A/N: Language alert

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"Look not back in anger, nor forward in fear But around you in awareness."
-- Ross Hersey

Chapter 17

The Dispassionate Art

The first part of the journey for the Imladris elves was uneventful and unremarkable. They had encountered one small band of Uruk Hai foot soldiers but after they had concealed themselves behind some bushes and trees and the Captain of her Thurin Tirith Guards had looked at her, she said only three words.

"Do not engage."

The elves watched as the loathsome creatures ran by on whatever errand their Master had sent them on and there was not one elf among the seven that did not want to jump into the middle of the contingent and start slashing away. Later, after the ugly beasts had passed and they had once more resumed their journey, the twins rode up beside their sister.

"Anayah, would you mind a question?"

"Not at all, Elladan - ask away."

"Why didn't we engage those Uruks? Why did we hide in the bushes?"

She looked at the eldest twin for a moment before answering.

"First, we were not hiding - we were temporarily unavailable for combat purposes. Second, we are in a hurry and dare not delay for we must always keep the greater good of the mission in both mind and sight, and must not forget that the greater good lies wherever Estel and Legolas are. Third, we did not engage the Uruks because if one of us would have been injured or killed, and while that fact in itself would be a tragedy of epic proportions, it would have left us with one less support person to search for our brother and friend. We must save our resources - that would be us - so that said resources will be available when needed."

"Rahan?"

"Yes, Súrion."

"She's using big words again." The Silvan Guard said in his very best childish voice.

"I am ignoring you two!" The Captain replied with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

Anayah reached over and play-punched Elladan in the arm.

"When it all boils down to the bottom of the pot … we're savin' it for later, bro'!" She said with a wink.

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When the time came for the seven riders to make their western turn after which they would follow the Ninglor River not only to its source but also to the little village of Hope, Anayah called both a halt and a conference.

"… and so it begins, my friends. We've already seen where Legolas and his human companion fought the Uruks and we know they came this way so, for the sake of argument, let us say that our search for information begins here. It looks like it rained at one point but I have faith that you will find enough information to put something together for us. Trackers … you're up. Find me a trail."

All kidding and playfulness aside, when it came down to the responsibilities of their mission, there was nobody more serious nor more capable about whatever they were doing than a Thurin Tirith warrior. Though they all could track, including the twins and Anayah, they would rely on the special skills of the Guards to find and follow the trail. Seeing that the riders broke into a single file formation behind Saeros and Súrion, the two tracking specialists, Elladan and Elrohir did the same, then all of them rode silently onward.

When they reached the now deserted village, they all stopped and dismounted.

"Elladan and Elrohir, I mean you no disrespect, but wherever you go and whatever you do, please take great care not to disturb anything that might be considered evidence - tracks or otherwise."

When she looked at her Guards and nodded her head, the two went to work. To the untrained eye, the behavior of the two Guards would probably have looked bizarre for they were going here and there, half crouched over, smelling leaf and soil, tracing foot prints and other signs, with their hands hovering a small distance above that sign but never quite touching. They were talking aloud as they went although it was neither to themselves nor to those following.

Elladan and Elrohir noticed that Anayah's second-in-command, Semoro, always stayed in the same position - to Anayah's left and in back, his back always to his Commander. When they asked the Captain why this was so, he explained.

"Semoro stands as you see him so that he can see what is behind the search group and so will be alert for any danger that may come from that direction so the others can then put their full attention on the job they are trying to do. I always stand behind your sister and to her right for backup and support."

When the three elves saw Anayah glance at them, Captain Rahan carefully moved the twins farther back.

"I am also here to make sure that nothing inadvertently moves into her line of sight and disturbs her concentration." He finished with a raised eyebrow.

Elladan and Elrohir watched what was happening for a bit.

"Captain Rahan?" Elrohir asked quietly.

"Yes, Lord Elrohir?"

"Why isn't Anayah helping with the search?" Elrohir frowned. "I know she can track, so why isn't she tracking as well?"

The search group was passing beneath some trees and Rahan waited until they were once more in the clear before he answered.

"Anayah is actually working very hard at the moment and is doing what is called 'profiling the incident.' Your sister will very carefully watch everything her trackers do and listen to what they say and if you listen closely to what she does say, you will hear her use words such as, 'stop,' 'again,' 'direction,' 'depth,' or 'age.' These are all words that she uses to clarify, in her mind, what the Trackers have told her or what they have done.

At the end of the search, when there is no more physical evidence to be had, she will put together all the information she has and will come up with a plan on what we are going to do. Our mission is an extraction mission and our Commander likes to have as much information about what is going on as possible so that we will not only know what happened but will also know the enemy and what we will be up against - both important factors not only for our own safety but for the safety of those we are going after.

By the time she finishes 'utilizing her resources' as she likes to call it, she will know more about what was going on here than even the people that were actually here. We start each mission expecting the worst and in that way are totally prepared for anything that may occur, but if we are wrong and those we are going after are doing no more than taking a vacation, we don't begrudge the time spent profiling."

The twins were fascinated by the expertise of the Guards and instinctively stepped in the footprints of the walker in front of them as they followed everybody around the village. Rahan noticed this and nodded to himself, acknowledging that the two brothers would be worthy allies in the following days.

Elrohir nudged his twin in the ribs with his elbow and nodded his head toward ten graves that lay apace off and when the elder twin finally met Elrohir's gaze, his eyes were saddened. The two could tell that the graves had all been made on the same day and since the odds of ten people all dying on the same day was astronomical, these ten had to have been a victim of some catastrophe - ten lives lost - but for what?

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the group came to the cave and Súrion climbed up the hill and after looking down through the cave's "chimney," called out to Anayah.

"There's a casket in here but no other bodies or anything else that I can see."

"Leave it." Anayah yelled back. "Leave it in peace." She touched her forehead in respect.

Having finished their search, the trackers stood quietly while Anayah sat on her heels staring at what used to be the front entrance of the cave.

"What were the two of you doing here?" She said, almost to herself.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze brushed by her and Anayah could have sworn she caught a definite feminine scent when it did and could also have sworn that she had heard a faint whisper that said, "Go east. Hurry!" When the hair on the back of her neck stood on end she involuntarily shivered then quickly rose to her feet and faced the others.

"Did any of you just feel that breeze or hear that whisper?"

When everyone shook their heads, she shivered again.

"Damn, that's enough to give a person the spooks."

She turned in a slow circle, hands on her hips, and when she had turned to the others once more, she sighed.

"Ok. I think I have all the information I need - interject, clarify and correct but do not debate until I am finish."

She looked at the others and they, in turn, nodded their heads. Anayah sighed once more, then began.

"Legolas and this human engaged a contingent of Uruk Hai foot soldiers on the way to this village, but since the human is not that large, I think it would be safe to assume that if he did any fighting at all, it would have been something minimal. Legolas was wounded in this battle and was very ill by the time they reached this village. I know this because both sets of footprints were close together indicating that the human was more than likely supporting the Prince when they arrived. They came in at a leisurely pace and so we can also assume that they were not being pursued when they arrived."

She pause a moment and looked at different places in the village before she continued.

"Both Legolas and his companion went into the house near the cave, the human came out and Legolas also exited the house some hours later, probably after he had rested. Before he once more met up with his companion, the human had buried ten bodies and since the graves are side by side and an equal distance apart except for one of the graves, I would say the human knew these people and the dead were therefore, villagers. The two graves that touch suggests intimacy and the two were probably either husband and wife or boyfriend and girlfriend and that also supports my theory that the ten people were villagers. Nobody would bury the murderers of their friends and family within the same site as those murdered. Since there are ten graves but no more bodies, living ones included, it can also be assumed that the rest of the villagers were taken by slavers and I say this because there are a number of older wagon tracks found by my trackers."

Anayah laced her hands behind her back and began to pace back and forth in front of the others as she talked. Nobody interrupted and all six elves just stood silently, and in truth, it was unlikely that at the moment she was aware of any of them.

"Legolas and this human went to this cave, probably to see the casket."

She paused and turned to her Silvan Guard.

"Súrion, was there anything remarkable about the casket in the cave?"

"Ornately carved by a skilled craftsman … very old … nothing remarkable about the motif."

"Thank you." She said before she went back to her pacing.

"Ok. Legolas and the human walked into the cave at a leisurely pace so the slavers had not yet arrived. They walk out, the slavers are sitting here, in front, and because of the evident deviation of the weight distribution in the footprint, I would say that it was Legolas who triggered the cave-in which also supports my theory that the slavers were waiting when the two left the cave."

She fell silent for a few moments as she mentally followed the tracks from the cave.

"Legolas was hurt badly by these slavers before he was put in the wagon. Now the question to ask is why the slavers would severely damage a potential source of profit?"

Again Anayah paused and this time she looked from the cave to the ten graves that lay under the shade of the tree a bit further away then back to the cave, this time with a frown on her face. Without looking at the others, and almost for her own benefit, she pointed a finger at the cave as she once more began to pace back and forth.

"Who is this person who lies at rest in this cave? The cave-in was triggered after something of value was taken from the cave. I know this because the slavers would have dug their way back into the cave if Legolas or the human hadn't had something of value with them. I think that these two made an "oopsie" here - a mistake - the two were looking at something in the cave, heard a noise and thinking it was Estel, exited the cave with this thing of value in their hands. Seeing that it was slavers that awaited them and not Estel, Legolas triggers the cave-in, which was a fail-safe device to protect the cave and whatever it held, and after the fact, discovers the human is still holding the thing of value in his hands. I think the boo-boo was just an error in judgement on the human's part."

Rahan handed Anayah a flask of water and she drank deeply before she handed it back to her Captain then looked from the graves to the cave before continuing with her profile.

"There is someone special in that casket because these people bury their dead under the ground, not in tombs. The thing of value had some connection with whoever is in that casket but the slavers failed to make the connection otherwise they would tunneled their way back into the cave."

She turned to her Guards.

"Súrion, Saeros - am I correct in remembering that one set of slavers wagons' tracks were older than the other set?"

It was her Noldor tracker, Saeros that answered.

"You are correct. Do you want an exact age on either set?"

She smiled at her Guard.

"Thanks, Saeros but age is a moot point at this time - I just needed to know if one was older."

Anayah saw something leading off into the forest and half an hour after she sent Saeros and Súrion to investigate they were back and explained their findings. Her eyes opened in amazement.

"Sweet Elbereth!" She said quietly.

"There is a much older set of prints heading off into the forest and the trackers say they belong to the human and he was on the run. I am also told that at one point that he had stopped and looked back at the village."

Her eyes started to tear up as she continued, speaking softly.

"The human ran, and from the evidence and the familiarity he showed with the cave, I would say he was running to protect whatever was in there and probably had to leave so quickly that he didn't have time to spring the trap. The ten dead villagers defended his escape - and died - and he watched the whole thing from behind that tree."

She pointed towards a thick pine and everyone turned to look.

"He saw ten people that he knew, being murdered in front of his eyes - ten people who gave their lives to protect him - and there was probably not a single thing he could do to save them or honor their passing."

A solitary tear tracked its way down her cheek and she angrily brushed it away.

"Focus, Anayah." The big Captain said quietly. "There will be time for grief and anger later."

She nodded her head without looking at her Captain, stood quietly for a moment with her eyes closed, then took a deep breath and continued.

"Ok. There was a slaver's wagon parked outside the cave and from the way the ground was torn up and the amount of blood, I would say that they were angry with Legolas about the cave-in and tried to force him to tell them what was in the cave. They are beating him unmercifully then discover that the human is holding something - if Legolas had been holding it, they probably would not have touched him."

She thought a bit, paced a bit then rubbed her temples, trying to make the headache she had back off a bit.

"Anyway, they discover what the human is holding, and after throwing the two in the wagon, take off. Legolas may be hurt badly, but he is not dead - or the slavers wouldn't have taken him with them - and his injuries were probably treatable. I would say that because slavers normally can't scratch their heads without someone showing them how, that would mean that the human traveling with Legolas is a healer or at least has substantial healing skills. Slavers have been known to give their new slaves substantial "ass whippings," and from the amount of blood, they hurt the Prince, so … I would say the human is a qualified healer - or the slavers would either have killed Legolas or left him behind to die."

Again she sat on her heels and looked out over the village.

"Estel's story is fairly easy to tell. When he got here, he did almost the same thing we just did, and left. I just wished he would have had the time to send for help or let us know where he was going."

She turned to her Captain.

"Did you pick up Legolas's bow, quiver and long knives from the house?"

"Yes, I did. I had Semoro go load them on my horse."

"Ok. Thanks. Well, I guess that is about it." She looked at the darkening sky. "Since it is already getting dark, I say that we sleep here tonight and leave at first light. Good job guys."

Without another word to the others, she walked off down the hill toward the horses.

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Anayah sat back from the fire, her back against a tree, deep in thought about what had happened in the village. Not wanting to intrude on her solitude the others let her be but when dinner had been prepared, her Captain took her a bowl of the stew and although she smiled, remained silent so Rahan walked back to the others and sat. When the twins asked him what the problem was, he just smiled at the two and motioned with his head towards where the horses were standing. While grooming the animals for the last time that day, the Captain explained.

"When Anayah does what she did today, she truly gets into the moment and sees what they see and feels what they felt, what they went through and oftentimes also has to get 'into the minds' of the enemy as well so she fully understands their motivations and actions. Thank Ilúvatar that the enemy was only slavers - not much of a mind to worry about."

The three elves chuckled.

"Even though deductive reasoning is supposed to be a dispassionate art, for your sister, that art quickly goes into the realm of empathy. When I have talked to her about it, she just says that it is just as important to know what fuels the passions of the victim as it is to know what is in the heart of the enemy. Most beings, who are capable of killing in the fashion and for the reasons these people were killed for, are usually bullies - and all bullies have a trigger. Anayah likes to know what lights the fuse for the enemy and when she finally figures it out, it is often hurtful for her. In the case of what happened here, it was love as well as a sense of community that ignited the villagers' passion to defend the human and it was the light from those two feelings that the slavers could not abide - and so they put that light out."

Elladan paused in his brushing and his horse turned its head to look at its rider, wondering why he had paused.

"Does it take long for Anayah to get over what she is feeling?"

"No, Lord Elladan, it does not - although it might if we did nothing. Her grief and anger are things that my elves and I won't let hold her for long. We will give her a bit longer and then we will draw her back to us."

Elrohir had been silent throughout the entire conversation but after he had finished grooming his horse and had settled it down for the night, he turned to the others.

"She is so young to have to do all this, Captain. I can only imagine what it is doing to her spirit."

Rahan put an arm around the younger twin's shoulders as they began to walk back to the fire.

"Steel is tempered by the fire, Lord Elrohir … tempered - not destroyed. Your sister is strong and with the support of my elves and myself and with the love of her family, she will survive the things she has to do. Now let us go back to the fire and rest - for we will be leaving at dawn."

TBC