See part one for disclaimer.

Encroaching Darkness Part 9

By Ecri

Aglarelen continued to stare into the nearby trees, hoping for another glimpse of blue, so that he could identify whatever lingered nearby. He had no wish to raise an alarm prematurely, but something was wrong. Just as he was about to call to Elladan, he heard a faint whisper on the wind. It was a mesmerizing sound, and drew all his attention, so that he could not think of Elladan at all, let alone recall that he wished to speak to the elf.

The whisper grew by turns faint then louder, but never was it loud enough for his elven ears to string together more than a word or two. The language seemed elvish, but old, archaic, and Aglarelen distinctly heard words of power and magic among the few that he could discern.

A heaviness came over him as he listened. His limbs seemed as lead, and his thoughts seemed unfocused. Some piece of him knew there was danger, but it was a vague sense of it, a muted alarm in the corner of his mind, the corner of his heart. Even had he been able to form coherent thought, he could not have called out to his friends, his brother.

The First had seen to that.

**

Of the Ithryn Luin, The First knew well that his brother could not move on with the plan until he had succeeded. The groundwork for their success was in his hands. He would not fail The Second, nor would he fail Sauron. The spell was a wicked one indeed, and the casting of it cost him much. The Magic of the Istari, even fallen Istari like himself, his brother, and Saruman, was not limitless. Drawing as much as he had had required talismans, ritual, incantation, and much of his personal knowledge. Spent, he watched only briefly from the shadow of the trees as one by one, the Firstborn fell to his will.

This was surely his proudest moment. He sealed the fate of Middle-earth and handed it to Sauron.

This Crownless King would be unable to fulfill whatever destiny he thought was his. He would be dead soonin as hideous a manner as the Second could devise.

The First moved carefully through the trees to report back to his brother that his half of this attack could now begin. Sauron would be pleased.

**

Elrond felt a fog fill his mind and weigh down his limbs. A great fear clouded his heart, an alarm he could not raise, a sense of danger to which he could not give voice. Struggling to rise, he managed only to prop himself up on elbows that quivered with the strain. He saw only vague movement from his sons, though they should have been alert and guarding the camp. He saw not a twitch from Glorfindel or Aglarelen.

Gathering his resolve and what strength remained in his control, Elrond Peredhil, forced his eyes toward his youngest son, worry bursting in his heart that Aragorn was again in danger. To his great relief, Aragorn sat by the fire speaking in soft tones to Legolas. The pair, engrossed in whatever tale they were sharing, seemed oblivious to the distress of the elves in their company.

Elrond frowned as his strength waned. Looking again to his twins, he watched as their struggles to move or speak dwindled away to nothing. At one point, he'd locked eyes with Elladan, and the fear in his eldest's eyes that he knew was mirrored in his own. Something was affecting only the elves. Elrond imagined he was only still able to move as he was because of the fraction of human blood that flowed through his veins. Undoubtedly this was also why his own sons' struggled even more than he did. Their human blood was diluted even further than his own was.

Even as the thoughts circled around in his mind, he felt a strange lethargy grow. The sense of danger began to leave him vaguely wondering what concerned him. Surely there was no trouble here.

His shaking limbs finally refused to support him, and with one final tremor, he fell to the ground with a thud.

As he slipped from consciousness, he felt only a numbness spread through him.

**

Aragorn laughed with Legolas, thrilled his friend seemed morewell, not himself, exactly, but more able to deal with this malady that afflicted him. If malady it was. Sharing reminiscences, the pair had remained awake much longer than they'd intended. Settling down now to sleep, Aragorn glanced once around their camp.

All seemed asleep. It took him a precious few moments to realize his brothers were asleep as well, and not guarding their perimeter. Sitting up more quickly than his injuries would have dictated, the Ranger's sudden movements startled Legolas.

"What is it, Estel?" Legolas asked, concern written across his face.

"Elladan and Elrohir. They are asleep!"

Legolas shook his head. "That cannot be." He turned to look, and saw his friend was right. Turning to back to Aragorn, the Prince bit off his concern over the twins at the faraway look in his friend's eyes. "Mellonin, what is it?"

Aragorn did not reply. The Ranger heard a voice on the wind. Words he could not quite make out urging him to come forwardto leave the relative safety of the camp and follow the voice tohis destiny. Rising, he did as the voice suggested. Leaving behind his sword, Aragorn moved through the campsite in the direction of the voice knowing only that the promises it made would be fulfilled soon.

**

Legolas watched his friend in concern and called to him as he stood and began to leave the camp. "Estel! Where do you go?" Worried for his friend, Legolas reached out a hand and grabbed firmly onto Aragorn's arm.

The Ranger shook him off easily.

Legolas ran around his friend to block his path and find out what was happening. "My friend, where do you go? You cannot wander off alone!"

Calling to him did not seem to help, so Legolas looked back towards the others. All were asleep and completely immobile. A closer look chilled the Prince's bones. "Ai! Elbereth! They sleep with their eyes closed!"

He moved to Aglarelen's side and tried to rouse him, but his brother did not nor blink. One by one, he checked with each of the others, Lord Elrond seemed on the verge of waking. His struggles minor and muted, but visible nonetheless.

Even as he watched the Elven Lord, however, the elf's breathing became more and more shallow. Peering intently at Elrond's face, Legolas searched for some sign, some clue that this was something he alone could remedy.


Legolas was no healer, however, and he knew this sleep was much, much more than it appeared. He glanced uneasily at his brother, and moved to his side. Aglarelen's breathing had all but stopped, and his face was a sickly pale. Frustration flooded him. Should he search out some treatment for this malady, or should he follow Aragorn, who was most assuredly not himself.

Glorfindel, Elladan, Elrohirnone were well, but there would be no way for him to help them in time to chase after Aragorn, so the prince did the only thing he could.

Strapping on his weapons, he began to follow Aragorn, not forgetting to take Aragorn's scabbard and sword. If he did not want it now, Legolas was sure the human would want it later.

**

Galadriel glanced to the Wizard on her right, and her husband on her left. "We must hurry." Her whisper still carried all the authority she had ever wielded, and Celeborn turned to her.

"What do you see?"

"I wish I could say more, but I know only that the danger is too great. There is a threat we have not considered. More than that, I cannot tell." Galadriel raised sorrow filled eyes to her husband. Her foresight was not always what some who possessed no such ability would think. Vague images hard to interpret were what she sometimes got, but always the feeling that accompanied such visions was right. The feelings flooding her now were ones of danger and foreboding.

One thing she saw clearly. "It is the Elessar and the Greenleaf. We must hurry."

Gandalf had listened to the exchange between husband and wife without comment, but now his startled voice interrupted whatever reply Lord Celeborn might have given his wife. "Then you do see something specific. What danger lies before the Hope of Men and the youngest Prince of Mirkwood?"

Galadriel shook her golden head sorrowfully. "I see no more than I have already told you, Mithrandir. The future ripples and hides itself. Perhaps if I had my mirror to consult" She let the thought trail knowing it useless to wish for things one could not have.

Without further word, Gandalf and Celeborn spurred their horses onward.

**

The First and the Second worked in concert to prepare the chamber. This would be their greatest victory and would surely earn them a place of power in Sauron's rule.

Confident that their careful planning would lead to success, the Two anticipated the arrival of the human.

They knew there would be no interference from the man's traveling companions. He traveled with elves, and the First had easily taken care of them. His spells were most potent, and would have the desired effect. Once the man awoke from the stupor they had placed him under, he would know that he was alone. He would understand that there was naught that he could do to stand against the greatness of Sauron.

The Second sat near a stone altar preparing a spell. This would be his crowning achievement. This would be the beginning of the end for Middle-earth. He could already visualize the darkness that would come and it filled him with anticipation.

**

Legolas trailed his friend through the trees daring not to call out to him. Aragorn was not even attempting stealthy movement. He walked as though strolling across the grounds of Imladris without a care in the world. Puzzled by this behavior as greatly as by the sight of his brother and the others sleeping with closed eyes, Legolas wished he could remove thoughts of danger and fears of death from his own mind.

As he followed, he wondered where his friend was going, and why Aragorn had not responded to his calls. That Elladan and Elrohir slept while on watch worried him as well. Under other conditions he would not have dreamt of leaving them alone and vulnerable, but the alternative was to leave Aragorn alone and vulnerable. That he could not do.

He saw Aragorn ahead of him. The man seemed oblivious to his own surroundings, and appeared to follow some guide Legolas could not sense. Aragorn's pace did not alter. His gaze did not shift but instead he stared straight ahead. Taking in neither the surrounding wood in looking for danger, nor being careful not to be seen, the man did not act like the experienced woodsman he was.

Approaching a clearing, Legolas watched Aragorn step into a cave and disappear into the darkness beyond. "It would be a cave." Legolas whispered to himself. He should have guessed. Steeling himself against the darkness, the sense of a small space getting smaller, Legolas crept toward the cave entrance.

The depth of the blackness before him was a surprise, for he had never before perceived a cave in the way that humans did. There was less light than he would have expected, and the lack of his own elven glow did naught but remind him of his condition.

Putting that aside, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark, which improved his vision only slightly. Then he followed his friend more by sound than sight.

Just when he was certain he had lost Aragorn, and indeed would be lost himself, he saw a faint glow up ahead, and a dark figure, which he took to be Aragorn, slipped around a bend.

Following the light, Legolas used every skill his friend had tried to teach him of the ways of men when they required stealthy movements. It took a great deal of concentration to ignore the centuries of experience that urged him to move in a certain way and follow his friend's advice, but it worked.

Nearing the bend where he had last seen Aragorn, Legolas dropped to his knees and peered cautiously around. He beheld a cavern with high ceilings. Torches were strategically placed about the rock walls and in the center of the room stood two Wizards. Istari? Legolas thought. How could this be?

The Blue Wizards, for it was blue robes they wore, cackled in delight at the sight of Aragorn. One whispered to the other, and Legolas cursed his human hearing that he could not hear.

One Wizard approached Aragorn now and ran a hand down the human's cheek. Legolas did not know how his friend stood still under such a malevolent touch, for elf or no, he felt the evil intent in the languid movement.

The second wizard followed the first, and, in a sudden movement, caught Aragorn's left arm and secured it with a rope. The binding was secured to the far wall. Legolas winced, seeing how tightly it was fastened. The same was then done to his friend's right arm, and Legolas, wishing he could forestall this, drew an arrow from his quiver, nocked it, and prepared to fire.

He stayed his hand when he heard the first wizard begin to chant. A strange sensation came over him, and he had to shake his head to clear it. Focusing on the task at hand, Legolas tried not to listen to the wizard. It was at the precise moment that the second wizard's voice joined the first that Legolas let fly his arrow.

Legolas had been surprised when his skills with his bow had not deteriorated at the loss of his elvishness. Now, he spared no thought to it, and nocked another arrow, letting it fly with the same precision. Both hit their targets, and Legolas scrambled forward hoping to free his friend before the Wizards could react.

A high pitched screech the likes of which the youngest Prince of Mirkwood had never heard before pierced the air. For the first time since becoming human, he was glad he didn't have his elven hearing.

He wasted no time worrying about the noise. His priority here was to free Aragorn. He reached his friend's side, noting Aragorn's dazed look. "Strider!" Taking his knife, Legolas cut Aragorn free of the ropes. The Ranger's face remained blank, and his attention seemed focused elsewhere.

"Strider! Mellonin, we must run!"

Legolas glanced towards the Wizards, who had recovered from their surprise at the attack. They seemed puzzled over something, but angered also. One of them raised his staff and pointed it towards Aragorn. The other pointed his at Legolas. Then, the two began to chant.


Deciding it was pointless to give them such an easy target, Legolas tightened his hold on Aragorn's arm and headed towards the shadows. He knew he had to put distance between them and these Blue Wizards.

**

Aragorn walked as though in a dream. Nothing seemed quite real. His mind was crowded with thoughts and voices. Images flashed before his eyes, by turns crystal clear or hazy and distant. He thought he heard a voice, a familiar voice calling to him, but he wasn't sure if it was just another voice in his head or someone real. Real? He wondered at the distinction his tired brain tried to make. He felt as he sometimes did after an injury when his father gave him some concoction to ease his pain and put him to sleep. He felt unable to control thought or action. It should have unnerved him, but it didn't.

A haze of blue wavered in front of him. He felt a strange sensation on his cheek as though a single strand of spider web touched him there in a faint breeze. It was disconcerting, and he felt some evil there, but he did not even think of reacting to it. Standing still and staring at the blue haze before him, he felt something tighten painfully around his wrists.

The blue haze seemed to waver slightly, and he heard a voice, and this one was both in his head and outside it. The sound seemed to increase slightly and as suddenly was replaced by an awful wailing, screeching sound.

He heard again that familiar voice calling to him, and moments later, the pain around his wrists eased.

Then he felt himself moving. Dragged by a powerful grip on his arm, he found himself moving towards a shadow. It turned into something much more solid, and he realized he was crouching behind rocks with

"Strider! It is me, Legolas! Mellonin, I need you here. We cannot continue this way."

The voice stopped, and he heard the familiar sound of arrow leaving bow.

"We face an enemy I have never seen before. Mellonin! Wherever their words have sent you, you must"

He never heard what he must do, for the voice was cut off by a cry of pain.

To Be Continued

Responses:

Strider's Girl: If you thought that was evil, I shudder to think what you must think of this chapter!

Leggylover03: I'm glad you liked it. More pain and angst to come.

Chloe Amethyst: Thanks! I hope you hadn't given up hope. I am sorry this chapter was so long in coming. I'm thrilled that you like the story and that the Blue Wizards come across as chilling. There's more of them to come!

WhiteWolf1: You're right. You don't often get to see Elrond so vulnerable. That was one of the reasons I wrote that chapter. I really feel for him. It has to be so hard to lose Arwen that way, and, technically, he lost a son, too, in Aragorn. Talk about the potential for angst! Sorry this took so long. I'll try to stay focused.

Xsilicax: Thanks! Yeah, Elrond needs a friend. You're right that nothing is going to be easy to heal from this point!

Randomramblings: Thanks! I hope it's still interesting! BTW, Thanks for the nudge to get me to update. You really kicked me into high gear.

Andmetwen: Thanks! Sorry about the tea thing. That's taken from what I guess is actually fanon. It's based on the idea that Elrond often gives his patients teas that will put them to sleep and force them to rest. After all, can you see Aragorn staying where he's told to stay once he begins to feel better? Neither can I! So presume they're talking about some sort of concoction that will knock them out.

Sirithiliel: Thanks for the review. I hope you like this chapter.

Jazi: Did this work for you?


Emiri-Chan: Another cliffie! Hope that's okay! I'll try to update quicker from now on. I just have several unfinished fics that I'm juggling at the moment.

Catherinexxix: Thanks! Wow! You're making me blush! I'm glad you like the flashbacks. Sorry it took so long to post this chapter. I hope you like it!