A fading shadow
They had reached the first foothills of Emyn-nu-Fuin four days ago and were making slow progress westward towards the highest peaks, where the snow lay deepest and the mountain tips were hidden in cloud. These peaks were higher and more angular than those that housed the Elvenking's halls and though there was no river here there were many springs and rivulets tumbling down through the rocks to the forest floor. All were full at this time of the year though many were skinned with ice and silent. The elves did not risk drinking from them, though the waters seemed clear and clean, for there was still much doubt about the state of the land above them.
This was the most dangerous part of the tour for it was here, in these high slopes and peaks, that the beasts of darkness had been most numerous in the evil days.
They had not come this far south for many centuries prior to the cleansing of Dol Gulder by the lady and the wizard and so the trails and pathways were unknown to Legolas, even though they were marked upon the maps. However it was clear to him that some work at restoring the wider lanes had been undertaken, and when they came upon the road that wound its way through the foothills there were signs of the surface being repaired. It seemed that his father did not assume the shadow would return immediately or that he intended to fight its emissaries more vigorously within the mountains next time.
Now the ease of the earlier parts of the journey was abandoned, bows and swords were kept to hand and double watches mounted each time the column halted. Legolas knew that his father believed that these mountains and the forest closes to them was the source of the all the dark creatures that had plagued them for so long; and that if any remained above ground it would be here they would be found. So he made sure he joined every inspection party and climbed up the lower slopes at each stop, feeling his way through tree and bush searching for a track or trace of spider, wild wolf or Orc. But they found nothing even where the blanket of needles, deep and mould ridden in the days of shadow, was thin and the dark soil and stone beneath it could be seen. Reason to hope that this year would find nothing new to concern them. Here the trees were truly blighted and even the smaller saplings and bushes were stunted and twisted into strange shapes, their leathery pine needles were brown, their tips sharp and brittle.
Each nest was marked on the map, and each of them had now been marked on the ground too, the signposts being tall pillars of rock topped by bonfires set in the middle of each of the spawning grounds.
Legolas had frowned when they came upon the first of the nest for the remnants of webs still hung amongst the trees, their anchor threads now detached in many places and flapping like washing upon a line in the stiff winter winds.
"Why have the web filaments not been cleared, they may be an ongoing source of venom that still burns the trees?" He asked the leader of the inspection party.
She nodded.
"We thought to do so the first year we came back to this road my lord, but the web is strong and sticky even now, more than one of your father's company had to be cut free. The business was slow and the king decided that it was better left until we were sure the nests were deserted and so needed to be less wary. It is the intention to send a party here in summer to clear the land and to climb up the mountains to determine if there are higher nests or burrows. As yet he has not been sufficiently satisfied of the safety of those he must send to issue the command."
"Why is he so concerned, it is clear that these nests have been abandoned for several winters?"
She looked down at the map then looked up and scanned the slopes nearest to them; then she rolled the map again and smiled at him.
"Come I will show you."
With that she called to a group of three other elves and they and Legolas followed her as she began to climb up a nearby slope.
The climb was difficult, for the night had delivered an ice storm and now the scree was frozen and the surrounding rocks slicked with ice, cold enough to burn even elvish skin if touched for too long. As they rose higher above the rocky mountain road they could see the darkening of the land below caused by spider venom, but also the new growth of needles in the taller trees that spoke of a regeneration begun. As they rested for a while his guide pointed out the areas where new trees were appearing and where winter flowers had once again been seen.
"Your father is much in accord with the forest and he is confident that the pain is declining and new life burgeoning. He speaks too of the stories the birds tell of life resuming in the tree tops in the spring. Do you agree my lord?"
Legolas paused in a moment of uncertainty, for the trees were still silent for him. Then he smiled.
"My father is, as you say, sensitive to the voices of the forest, even though he is not of Sylvan blood. I would not doubt his judgement on this unless you have reason to do so?"
"Oh no my Lord, I too can feel the changes of which the king speaks, all of us can and it brings great joy. The few scouts we have sent to the other side of the mountains speak of the first signs of recovery there also, though slower than the northern forest and much slower than the lands closest to our Halls. Perhaps there will come a time when we can occupy the land down to these mountains, and even beyond, as once we did, though I understand the king's caution in that matter and you will too understand why if we go higher."
With that she turned and resumed the climb.
How much higher they scrambled he was not sure for the slopes became more dangerous still, even for an elf, and his efforts were concentrated on maintaining hand and footholds, but eventually they reached a small plateau to the side of which there was an opening. The elves with him now drew knife and bow and his guide indicated that they should be quiet as they slowly advanced on the cave mouth. As they reached the threshold one behind him lit a lamp handing it forward to the guard captain. Holding it aloft she slipped quietly into the blackness the others waiting a moment before the word came back to them.
"Come."
Legolas followed the rest of the party in and stood in the middle of a hole in the mountain side that was not much more than a head taller than he, his father would certainly have needed to bend. The floor was covered with a deep layer of what looked to be dust and the smell was faint but unmistakable.
"War bats." He said softly.
"Yes," the captain replied, "there is little doubt of it." She shone the lamp around leaving no corner or rocky fold unexplored. "But they left here several springs ago and it seems that it has remained unoccupied since the last inspection. Perhaps it safe to assume they will not come back unless the shadow returns; maybe their honest cousins will take up residence again in time. We hope so."
Legolas nodded and cast another look around the damp stone walls wondering how many bats of death this hole had once been home to. The other elves busied themselves in a further inspection of the inner most recesses and shadows, then, with a shake of their heads, returned to the slopes leaving him and the guard captain alone.
Both stared around in silence, lost in thoughts of the past that they did not share.
"Are there others like this?" He asked as they too finally returned to the world outside.
She nodded as she made a mark upon the map.
"Here in the mountains, yes several, though we have never found any in the forest. But there we have found other indications of the shadow including the deserted lair of wild wolf, though again they are few and we have never found them close to the spider nests. Those lairs are also now abandoned, as are the nests of the black squirrel."
He frowned.
"Where have they all gone?"
The captain shrugged.
"We do not know my lord, it was more than three springs after the battle before the mountain that the inspection parties first came this far south, and they had fled before we returned. The wild wolf and the bats may have gone out into the brown lands and on to the dead marshes and the Ash Mountains, or so the king surmises, for they have not fled north, west or east."
Legolas nodded.
"That seems most likely for I heard no reports of them being seen in the wider world, not in the Wild or further south or west."
"The let us hope that is the case. As for the squirrel they may have moved further south within the forest, perhaps even as far as Dol Gulder itself, though we are little concerned with them. The spiders are more of a conundrum for there is nowhere for them to have gone to, it seems unlikely that they could cross either the open lands or the river without help and the nearest place for them to hide is many miles away from the forest. It may be that they have retreated below ground or that they also have made their way south."
"Then let us hope they stay there." He said with a smile as they turned and began the climb down.
In the early morning of the fifth day when the sun was barely risen that he stood alone on a rocky outcrop, map in hand, and looked north towards his father's halls and debated with himself upon the future. Beneath and around him the swathes of trees seemed undisturbed, and daylight was once again finding its way into the glades and avenues amongst them, so if the creatures of the dark remained in the forest they were probably penned within these mountains. If that were the case it would take an army to find them and great risks would be involved in dislodging them. In time, if Sauron once again grew in power, they might return but for the moment it seemed best to let them sleep.
Yet as he looked across the forest towards the stands of giant Oak and Beech around the palace, to the part of Mirkwood that their efforts had preserved and kept unsullied, he found that he, like his father, did not believe all danger to be past, nor that the creatures of the shadow would continue to sleep. Deep inside him something that had been dim flared suddenly brighter and for the first time since a snowy street in Dale the shadows that lurked in the future seemed more important to him than the shadows of the past; and the hopes of the forest more pressing than his hopes for himself. He felt a surge of determination run through him and he smiled grimly, he would continue to hope for the best but his father was right and they must remain on their guard. If the shadow returned they must not be taken unawares.
XXX
The evening meal was over and camp fires were being prepared for the night when two elven guards came and indicated that Andias should follow them. He rose quickly, not wishing to be seen to be un-cooperative, but he could not help the protest that escaped his lips when the guards indicated that Esamrith should also come and bring the child with her. Some the members of this elvish company appeared to speak a form of his language but these two did not seem to be of their number and simply stared at him with apparent incomprehension.
"Best go with them." Esamrith told him quietly, "they have offered us no harm this far so why should they do so now? There must be a reason they wish for me to come too, and so late in the day, no doubt we will find it if we go."
With a sigh he nodded and indicated to the soldiers that they would follow.
He was not sure what he had expected but he was greatly surprised when they led him across the camp and towards the shelter he had come to understand was the king's tent. Lamps flared at each corner yet even so the golden sheen of it was subdued in the flickering light, but the structure had a resilient elegance he was coming associate with elves. The tent was closed and guards stood at intervals around it with a pair standing either side of what looked to be the entrance. Their escort approached this and signalled that they should wait then spoke softly to the sentry in what he now recognised to be elvish; the sentry nodded then turned to face the tent and spoke in the same language in a slightly louder voice. The flap of the tent was pushed aside and another elf appeared, this one not was not dressed in armour and wore no weapon but Andias quickly dropped his gaze for he did not look pleased to see them. The unarmed elf looked across at them and after a long moment said something to the sentry and returned inside holding back the tent flap as he did so. The two who had brought them ushered them forward and across the threshold then stood back and allowed the tent flap to fall closed.
Hesitantly Andias stepped forward into the light leaving Esamrith standing behind him. The elf who had met them seemed to be a servant of the king for he paid no further attention to them instead going to stand beside a long table on which was a platter of nuts and winter berries, adding to it from a bowl that stood to one side.
At a table beneath a tall brazier filled with flaming wood the king was seated in a high backed wooden chair of an intricate design, listening to the report of one of the captains of the company. As Andias moved he looked up and raised a hand to indicate that they should remain where they were and continued his conversation with the soldier.
Obediently Andias halted and waited, his eyes fixed upon the seated king; though he was much fascinated by the window into the lives of elves offered by this tent he had learned long ago that open curiosity could be seen as offence and he had no desire to risk that with Esamrith and child behind him. For though this Elven lord had taken pity upon them when he could have killed them, and had behaved with unlooked for kindness and generosity when they had no call upon him, he was still a king and would expect to be given his due. But there could be no offence in quietly and respectfully observing the one who had summoned him, and so he waited with eyes lowered but not so much that he couldn't take further stock of this elf on who he was dependent and to whom he had not spoken to since being brought to this camp. Beside him Esamrith rocked the child and looked around her in childlike wonder at things that she, like he, had never encountered before, until her gaze also came to rest upon the one they waited for.
The king was no longer in armour and instead wore a plain coat of a cloth such as Andias had never seen, its sheen like the morning dew on a newly unfurled leaf. Over it he wore a robe of a richness that even the lamp light could not hide; yet again it was plain and without the gems and golden trims the lords of his homelands would wear. The beauty here lay in the weave of the cloth and the colour of the thread, and he recalled hearing long ago that the elves were very skilled at such things and took delight in creating them. This king's dress seemed to suggest that that story at least was true. He wore the crown and had several rings upon his long fingers but he wore no other gems or ornaments beside a strangely fashioned pin at his throat. Yet despite the unadorned nature of his dress he remained the most regal figure the man of the further east had ever seen, or could imagine. It occurred to him that Esamrith was right and this king was an ancient story come to life, and he wondered what his palace was like and if they would ever see it.
The captain appeared to finish his report but remained beside the table as the king beckoned them forward saying something to the soldier who inclined his head and took a stool from the corner of the tent setting it before the table; with a graceful wave of his hand the king indicated that Esamrith should sit. Frozen for a moment in uncertainty neither of them moved and the unarmed elf moved passed them and placed the platter on the table beside the king, moving a stack of papers to do so, and giving them a long hard look as he turned and went back to fill a wine jug. The king cast him an odd look and sighed and beckoned them forward again.
"Come." he said with a trace of impatience indicating once again that Esamrith should sit upon the stool.
Wide eyed she obeyed him holding the child closely and tightly upon her lap.
The king looked towards the man standing before him, leaning back in his chair and subjecting him to a long, hard, stare. Finally, as if satisfied by what he saw, he spoke again.
"Andias of the Easterlings, I take you to be the leader of your people and I shall deal with you as such and hold you accountable for their actions, do you contest this?"
Andias blinked in surprise, for this was unexpected, and he drew a deep breath before he answered.
"No my lord, we agreed when you brought us here that I shall speak for all."
The king inclined his head slightly.
"Very well. Tomorrow your party will be escorted to the toll point at the river crossing, a journey of several days if the weather remains good though it may take longer. There is a small settlement of both men and elves there and I have sent instructions that you are to remain within the settlement until your future is decided. Do not fear for your safety on the road for your women, sick and children will travel in the carts and I am sending an escort with you. The captain here, "he waved a hand in the direction of the waiting soldier, "will be your protector and you may trust your safety to him with confidence provided you obey his orders and prohibitions without question or delay."
The unarmed elf set a wine bowl before the king, who for some reason looked at it with disfavour and said something in elvish before resuming his instructions to Andias.
"As you have been told I have requested sanctuary for you within the town on the lake and if that request is accepted the Master of the Lake town will send an escort to take you there. If the Master cannot provide what you need then you will remain at the toll point whilst I request shelter for you in Dale."
Andias bowed.
"Yes, my Lord we will go where you send us and trust to the goodwill of those into whose care you place us."
The king inclined his head slightly.
"Good. Those who take you will know that I expect them to deal with you fairly and I expect your people to cause no hurt or alarm to others there, either now or in the future. As I have said, I will hold you responsible for any commotion or trespass that is caused."
Andias gave a small smile.
"You need have no concern for that my Lord we look only for peace and a place to raise our families. None of us would wish to cause you regret in any way for there are no words to express our gratitude for the kindness you have shown us."
A faint smile drifted across the Elvenkings face at that and his answering words came as a surprise to the two before him.
"I do not ask for your gratitude, nor do I wish for it." His tone was hard, even cold and his smile took on a bitter tinge. "It is my experience that such gratitude all too easily turns to resentment and ill will."
Andias and Esamrith watched him in silence and after a moment he continued.
"Loyalty to those who give you shelter, that I do require of you, and I will support those who would deal with you harshly should you fail in that."
Andias shook his head.
"We will not my Lord! .Peace is all we want."
He hesitated and the king looked at him with raised brows recognising there was something else he wished to ask. Drawing another deep breath the easterling continued quickly.
"But I would ask on behalf of all my fellows that if matters arise that cannot be settled you grant us leave to seek counsel and sanctuary of you."
For a long moment the Elvenking stared at him, an unreadable expression drifting through his blue eyes; then, slowly, he inclined his head.
"Very well. I will allow that you may, but only if the cause of your discomfort is not of your making."
He looked across to where Esamrith was watching him closely and in silence, the child pressed against her.
"And you wife of Andias of the east, what is your name?"
"Esamrith my Lord."
"Esamrith. Are there things you would ask for the women and children or for the sick? The journey may be hard despite the carts, is there anything that you require for their succour that has not been provided? The escort will remain with you until a resolution is reached so you need not fear for your welcome or safety. None will offer you insult whilst my guards are present and the men of the Lake have been told that if they accept you into their town I expect that you will treated kindly and be protected should you need to be."
Esamrith smiled and turned the sleeping child upon her lap to face towards the king as if to demonstrate their comfort, speaking firmly as she replied.
"No my Lord, there is nothing that we need that you haven't given us."
She stroked her child's head and smiled at the king shyly, for she found herself bemused when she looked at him so beautiful and unknowable did she consider him to be.
"More than anything we would ever have asked for," she went on softly. "You say it is the way of your kin but when we fled those of our own that would have preyed upon us we could not have expected to find such gentleness from others who know us not. For where we had no hope you have given it to us, and when there was no path we could see to tread that was not dark and bitter you have shown us one that, with time and goodwill, may be light and wholesome. No my Lord there is nothing more that I ask of you, other than that you do not find our gratitude a burden for I cannot help but feel it."
Andias held his breath unsure of how her unguarded words would be taken, and though he did not fear for her safety he thought this king might repudiate her thanks and speak harshly of her presumption. Yet for a moment the Elvenking was silent staring at her and the child and his eyes bore the far away look that Andias had seen out on the mountain slope, then in the blink of an eye the distant look was gone and the king smiled, a soft and gentle smile unlike any they had seen from him so far, a smile that deepened the blue of his eyes, and his voice matched it when he spoke.
"Esamrith of the Easterlings if you can speak so fairly to the men of the Lake then I do not doubt you future will be light and wholesome, for so honest and bright a heart will always find friends. Your thanks are accepted and your gratitude is no burden. Take your children in peace and may you make a good life for them."
With that he inclined his head and the soldier beside him indicated that they should leave. Andias bowed and put his hand on Esamriths arm as she rose, then, to his surprise, she took their sleeping daughter's hand and put it first against her childish heart before extending it out towards the Elvenking. Andias saw his eyes widen in surprise before she pulled the child's hand back and bowed low saying softly.
"I have seen your kin do that my Lord, I trust I understood it aright and have not offended."
There was a momentary silence and she looked at him in sudden alarm. Catching her look the king smiled slightly and inclined his head.
"Perhaps you misunderstood a little, but do not be alarmed the deed is taken as intended and there is no offence. I wish your child a peaceful life."
Without further words they were led away.
Galion returned to the kings table and removed the flagon of watered wine and replaced it with water as instructed, if his lord preferred either one or the other then so it should be. After all it was he who had instructed that the easterlings were given wine and he knew that such supplies were always running low this point in a tour. Yet he didn't think it was the matter of wine that had brought the reflective and slightly sad look to the kings face, he rather thought it was the action of the easterling women. But it was not his concern.
"My lord, Is there anything else that you require?"
After a moment the king shook himself out of his reverie and flipped a dismissive hand.
"No Galion you may go, but I wish to be on the road within an hour of dawn so make sure that all is ready."
He watched as the elf left and then continued to stare at the tent flap with a frown.
'I would like to believe that any that come west from the further east will be so honest and innocent,' he thought to himself, 'and that all the problems that come with them will be so easily resolved, but I do not. No I most certainly do not. When the shadow comes the old enemies will return too and I wonder if it will be you Andias, or a descendant of yours as yet unborn, that will need to take up arms beside me to defend the refuge to flee to from those you have left behind.'
He pushed the thought away, and rising rolled up the maps and stowed them in the appropriate chest. Tomorrow he would turn south towards the meeting with Legolas in hope that all had gone well and that they had a little time of peace remaining.
XXX
On the seventh day after they first came into the shadow of the mountains they passed beyond the last outlying peak and forded the river, now they returned to the forest paths as they headed west towards the edge of Mirkwood. They had made good time and the spirits of the company were high, with the mountains behind them and the last leg of the outward journey begun the company sat their mounts more easily, laughed more frequently and conversed more often and more openly. Legolas was careful to play his part, chatting and smiling and joining in the story telling as he would have done in the days before the dwarves came, steadfastly stamping down on the dark thoughts when they threatened to surge up and overwhelm him. There were times when it was hard, when he felt as if his jaw would break from the effort of maintaining his smile, when a careless word or look set him down the dark road of wondering about his fate and his future. Yet the lamp that had rekindled in him in the mountain paths remained bright and as he settled into this new play he found it easier to halt the pull of the black thoughts.
The trees were thinner as they headed towards the edge of the forest and the carpet of snow and ice thickened again. But all around were the signs of light chasing away shadow, small brooks ran between the trees, the water clear and sparkling, deer ran through the glades disturbed by their passing and boar snuffled in the thicker undergrowth. At one point the party halted transfixed as a family of white deer moved out of the shadows and stood glowing in a shaft of sunlight as they inspected the travelling party before turning slowly away as if realising these travellers held no danger for them. Legolas wondered how long it had been since the white deer, so loved and revered by his people, had ventured this far south.
As the journey progressed and the number of nests and lairs marked abandoned increased he discovered that the pretence of ease was slowly being transformed into something real. That some sense of balance was returning to him, and while it did not remove the guilt or grief its clamour was daily more subdued. The life of the camp, the discussions of others lives and hopes, the small acts of friendship and comradeship given and received stirred past feelings and memories that held no bitterness, bringing him the first echoes of old feelings of belonging.
They had one more inspection to perform before they rejoined the king's party for the sweep through the thickest spider infestations and the final trek home. But this nest, so his father had told him before they set out, was believed to be the place in which the spiders that arrived in the Woodland from Mordor had first established themselves. How they had arrived was something as yet unexplained and so there was no marker that could be used to decide how and when they might spiders remained above ground it may well be here that they would be found.
They advanced with great caution, slowly circling towards the dense stands of trees that had housed one of the largest spider nests with arrows ready and knives drawn. Other elves were stationed further out into the wood to warn if anything sought to come up behind the advancing inspection party.
Legolas took his place within the advancing guard with a sense of familiarity that both pleased and horrified him, 'when' he found himself wondering, 'had mortal danger become the usual way to live for his people and for how much longer must it be the case.' As they reached the perimeter of the great nest he was struck by a sudden fleeting memory of Imladris, serene and untroubled in the sun, and he had to fight down a great surge of bitterness that so little help had come from others when they most needed it. For he doubted that should the shadow return there would be more any greater help than they had known this last millennia. He drew a deep breath and pushed the memory away, calling out a warning to be alert as they crossed the first decaying filaments of the outer walls of the nest and stepped into the deeper shadows that had hidden its heart.
Within that heart was a strange world of tattered web curtains, remaining flexible and sticky in places, and strange distorted shadows. The remains of past prey still lay in odd corners but most had already been salvaged by other forest creatures or taken away for burial by the earlier inspection parties. But there was still an air of malice, faint now but not yet gone, and Legolas was glad that the first inspections of this place had not fallen to him and wondered who his father had chosen to accompany him into this nest of horrors.
Yet for all their wariness it was as he had been told, this, like all the other spider nests they had inspected was abandoned and quickly falling into decay. Further from the centre there was little sign of what had been here, a few twisted branches had been dislodged by the winter winds, and the leaf litter beneath their feet was black and slightly sticky, but soon there would be nothing to show that anything other than the forest had ever existed here.
The signs of returning life could be seen even here, and all around them the trees, still fir for the most part, showed signs of renewed vigour, their needles glowing deep green in the winter light. There were the sounds of small animals moving in the bushes again, the occasional bird flew through the tree tops and the scent of pine resin was again upon the wind, sharp and clean and heady. There was a feeling of vigour in the air too, as if the force of life and light was once again infusing the land. The deep shadows were banished and the bright winter light flooded across the slopes and valleys with unalloyed joy.
With the final inspection completed they turned west again and travelled through the thinning trees until they reached the forest edge and could look out across the flat lands towards the high ridges and walls of the Misty Mountains. There they made camp, sending out swift scouts to inspect the open land for sign of wolf or spider but they returned with nothing to report. The parties scouting back amongst the trees for damage to ditch and coppice also passed off without incident. Truly it seemed that the shadow had retreated.
They rested at the forest edge for three days as the scouts did their work, watched by bird and beast but with their peace interrupted by nothing more than another snow storm. By the time they turned north again a new pattern of the days and nights had been established and hope was rising in all the party that another fair year lay before them. Now the songs that drifting out from the camp and echoed through the trees were joyful, telling of spring and summer, of life reawakened, of the sun dancing on waterfalls and the warmth glowing on leaf and flower. Above them the chilly skies of winter spread out ice shard stars but their thoughts were turning to bright moons on warm, blue velvet, nights.
For Legolas something else had changed for he no longer considered each remark made or scrap of conversation overheard as a judgment upon him, in fact he had reached a point where many hours might pass without the past disturbing him at all. As they north towards the forest road and rendezvous with his father's party he realised that coming home might not be impossible after all
