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~ The Lost Princess and the Three Dwarves ~

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It was a few hours before sunrise when she finally decided to stop to rest. She had just unslung her pack onto the ground when she heard an odd noise in the distance. Up until then she had heard naught but besides the rustling of breeze whispering sadly through the tall grasses and lonely little trees.

Then there was a muffled crack. Then another. The cracking noise became clearer. Whatever it was it was getting closer. Then the cracks were followed by faint crashing sounds. She realized she was hearing the felling of trees. Someone was out there, not far, and coming closer. Suddenly the noise stopped. Within a few minutes she could see a thin wisp of smoke rising up through the trees in the distance.

Elraen wondered if she should get more distance from the noise, but that would require backtracking - which might be useless as they seemed to be heading in her direction - or if she should move to more open space, which was had its own risks. She decided to sneak up for a closer look. She dropped her torch stick but brought her pack along, in case she suddenly had to run for it.

The cover of night at least allowed her to sneak up quite close to what looked to be an encampment, between a wall of hillside rock and several boulders through which ran a large and ancient-looking footpath. A small fire burned in the center. She stole up to the farthest boulder and peeked around the side. By the fire sat three short and strange stocky men with long colorful beards and pointy hats and scarves, and iron cuffs round their wrists. They were linked together with a thick iron chain. 'Prisoners?' thought Elraen. 'Are others out here risking the dangers of the wild, too? Who could their captors be?'

Slowly she crawled up to the next boulder. Peeking out again she saw them: large people who looked a little like men, but with hunches and sickly skin and terrible faces with scratching throaty voices.

Goblins! She'd learned some about them from her childhood history lessons, but never much of what they might look or sound like. There were a good dozen of them, maybe a few more, but seemed divided into two different sides, one of which seemed to wear a fine uniform though all in black.

"Where's you headin?" said the leader of the more scrabbly group to the eldest of the prisoners. The captive wouldn't answer even with a blade held to his face. The youngest tried to stand up to protest and got a swift kick to the back, nearly knocking him into the fire.

Elraen winced, and she was afraid, but at the sight of such cruel treatment she wondered if there was anything to be done. But she had just been rescued by strangers, so she felt obliged to take the opportunity to pass it forward.

Suddenly a large stick flew across the scene, hitting the one who just spoke on the head. "Master wants to question 'em first!" said the other, she supposed he was the leader of the nicer dressed group. "No matter for it now, won't be stopped here long."

The first one let out a sort of growling hiss noise and said no more. Without thinking Elraen searched the ground and picked up a large rock. The second leader turned away, his followers turned toward him for some kind of huddled discussion. This was her chance. She held her breath, took aim and hurled it. She ducked down behind the boulder as it smacked the leader right in the back of the head. She heard the ring of a sword being pulled from its sheath. Elraen slowly peeked around the side of the boulder, just in time to see a head fall to the ground. She turned around, clinching her eyes shut and clasping her hand to her mouth to keep in her gasp. She reached for her big hunting knife. It wasn't there. Suddenly Elraen remembered: she had dropped it when the eagles had rescued her.

She feared to draw her sword just yet, but she grasped her right hand to its hilt as she pulled back into the shadows of the great rocks, wondering if she may have just made matters worse for the captives. But chaos then ensued between the rival groups and within minutes all but one were dead.

Elraen waited a long moment to be sure. The silence felt so long she worried that the little men were now slain too. Suddenly she heard a voice.

"Now there's a strange twist of fate," said one.

"Now what?" said another.

"Well we'd better do something, one managed to escape is running for reinforcements, most like," said a third.

Those weren't goblin voices. Still clasping the hilt of her sword Elraen held her breath and stood up to see how her little sabotage had ended. The little men looked up, gasping in startled surprise. She let go of the sword handle and stepped forward.

"A young girl?" said the oldest looking one.

"Who are you?" asked the youngest.

"No time!" she replied. "One of them got away?"

"Yes," replied the middle one. "Did you throw that rock?"

"I did," she replied.

"I suppose we are in your debt now, Miss."

"Not until we've reached safety," she replied, poking around among the dead. "Which one had the keys?"

"The one that got away," he replied flatly. "Are you alone out here?"

"I'm afraid so," she answered. "Well we may as well start moving then! Just a moment!" and she dashed off as they pulled themselves up and started picking out what they could find of their belongings among the slain. Elraen reappeared with her pack on. "Off we go," she said, and struck out in front in a northwest direction.

"Where are you leading us?" said the eldest.

"Not far," she replied, walking hurriedly ahead as they followed along.

"Don't know how long it will take for that last one to fetch more friends. They'd overtake us easy," he added.

Elraen didn't answer and kept walking. After a half hour she found it - the little river! "Come along!"

They crossed over, then only had to follow the little river westward for another half hour and she found her boat again. She started to push it back into the water.

"Boats?!" cried the eldest.

"You don't like boats?" she answered.

"You don't know much about Dwarves do you?" said the middle one.

"Dwarves!" she exclaimed. "Of course. Well, goblins also hate boats and water if I'm not mistaken. So, unless you have a better idea," she said, tossing her pack into the back end. With that the dwarves grumbled and climbed in. Elraen pushed it into the water, lower now but the current still good and swift, and got in the back. She used the paddle to pole the boat forward here where it was still shallow, but before long they were enjoying an easy ride at a good pace down the river. They kept going till well past dawn, the young girl steering and poling and rowing occasionally while the dwarves kept as still in the middle as they could manage and tried unsuccessfully to get much rest. Finally late into the morning the river was deeper and they were far into the barren plains, and the Dwarves asked to go to shore for a break.

"Yes," she nodded wearily, feeling quite exhausted herself not having slept in two days, saw they were back out among the bare hills with quite some distance to the mountains. "I think it will be safe enough, now." She spotted a little stony beach on the north shore, and after much strained effort managed to get the boat beached. The girl shared with them some of what was left of her cram and raw vegetables. "I don't have much left, we must try to make it last."

After many thanks and praise in spite of their pitiful state the Dwarves finally introduced themselves according to their fashion, with deep bows and offers of service and the names of their family houses, their hoods bobbing and long beards wagging. It would have been a strain not to let out a giggle, but thankfully Elraen was far too exhausted to laugh at anything. The eldest was Nim, the middle Dim, and the youngest was Frain.

"Elraen daughter of Marasir at yours," she said, following suit and replying with a deep curtsy. "I was on a personal journey northward. But, I can say no more than that."

"We understand, young lady, for we are also bound to silence outside our home realm," said the eldest. "We were on a scouting trip, but became lost after missing our mark too far to the south and can likewise say no more. We did not know Orcs roamed this side of the Mountains. But we come from the north. If we can get back to the Blue Mountains perhaps one day we can return the favor for your service by what means we can."

'The Blue Mountains! That is well,' Elraen thought to herself. She remembered from her foster father's maps that they were not far from the Grey Havens, so helping these Dwarves get home safely would be a boon to her as well. And with that, they all cast themselves to the ground and feel asleep without bothering to set a guard.

When they woke it was mid afternoon, and they packed back in. None were quite sure what to do next - if they got out now they still had the Greyflood ahead to worry about, and any way they went would take longer than their food would last, and there seemed none to be found along the river. She wished Lord Artamir had taught her to fish. But there was not much for rivers in those parts where she grew up, only trickling streams.

In the end they decided it might be easiest to make for the coast and head north from there. Staying in the boat would preserve energy, and the river was still swift. Perhaps they would find better luck with foraging there. They could even use the boat to skim the coastline, and then row up the Brandywine to the southern end of their home. This was Elraen's idea, and the Dwarves liked it far less than she did. They protested, noting that wild men lived on the Emyn Vorn and were to be feared by any lone adventurer they thought might descend from the Exiles. For the dark woods of the peninsula were all that remained of the vast forest that once covered the entire region from the sea to the mountains, where their ancestors once dwelt freely in peace from warring kings of Elves and Numenoreans and the Dark Master in the East.

But eventually they agreed to this idea, for they could think of no better plan and also did not care to think of marching longer than necessary bound together by their great chains. But, they added, it was far from certain they could even get that far.