A CONSPIRACY UNMASKED
By : mirkwood-elf-2931


CHAPTER 3


The majority from the palace was gathered to properly see them off and for Legolas it felt like the Fellowship of the Ring all over again. Thranduil, some of the staff and the rest of the soldiers that were staying behind in case were there to bid the Elves farewell as they prepared to leave.

"Well, my son," The elderly Elf-king graced him with a warm smile, placing a hand over his heart and then tightly on Legolas' shoulder. "This may not be the same, but I did not see you off for your last journey...be careful."

"I always am, Father."

Landailyn told her temporary second in command a few last things; then proceeded over to where Legolas and the rest stood. She bowed before Thranduil, who she could plainly see was very worried. "We will travel as swiftly as possible, my lord."

He nodded and addressed them all. "May the Valar see your path safe ahead and back."

Thirty-eight Elves riding upon horses, including the prince and captain, while the rest of the hundred decided to walk the ground beside the group, all turned toward the thicker wood and vanished into the rays of the sunny morning.

Watching after them, their friends and some that were family prayed silently that every one of them would return home in the same shape they were leaving it.


~*~*~~*~~*~*~


As its head leaders, Legolas and Landailyn led the large contingent south along the Path to the Forest Gate, until it was cut off by the Enchanted River that flowed down through to their destination and circled back around to the Forest River, letting them know when they were half way there. They had never even come across the bodies of the Elves from Deyinar's hunting party. Who knew what had become of them in this dark forest.

They continued south for the entire day and when it was finally evening, they were only a mile from the mountain range itself.

"And there they are." Said the Captain of Mirkwood to its prince not three feet away, as they bid the horses into a slower walk. She turned in her saddle, ready to say something to everyone that followed, but instead caught a glimpse of a sight that surprised her and she quickly turned back. "Oh no,"

"What?" Asked her friend casually.

Landailyn sighed, wondering why she hadn't noticed them around the courtyard as they had prepared to leave. She guessed that either they had stayed out of her sight or that her mind was simply on the dangerous road that lie ahead and the fact that there were literally a hundred other people to keep track of. "It seems some of my new 'very young' soldiers have found a way to invite themselves on this trip."

Legolas looked back, unable to keep from laughing, as the four curious warriors came up to ride with them.

But Landailyn would say nothing about where they were really suppose to be, which was back at the palace; because they actually hadn't gone against anything since she hadn't given them orders to stay put.

Alathyn and Evanyne moved in on Legolas' right and Nylaro and Echorren on Landailyn's left. All four of them hoped against hope they would not be in trouble for coming along, when only the most skilled and older warriors were among them.

"Lord, Captain," Alathyn nodded her head to both of them properly, then ahead at the eerie site they were heading for. "What is that place?"

"Emyn-nu-Fuin, the Mountains of Mirkwood." Landailyn explained. "They have long been abandoned, until now...but in the Second Age they were inhabited by Elves of our kind and it was called the Emyn Duir, the Dark Mountains of Greenwood the Great."

"Dark Mountains?" Nylaro asked quietly, glancing from Landailyn up through the treetops at the peaks in the distance. "I fear to ask why."

"Indeed, for even its new name is 'hills under shadow'." His friend beside him commented.

Their captain shrugged. "Just as both Mirkwood and Dorthonion are called Taur-nu-Fuin, meaning 'the forest under nightshade'...its mostly because of Sauron."

"We stop here." Announced Legolas suddenly, pulling back on his mare's reins and looking over at Landailyn.

She realized his intent for this and rounded Athron to ride to the rear of the line, halting next to another male Elf on horseback. "Romendis, you're in charge. Back track to that clearing we saw a couple miles ago and make camp. The prince and I will go ahead to check things out. We will join you there in a while."

The shorter man looked slightly hesitant to agree and let she and Legolas go alone after having seen this sinister looking mountain range, but there was not much he could do or say to change the minds of their leaders. "Be careful." He said; then ordered the large group to turn back northward.


~*~*~~*~~*~*~


"See anything?" Landailyn spoke lowly to Legolas for something she might have missed.

"Nothing." He shook his head after a moment, sighing.

They were now near the base of the Mountains of Mirkwood, but neither had seen anything out of the ordinary along the way or in scanning the ledges and openings of the gray rock walls. No visible or invisible trace of an Orc anywhere.

"Should we keep moving, or go back?"

"Let us go a little further." Said the prince, wanting some real proof for himself that these Orcs were actually dwelling in the mountains and it was not just being assumed. Looking overhead for the time, he realized it was twilight and darkness would soon veil the heavily wooded land.

Coming slowly forth from the cover of tree trunks and tops, they crept on foot toward the towering landform. All the while watching the cave entrances above for any being that could spot them. A little more than half way, Landailyn saw the smallest of movement. "Legolas!" She hissed in alarm, her hand reaching forward to the prince's shoulder to stop him.

They both could now see someone almost camouflaged even to their eyes against the darkening rock background, pacing back and forth. A guard, starting his nightly watch.

"Hide!" It was Legolas who moved first, pulling a statue-still Landailyn with him toward tall, dense bushes that grew along both sides of the path to the mountain.

Landailyn peeked over the top of a moss-covered boulder. "I don't believe we were seen."

Adding his agreement, Legolas shook his head, only after a lengthy minute of listening for a disturbance. "It would be utter chaos by now, had we have been."

"Well," She went back to a kneeling position once more. "We have proof that there are definitely Orcs in there."

"Yes, but the next question is, it this their new permanent home?"

"And how do we plan on finding that out?"

Glancing at her out of the corner of his right eye, the prince did not wish to answer this right away or even at all if it could be helped. But it couldn't

"Legolas," She knew he had to be thinking something she probably wasn't going to like or he wouldn't be acting this way.

"Not 'we'...I'm going in by myself."

"Oh no, bad idea! You are not going by yourself!"

Legolas sighed, he had known she would object, but he couldn't endanger her by letting her come with him. "Landailyn, I need you to stay here, in case...in case I do not come out, then you must ride to camp and..."

"No! If I cannot come, you are not going! I have your back, remember?"

He stared long and hard into her expectant eyes, before breaking contact and giving in. "And I have yours. Come on,"

Like shadows, the pair crept along the stone slope at the bottom of the mountain, searching for a way in. It was completely dark now, the sky was cloudy and only a half moon showed, giving them at least some needed cover. They had gone nearly a quarter of a mile, when Legolas crouched down, ready to give up; they should have come across something by now. "Perfect, no telling where a ground entrance is. It could be on the other side for all we know!" The frustrated prince whispered over his shoulder.

There wasn't even anything visible for a long way ahead.

Ready to suggest that they return to their group and try again the next day, Landailyn cut herself off. Just over their heads were the sounds of many shuffling feet and voices. These words she couldn't quite understand. It was the Black Speech and it wasn't as if Elves spoke it fluently or even at all, but they way it sounded to her, there were four of them and they were all getting ready to leave this post for another.

She looked back down to see Legolas staring at her with a full questioning expression, wondering what kind of an idea she had running in her mind, but she said nothing to him. For along, they heard only silence and Landailyn leaned backward to look up at the ledge. "It's clear, let's go."

Legolas' eyes widened as his companion then stood and began scaling up the steep rock. But he soon realized it could not have been more than ten feet and the effort would be less than laborious for them. At the top, peering carefully up over the edge, they found no one in their sight or within any of their other senses.

Simultaneously, they swung a leg up to grab the jagged ledge, pulling themselves up and over and into another crouch, slinking quickly right up to the pitch-black mouth of the cave.

They rested their backs against the wall beside it, and Legolas leaned his head slowly around its corner. Without a word, he motioned with his hand for Landailyn to follow and they crept inside.

The chamber could not have been hollowed out to more than the size of a small corsair ship, masts and all with the height of the ceiling. A half burnt fire sat off to the left of the opening, its flickering glow casting dancing shadows on the walls from large rocks jutting in numerous places all over the room where the floor had not been completely leveled.

And to the right corner in the darkness, where the light could not reach, sat two very large Uruk-hai, sleeping on their job as inside watches.

And two pair of blue eyes grew very wide to this unnerving find.

"I thought it was clear." Landailyn whispered through closed teeth.

"I thought it was too."

Stepping backward for the exit and for the moment keeping their eyes attached to the view, they turned once in the doorway, only to meet with the four returning sentries that were supposed to have abandoned this particular post.

"Going somewhere?" A smirk on the mouth of the greenish skinned Orc that said this.

He and his three comrades drew their swords, converging on the Elves, who moved away from them, not from fear, but repulsion of the foul beings. Seeing that the fair creatures would only continue to back up, they charged forward.

Unsheathing their knives at the last possible second, Legolas and Landailyn easily blocked any hits the four tried to take and drove their one sided weapons into each of the Orcs' stomachs.

The uproar of ringing metal brought the Uruks out of their nap; they stood and shouted impossible-to-decipher words in their language, before going to handle the intruders themselves.

Apparently, they had called for back up; for a small horde of the shorter race of Orcs sprang from branching tunnels of the cavern to greet the visitors with swords, arrows, spears, torches and maces.

For the two Elves this was hardly more than they could take, so they stood their ground and fought bravely with expert and deadly precision.

Down to the last three, two were after the prince, while Landailyn took on a single one near the round shaped entry.

Crossing her left arm over her chest, she swiped at its neck with the outward curve of one of her blades, but when it ducked, she did not see that it had picked up a spear from one of the various dead Orcs that spotted the cave floor.

The red-eyed beast took the wooden handle into both of his hands and swung it sideways full force. To its delight, the object made contact with his opponent at the left side of the head, so hard it knocked the Elf straight down to the rough footing below.

Landailyn lay flat on her back; too dazed for any sudden motion and even though her sight had gone fuzzy, she was still able to make out the dark, chest-high figure of the Orc, now kneeling heavily upon her stomach to pin her down, raising the long rusty blade of a short-sword near its head.

She had no time to roll away, not even enough time to pull a weapon before the thrust aimed for her heart would come.


TBC ...

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mirkwood-elf-2931 :
Indeed, Abbey, we are seeing characters from Shadow in the Trees! Calatria and Landailyn's parents…and now Romendis! If anyone does not recall him, he was a scout that Landailyn gave orders to in chapter 19 when they were leaving for Lothlorien, since she no longer had Teredith for a second in command.
You're right, Jamie, Cold Mountain is a Civil War love story and it was good…and sad, but at times also funny, so I liked it! And thank you (and Abbey too!) for adding your say about Tony and me! Cool, yeah I'm gonna rent Cheaper by the Dozen when it comes out on DVD! It does look quite hilarious and hey, I think Steve Martin is great too! Especially in Bringin' Down the House!
And now, everyone, as I've recently told Thala in an email, I'm sorry that Emyn-nu-Fuin is a funny name, but that and all the other place names this chapter mentioned were all Tolkien's doing, not mine! :) Anyway, you guys will just have to wait and see in the next couple chapters where I'm taking this…which is not much of anywhere really. LOL!