Disclaimer:  Well let's see do I own anything?  I tried putting Gimli on my Christmas list last year, but as you can see it didn't work, so none of this belongs to me. 

Author's Note:

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Bit longer this time folks, hope you enjoy            !  I'm leaving for a family trip but I'll be back in a couple days, hopefully with another update!  Also I'm begging you guys, be nice please!  I'm not the best with facts, but I'm trying.  I appreciate it when you point them out for me. I need the help!  But be nice please; you guys scare the author sometimes!

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            When his guests finally quieted Jhan closed the door to his room quietly.  The cook was sprawled beside his fire again, the empty bottle of ale long since fallen to the floor.  Jhan shook his head, at the irony.  All these years of attempting to force him not to drink while he worked and the cook's less pleasant habits were paying off, for once. 

            The cook rolled over, mumbling as Jhan crept by, but he only burped before shifting and dropping back into a deep drink induced slumber.  Jhan carefully latched the door behind him, hurrying to the edge of the town.  The only night guard here was Nat, and there was nothing to worry about from that bumbling buffoon. 

            Near the walls there was a place where there was a knothole about the size of Jhan's fists put together.  It was through this that he would speak to his compatriots.  Not being able to investigate the town themselves they paid very well for one who could.  And they were always interested to know who was passing through, especially when the party was armed and contained warriors. 

            Now Jhan wasn't sure if this group met their requirements, a blind woman, a child weren't usually what interested them, yet there was the elf and the dwarf.  They ought to be worth something, something good. 

            The snowdrifts piled about his feet as he waded through them, reaching the rough wooden wall.  The footprints were unfortunate, yet nothing could be done about them and there wouldn't be any questions asked anyway.  The travelers never disappeared from the face of the earth until after they left the town, so of course it must not have anything to do with anyone inside. 

            Jhan knelt down in the snow, removing the wood from the hole, peering through.  A pair of dark eyes met his on the other side.  Jhan was more than thankful for the dark which concealed the rest of the ruined visage.  He had to swallow hard just remembering. 

            "Virag."  Jhan held his ground as the creature smiled, more like a snarl than anything else.  All his years as a bandit on the plains had given him enough courage to at least bluff his way through. 

            "Greetings Jhan."  The Uruk-hai's voice was rough and heavily accented.  "You have information?"   Usually one of Virag's soldiers checked with Jhan for his report, the fact that Virag himself was here gave Jhan pause.  Something important must be occurring. 

            "Aye, but I want my payment first, and something extra.  I 'ave important information tonight." 

            Virag growled, but handed him a sack of gold trinkets taken from travelers through the hole.  "There's your payment, tell me your information now, I'll decide what it's worth." 

            Jhan swallowed, but kept the smile on this face, "Fine, fine, a party of travelers came to the inn this night.  A woman and her child, a dwarf and an elf.  The elf was injured." 

            Hearing the sharp intake of breath from the Uruk-hai a greedy light came to Jhan's eye, he knew he had found something worth enough gold to repair the entire inn. 

            "I want the child.  Kill the rest; make sure the dwarf especially is dead.  Dump the elf and the woman.  The wilds will take them."  Behind Virag his soldiers set up a protest, probably wanting the travelers to themselves.  The leader cut them off with a roar, brandishing his sword. 

            "Remember what I've told you!  There will be others." 

            Jhan tried to bring the volatile Uruk-hai's attention back to him, "But Virag, the town guard, surely they'll know!" 

            Virag shook his head, disgusted with the stupidity of all around him, answered, his tone falsely patient, "No, they will be assumed to have left in the night.  But remember the child first.  That woman will do anything to keep him from being taken.  Anything." 

            Jhan's eyes widened in horror, "She would-   Surely not!" 

            Virag grinned at the man's displeasure, "Aye, she would, this is why we've had to chase her from the mountains.  We would never take the child in a battle.  It is the way of her clan." 

Virag ignored the stirring of fear and distaste in his own stomach.  Uruk-hai preferred their meat fresh, alive if possible, that a member of the races of Middle Earth would willingly- He couldn't fathom it and one who would fight as such as that wasn't something he was sure he could handle.  He preferred the safer course.  Let Jhan take them in the night, even if he failed, at least Virag would have another chance and he would succeed in the end.  It was his destiny.   

He shoved another bag of gold through to the innkeeper's eager hands, "Do not fail."  The man waved off his warning, lifting the heavy piece of wood and sliding it back into place, his mind already thinking about his riches, there wasn't enough time left in this night.  It would have to occur after the moon rose on the next. 

He touched the dagger tucked into his belt, another relic from his bandit days.  Quickly and silently, such as that had always been his specialty, this should be no trouble.  No trouble at all. 

            The next morning Inara entered her companions' room quietly, carrying Nodin, her hand on the rough wall of the inn, to guide her.  She smiled at the picture Gimli made, sound asleep in the chair in the corner of the room. 

The dwarf seemed surprisingly younger asleep, probably because the weight of responsibility was lifted however briefly from his shoulders, as she touched him ever so gently.  His head slumped forward on his chest, she could hear his even breathing.  She couldn't help but move her fingers up, just short of touching his face.   

            She would have liked to enjoy it longer, yet Nodin had had enough of the moment.  He reached his small hands out for the dwarf, screeching his greeting at the top of his baby lungs.  Inara jerked her hand back, shushing the baby.  Not surprisingly Gimli's eyes snapped open, and the glazed look faded from the elf's eyes as well.  Gimli's hands went first for the axe propped beside him before slumping in relief as his two visitors identity registered. 

            He shook his head and pulled himself to his feet, stretching in the small space, even for a dwarf the room was crowded.  Legolas nodded to them, levering himself on one elbow.  Inara made her way carefully to the bed, feeling his face; his breathing was better this morning.  His movements also seemed somewhat freer, a definite improvement.  The ability of elves to withstand even the most grievous wounds never ceased to amaze her. 

            Legolas seemed to notice her attention and smiled at her.  Inara grinned back as she felt his smile under her hands, daring him to comment on her lack of manners.  The elf looked momentarily taken aback by her audacity.  Gimli watched the interplay and chuckled.  Legolas seemed to realize he had lost this round and hung his head, still smiling. 

            Inara turned back to Gimli, setting Nodin on the bed beside the elf.  The infant immediately went for the elf's long blonde hair, quickly entangling his small fingers in it, gurgling happily.  Legolas tried unsuccessfully to free himself.  Inara shushed him, absently as she kept her attention on Gimli. 

            "Where shall we go from here?" 

            The weight seemed to return the dwarf, he sighed, his fingers tracing the edges of his axe.  "We need to travel deeper into the country of Rhohan where our pursuers cannot follow.  From there, we must reach the King and find an answer to this mystery."

            "Simple is always the best."  Inara's face gave away her away as Gimli frowned at her, suspecting the joke. 

            "Humph, it is lass.  I leave the complicated messes to the elves."  He jerked a thumb at Legolas. 

            The elf spread his hands, "But the dwarves need our 'complicated messes' to keep them out of trouble." 

            Inara held up her hands to forestall further argument, "Regardless of who gets who in or out of trouble, we still have to consider the plans for our immediate future." 

            The two looked like chastened schoolboys.  The glanced at each other, waiting for her to continue, though Legolas couldn't remain entirely concentrated on what Inara was saying as Nodin resumed exploring his new surroundings. 

            "We stay until Legolas has healed."  Gimli stated with certainty. 

            "I am fine.  We must reach the King, he must know of this threat to his people."  Legolas sat up angrily, though was unable to stop his hand from going to his side. 

            "Of course you're fine and that's why I spent most of yesterday pulling you from the snow when you fell, lost to the world.  Not this time my friend, we wait."  Gimli's voice was stern, Legolas looked up at him, locking eyes in a contest of wills.  It was the elf who looked down.

            "You are right.  We must wait, though I hate to delay our message when it any slacking in our speed may bring trouble to the Rohirrim." 

            Legolas looked back up at his friend.  It often surprised him when Gimli took command despite Legolas' greater experience.  It was interesting that after the many centuries he had spent wandering Middle Earth there were still things he did not yet know.  And Gimli seemed to find them all.  He shook his head, reminding himself that age did not always bring wisdom, unfortunately.  He grinned at Gimli, not wanting the argument to continue, as it would help none of them. 

            "Then if we shall stay, perhaps you would wish to take Nodin, and watch him?"  Legolas tried to detach the infant and hand him to the dwarf. 

            Gimli laughed, "Ha!  An elf defeated by naught more than a babe.  Either Nodin is a mighty warrior or you are sadly lacking my friend.  Here is one tale Aragorn will enjoy hearing." 

            "Aye, as much as he will enjoy hearing of your exploits on that poor pony you found to ride."  Legolas was rewarded as the dwarf's face went red. 

            "There is a story I would enjoy hearing."  Inara put in. 

            Gimli sputtered, but was defeated in this round of their competition. 

            Inara put her hand on his should, "Do not fear Gimli, I have no doubts as to your abilities."  This made the dwarf turn an even deeper shade of red.  Inara could feel the heat that radiated from his face.

            "I have to get supplies."  He spun on his heel leaving the room.  He was not angry, yet he needed to go, whether from embarrassment or Inara's proximity he was not sure, and he did need supplies. 

            The townsfolk looked askance at the dwarf in their midst.  Apparently this far from the center of Rhohan there were few of any race but men and orcs.  Gimli grew progressively more and more irritated as each merchant carefully counted the coins he gave them, testing each one with their teeth.  It had been sometime since he had been treated with such distrust. 

            Gimli marveled at how used to the acceptance he had received in Gondor and the largest cities men had built.  Hulking things that they were they went against many of the things Gimli preferred, yet at least there the citizens were familiar with other races.  Here he had to remind himself that much of Middle Earth was such as this.  It would do well to remember that on their travels.  It was something he could not safely forget. 

            By the time he finished his burdens had grown quiet heavy and the sun had nearly sunk bellow the horizon.  As he approached the inn he saw its proprietor pull himself back around the corner of the building as if he did not want to be seen.  Gimli frowned but continued inside. 

            Both Legolas and Inara were unhappy at having been forced to spend the day within the inn, the elf being unable to leave, and Inara not wanting to risk losing her way in an unfamiliar place.  Nodin at least appeared happy having enjoyed having two of his most loved people with him for an entire day. 

            Inara apparently had been in the common room though as the song she was singing for the elf was quite similar to the ones Gimli had heard from the room's drunken residents the day before.  And the look on the elf's face was as humorous as he had imagined.   It would be another story to add to the list he was collecting to tell Aragorn and Arwen when they next met. 

            Legolas looked up at his entrance and Inara's head turned towards the sound of his steps.  Gimli dropped the burdens he carried in the corner of the room. 

            "Gimli! how was the market?"  Inara asked.

            "These people act as if they've never seen a dwarf before."  He grumbled as he sat down with a sigh. 

            "They probably haven't."  She pointed out. 

            "Also I saw our innkeeper sneaking around outside."  Gimli propped his weapons against the wall, he had had no intention of going unarmed in a place filled with people such as these.  Men were the more paranoid than any race Gimli had ever encountered, and more apt to act on their impulses than any other. 

            "'Sneaking'?  But this is his inn."  Legolas asked in confusion.  Gimli shrugged. 

            "I don't know what the man was doing, only that he looked suspicious. 

            Legolas shifted uncomfortably, "There is something here.  I do not believe we have lost our pursuers yet." 

            Gimli nodded,  "Nor do I, yet why they waited I do not understand…"  He noticed that Inara remained silent at this, perhaps unhappy at how close they had come, or maybe it was more?  He would ask her later. 

            "The wind…"  The elf shrugged his shoulders wincing, "It is hard to tell here within this town of men." 

            Gimli looked at him with concern he knew his friend was far from healed and it worried him when he took to listening to the wind.  At least they were far from the sea, yet he did not like it when the elf's mind drifted far from his friends. 

            Jhan crouched in the shadows at the end of the hall, keeping watch on the two rooms where the small party was staying.  Again he found himself waiting for silence to come to the rooms.  Tonight though he would do more than wait.  He licked his lips, running his thumb down the freshly sharpened blade of his dagger.  Quick and silent, death would come to those he waited for as it had all

those years ago. 

Author's Note:

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Bit of a cliffhanger here!  Just to add to the fun…

Pirate-chichaI'm glad you like the characters, that's always something I worry about, I'm afraid I'll mess someone up and then be in real trouble!  Don't worry, more Legolas in the next couple chapters. 

Nihtfyr:  Well, it appears I have made another mistake in LOTR cannon, *shakes head*  Or so it seems… ;)  Thanks for the facts, as stated I'm a tad bit rusty where LOTR is concerned. 

Ok, as for the names, Nodin is in fact Native American and Inara is Arabic, meaning 'ray of light.'  They don't match, Inara's was chosen for the meaning and Nodin's for the imagery it gave to his personality.  The reason they aren't standard Rohirrim, but then these two aren't Rohirrim, they live on the edges of the land, and are from a as yet undisclosed background, so it's ok.  I will try to fix up the rest of the Rohirrim characters though!  I appreciate the names you supplied; I'll try to work them in. 

Also, as for the comment about Inara, she will not become a Mary Sue, flat out. 

Thanks for the spelling check too, *blushes*  I'm a horrible speller as you probably noticed.  I'll try to do better!

White Wolf1:  Well, the town's not that safe after all, you were right, actually I have to thank you for that, I was wondering how I was going to move the story on to the next bit and you gave the idea.  Thank you! 

EnglishMystic:  I'll have to do what I can about the Legolas clone…  *author digs through messy room*  Here it is!  *Hands it over*  Enjoy!

Star-Stallion:  I think the Gimli/Inara bit is a lot of fun, I'm just going to have to work to make sure it seems real.  I like it because not too many people deal with dwarves.  I'm glad you think so too.  As for Legolas, poor guy, fun's not over for him yet!  (fun to be evil, is it not?)

Roseblade22:  It'll be a bit before I have to reach a decision about that part of the plot.  I have something planned that I'm not sure will go over well with people.  It's an important part of the plot though…  That's the hard part, I'm going to need a shield or something to fend off people if I do write it the way I've got it planned.  You especially, won't be the expected ending, so at least I'll be original…

I had to go and write a short Star Wars fan fic before this chapter, a review stung a bit…  But I'm back, and I'm going to finish, after the family event for Labor Day, spending time with younger cousins makes it awfully hard to write!

Did you see the listing of upcoming movies in the paper, there was the one about Mexico (I forget the name)  Jonny Depp and Antonio Bandares (sorry if it's spelled wrong), what better combo?  Speaking of Jonny Depp there's an RPG/1st person shooter style Pirates computer game out.  Possibly interesting. 

That's pretty funny about Jake Fannin.  If he does get chewed out on TV you should tape it and play it at school.  It would be really funny.  Have fun over Labor Day, and I'll talk to you soon hopefully!