Into the Labyrinth

Author: Amorous

A/N: Okay, in this chapter I'm going to mention that the Elves are wearing "beanie-style hats"…. Now, some of you may wonder if they had those in Middle-Earth. I'm not sure what they would be called, but in The Two Towers, when they were recruiting people at Helm's Deep, I noticed that one of the kids was wearing a beanie hat. So…I guess I'll just refer to them as beanie style hats. I don't know how else you'd know what they were. Disclaimer is in chapter one.

*Chapter 3: Arrival*

It was late afternoon and the four Elves and the young Man were riding through an overgrown path in a dense wooded area in the Misty Mountains. But it was not the same Elves and Man from the day before. In fact to a passerby, it would appear as though the group consisted of five young human hunters. None would suspect that the dark beanie-style hats and scarf-like turbans concealed four pairs of delicately pointed ears. The long, dirty coats had every appearance of those who'd been on the road for quite some time.

Aragorn glanced sidelong at Legolas, who was riding beside him and smiled. The Wood-Elf looked completely uncomfortable in his new outfit. His long, pale blonde hair had been pulled up under the black beanie-style hat and the hat was pulled low to cover the tops of his ears. The Elf looked as though he wanted nothing more then to slither out of these clothes and back into his own.

"How does it feel to be human?" Aragorn asked them, trying hard not to laugh as he passed his gaze over each of them.

"I feel positively dirty." Elrohir stated from under his turban. It had been two days since the Orcs ambushed them, and his clothes easily hid the bandage on his back and his movements were not hindered by the hurt. "Where did we get these things?"

"Oh, being a ranger has its up-sides. I picked these up here and there. You never know when they may come in handy, as you are seeing."

"You call this an up-side, Estel?" Elladan wondered, and Aragorn laughed. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"I suppose…but come, haven't you done this before?"

"I have never been comfortable in human clothes."

"Well I'm sorry my brother, but you must put up with it." Aragorn shook his head and looked out to the mountain rising in front of them. "For a while at least. You must remember what father said, Rahma has not seen a single Elf for many generations and we mustn't attract any unnecessary attention. We need to keep very low if we have any hope of uncovering this organization. We will be nothing more than hunters from the north who have stopped to resupply."

"Is there any particular inn that we should look for when we arrive tonight or shall we stop at the edge of town?" Legolas asked his companions, particularly Aragorn, who seemed most educated on this subject.

"Both." The young Man replied. "Father told me to look for an inn called The Stone Troll. It should be on the west side of the town. Actually, we should be arriving there soon, it is supposedly just on the other side of this peak."

"How is your back?" Elladan asked Elrohir softly, who sat in front of him.

"It is healing well, Elladan. Do not worry." The younger twin twisted in his saddle and gave his brother a light smile.

"Will this inn have a stable for our horses, Aragorn?" Isorfinduil asked the human, speaking for the first time in a long time.

"I believe so. If not, we'll look for another."

"Yes, there must be a place for the horses." Elladan commented. "Horses are beautiful creatures and must be well taken care of. No horse should ever be treated badly." The dark-haired Elf pinned a hard look at Isorfinduil.

Isorfinduil looked away. It was obvious that the subject pained him. "Elladan, I am genuinely sorry. I never meant for that to happen."

"Perhaps not but you could have prevented it." Elladan responded.

"How?" Isorfinduil turned to face the other Elf. "No one can predict where the arrows will fly."

"You should have been more aware of your surroundings. You knew that the Orcs would flee into the forest."

"That does not change the fact that the horses needed to be found and brought back!" Isorfinduil said, frustrated.

"No, but you could have gone about it more sensibly."

"How?!"

"You could have waited for us to catch up. Together, we could have destroyed the last of the Orcs and then found the horses when it was safer." Elladan answered simply, ignoring the looks he was getting from Aragorn.

"They would have been miles away, Elladan."

"You don't know that."

"I know better than you do! They were running hard, they were frightened." Isorfinduil was beginning to think that arguing with Elladan over this would prove to be hopeless. It usually was.

"They would have returned on their own. Or at least the sensible ones would have, I can't speak for your own."

"Elladan!" Elrohir said, sounding slightly surprised. Legolas raised his eyebrows and glanced at Aragorn, who just shook his head.

"Don't insult my horse, Elladan!" Isorfinduil replied darkly, unconsciously laying a hand on Merencil's grey neck. The horse's ears flattened back, sensing the tension in his rider. "I'm sorry your horse died, but that does not give you liberty to take out your anger on me!"

"You're the one who killed it, why should I not be angry?" Elladan's grey eyes became stormy.

"Elladan, he did not kill your horse, an Orc did. You saw that as well as we did." Legolas said gently, trying to break the tension in the air.

Elladan didn't say anything. Inside him, he knew that it was true but his strong pride was not allowing him to admit it. He realized that he was letting his anger and grief blind him, and decided to let the subject drop.

Looking ahead, he saw that they were almost at the highest point on their trail and would soon get a glimpse of the town. He was glad for it, and knew the others were too, for the sun was slowly edging her way down and beginning to turn the sky a deep pinkish color.

Aragorn sighed, relieved that his older brother didn't press the matter. The many arguments that those two had had over the last few days had begun to grate on everyone's nerves. But this was the first time that the subject of Elladan's horse had come up. It was a sensitive topic, for Elladan had owned that horse for a long time and had grown close to it. And Isorfinduil seemed wracked with guilt as it was. Aragorn just hoped that the two would somehow find peace with each other. Until the investigation was over at least, for the young human didn't want their cover blown and he was sure they didn't either.

Aragorn longed to arrive at the town and begin looking around. He could be patient when he needed to be, but he was anxious to get this mission started. He only wished that they knew more about what they were up against. All they knew was that there was an organization somewhere in Rahma that ran a fighting ring. The location was unknown, the leader was unknown – if there was a leader. For all they knew, it could be run by an entire gang. Aragorn shook his head as he realized how little they really did know of what they were getting into. They would have to be very careful.

"Aragorn." Legolas quietly broke him out of his thoughts. Following the Elf's gaze, Aragorn saw the town laid out below them. It was average sized, and he could see people moving about the streets as the sun went behind the mountains and darkness began to move in.

Urging his mount down the long trail that lead to Rahma, Legolas carefully pulled his hat a little lower, making sure the tips of his ears were well hidden and his hair was still in place. He already knew that he would not like impersonating a human. His father, Thranduil, had once told him a story of when he had had to play the part of a man in order to obtain vital information. After expressing to his son the difficulty of pulling off the masquerade, Thranduil had told of his cover being blown which resulted in his capture and torture. For the king, it had been a time of darkness and pain. Legolas momentarily closed his eyes as he remembered the look on his father's face when he'd told the story and prayed that that wouldn't happen to any of his friends during this mission.

Seeing the gates to the town approaching, Legolas quickly gazed over each of his companions to be sure that everything was taken care of. Everything seemed to be in place.

"Look for The Stone Troll." Aragorn reminded them. "And let me do the talking at the gate."

They pulled up to a tall wooden gate, Aragorn in the lead. He pulled his brown horse up alongside and knocked loudly.

"What is your business here?" Came a strong voice as a door to the left of the gates opened and a head poked out.

"We are a group of hunters from the north." Aragorn called with confidence. "We have stopped to rest and resupply."

The man looked them over with much scrutiny and then disappeared. Aragorn looked back at his friends and shrugged. A moment later, the gates were pulled open from the inside and they were allowed to pass inside.

The town was slightly dirty, which was not unusual, but otherwise seemed to be in good order. People bustled about, for the most part paying them no heed. Some looked up and them, either smiling shortly or glancing away again. After passing down several roads, Aragorn began to wish he'd asked the door-warden for directions. He knew the inn was somewhere on this side of the town, but…that was a big space. And with night closing fast, they could not just wander about and wait until they stumble upon it.

"We may need directions." He stated reluctantly.

"Wait." Elrohir leaned forward in his saddle a bit. "I think it's just up ahead."

After a few more paces, Aragorn as well saw a sign hanging from a doorway that read "The Stone Troll."

The Elves waited outside with the horses as Aragorn went inside. A few minutes later, he came back out. "We have a room upstairs, and there is a stable behind the building. They will hold and feed our horses for as long as we need to stay."

A half-hour later, Legolas was laying on his bed, propped against the wall and watching Aragorn pace in front of him. Elladan was on the other side of the room, putting a fresh bandage on Elrohir's back, and Isorfinduil was looking out their one window into the street below.

"Aragorn, will you stop pacing? What is on your mind?" Legolas inquired.

"It is too early to sleep yet."

"You sound like a child." Elrohir stated, pulling his shirt back on.

"No, I mean we should start tonight. We should at least take a look around and get acquainted with the town."

"We can do that tomorrow, Estel." Elladan folded his hands behind his head and leaned back against the wall. "It would be better to get a fresh start in the morning."

"Alright, well I'm going to just get a drink. I won't be long." Aragorn began to walk towards the door. "I just need to get out for a bit, I have too much energy." He added when he found them all staring at him.

"I'll go with you." Legolas got up and followed him. "We'll be back in a couple of hours." He stopped when he found all eyes now turned on him. "No one should go out alone until we're more familiar with the town." He explained. "Don't worry, we won't be long." They picked up their long overcoats and were out the door.

Elladan shook his head slowly. "I don't think I'll ever understand Estel. Or that Prince, either."

**

Sorry this chapter took a little longer to get out, I'm getting swamped by MCAS and soccer and homework and all that fun stuff. This one doesn't have any action, I know, but the next one promises to be more fun! (In that respect, at least.)

Dark-of-stars – Thanks! Yeah, this is a prequel to "In the End". I'm glad you like it!

Anime Soccer Lobos – Well, you guessed it, Elladan kinda blames Isorfinduil. Although I think he knows that Isor didn't actually kill his horse, he needed something to let his anger out on and Isor was the unfortunate candidate! Thanks for the encouragement!

And thank you to the others that reviewed, too! I'll try to get chapter 4 out as soon as I can.

Review, if you've got the time, I love to hear what you guys think! Let me know if you've got any questions, too.