Chapter 4
Discovery
Esgalmir grumbled to himself as he got out of bed, still peeved about the reaction he had received for his news. Balimar had been kindly but amused. Malfinien, however... judging by her response (sniggering, followed by chuckling, followed by peals of laughter), she found his consternation more laughable than anything in the past millennium. They all knew, of course, about the story, and had known for years. Esgalmir suspected that the entire Elvish world knew about him by now, the most unobservant Elf still around. Well, the damage was done. He washed himself up and got ready for the day.
Once again, he found a new "Lord of the Rings" shipment in the shop. This time, Darryl had forged a deal with some sword-making company, and today had brought Anduril. Theoretically.
Esgalmir was pleased to see that the sword was well-made: it really did balance. It was not quite as long as the real Anduril had been, by all accounts, and he doubted it resembled Elessar's sword in the slightest, but the moviegoers would probably like it.
He was a little disappointed by Darryl, though, as the man continued to show an absolute inability to distinguish between good pieces of fantasy work and bad ones. He droned on and on, talking about how he would "get a handle" on all fantasy business in this here town, and Esgalmir found himself wondering, again, how this man had become involved in this line of work. When he finished for the day, he got back on the Internet to search for any news on the space front.
He had only just connected, however, when something thankfully caught his eye- a "hot" news story about UFOs, under the main info section. Curious as to how such a tabloid subject had made it into the official news, he read the article.
"Last week, what may be the first officially documented UFO sighting occurred in Eastern Texas. National Guard radar stations detected a strangely-shaped body flying high over a local city. The object vanished before they could get a visual, but Lt.-Col. William Jameson stated it could not have been any aircraft as we know them:
"'We have nothing that flies in that straight a pattern without going much faster.'
"It was also 'too heavy and bulky to fly, even if it had been...behaving like a plane.'
"UFO adherents have been quick to notice that the object was coming straight out of the Bermuda Triangle. The Triangle is infamous for inexplicable events, including supposed alien sightings and abductions. But Jameson was equally quick to point out there could be man y other explanations.
"'Secret projects, radar malfunction, prank, even a side effect of a natural occurrence like sunspots,' he listed. 'Aliens are by far the least likely.'
"Many people are not so dismissive of the extraterrestrial idea. 'They're scouting us out, just like the movie,' confided a wide-eyed Dallas resident who asked not to be identified. 'Checking our alertness,' agreed Sarah Beninni of Houston.
"Whatever the true identity of the object, this is the first time something has appeared on official radar screens without an easy explanation. UFO or not, the government needs to investigate this occurrence. Such an easy penetration of coastal defenses suggests lax work on the part of Homeland Security."
From there it turned into a political complaint, accusing the President of- what a surprise- wasting money. But Esgalmir couldn't care less about that. The thing that really worried him was the apparent source of the object. Perhaps some ship had found the Straight Road? Worried, he switched over to search and began looking for more information.
He didn't find any more information about the incident, just various takes on the information presented in the article. But when he checked to see if any ships had gone missing in the Caribbean recently, voilà, the ferry line "Majesty" had reported No. 9 missing last week. Just a day after the UFO sighting. A search using Majesty and No. 9 uncovered another story, this time on MSN: "Castaway in the Caribbean."
Esgalmir read the article, his eyes steadily widening. There could be no doubt- Ferry No. 9 had stumbled across the Straight Road. He found his pulse quickening, his hand on the mouse slipped with sweat. He paused in his reading long enough to dash off an e-mail to Balimar, then, unable to help himself, continued reading the horrifying news.
He needed to meet the passengers, he decided. Or, at least, to meet one of the crew members. The thought came to him suddenly- if they remembered well enough where the ferry had entered the Road, he could go to Valinor himself. He fell back from the screen, mouth open slightly in the shock his idea caused him.
His emotions caught him like a sudden wave, cold and hot at the same time. His heartbeat fell into his stomach, his gut twisted at this hope beyond hope. He could leave this world, this constant moving from life to life, with no hope of an end, no possibility of escape. No Elf would want to commit suicide merely to leave this world, with the unknown of the Halls facing them, but sometimes, Esgalmir had almost felt it would be worth it.
He could see Lindaril again. He had almost forgotten her, it had been so long. His memory might not fade, but the countless years had created many more memories to crowd out his earlier ones.
Forgotten? No, more of a repression. He would have faded if he hadn't fought like he did, if he hadn't hidden those memories. Now, those memories found a weak point in his ancient armor, a breach in the walls he had built to keep himself sane. To Elves, memory can be more real than life, and Esgalmir found himself helplessly thrown back in time.