Jebb: Yes, real life distracts one from the truly important stuff like nekkid elves. ^_^
Farflung: Yes. I admit it. I had fun. Had fun with this one, too.
Dragonfly: Oh, yes! It would be dreadful if any of the younger Elves figured out how to do the 'Mr. Spock' grip. Which means, of course, that at some point I will have to write a story in which one of them does! Mwah hah hah!
Arwen Undomiel: I can envision a story in which a well-meaning but misguided Elrohir and/or Elladan try to encourage a romance between Arwen and Legolas. After numerous misadventures and misunderstandings, it would, of course, all come to naught. Would that do?
Joee: Right again, Joee. That's another one I've got to correct. *~* But one of these days I am going to upload the perfect chapter and leave you totally flummoxed! He he he! ^_^
Kitsune: I'll have to set up a situation that shows her triumphing over the twins.
Karri: Hmm. I should do a 'meanwhile, back at the ranch chapter' that shows what is happening back at Rivendell with Elrond, Erestor, Glorfindel, and Estel.
Thranduil remained in the talan of the Lord and the Lady for several weeks. When he first began to recover his strength, Galadriel had asked him if he would like to have a talan of his own, one that he could share with Legolas.
"That is a very kind offer, my Lady, but, in truth, and if it would not inconvenience you too greatly, I would like to remain where I am. Legolas will thus feel free to enjoy the company of his friends and foster-siblings without worrying that I have been left to my own devices for entertainment. If I were to move into a flet separate from this one, he would surely feel obligated to spend all his time with me."
"He would not object, Thranduil."
"No, he would not, but it may be long before he sees his Lórien friends again, and it will surely be some time before he sees his Imladris foster-siblings. I am particularly anxious that he spend as much time with the latter as possible. He is giving up much in order to return with me to Greenwood; at the very least I should make sure that he is able to take full advantage of the fact that Elladan and Elrohir accompany us for the time being."
Galadriel saw the wisdom in Thranduil's words and had no objection to his remaining in her talan. After all, no matter how long he stayed, she and Celeborn would still have an eternity to spend together, so there was no reason on that account to be troubled by the fact that the King of Mirkwood was camped in their bedchamber with his eyes open even in his sleep. Elves are very patient and are able to take the long view in most matters.
So each day Legolas would break fast with Thranduil and their hosts, and then Thranduil, under the guise of needing rest, would urge his son to seek out the younger Elves and spend the rest of the day with them. The evening meal Legolas would again share with his father and the Lord and Lady. Afterward, Thranduil would swear that he desired to turn in early, and Galadriel would shoo Legolas away. Invariably he would end up in Haldir's talan, as would Haldir's brothers, the twins, and Arwen. This merry band would stay up until nearly dawn, when at last Legolas would sleep briefly so that he could rise refreshed to break fast and start the process all over again. At about this time, it is recorded in the annals that a considerable number of older Elves who occupied the talans nearest Haldir's went to the Lord and Lady and craved permission to visit kin who lived to the south of Lothlórien, well away from Caras Galadhon. The Lord and Lady graciously assented to their heartfelt requests. The region near Haldir's talan thus came to be virtually depopulated for a time. It is also noted that after Legolas and the twins departed, the older Elves poured back into the neighborhood. It was also noted in the account books that the consumption of Dorwinion wine rose precipitously upon the arrival of the prince and the twins but then plummeted equally precipitously after the departure of the same.
While Thranduil was convalescing and Legolas carousing, Gandalf disappeared for a time, going on one of his mysterious pilgrimages to places unknown. When he returned, his clothes were water stained and stank rather badly, and he confessed to having spent a considerable amount of time in a swamp.
"Whatever was Gandalf doing mucking about in a swamp?" wondered Elladan.
Offered Elrohir, "I heard him tell Galadriel that he had been tracking some creature but that it eluded him."
"A creature? Was it an Orc?" said Haldir.
Rúmil snorted.
"I cannot imagine anything as large as an Orc eluding Mithrandir."
"If it ducked into a crevasse, it might," argued Haldir stubbornly.
"But Mithrandir could follow right after—you do know that his staff can cast light, don't you?" said Rúmil.
"In any event, in a swamp, there are no crevasses into which an Orc could duck," Legolas pointed out. "Any crevasse would surely fill with water."
"Oh, very well," conceded Haldir. "It wasn't anything as large as an Orc. Mayhap it was a Dwarf."
"Dwarves do not frequent swamps!" exclaimed Elrohir. "One cannot delve in a swamp."
"Some Men cut bricks of peat from bogs," suggested Orophin, who thought that the others were being rather hard on Haldir. "They use the peat for fuel, I hear tell. So mayhap the Dwarves are able to mine something similarly useful from swamps. There could be a race of swamp Dwarves of whom we know nothing!"
"Swamp Dwarves," hooted Elrohir. "Swamp Dwarves! Really, Orophin, let us remain rooted in reality. Surely you do not believe that such fanciful creatures could exist!"
"Oh, I don't know," said Orophin thoughtfully. Only a few days ago he thought he might have seen a dwarfish sort of a creature in a swamp near the base of one of the Misty Mountains, near a point at which an underground river issued forth. Of course, it seemed to slither rather than walk, and he had never heard it said that Dwarves slithered, although he supposed they must sometimes have to crawl on hands and knees to reach some of the remoter mine facings. Whatever it was, it had gazed at him with large, luminous eyes for a moment and then—plop!—it had vanished into the murky water, leaving behind only ripples. He had not mentioned this apparition to anyone because he already had a reputation as a bit of a dreamer even for an Elf. He wondered now if he ought to have said something. Perhaps it was not too late; it might be that Mithrandir would be eager to hear of this curious creature and would know what to make of it. Orophin sat in silence for awhile as the conversation moved on to other matters. After a bit, he slipped away and made for Mithrandir's talon. There he found Gandalf garbed in one of Celeborn's robes, which was both brighter and larger than anything the wizard was used to wearing. When the Istar arose to greet Orophin, he tripped over the trailing hem and under his breath muttered several interesting phrases that Orophin strained to hear in hopes that they would come in useful some day.
"You'll have to pardon my clumsiness, Orophin. My clothes are even now being laundered, and I am forced to trick myself out like an exotic butterfly."
"Um, the color suits you, Mithrandir. Anyway, don't you ever get tired of wearing gray?"
"Indeed I do not! Gray is not a color that attracts attention, and believe you me, it is sometimes a positive necessity to be overlooked when you are in my line of work!"
For the first time, Orophin wondered what 'line of work' Mithrandir was in fact 'in'. In truth, he knew little about the wizard. He had observed that the Istar tended to appear at the most unexpected yet opportune moments. Oh, yes, and that he was highly esteemed by the Lord and the Lady, and, by all accounts, Elrond as well. He was old in the eyes of Men, but Orophin knew that he was far more ancient than ordinary Men, for he had heard him speak with first-hand knowledge of events that took place long before the birth of any mortal now living. He had power of several kinds—the power of magic but also the power of wisdom and of eloquence. Lately Orophin had begun to realize that the wizard also possessed a physical strength that belied the appearance of an agéd body. The journeys that he went on were demanding ones, and Orophin himself had seen Mithrandir wielding a sword to great effect when, led by Tawarmaenas, the Lothlórien and Greenwood Elves had gone to the aid of the Imladris Elves in their battle against the Orcs who had been haunting the western flank of the Misty Mountains. Altogether, Mithrandir was surely to be numbered among the Great of Middle Earth. But what his purpose there was, Orophin could not guess, save he was sure that it tended only to the good of Arda and its inhabitants.
For now, he realized that the enigmatic wizard was calmly puffing on his pipe and observing him with a shrewd look that made the young Elf uncomfortable. The Istar drew the end of the pipe from his mouth.
"There is something you wish to tell me that you wish you had told me earlier."
"I-yes-I did not think it important earlier, but mayhap it was."
"Well?"
"I saw a creature, a smallish creature, in a swamp not so far from the borders of Lothlórien."
"Many a creature, and smallish ones, live hereabouts."
"Yes, but this creature did not look like anything I had ever seen before."
He paused. Gandalf nodded at him encouragingly.
"Go on."
"In height, it could not have been taller than four feet, but I think less."
Gandalf sat up straighter. Forgotten, his pipe went out.
"It stood upon two feet, although with stooped posture. As I watched, it dropped down upon all fours, as if its hands were another pair of feet, and in that fashion it scrambled about—well, slithered, really—quite easily."
"It had hands—you are sure of that?"
"Yes, quite sure. The creature had fingers, not claws."
"Did you see its head?"
"Yes, and it had a face."
"A face?"
"Yes, not a muzzle, for it had no snout. Its eyes were both set on the front of its head, not on the sides, and it had a nose between. It had a mouth with lips, although they were thin, and it did not have large canines like a beast but rather smallish teeth, albeit broken and scanty."
"Can you remember anything else?"
"Yes. In color, it was quite pale, like to a grub newly uncovered from beneath a rock or a log. It did not have a pelt, only some stringy hair upon its head."
"Is that all?"
"No. It was clothed after a fashion, with some dirty rags about its middle. And, Mithrandir, there was something else, something exceedingly odd."
Gandalf smiled a little.
"Everything you have told me has been exceedingly odd."
"Well, even odder. Mithrandir, its ears—its ears were pointed."
"Pointed?"
"Aye, like Elf ears. But it was no Elf!"
"Elves are not the only creatures whose ears are pointed," said Gandalf softly.
"Pardon, Mithrandir?"
"You are quite right, Orophin. It was no Elf, I assure you!"
"But what was it, Mithrandir?"
"That I shall tell you someday," Gandalf replied briskly. "For now, tell me where you saw it, and when."
"I saw it in a swamp not so long ago."
"Come, come! There are many swamps, and 'not so long ago' could mean a century to an Elf. Pre-cisely, if you please!"
"Do you know the spot where a river issues forth from beneath the Misty Mountains?"
"Yes," said Gandalf, growing a trifle tense.
"It was in that bit of a swamp that you find there."
"When!? When!?" cried Gandalf, suddenly urgent.
"Not more than a se'en night ago, when the Lady sent me with a message to the southern patrols."
Gandalf sprang to his feet.
"Tell me, my lad, which end of the swamp was it at!? North!? South!? East!? West!?"
Orophin considered.
"It was at the very margin of the swamp, furthest from the mountain. That would be the easternmost edge."
"Ah, so it was not lurking at the very entrance but had come out as far as it could whilst staying within easy reach of the water. Good! Good! Mayhap it will venture further. You didn't frighten it or threaten it in any way, did you?"
"Oh, no! I knew not what it was. Moreover, it carried no weapons, and as it had neither claws nor large teeth, I did not deem it dangerous."
"Do not be too sure of that!" Gandalf said sharply. "Still, on its own it would not be too likely to trouble a grown Elf, and a well-armed one at that. Thank you for this bit of news, my lad. I must speak with the Lord and Lady at once and ask that scouts be discretely placed in the vicinity of that swamp. So close to the Misty Mountains, it would not do to alarm the creature, for it will retreat back to the very roots of those peaks. No, I will not try to trap it just yet. Let it come out further and venture in pursuit of its precious; then the hunt will be on. Paw! To think I spent two weeks blundering about in the wrong swamp on the basis of a report from that wretched bird. That is the last time I will take the word of a wagtail, you may be sure! More concerned with preening that anything else! Believe me, Orophin, the only bird less reliable is a whinchat!"
With that, Gandalf swung himself over the edge of the talan and began to descend the ladder. Apparently the trailing hem caught him up once again, because Orophin suddenly heard a sudden exclamation, which was followed by a crash accompanied by an 'oomph!' Cautiously Orophin crept to the edge of the flet and peered over just in time to see Gandalf crawling from a bush, swearing mightily in a language that the young Elf did not speak. The only word that he could make out was 'burzum', which he had already learned from Elrohir. He sighed. At least, he thought, he could now be certain that he had seen something real in the swamp. Something real, and, judging from Mithrandir's reaction, something important.