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Chapter 9
A Storm Approaches
Lord Elrond adjourned the meeting telling those in attendance that private talks could now take place as would be pertinent to Rohan's request and that being done, all those in the room began to disperse.
Seeing his niece walking down the hall, Elrond called to her. "Anayah - a moment please."
Anayah smiled then slowed her pace to match her uncle's. "What is it that I can do for you Uncle?"
"Anayah, your brother and I would like to speak with you privately. Would you please accompany me to my office?"
Anayah could detect a sense of urgency in Lord Elrond's voice and followed him without further questions. Aragorn was waiting for them when they arrived.
"Have you seen or heard anything in your travels of late that might be considered odd or out of place?"
Although it was evident that there was a specific motivation for the Lord's questions, he gave no indication of what it might be as he did not want to cloud whatever information his niece might have with preconceived facts.
"Well, I would have to answer both yes and no."
Aragorn and Elrond glanced at each other.
"What exactly do you mean by yes and no?" Elrond settled himself in one of the many comfortable chairs in the room then calmly waited for her to continue.
For a moment, Anayah turned to gaze out the window trying to absorb some of the sun shining through the panes of glass. After a time, she turned back to her uncle and her brother who had been patiently waiting for her to speak, then frowned as she tried to put some order to her thoughts.
"Because of the injuries to both my foot and my hand, I have only been able to go out riding three times since I arrived here in Imladris. My first two trips were uneventful, but during the third trip, something odd happened that I had not given much thought to until I heard Lord Èomer speak today."
She frowned as if trying to make some sense out of the events.
"Elias, Shakir and I had long passed through the Gap of Rohan and were on our way home when Elias paused. He stood like a statue and gazed for some time at the mountains, and shortly thereafter, I felt a slight tremor run beneath his feet which lasted for only a few seconds until it was simply ... gone.
Elias again began walking and since he did not seem overly concerned about what had just happened, I saw no reason to be concerned either. Several times since that night I have sent Shakir into the area to see if he could find anything odd or strange, and each time, he has sent the same thoughts back to me – nothing but a blank, black picture.
When I think back on the night that we felt the tremor I can remember thinking how odd it was that we had seen nothing, and when I say nothing, I mean just that - nothing. None of the night creatures or natural night sounds that should have been about were there – nothing but silence and darkness. I had decided to return to the area within the next few days to do some exploring but I wanted to speak to Estel before I left to prevent our efforts from conflicting."
"Anayah, where is this area you are talking about?"
Aragorn was frowning with concern over her story, for his instincts were telling him that her story bore much merit and might be the first step to solving this mystery.
"The area starts at Hollin Ridge and extends some leagues in this direction - towards Imladris. Estel, I may not have known you long but I can read what is in your heart at this moment. Do not do this thing alone, for there is something evil in that area that you should not face by yourself. If you insist on going, at least take Legolas with you!"
By this time Anayah was almost in a full blown panic and had no idea why.
"I am truly sorry Anayah, but I cannot risk the life of anyone else - I must go alone."
She opened her mouth as if to say more but Aragorn spoke before she had a chance to continue.
"Anayah, stop it, please. You have asked us many times to trust you and I am asking that you do the same thing for me now ... trust me."
Aragorn had listened carefully to every word Anayah had spoken and his plans were set all the firmer in his own mind for whatever danger existed in that area, he would face it alone – he could not and would not risk the lives and safety of any others.
Aragorn met briefly with Lord Èomer and pledged the support of his Rangers to both Èomer and the people of Rohan. Then, he spoke to the horse lord of his plan, telling Èomer that he and his men should wait in Imladris until they received word from him that he had found what had been taken. Rohan's assistance would then be needed to get both the kidnapped people and horses back to Imladris where they would be cared for until they were ready to travel back to Rohan.
"If you discover the location of the people and horses would not the wiser choice then be the distance from the area of captivity to Rohan if it is, indeed, the shorter of the two distances?" Èomer asked.
"If my suspicions are correct, it would be wiser to first bring the captives to Imladris for both rest and medical attention if necessary although such a decision would greatly depend on both the weather as well as condition your people are in." Aragorn replied.
The council continued for some time but finally, after many points had been discussed and agreed upon, Aragorn took his leave.
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As Elrond stood on his balcony gazing out over Imladris, he began to feel a certain tension in the air that he was unable to identify and for a few moments the elven lord allowed himself to worry. Since Mordor had become more active there was always something to worry about, but with the help of the elven community and the foresight that both he and Lady Galadriel possessed in abundance; it was not difficult to keep abreast of such worrying issues.
He sighed. This tension, this worry that he felt on this night, hung over him like a dark, storm cloud. At the thought of that analogy, he looked up and, indeed, saw that the stars were not visible and that a storm was, in fact, approaching. At least the approaching storm was something tangible and with very few considerations, needed neither further thought nor action on his part. That did not mean, however, that those planning to travel did not need to be cautioned and after considering this, he turned and left his chambers with the intention of talking to those who intended to take their leave of Imladris that night.
TBC