Andúin immediately drew her sword.
"Please!" it suddenly screamed. "Please don't kill me! I mean you no harm!" It then began to wail an awful high-pitched scream. Andúin immediately dropped her sword to cover her ears, and Jnían did the same.
"Stop that!" Jnían yelled. "We aren't going to hurt you! You just startled us, that's all." It stopped wailing and looked at them through big disks of eyes. It came up to about a human's waist in height. It had small pointed ears and shiny skin. Dark, short, thin hair sprouted from its head. It was clothed in green and brown pants and a shirt. No weapon was visible.
"Who are you?" Andúin asked. "And what?"
"I am Hwesta, and I am an Alda Bar, or tree dweller. There aren't many of my kind left, as we have no weapons. People like you come and kill us and send us from our homes." A tear ran down its face. "Did you come to kill Hwesta?"
"We already told you we wouldn't kill you," Andúin said, sheathing her sword. "You scared us. I mean, we've never seen anything like you before."
"Hwesta understands," it said. "I have seen very few humans lately."
"Well, Hwesta, we really need to be on our way," Jnían started.
But Hwesta broke in. "No! Strangers can't leave yet. They have been kind, and they shall be rewarded." It waved its spindly fingers, and suddenly it was levitating at eye-level. "Follow me," he said, then went deeper into the forest.
"Did you see that?" Andúin asked.
"They seem to have some kind of forest magic. That must be why they still survive without weapons," Jnían replied. Then the two of the girls followed Hwesta into the forest.
They rode for about a half of a mile, before they stopped in front of a large tree. Hwesta floated into the tree, and climbed up until he vanished under the thicket of green leaves.
"What is he doing?" Andúin shifted uncomfortably. Finally he returned. Surprisingly the large trunk opened into a doorway. Cautiously Jnían and Andúin followed Hwesta into the tree. They walked down several sets of stairs.
"Because of you," Hwesta started, "Most of us were forced to move down here. Sometimes though, we find it better down here. Not only humans, but animals too, are oblivious to our whereabouts."
They walked through another doorway and before them was a city. A small city, of course, but very complex.
"Fascinating," Jnían remarked.
"Quite," Andúin agreed. A few minutes later they stopped.
"Now, what do you desire?" he waited a beat, "within reason, of course."
"The book," Andúin whispered.
"Yes. We are on our way to Rivendell to translate this journal in the archives. The language is a mystery," Jnían finished.
"Ahhhhh…..we can help you, you are in luck. We are masters of language," Hwesta said with pride. "Come, this way." They were behind him again, the excitement building in their stomachs. They came to a small hut and went inside. Sitting at a cluttered table was an older version of Hwesta.
"Raíne? This is…." He trailed off. Jnían was busy looking around.
"Oh. Jnían and Andúin," Andúin gestured to each of them.
"Yes, Jnían and Andúin," Hwesta said. "They need something translated."
"Fine. What is it?" Raíne asked in a raspy voice.
"This," Andúin handed him the journal. Raíne opened the journal and flipped through some pages.
"Derellish…the shadow language. This is rarely ever used. I'm not sure if you would find this in archives, but it definitely exists," he said.
"What does it say?" Andúin asked.
"Hold on…are you trying to find the Dáe staff?" Raíne prompted.
"We are," Jnían answered.
"Well, it's not in one piece, from what I see…it's in four. You have to follow the clues and find it. There's no other way. There's a location, and instructions for the beginning of the quest."
"What are they?" Andúin asked, determined.
Hwesta starred at the book. "It says to start where the city touches the clouds. Do you know where that is?"
"The Valor," Andúin said. "The starting point is Minas Tirith. That must be why those people were in Osgiliath."
"That's a large city," Jnían said. "Does it describe the location in any more detail?"
"It says very little," the elder said. "Wait, here. I think I found it. 'The token which is sought shall be under the mark of the ruler of Men, tall and white as stone.'" He stopped. "That is all it says. Does it mean anything to you?"
"We shall make sense of it later," Jnían said. "What of the other locations?"
"Patience, my child," he said. "I shall place each translation into the amulet. When you get to each location, the next shall be revealed to you. But if this falls back into the wrong hands, everything shall be lost. I shall give you the amulet come morning's light." He turned and exited the room.
"The girls were given food, drink, and sleeping quarters fro the night. "I believe I have solved the riddle," Jnían said. "I think it us under a marble statue of Elessar."
"There is one in our Great Hall," Andúin said. "Maybe it is there. But I hope we can leave as soon as possible. Lhach and hid men have probably already translated the first inscription. We have to find it first."
Finally the sun rose. They were awoken by Hwesta. "Here," he said, handing Jnían an amulet. It had a small blue gem centered in a silver plaque. She put the chain around her neck.
"We must be going," Andúin told him, and he led them out of the forest.
"May the grace of our people protect you," he said as they mounted their horses.
"And may the grace of the valor be with you always," Jnían said to him as they rode off. When they looked back at him, he had vanished.
They rode steady for three days to the borders of Gondor. They camped in the same spot they had less then eight days ago. Jnían had been feeling uneasy since they left Rohan. She sensed something was wrong, but didn't know what it was.
"Suddenly, Andúin had a thought. "Jnían, I know where the token is. It's not under the statue; it's under the White Tree. It has been symbolic of the Kings of Gondor for thousands of years!"
Jnían smiled at her, this thought giving her new hope. But they suddenly heard a twig break behind them. They both jumped up, swords drawn. Figures came out of the darkness into their firelight.
"Drop your swords," one of them commanded. The girls didn't move. But suddenly more came, surrounding them. They were outnumbered.
"Thank you girls for telling us the location of the first token," a man said. "We would have had a hard time finding it ourselves."
"I'm sorry gentlemen, but I don't think any of you will live long enough to reach it," Jnían signaled. All of a sudden they both ran in opposite directions pushing through the crown as fast as they could. Seconds later they both vanished with the forest. Now they had the element of surprise. Jnían quickly slid off Amáteria onto the ground. She climbed up a tree and moved from one to another until show was silently hovering over the delegates. Lhach cursed loudly.
"Come on! We must reach Minas Tirith before them. And watch you backs," he commanded. Jnían estimated Andúin to be about five feet behind the delegates, hiding. The delegates filed into two lines, and began to ride off. Just as the last one passed under the tree Jnían hopped on his horse. Before he could make any noise, Jnían knocked him unconscious with Ranafëa. Andúin raced from behind the trees and took on the other line. Both Jnían and Andúin avoided killing anyone. Once they reached Lhach, he had no idea what was going on behind him. Andúin stopped his horse while Jnían bound his hands with a rope. She secured him to a tree and then they continued on to Minas Tirith.
About an hour later it began to rain hard. They considered taking shelter, but decided it was more important to continue on. Amáteria and Alata swiftly plashed through mud, not faltering in the least. Andúin and Jnían's hair clung to them after being thoroughly saturated with rain. They finally stopped for camp in a small cavern. A small fire was aglow and giving heat to the clammy hands and feet of the girls.
"What business do the delegates have with the Dáe staff?" Andúin wondered aloud.
"I'm not quite sure," Jnían answered. "The elder tree elf spoke of the danger of it falling into the wrong hands. It muse have power of good, and of evil. This gives us more determination to find it then."
'Well, I'm not anxious to return to Minas Tirith. The last thing I need is my father's worry and concern," Andúin sighed.
"My mother wishes for me to marry an Elf from Rivendell. He has asked me several times, and I continue to decline. He won't give up," Jnían spoke what was on her mind.
"Don't let your mother pressure you into something. She probably wants what's best for you, but sometimes doing the right thing isn't doing the right thing," Andúin said matter-of-factly. Jnían glanced up at her seriously.
"I'm sorry," Andúin started, "It's not my place."
"No reason for apologies," Jnían said, "you're right. Sometimes being rational isn't the answer…We should rest now, we'll start early."
A day passed, and they finally reached Minas Tirith. They decided to go at night and try to retrieve the token. There was a problem, though. How would they get to it?
"There's no possible way to reach it without damaging the tree. We cannot risk it," Andúin stated.
"There is a dungeon in Minas Tirith…"Jnían said, waiting for conformation.
"Yes, it's within the cliff. It was been here since the beginning of the city…oh, I see. It will be dark soon, we should get ready."
Once it was dusk, the girls made their way into the city. Finally, they made into the damp and dark dungeon. They searched front to back, and couldn't find anything. In the last cell they stopped for a moment.
"What a waste of time," Andúin leaned her hand against a stone relic. It begun to slide into the wall, as the wall opened.
"Not quite," Jnían replied with a smile on her face. The small room was covered with dust and cobwebs. Andúin moved the torch forward. On the back wall was writing. It read, 'Wait until the full moon shines, the amulet will show you the way.' Both girls studied it quizzically.
"There's a full moon tonight," Andúin said. Jnían noticed an engraving in the wall. A perfect fit for the amulet she held around her neck.
"Wait," Jnían pulled the amulet from her neck and placed it in the wall. The moon shone through a hole in the cliff, into the amulet, and pointed to the East wall of the room. Jnían immediately followed it. She pushed on the stone block. It was loose. She pulled it out. Inside was a small chest and key. Jnían carefully removed them, while Andúin silently watched. She opened the chest, and found a number of things. There was a large diamond, a scroll, and a shrouded object. Andúin pulled out the scroll. Jnían scanned over the other items. She removed the shrouded item and unraveled it. There was a pure gold rod about a foot and a half's length.
"It's the bottom of the staff," Andúin explained from the scroll. "It gives more instructions to find the next piece."
"Wait, before we continue we should put this in a safe place. Perhaps we should leave it with Meshía, I trust her," Jnían said.
They left the dungeon without a problem. They were beginning to ride out of the city. They passed a silent marketplace, some of the carts still containing the goods that didn't sell from the previous day. Andúin leaned from Alata as they went past the cart and grabbed an apple.
"Isn't that stealing?" Jnían asked her.
"Not when you're trying to save the world," Andúin answered in between bites. "It's common courtesy to offer an apple to the heroine."
The two of them laughed together. They approached the gate deep in conversation. Suddenly, they heard the sound of many footfalls. They stopped. Guards from the gate surrounded them. They girls realized that they had forgotten to put of their hoods.
"Lady Andúin!" one of them said. "Your father has been worried sick about you!"
"Captain Thalion," Andúin said, recognizing him. "That's very unnecessary."
"No, it is not," he said. "You could have been in very real danger. You are very important to this country, and your father…"
Andúin sighed. Jnían just looked between her, the Captain, and the soldiers, looking confused.
"I think we should go up to the castle at once," the captain said. He motioned his men and they escorted the girls back up to the castle.
They came to the great courtyard. The new rising sun's orange rays shone on the white tree. They entered the Great Hall. Lord Eldarion was already seated in his throne.
He jumped up when they entered. "Andúin!" he exclaimed, and rushed toward her, pulling her into an embrace. "Where have you been?"
"Father, I…" she started but he suddenly interrupted her.
"Who is that?" he said, gesturing at Jnían.
"Father, that's my friend Jnían," Andúin said quickly. Jnían bowed.
"Jnían? Daughter of Akanara, daughter of Lord Elrond of Rivendell?" he said, peering at her.
Jnían looked at him, confused. She was told by Lady Galadriel that her mother had been an orphan of unknown parents all her life. Suddenly someone she didn't even know was telling her her grandfather was Elrond.
Andúin was just as confused. Elrond was her great-grandfather, and that would make her actually related to Jnían.
Eldarion looked in between them, and then cleared her throat. "Captain, I'm sure Lady Jnían's mother is very worried about her as well. Take some of your men and escort her back to Lórien and apologize to her mother about her gallivanting with my daughter."
"Yes, my lord," the captain said, extending his arm to Jnían. She gingerly took it and walked wit him from the room. Several men exited after them. Jnían gave Andúin one last look, then went through the door.
After everyone had left, Eldarion looked sternly at Andúin. "I can't believe you did this," he said. "It's completely out of your character. If you are trying to gain my trust, this did not help." He massaged his temples. "Now, we shall discuss this later."
He left the room, leaving Andúin standing there, the piece of the staff in her hand.