Title: A tale about friendship, Part 19?

Author: Dís Thráinsdotter

E-mail: Overall rating: R, for violence and orctorment. This chapter: R

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 R, 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 19, The search for Thráin

The children looked shocked and Thráin asked, "Why did he leave the Halls in the Blue Mountains so suddenly, without speaking much with Thórin? I smell mischief here" and Melian answered, "so did our foremother also. She was troubled by the fact that he had left in such a hurry and then she started to see a pattern. When she realised what she had seen as a child, she shuddered. She had never spoken about it when she wrote it down but when she washed Thrór with a cloth in order to take down his temperature a bit, she had seen that he wore a ring on a chain around his neck. He had asked her not to tell anyone about it and said ´it is important although he didn't say why. Now she understood that she had seen one of the Great Rings, one of the Seven, and then she understood what Thrór had meant. It was important that no one knew who had the ring. She also understood why Thrór had spent so much time alone with Thráin, according to Thórin the better part of an hour. Thrór must have used that time to pass on the Ring to his son. That was also the explanation of one question that had haunted her all those years, why had the Orcs tormented him for so long if all they wanted to do was to set an example? Now she understood that the setting of an example wasn't the reason, they had been asking about the Ring, who had it and where it was. That was the reason why Thráin was made to go so quickly, before he had a chance to pass it on to Thórin."

Melian saw that her children looked puzzled and asked them "have I told you about Celebrimbor son of Curufin?" Thrór answered

"You said that he was Narvi´s friend and a great jewel smith". Thranduil smiled when he heard the priorities that the children made; to them it was more important that Celebrimbor had been a Dwarf-friend than that he had made so many beautiful things. Melian continued

"He made friends with a stranger who named himself Annatar, Lord of Gifts, he and the People of the Jewel smiths were taught how to make the Rings of Power. But this Annatar turned out to be none other than Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor. He attacked the people of Eregion and Gil-Galad of Lindon sent his herald Elrond with an army to aid them. They came too late to rescue Celebrimbor and many others, but they joined with Celeborn and the part of the people that he had been able to gather. Still they were hard pressed until the Orcs and foul Men were attacked from behind by the Folk of Durin III and the Elves of Lothlorien." She told them that the united army had found Celebrimbor´s body riddled with Orcarrows and he had also been tormented. Then Thráin asked

"What has this got to do with Thráins disappearance?" Melian answered

"Sauron couldn't find the Three or the Seven and he has always looked for them. He did find the Nine and gave them to Men, and they became ensnared by them. Celebrimbor gave the Seven to the Fathers of the Folks, and Celebrimbor gave the Three to the Elves. No one knows now where they are kept.

Sauron´s aim was to control all the Free Peoples by controlling their Lords but he found out that he was unable to control the Dwarf lords. None has ever been able to do that and because of this he has always tried to take the Rings from their bearers. By this time only one ring was left free and that was the ring that Celebrimbor, according to tales, gave to Durin III. The Dark Lord had found out where the Ring was and he was using the small control he had on it to cause Thráin to leave the Blue Mountains. Melian could only hope that Thráin had been able to hide the Ring somewhere where the Orcs wouldn't look.

Melian knew that she had to find Thráin quickly in order to rescue him from the Dark Lord and his minions. For that reason she gathered as much provisions as she could while also making sure that Balin and his companions were given provisions. She and her children then went to Azanulbizar, and according to her book she found it hard to go up the valley as she heard the voices of the Fallen inside her head. She and her children searched through as much of the passages of Khazad-Dûm as they could, parts of the lower passages were flooded and most probably still are. But they didn't find as much as a single strand of his beard there. Finally after going through the length, breadth and depth of Khazad-Dûm they left via the West Doors that were made by Narvi while Celebrimbor drew the signs and emblems on them.

From there they made their way to Bree, hoping to meet some of the Wandering Folk of Durin and ask them to bring a message to Thórin that his father wasn't in Khazad-Dûm before returning to the village and continuing their search. But to Melians astonishment they found that Thórin and some companions were in Bree when they came there along with Hepte and a group of his people. When they were invited by Thórin to come to the Halls in the Blue Mountains Melian tried to decline in a polite manner, saying that she still had to find Thráin but Thórin told her that he felt in his heart that his father had either escaped, probably making his way to her village, or if the Orcs had taken him captive that they had already killed him. In the end Melian and her children along with Hepte and his people went with Thórin and his companions to the Blue Mountains. Hepte was quite amazed to find that one of Melian´s sons was named after him although he had also been given a more normal Mannish name by his father. To the astonishment of the father they rarely used the names he had given the children, only when they were travelling through Elven realms where their Dwarven names could give them trouble, and that custom has been kept through our mother line. My own Dwarven name is Guthr."

Gandalf nodded and said to them "I was told about Thráins disappearance and like your foremother I went through Khazad-Dûm without finding him there. It made me feel sad and I decided to keep looking for him while I did other errands. I met your foremother on one occasion, we told each other where each had searched but we were unable to find him there. When I did find him it was too late." Melian said

"Our foremother kept searching for him where ever she went until she could no longer travel. It pained her heart that he hadn't come to her village when she returned there and she was forced to continue her search. When she passed away she bequeathed to her children and grandchildren among other things the duty to search for Thráin until they either found him or found proof that he had passed away, and to get vengeance on whoever had taken him captive even if it was the Dark Lord himself. She also told them that it was their solemn duty to help the Folks when they were in need of it and as a token of this she gave the signet rings she had been given to her daughters. The ring of Thrór and the dagger of Grór were given to her eldest daughter named Dis and the other rings went to her other daughters.

When she had done this she suddenly sat up in her bed looking at the door and said ´Thrór, Frerin, how is it that you are here? and then she fell down on the bed. Her children closed her eyes, washed and clad her body and folded her hands on her chest. They had replicas made of the signet rings and put them on her fingers so she could use them to prove her identity in the Halls of Awaiting. When the children left the house a woman, known to be a seer asked them ´who were the Dwarves entering the house and leaving together with Melian? They buried Melian in the graveyard in a stone tomb, made by a Dwarf group who visited the village at the time. They felt sad but were comforted by her children who told them that they would always be welcome to the village. ´Mother told me that she will haunt me if I don't keep this promise Hepte told them and this promise comforted them."

Gandalf asked Melian "how could she be so sure that they would keep their promises?" and Melian answered "apart from making a deathbed request of it which made it an irrefutable duty to them, she had also written it in her book. Her last entry reads ´I know now that my life is reaching it's end, the signs I have seen so often in others I see now in my own body. I am not afraid of death, as I have lived a long and good life, even though it has also had its sad and horrible parts. I have begged all whom I might have harmed to pardon me and I have pardoned all who have harmed me. But I will never forgive the Orcs for what they did to Thrór son of Dáin, my friend. I bequeath to my children and grandchildren the search for Thráin son of Thrór, Lord of Erebor, Durin´s Heir and my friend; and the vengeance on whoever holds him captive, even if it is the Dark Lord himself. If I were to be able to make one request to the Gods it would be to be able to meet Thrór, Frerin, Nain, Fundin and all other friends who have passed away during the years. If I was given the choice, which kindred I want to belong to, I know what my answer would be. "

TBC