Once more a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to review…
to iverson: thanks for reviewing almost each single chapter while you went through
my stories :-) … I almost dropped dead when I had 21 reviews on one morning :-).
To P.Rico: thanks for your email :-). I hope you had time to catch up on your sleep :-)
To everybody else: thank you! And yes, I will explain what Gimli used to color his hair
– later…
So, here is a short chapter… the next one is coming soon and this time for real! it is
already written, I only need to go through the corrections my beta reader suggested –
by the way: thanks to Little My!!!
So, on with the story – and let me know if you like it!
___
Once more the dwarves simply followed the sons of Elrond, trusting them to find the
way. When the elves stopped, they knew they were quite close to the camp.
'If you continue in this direction,' Elladan whispered, 'you will reach the camp in about
ten minutes. Two guards are posted, but they are easy to make out.'
'Make sure you are ready to interfere should anything unexpected happen,' Gimli
answered, his eyes already searching the woods before them.
'"Anything unexpected"?' Elrohir repeated in quiet disbelief. 'This plan of yours is
unexpected all by itself, to say the least.'
'Do you have a better suggestion?' Gimli's eyes bored into the elf's. 'If so, I would be
pleased to hear it. Do not think that I know not how unpredictable this situation is. But
if I judge men correctly,' and there was a distinct tone of contempt in his lowered
voice, 'and these men especially, then we might succeed with this.'
'They will try to kill you,' Elrohir stated, his tone matter of fact.
'I know. But not until we leave the camp again. Not in front of their wives and
children. Not when we might be able to defend ourselves. They will follow us,
ambush us when they think us unaware.'
A grim smile played around the dwarf's lips and his eyes were hard as he added,
'And if I am wrong, they will find that four dwarves make a formidable enemy.'
'As do two elves, my friend,' Elladan added. ''You can trust us to stay close. We
would not miss the fun should it start earlier than planned.'
'We will hold you to your word,' Gudin spoke from behind them. The expression in his
eyes matched those that could be seen in Gimli's and both of the elves. The same
glitter shone in Cerin's and Furli's. Gone were the jovial dwarves, replaced by
warriors prepared to fight if need be.
Last looks were exchanged, then the two groups parted. The elves once again
disappeared soundlessly into the shadows of the trees while the dwarves continued
their march in the direction of the camp. They moved carefully but did not try overly to
hide their approach.
@@@
The elves moved without a sound, quickly getting closer to the camp. They found a
place in a tree from where they could oversee the area, keeping a close eye on the
direction they knew the dwarves would come from.
For a moment Elladan's eyes turned on the form of his friend, still tied to the tree. He
could sense a change in Legolas, but knew not what to make of it.
'Do you think Gimli's plan will work?' he whispered as he forced his concentration
back on his task.
A soft sigh answered his question. Then words, spoken so softly no mortal ear could
have caught them.
'I know not, but I fear there are too many things that could go wrong. But at least the
dwarves will be inside the camp should things turn ill.'
They fell into silence once more, their keen eyes searching for any sign of their
approaching companions.
@@@
Warned by the elves, it was not hard to make out the two men guarding the camp.
The dwarves had the advantage of surprise, and ere the guards had decided how to
react to their sudden appearance they found themselves already surrounded.
'Well met,' Gimli greeted them politely, giving a short bow.
Both wore tattered and filthy clothes, but the swords they held ready were clean and
well kept. It was obvious they were often used. One of them was young, no more
than sixteen years old and his eyes shone with curiosity as well as a bit of fear. The
other one seemed much older and his eyes quickly swept over them, taking in the
way the four dwarves stood with their hands on their axes, but in a manner that
spoke more of caution than of aggression. Seeing no immediate danger, he finally
returned the greeting.
Gimli ignored the mistrust and deviousness in his eyes as he spoke in a friendly tone.
'We did not expect to meet anyone so deep in these woods, but it is a good thing we
did. It seems we have lost our way here, and it would be most courteous if you could
give us directions as to how to find our way again.'
Pausing for only a moment, Gimli quickly added, 'Of course, we would reward you for
your troubles.'
The glimmer of greed ignited in the man's eyes was expected and exactly what Gimli
had wished to obtain, but still it filled him with revulsion. But he kept his face neutral,
waiting for the man's answer.
He took a few moments, his mind racing. Dwarves were known to always carry an
amount of gold, mithril and gems with them wherever they went. Four of them would
be a great catch, but he knew well there was no way he and the boy would be able to
overpower them. A fair fight was not their way of doing this anyway.
'We would be pleased to help you,' he finally spoke in what he hoped to be his most
pleasant voice. 'But you have come to be so deeply in these woods that I doubt you
would find your way without a guardian to lead you. I would take you to my people so
you can rest, and we will find someone to lead you.'
He hoped they would not ask why he could not lead them himself, but obviously that
thought did not occur to them for they only spoke a few words with each other before
they agreed. He had to suppress a contemptuous smile as he moved to lead them
towards the camp. So dwarves were truly the dull creatures he had always believed
them to be.
He did not see the bland expression in Gimli's eyes turn to brief triumph at how easy
it had been to manipulate these man. The dwarf's sharp eyes did not miss anything
on their way, as he did not trust the man leading them. He saw no sign of the elves
but had not expected it either. The sound of voices grew louder, as well as the smell
of burning fires.
The trees retreated suddenly and unexpectedly, creating a clearing that was
obviously not made by nature but by the hands of man.
Small shacks littered the border of the clearing, some of them built so close to trees
that they looked as if they leaned on them. The craftsmanship was poor, the eyes of
the dwarf quickly noticed, and his contempt for these men only intensified. He could
see women and children there, but in the middle of the clearing where a fire burned
only men were sitting, smoking pipes or cleaning their weapons. They all had the
tattered and filthy look of people who spend their life in the outdoors.
And all of them stopped what they were doing to stare at the newcomers.
Gimli ached to look around to see Legolas, but forced himself to keep his attention on
the men before him. The next moment would decide whether his plan would come to
fruition or not.
to iverson: thanks for reviewing almost each single chapter while you went through
my stories :-) … I almost dropped dead when I had 21 reviews on one morning :-).
To P.Rico: thanks for your email :-). I hope you had time to catch up on your sleep :-)
To everybody else: thank you! And yes, I will explain what Gimli used to color his hair
– later…
So, here is a short chapter… the next one is coming soon and this time for real! it is
already written, I only need to go through the corrections my beta reader suggested –
by the way: thanks to Little My!!!
So, on with the story – and let me know if you like it!
___
Once more the dwarves simply followed the sons of Elrond, trusting them to find the
way. When the elves stopped, they knew they were quite close to the camp.
'If you continue in this direction,' Elladan whispered, 'you will reach the camp in about
ten minutes. Two guards are posted, but they are easy to make out.'
'Make sure you are ready to interfere should anything unexpected happen,' Gimli
answered, his eyes already searching the woods before them.
'"Anything unexpected"?' Elrohir repeated in quiet disbelief. 'This plan of yours is
unexpected all by itself, to say the least.'
'Do you have a better suggestion?' Gimli's eyes bored into the elf's. 'If so, I would be
pleased to hear it. Do not think that I know not how unpredictable this situation is. But
if I judge men correctly,' and there was a distinct tone of contempt in his lowered
voice, 'and these men especially, then we might succeed with this.'
'They will try to kill you,' Elrohir stated, his tone matter of fact.
'I know. But not until we leave the camp again. Not in front of their wives and
children. Not when we might be able to defend ourselves. They will follow us,
ambush us when they think us unaware.'
A grim smile played around the dwarf's lips and his eyes were hard as he added,
'And if I am wrong, they will find that four dwarves make a formidable enemy.'
'As do two elves, my friend,' Elladan added. ''You can trust us to stay close. We
would not miss the fun should it start earlier than planned.'
'We will hold you to your word,' Gudin spoke from behind them. The expression in his
eyes matched those that could be seen in Gimli's and both of the elves. The same
glitter shone in Cerin's and Furli's. Gone were the jovial dwarves, replaced by
warriors prepared to fight if need be.
Last looks were exchanged, then the two groups parted. The elves once again
disappeared soundlessly into the shadows of the trees while the dwarves continued
their march in the direction of the camp. They moved carefully but did not try overly to
hide their approach.
@@@
The elves moved without a sound, quickly getting closer to the camp. They found a
place in a tree from where they could oversee the area, keeping a close eye on the
direction they knew the dwarves would come from.
For a moment Elladan's eyes turned on the form of his friend, still tied to the tree. He
could sense a change in Legolas, but knew not what to make of it.
'Do you think Gimli's plan will work?' he whispered as he forced his concentration
back on his task.
A soft sigh answered his question. Then words, spoken so softly no mortal ear could
have caught them.
'I know not, but I fear there are too many things that could go wrong. But at least the
dwarves will be inside the camp should things turn ill.'
They fell into silence once more, their keen eyes searching for any sign of their
approaching companions.
@@@
Warned by the elves, it was not hard to make out the two men guarding the camp.
The dwarves had the advantage of surprise, and ere the guards had decided how to
react to their sudden appearance they found themselves already surrounded.
'Well met,' Gimli greeted them politely, giving a short bow.
Both wore tattered and filthy clothes, but the swords they held ready were clean and
well kept. It was obvious they were often used. One of them was young, no more
than sixteen years old and his eyes shone with curiosity as well as a bit of fear. The
other one seemed much older and his eyes quickly swept over them, taking in the
way the four dwarves stood with their hands on their axes, but in a manner that
spoke more of caution than of aggression. Seeing no immediate danger, he finally
returned the greeting.
Gimli ignored the mistrust and deviousness in his eyes as he spoke in a friendly tone.
'We did not expect to meet anyone so deep in these woods, but it is a good thing we
did. It seems we have lost our way here, and it would be most courteous if you could
give us directions as to how to find our way again.'
Pausing for only a moment, Gimli quickly added, 'Of course, we would reward you for
your troubles.'
The glimmer of greed ignited in the man's eyes was expected and exactly what Gimli
had wished to obtain, but still it filled him with revulsion. But he kept his face neutral,
waiting for the man's answer.
He took a few moments, his mind racing. Dwarves were known to always carry an
amount of gold, mithril and gems with them wherever they went. Four of them would
be a great catch, but he knew well there was no way he and the boy would be able to
overpower them. A fair fight was not their way of doing this anyway.
'We would be pleased to help you,' he finally spoke in what he hoped to be his most
pleasant voice. 'But you have come to be so deeply in these woods that I doubt you
would find your way without a guardian to lead you. I would take you to my people so
you can rest, and we will find someone to lead you.'
He hoped they would not ask why he could not lead them himself, but obviously that
thought did not occur to them for they only spoke a few words with each other before
they agreed. He had to suppress a contemptuous smile as he moved to lead them
towards the camp. So dwarves were truly the dull creatures he had always believed
them to be.
He did not see the bland expression in Gimli's eyes turn to brief triumph at how easy
it had been to manipulate these man. The dwarf's sharp eyes did not miss anything
on their way, as he did not trust the man leading them. He saw no sign of the elves
but had not expected it either. The sound of voices grew louder, as well as the smell
of burning fires.
The trees retreated suddenly and unexpectedly, creating a clearing that was
obviously not made by nature but by the hands of man.
Small shacks littered the border of the clearing, some of them built so close to trees
that they looked as if they leaned on them. The craftsmanship was poor, the eyes of
the dwarf quickly noticed, and his contempt for these men only intensified. He could
see women and children there, but in the middle of the clearing where a fire burned
only men were sitting, smoking pipes or cleaning their weapons. They all had the
tattered and filthy look of people who spend their life in the outdoors.
And all of them stopped what they were doing to stare at the newcomers.
Gimli ached to look around to see Legolas, but forced himself to keep his attention on
the men before him. The next moment would decide whether his plan would come to
fruition or not.