Disclaimer: Lord of the Rings is not mine, not Legolas, Glorfindel, or Gimli. But Thyatira is.
Treehugger: Since I love your stories so much, and you reviewed, I actually got off my rear and updated. I'll try and do so more regularly. No promises but I will try.Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, cause it's all for you!
Dance for life.
Kasi-kun
Chapter 9.
In moments the door that led farther into the village burst open and in poured a score of militiamen, all of them armed and looking like they expected to be fighting for their lives. The gatekeeper had fallen back behind the other villagers and was lost to the companions' eyes, though Legolas presumed that the noncombatant had been ushered from the room as quickly as possible. The four of them found themselves facing a veritable wall of weapons, though some of them where no better than pitchforks. Gimli gripped Saru's axe tightly, and Glorfindel reached for his inner power, while Legolas again rued his decision to leave his bow in his room before the feast in Valinor only two nights ago. All of the companions were thinking desperately, trying to figure out exactly what they could do to dispel the situation.
In that instant Colii underwent another lightning mood change, his face seemed to crumple and he went from a ready warrior to a frightened child. Trembling slightly he flung himself at Legolas, clasping his arms around the Prince's waist, and looking up at them all with soulful golden eyes. "Masserrr. Colii good! Prrromissss! No hurrrch pepl."
Legolas looked at his new accessory in amazement, but Gimli was quick enough to take the opening given. "Ye see what ye've done?"
"Yes!" Legolas put in, seeming affronted, "We'll not get him off for hours!"
Gimli nodded, "The lad'll do no harm to ye, he obeys well." His friends could see his grimace through his beard at the thought of owning another intelligent creature. Orcs did that. Not Dwarves, Humans, or Elves. Well, alright, Men did, but only those who sided with evil.
The nervous villagers seemed to relax at the comment, a controlled 'Shelos' must be safe to them, but tensed again when the Innkeeper pushed his way out of the doorway and forward indignantly. "Harmless? Bah! That Thing nearly took my hand off! It'll eat us all in our beds! Look at it! It's Shelos! Have you all lost your minds?"
Colii grimaced at the man, frustration clear on his face. "Yuuu stel! Sssilvarrr for rrruum? Fuud? Hsss!" Legolas started when the little creature's hand extended with one tiny silver coin balanced on his palm, the child must have picked his pockets for that, it bore the crest of Valinor.
The silence stretched, as all the Humans looked to one hard-bitten man, who appeared to be in charge of the militia. "I'm sorry." He spoke finally, "I don't want to contest lineage with you gentlemen," his voice was deep, thoughtful, and slightly sad, "but we do have to look out for our own people. Too often travellers have been allowed into a village to it's destruction. I will have to ask you to leave this place. I realize, good Dwarf," He turned to the son of Gloin, "that in better times your presence alone should guarantee your companions entrance, but you can see my position? I hope so. There are too many questions about all three of your friends. I am sorry. I bid you farewell, and safe night."
A quick glance flew between Gimli and Legolas. While neither were completely surprised at the Human's suspicions concerning Elves, they found it rather bewildering that the villagers were willing, even eager to trust and accept the Dwarf, and thereby his companions.
Since the Man seemed to be waiting for some sort of response, Gimli bowed slightly toward the Captain and rumbled, "Mayhap we will meet under better circumstances then." The Dwarf did not think that arguing with the fellow would gain them anything but angry words, "but I would ask a question of you before we leave." Glorfindel's eyebrow shot up. Asking what lands they were in after having vouched the honesty of the little 'Shelos' creature would surely not be the best of plans.
The man looked slightly happier. "If I can answer it, I surely shall." He vowed.
"Do you know a lad black of hair, dark of skin, about the height of my friend there," he gestured to Legolas, "but gangly, as a child just not having reached his breadth after a swift growing period. We had a bit of trouble with a dragon last night, and we lost track of him, but this axe belongs to him, and we thought that we might return it to his kin."
"He said his name was Saru." The prince of Mirkwood added.
The man dropped into a fighting crouch, just as quickly as Colii pulled away from Legolas. The tension in the room recoiled itself until all were strung tighter that well made bows. "I think that you should leave now. Any who travel with Saru are not welcome here, and are no friends of this village. Be warned if you are seen in this area come dawn of day you will be killed on sight." His eyes flickered to the still shocked Colii. "Well, we'll try to kill you, though I don't think that you remembered to mention this other friendship to your pet, and I don't think that he will be so willing to help you now."
The companions backed out of the Inn's entrance, and were slightly surprised to see that Colii came with them. Large golden eyes looked up at the older Elves for a moment, and they seemed to glow in the moonlight, like a cat's would. The village gates slammed shut, and a bar could be heard dropping into place. "Chom. Cher isss sssaf plsss. Offer cherr. No pepl. We tak. Ysss?"
Tired, hungry and bewildered, the other three agreed. Hopefully someone could answer their questions, and tell them what had gone wrong. What was wrong with Saru?
S S S S S
Legolas stood before the fire blazing in the hearth, he knew that Elves didn't feel the cold too badly, not like Humans, but who would have thought that an icy rain storm could spring out of a clear sky like that. Happy that his clothes were drying well, he glanced around the room in wonder. This land had many surprises. Cold rain from a cloudless summer night, perfestly cozy little houses under hills. When Colii had first burst into the room, which he had obviously been aiming for in the first place, the archer had expected a little Hobbit to come puffing out of a side hallway to greet them, but nothing in this place stirred, except them. Thick colorful rugs covered the floor, wall hangings and tapestries that looked to be sown by children covered the dirt walls. Several large overstuffed chairs graced the edges of this room, as if waiting to be pulled up nearer to the fire. Gimli had commented that they shouldn't sit on them until everyone was dry and the others had agreed. In the centre of the room was a heavy wooden table, surely it had been very nice once, but it was scored all over with groves that looked to be claw marks. Or perhaps slashes from many daggers. All in all the entire place was a perfect mystery to all of them, well, except for Colii. At least the rain had finally stopped falling outside.
"Colii go." The little creature had wrung most of the water out of his clothes as soon as they had gotten the fire blazing, and now he was mostly dry and heading full speed for the door.
Glorfindel looked up quickly from where he was crouched on the other side of Gimli from Mirkwood's prince. "Oh no! You do not!" One swift lunge had him between their reluctant guide and the door, and the Elf-Lord had his hands at the child's waist, sweeping him off the floor, and seating him firmly on the table. "We, well I know for sure that I do, want some answers and you are not leaving this place until we get them!"
Colii looked shocked. He wriggled experimentaly, and when he found he couldn't budge the larger Being's grip, he struggled wildly. Just as he had back on the Pantorii ledge, when the creature had his first change of heart and become so helpful, Glorindel reached deep inside himself and used a little of his inner power to still the kind-of-Elfling's thrashing. Colii's eyes seemed to envelope his face, terror rolled off him in waves, his whole little frame shaking with it. The Elf-Lord felt sick, he was really a very kind Elf and didn't like scaring the lad like this, but the lives of him and his friends might depend on what they could learn, and Colii was their only source of knowledge right now.
"Are you willing to cooperate now?" Legolas had come silently up beside the older Elf and now watched their captive with sad eyes. Gimli flanked the Elf-Lord on the other side.
Colii nodded yes.
So, they would start small, hopefully, after all, in this topsy turvy world who knew what was a big deal to them or just a small thing. "How did you know where this house was?" Legolas asked softly.
Colii qwerked and eyebrow, obviously puzzled why they would scare him and then ask such a simple question. "Colii brucherssses plsss."
"This is your brother's house? Why isn't he here?" Gimli hoped that asking these questions would help calm the creature so they could be sure to understand him when they asked other more complicated things.
"Brucherssses iss luukin frrr Colii."
Gimli obviously had grown tired of attempting to puzzle out everything the creature said for the next words he spoke were uncomprehensible to Glorfindel and Legolas, but Colii seemed to like the change of language a great deal. "Your brother is out looking for you?"
"Yes, and there are three of them looking. Brothers, I have many, but only those three live here."
"Why would they be out looking for you? Did you know they would be gone when you brought us here?"
"I hoped they would be gone, they will be very cross with me when they do catch up and delay that as long as I can, I will." Gimli raised a bushy eyebrow and Colii sighed, obviously he didn't want to have to tell why they were out searching for him. "It is the oldest in a group's duty, Brother Kandor in this case, care for the youngest. I am not considered old enough to be out from under the eyes of my elders, almost but not quite. So, when I ran away they would of course go out to track me. I'm good at hiding my trail, but they will find me, they are better afterall."
"What is it with children in this world running way from their carekeepers? That is what Saru was doing too!" Gimli fixed a stern glare on the little one, and Glorfindel tightened his hands at the Dwarf's expression. Curiosity played on both Elves faces, wondering what was being said by the other two. Colii on the other hand bared his teeth at Saru's name, and hissed angrily. "That, I want to know! Why do you dislike Saru so much? How do you know him?"
Colii kicked his foot like a toddler wanting to have a temper tantrum, and finally glanced up. "His people kill mine, and whenever we have his kind in our claws, we kill them. At least that's what the adults say. Do you honestly like Saru?"
"What difference does it make to you?" The Dwarf countered.
"You do know that is why they wouldn't let you into the human village, besides me. They think that your friends are some of that clan. Saru's kind. Only Goblelf's get so big as them. They are Goblelf's aren't they?" He sent an uneasy glance at Glorfindel.
"The one holding you is the Elf-Lord Glorfindel, late of Imladris and then Valinor. The other is the Prince of Mirkwood, Lord of Ithillian, also now of Valinor. They are Elves. Not this other kind of creature."
Colii's eyes now seemed to about ready to fall out of his head. Then he laughed. "You jest! You must! Those are only places out of a story! Middle Earth and all that. I suppose that you are Gimli son of Gloin, and the axe you bear was forged in the mines of Moria, when it was still inhabited by Dwarves!"
"I am Gimli, but the axe is Saru's and I need to return it to his kinfolk and tell them of the child's demise."
"You honestly don't know. You don't know anything about this world do you? You really are from another place. You must be. Not even the stupidest person would come to this part of Thyatira unless they knew a lot more about it."
"Quickly though. How did you know who I was?"
"Heard tales, I have, all my life. About a Fellowship, an Evil Lord, a Ring and a little nine-fingered fellow who everyone saved... no who saved everyone. One of the Eldest-of-all-Brothers said that when he was my age he got dragged into this other place and learned of the story from a Man called Halbarad that he travelled with for a while. He was a very old man then, this Halbarad was."
"Ah. Now, what about Saru?"
"If I'm going to tell you, could you let me sit somewhere nicer? I promise not to run away. We aren't too damp now either. Tell that to him?" The little one shifted, looking hopefully up at Glorfindel, who when Gimli had explained what he had learned, and added Colii's request, nodded and lifted him to the floor, setting the creature on his feet. They spent several long moments arranging the chairs, and once settled, Gimli looked expectantly at the golden eyed one.
"Now, do tell. Why did the villagers react so badly about Saru."
"Saru was just brought to these lands a few months ago. They say he was raised in a Human land in a castle, as a Prince. Grapevine learned quickly that he is the youngest of the three sons of the King of the Orcs. We also learned that the Dragon that you think has slain him is really his guardian who he calls Nicinan, and that this guardian will kill any who appear to wish him harm. A guardian who also get really annoyed whenever Saru tries to get out of his watchful care. Most people are afraid that he will be as unpredictable and cruel as his older brother who is only know as Slash." this name was spoken in the Elvish tongue, "That is why they act like they do when his name is mentioned. I personally think that Slash has changed anyway, and that he only did what he did 'cause it was war between Orcs and Humans, but they don't look at it that way. At least the people from the villages around here don't anyway. And I know that some of my brothers are friends with Slash and Mother's friend Itr is a friend of Slash's too, so he can't be all bad, no matter what he did in the past." Gimli only had time to blink before the child took another breath launched back into his explanation. "That aside. I think that meeting up with him, Saru I mean, wouldn't be too bad, I was just surprised back at Fulka Town when you said you knew him, that's why I reacted badly. Is that really his?"
Gimli had never believed that Colii would be so willing to answer their questions, let alone in such detail. Though, half of the dialogue was lost on him for the moment, but he was sure that given time he would understand it better. Realizing that the little one was still looking at the axe in his hand the Dwarf nodded and turned to translate it all to his companions.
The two Elves took a while to digest it all, but Legolas spoke first. "What is a Goblelf?" Three sets of eyes swung to Colii.
The little one grinned, showing all his teeth, and answered in Dwarvish, "It is someone who is half Elf and half Great Orc. That's how they get so big. Most Elves are my size, but crossbreeds like the Goblelves are a lot bigger. Though that might have something to do with the fact that I've never seen a Great Orc that is smaller than six and a half feet tall."
The horror that showed on Gimli's face was quickly mirrored on the faces Legolas and Glorfindel, when he translated for them. But they were unable to ask anymore questions, because at that moment the door opened and in walked a young human with bright green eyes and black hair. He was looking back over his shoulder talking to two others, both of whom looked a great deal like Colii. The second two saw the scene in the room and froze, the Human, seeing their faces spun to see what surprised them and then he to stiffened in amazement, hardly a blink of time followed before his lips pulled back from he teeth revealing fangs just like Colii's.
"Kandor!" The word echoed in the room, and then Colii lunged from his chair heading for a hallway and in moments all pandemoneum had broken loose.
tbc...
I'm not sure that this is the land that Legolas became Lord of, but I don't have my book with me, and I hope that you people are willing to be forgiving. You know what I mean anyway, right? See ya next time!
Kasi.