Not long after, Elrond and Gimli had made their way down to the prison. The spiders, still caged, hissed menacingly at the two as they entered them room. Gimli had the fleeting thought that he should hew the creatures until none were left, but he restrained himself. It could be that Elrond might need them in his quest to find a cure.
Elrond paid no heed to the vile creatures but instead busied himself sorting through the contents of Kyno's workbench. There were books lining a makeshift bookcase on the wall behind it. On them were dates of years. One or two books were labeled with a single year. Most had long stretches of years scrawled on the side. Reaching up, Elrond plucked a deep blue book from the middle of the shelf. Opening it, he found crumbling pages filled with a bold, slanted elven script. He read over the page he was looking at; it was Kyno's notes, kept throughout the years as he worked on the serum.
Long moments passed as Elrond scanned the book. He was getting close to what he sought; each entry held excitement as Kyno had made breakthroughs in his evil craft. Suddenly, he came upon an entry that made him intake his breath sharply. Gimli stiffened and looked up, uncertain as to if he should be hopeful or not. It was true that there was no great love between the elf king and the dwarf, but before Thranduil's madness, he had treated Gimli civilly enough. Then also, the king was the father of his best friend, and for that alone Gimli could forgo the differences between the two enough to truly want to help the king.
"I have found the recipe for the serum," Elrond said, turning to where Gimli stood. The top of the table was just high enough that the dwarf could not see over it.
"And that of the anti-venom?"
"Alas, not yet. There are several pages missing in the book."
The hope that had crept into Gimli's heart faded as quickly as it had come. Silence fell once more, punctured only by the hissing of the spiders. Eventually, Gimli began to pace, for there was nothing, not even a stool that he could use to look over the table and help Elrond. The clinking of jars and the rustle of parchment paper could be heard now as Elrond attempted to find the missing document; that which held hope for the elven king. Perhaps he could have waited and seen if the effects of the venom wore off with the passage of time, but in this option, Elrond had no faith. Spider venom was not something to be taken lightly, despite whatever effects it caused. The possibility of Thranduil being permanently stained by the serum was too great a risk.
Now Elrond came across the jar that had held the pills that Aragorn had found. One small pill lay alone at the bottom. Elrond sniffed it and his keen elven senses detected faintly the presence of a few herbs known to counteract poison. Elrond smiled grimly. Only a healer used to dealing with herbs would have caught the odor lacing the pill. Still, a single pill would most likely not be enough to save Thranduil. Finding the recipe for the counter-drug was mandatory.
Now Elrond came across a pile of loose parchment papers and began to sift through them. Several of the papers were filled with passages that were nothing more than streams of the healer's thoughts as he tried various mixtures in his quest to perfect the serums. Others were maps and these Elrond looked at with interest.
"This is interesting," he said at length, causing Gimli to halt his marches. "These are maps of Mirkwood and seem to pinpoint areas where this strange breed of spider tends to live. These others show various paths in the woods, but no elf would dare use them. Celebloki must have made them up to show the preferred routes taken by enemy creatures. There are two different line designations. One may be for the spiders, the other, perhaps for orcs or other such fell creatures. I shall keep hold of them along with the instructions on the serum creation. If Legolas and Thranduil survive what lies ahead for them, they should see them. The maps especially will be of great use, if they are recent, to cut off the advances of evil within the woods and aiding in the ultimate cleansing of Mirkwood. Perhaps it is not long now before this land is once again known as Greenwood the Great." Gimli said nothing, for it seemed as if Elrond was more speaking aloud his thoughts than addressing the dwarf.
The maps Elrond put to one side, sliding the papers inside the hard cover of the book containing the spider-venom serum recipe. Quickly now he began to search through the rest of the papers, a silent prayer in his heart that he would find the antidote there. He was very aware of the fact that he would soon need to tend to Legolas and Aragorn's wounds as well as confront Thranduil. Finally, he reached the last paper in the stack.
"Here at last I find the antidote," he said, sudden relief apparent in his voice. "Come master dwarf! Let us take what ingredients we need and leave this dungeon."
Locating the ingredients proved to be easier than Elrond had hoped for and mentally he thanked the Valar. Glancing over the instructions again, Elrond saw that the antidote was fairly simple to create. He made the quick decision to prepare the anti-venom in the prison, though all the while his heart strayed to the upper portion of the palace, where the prince of Mirkwood and the king of Gondor lay, one fighting for his very life.
Not more than half an hour had passed when Elrond deemed that he had enough of the antidote to begin to treat Thranduil. Together, he and Gimli abandoned the prison, for which the dwarf was very glad. Stone had never before seemed so confining and unlovely to him. It felt good to return to the more airy upper palace. At the top of the stone stairs, Gimli and the lord of Rivendell parted ways. Gimli suddenly felt the need to sit vigil over his friends, while Elrond became grave once more and resolved himself to do whatever necessary to cure Thranduil.
It had given him hope when Gimli had spoken to him of Legolas' change and apparent cleansing from the serum, but in his heart Elrond knew that Thranduil was likely to be a different case. It was likely that the renegade elves had put forth greater effort into keeping the king under control. Still, the pouch that he had filled with the antidote gave him courage and hope that all could still be well. He reached the king's door.
Glorfindel stood before it, his arms crossed and ready to bar the way against any who decided to enter or exit. On either side of him stood one of the guards who had earlier been in the throne room. Elrond nodded his acknowledgment of them both before turning to speak with Glorfindel.
"I am going inside to Thranduil," he told him, "but I fear that once again I may need your assistance in controlling him. Despite his current madness he still fears your power."
Glorfindel laughed. "Surely he would quail at yourself alone, kin of Gil-Galad."
Elrond shook his head. "I do not think so. He knows me too well and what I will or will not do. His fear and respect for you may be the only weapon we have to ensure that he returns to his normal state of mind."