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Chapter 8- Pananachor Berries
Aragorn was searching hard for Pananachor berries. He remembered a rhyme that Lord Elrond had told him long ago:
Red as blood,
As soft as mud.
Only in the Dead Forest will you find,
Pananachor berries that wind and wind.
Found only in the moonlight,
Found only in the forest,
Found only by streams that never stop flowing,
Pananachor berries will never stop growing.
But be warned,
Using them for selfish use will cause greater harm.
But using them for a friend,
Their powers will never end.
Aragorn looked by a swift flowing stream, and found a winding vine with red berries growing on it. "These are it." Aragorn said to himself. With that he plucked some berries and proceeded back to where he left Frodo.
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(Back in the clearing...)
Frodo was beginning to feel scared. Without a healed body or Aragorn he couldn't defend himself.
A rustle was heard in the bushes to his right.
"Aragorn?..." Frodo whispered.
A blue Nayona walked out of the bushes. He had never seen a Hobbit before, so he paced around Frodo trying to figure out what it was. Then the Nayona walked over to Frodo and sniffed him.
Frodo had heard tales of Nayonas, but hadn't actually seen one before. He recalled a poem about them:
As silent as the shadow,
As quick as the wind.
As stealthily as a fox,
The Nayona is a creature of deadly existence.
Green, blue, black, brown, red, white.
It can kill you with one well-placed bite.
So beware of them,
Beware of the Nayona.
Frodo got up without even thinking and ran. He ran as fast as his wounded legs could carry him.
The Nayona wasn't going to let him get away that easily, so he chased him until they reached a tree.
Luckily, Frodo always climbed trees when he was young, so he quickly started to scale the tree. But right before he reached a bough high enough, the Nayona bit him hard and deep in the leg.
The Nayona tried to repeatedly climb the tree but he couldn't.
(Thank Valar that Nayonas can't climb trees...) Frodo thought exhaustedly while rubbing his injured limb. "Aragorn!" Frodo shouted, "Aragorn!"
Aragorn was near-by and heard Frodo's terrorized screams and ran to him. Only to find that he wasn't in the spot that Aragorn last left him. He was in a tree with a Nayona at the foot of the tree. "Frodo! Use Sting!"
"How am I to fight him?!"
"Drop Sting on the Nayona!"
Frodo unsheathed Sting and dropped it, blade first. It sunk deep into the Nayona's flesh. Causing the Nayona to wail agonized cries.
Aragorn ran over to the Nayona and took Sting out. Then he stuck the blade into the Nayona's throat.
Frodo climbed down from the tree and took Sting back, and sheathed it.
"I've got the Pananachor berries. Here, eat them." Aragorn handed the berries over to Frodo's hands.
"Thanks." Frodo said. He then ate the red berries.
"We have a long walk a head of us. And I will have to carry you seeing as how bad of condition you are in." Aragorn carefully picked Frodo up. Blood started to drip from Aragorn's arms. He looked down to find Frodo's leg bleeding freely. "Did the Nayona bite you, Frodo?"
Frodo nodded. "Yes, when he chased me up the tree..."
"Oh, Valar... Nayona's bites are poisinous..." Aragorn then proceeded to carry Frodo over to the creek.
Frodo grew wide-eyed at that statement. He's been poisoned before, with the Morgul blade. "Is there any cure?"
"Fortunately, yes. The rare herb, Anaper, mixed with the Nayona's flesh can cure the poison." Aragorn stated while washing Frodo's wound with the clear water.
"Where does the Anaper grow?"
"Very luckily, it grows in the Dead Forest." Aragorn replied, "I'm taking you with me this time. The Pananachor berries should hold the poison off for a while." Aragorn bound Frodo's leg. Then he walked deep into the forest with Frodo in his arms.
Half an hour or so passed when Aragorn finally found the herb that he needed. He picked some and walked back to the dead Nayona.
When he and Frodo were back in the clearing, Aragorn carefully set Frodo down, and took Sting. Then he walked over to the Nayona and cut some flesh off. He walked back over to Frodo and placed Sting back into its rightful place.
Next Aragorn started a fire with some tinder and sticks. He then proceeded to place the meat in the flame.
When it was done, Aragorn took it out of the fire and propped Frodo up with the crook of his arm. "It's bitter... but it will help you a great deal." Then he gave him the flesh and the Anaper.
Frodo ate the meat and the herb with some disgust.
After Frodo was done eating, Aragorn picked him up and started to walk East to Amon Hen.
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