Chapter 19 : The Ring Goes South
Happy Birthday Gwen!!!!!! This chappie's 4 u.
Disclaimer: bla bla yak yak.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It came.
"I will take the ring to Mordor!"
Blank stares. More stares. Jaws drop.
"Though.....I do not know the way."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Fo, what *are* you doing?"
"Making a countdown. I DON'T WANNA GO!!!!!!!!!"
"Shut *up*, Fo."
"Actually, come to think of it, I can't actually believe we volunteered." Sara muttered.
"Well it's done it's done. Let's just enjoy life first."
"Ever so practical...." Diana murmured in a rather annoyed way.
"Yeah.....Two more months in which our choice of victims has variety. After that we get limited to nine."
"Last one to find Glorfy's a rotten egg!"
*
But Glorfindel and Erestor found them first.
"The Peredhil says you need to find out the type of weapon best suited to you."
There were several diabolical winks and nods, and the duo paled visibly. *However* they did manage to make it down to the archery range without anything more than the usual hair-pulling and tripping up. It seemed most of them had put the previous night's argument behind them. *Most* of them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"One, two, THREE!"
Arrows twanged simultaneously off Diana's and Pris's bowstrings and into (big surprise) the air. Only this time they didn't reach the top of the tree. They flew for Glorfindel instead. The poor elf was getting frustrated. It didn't help his situation the two had rather decent aim for beginners. Sara soon joined them. She, however, preferred toying with a nice long glave, which she used to poke the speeding arrows into a more-or- less straight path towards Glorfindel. Then came the killer suggestion.
"Let's try it from horseback!"
~*~
On the other side of the field, Polinn and Shuwen were trying desperately to decapitate each other with knives. Claire had decided to sit on the sidelines and watch as Gwen, Inez, and Silei turned practice into a "I- still-best-you-in-that-move" competition.
Then there was the sound of thundering hooves and the shrill shriek of arrows from bowstrings and then Glorfindel let out a yell as two more arrows (blunted, *un*-fortunately) found their mark - on the rear end.
"Whoo-hoo! Perfect hit!" Sara whooped jubliantly.
The three exchanged high-fives. Polinn, Shuwen, and co. were beside themselves.
"Oooh man, Glor, you shoulda seen your face!!!!!"
"Tut, tut. If you keep your face there it'll stay like that!"
"And you wonder how Elrond does the eyebrow of Doom. It got stuck like that!"
Unfortunately the fun was cut short by a sudden downpour from up above. Grumbling and cursing, the girls made a mad scramble indoors. Diana, Sara, and Pris had to make a break for the stables, and returned to their rooms looking like someone had just pushed them down the Singapore river. (Water pollution!)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Now what?"
"Search me."
"Where do I start?"
"Well, there's a nice, *big* harp in the corner....."
"My recorder's in my pocket. We were having music when we got warped, and then I left it in the drawer in my room."
"Ooh! Look! The previous occupant left a box looking suspiciously like a violin case here! Diana....."
The one in question stuck out her lower lip, but Polinn and Silei had already pulled the prettily painted case over and opened it. Diana turned around.
"Oh my god....."
The inside of the case was lined with blue velvet, brocaded with floral designs in silver thread. Silei drew back the covering cloth to reveal an antique instrument, the wood a sandy-brown, the varnish faded, yet the intricate ink designs drawn onto the soundbox could still be seen. And there were eight strings on the thing. Four that looked normal, and four thinner, inconspicuous strings beneath the main ones, ending in a scroll carved like a coiling fern leaf. Shuwen gave the string a pluck. Diana, Gwen, and all those who knew about tuning instruments winced.
"It's damn out of tune."
Silei had a good idea what the instrument was.
"It's a hardinger, isn't it?"
"You bet."
Sorely tempted, Diana lifted the folk fiddle out of the casing and then the bow.
"Cool, I've never handled sympathetic strings before...."
~*~
It was quiet. Too quiet for Glorfindel's liking. Or Erestor's. They sprang fleet footed up the staircase, expecting some scene of utter devastation and carnage......
.......to be met by the strains of Canon, played on viol and recorder. As the music played up and down the scales to form a sweet melody with at least three different tunes running at the same time, blending, melding with each other, the elves poked their heads quietly around the door. Diana stood by the window with what looked like the old Viol, and Gwen sat nearby with a flute of strange make. [A/N: Yeah, *we* know it's a recorder and it's made of plastic, but *they* don't.]
The duo stood there for a long time, listening. Then came "Race you to the library!". Glorfindel cut and ran, dragging Erestor away with him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Now to skip forward about two months.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was the night before they were due to depart from Rivendell. The girls were, for once, unusually quiet and subdued. A merry fire burned in the hearth, a complete opposite to their feelings. D and Pris were busy packing in their respective rooms. Polinn, Shuwen, and Inez, rarely apart, were slumped in armchairs in front of the fire, staring broodingly into the flames. Claire was absorbed in a book on the Geography of Middle Earth. Silei, always a little eccentric, was pacing on the balconey. Nothing wrong with that, apart form the fact that it was positively *pouring*. Sara and Gwen were nowhere to be seen.
*
Being bored, Gwen decided to pay Pris a visit. Walking into the room, she suddenly decided that, maybe she *shouldn't* be here. The room was a mess of parchment, books, ink, etcetc.
"My, Pris."
"Mmmmf....(a few more items fell out of the bookcase) I can't find the spare sketchbook!"
With a smile Gwen decided it would be a better idea to retreat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The whole household was up at first light the next morn. The stables were a hive of activity as the girls readied their mounts for the upcoming journey. With practised ease, Diana plaited the horses' manes and tacked them up along the broad necks to keep the hair out of the way. Sara gave the animals what would probably be the last decent grooming they would be getting in a while. Shuwen and a few others ran to and fro between the rooms, fetching the saddlebags, which they passed to Silei, and she slung them across the broad backs. Then just as the mounts were ready, Glorfindel came in.
"Over here, the lot of you."
Diana tethered Inez's strawberry roan and , with the others, came out of the block to a quiet corner behind the stables. The elf set the bundle he was carrying down on the tree stump they habitually used as a mounting block.
"Some gifts from Elrond and the rest of us household of Rivendell. Weapons we think are best suited to you."
He presented both Shuwen and Polinn with twin blades, intricately carven on the hilts of ivory. Single gems, sapphire and aquamarine, glittered as pommel stones; the blades shone with a cold light. Sara had a glave, and to Inez and Claire the fair haired Elf gave long daggers not unlike the twin blades he had just presented to their.......*more violent* friends. Diana and Pris were given bows of springy yew, with elegantly curving scrolls in the form of coiled ferns, and silver flowers were painted twining around the dark wood. With the bows went arrows, lighter than was normal, and easier for the smaller sized girls to handle, yet no less lethal. Silei, having proven her ability to handle the longer varieties of blade, received a sabre made of a light metal, with pommel stone of emerald and a dragon carven on the hilt. (There was a delighted cry of "Smaugie!" from her.) Gwen was given a blade in a smaller version of Silei's.
"Come now." The elf commanded. "This will be the second last meal before the Fellowship departs. The company will set forth at dusk."
The dining hall seemed cold and empty as they ate in silence. A sense of foreboding hung heavily on the cool autumn air, even in the fair valley of Imladris.
After lunch they retired to their rooms, which now were empty and lifeless, and would probably remain so for a year and more afterwards. Diana sat on the broad balconey railing with Gwen and Pris, staring at the Bruinen flowing by on its never changing course. They were soon joined by the others, and they sat in silence, watching the sun speed on its way through the sky.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
WOW! New long-chapter record!
Happy Birthday Gwen!!!!!! This chappie's 4 u.
Disclaimer: bla bla yak yak.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It came.
"I will take the ring to Mordor!"
Blank stares. More stares. Jaws drop.
"Though.....I do not know the way."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Fo, what *are* you doing?"
"Making a countdown. I DON'T WANNA GO!!!!!!!!!"
"Shut *up*, Fo."
"Actually, come to think of it, I can't actually believe we volunteered." Sara muttered.
"Well it's done it's done. Let's just enjoy life first."
"Ever so practical...." Diana murmured in a rather annoyed way.
"Yeah.....Two more months in which our choice of victims has variety. After that we get limited to nine."
"Last one to find Glorfy's a rotten egg!"
*
But Glorfindel and Erestor found them first.
"The Peredhil says you need to find out the type of weapon best suited to you."
There were several diabolical winks and nods, and the duo paled visibly. *However* they did manage to make it down to the archery range without anything more than the usual hair-pulling and tripping up. It seemed most of them had put the previous night's argument behind them. *Most* of them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"One, two, THREE!"
Arrows twanged simultaneously off Diana's and Pris's bowstrings and into (big surprise) the air. Only this time they didn't reach the top of the tree. They flew for Glorfindel instead. The poor elf was getting frustrated. It didn't help his situation the two had rather decent aim for beginners. Sara soon joined them. She, however, preferred toying with a nice long glave, which she used to poke the speeding arrows into a more-or- less straight path towards Glorfindel. Then came the killer suggestion.
"Let's try it from horseback!"
~*~
On the other side of the field, Polinn and Shuwen were trying desperately to decapitate each other with knives. Claire had decided to sit on the sidelines and watch as Gwen, Inez, and Silei turned practice into a "I- still-best-you-in-that-move" competition.
Then there was the sound of thundering hooves and the shrill shriek of arrows from bowstrings and then Glorfindel let out a yell as two more arrows (blunted, *un*-fortunately) found their mark - on the rear end.
"Whoo-hoo! Perfect hit!" Sara whooped jubliantly.
The three exchanged high-fives. Polinn, Shuwen, and co. were beside themselves.
"Oooh man, Glor, you shoulda seen your face!!!!!"
"Tut, tut. If you keep your face there it'll stay like that!"
"And you wonder how Elrond does the eyebrow of Doom. It got stuck like that!"
Unfortunately the fun was cut short by a sudden downpour from up above. Grumbling and cursing, the girls made a mad scramble indoors. Diana, Sara, and Pris had to make a break for the stables, and returned to their rooms looking like someone had just pushed them down the Singapore river. (Water pollution!)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Now what?"
"Search me."
"Where do I start?"
"Well, there's a nice, *big* harp in the corner....."
"My recorder's in my pocket. We were having music when we got warped, and then I left it in the drawer in my room."
"Ooh! Look! The previous occupant left a box looking suspiciously like a violin case here! Diana....."
The one in question stuck out her lower lip, but Polinn and Silei had already pulled the prettily painted case over and opened it. Diana turned around.
"Oh my god....."
The inside of the case was lined with blue velvet, brocaded with floral designs in silver thread. Silei drew back the covering cloth to reveal an antique instrument, the wood a sandy-brown, the varnish faded, yet the intricate ink designs drawn onto the soundbox could still be seen. And there were eight strings on the thing. Four that looked normal, and four thinner, inconspicuous strings beneath the main ones, ending in a scroll carved like a coiling fern leaf. Shuwen gave the string a pluck. Diana, Gwen, and all those who knew about tuning instruments winced.
"It's damn out of tune."
Silei had a good idea what the instrument was.
"It's a hardinger, isn't it?"
"You bet."
Sorely tempted, Diana lifted the folk fiddle out of the casing and then the bow.
"Cool, I've never handled sympathetic strings before...."
~*~
It was quiet. Too quiet for Glorfindel's liking. Or Erestor's. They sprang fleet footed up the staircase, expecting some scene of utter devastation and carnage......
.......to be met by the strains of Canon, played on viol and recorder. As the music played up and down the scales to form a sweet melody with at least three different tunes running at the same time, blending, melding with each other, the elves poked their heads quietly around the door. Diana stood by the window with what looked like the old Viol, and Gwen sat nearby with a flute of strange make. [A/N: Yeah, *we* know it's a recorder and it's made of plastic, but *they* don't.]
The duo stood there for a long time, listening. Then came "Race you to the library!". Glorfindel cut and ran, dragging Erestor away with him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Now to skip forward about two months.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was the night before they were due to depart from Rivendell. The girls were, for once, unusually quiet and subdued. A merry fire burned in the hearth, a complete opposite to their feelings. D and Pris were busy packing in their respective rooms. Polinn, Shuwen, and Inez, rarely apart, were slumped in armchairs in front of the fire, staring broodingly into the flames. Claire was absorbed in a book on the Geography of Middle Earth. Silei, always a little eccentric, was pacing on the balconey. Nothing wrong with that, apart form the fact that it was positively *pouring*. Sara and Gwen were nowhere to be seen.
*
Being bored, Gwen decided to pay Pris a visit. Walking into the room, she suddenly decided that, maybe she *shouldn't* be here. The room was a mess of parchment, books, ink, etcetc.
"My, Pris."
"Mmmmf....(a few more items fell out of the bookcase) I can't find the spare sketchbook!"
With a smile Gwen decided it would be a better idea to retreat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The whole household was up at first light the next morn. The stables were a hive of activity as the girls readied their mounts for the upcoming journey. With practised ease, Diana plaited the horses' manes and tacked them up along the broad necks to keep the hair out of the way. Sara gave the animals what would probably be the last decent grooming they would be getting in a while. Shuwen and a few others ran to and fro between the rooms, fetching the saddlebags, which they passed to Silei, and she slung them across the broad backs. Then just as the mounts were ready, Glorfindel came in.
"Over here, the lot of you."
Diana tethered Inez's strawberry roan and , with the others, came out of the block to a quiet corner behind the stables. The elf set the bundle he was carrying down on the tree stump they habitually used as a mounting block.
"Some gifts from Elrond and the rest of us household of Rivendell. Weapons we think are best suited to you."
He presented both Shuwen and Polinn with twin blades, intricately carven on the hilts of ivory. Single gems, sapphire and aquamarine, glittered as pommel stones; the blades shone with a cold light. Sara had a glave, and to Inez and Claire the fair haired Elf gave long daggers not unlike the twin blades he had just presented to their.......*more violent* friends. Diana and Pris were given bows of springy yew, with elegantly curving scrolls in the form of coiled ferns, and silver flowers were painted twining around the dark wood. With the bows went arrows, lighter than was normal, and easier for the smaller sized girls to handle, yet no less lethal. Silei, having proven her ability to handle the longer varieties of blade, received a sabre made of a light metal, with pommel stone of emerald and a dragon carven on the hilt. (There was a delighted cry of "Smaugie!" from her.) Gwen was given a blade in a smaller version of Silei's.
"Come now." The elf commanded. "This will be the second last meal before the Fellowship departs. The company will set forth at dusk."
The dining hall seemed cold and empty as they ate in silence. A sense of foreboding hung heavily on the cool autumn air, even in the fair valley of Imladris.
After lunch they retired to their rooms, which now were empty and lifeless, and would probably remain so for a year and more afterwards. Diana sat on the broad balconey railing with Gwen and Pris, staring at the Bruinen flowing by on its never changing course. They were soon joined by the others, and they sat in silence, watching the sun speed on its way through the sky.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
WOW! New long-chapter record!