Title: A tale about friendship, Part 13?
Author: Dís Thráinsdotter
E-mail: Overall rating: M, for violence and orctorment. This chapter: M
Summary: A group of children are told the tale of their friendship with the dwarves in general and the Folk of Durin in particular.
Warnings: The overall rating of this fic is M, as parts of it deals with violent battle and torment. There are also Original Characters in the fic, but no Mary Sues. Unbetaed, all mistakes belong to me.
Disclaimer: I don't own any one of Tolkien's characters, never have, and never will. The only ones I own are the people you have never met before.
Chapter 13, Rescues and Blackmail
Gandalf smiled when he heard about it. "We heard many tales about daring rescues in Rivendell as they were the ones the groups were most happy to share. But I would like to ask; is it true as we heard one group say, that Melian once entered an Orcden alone in order to rescue a Dwarf group?" Melian, Balin and Dáin nodded, and Melian said
"She mentions it in her book. They were checking a mountain when they found that what looked like a crack was in truth an escape exit where she and a group of friends found two Dwarves who were barely able to walk. They told Melian who gave them food and drink that their group had been taken captive by Orcs and forced to make tools, like pickaxes and other mining implements. When they had no more strength they were simply left and the door had been boarded up. But they had examined the walls immediately when they were brought there so they knew that an unused escape exit went from the chamber, it was opened by the strongest among them and they went to get help. Melian decided that she had to get down there and get the Dwarves out, fearing that it would take too long time to find and remove the boarding of the door so she brought food and drink with her and after giving it to them carried them out one by one." Balin said
"When we came there Melian came out with the last of them and the flames in her eyes spoke clearly about what had happened. Thráin asked her if she couldn't have simply brought food and drink to them, with the door boarded up the Orcs were unlikely to enter but Melian answered that she thought that the heavy boarding would take a very long time to find and remove, and that the rescued didn't have that time. They were truly emaciated and so happy to be outside again."
Melian said, "when the Orcs realised that their attempt at ambushes were not effective they tried blackmail. During a battle they were able to lay their hands on one of the Chieftains named Vit and later they told his son Lit that if he gave the Orcs Melian´s head his father would be returned unharmed. But Lit didn't react as the Orcs had anticipated, he told Melian about it as he was indeed told to in the letter his father had been told to write and they were able to turn the tables on the Orcs. Not only were they able to rescue Vit whom the Orcs had been planning to kill together with his son, they were also able to rescue the Dwarves and Elves who had been held in the den. After that failure the Orcs returned to their ambushes and never again did they try to blackmail anyone." Gandalf listened surprised to the story and said "it wouldn't surprise me if the Dark Lord had a hand in that" and Melian answered
"Melian thought that the plot was far to intelligent for the Orcs to have made it and she wrote in her book ´according to Vit the Orcs seemed to receive instructions from somewhere although he wasn't sure of where they came from. The Orcs would sometimes speak about a Boss who told them what to do and I wonder who it might be´." Melian looked at the children and said, "whoever it was must be a frightening person indeed" and the children shivered.
"What was the objective of the plot?" asked Thranduil and Melian answered
"To cause a rift in the Army, decreasing its effectiveness. Fortunately it didn't work and as it was never repeated I think the person directing the Orcs lost interest in them." Thranduil nodded as he remembered the times when the Dark Lord had won battles through dividing his enemies and causing them to fight among themselves. He had seen it happen and it made him happy to hear that the Dark Lord had for once been foiled in his own game. "That was new to me," Gandalf said and Balin answered
"Both the Elves and Dwarves came from the East and had been on trading journeys when they were taken captive. As soon as they had healed they returned to their homes and a company from the Dwarven people came to aid us." Gandalf nodded in understanding, if they hadn't passed Rivendell on their way home there was no way he could have heard about them at the time. Elrond might have heard about it later but if he wasn't there at the time it would still be unknown to him, as he never stayed long in one place. But it still worried him that the Dark Lord had taken an interest in the matter; it clearly showed that the intention was to sever Rivendell, Lothlorien and Mirkwood. It was most fortunate that it had failed.
TBC