Chapter XXI: The Pieces are Moving

Mordae and Celebdraug spent the rest of the night swooping down the slopes onto unsuspecting packs of orcs between bouts of racing, hiking, and finding anything they could jump off of. They spent a lot of time on their backs or faces in the snow, laughing at the ridiculous crashes they often found themselves in. On flatter, easier to ski places, they would duel with their swords or throw snowballs at speeds that would knock lesser creatures unconscious.

Finally, as the sun began to rise over the mountain peaks, Mordae, who had tucked up so as to pass Celebdraug, turned a bit toward the left and launched himself off an enormous boulder that was so large it obscured the other side.

As he was in the air, Mordae looked down at where he would land. "Rac!"

The boulder had only seemed to obscure the other side; in actuality, the other side was a cliff above a small lake.

Mordae spun and thrust his poles into the side of the wall, arresting his fall after a few more moments of terrifying descent. Moments later, Celebdraug plummeted past him, stopping her fall just below Mordae in the same way that he had.

"Why didn't you stop!?" Mordae screamed down at her, "You saw me go over, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but it looked fun."

"I guess it kind of was," Mordae said with a smile.

He paused as he looked over his shoulder. A small lake, more of a large pond, sat just below them, and another cliff was opposite theirs. Something seemed vaguely familiar to him.

Celebdraug, who was a few meters to Mordae's left, looked over her shoulder as well.

"Hey!" she called, "We found it!"

"Are you sure?"

"I think I see what's left of the gate right there!" she said, letting go with one hand and pointing.

Mordae pulled off his skis and with a sad sigh, let them fall into the lake.

"What are you doing?" Celebdraug asked, grabbing the pole she had let go of as it began to slide out of the cliff.

Without answering, he tucked his legs up to his chest, pressed his feet against the cliff, and pushed off. He fell headfirst, swapping his poles for daggers in mid-air. With hardly a splash, he hit the water and went under; moments later popping up and swimming for shore.

"You're crazy!" Celebdraug called down to him from her perch.

He treaded water for a moment. "You're stuck!"

With that, he stuck his face back in the water and continued swimming.

With a sigh and an exhilarated whoop, Celebdraug removed her skis and followed.

"Why do you have your daggers out, Mordae?" Celebdraug asked as she dragged herself onto shore.

Her cousin sat crouched on the shoreline, dripping wet, his purple and yellow eyes narrowed as he stared out over the lake.

"Get in the mine," he hissed, not blinking.

Celebdraug raised her eyebrows, but complied, backing quickly to the wreckage of the gate and beginning to crawl in. "Coming?"

Mordae leaped up and sprinted for the gate, and immediately as he did so, several immense tentacles erupted from the water, grasping for him. He sliced desperately at them with his daggers, beating them back, but just as he was nearing the gate, an exceptionally large appendage smashed into him from the side, hurling him several meters to his left.

Celebdraug was up in an instant, her arm hurling a throwing knife before she even really comprehended that she was doing so. It struck something just under the water in the center of the mass, causing the creature to rise bellowing from the pond, its huge, jet black eyes glaring at the elves.

She unslung her bow, nocked three arrows, and fired, sinking the bolts into the beast's head. Roaring in pain, the creature rose higher as Celebdraug fired again, then, once more. The water monster thrashed wildly, then collapsed, the long purple tongue lolling from the fanged mouth.

Replacing her bow, Celebdraug rushed to Mordae's side and assisted him in rising. Mordae groaned as he rose, holding his side.

"Oh, come on, shake it off. It's only a big octopus," Celebdraug chided. "Seriously, though. Are you okay?"

"I'll heal. Who needs ribs anyway, right?"

"Right. Let's go inside."

"As I have said thousands of time, we are at your command. There is no 'hidden agenda'! We want the Fellowship dead, as do you!" Athfaë practically screamed at Aragorn and Gandalf as the leaders 'discussed' in a high tower of Lorien.

"And you to replace them?" Glorfindel asked, his tone innocent.

"How dare you assume!" Athfaë hissed, beginning to rise from her seat, restrained only by Dacil and Elfwine, who sat next to her, across the table from Gandalf, Glorfindel, Aragorn, and Arwen.

"What she means to say, my lord," Dacil spoke hurriedly, "Is that we only wish to return to the way things were before Eldarion took the throne."

"Yeah," Glorfindel muttered to himself, "Things were really good then."

"Hush, fool," Aragorn ordered in Sindarin. "Thank you, General," he said, turning toward Dacil.

Turning back to Athfaë, Aragorn smiled, albeit evilly. "I appreciate your honesty and sense of integrity, my dear, but you could work on you manners a bit."

"I apologize, sir," Athfaë answered curtly.

"Thank you. So, correct me if I am wrong," Aragorn said, rising, "You wish to place your army fully under our command, sot that we can accomplish our goal together, then, reinstate me as King? Of your people as well?"

"Bad idea, girl."

"Glorfindel, that is enough," Gandalf said briskly.

The elven general slumped in his chair like a pouting child.

Aragorn rolled his eyes, then looked back to Athfaë and gestured for her to continue.

"You are correct. I have no desire to rule," Athfaë answered.

"Then how did you come to rule your people?" Arwen asked in her soft alto.

"Nobody else would!" Athfaë replied, "They planned to just sit back and wait for the Fellowship or the Remnant to run us through. I had hoped that with you and the Udunaedos, we could turn this world right-side up."

"Very noble indeed," Gandalf noted.

"What about me?" Glorfindel whined quietly, "I'm a good fighter."

"Glorfindel," Gandalf growled menacingly, "If you do not show a little dignity to our guests, I will be forced to remove you."

"Oh, no. Scary man with big nose is going to kick me out of boring meeting. What will I..."

"One moment, please," Gandalf said apologetically to the Venyarohirrim as he stood. The wizard marched the few meters to Glorfindel's side, pulled him from his chair, and walked him outside, returning moments later, alone.

"It is time for his nap," Gandalf explained.

Arwen and Athfaë giggled.

Aragorn shook his head, "Athfaë, you and your people are welcome to stay here as our equals. I do not know if we can win outright, but with your help, victory is that much closer."