A/N: Thoughts will be in italics.

8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)

Chapter 8

The Council Meeting

Lord Elrond was the perfect host, making sure both family and guests were well fed and entertained. Although Èomer and Anayah chatted casually, no additional mention was made of the night the two had met and Èomer seemed to sense that whatever business Anayah had chosen to involve herself in was not a topic for public discussion. His sense was correct and Anayah sighed in relief when she realized that he was not going to force her into an embarrassing situation by asking questions of her that were better left alone. Finally, Lord Elrond rose and requested that they remove themselves to the Council Chamber and tend to the business of Rohan's dilemma.

Two elven guards were placed outside the doors to the Council Chamber with instructions that those inside were not to be disturbed under any circumstances. Then Lord Elrond addressed the individuals who sat before him, briefly explaining the purpose of their meeting.

"Lord Èomer of Rohan has come to Imladris seeking the knowledge and assistance of both elves and Rangers. I ask that you listen to his request and aid him as each of you see fit and within the range of your respective talents. Lord Èomer, please tell us of your dilemma."

"Thank you Lord Elrond. We have had a small herd of our best black mares stolen from a pasture that lies within the walls of Meduseld. On the night the horses were stolen, all four guards had been found asleep at their posts and we feared that some dark magic was at work for our guards are normally extremely vigilant and would never have allowed anyone into the horse paddock without challenge. Since that time, all four guards have fallen into an unnatural sleep from which they cannot be roused and although our healers have done everything in their power to heal these men, to the day of my leave-taking, none had awoken.

Unfortunately, this is not the end of our story, for 25 people, some of whom are women and children, have mysteriously disappeared from several villages in the Westfold. Lord Erkenbrand has informed us that these people were taken from their homes in the middle of the night, without their families being aware of any intruders. There were no signs of struggle and no tracks to show which direction the missing people and their abductors might have taken.

Whether the two incidents are related or not we do not know although we suspect that the disappearance of these people and the theft of our horses, may be a device of Sauron. If this is, in fact, the case, it might be an indication that he may be trying to come back in to power.

It is at the request of our King that I come before you and it is our hope that the elves, and through Lord Aragorn, the rangers, can help us solve these mysteries.

The most puzzling fact of all is that even though we suspect these events are connected to Mordor, there has been no sign that either the people or the horses have actually turned towards that goal. Something has disturbed the movements of the enemy and has caused them to hide."

Èomer glanced at Anayah, who met his gaze and held it until he looked away and back towards the others in the room.

"We ask for your assistance as our own efforts to find the missing people and horses has proven fruitless to this point."

Èomer turned to Lord Elrond and bowed, signaling that he had finished.

Aragorn had listened carefully as Èomer had spoken and could tell the man was deeply concerned for his people as well as the horses that had been stolen. The fact that these two seemingly unrelated events might possibly be connected to Mordor, had given the man as well as his King, enough of an uneasy feeling that the King had sent his most trusted cavalry officer to seek the help of the elves and the rangers. Indeed, Aragorn found that he also was disturbed by the events. His Rangers had been reporting an increase in the number of Orc patrols and other groups in many areas as of late and many of these events had pointed right to Mordor proving that once more, the Shadow in the East was growing.

Already, plans began to form in his head. An increase in activity by a large group of people would only serve to alert the enemy and make him nervous and a nervous enemy might feel he had no other option but to kill the people he had kidnapped. He might even feel compelled to kill the horses he had stolen and neither of these two things could be allowed to happen. Aragorn would send his rangers into Rohan as decoys and if the enemy's attention could be refocused on a search taking place elsewhere, then a single person searching alone might have a better chance of locating and liberating the missing people and horses. Aragorn knew this was a job he would have to do himself for if he failed, the blame would be his alone.

Legolas had been watching Aragorn carefully.

"What are you thinking my friend?" Legolas asked himself. "If I know you as well as I think I do, you will try to do this thing on your own because of some noble idea of yours that you do not want to put anyone else in danger or have to suffer the consequences for your failure. But, my dear Ranger, you should know better than to think that I would let you do this thing alone."

Catching Aragorn's eye, the blonde archer smiled ... and kept smiling, even though Aragorn's eyes said, "No, not this time."

Both the elf and man knew the heart of the other and knew how this story would evolve - but there would be time for argument later.

TBC