Legosgurl: I don't know if I'd want to call Gandalf 'cute', but I suppose he is endearing in a gruff sort of way.
Dragonfly: The scene was meant to be funny, so I'm glad you laughed. I was indebted to Monty Python and the Holy Grail for it, although in the scene that inspired me, one knight is left with all his limbs, while the other is left with none. The maimed knight, down to trunk and head, continues to threaten the other, who says in exasperation, "What are you going to do, bleed on me?" If I could have worked that line in, I would have!
Nathalia Potter: Well, that would be one solution. Alternatively, you say that the 14 nuggets melted down in Part B came out of the 22 nuggets he had at the end of Part A. If that is the case, he is left not with 22 gold nuggets and 7 gold chains, but with 8 gold nuggets and the 7 chains. He he!
Karri: Thank you. That's what I was trying to do—to combine action with humor.
Joee: Who's to say that Elrohir won't try to claim credit at a later date? After all, there was no time for explanations, was there? When there is time for explanations, perhaps, just perhaps, Elrohir will spin a tale of elfling cleverness and bravery.
Beta Reader: Dragonfly
Chapter 9: Diversionary Tactics
Glorfindel dismounted from his horse and stooped to carefully examine the tracks.
"A fair-sized party of Orcs," he observed to his lieutenant, "judging from the variety amongst the tracks—differing in size, differing in foot gear."
The scout nodded and moved off to examine his own portion of the trail. After a few seconds he gave a shout and beckoned to Glorfindel. He pointed down at his feet as he spoke to the balrog-slayer.
"Either this track was made by an exceptionally small Orc, or an elfling has passed this way."
"Aye," Glorfindel agreed thoughtfully. "Now, the question is, was the owner of that foot being followed by the Orcs, or is he already in their hands and being dragged along. For he surely did not journey in the wake of those goblins—see where more than one Orc print has overlaid the elven one, so that it is lucky that you could make it out?"
"True, and I should be very sorry to think that an elfling trained at Imladris would be foolish enough to trot along in a path broken by Orcs!"
"I as well. Tell the other scouts to mount up. In the end, it matters little whether the elfling is in the hands of the Orcs or yet pursued by them. The Lady was right: our elfling is traveling south, and so must we."
Of course, if Glorfindel and his scouts had searched the ground a little further, they would have discovered that not only were the Orc tracks many and varied; they would have made the same discovery about the elfling trail as well. Elladan and Elrohir were of a size, but Haldir was taller and heavier than either. Moreover, his boots were of a different design. It would have been soon apparent to the searchers that at least two elflings had passed that way if they had happened upon one of Haldir's prints. But the matter escaped their notice.
It was also to escape the notice of Elrond, for he and his scouts did not even trouble themselves to look for elfling tracks. As Glorfindel was presumably following Anomen, it seemed to Elrond that it was only necessary to follow the trail left by Glorfindel and his scouts, which in any event was much easier to descry than any of the subtle marks that might have been left by an elfling. And at first the trail of Glorfindel and his company did indeed prove easy to follow. Moreover, to Elrond's great relief, throughout Dunland no Orc tracks coincided with those of elven horses. 'Perhaps', Elrond reassured himself, 'neither Anomen nor Glorfindel encountered the goblins'.
Thus Elrond and his company rode forth in confidence—in confidence, that is, until they arrived in the vicinity of Fangorn Forest. Taurmeldir, who had taken the point, cantered back to report a strange finding.
"Yonder is a trail that shows elven horses heading directly north, yet from the same point a trail heads off to the northeast. And yet another trail leads to the south. Which trail are we to follow?"
Elrond rode with Taurmeldir to the spot where the three trails branched. He studied the ground briefly and then spoke.
"I can read this riddle," he said. "Elven horses road to the north, directly into Fangorn Forest. I would warrant that they were making for Isengard. But, see, there are the marks of returning horses. They went to Isengard, but came again to this spot. Now as for the horses making for the northeast, I deem they bypassed southern Fangorn in order to make for Lothlórien. Again, they returned to this spot. But, mark you, no horses return from the south. They learned something either at Isengard or in Lórien that resolved them to search for Anomen in that direction, and that is the way we must ride."
The Elves turned their horses' heads toward the south and galloped across the plain. It was then that they saw that the trail left by their friends and kinsmen had merged with a trail led by Orcs likewise traveling south.
"Glorfindel and his scouts were still safe at this point," observed Elrond as he studied the tracks, "for their horses have overridden the marks left by the goblins. Anomen, however, may be in grave peril, either a prisoner of the Orcs or pursued by him."
He did not wish to utter another possibility: if they backtracked the Orc trail to the north, would they find Anomen's body—or what was left of it? Elrond comforted himself with this thought: presumably Glorfindel had reason to believe that Anomen still lived, else he would not be leading his scouts this way. Perhaps he had found a sign. Elrond ordered that the ground be examined with great care, but the search was fruitless. The few elfling prints that had not been destroyed by the passage of the Orcs had been obliterated by the hooves of the horses. Elrond was forced to proceed on hope alone. They rode on.
After they had traversed several more miles, Taurmeldir gave a sudden shout of joy. Elrond urged his horse to his side. There, unblemished, was one lone print, smallish in size and undeniably showing the mark of a Rivendell boot. As he gazed upon it, Elrond could not help but marvel at how much Anomen had grown over the past several months.
"Taurmeldir, I would have hardly recognized that mark for Anomen's, so much has he grown! One would almost think him of a size with Elladan and Elrohir. Remarkable, considering how little he eats at each meal."
"Perhaps he has been purloining more food than usual from the kitchen," Taurmeldir suggested.
"Ah, yes, I had forgotten. He is much better at such thievery than either Elladan or Elrohir. Indeed, I think on occasion that, when the Cook has accused the twins of filching sweets, it has in fact been Anomen who was the culprit."
The Elves' spirits were considerably lifted by the discovery of the footprint, and they eagerly rode on toward the south. They were not sure whether or not Anomen was a captive, but at least they could be certain that the lad had been alive in the not too distant past.
With that same thought in mind, the other elven band, Glorfindel's, also continued to push south. Suddenly a scout riding point galloped back to report to Glorfindel.
"A new trail has joined those left by the Orcs. I deem it to have been laid down by Men—Rohirrim, no doubt."
Glorfindel accompanied him back to the point at which the new trail intersected the old one and dismounted to carefully search the ground.
"The Riders came on the scene before the Orcs," he announced at last. "No orcish print is overlaid by a mannish one, but many of the mannish ones are overlaid by those of the goblins. However, I find no sign of any elfling prints."
Glorfindel straightened himself and gazed toward the south.
"Perhaps any elfling prints were utterly obliterated by those that followed. In that case, the Rohirrim may be tracking Anomen. I find it hard to believe, however, that a troop of Riders would be concerned enough over the tracks of a solitary Elf so small in size to take the trouble to track him. Perhaps, however, they encountered the lad, and he managed to persuade them to take him up and convey him to the south."
"Is it not rather more likely that they would carry him to Edoras? Whatever would possess them to ride south with him?"
Glorfindel laughed.
"Anomen's wide and innocent blue eyes," he chuckled. "And mayhap the mention of a certain wizard. Yes, I warrant that Mithrandir's name would have a powerful effect upon the Riders of Rohan. Well, if Anomen is—or was—in the hands of the Rohirrim, at least during that time he would have been safe."
Now following the combined trail of Orc and Rohirrim, the Elves rode without stopping until they reached the southern border of Rohan. At that point the trail of the Orcs continued southward, but that of the Riders veered off to the northwest.
'No doubt the Riders are making for Edoras', mused Glorfindel. 'Do they bear Anomen with them, or have they set him down to proceed on foot—and alone?'
Glorfindel ordered his scouts to search widely, but they found no elfling prints. Glorfindel knew, however, that the Orc tracks may have covered over the marks left by a small Elf. Hitherto, it had been by luck alone that they had occasionally come upon a print. What to do?
'If he is with the Rohirrim', he said to himself, 'then he is safe, it is true. However, if he is alone, then he may be in grave danger. If we make for Edoras and he is not there, then we will have lost valuable time. Very well, then, we must behave as if he is alone and heading ever closer to Mordor. Only in that fashion can we be quite certain that, one way or the other, he is not left bereft of the protection of his elders'.
The Elves passed out of the territory of the Rohirrim and followed the Orc trail for several leagues, all eyes intently studying the ground for any sign of Anomen. At last one of the outriders, highly excited, abruptly wheeled his horse about and came galloping back to the main company.
"My Lord Glorfindel," he shouted, "I have found elfling prints over yonder, apart from the Orc trail!"
As excited as the scout, Glorfindel accompanied the scout to the spot where he had picked up the trail. Sure enough, there were elfling prints, unmarred, and heading toward a distant cliff. "He is not a captive," exulted Glorfindel. "But I wonder," he added, "at his giving the Orcs the slip. This trail is very plain to see."
"Perhaps the Orcs passed this place during the daylight hours," suggested the scout, "when their vision would have been confused by the sunlight."
"True. If they were following hard on his heels, not stopping at dawn, that choice may have redounded upon them. Well, whatever may be the cause for their overlooking the elfling, we can give thanks to the Valar that the danger to Anomen is now much reduced."
As Glorfindel spoke, Anomen, huddled with Haldir and the twins, looked back anxiously at Gandalf. The wizard, crouched behind a boulder, was peering back at their pursuers, who were on the plain below the hill the fugitives had just ascended.
"They draw nearer and nearer," he muttered to himself. "I must find some way to send them astray. Ah, I have it."
He returned to the elflings and told them to hasten onward.
"If I do not rejoin you, continue to make your way north as quickly as you may."
All the elflings protested, but none so vehemently as Anomen.
"Anomen," Gandalf said gently, "you feel that there is a bond between us, is that not so?"
"Yes," said Anomen. "That is why I do not wish you to go. If they catch you, they will kill you! I couldn't bear it!"
'If they catch me', Gandalf thought to himself, 'I will wish that they would kill me. Unfortunately, they probably won't'. Aloud, however, he said, "As there is a bond between us, Anomen, if I were to fall, I would live on in you. If you survive, I survive."
Gandalf turned to Haldir and the twins.
"Elladan, Elrohir, and Haldir, it is up to you to see that Anomen returns safely to Rivendell. Can you do this?"
Gandalf's request, putting a grave responsibility onto the shoulders of the older elflings, at once transformed them into his allies, as the sly wizard had known it would.
Proclaimed Elrohir solemnly, "I swear to the Valar to do all within my power to see that Anomen remains well and returns to Imladris."
Elladan and Haldir swore oaths of equal gravity, and then the twins and the Lórien elfling laid restraining hands on Anomen, who had begun to cry. Gandalf, meanwhile, took the Orc helmet, which had been dangling from his waist, and clapped it on his head. Then he strode back toward the edge of the hill. Only once did he glance over his shoulder. The elflings had not moved from their place. "Fly, you fools," shouted Gandalf, feigning an anger that he did not feel. Haldir and the twins forced Anomen about and began to drag him north.
Gandalf once more crouched behind the boulder and peered down the hill. The Orcs had drawn even closer and were no doubt within hailing distance. Gandalf leaped out from his hiding place and began to run pell-mell down the slope, stumbling and sliding on the scree. As he ran, he gesticulated wildly, pointing toward the west. He began to shout in the Black Speech.
"They are fleeing west, toward Gondor," the 'Orc' screeched. "I saw them from up yonder! Hurry, or you will lose them to the humans!" The band of Orcs instantly wheeled about and began to lope toward the west. Gandalf waited until they were out of sight and then made haste to regain the elflings. He kept the helmet on as a precaution.
Since Anomen had been struggling to break free, the elflings had not gotten very far. When the twins and Haldir saw their 'Orc' approaching, they released their hold on Anomen, and he raced back to the wizard, throwing himself into his arms. An 'oomph!' was forced from the Istar's lungs.
'It is good to be loved so', the wizard thought to himself as he gently stroked the elfling's hair. 'I shall miss the lad when I am recalled from Middle-earth—yes, and there are others whom I shall miss. Howsoever', he continued, briskly shaking himself out of his reverie, 'this is neither the time nor the place for indulging in these thoughts'. Taking Anomen by the hand, he led him back toward Haldir and the twins. "Hurry," Gandalf urged when he and Anomen had rejoined the others. "I have sent the Orcs astray, but when they arrive at terrain that is less stony, the cleverer amongst them may notice that there are no tracks in the softer ground and will realize that we did not pass that way. They will return again at least as fast as they departed!"
Gandalf and the elflings ran toward the north. The wizard did not intend to allow them to stop for rest until they had gained the safety of a settlement. If need be, he would carry any elfling who faltered. The Orcs also had not meant to rest. Suddenly, however, the leader of the band called the pursuit to an abrupt halt.
"'Ere now," he exclaimed to his lieutenant. "Didja hear what that Orc said back there?"
"Of course, I did. Said they was heading west. So why'er we stoppin'?"
"He said they was heading west. Now, what they would that be?"
"Huh?"
"You idjit, don' you know no grammar? We been chasing one old fool. That would be a he? So where did this they come from? And where did that Orc come from? How'd 'e even know what we was about?"
"I dunno."
"Well, I do. That old Man fooled us once, makin' us believe he'd gone and gotten himself strung up by spiders. Now he's tryin' to fool us agin—and he's got help—that's what the they is, I'll warrant. Thought it was pe-cul-yer he managed to get out o' the keep. Musta had con-fed-er-its, that's what. Boys," the leader bellowed, "back to that hill. We hain't gonna find no old fool hereabouts."
The Orcs reversed course, and, running even faster than formerly, they raced back the way they had come.
