Chapter 4
By the next morning, the storm that had caused Gimli and Legolas to hide had passed. Gimli pushed the dead branches aside, and turned to Legolas. The elf's eyes were still--unnaturally--closed. Gimli guessed that the power of the river had sent him into a coma-like state. Feeling Legolas' brow, Gimli was pleased to find that the elf seemed a bit cooler, though still quite warm. Gimli sighed, then dug in his pack for some food.
After eating and washing his face in a deep clean puddle, the dwarf decided he should find the path, for when Legolas had fallen into the river, they had been swept quite a long way from their path. Half carrying, half dragging his friend, Gimli began the long march towards where he thought the path lay.
Suddenly, Gimli thought he heard a voice calling. He froze, putting Legolas down, and listened hard.
"Legolas? Gimli? Caun nin, mas edh*?"
Leaving Legolas lying on the ground, Gimli cried out. "Here! We are here!"
There was a pause, and then the elf answered. "Gimli?"
"It is I!"
"Where is Legolas?"
"He's here, but he is ill! Hurry!"
"Ill? A Elbereth!" exclaimed the elf. Quite suddenly the elf appeared out of the trees. Seeing Gimli, he hurried over to him.
Recognizing the elf, Gimli smiled in relief. "Greetings, Harma!"
Harma, a guard of the Mirkwood Elves' realm, was one of the few elves who had accepted Gimli from the first time he set foot in Mirkwood, and was one of Legolas' good friends.
"Mae govannen**, Gimli! We have been looking for you since yesterday. When you did not return from your day-hike, King Thranduil became worried."
"It is good that you found us. Legolas here was struck by an arrow and fell into a magic river. He has been like this for two days now."
A worried expression on his face, Harma bent over Legolas. "Ai! His eyes-- they are closed! It must be serious--elven eyes do not close in sleep. They shut only when there is something greatly wrong with the elf."
"I know. I am quite worried. We must hasten back to Thranduil's hall! I hope you know the way. Legolas and I lost our path when he was knocked into the river."
"Yes, I know it." Stooping, Harma lifted his prince easily. "Come, follow me, Master Dwarf."
Gimli picked up his pack and followed Harma through the woods. Legolas didn't move or make any sign. The minutes passed swiftly, Harma and Gimli making little conversation, eager to get back to the halls of the wood-elf king.
All of a sudden, Harma froze. "Gimli--wait!"
Gimli stopped as well. "What is it?"
Looking about, Harma lowered Legolas to the ground. Gimli stepped in front of Legolas, hand on his axe-haft, while Harma cautiously strode forward. Stopping by the low-hanging branch of a tree, he reached out and swiped some white substance off the branch. He examined the stuff on his fingertips closely.
"Is that--" Gimli muttered.
"Spider webs," Harma confirmed. "Less than an hour old."
"Great," groaned Gimli. "Just what we need, to walk right into the nest of some foul child of Shelob."
Harma shook his head. "Nay, Gimli, these are not nesting webs. They're hunting webs."
"Oh, well then, that is MUCH better!!!" Gimli grumbled. "The vile beast will have us for dinner instead!"
"Ssssssh!" Harma admonished. "Come, we must get out of here quickly, before the spider returns!"
As Harma and Gimli turned, Legolas cried out. To their horror, Gimli and Harma saw that Legolas was now awake, and attempting to crawl away from a spider as big as a pony, which was poised over him, preparing to sting.
"Legolas!!" Gimli cried. Legolas barely managed to roll out of the way as the spider's sting flashed down. Groggily, Legolas whipped out his elven- knife and stabbed upwards, managing to make a shallow cut on the spider's foreleg. With an enraged squeal of pain, the spider darted backwards, then, swiping Legolas' hand with its claw, made him drop his knife. Swiftly, the spider came down upon Legolas. The elf screamed in agony as the beast's sting pierced his right leg.
Startled out of his horrified paralysis by Legolas' scream, Gimli whipped out his axe. "Khazad-ai-menu!" he roared as he ran at the spider. Swinging his axe high, Gimli cut a deep gash across the spider's face. At the same time, several arrows from Harma's bow struck the spider in the chest and eyes. The spider screamed in pain and reared up on its back legs, lashing out with its claws. Gimli hacked off two of them at the same time as more arrows from Harma pierced the beast in the heart. With a last defeated cry, the spider crashed to the ground and rolled down the slope into the trees behind, dead.
Gimli, dropping his axe for the time being, knelt at his friend's side. "Legolas? Legolas!"
Opening his eyes, Legolas smiled weakly. His breathing was shallow, and speaking seemed to pain him. "Hello...Master Dwarf," he breathed.
Harma silently dropped down on Legolas' other side. "Mae govannen, my prince," he said softly.
Legolas slowly turned his head. "H...Harma?" he asked.
"Yes, Prince Legolas," Harma said. Harma tore a strip of material from his tunic and pressed it against the wound from the spider. Legolas hissed in pain.
"We must get you to King Thranduil's hall, my prince. Do you think you can walk?"
Closing his eyes in pain, Legolas shook his head.
"All right. This might hurt," Harma warned as he carefully picked Legolas up. Legolas winced. Standing up, Harma turned. "We should be able to reach the King's halls within the day if we hurry," he told Legolas and Gimli.
"Then what are we waiting for?" said Gimli. He picked up his axe and Legolas' knife. "I will keep this safe for now, my friend," Gimli informed Legolas.
"Thank you...Gimli," murmured Legolas, who was already falling back into slumber. Harma led the way, and without incident, the three reached the halls of King Thranduil.
"My prince, where are you?"
** "Well met!"
Those of you worrying about Pippin--you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out what happened to him! I'll try to have it finished and up ASAP. Again, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!
By the next morning, the storm that had caused Gimli and Legolas to hide had passed. Gimli pushed the dead branches aside, and turned to Legolas. The elf's eyes were still--unnaturally--closed. Gimli guessed that the power of the river had sent him into a coma-like state. Feeling Legolas' brow, Gimli was pleased to find that the elf seemed a bit cooler, though still quite warm. Gimli sighed, then dug in his pack for some food.
After eating and washing his face in a deep clean puddle, the dwarf decided he should find the path, for when Legolas had fallen into the river, they had been swept quite a long way from their path. Half carrying, half dragging his friend, Gimli began the long march towards where he thought the path lay.
Suddenly, Gimli thought he heard a voice calling. He froze, putting Legolas down, and listened hard.
"Legolas? Gimli? Caun nin, mas edh*?"
Leaving Legolas lying on the ground, Gimli cried out. "Here! We are here!"
There was a pause, and then the elf answered. "Gimli?"
"It is I!"
"Where is Legolas?"
"He's here, but he is ill! Hurry!"
"Ill? A Elbereth!" exclaimed the elf. Quite suddenly the elf appeared out of the trees. Seeing Gimli, he hurried over to him.
Recognizing the elf, Gimli smiled in relief. "Greetings, Harma!"
Harma, a guard of the Mirkwood Elves' realm, was one of the few elves who had accepted Gimli from the first time he set foot in Mirkwood, and was one of Legolas' good friends.
"Mae govannen**, Gimli! We have been looking for you since yesterday. When you did not return from your day-hike, King Thranduil became worried."
"It is good that you found us. Legolas here was struck by an arrow and fell into a magic river. He has been like this for two days now."
A worried expression on his face, Harma bent over Legolas. "Ai! His eyes-- they are closed! It must be serious--elven eyes do not close in sleep. They shut only when there is something greatly wrong with the elf."
"I know. I am quite worried. We must hasten back to Thranduil's hall! I hope you know the way. Legolas and I lost our path when he was knocked into the river."
"Yes, I know it." Stooping, Harma lifted his prince easily. "Come, follow me, Master Dwarf."
Gimli picked up his pack and followed Harma through the woods. Legolas didn't move or make any sign. The minutes passed swiftly, Harma and Gimli making little conversation, eager to get back to the halls of the wood-elf king.
All of a sudden, Harma froze. "Gimli--wait!"
Gimli stopped as well. "What is it?"
Looking about, Harma lowered Legolas to the ground. Gimli stepped in front of Legolas, hand on his axe-haft, while Harma cautiously strode forward. Stopping by the low-hanging branch of a tree, he reached out and swiped some white substance off the branch. He examined the stuff on his fingertips closely.
"Is that--" Gimli muttered.
"Spider webs," Harma confirmed. "Less than an hour old."
"Great," groaned Gimli. "Just what we need, to walk right into the nest of some foul child of Shelob."
Harma shook his head. "Nay, Gimli, these are not nesting webs. They're hunting webs."
"Oh, well then, that is MUCH better!!!" Gimli grumbled. "The vile beast will have us for dinner instead!"
"Ssssssh!" Harma admonished. "Come, we must get out of here quickly, before the spider returns!"
As Harma and Gimli turned, Legolas cried out. To their horror, Gimli and Harma saw that Legolas was now awake, and attempting to crawl away from a spider as big as a pony, which was poised over him, preparing to sting.
"Legolas!!" Gimli cried. Legolas barely managed to roll out of the way as the spider's sting flashed down. Groggily, Legolas whipped out his elven- knife and stabbed upwards, managing to make a shallow cut on the spider's foreleg. With an enraged squeal of pain, the spider darted backwards, then, swiping Legolas' hand with its claw, made him drop his knife. Swiftly, the spider came down upon Legolas. The elf screamed in agony as the beast's sting pierced his right leg.
Startled out of his horrified paralysis by Legolas' scream, Gimli whipped out his axe. "Khazad-ai-menu!" he roared as he ran at the spider. Swinging his axe high, Gimli cut a deep gash across the spider's face. At the same time, several arrows from Harma's bow struck the spider in the chest and eyes. The spider screamed in pain and reared up on its back legs, lashing out with its claws. Gimli hacked off two of them at the same time as more arrows from Harma pierced the beast in the heart. With a last defeated cry, the spider crashed to the ground and rolled down the slope into the trees behind, dead.
Gimli, dropping his axe for the time being, knelt at his friend's side. "Legolas? Legolas!"
Opening his eyes, Legolas smiled weakly. His breathing was shallow, and speaking seemed to pain him. "Hello...Master Dwarf," he breathed.
Harma silently dropped down on Legolas' other side. "Mae govannen, my prince," he said softly.
Legolas slowly turned his head. "H...Harma?" he asked.
"Yes, Prince Legolas," Harma said. Harma tore a strip of material from his tunic and pressed it against the wound from the spider. Legolas hissed in pain.
"We must get you to King Thranduil's hall, my prince. Do you think you can walk?"
Closing his eyes in pain, Legolas shook his head.
"All right. This might hurt," Harma warned as he carefully picked Legolas up. Legolas winced. Standing up, Harma turned. "We should be able to reach the King's halls within the day if we hurry," he told Legolas and Gimli.
"Then what are we waiting for?" said Gimli. He picked up his axe and Legolas' knife. "I will keep this safe for now, my friend," Gimli informed Legolas.
"Thank you...Gimli," murmured Legolas, who was already falling back into slumber. Harma led the way, and without incident, the three reached the halls of King Thranduil.
"My prince, where are you?"
** "Well met!"
Those of you worrying about Pippin--you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out what happened to him! I'll try to have it finished and up ASAP. Again, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!