Disclaimer: Only Alec and his people belong to me. Tolkien ideas belong to him. I don't claim the Sues.
The six of them walked in a loose group after introducing themselves. Alec stayed in the rear while Greywolf walked in front, resting the ax over his shoulder. Jenny seemed to be eyeing the weapons Alec was carrying. While the other two seemed to be eyeing other parts of him. This made him shift nervously as he walked and he dropped further behind. He couldn't understand him, but what the girls were talking about were if he knew Legolas and how personally and if he could introduce him to them and what if they were best friends, what if he fell in love with one of them… and other inane things like that.
After promising that they'd decide what to do after Legolas declared their love for one of them (because how could he not?) the group walked out of the forest into the bowl of a valley. Looking around, Arty saw that the forest that they came out of was at one end of a huge valley bowl surrounded by tall snow capped mountains that glisten almost golden. The grasses was up to their hips, some deer like creatures grazing out in a small herd ahead of them. A dirt road stretched out before them and following it she saw it lead to what must be the city that the two brothers had been talking about. It sat on a rise in the bowl at the other end of the valley surrounded by a cream colored wall. To their right, closer by, was a village, smoke rising from the fires that must be going on in the homes.
"That must be Rivendale!" Ori cried out pointing towards the city. "Where Elrond rules."
Arty just sighed and shook her head. "What is the name of the city?" she asked Greywolf.
"Oh… um Xanth. Though most people just call it the Wizard's City," he said, "But we aren't going that far. Just up to the farming village."
Nodding Arty looked around, "And how far away is that?"
"About a three hour walk."
"It's going to be a long walk."
"Why do you say that?"
"Trust me, it is," Arty said, looking back at the three girls.
Half an hour later Chloe began to whine about how she was tired. Arty was surprised she lasted that long. Not that she could blame the girl, she too was getting tired, not used to walking so much and at the pace the two brothers set. Ori started to join in with her and sat down on the ground with the declaration, "I'm not moving another foot."
"Me either." Chloe said, "It feels like my feet are going to fall off."
Alec looked over at Arty wonderingly, "What did they say?"
"They're tired of walking," she said, hiding the fact that she too was tired.
"Why aren't there any horses? I want to ride a horse to Rivendale," Chloe continued.
"But we've hardly been walking," Alec protested to Arty.
Sighing Greywolf said, "We'll give them five minutes. It's no wonder their feet are tired, look at what they're wearing." He gestured to the girls who were wearing thin soled shoes, definitely not the sort of things to be worn when walking out on a dirt road in the middle of no where.
Alec grumbled a bit, but nodded. He started to stalk around them in a loose circle, Jenny following him. About the second circle around he turned and glowered at her. "What does she want?" He asked Arty who in turned asked Jenny.
"I want to see one of his knives," Jenny said with a gleam in her eyes. Arty translated this back to Alec, who shrugged and tossed her one of his knives. The gleam left her eyes and she let out a shriek as the knife nearly impaled her. Everyone turned to look at her; Alec's eyes were agog. Straightening up, she glared back at the others and picked up the knife inexpertly, but trying to look like she knew what she was doing.
Alec, Arty noticed, was keeping a sharp eye on her now. He didn't try to retrieve the knife though. Just watch over her.
It was late dusk when they entered the village. About twenty minutes before, when the sun had gone far enough down, Alec had created small globes of fire to follow them around like will o' wisps. This had caused no small excitement amount all four of the girls; an actual display of magic. For Arty, it drove home the fact that they weren't in Kansas any more. For Chloe, however, she gave the delighted cry of, "I was right! Now I can tell those stupid reviewers that they had no right to say my witch couldn't do that."
"But witches can't do that." Greywolf said. Chloe wasn't interested in hearing what he said when Arty tried to tell him. To her, everything was just as she thought it should be.
The village looked rather like a farming village, which was what it was. Fields surrounded a central area where the homes and few shops were. On posts were globes of fire that lit the streets with meager light. Greywolf and Alec seemed to fit right in, though people looked at Alec warily and kept out of his way. Arty couldn't see why though, he looked just like everyone else, despite the pointy ears and several people were walking around with will o' wisps just like their group, and one or two wore armor. She guessed it would just have to be something to be learned later.
Near the middle of the village was a hill with smoke coming out of it and next to it was an inn called, appropriately, "Next to the Smoking Hill". Alec extinguished the lights and pushed his way in, the others following. Inside was a large common room with a woman standing behind a bar. A shadowy stair well led up to a second story. Several women sat at one table embroidering shirts and jackets.
The woman behind the bar, a large woman with a hawk nose and blue eyes, looked at Alec and then at Greywolf and finally at the girls. "When I said that you needed to get a lass, 'Wolf my lad, I didn't mean four of them. Or is one finally attracted to that brother of yours?" Both of the brothers blushed.
"No Mystra Melfin, we found them in the woods and are bringing back them back to the city," Greywolf said.
"Did you now?"
"Yes'm," Alec replied.
"Well I have a room for them and one for the both of you," she said, "But they'll have to share a bed…and you too."
"That's fine," Alec said. He walked over to the bar and dumped some coins on the bar. Mystra Melfin nabbed a handful of them over Alec's protests.
"You want to eat, don't you?"
"Yes Mystra."
Melfin turned and bellowed towards the back, where it seemed the kitchen was. "Six dinners!" She looked back at them and said, "Go, sit, food will be brought."
Next: Rivendale? RivenDell? Rivendalle? What's it called? Xanth?