Author's Note:
He-e-e-ey! This is a *somewhat* early update. Not too early, but not like the last one. Herm, that was not good. Elladan seems to still be unbelievably drunk, so I'm writing this without the help of him.
Elladan: *snores on the couch*
I just feel sorry for any other muses who got intoxicated through the party. *already hears complaints* u.u I swear the elf will never live this down. I will make sure of it.
I noticed that there was no border between Aragorn/Gandalf and Lego/Gimli. There was *supposed* to be a border, but somehow there was nothing there and I apologize for that. I confused myself if no one else. @.@ I guess you can automatically tell that it's bad spacing if you confuse yourself.
Celtic music has kept me motivated. But, I'm sure my family will smash my CD player if they hear "Scotland the Brave" one more time... oh well n.n; That's just Dha for ya. That and a more modern Celtic CD have been my inspiration. There are no words to the Celtic music, so I can easily imagine scenes from the story, such as the one in the chapter, which took me quite a long time to write. Without Elladan, I'm TOAST. ;.;
Once again, responses to reviews are at the bottom. AND I am calling out for beta readers! PLEASE PLEASE! A beta reader would be like an early birthday present! Please let me know if you are interested! *gets down on knees and begs* Please? And now, without further ado, I present chapter 13: The Pool of Memories.
+++++++++++++++
Chapter 13:
The Pool Of Memories
The castle came up to the pair of men swiftly. It was no longer a chain of mountains in the distance, it was a castle hidden in the shadows. The overcast sky made it seem even more forbidding. A scowl that was echoed by the dark sky flashed across the younger of the two men. Aragorn knew that the entrance to the edifice was going to be guarded. It had been the same for any sort of rescue. But, the ranger figured he would have to get a bit more original with escape plans.
Gandalf pushed softly on Shadowfax's left side with his knee and the horse willingly obeyed. The stallion took a sharp left and the two men began to trot towards the far left end of the castle walls. It only took a matter of minutes to ride up to the hard stone that surrounded the dreary structure. The king dismounted from the albino first, before noticing the soil was very loose. The wizard dismounted shortly after the dark-haired man. He, too, noticed the topsoil that did not clamp firmly to the ground.
"It was recently dug up," the ranger said more to himself than to the older man.
"Ah," came the light-hearted reply. "I figured just as much."
Estel searched for any visible sign of footprints and found only the tracks of men, which had long since tread the ground. No heavy or light footed prints were to be seen. Using his hands, he sifted through the top layer of dirt. It was recently placed here, vastly different from the surrounding area. No grass grew in the soil, which puzzled the man.
Mithrandir, on the other hand, was already strategizing a plan on how to enter the towering building, possibly without alerting Legolas and Gimli's captors to their presence. Two pairs of orcs were guarding either side of the iron gate. It came to him in a matter of moments and he turned back to the man on his knees.
"Aragorn," the wizard said to the ranger in a hushed voice.
The dark-haired man was immediately alerted to the Istari who towered over him.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It seems that we will have to pay our orc friends a visit," replied the older man with a wink.
Aragorn grinned and stood, but felt uneasy when the ground seemed to wobble under his feet. There was something wrong here, and he did not want to wait for it.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Legolas began pounding his face into the solid rock that lined the entire chamber. All he could feel was something like a slug crawling around inside of him, threatening to make him sick. The room spun around him, when he raised his now bruised and pale face. He felt the rush of blood from his nose, but just before he could feel the broken bones in his nose mend and become whole once again. His jaw reconfigured itself as well setting the tendons and cartilage back into their rightful positions.
The elf barely noticed when a small door, on the far side of the wall opened. Why had he not seen this before? Had he really been that blind that he could not notice a door? The blonde shook his head furiously again as he felt his sanity quickly slipping like sand through his frail fingers. The more he tried to hold onto it, the quicker it plummeted from his grasp into oblivion.
Gimli looked up when he heard the creak of a door opening. He too had not seen the door there before. It had blended in with the surrounding stone almost perfectly. A glimpse of light shone through the opening before it was shut with a snap. Through the door had come Palandor with two of his minions.
The middle-aged man strode over to the fair being who was crouched over on the floor, followed by the pair of orcs. The dwarf stood to object but when the man snapped his fingers, his two cronies grasped the furious companion by the arms and jerked him to the floor. With a painful snap, his ribs connected with the hard floor.
The archer peered up at the man timidly, fear running rampant through him. The demon had made the prince vulnerable and showed that the blonde was now fair game. The villain took hold of one of the skeletal shoulders of the weakened elf and pulled him to his feet. The rogue released the pale being for a moment, to stroke the bit of beard that donned his chin. He then gripped the blonde again on the shoulder.
"I have returned to question you," Palandor demanded, almost casually.
"About wh-what?" Legolas asked his gaze sliding in and out of focus.
The dwarf struggled against his captors, but they held him firmly in place as he watched his companion struggle to stay standing. The stout being noticed that the elf's face had paled even more, now whiter than a ghost.
"About your friend, Aragorn."
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Aragorn took a few steps forward to get a better view of the four guards that stood between him and his two friends. He could not bear to think of what might be happening to them, both physically and mentally. As if he knew what the king was thinking, Gandalf gave the younger man a reassuring pat on the back.
"Do not worry, my boy," the wizard said in a gentle voice. "We shall get to them soon. And when we do, you shall see that everything will be alright."
The dark-haired man nodded his head in acknowledgement. He took another step, and knew what was wrong. Before the younger man knew it, the soil gave way to display a trapdoor, which had been placed to dispose of any intruders, that swung open and devoured the man into darkness. He tumbled down a long wooden shaft, that was slowly but surely bruising up the king. Pain flicked through him as a piece of wood bit into his finger and lodged itself firmly in place.
After what seemed to be a minute or so, the shaft came to an end and he plummeted from the shaft to a hard stone floor. The ranger had no desire to even think of sitting up until he heard a familiar cry and the sound of a struggle nearby. The king raised his throbbing head a few inches to see three rather bulky figures near him. He recognized two as orcs, and as for the last one...
"Gimli!" Estel exclaimed, not believing his eyes.
His joy was short-lived; however, when he heard his name through the darkness.
"Tell me Aragorn's secret!" came a demand that pierced the darkness.
"I..." a strangled and feeble voice replied. "I cannot!"
The sound of a sharp kick echoed through the room, followed abruptly by a thump that vibrated through the stones that the ranger now lay upon.
"Perhaps," a deep voice suggested. "The Pool of Memories could do it."
"Or," one of the orcs in front of him said. "You could ask the king yourself."
The enormous being motioned to the prostrate man on the floor. Palandor took a few steps to his right to see the ranger lying on the floor. A grin crossed his face as the villain recognized Estel. The rogue made a motion with his hands and one of the orcs released the struggling dwarf. The ugly being grasped the ranger tightly, pulling his arms behind his back and pulled him to his feet. The dunedain was pushed past Gimli and his captor to see the elf on the floor.
"I would not want you to miss this, Aragorn son of Arathorn," the villain said, before plucking the blonde from the stone floor. "I shall rob your companion of his memories, unless you reveal your weakness."
Struggling, the ranger shouted at the man, "How can you?"
Palandor gestured to the opening in the floor behind him and chuckled when he saw the king's face twist into pure confusion.
"The liquid inside is that of an ancient sort," the rogue explained. "A single touch can make one forget what he has done over the past two days. And now it seems you have run out of time."
The villain turned towards the opening and gave the prince a forceful shove. The archer's frail limbs could do nothing to support himself and he toppled over the edge.
++++++++
Whee! That's the end of *that* chapter! Time for review replies!
Star-Stallion~~ I've seen that picture! O.o He *is* skinny in that picture! Poor poor lego! Wow! Really? A great pic like that reminded you of this? =D I feel so special! Thank you! You feel sorry for him? Why? He's immune to everything right now! I *do* try to update and not kill my faithful reviewers, but reviewing always comes first for me.
Selphie Kinneas~~ It probably did hurt... for a moment or two, until the demon kicked in and healed him. D
Colagreenleaf~~ Thank you! You are not a bad reviewer! I used to not review period because my inbox was so backed up. 157 was my all-time high. But, now that I have cleaned it out and gotten back on track, the highest so far has been 5. BIG difference. Yes, Gimli should have his own song! "God Bless Gimli!" xD Poor dwarf. It's breaking his heart! ... and his ribs... but oh well! We still love him! Thank you again! :D
Crinkle~~ Thank you! Yes, that young thing was getting at me. ( Evil Aragorn... Well, now you know! =D Poor Leggy! Oh my gosh! You like it too? I thought I was the only one! O.o Just the other day, my fav character on an anime died and I went to school singing "Ding dong! Amon's dead!" Of course my friends thought I was insane... but that's something I've learned to deal with. R&R is always a good thing to have, especially after a near-death experience! XDD Once again! A common like! Dying is good. *winks* Thank you again! I *do* try to update on time.
Jazi~~ O.o You? The invisible author, cry? RED ALERT! *runs over to an alarm and presses it*
Elladan: *rolls over on the couch*
*glares at El* Ah yes, Lego is always adorable, no matter what you do to him. You stared at your screen for ages! ;.; *begins sobbing uncontrollably* I've tortured my reviewers! *sobs harder* I'm such a bad author, oh... and just for future reference, the demon will die. =D I've already planned that all out. D
Demon: *scoots away*
Spades~~ I know! An update! *gasps* Wow, I'm not the only one with, herm, *interesting* muses. Poppy is at a party too? Maybe he and El somehow got drunk together or something... must be a muse thing.
Elladan: *begins snoring*
Hmm, maybe I should try more updating, instead of just murdering Lego on the spot and ending the story there.
Legolas: *eyes me* O.o
Deana~~ Elladan? Smart? HA!
Elladan: *sits up sleepily* Yeah, I'm sm-sm-sm what's the word again? *flops back over on the couch*
I swear he will never move from the couch in the RO. He's drooling while he sleeps to! All because he *had* to get drunk.
Elladan: All in the contract sweetheart.
*rolls eyes* Contract?
Elladan: *pulls out a piece of paper*
*takes the paper and reads it* Blah blah... and is given all rights to become drunker than a monkey?! EL!
Elladan: *rolls over and goes back to sleep*
Thank you for the compliments!
Well, that seems to be all!
Auf Wiedersein! Dha
He-e-e-ey! This is a *somewhat* early update. Not too early, but not like the last one. Herm, that was not good. Elladan seems to still be unbelievably drunk, so I'm writing this without the help of him.
Elladan: *snores on the couch*
I just feel sorry for any other muses who got intoxicated through the party. *already hears complaints* u.u I swear the elf will never live this down. I will make sure of it.
I noticed that there was no border between Aragorn/Gandalf and Lego/Gimli. There was *supposed* to be a border, but somehow there was nothing there and I apologize for that. I confused myself if no one else. @.@ I guess you can automatically tell that it's bad spacing if you confuse yourself.
Celtic music has kept me motivated. But, I'm sure my family will smash my CD player if they hear "Scotland the Brave" one more time... oh well n.n; That's just Dha for ya. That and a more modern Celtic CD have been my inspiration. There are no words to the Celtic music, so I can easily imagine scenes from the story, such as the one in the chapter, which took me quite a long time to write. Without Elladan, I'm TOAST. ;.;
Once again, responses to reviews are at the bottom. AND I am calling out for beta readers! PLEASE PLEASE! A beta reader would be like an early birthday present! Please let me know if you are interested! *gets down on knees and begs* Please? And now, without further ado, I present chapter 13: The Pool of Memories.
+++++++++++++++
Chapter 13:
The Pool Of Memories
The castle came up to the pair of men swiftly. It was no longer a chain of mountains in the distance, it was a castle hidden in the shadows. The overcast sky made it seem even more forbidding. A scowl that was echoed by the dark sky flashed across the younger of the two men. Aragorn knew that the entrance to the edifice was going to be guarded. It had been the same for any sort of rescue. But, the ranger figured he would have to get a bit more original with escape plans.
Gandalf pushed softly on Shadowfax's left side with his knee and the horse willingly obeyed. The stallion took a sharp left and the two men began to trot towards the far left end of the castle walls. It only took a matter of minutes to ride up to the hard stone that surrounded the dreary structure. The king dismounted from the albino first, before noticing the soil was very loose. The wizard dismounted shortly after the dark-haired man. He, too, noticed the topsoil that did not clamp firmly to the ground.
"It was recently dug up," the ranger said more to himself than to the older man.
"Ah," came the light-hearted reply. "I figured just as much."
Estel searched for any visible sign of footprints and found only the tracks of men, which had long since tread the ground. No heavy or light footed prints were to be seen. Using his hands, he sifted through the top layer of dirt. It was recently placed here, vastly different from the surrounding area. No grass grew in the soil, which puzzled the man.
Mithrandir, on the other hand, was already strategizing a plan on how to enter the towering building, possibly without alerting Legolas and Gimli's captors to their presence. Two pairs of orcs were guarding either side of the iron gate. It came to him in a matter of moments and he turned back to the man on his knees.
"Aragorn," the wizard said to the ranger in a hushed voice.
The dark-haired man was immediately alerted to the Istari who towered over him.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It seems that we will have to pay our orc friends a visit," replied the older man with a wink.
Aragorn grinned and stood, but felt uneasy when the ground seemed to wobble under his feet. There was something wrong here, and he did not want to wait for it.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Legolas began pounding his face into the solid rock that lined the entire chamber. All he could feel was something like a slug crawling around inside of him, threatening to make him sick. The room spun around him, when he raised his now bruised and pale face. He felt the rush of blood from his nose, but just before he could feel the broken bones in his nose mend and become whole once again. His jaw reconfigured itself as well setting the tendons and cartilage back into their rightful positions.
The elf barely noticed when a small door, on the far side of the wall opened. Why had he not seen this before? Had he really been that blind that he could not notice a door? The blonde shook his head furiously again as he felt his sanity quickly slipping like sand through his frail fingers. The more he tried to hold onto it, the quicker it plummeted from his grasp into oblivion.
Gimli looked up when he heard the creak of a door opening. He too had not seen the door there before. It had blended in with the surrounding stone almost perfectly. A glimpse of light shone through the opening before it was shut with a snap. Through the door had come Palandor with two of his minions.
The middle-aged man strode over to the fair being who was crouched over on the floor, followed by the pair of orcs. The dwarf stood to object but when the man snapped his fingers, his two cronies grasped the furious companion by the arms and jerked him to the floor. With a painful snap, his ribs connected with the hard floor.
The archer peered up at the man timidly, fear running rampant through him. The demon had made the prince vulnerable and showed that the blonde was now fair game. The villain took hold of one of the skeletal shoulders of the weakened elf and pulled him to his feet. The rogue released the pale being for a moment, to stroke the bit of beard that donned his chin. He then gripped the blonde again on the shoulder.
"I have returned to question you," Palandor demanded, almost casually.
"About wh-what?" Legolas asked his gaze sliding in and out of focus.
The dwarf struggled against his captors, but they held him firmly in place as he watched his companion struggle to stay standing. The stout being noticed that the elf's face had paled even more, now whiter than a ghost.
"About your friend, Aragorn."
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Aragorn took a few steps forward to get a better view of the four guards that stood between him and his two friends. He could not bear to think of what might be happening to them, both physically and mentally. As if he knew what the king was thinking, Gandalf gave the younger man a reassuring pat on the back.
"Do not worry, my boy," the wizard said in a gentle voice. "We shall get to them soon. And when we do, you shall see that everything will be alright."
The dark-haired man nodded his head in acknowledgement. He took another step, and knew what was wrong. Before the younger man knew it, the soil gave way to display a trapdoor, which had been placed to dispose of any intruders, that swung open and devoured the man into darkness. He tumbled down a long wooden shaft, that was slowly but surely bruising up the king. Pain flicked through him as a piece of wood bit into his finger and lodged itself firmly in place.
After what seemed to be a minute or so, the shaft came to an end and he plummeted from the shaft to a hard stone floor. The ranger had no desire to even think of sitting up until he heard a familiar cry and the sound of a struggle nearby. The king raised his throbbing head a few inches to see three rather bulky figures near him. He recognized two as orcs, and as for the last one...
"Gimli!" Estel exclaimed, not believing his eyes.
His joy was short-lived; however, when he heard his name through the darkness.
"Tell me Aragorn's secret!" came a demand that pierced the darkness.
"I..." a strangled and feeble voice replied. "I cannot!"
The sound of a sharp kick echoed through the room, followed abruptly by a thump that vibrated through the stones that the ranger now lay upon.
"Perhaps," a deep voice suggested. "The Pool of Memories could do it."
"Or," one of the orcs in front of him said. "You could ask the king yourself."
The enormous being motioned to the prostrate man on the floor. Palandor took a few steps to his right to see the ranger lying on the floor. A grin crossed his face as the villain recognized Estel. The rogue made a motion with his hands and one of the orcs released the struggling dwarf. The ugly being grasped the ranger tightly, pulling his arms behind his back and pulled him to his feet. The dunedain was pushed past Gimli and his captor to see the elf on the floor.
"I would not want you to miss this, Aragorn son of Arathorn," the villain said, before plucking the blonde from the stone floor. "I shall rob your companion of his memories, unless you reveal your weakness."
Struggling, the ranger shouted at the man, "How can you?"
Palandor gestured to the opening in the floor behind him and chuckled when he saw the king's face twist into pure confusion.
"The liquid inside is that of an ancient sort," the rogue explained. "A single touch can make one forget what he has done over the past two days. And now it seems you have run out of time."
The villain turned towards the opening and gave the prince a forceful shove. The archer's frail limbs could do nothing to support himself and he toppled over the edge.
++++++++
Whee! That's the end of *that* chapter! Time for review replies!
Star-Stallion~~ I've seen that picture! O.o He *is* skinny in that picture! Poor poor lego! Wow! Really? A great pic like that reminded you of this? =D I feel so special! Thank you! You feel sorry for him? Why? He's immune to everything right now! I *do* try to update and not kill my faithful reviewers, but reviewing always comes first for me.
Selphie Kinneas~~ It probably did hurt... for a moment or two, until the demon kicked in and healed him. D
Colagreenleaf~~ Thank you! You are not a bad reviewer! I used to not review period because my inbox was so backed up. 157 was my all-time high. But, now that I have cleaned it out and gotten back on track, the highest so far has been 5. BIG difference. Yes, Gimli should have his own song! "God Bless Gimli!" xD Poor dwarf. It's breaking his heart! ... and his ribs... but oh well! We still love him! Thank you again! :D
Crinkle~~ Thank you! Yes, that young thing was getting at me. ( Evil Aragorn... Well, now you know! =D Poor Leggy! Oh my gosh! You like it too? I thought I was the only one! O.o Just the other day, my fav character on an anime died and I went to school singing "Ding dong! Amon's dead!" Of course my friends thought I was insane... but that's something I've learned to deal with. R&R is always a good thing to have, especially after a near-death experience! XDD Once again! A common like! Dying is good. *winks* Thank you again! I *do* try to update on time.
Jazi~~ O.o You? The invisible author, cry? RED ALERT! *runs over to an alarm and presses it*
Elladan: *rolls over on the couch*
*glares at El* Ah yes, Lego is always adorable, no matter what you do to him. You stared at your screen for ages! ;.; *begins sobbing uncontrollably* I've tortured my reviewers! *sobs harder* I'm such a bad author, oh... and just for future reference, the demon will die. =D I've already planned that all out. D
Demon: *scoots away*
Spades~~ I know! An update! *gasps* Wow, I'm not the only one with, herm, *interesting* muses. Poppy is at a party too? Maybe he and El somehow got drunk together or something... must be a muse thing.
Elladan: *begins snoring*
Hmm, maybe I should try more updating, instead of just murdering Lego on the spot and ending the story there.
Legolas: *eyes me* O.o
Deana~~ Elladan? Smart? HA!
Elladan: *sits up sleepily* Yeah, I'm sm-sm-sm what's the word again? *flops back over on the couch*
I swear he will never move from the couch in the RO. He's drooling while he sleeps to! All because he *had* to get drunk.
Elladan: All in the contract sweetheart.
*rolls eyes* Contract?
Elladan: *pulls out a piece of paper*
*takes the paper and reads it* Blah blah... and is given all rights to become drunker than a monkey?! EL!
Elladan: *rolls over and goes back to sleep*
Thank you for the compliments!
Well, that seems to be all!
Auf Wiedersein! Dha