few minutes we will see the dwarves! Isn't that wonderful?"
Inwardly, Aragorn had to admit that he couldn't remember having ever heard someone that sarcastic before, and that meant a lot since his brothers and sometimes even Glorfindel could become quite sarcastic.
"Thrilling, my lord," Celylith spoke as cheerlessly as an undertaker. "I cannot even find words to voice my feelings."
"Oh, I can think of something, I believe," Legolas stated, wrinkling his brow and ignoring his human friend that was inconspicuously moving his horse to the side. "Let me think … what about … 'You will pay for this, ranger' … or 'You're a dead man, you just don't know it yet' or 'I am going to kill you with a wooden spoon'?"
Celylith grinned at him, his mood apparently greatly improved.
"I like the spoon."
"You would," Aragorn commented wryly, trying to decide whether they were serious or not. Unfortunately, one could never say with these two. He looked innocently at his elven friends. "Nothing will happen to us. Trust me, my friends."
"That is usually my first mistake," Legolas grumbled quite audibly.
"Come now!" The young man called, leaning forwards slightly to make the steep road easier for his horse to climb. His companions' horses had less trouble with it, since they were lighter and didn't weight down the animals as much as he did. "When have I ever got us into trouble?"
Celylith snickered while Legolas merely raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"Shall I give you a list?"
"List?" Aragorn asked. "What list, there are barely more than two times we got into trouble at all! That would be a rather short list!"
"Two?" Celylith exclaimed with a wide grin on his face. "Two, Estel? Who taught you to count?"
"My father," Aragorn said somewhat testily. "Are you finding a fault with that?"
The silver haired elf looked rather reluctant to fault the Lord of Rivendell for anything, and so he didn't answer but simply grinned at the human who in turn glared darkly at him. Both were just thinking about a befitting come-back when Legolas made a sound of disgust deep in his throat.
Aragorn looked up, and saw that they had indeed reached their destination: In front of them was the Front Gate of the Lonely Mountain, the big, cave-like entrance that led deep into the heart of Erebor and the source of the River Running.
The river ran out on the one side of the cave; the other side of the cave floor was covered with a wide, stone-paved road that was wide enough for many grown men to walk abreast. A great stone arch wound round the cave opening, and on the sides on hinges there were great wooden doors, carved and adorned with runes and various images.
Aragorn squinted slightly and tried to make out what they were saying, but he had never been that good at reading dwarvish runes. All he could read was something about Thorin Oakenshield and his glorious death in the Battle of Five Armies twelve years ago. Of course Dáin would praise his fame, he reasoned, Thorin had been his cousin after all.
His elven companions didn't seem so interested in the doors and dwarven craftsmanship in general, but rather in the dwarven guards that stood in front of the doors, looking at them with a mixture of astonishment and suspicion.
"Remember," Aragorn whispered softly, eyeing the group of five dwarves warily. "Do not insult them, and please try to be a bit diplomatic. Please."
"Oh, we will not insult them," Legolas assured him quietly in Elvish. "Don't worry."
"Unless they insult us first, that is," Celylith added, glaring darkly at the smaller beings.
"Diplomatic," the young ranger shot both of them a warning look. "And I mean diplomatic. You are nobility, don't forget that."
"Oh," Legolas whispered dryly out of the corner of his mouth. "I will certainly not forget that, my friend." They drew closer to the dwarves and were almost in calling distance now. He gave them a bright, insincere smile and mumbled, "You're dead, ranger. I will never let you forget this, never…"
One of the dwarves, with a long, bushy blonde beard and dark, beady gave them a look that rather clearly stated that he would prefer them to turn around and leave again.
"Halt! What do you want here?"
Aragorn wondered briefly why it was that every other person seemed to ask them that, but he quickly dismounted before his two companions could retort something.
"My name is Strider, a Ranger of the North, at your service."
The dwarf either didn't appreciate his attempts at courtesy or was too busy staring at the two elves that had stayed on horseback and returned the glare in kind. He folded his arms across his barrel-like chest and returned his eyes to the man.
"And your companions, ranger?"
Aragorn willed his friends to get off their animals and to introduce themselves, but they just kept sitting motionlessly on their horses, towering over the smaller beings and apparently not intending to change that behaviour in the near future. He turned back to them with a small exasperated sigh and waved his hand slightly into their direction, giving both of them the look for good measure.
"These are the Lords Legolas and Celylith of Mirkwood, here to ask your king for an audience."
Both of the elves stiffened visibly at the word "ask", but Aragorn ignored them and looked seriously at the dwarves.
Another dwarf, this one with a beard and eyes of the colour of coals, spoke up, recognition on his face.
"Legolas?" he asked, staring intently at the fair haired elf that looked at him as if he was a particularly disgusting little animal. "Isn't that their prince?" He narrowed his eyes and looked even harder at the elven prince. "Yes, I remember you, boy, you even look like Thranduil."
Legolas' eyes lit up angrily when he heard the dwarf's disrespectful tone of voice, but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by the blonde dwarf.
"By Mahal, you're right, Frerin!" he cocked his head to the side. "He even looks like that old, greedy…"
Both the elves had gracefully jumped off their horses before he had even said more than ten words, but Aragorn was even faster. Before the dwarf could even blink, a long, slightly curved elvish dagger was placed at his throat, and he looked into a pair of steely grey eyes that reminded him of freshly forged mithril.
"Do not do that, please," the young ranger said quietly. "You would be well advised not to insult King Thranduil in my presence again, Master Dwarf. I do not take kindly to rudeness, especially rudeness against my friends. Understood?"
The other four dwarves had already drawn their weapons, brandishing their axes and knifes, and things might have gone ill between the two groups if the blonde dwarf had not suddenly begun to laugh loudly. He turned his head to the side, dark eyes twinkling merrily under the rim of his helmet.
"That was quick, boy," he chuckled amusedly. "Not bad, not bad at all. Yes, Master Human, I understand."
Aragorn raised an eyebrow but released the smaller being, returning the knife to its sheath. He stepped back slightly as the dwarves slowly lowered their axes and shot the two irate elves a warning glare.
"As I was saying, Master Dwarf, we are seeking an audience with King Dáin. Will you announce us?"
"Why should he?" Frerin asked, glowering at them. "You nearly killed him a minute ago!"
"Had Strider wanted to kill him, then he would be dead already, dwarf," Legolas announced, voice still taut with anger.
"Enough!" Aragorn said tensely. "We are not here to insult each other! Please, Master Dwarf, let us speak to your king. It is a matter that concerns him closely as well."
"No, Frór," Frerin shook his head.
The blonde dwarf looked at all three of them closely, eyes darkening slightly when he looked at the still furious faces of the elves.
"Alright," he finally said, nodding at Aragorn. "I will ask if he will receive you. Come with me."
Frór pushed his way through his warriors that stepped aside rather unwillingly, looking darkly at the elves, and walked down the paved road that led into the heart of the mountain.
Legolas looked at his human friend, beckoning him to precede them.
"After you, Strider," he whispered in the man's ear. "You got us into this, so you can go first."
"Thank you very much," Aragorn replied out of the corner of his mouth. "This is going to be a fascinating experience, believe me."
Celylith raised an eyebrow as he followed his friends, exchanging heated glares with the dwarves that watched their passage.
"Oh, I am very sure about that, Estel. What else would it be?"
TBC...
dúnadan - 'Man of the West', ranger
naugrim - 'Stunted People', dwarves
eldar - 'People of the Stars', elves
mellonamin - my friend
naeg - pain
baul - torment
amarth - doom
agar - blood
Mahal - the dwarves' name for the Vala Aulë, their creator
Yay! They've reached Erebor, and things can only get interesting from now on... Okay, folks, I hope I'll be able to post on the 2nd or 3rd of August, and more frequently from then on, but I really can not make any promises, I'm sorry. The next time we 'see' each other I will write eating a nice piece of toast with Marmite (Eek! As if! *g*), let's hope that the weather is not too dreadful! I would be extremely happy about a review as always, so, please? Reviews? Pretty please?? They do help me to post frequently and give me many lovely ideas....
Additional A/N:
Maranwe - That's okay, better late than never! *g* Anyway, it's really not your fault, because FF.net really screws up all the time... *evil grin* I agree, I like that mixture as well! I don't get it either why they don't like each other... *g* So, you're another of these people that are looking forward to pain and stuff? Well, we get LOTS of that, all in chapter 18/19/20/21 and perhaps more, that's all I have written yet. So you just have to wait a bit longer... Glad you like the length, btw, it's just that I can't control it, that is what bugs me.
Amelie - Well, FF.net does that all the time when the chapter has just been posted. I didn't fix anything, not that I can anyway, so all you can do is try again a bit later. You can try to add 'a/' to the link, e.g. '....&chapter=16a/', that helps most of the time, not always though... *g* And I really would not advise to try the hairbrush-thing on your sister, unless you have a death wish or something... *fidgets* Uhm, I can't tell you what happens to whom or who will hurt whom, you will just have to wait a bit, it's all in chapter 18/19/20/21. *shakes head* God, I'm sick. And sorry, I can't give you a Legolas clone, I can only clone my OCs. So I can offer you a Nólad or a Celylith... *g* Thanks btw, I have found one or two typos, but could you in the future point them out to me? It was a conincidence I found them, and it takes ages to search for them... But I really appreciate it! Thanks!
Shadow Warrior - *nods sadly* FF-net hates me. Everytime I update something horrible happens that prevents people from reviewing. It's a curse! LOL, so Aragorn is a sloth-bear-cub? That's definitely an interesting idea... I hope your new job is okay and not too exhauting, thanks a lot for reviewing!
Tapetum Lucidum - 'Everybody needs a crazed fan club'? LOL!! That was really funny! You could say that... And I am quite sure that you would let Legolas of Mirkwood into your room... *grins broadly* Oh, and don't worry, Aragorn can be quite convincing! Don't tell me, I KNOW that Johnny is hot! He is always hot! *drools* And I will definitely tell Hannibal that, even though I don't think that he will be too inclined to listen... *g*
Aron - I agree, whatever they do, they're doomed, if at home or in the Wilds... *g* Thanks for all your kind words... *blushes* And you have to admit, it would be unfair if only Legolas had a crazed fan that wants to kill him, Aragorn needs one too! And I never said it would look good for them, did I? *evil laugh*
TrustingFriendship - LOL, well, I was most definitely in withdrawal! THREE DAYS! That's inhuman, that's what it is... *g* Well, I guess that most people think that the elves will be taken care of as well, so there is no need to be afraid of them. That's what they think, you are right, they're morons, all of them... Oh, and the blackmail works most of the time, I'm evil, that's why... *g*
Firnsarnien - NOTHING FF.net does could ever surprise me. It's evil, plain and simple, and its only aim in life is to annoy us. *nods* So Gwaihir has a chain mail flak jacket? Uhm, what do you say about patriot missiles? Or something like that? Huh? *g* And my feet were NOT smelly! Not at all! I just washed them last month, how can you say such a thing... *rants on* And yes, it is written and I did consider not killing him. I won't say what I've decided to do, but I've considered it, okay? Okay, I hope the prozac was strong enough, here's the next bit!
Strider's Girl - Glad you like Aragorn's little revenge, though I have the distinct feeling that Legolas wasn't that pleased... *g* Well, I don't know how long you'll be away, but I fear there won't be that much to read for you since I barely have time to update either... Hope you have lots of fun and thanks for the review!
Imbefaniel - *blinks* Well, if you're an elf as you insit all the time, he would have to be one too, that is if your mother isn't elven... *g* *winces* I know what you mean with writer's block, I had a very small one myself. BUt I forced myself to keep writing, and got over it eventually... But it was really horrible!
Halo - *g* That would be great indeed! I'll email you as soon as I can when I get there, I would love to see you again! *g* Great you like the brush bit, but then agian, you would of course, you're evil... And, really guys, I never said I was actually GOING to kill him! I just said I wanted to kill him! That's not the same! Not exactly, anyway... *evil grin*
Leggylover03 - *shakes head* I won't even answer that. You're really insane and - yes, I'm going to say it yet again - bloodthirsty! I really don't enjoy writing torture scenes, but you guys are just... *shakes head again* Here's your next chapter, though you'll have to wait for Estel pain a bit...
Mer - *blushes* Oh ... thank you! Great you like it so much, though I'll admit that Legolas probably didn't think it overly amusing... *g* *sits open-mouthed* You will follow my lead? My God, I don't believe it, a reader that actually accepts my authority! Well, that was a shock, but thank you, I guess... *shakes head*
A Person - I like your screenname more and more, did I ever tell you that? *g* Yeah, I agree, I don't think Legolas would believe you if you told him that 60 years in the future he will befriend a dwarf and name him Elf-friend... *g* But that's fate, isn't it? Thanks for your reviews!
CrazyLOTRfan - *furrows brow* That was a cliffy? Really? I didn't see it there, but then THIS one is a cliffy too... *shrugs* Whatever you say. Oh and you're right, Gimli should be at the Lonely Mountain right now with his father Gloin, but no, they won't meet each other, since I think it says in FotR that Legolas and Gimli had never met each other - I know, it didn't say they didn't either, but I didn't want to mess with canon... Uhm, that's okay, really... *pats her back carefully* I will miss you though! Hope you have lots of fun!
Critternut - Uhm, so you need to get mad to play football? That's interesting - and sounds rather dangerous... *g* Oh, and I agree, FF.net IS evil - very evil to be precise... I hope this update was soon enough? *huggles her* Thanks for your reviews!
NaughtyNat - *nods gravely* I know! It's too long already, and I'm nowhere near finished yet... Uhm, chapter 18... To be honest, it's not _that_ bad, somehow people have decided that it will be, don't ask me why... *shrugs innocently* I really don't know. Great to see you again! *huggles* Thanks for reviewing!
Lina - LINA!!!! *huggles her* Of course I missed you! So you were on vacation? I hope you and Zam had lots of fun - I don't doubt that for a second, actually... *g* LOL! Little eyebrows that wave at you? Lina, I really think you need professional help, it would be best for all of us, trust me! So you're a 'Hobbit that can't seduce a man taller than you'? Uhm, that does not bode well for poor Frodo and his friends... Well, and Celylith's fate is decided, I'm afraid. It's written, done, over, whatever. I'm not telling whether he will live or die though... *runs away cackling evilly* Oh, and I'm sure Will and Jack will get used to you and your Rohirrim - just give them time, it's not that easy to adjust to a totally new life... *huggles Lina again* Great to see you! I really missed you!
Aratfeniel - Well, I think I'll survive the humming. Perhaps. If not, it will be YOUR fault! And you might be right there, I think Legolas and Aragorn will kill each other - if they ever get the opportunity for it, that is... *g* Uhm, the bold text? You do it using Dreamweaver or something similar. I for my part am using the Netscape Composer which you can download for free, but only because I'm too stupid to use the Dreamweaver... *sighs*
LadySandrilene - Yeah, poor Aragorn, he doesn't know what fate has in store for him yet... *g* Hmm, Legolas' revenge on Aragorn? I hate to disappoint you, but I really don't think they will have much opportunity - or inclination - for things like that, since... *shuts herself up* Not telling, sorry, you'll have to wait! *evil laugh* God, I love being evil... Wohoo! I just got your mail, thanks! I love feedback no matter by what way I get it, so emails are almost as good as reviews! Well, I guess FF.net screwes with everybody's stories, not just mine, although I DO think that it hates me personally... There's nothing I can do either, I'm afraid, except glare with you which is fun, even though it might not be too effective. *g* And you're most welcome, I love writing friendship fics! *huggles back* Thanks so much for all your feedback!
Coreinha - Uhm, _I_ frighten _you_? How, if I may ask? What did I do? *g* Well, Legolas positively asked for something like that, don't you think? Prissy wood-elf that he is... *g* You want a dwarf maiden? Well, since I I couldn't make up my mind whether they have beards or not there won't be any in here, but lots of male dwarves! I hope that's good enough? *g*
Grumpy - 'This is entertainment'? Well, thank you! We aim to please... *g* Thanks for the review!
XsilicaX - *g* Yeah, Aragorn just might do that... *g* I certainly would! And really, I'm hurt! I would never pretend to have killed Celylith just to torment you! I will just keep telling you that I MIGHT have... *evil cackle* Well, I really do hope that the weather improves, but actually I could use a little rain right about now, I'm beginning to resemble a snake since my sunburnt skin is beginning to come off... *grimaces* I hate that... Nili the snake...*g*
Alilacia - Elrond's snort is contagious? Oh my God, we will soon have a plague on our hands if nothing is done... *looks horrified at mere thought* Yup, they're indeed going to see the dwarves, and believe me, Legolas and Celylith are none too pleased about it either... *g* And I will go see the film as soon as it comes out in England! *bouncing* I'm really looking forward to it by now.. *g*
Marbienl - FF.net really hates you, huh? *sympathetic smile* It doesn't even allow you to submit reviews, you're really bad off... *g* Well, if you still picture Thranduil as a dwarf with beard and all, I really think that you should seek professional help. I'm rather sure that that is NOT normal... *g* Yes, maybe Legolas needs a baby eagle as a pet, I'm sure it would be very useful, just like Hedwig in HP... *g* LOL at the horses! I'm sure they would be something like that... *g* And yes, I guess Estel's something like an endangered species, and if he doesn't watch out, he will become extinct rather soon... *evil grin* NO!!! *yells* He is fine, for crying out loud! Peachy! I will indeed tell you when he's not fine, okay? Jeez... *walks away, muttering under her breath* Well, and I don't worry about Anca - if she pops up in my bathroom, she will definitely regret it... *g* And as I said, it's all written and you'll have to wait and see...
Fliewatuet - *looks at innocent-looking twins* I have no idea either who taught him such evil tricks... Ah, and let's just say that no, Legolas' and Celylith's presence doesn't exactly make things easier. *shakes her head* Arrogant elves, them... *g* And yes, I'll admit that there wasn't that much action in the last few chapters, but there's lots and lots coming up in the near future, believe me! *evil laugh* Oh yes, quite a lot...
Sirithiliel - *nods* FF.net is the Devil impersonated. I don't know either how it manages to be so evil, but it does, somehow. Great you liked the chapter, and I hope you'll like this one as well! Thanks for the review!
ManuKu - Sag ich doch die ganze Zeit! Dummer blonder Waldelb! *kicher* Na ja, und es hat ja auch noch nie jemand behauptet, dass Legolas besonders klug sei, ne? *g* Uhm, Legolas verfolgt dich mit einer ueberdimensionalen Haarbuerste? Das ist ziemlich beunruhigend, wenn du mich fragst, hast du vielleicht das eine oder andere anregende Mittelchen genommen? Uhm, Kapitel 18? Ich weiss auch gar nicht, wie dich sich alle hochgeschaukelt haben, eigentlich sind 19/20 viel schlimmer... *fieses Grinsen* Oh, und seid immer bei mir willkommen! Falls ihr mal in Berlin sein solltet, sagt ruhig Bescheid, es geht doch nichts ueber ein nettes Lynchen unter Freunden... *g*
Salara - LOL, Spatzen sind in der Tat gefiederte Verbrecher! Perfide kleine Tierchen, schlimmer als jeder Balrog! Und ich muss die natuerlich zustimmen - das mit dem Schatz kann gar nicht gutgehen. Ich frage mich da immer, ob die Fieslinge denn nicht "Indiana Jones I, II oder III" gesehen haben? Solche Schaettze bringen nichts als Schererien... Und ob du's glaubst oder nicht, ich huete gerade einen echten 'bunny', naemlich ein Zwergkaninchen - am Anfang hatte ich ja etwas Angst, aber ich habe festgestellt, dass es keinen uebermaessigen Einfluss auf die Geschicht nimmt, Gott sei Dank...
TigerLily713 - *winces* Don't say it! You said the 'S'-word! It's an evil word, I really don't want to be reminded of ma studies and Hannibal - but thanks nonetheless!
Reginabean - So have I - I was about 7 years old, and because the brush got stuck, I decided that it was a good idea to cut it out. It took quite a long time to actually grow back... *g* And I would say that dwarves and elves are lots of fun, but oddly enough they don't think so... I wonder why? I'm glad you got over Nólad though. After all, he was only a fictional character... *winks*
Alex Mistress Squirrel - *hangs head* Uhm, to be perfectly honest: No. I have never seen Winny the Pooh, I just never liked it. When I was a child I liked things with a bit more action in them, so to speak... And yes, I think Estel will indeed get into trouble, quite a lot actually... *g* And I couldn't have Aragorn dye Legolas' hair green - he already did that to Elladan, it would have been unoriginal on my part. *shrugs* Ah well.
Kaeera - *g* Schoen, dass es die Spass gemacht hat, das ist ja mehr oder weniger der Sinn der Sache, nech? Aha! Wusst' ich's doch! Deine Plaene sind aufgedeckt, boeses Maedchen, es gibt kein Entkommen! Ergib dich! *schuettelt Kopf* Okay, ich werde langsam sonderlich auf meine alten Tage. Tja, so eine FF koennte man natuerlich schreiben, WENN man Zeit haette. Dummerweise habe ich ja einer nicht naeher zu bestimmenden Person versprochen, bis November eine kurze Zwillings-Geschichte zu schreiben... Wer das sein kann? Keine Ahnung, weiss ich auch nicht... *g*
Stacee Phelps - You'll send Tinlaure's cat's pet warg, Keekee after me? Well, to be honest, I haven't got the slightest idea what you're talking about, but it does sound rather uncomfortable, so here's the next bit! I hope you'll like it! Thanks a lot for your reviews!
Bec - Hmm, the twins... No, I'm afraid that they won't make another appearance. I would have liked to include them, but it's already too long as it is, so bringing in the twins again would make it even worse. But don't worry, I think they'll be in the next story! Great you like it, thanks so much for your kind words!
Nikara - Yeah, if poor Estel only knew what would happen to him - he would probably hide somewhere, never to be seen again... *g* I hope this is soon enough? And believe me, everybody's rather annoyed in the end... *evil grin*
Zam - Zam!!! *huggles her* You! I missed you! I really did! Life was dull and boring without you and your orc horde! And yes, Celylith is still alive, indeed. *evil grin* It's just a matter of time though... Oops! Did I just say that? I didn't, did I? *g* Eek! You're chewing on Legolas's sleeves? Tell Lina to tell Estel to make you an orc toasty, that is disgusting... Yeah well, I'll admit that Legolas is not really liking the dwarves much, just try to ignore his comments, will you? He's just jealous because he can't grow a beard, that's all... *g* I knew you would like the dwarves, and to be honest I wrote it partly because of you... *g* And because I love writing elf-dwarf-scenes... *huggles Zam* I really missed you and Lina! Great to have you back!
Helen T - As I said, English is just fine! I like the language - kind of, that is. I mean, it could never rival Ancient Greek, but then again I guess that's only my opinion... *evil grin* Oh yes, they're in trouble again, and in more than they would have ever thought, too... *g* And I don't think _I_ have to get Aragorn into trouble, he does that all by himself...
Thank you all so much for your great reviews! They help me very much, besides, I am addicted to them, so... *g*
A/N:
Well, here it is, the last chapter before I go to England for a month. Ahhhhhhh!!! *ducks several heavy objects* Now, calm down, calm down, let me explain! *gives angry readers careful looks*
Okay, so first: I have bought a laptop (and it's beautiful! *sighs in adoration*) and I really hope that it will arrive before I leave. If it does, I will be able to update quite frequently, probably starting again in six or seven days. If not, I really have no idea when or if I'll be able to post, but I'll promise to try my best, okay?
Second: I'm moving out of my flat today and everything is rather ... chaotic right now, so there is no way I can post again before Wednesday.
And third: The next chapter's a cliffy, and I would really not want to leave you like that. It might have detrimental effects on your - and my - health, so I think it's better to post it once I know I can update frequently.
*folds arms across chest* See? I knew you would be reasonable! *ducks yet _more_ heavy objects* Wow, you're a tough crowd... *g*
Oh, and I must say that I am surprised! Fliewatuet has just founded the 'Celylith lives' foundation - you guys really like him, huh? *shrugs* You'll all find out what happens to him, in chapters 18/19, so only a bit longer and you'll be there!
Well, enough ranting, on to the story!
Here's chapter 17, written while sitting on a box in an near-empty room with only a naked lightbulb... *g* Okay, what do we have... As I said, rather annoyed and vengeful elves, we see more of Adruran and his evil plans and they really get to Erebor, therefore this is also the first chapter with dwarves. *huggles her dwarves* They're sweet, I love them...
So, enjoy and review, please!
Chapter 17
"No, Aragorn."
"Legolas, please…"
"No, dúnadan. And that is final."
"Celylith, talk to him."
"No, Estel, I will not. This is madness, and he is right."
Aragorn looked at the two elves that were standing in front of him in his room, the pale morning light surrounding them and reflecting off their fair hair. Both wore expressions of equal stubbornness, a sight that would have had lesser men – or elves, for that matter – run in panic.
"Legolas, listen to me. There is no other way. They will not harm you."
"That is not my concern," the elven prince replied icily, not prepared to rise to his friend's bait. "I will not go to that mountain asking the dwarves for information, and nothing you can say will change my mind."
"You have a duty to your people."
"…damn you."
Aragorn grinned evilly at his elven friend who was right now very occupied with glaring daggers at him.
"What will you do if this really descends into war? We can stop this now, Legolas! And if I have to swallow my pride and go and ask the dwarves, I will do just that. And so will you, my friend."
Legolas glared at the young human who wore an exceptionally smug expression right now. Aragorn was right of course, he admitted after a second, he would never let his personal pride get in the way of what needed to be done for the sake of the kingdom, and that annoying man knew that perfectly well.
"You are right," he mumbled after a second.
Aragorn was too intelligent to tease his friend any further, knowing full well what it had cost the elf to admit this. He flashed Legolas a brilliant smile that tended to either convince people of his innocence or awoke in them the powerful urge to kill him. In this case, he hoped for the former, since he really didn't think that Celylith would protect him. It appeared that the silver haired elf loathed his idea even more than Legolas.
"Then let us be off," he addressed the elves in front of him, walking over to his bed and about to pick up his weaponbelt, "It shouldn't take us longer than three hours to reach the Front Gate of the mountain. I really would want to arrive before they had the chance to drink more ale than is good for their judgement."
"Judgement? Dwarves?" Celylith asked in a low voice, "We really need to address this matter, ranger. Rather sooner than later, if you ask me."
Aragorn rolled his eyes as he slung the belt around his middle, trying to hide a wince when the dull ache reawoke in his left side. He quickly masked his facial expression, but it was not quickly enough to fool the keen elven eyes of his companions.
Legolas looked at Celylith, a wicked grin on his face that was mirrored by the other elf after a second. Before Aragorn could react, he had stepped closer to his human friend and pressed him down onto the bed while Celylith quickly left the room to get his healing utensils.
"You are going nowhere before we have changed those bandages," he told the man with a smug look on his face.
Aragorn vainly tried to dislodge the hold the blonde elf had on his uninjured shoulder, scowling darkly at him.
"I am perfectly alright!" he hissed at the elven prince.
"Oh, but of course you are," Celylith assured him, just entering the room with an armful of bandages, small pots and flasks. "We just don't want those burns to fester now, do we?"
The young ranger glared at the elves, shrugged Legolas' hands off and started to unbutton his shirt.
"You are doing this just because of the dwarves, admit it."
Legolas and Celylith locked eyes for a second.
"Yes."
"But that's not the point," Celylith insisted, starting to unravel the linen straps. "They really need to be changed." He looked at him with a friendly smile. "Would you like a sleeping potion?"
If looks could kill, Celylith would have dropped dead right now and then.
"No," Aragorn snapped testily, trying not to wince openly when the elf was starting to wash the nearly healed burns. "I am fine, thank you very much."
Legolas grinned at the young man on the bed that was obviously just trying to intimidate Celylith with his look, which didn't really work since the silver haired elf adamantly refused to meet his eyes.
"Come now, Aragorn, be sensible! If we can see the necessity to visit the naugrim, then you can see the necessity there is for changing the bandages, can't you?"
The ranger looked up at his elven friend, eyes narrowing in annoyance.
"I never liked that expression, you know."
"What expression?" Legolas asked, honestly confused now. "'Stunted'? But that's what they are, stunted, loud, impolite annoying little…"
"I see your point," Aragorn quickly assured him. "And I would really advise you to watch what you're saying when we get to Erebor. It would not help at all if you insulted them in their own halls."
The elven prince just looked at him haughtily.
"Dwarves could never learn a word of Elvish, not even to save their mithril or those ridiculous beards they treasure so much."
"Are you so sure about that?" the dark haired ranger shot back, smiling his thanks at Celylith who was just rewrapping his chest. "Why not?"
Legolas gazed at him with a look of pity in his silver-blue eyes.
"Why not, human? Because they just can't, that's why. Besides, they would never want to learn a language that does not have more than two dozen words for 'stone' or 'rocks'."
"But you know some Dwarvish curses, don't you?" Aragorn asked, grabbing his shirt and quickly pulling it over his head. The fire had already burnt down, and it was rather chilly in here, for a human, that was.
"Well, yes," Legolas admitted, rolling his eyes at the inability of his friend to understand that dwarves could really not be compared to the eldar. "But that's different."
"I can't see how," the man countered, getting up from the bed and fastening his weaponbelt around his waist. "Just try and be a bit diplomatic. Please," the said, seeing the expression on his elven friend's face that could only be described as fierce loathing, "Do it for me. I really am too young to have my head chopped off by an irate dwarf just because you couldn't resist the temptation of calling him names."
Aragorn turned to Celylith who was just carefully putting the healing utensils back into a bag he had found next to the man's bed.
"That goes for you too, Celylith. Don't insult them."
The silver haired elf looked up in mock surprise.
"Me? Strider, I am hurt! I would never do such a thing!"
The ranger merely gave him a friendly smile.
"But of course not, mellonamin, what was I thinking? Then the dwarves count as fascinating creatures as well?"
The elf looked at him with a mixture of surprise and disgust in his eyes.
"Don't be ridiculous, Estel."
Aragorn looked at the silver haired elf, musing that he didn't really see how one could love spiders but dislike dwarves, especially when one was an elf. Dwarves may be proud, stubborn and hot-headed at times, put then again, so were elves. He shook his head slightly. He would very much like to see the day an elf and a dwarf spent some time together, learned to value the other's virtues and strengths and actually admitted that they weren't that different at all. The ranger would almost have laughed aloud. That day would never come, and if it somehow did, he would be long since dead.
He grabbed his cloak and grinned at the two elves in front of him that looked about as cheerful as prisoners in the dungeons of Barad-dûr.
"Let's go then. Remember what I told you, and, in Elbereth's name, try to keep that annoying, stiff elven haughtiness in check, will you?"
Before his companions could say anything, he had quickly slipped out of the door, his grin only widening.
"'Stiff'?" Celylith asked after a speechless moment, raising a dark silver eyebrow.
"'Elven haughtiness'?" Legolas added, looking at his elven friend.
From the direction of the stairs that led to the ground level of the inn something that could only be described as an evil laugh could be heard.
"You heard me!" Aragorn announced loudly, chortling with laughter.
"My lord," Celylith began, righting the quiver on his back, "I know that you like that … that human, but do you think it would be possible for me to hurt him just a bi…"
"Absolutely, mellonamin," the elven prince nodded, a wicked light shining in his eyes. "What is Arda coming to when a mere human may insult us and go unpunished? Besides, I still have a score to settle with him about that little hair incident." He looked grimly at his childhood friend as they made their way down the wooden staircase. "Estel needs to be taught a lesson, I'm afraid."
The other elf looked at his friend, grinning broadly now.
"I will of course assist you in any way I can, my prince. Do you have anything specific in mind yet?"
"No," Legolas shook his head, giving the dark haired human that was waiting for them at the door that led to the courtyard behind the inn a friendly smile. "No, not yet, but I think we will have more than enough time to think of something on the way to that accursed mountain of his, wouldn't you agree?!
Celylith nodded his head at that, still grinning like a cat that had just caught sight of a particularly tasty-looking mouse.
"Aye, my friend, we definitely will. I will show him 'elven haughtiness', Eru help me!"
Aragorn looked from one grinning face to the other, and quickly asked himself if King Dáin would allow him to stay in Erebor for the next few days. He didn't care if the dwarves wanted to start a war with Dale or not, he would be incomparably safer there than in the company of his elven friends, that much was obvious.
Adruran was standing on a little hill just next to the new campsite they had chosen, surveying the surroundings with a keen glance.
Dale lay a few hours worth of travel to the East, hidden behind a great, towering slope of the Lonely Mountain, now a bit farther away than it had been from the last camp. Besides, it was closer to the Lake-men's, and the distance wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Of course, it did make everything a bit more difficult, especially transporting provisions and other things here, but it also reduced the risk of discovery.
The Men of Dale were maybe not exactly born soldiers, but they were also not stupid, and it had only been a matter of time until they would have been discovered.
But still, the camp was too open for his liking. It was a bit too close to the Lake-men as well, but this had been the only more or less acceptable place more than five leagues in either direction. So he had ordered to make camp here, even though he was anything but happy about the arrangement.
'This is not good,' he decided for about the thirtieth time today. 'No, this is not good at all.'
To be precise, everything had gone from bad right to catastrophic the exact moment Hanar had arrived at their new campsite yesterday evening, looking as if he had just seen a ghost or at the very least a person he had not expected to see ever again…
"Would you care to repeat that?"
Hanar shuffled his feet and studied the dusty tips of his boots with obvious fascination.
"They are here."
Adruran resisted the urge to burrow his face in his hands and glared at the other man instead.
"And who, pray tell, would 'they' be?"
"The elves and the ranger, sir," the younger man quietly said, eyes still fixed on the floor as if he might find something unbelievably interesting there.
"The ranger?" his captain asked, lifting his eyebrows. "The same ranger you and the dear Lomar chose to 'have a talk' with, the one that would 'talk the soonest'?" When the other wouldn't answer, he added, rather close to shouting now, "Answer me, man!"
Hanar jumped slightly and finally raised his eyes to meet his superior's, wincing inwardly when he saw his irate face.
"Yes, sir. The same."
Adruran had to fight hard not to do something that would cost him yet another of his men.
"So you are trying to say that the elves – and the ranger of course, let's not forget about him – are here, in Dale, just a few hours away, and that at the worst possible moment? That they are here because you and Lomar didn't think before acting and led them straight here? Is that what you are trying to say?"
The other man swallowed nervously, not at all sure what was the right answer to that question. In fact, he wasn't even sure if there was a right answer at all.
"Yes, sir."
His captain looked at him, clenching his teeth.
"Did they see you?"
"No, sir. I am sure that they did not."
Adruran almost gave a loud sigh of relief. Finally, a tiny ray of hope.
"Get out," he said quietly, shaking his head. "Get out and don't show your face again any time soon."
Hanar obeyed only too willingly, slipping out of the tent as quickly and quietly as he could. He didn't know what his superior was planning, but he was rather sure that now was not the time to ask.
Adruran looked after the man, asking himself again why every single one of his plans seemed to fail before he had even had time to execute them properly on this mission. It must be connected to the elves, he finally decided. They were nothing but trouble, the whole lot of them.
And to that opinion he still held, Adruran decided with another look at the camp. If you had any chance at all to avoid that particular race, you would do well to do just that. The same went for rangers, who weren't even entirely human in his opinion. The ones he had seen in his lifetime had been more than a little bit elvish, and sometimes he even believed the rumours that said that they had elven blood, as weird and ludicrous as that thought might seem on first glance.
"Sir?" a rather timid voice behind him sounded, and he turned to look at Tiddryr, his red-haired lieutenant.
"Yes, Tiddryr?" he asked, not even trying to hide the exasperation in his voice. "What is it? Please do not tell me that the elves are already here. I think that is the only thing that could make this day any worse."
"No, sir," the other man assured him quickly, deciding inwardly that the appearance of his captain's sarcastic humour was anything but a good sign. He had been on several missions with Adruran, and the fact that he had returned alive from all of them spoke for the older man's skills and expertise. He had known him long enough now to know that it was not a good thing when the brown haired man was beginning to make sarcastic remarks. It was usually a sign that his plans went astray, and that was not something you wanted to experience if you wanted to return home alive.
"No," he repeated, looking at the other man, "No, they are not here. The men that we sent to Dale to replace Hanar will report should they leave the town. We will be warned in time."
"Good," Adruran mumbled, inwardly not really seeing how this was good at all. The appearance of the elves was seriously jeopardising his plans, and that was something he did not appreciate in the slightest.
"But," Tiddryr continued, obviously plucking up his courage, "What will we do if they come here? We cannot abandon the camp, and we won't be able to hide it from them." When he saw the darkening face of his superior, he quickly added, hoping to appease him, "Sir."
Adruran looked at his lieutenant, trying to decide whether he should kill him for his presumptuousness or tell him of his plans.
'Plans?' he thought inwardly, 'What plans? All the plans you ever had have just disintegrated like snow in the rain.'
Oh, there was that as well: Snow. He was getting tired of it, actually, and in his opinion he was getting too old to camp outside when there was a snow cover on the ground that partly reached your hips.
After a few moments that served to increase Tiddryr's nervousness tenfold, he finally decided that killing the man would solve no-one's problems, especially not his. Besides, it was an unreasonable thing to do, and one could say what one wanted about him, but he wasn't unreasonable.
He turned away from the man to look over the campsite again, beckoning him to step closer.
"Tell me what you see."
Tiddryr complied and stood next to his superior, lifting copper eyebrows in confusion.
"The camp, sir."
Adruran snorted and shook his head.
"That is not what I see," he told the younger man, turning to face him. "I see a disaster waiting to happen. Nobody within a few miles will be able to overlook this camp, no matter how stupid or blind they are. If the elves really come looking for us, we're done for."
Tiddryr decided wisely that Adruran didn't really expect an answer to this and did not comment on his assessment.
His captain continued, glaring darkly at the sight that spread out before his eyes.
"You were watching the Lake-men's camp yesterday with me, were you not? Then tell me what you saw there."
The red haired man swallowed nervously, having the feeling that this was turning into an exam of some sort. And growing inside of him was the bad feeling that you would not get a second chance if you failed that particular test.
"Amateurs," he answered after a second. "They were just as careless and naïve as all the other times, but…" He looked at the expressionless face of the other man that was watching him closely, "But I think they were even more excited and headless than usual."
Adruran smiled grimly.
"And why do you think that is?"
"If I had to make a guess, I would say that they are very close now," Tiddryr stated carefully. "The fact that almost all of them have left the camp this morning supports that theory."
"Very good, Tiddryr," Adruran smiled. "It appears that you have some power of observation after all." He turned back to the camp with a scowl. "That is just what I think. In my opinion they will finally reach the treasure today, and, Great Ones, it took them long enough, too."
"So what will you do?" Tiddryr asked, a little bit comforted that his captain hadn't cut off his head already. He wasn't exactly known to do such things, because he was, after all, a reasonable man. With Geran it would be a different thing though, he thought suddenly. If Geran were their captain, he would defect as quickly as possibly, even risking the wrath of his liege who used to hang soldiers that did this. After some time in the dungeons of course, a time that made every normal person wish for death in an amazingly short amount of time.
No, he thought again, Geran did enjoy other beings' pain far too much, a trait that would land him into real trouble one of these days. He noticed that Adruran began to speak, and concentrated on the conversation at hand. After all, his captain might be a reasonable man, but he didn't take kindly to disrespect either.
"Do?" Adruran asked and looked at him. "Well, I fully intend to wait until they have really found that elusive treasure. I am sure neither you nor your men are too intent on digging for it, are you?"
"No!" Tiddryr assured the older man quickly, "No, of course not. Then we will strike this evening?"
Adruran looked at the other somewhat quizzically.
"No, we will not."
"We will not?" Tiddryr asked surprised. Somehow his captain was enjoying this I-know-what-is-going-to-happen-but-I'm-not going-to-tell-you attitude far too much.
"No, Tiddryr, we will not," the brown haired man told him, looking at him as if he was an especially thick-headed child that just didn't want to understand that the sky was up and the ground was down. "And you know why not? Because, if we act now, we will have not only the Lake-men to worry about, but the elves and the ranger as well. The last thing we need now is to be surprised when we are just taking over their camp. Don't misunderstand this," he said, seeing his lieutenant's rather confused look, "I do not think that everything would be lost if they indeed managed to find us. We are twenty, after all, and they are only three."
"But?" Tiddryr asked, sensing his superior's hesitancy.
"But two of them are elves, and that is something one should never underestimate," Adruran explained, looking over his camp in thought, eyes not really seeing what lay in front of them. "Only a fool underestimates an elf, or a ranger at that matter. Most of those who do end up dead, rather quickly I might add." He looked at the red haired man with hard, flinty eyes. "I do not intend to make that mistake. I will not underestimate them, not for a second. The fact remains that they could severely disturb our operations here, and they will come looking for us. It is only a matter of time, especially if the ranger is still alive as Hanar claims. I do not think he will be willing to forget this little episode just like that, or what do you think?"
The younger man mutely shook his head, and Adruran continued, speaking faster now, obviously having come to a decision.
"No, I wouldn't have thought so. The point is, Tiddryr, that I really do not want them to disturb us. It is hard enough to keep those accursed dwarves away from the site with all this racket these imbeciles are creating, so the last thing I want is to have them appear here just like that."
"But, sir, then what…"
"…are we going to do?" Adruran asked, smiling slightly. "We will take steps so they won't disturb us tomorrow when we will finally act. We will undertake a little journey this night and make sure that they will not find us before we find them."
Tiddryr nodded slowly.
"That does sound like a good plan."
"This is not something open to debate!" Adruran snapped suddenly, once again rather close to losing his temper. "If I want your opinion about my plans, I will certainly ask you for it!"
The red haired man ducked his head, once again deciding that going on this mission had been one of the dumbest things he had ever done. If even Adruran was slowly losing his nerve – which was not something he was planning to tell him, by the way – then this whole enterprise was really not going well. Something that he had known for some time, anyway.
"Yes, sir."
The older man glowered at him, trying hard to get his annoyance under control.
'You're letting up,' he told himself disgustedly. He hated it when he lost his temper; it was nothing but a sign of weakness, proving that he could not control his emotions.
A flurry of activity down in the camp caught both their attentions, and with a last dark look at his lieutenant Adruran slowly descended the small hill they were standing on, taking care not to slip. The very last thing he wanted now was to fall flat on his face in front of the entire camp, but the ground was frozen and covered with snow and it was therefore rather hard to manoeuvre.
After a few minutes the two of them arrived in the camp, and Adruran soon spied the reason for this small disturbance: One of the two men he had sent to Dale in place of Hanar was just dismounting, greeting the men who had come to welcome him.
Adruran gave the man some time to dismount and arrange for his horse to be taken to the others by one of the younger men before he stepped closer, studying the other's face closely. He had to take only one look at him to know that something had just gone wrong. Again.
'And there goes my next plan,' he sighed inwardly. 'This entire mission is cursed, that's what it is. Cursed!'
"What is it?" he asked the man gruffly.
The younger man looked nervously from his captain's face to Tiddryr's, understanding in an instant that they were both not in a mood to be trifled with.
"They left Dale, sir."
Adruran closed his eyes shortly and forced himself to count to ten, very, very slowly. Damn these elves, damn the ranger, damn them all…
"When and where?" he asked after he had fought down the urge to beat his head against the next tree he came across.
"They left the inn about three hours ago, captain," the man reported and fixed his eyes on the tent behind his superiors. He would be damned if he gave any of them the opportunity to take their dark mood out on him. "We followed them to the northern gates and separated there. I came back here while Bleon stayed in the city in case they came back early, but we both don't think they will."
"Why?" Tiddryr asked, mildly confused. "Why didn't you follow them?"
"Because they wouldn't even have got farther than a few hundred feet before the elves would have put a few arrows in them," Adruran explained not so patiently. He turned to the man, nodding slightly. "It is well that you did not trail them. Where have they gone?"
The man swallowed, trying to suppress his anxiety. Adruran would not like this…
"They … they headed North, towards the Lonely Mountain, sir."
Adruran looked blankly at him, his mind spinning faster and faster. So the elves had left Dale, and no-one knew when they would be back. That much about his plan to pay them a visit tonight, he thought, shaking his head inwardly.
But there was something definitely wrong about all this, he decided after a second. Elves that went to visit dwarves? He had to hide a small smile. If he was lucky, they might just kill each other and spare him a lot of work…
"But there's more," the man added, carefully eyeing his captain.
"And what would that be?" Adruran asked somewhat exasperatedly.
"They went to visit the king yesterday," the other reported. "From what we've been able to gather, they were granted an audience and spent at least an hour inside of Bard's residence."
Adruran clenched his jaw. Wonderful, he thought, it was really amazing how much worse everything could always become. No matter how much you believed that everything was as bad as it could possibly get, life had an uncanny way of proving you wrong.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the man again.
"Did they have their baggage with them? Provision, water?"
"No, sir. Bleon guessed that they went to talk with the dwarves about the things that have happened and were probably planning to come back later today."
Adruran nodded, his mind already planning his next steps. He turned to his red haired lieutenant.
"Get the men ready. We will leave in half an hour. Only the sentries that are watching the Lake-men will remain here and one man to have an eye on the camp."
He dismissed the men with a small move of his hand, and turned around to come face to face with Geran, his youngest lieutenant. Behind him stood Hanar, the man that had recognised the elves and the ranger yesterday evening.
"We are leaving, sir?" Geran asked neutrally.
"Yes," Adruran nodded curtly, feeling much better now that he had decided what to do. "We are going after the elves and the ranger."
He noted with a flash of worry that at these words both of the other men's eyes seemed to light up. It wasn't the light that you normally saw when men were looking forward to a fight or action, no, it was something more sinister, something that would only cause trouble, that much he was sure of.
"Now?" Geran asked, with one hand unconsciously stroking the hilt of his knife.
Adruran raised an eyebrow and looked at him, once again reining in his temper.
"Yes, Geran, now. You have heard what he said, haven't you?"
"Aye…"
"Then you also know that we are in a corner now," Adruran stated, studying Geran's face closely.
"Because they went to the king," the younger man said slowly, understanding dawning on his face.
"Exactly," his captain nodded. "We cannot wait any longer for them to come to us. If we allow them to mediate, everything will truly been lost and all our hard work for naught."
Geran returned the nod, shooting Hanar who was grinning from ear to ear a warning glare.
"I will get my men ready then, sir."
Before the younger man could turn to walk away, Adruran had grabbed his arm, halting his progress.
"This is an operation under my command, Geran," he said in a low, warning tone of voice, "Not one of your little hunting expeditions. If I see that you cannot control your actions when the elves are concerned, the consequences will be dire. Understood?"
"Understood, sir" Geran echoed, his brown eyes dark and serious.
Adruran released his arm, and his lieutenant turned without a word and left, calling out for the men that were under his command. The brown haired captain turned as well and headed for the place where they kept the horses, close to the trees that protected two sides of the camp against the snow and chilly wind.
He was not at all looking forward to this encounter, but now he had no other choice left. If he let the elves and the ranger solve Dale's little problem, all his work would have been in vain, and that was something he would definitely not allow.
Aragorn wondered, not for the first time by the way, how it had come that he had ended up in the company of two obviously deranged elves and an absolutely crazy elven horse that eyed him as if it was seriously contemplating forsaking the life of a vegetarian and starting a new one as a carnivore. And he was apparently supposed to be the first course.
'First course: Ranger chops with steamed vegetable and a light creamy sauce.'
The young human quickly shook his head; this was a morbid line of thought even for him. He unobtrusively turned his head to the left and shot Rashwe a furtive glance. The horse looked back and sneered at him, if such a thing was even possible. He resisted the urge to shake his head again, quickly breaking the eye contact.
This was intolerable, he thought with a frown. He was afraid of Legolas' horse, in Elbereth's name! But it was unbelievable how … human that horse could be. Or elvish, Aragorn corrected himself quickly, that horse was definitely elvish.
The fact that Legolas and Celylith were very obviously planning something that just couldn't be conducive to his health didn't help his anxiety either. The ranger looked to the left again, trying to understand what the two of them were saying under their breath.
"Naeg … baul … amarth … agar…"
He gulped silently. This was not sounding good, no, not good at all. Where were Elladan and Elrohir when you needed them? But then again, they would probably only take Legolas' side to annoy him, and he would have to deal with four incessantly mumbling elves and not only two.
"We will be there in a few minutes," he said, not really expecting anyone to listen to him, which they didn't either, of course.
He looked straight ahead, sighing slightly.
"We will arrive at Erebor in a few seconds," he repeated, and this time the two elves even lifted their heads and gave him a mildly interested look.
"Oh, really?" Legolas asked, manoeuvring his horse closer to Aragorn's which tried to scoot away to the right to avoid the proximity. Apparently the animal agreed with its master's assessment of Rashwe's character.
"Is that so?" he added and turned to his silver haired friend. "Did you hear that, mellonamin? We are almost there! In a few minutes we will see the dwarves! Isn't that wonderful?"
Inwardly, Aragorn had to admit that he couldn't remember having ever heard someone that sarcastic before, and that meant a lot since his brothers and sometimes even Glorfindel could become quite sarcastic.
"Thrilling, my lord," Celylith spoke as cheerlessly as an undertaker. "I cannot even find words to voice my feelings."
"Oh, I can think of something, I believe," Legolas stated, wrinkling his brow and ignoring his human friend that was inconspicuously moving his horse to the side. "Let me think … what about … 'You will pay for this, ranger' … or 'You're a dead man, you just don't know it yet' or 'I am going to kill you with a wooden spoon'?"
Celylith grinned at him, his mood apparently greatly improved.
"I like the spoon."
"You would," Aragorn commented wryly, trying to decide whether they were serious or not. Unfortunately, one could never say with these two. He looked innocently at his elven friends. "Nothing will happen to us. Trust me, my friends."
"That is usually my first mistake," Legolas grumbled quite audibly.
"Come now!" The young man called, leaning forwards slightly to make the steep road easier for his horse to climb. His companions' horses had less trouble with it, since they were lighter and didn't weight down the animals as much as he did. "When have I ever got us into trouble?"
Celylith snickered while Legolas merely raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"Shall I give you a list?"
"List?" Aragorn asked. "What list, there are barely more than two times we got into trouble at all! That would be a rather short list!"
"Two?" Celylith exclaimed with a wide grin on his face. "Two, Estel? Who taught you to count?"
"My father," Aragorn said somewhat testily. "Are you finding a fault with that?"
The silver haired elf looked rather reluctant to fault the Lord of Rivendell for anything, and so he didn't answer but simply grinned at the human who in turn glared darkly at him. Both were just thinking about a befitting come-back when Legolas made a sound of disgust deep in his throat.
Aragorn looked up, and saw that they had indeed reached their destination: In front of them was the Front Gate of the Lonely Mountain, the big, cave-like entrance that led deep into the heart of Erebor and the source of the River Running.
The river ran out on the one side of the cave; the other side of the cave floor was covered with a wide, stone-paved road that was wide enough for many grown men to walk abreast. A great stone arch wound round the cave opening, and on the sides on hinges there were great wooden doors, carved and adorned with runes and various images.
Aragorn squinted slightly and tried to make out what they were saying, but he had never been that good at reading dwarvish runes. All he could read was something about Thorin Oakenshield and his glorious death in the Battle of Five Armies twelve years ago. Of course Dáin would praise his fame, he reasoned, Thorin had been his cousin after all.
His elven companions didn't seem so interested in the doors and dwarven craftsmanship in general, but rather in the dwarven guards that stood in front of the doors, looking at them with a mixture of astonishment and suspicion.
"Remember," Aragorn whispered softly, eyeing the group of five dwarves warily. "Do not insult them, and please try to be a bit diplomatic. Please."
"Oh, we will not insult them," Legolas assured him quietly in Elvish. "Don't worry."
"Unless they insult us first, that is," Celylith added, glaring darkly at the smaller beings.
"Diplomatic," the young ranger shot both of them a warning look. "And I mean diplomatic. You are nobility, don't forget that."
"Oh," Legolas whispered dryly out of the corner of his mouth. "I will certainly not forget that, my friend." They drew closer to the dwarves and were almost in calling distance now. He gave them a bright, insincere smile and mumbled, "You're dead, ranger. I will never let you forget this, never…"
One of the dwarves, with a long, bushy blonde beard and dark, beady gave them a look that rather clearly stated that he would prefer them to turn around and leave again.
"Halt! What do you want here?"
Aragorn wondered briefly why it was that every other person seemed to ask them that, but he quickly dismounted before his two companions could retort something.
"My name is Strider, a Ranger of the North, at your service."
The dwarf either didn't appreciate his attempts at courtesy or was too busy staring at the two elves that had stayed on horseback and returned the glare in kind. He folded his arms across his barrel-like chest and returned his eyes to the man.
"And your companions, ranger?"
Aragorn willed his friends to get off their animals and to introduce themselves, but they just kept sitting motionlessly on their horses, towering over the smaller beings and apparently not intending to change that behaviour in the near future. He turned back to them with a small exasperated sigh and waved his hand slightly into their direction, giving both of them the look for good measure.
"These are the Lords Legolas and Celylith of Mirkwood, here to ask your king for an audience."
Both of the elves stiffened visibly at the word "ask", but Aragorn ignored them and looked seriously at the dwarves.
Another dwarf, this one with a beard and eyes of the colour of coals, spoke up, recognition on his face.
"Legolas?" he asked, staring intently at the fair haired elf that looked at him as if he was a particularly disgusting little animal. "Isn't that their prince?" He narrowed his eyes and looked even harder at the elven prince. "Yes, I remember you, boy, you even look like Thranduil."
Legolas' eyes lit up angrily when he heard the dwarf's disrespectful tone of voice, but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by the blonde dwarf.
"By Mahal, you're right, Frerin!" he cocked his head to the side. "He even looks like that old, greedy…"
Both the elves had gracefully jumped off their horses before he had even said more than ten words, but Aragorn was even faster. Before the dwarf could even blink, a long, slightly curved elvish dagger was placed at his throat, and he looked into a pair of steely grey eyes that reminded him of freshly forged mithril.
"Do not do that, please," the young ranger said quietly. "You would be well advised not to insult King Thranduil in my presence again, Master Dwarf. I do not take kindly to rudeness, especially rudeness against my friends. Understood?"
The other four dwarves had already drawn their weapons, brandishing their axes and knifes, and things might have gone ill between the two groups if the blonde dwarf had not suddenly begun to laugh loudly. He turned his head to the side, dark eyes twinkling merrily under the rim of his helmet.
"That was quick, boy," he chuckled amusedly. "Not bad, not bad at all. Yes, Master Human, I understand."
Aragorn raised an eyebrow but released the smaller being, returning the knife to its sheath. He stepped back slightly as the dwarves slowly lowered their axes and shot the two irate elves a warning glare.
"As I was saying, Master Dwarf, we are seeking an audience with King Dáin. Will you announce us?"
"Why should he?" Frerin asked, glowering at them. "You nearly killed him a minute ago!"
"Had Strider wanted to kill him, then he would be dead already, dwarf," Legolas announced, voice still taut with anger.
"Enough!" Aragorn said tensely. "We are not here to insult each other! Please, Master Dwarf, let us speak to your king. It is a matter that concerns him closely as well."
"No, Frór," Frerin shook his head.
The blonde dwarf looked at all three of them closely, eyes darkening slightly when he looked at the still furious faces of the elves.
"Alright," he finally said, nodding at Aragorn. "I will ask if he will receive you. Come with me."
Frór pushed his way through his warriors that stepped aside rather unwillingly, looking darkly at the elves, and walked down the paved road that led into the heart of the mountain.
Legolas looked at his human friend, beckoning him to precede them.
"After you, Strider," he whispered in the man's ear. "You got us into this, so you can go first."
"Thank you very much," Aragorn replied out of the corner of his mouth. "This is going to be a fascinating experience, believe me."
Celylith raised an eyebrow as he followed his friends, exchanging heated glares with the dwarves that watched their passage.
"Oh, I am very sure about that, Estel. What else would it be?"
TBC...
dúnadan - 'Man of the West', ranger
naugrim - 'Stunted People', dwarves
eldar - 'People of the Stars', elves
mellonamin - my friend
naeg - pain
baul - torment
amarth - doom
agar - blood
Mahal - the dwarves' name for the Vala Aulë, their creator
Yay! They've reached Erebor, and things can only get interesting from now on... Okay, folks, I hope I'll be able to post on the 2nd or 3rd of August, and more frequently from then on, but I really can not make any promises, I'm sorry. The next time we 'see' each other I will write eating a nice piece of toast with Marmite (Eek! As if! *g*), let's hope that the weather is not too dreadful! I would be extremely happy about a review as always, so, please? Reviews? Pretty please?? They do help me to post frequently and give me many lovely ideas....
Additional A/N:
Maranwe - That's okay, better late than never! *g* Anyway, it's really not your fault, because FF.net really screws up all the time... *evil grin* I agree, I like that mixture as well! I don't get it either why they don't like each other... *g* So, you're another of these people that are looking forward to pain and stuff? Well, we get LOTS of that, all in chapter 18/19/20/21 and perhaps more, that's all I have written yet. So you just have to wait a bit longer... Glad you like the length, btw, it's just that I can't control it, that is what bugs me.
Amelie - Well, FF.net does that all the time when the chapter has just been posted. I didn't fix anything, not that I can anyway, so all you can do is try again a bit later. You can try to add 'a/' to the link, e.g. '....&chapter=16a/', that helps most of the time, not always though... *g* And I really would not advise to try the hairbrush-thing on your sister, unless you have a death wish or something... *fidgets* Uhm, I can't tell you what happens to whom or who will hurt whom, you will just have to wait a bit, it's all in chapter 18/19/20/21. *shakes head* God, I'm sick. And sorry, I can't give you a Legolas clone, I can only clone my OCs. So I can offer you a Nólad or a Celylith... *g* Thanks btw, I have found one or two typos, but could you in the future point them out to me? It was a conincidence I found them, and it takes ages to search for them... But I really appreciate it! Thanks!
Shadow Warrior - *nods sadly* FF-net hates me. Everytime I update something horrible happens that prevents people from reviewing. It's a curse! LOL, so Aragorn is a sloth-bear-cub? That's definitely an interesting idea... I hope your new job is okay and not too exhauting, thanks a lot for reviewing!
Tapetum Lucidum - 'Everybody needs a crazed fan club'? LOL!! That was really funny! You could say that... And I am quite sure that you would let Legolas of Mirkwood into your room... *grins broadly* Oh, and don't worry, Aragorn can be quite convincing! Don't tell me, I KNOW that Johnny is hot! He is always hot! *drools* And I will definitely tell Hannibal that, even though I don't think that he will be too inclined to listen... *g*
Aron - I agree, whatever they do, they're doomed, if at home or in the Wilds... *g* Thanks for all your kind words... *blushes* And you have to admit, it would be unfair if only Legolas had a crazed fan that wants to kill him, Aragorn needs one too! And I never said it would look good for them, did I? *evil laugh*
TrustingFriendship - LOL, well, I was most definitely in withdrawal! THREE DAYS! That's inhuman, that's what it is... *g* Well, I guess that most people think that the elves will be taken care of as well, so there is no need to be afraid of them. That's what they think, you are right, they're morons, all of them... Oh, and the blackmail works most of the time, I'm evil, that's why... *g*
Firnsarnien - NOTHING FF.net does could ever surprise me. It's evil, plain and simple, and its only aim in life is to annoy us. *nods* So Gwaihir has a chain mail flak jacket? Uhm, what do you say about patriot missiles? Or something like that? Huh? *g* And my feet were NOT smelly! Not at all! I just washed them last month, how can you say such a thing... *rants on* And yes, it is written and I did consider not killing him. I won't say what I've decided to do, but I've considered it, okay? Okay, I hope the prozac was strong enough, here's the next bit!
Strider's Girl - Glad you like Aragorn's little revenge, though I have the distinct feeling that Legolas wasn't that pleased... *g* Well, I don't know how long you'll be away, but I fear there won't be that much to read for you since I barely have time to update either... Hope you have lots of fun and thanks for the review!
Imbefaniel - *blinks* Well, if you're an elf as you insit all the time, he would have to be one too, that is if your mother isn't elven... *g* *winces* I know what you mean with writer's block, I had a very small one myself. BUt I forced myself to keep writing, and got over it eventually... But it was really horrible!
Halo - *g* That would be great indeed! I'll email you as soon as I can when I get there, I would love to see you again! *g* Great you like the brush bit, but then agian, you would of course, you're evil... And, really guys, I never said I was actually GOING to kill him! I just said I wanted to kill him! That's not the same! Not exactly, anyway... *evil grin*
Leggylover03 - *shakes head* I won't even answer that. You're really insane and - yes, I'm going to say it yet again - bloodthirsty! I really don't enjoy writing torture scenes, but you guys are just... *shakes head again* Here's your next chapter, though you'll have to wait for Estel pain a bit...
Mer - *blushes* Oh ... thank you! Great you like it so much, though I'll admit that Legolas probably didn't think it overly amusing... *g* *sits open-mouthed* You will follow my lead? My God, I don't believe it, a reader that actually accepts my authority! Well, that was a shock, but thank you, I guess... *shakes head*
A Person - I like your screenname more and more, did I ever tell you that? *g* Yeah, I agree, I don't think Legolas would believe you if you told him that 60 years in the future he will befriend a dwarf and name him Elf-friend... *g* But that's fate, isn't it? Thanks for your reviews!
CrazyLOTRfan - *furrows brow* That was a cliffy? Really? I didn't see it there, but then THIS one is a cliffy too... *shrugs* Whatever you say. Oh and you're right, Gimli should be at the Lonely Mountain right now with his father Gloin, but no, they won't meet each other, since I think it says in FotR that Legolas and Gimli had never met each other - I know, it didn't say they didn't either, but I didn't want to mess with canon... Uhm, that's okay, really... *pats her back carefully* I will miss you though! Hope you have lots of fun!
Critternut - Uhm, so you need to get mad to play football? That's interesting - and sounds rather dangerous... *g* Oh, and I agree, FF.net IS evil - very evil to be precise... I hope this update was soon enough? *huggles her* Thanks for your reviews!
NaughtyNat - *nods gravely* I know! It's too long already, and I'm nowhere near finished yet... Uhm, chapter 18... To be honest, it's not _that_ bad, somehow people have decided that it will be, don't ask me why... *shrugs innocently* I really don't know. Great to see you again! *huggles* Thanks for reviewing!
Lina - LINA!!!! *huggles her* Of course I missed you! So you were on vacation? I hope you and Zam had lots of fun - I don't doubt that for a second, actually... *g* LOL! Little eyebrows that wave at you? Lina, I really think you need professional help, it would be best for all of us, trust me! So you're a 'Hobbit that can't seduce a man taller than you'? Uhm, that does not bode well for poor Frodo and his friends... Well, and Celylith's fate is decided, I'm afraid. It's written, done, over, whatever. I'm not telling whether he will live or die though... *runs away cackling evilly* Oh, and I'm sure Will and Jack will get used to you and your Rohirrim - just give them time, it's not that easy to adjust to a totally new life... *huggles Lina again* Great to see you! I really missed you!
Aratfeniel - Well, I think I'll survive the humming. Perhaps. If not, it will be YOUR fault! And you might be right there, I think Legolas and Aragorn will kill each other - if they ever get the opportunity for it, that is... *g* Uhm, the bold text? You do it using Dreamweaver or something similar. I for my part am using the Netscape Composer which you can download for free, but only because I'm too stupid to use the Dreamweaver... *sighs*
LadySandrilene - Yeah, poor Aragorn, he doesn't know what fate has in store for him yet... *g* Hmm, Legolas' revenge on Aragorn? I hate to disappoint you, but I really don't think they will have much opportunity - or inclination - for things like that, since... *shuts herself up* Not telling, sorry, you'll have to wait! *evil laugh* God, I love being evil... Wohoo! I just got your mail, thanks! I love feedback no matter by what way I get it, so emails are almost as good as reviews! Well, I guess FF.net screwes with everybody's stories, not just mine, although I DO think that it hates me personally... There's nothing I can do either, I'm afraid, except glare with you which is fun, even though it might not be too effective. *g* And you're most welcome, I love writing friendship fics! *huggles back* Thanks so much for all your feedback!
Coreinha - Uhm, _I_ frighten _you_? How, if I may ask? What did I do? *g* Well, Legolas positively asked for something like that, don't you think? Prissy wood-elf that he is... *g* You want a dwarf maiden? Well, since I I couldn't make up my mind whether they have beards or not there won't be any in here, but lots of male dwarves! I hope that's good enough? *g*
Grumpy - 'This is entertainment'? Well, thank you! We aim to please... *g* Thanks for the review!
XsilicaX - *g* Yeah, Aragorn just might do that... *g* I certainly would! And really, I'm hurt! I would never pretend to have killed Celylith just to torment you! I will just keep telling you that I MIGHT have... *evil cackle* Well, I really do hope that the weather improves, but actually I could use a little rain right about now, I'm beginning to resemble a snake since my sunburnt skin is beginning to come off... *grimaces* I hate that... Nili the snake...*g*
Alilacia - Elrond's snort is contagious? Oh my God, we will soon have a plague on our hands if nothing is done... *looks horrified at mere thought* Yup, they're indeed going to see the dwarves, and believe me, Legolas and Celylith are none too pleased about it either... *g* And I will go see the film as soon as it comes out in England! *bouncing* I'm really looking forward to it by now.. *g*
Marbienl - FF.net really hates you, huh? *sympathetic smile* It doesn't even allow you to submit reviews, you're really bad off... *g* Well, if you still picture Thranduil as a dwarf with beard and all, I really think that you should seek professional help. I'm rather sure that that is NOT normal... *g* Yes, maybe Legolas needs a baby eagle as a pet, I'm sure it would be very useful, just like Hedwig in HP... *g* LOL at the horses! I'm sure they would be something like that... *g* And yes, I guess Estel's something like an endangered species, and if he doesn't watch out, he will become extinct rather soon... *evil grin* NO!!! *yells* He is fine, for crying out loud! Peachy! I will indeed tell you when he's not fine, okay? Jeez... *walks away, muttering under her breath* Well, and I don't worry about Anca - if she pops up in my bathroom, she will definitely regret it... *g* And as I said, it's all written and you'll have to wait and see...
Fliewatuet - *looks at innocent-looking twins* I have no idea either who taught him such evil tricks... Ah, and let's just say that no, Legolas' and Celylith's presence doesn't exactly make things easier. *shakes her head* Arrogant elves, them... *g* And yes, I'll admit that there wasn't that much action in the last few chapters, but there's lots and lots coming up in the near future, believe me! *evil laugh* Oh yes, quite a lot...
Sirithiliel - *nods* FF.net is the Devil impersonated. I don't know either how it manages to be so evil, but it does, somehow. Great you liked the chapter, and I hope you'll like this one as well! Thanks for the review!
ManuKu - Sag ich doch die ganze Zeit! Dummer blonder Waldelb! *kicher* Na ja, und es hat ja auch noch nie jemand behauptet, dass Legolas besonders klug sei, ne? *g* Uhm, Legolas verfolgt dich mit einer ueberdimensionalen Haarbuerste? Das ist ziemlich beunruhigend, wenn du mich fragst, hast du vielleicht das eine oder andere anregende Mittelchen genommen? Uhm, Kapitel 18? Ich weiss auch gar nicht, wie dich sich alle hochgeschaukelt haben, eigentlich sind 19/20 viel schlimmer... *fieses Grinsen* Oh, und seid immer bei mir willkommen! Falls ihr mal in Berlin sein solltet, sagt ruhig Bescheid, es geht doch nichts ueber ein nettes Lynchen unter Freunden... *g*
Salara - LOL, Spatzen sind in der Tat gefiederte Verbrecher! Perfide kleine Tierchen, schlimmer als jeder Balrog! Und ich muss die natuerlich zustimmen - das mit dem Schatz kann gar nicht gutgehen. Ich frage mich da immer, ob die Fieslinge denn nicht "Indiana Jones I, II oder III" gesehen haben? Solche Schaettze bringen nichts als Schererien... Und ob du's glaubst oder nicht, ich huete gerade einen echten 'bunny', naemlich ein Zwergkaninchen - am Anfang hatte ich ja etwas Angst, aber ich habe festgestellt, dass es keinen uebermaessigen Einfluss auf die Geschicht nimmt, Gott sei Dank...
TigerLily713 - *winces* Don't say it! You said the 'S'-word! It's an evil word, I really don't want to be reminded of ma studies and Hannibal - but thanks nonetheless!
Reginabean - So have I - I was about 7 years old, and because the brush got stuck, I decided that it was a good idea to cut it out. It took quite a long time to actually grow back... *g* And I would say that dwarves and elves are lots of fun, but oddly enough they don't think so... I wonder why? I'm glad you got over Nólad though. After all, he was only a fictional character... *winks*
Alex Mistress Squirrel - *hangs head* Uhm, to be perfectly honest: No. I have never seen Winny the Pooh, I just never liked it. When I was a child I liked things with a bit more action in them, so to speak... And yes, I think Estel will indeed get into trouble, quite a lot actually... *g* And I couldn't have Aragorn dye Legolas' hair green - he already did that to Elladan, it would have been unoriginal on my part. *shrugs* Ah well.
Kaeera - *g* Schoen, dass es die Spass gemacht hat, das ist ja mehr oder weniger der Sinn der Sache, nech? Aha! Wusst' ich's doch! Deine Plaene sind aufgedeckt, boeses Maedchen, es gibt kein Entkommen! Ergib dich! *schuettelt Kopf* Okay, ich werde langsam sonderlich auf meine alten Tage. Tja, so eine FF koennte man natuerlich schreiben, WENN man Zeit haette. Dummerweise habe ich ja einer nicht naeher zu bestimmenden Person versprochen, bis November eine kurze Zwillings-Geschichte zu schreiben... Wer das sein kann? Keine Ahnung, weiss ich auch nicht... *g*
Stacee Phelps - You'll send Tinlaure's cat's pet warg, Keekee after me? Well, to be honest, I haven't got the slightest idea what you're talking about, but it does sound rather uncomfortable, so here's the next bit! I hope you'll like it! Thanks a lot for your reviews!
Bec - Hmm, the twins... No, I'm afraid that they won't make another appearance. I would have liked to include them, but it's already too long as it is, so bringing in the twins again would make it even worse. But don't worry, I think they'll be in the next story! Great you like it, thanks so much for your kind words!
Nikara - Yeah, if poor Estel only knew what would happen to him - he would probably hide somewhere, never to be seen again... *g* I hope this is soon enough? And believe me, everybody's rather annoyed in the end... *evil grin*
Zam - Zam!!! *huggles her* You! I missed you! I really did! Life was dull and boring without you and your orc horde! And yes, Celylith is still alive, indeed. *evil grin* It's just a matter of time though... Oops! Did I just say that? I didn't, did I? *g* Eek! You're chewing on Legolas's sleeves? Tell Lina to tell Estel to make you an orc toasty, that is disgusting... Yeah well, I'll admit that Legolas is not really liking the dwarves much, just try to ignore his comments, will you? He's just jealous because he can't grow a beard, that's all... *g* I knew you would like the dwarves, and to be honest I wrote it partly because of you... *g* And because I love writing elf-dwarf-scenes... *huggles Zam* I really missed you and Lina! Great to have you back!
Helen T - As I said, English is just fine! I like the language - kind of, that is. I mean, it could never rival Ancient Greek, but then again I guess that's only my opinion... *evil grin* Oh yes, they're in trouble again, and in more than they would have ever thought, too... *g* And I don't think _I_ have to get Aragorn into trouble, he does that all by himself...
Thank you all so much for your great reviews! They help me very much, besides, I am addicted to them, so... *g*