Disclaimer: I own various screen caps of Legolas and Aragorn... Is that counted as owning them? ((flutters eyelashes at copyright owners)) ((is hit over the head by reality)) Rats.
Chapter 12: QuestEstel repressed a shiver that ran down his spine for the millionth time. The air in the forest felt more oppressive the closer they got to Dol Guldur. And the silence, it wasn't normal.
"Scared?"
The Human jumped when Elladan spoke suddenly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"No," he hissed back. "Just... I don't like the way the place feels."
"I know what you mean," Elrohir reigned in his horse such that the three of them were riding almost side by side through the dense wood. "There's something in the air, that feels like we're being watched.
"Do you think it's... them?" Estel gulped nervously and shifted on his horse. Sensing its owner's discomfort, the horse nickered softly and tossed its head, as though saying that there was nothing to be afraid of.
"Maybe. Be alert. We cannot afford to make mistakes."
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X"It's been five days since they left, Ada," Legolas sat by his window and stared out at the dark forest that seemed to swallow up the moonlight.
Thranduil moved to stand beside his son.
"Do you think," the younger Elf ventured hesitantly, "they have found it?"
The Elven King sighed. "I don't know, Legolas. I don't know."
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X
Estel poked the fired moodily, then shoved the stick into the heart of the flame impatiently.
"Calm down, Estel." Elrohir muttered from the other side of the fire where he lay on his back, staring up at the dense canopy.
"I don't see how you can stand it," the Human stood up and began pacing. "We've been searching the area around Dol Guldur for days, and we've found nothing!"
"Perhaps," Elladan began as he leant forward and knitted his brows, "we're not searching the right places."
"But Mithrandir said that they were located around the area of Dol Guldur!" The Human growled in frustration as he sat down once more with a thump.
Elrohir suddenly sat up right and looked at his twin. "You don't think?"
Elladan nodded. "It's worth a try. But perhaps only after we've finished scouring the perimeter."
Estel tried to puzzle out their conversation, before he gave and grumbled, "For those without the ability to complete each other's sentences?"
Elrohir rolled his eyes and said, "Use your head, Estel. If they're not around Dol Guldur, where could they be?"
Elladan added, "And if the aura of power can be felt so far from the centre, imagine what it would be like..."
"In Dol Guldur." The Human's eyes lit up with newfound hope. "They're in Dol Guldur itself!"
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X
"One thing doesn't make sense to me. They say Dol Guldur is occupied by the Nazgul, but how could the mages bear to live anywhere near them?" Elrond commented to Mithrandir, as they pored over the maps and books in Thranduil's library, trying to figure out where else the mage village could be located if their guess proved to be wrong.
"It is only said, there is no proof," the wizard remarked absently as he shuffled through the stack of parchments.
"What do you mean?" Elrond raised an eyebrow.
"Think of it this way," the wizard put down the maps and looked straight at the Elf Lord. "Imagine a race, feared and hated by all others - a race that possesses untold power and capable of much destruction, yet with the capacity to be loyal to those who do not oppress them. Now, add in a Dark Lord, controller of the Nazgul, who also possesses much power, but would give anything to have even more power. And don't forget that no Elf or Human in his or her right mind would dare to enter the stronghold of a Nazgul without a good reason to. Do you get what I mean now?"
"By the Valar," Elrond was stunned, "If what you say is correct, Dol Guldur is no Nazgul stronghold. It's a breeding ground for the mages."
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X
The two Elves and the Human fought their way through the dense undergrowth. It was amazing how the thorn bushes had managed to grow under the dark eaves of the Mirkwood forest. The air was still and heavy, and the aura of power was growing stronger. It was getting even harder to breathe.
"I thought that Dol Guldur was supposed to be a wasteland, not some bramble-covered piece of rock!" Estel growled as another rip was added to the vast collection of rents and tears in his clothing.
"Cheer up, baby brother, we're not even close to the actual site yet."
Estel rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to shove the ever-cheerful Elrohir face first into the thorn bush.
Eventually, after a long struggle, they emerged into sunlight, and onto the edge of a cliff.
"This is it? There's - " Estel's words died on his lips as he looked out over the dead land that stretched out before him. There was utter silence hanging over the empty waste, with a black tower in the distance that stuck out like a mast of a ship stranded on the rocks.
"We failed. We didn't find the village." The bitterness in Elladan's voice was echoed in their hearts.
"We must go back, as fast as we can. There is still time! We will find the village and Danin!" Elrohir tried to cheer his brother up.
The twins turned and made their way back to the path they had cut in order to find the source of the power. Estel turned too, and was about to follow when something struck him as odd.
"Wait."
He could hear something, a tiny voice speaking in his head:
The eyes only see what they want to see...The twins stopped when their brother spoke. "Estel, we must hurry."
"No, just give me some time, there's something strange here, but I can't figure out what's wrong."
The ears only hear what they want to hear...The twins looked at each other, then at their brother who was pacing the ground and muttering to himself.
The heart sees and hears all things. Which do you trust?Finally, the Human looked up and smiled slightly. "This isn't real."
"What?"
"Remember? Mithrandir said that they used magic to keep intruders out. What if, this is part of the spell? Maybe, the village is right here before our eyes, but we just can't see it!"
The twins stared at him as though he had gone crazy. "You're not making much sense, Estel."
"Look at it this way, we've come so far, why not stay a little longer and see if we can find a way in? We're only on the borders of Dol Guldur, maybe the village is located further inside..."
Elrohir shuddered slightly. "Much as I hate the thought of having to step foot into that place, I suppose that you're right. For once."
Estel scowled. "I resent that."
They turned back towards the cliff face and started to pick their way down carefully, their boots dislodging pieces of stone that bounced and clattered towards the bottom of the valley.
Suddenly, the Human lost his footing and slid down the steep slope. He flailed his hands wildly, clawing at the rock beneath him, but could not stop his descent. Over the noise caused by the shifting stones, he heard his brothers' frightened shouts as they scrambled down after him. A large rock loomed up before him, and he knew that there was no way he could avoid hitting it...
He came to a crashing halt as he slammed into an invisible wall, barely a few feet away from the rock that would have cracked his skull open. Stunned, he pressed his hands hesitantly against the surface. It seemed to pulse under his hands, but yet, he could see nothing...
"Estel!"
He turned, his confusion written all over his face. "There's something here!"
The invisible wall gave way beneath his hands and he fell forward once more...
But this time, it was not a rock that lay before him.
It was a village made of stone and thatch, sitting in a middle of a valley whose edges he was approaching now.
Very steep, almost vertical edges.
'Oh, Valar, I have the worst luck possible.' He thought as held shot over the edge and was suspended momentarily in mid-air.
Just as he started falling, he felt threads snaking around his body and limbs, pulling upwards, tighter and tighter...
His downward plummet was harnessed, and he winced as the threads cut into his skin, but that pain was soon forgotten, as he slammed into the rock face and lost consciousness.
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X
"Estel!" Elladan cried frantically as they suddenly lost sight of their younger brother. But, how could it be possible when there weren't any pits he could have fallen into in sight?
The twins ran smack into an unseen surface, and drew back in surprise, all thoughts of finding their brother forgotten.
"Dan? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Elrohir asked as he poked at it.
"Is this... the force shielding Onbekend?" Elladan wondered.
Elrohir pressed his hands against it and tried to push his way through, but to no avail.
"It's no use! We can't get past the barrier like this! And, Estel is on the other side!"
Elladan growled in frustration and struck his fist against the barrier. Suddenly, invisible threads wrapped themselves around his limbs and his neck. He struggled madly but could not free himself. "It's a trap!" he yelled as he felt the loops around his neck tighten, cutting off his air. "Run, 'Ro!"
He saw his twin run towards him, but halt suddenly in his tracks, fingers clawing at his neck. Bright spots danced before his eyes and Elladan fell forward, unconscious from the lack of air. Moments later, Elrohir joined his brother's still form on the ground.
A figure stepped out from behind a large rock, fingers draped with many threads that gleamed silver in the sunlight. It glided towards them and bent over each one to make sure they were still alive.
"We have not had visitors for a long time, yet this is the welcome you give them, Hectrix?" A sardonic voice commented.
Hectrix shrugged as she continued to unwind the threads from her fingers, casting them away into the air where they floated away, looking like pieces of a broken spiders web. "It is none of your concern, Zykon. You know the rules."
"No one enters Onbekend, unless it is fate."
"Don't just stand there. Help me bring them to the Lamia."
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X
TBCAuthor's notes:
((gulp)) Err... Yeah, more bad naming from yours truly... and there's more to come. ((digs a really deep hole)) I'm jealous of those writers who can come up with nice cool names at a drop of a hat... Anyway, 'Lamia' means 'witch' in Latin, so no guessing what role that is. XD 'Hectrix' is from the same book I 'borrowed' Danin's name from... too lazy to dig out my notes with the full title... Last but not least, 'Zykon' was name by wonderful me. The significance? None at all. I wanted a name that starts with a 'Z', and short of 'zebra' I couldn't think of anything else. And since I was drooling about Sephiroth from FF7, my chain of thought ran something like: Oh... sex icon Sephy... yummy... hmm, maybe I'll call this guy Icon? Nah, stupid... argh heck, 'Z' plus 'Icon' equals to 'Zykon' etc. And the name stuck so. ((sheepish grin))
And sorry I forgot to post yesterday... was busy doing research on 'social justice' for a mini-essay I've to write for my accommodation application... ((cries)) and numerous websites later, I'm no closer to enlightenment. Heck, I think I just dropped further on the 'lightened' scale, been pigging out on chocs and chips... and if anyone's wondering, I'm being corny 'cos I ate... corn for lunch. ((falls down))
So here begins the main part of the story, and all the action as well. Finally! Things are moving in terms of plot. (what plot??? O.o) Sorry, that was my evil conscience. Yes, there IS a plot! A plot to get Estel and Leggy into the same bed and CENSORED. Ahem.
Ok. Enough rambling for the post (which is actually an excuse 'cos I'm only typing with one hand... stuffing my face with Ruffles chips with the other... yum!) it's review replies time!!!
Tmelange: Thanks! And maybe you could help me offer sugar to the god(dess) of writer's blocks/pure laziness in the hopes of getting lazy ol' me to start writing again? ((puppy dog eyes))
Empath89: Glad you liked the idea of a mage village... It's the product of me being too lazy to write them travelling to the far corners of ME in search of 1 person. XD And I think I was influenced by the concept of mages from 'Brothers in Arms' by the Nightrunners too... :-D Anyway, thanks for the review!
Marbienl: Ooh... you're Dutch? Btw, what does 'Waarom heb ik nu zo'n flauw vermoeden dat je Nederlands bent?' mean? And nope, me not Dutch... closest thing is maybe a leetle bit of Dutch blood somewhere along the my grandpa's line, 'cos he migrated over from a former Dutch colony a long long time ago... And Dutch sounds exotic to me, cos I've never heard it before, never been to the Netherlands, (other than during Geography lessons and stuff about polders and the Zuider Zee) and the only other language I speak properly (and coherently, although I've been told I slur my words together) is... SECRET! XD Tee hee! Hint: I come from a tropical island on the other side of the world from the Netherlands. Anyway, good luck for your exams! Unless I'm too late and they're over already? If so then good luck for results!
Sielge: Thank you!!! Such niceness is making my ego fat... ((pats ego)) but better ego than me right? XD
The-Serious-Padfoot: Haha... lucky you... my dad never allowed me to read in the car... and I'm always stuck between 2 older sisters anyway, so not a very conducive environment to be reading ahem stuff. ((wink)) And this story is going to be slashier towards the end, and pretty fluffy to boot... Just realised after reading your comment about fluffy slash that this is fluffier than I expected... O.o oh dear. Must be the rabid plot bunnies' fault... all those evil bundles of fluff... ((wanders off rambling about fluff))
Saiko Senshi: ((hides)) Yeah, got bad naming sense... I mean, I've got at least 3 stuffed toys with the same name!!! And they're all named after my favourite dog!!! Plus numerous others who are named after my other dogs!!! ((faints)) But thanks for the nice comment and ego-inflation, and don't worry about the reviewing. I'm usually too lazy to review for other people as well. Hee hee...
Losing Grip: The way I see things, Estel won't know he's in love with Leggy until the Elf hits him on the head. XD Or maybe Leggy can give him a few (un)subtle hints? ((goes into raving fangirl mode)) FEEL THE LURVE!!!!!!!!! ((gets hit on the head by not-so-raving fangirls)) ((spazzes out))
Psychic Risika: Thank you! Hope you liked the rest of the chapters... considering that my first chapter was just a few hundred word drabble...
Child of Magick: Hm... 'Magick'... 'Mage'... Do you have magical powers??? ((puppy dog eyes)) Tee hee, don't mind me, just being my lunatic self. Glad you like the mage village too, and thanks for reviewing!
Dawn: TV production? What's that? Sounds fun... Why didn't they teach us that??? Oh wait, high school would be the equivalent of junior college (I think) so... darn. Never saw such a subject on my school's list before. But fangirling FUN, although I doubt my future patients will appreciate a sugar-high, rabid-fangirl giving them their check-ups... Yup, gonna be a doctor... FEAR ME!! ((waves needles)) And I think I get what you were trying to say... kinda like maturing in your head but remaining young at heart? Something like that... Oh, and happy playing with your oven! XD Baking is fun, clearing up isn't. XP
KeshiShimmer: Hee, well, it's not 'blatantly overt' slash as you put it 'cos I get uncomfortable trying to write that kind of stuff. My fingers are still too innocent for my brain. XD And... hmm... I don't think his body would have changed much... just maybe grown a little? And there's muscle wasting and whatever that I don't intend to go into great detail about. Too lazy. XD Hope that answers your question. :-D
Someone Stupid: ((roflm)) That was a highly entertaining review. And yup, someone did use 'sorry you don't know mi' in the review, but it was just a birthday song... I think. Can't remember. And I wouldn't mind getting to know some of my more lunatic reviewers, then we can go corrupt the world with sugar and slash together!!! XDXD And images of Estel and Leggy making out at every moment, every corner, everywhere and... ((off in rabid fangirl delusions again)) Ahem. Don't worry, you don't scare/scar me, I usually do that to my partners-in-crime, which says a lot about my (non-existent) state of innocence. Happy listening to your evil halves!!!
High-Queen-Tashi: ((loads you with chocs and pure sugar)) Join the Sugar Addicts Anonymous group! Where each session is made up of sugar overdosing and sugar highness!!! XDXD Nope, Danin's not in Mirkwood... Nyuk nyuk, go figure. XD And good luck for your exams!
Grumpy: It's not a wild goose chase!! Really!! ((whistles innocently)) But don't worry, I'm not killing Leggy off again, killed him before in a previous story and got beaten up by my friend who's a Leggy fangirl so... nope, I like my head where it is. ((clutches neck protectively))
Lady Phoenix Slytherin: Thanks! And here's the next chapter, enjoy!
Lady Laswen: O.o Man, that is some complicated family history... ((goes cross-eyed trying to figure out the connections)) I give up. But I have to agree, I find it strange that Aragorn married his cousin/great-to-the-power-of-dunno-what-aunt. Very complicated... 'Tis not good for sugar-overdosed brains like mine to figure out. XD And thanks for the reviews and b'day wishes!!! ((bounces happily))
Phew! That's all... hopefully. I don't think I missed anyone out... if I did, sorry! I'm running way behind schedule now... got to dash! See you guys in 2 weeks and thanks for reading and reviewing!!