Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Sorry about the slow update, writers block showed it's ugly face on my doorstep. I convinced him to go away but I'm just going to write as much as possible in case he shows up again!
Chapter 4: Strange World
Elrohir's POV:
Elrohir stood on the tree branch and stretched his legs, as he watched the sun begin her slow rise over the horizon. He found it comforting that some things were the same in this strange land. It had been 5 days since the brothers' escape from the city guard and both were still at a loss for what to do. The twins had found the location of their current camp by pure luck. The discovery of this small wood had been miraculous. Both brothers had been sure that nothing green grew in this cursed place. Still the location, while most like their home, was far from ideal. Men and the city guards were around the place (Elrohir had overheard one group call the woods a "park") during most of the day and night. The brothers had ended up setting up camp in the branches of a tree well out of sight of prying eyes.
However, it was the trees that disturbed Elrohir the most in the wood. They were silent and still. Try as he might he could not attune himself to the tree. He could not get any idea of the trees emotions, if any. Always the trees had heeded the Eldar's call, helping him learn the ways of balance and nature. These trees stayed as silent as stone, their voices muted or non-existent. It greatly saddened Elrohir that so little magic existed in this place that a humble trees voice could be stilled.
With a sigh Elrohir once again took a seat on the branch he stood upon and let his back rest against the trees silent trunk. He looked down at the branch below his and inwardly laughed at the sight of his sleeping brother. Elladan was stretched out on the branch with both his arms and legs dangling freely, looking for all the world like a slumbering cat. Without meaning to Elrohir let out a small chuckle, waking his slumbering twin.
Blue eyes focused on Elrohir's, the petulant look Elladan shot his twin sent Elrohir into a fit of laughter. He could not help it; his brother now resembled a very cross cat.
"Forgive me for interrupting your sleep Dan." Said Elrohir "but I feared your snores might alert even the deafest human to our location!" he continued.
The look Elladan now focused on him was murderous.
"Leave me in peace to attract the human's then." Retorted Elladan. "For surely they would flee in the opposite direction once they chanced to see your foul face!" he finished.
Elrohir was tempted to comment on how their faces were identical but thought better of it. There was simply no reasoning with his twin in the morning; Elladan was ALWAYS somewhat grumpy.
"Nevertheless dear brother, it is time to be moving again. I think I have an idea on how to return home." Said Elrohir.
"And what would this grand plan be?" questioned Elladan, his crankiness forgotten.
"A map" replied Elrohir.
"A map? How will a map help us." Questioned Elladan.
"I think that this world must be ours." Said Elrohir. "The power of the palantirs' has always been to examine the surroundings of the world they were created in. Unless the witch has manipulated one to the point where it has found anchor in a world different then ours, then there should be SOME record of our home somewhere." Continued Elrohir.
"It is true the palantir are not accounted for." Said Elladan. "But you think one was used to bring us all the way here? Wherever here is." He said.
"I can think of no other reason. Besides there are so many lands different then our own…perhaps we are in the far south. The harad have always been mechanically minded and it certainly seems hot enough." Said Elrohir.
"You have a point brother, but I still wonder WHY the witch would summon us here. It certainly took a great deal of energy to do so…perhaps she meant to summon the orc band." Said Elladan. "Nevertheless I fear explanations will be long time in coming without the witch to offer an explanation." Continued Elladan.
"Very well brother, let us see what passes for a hall of records in these barbaric lands." Said Elladan.
The twins' ate a quick meal of dried fruit from their stores. There camp was broken down and packed up in less then an hour and the brothers set off back into the forest of buildings looking for a records hall, library, or whatever the equivalent might be called. Elrohir gathered his courage and asked passersby on where such a place might be found. Eventually the twins found themselves directed towards a large shop. A sign overhead said "Borders" which seemed appropriate in Elrohir's mind considering that they intended to leave this place and it's borders far behind as quickly as possible.
Elrohir and Elladan entered the shop cautiously. After their previous experiences both brothers were trepidous about setting toe in the "Borders". Upon entering the shop both brother's were relieved that their presence brought no more than passing glances. Nervously, Elrohir checked his hair to make sure his ears were fully covered. The twins had decided early on that it would be easier to pass as human since the guard had made it apparent that they knew nothing of elven-kind.
The shop Elrohir stood in was truly incredible. Not even the great city of Gondor had a library to match the size or the "borders". Its size even rivaled some elven records' halls! And the fact that this was a shop and not a library was truly mind boggling. And the books; the parchment was of a fine quality he had never before seen. It was white, incredibly so, and surely the product of thousands of master scribes. The writing was written flawlessly, the text perfectly spaced and there was no discrepancy in letter size and shape! It was as if some loving scholar had painstakingly stamped every letter in place, so perfect they were. After both brothers had stopped to properly admire the books they sought the maps that might lead them back home.
They found maps in a section of the shop called "geography", more in a place labeled "travel"; According to plaques on the wall. It was to their great dismay that nothing on the maps looked familiar! The shape of the land was different. The maps showed vast lands and even vaster oceans. They spent hours going over those books and maps. They read about how they ought to go to visit "Europe" and "Spain" as well as many other places. Out of desperation they went into a part of the shop called "history". There they found a few maps. But once again they depicted lands vastly different than anything they recognized! The books of history described the history of men but they failed to mention elves, dwarves, or any other intelligent race. There was no mention of the great kingdoms of men the twins knew.
Elrohir realized that despite his vain hopes; he and his brother had indeed found themselves in a world different than their own! They would not be able to simply walk back home! Elrohir carefully schooled his face to impassiveness; he did not want to upset Elladan more than he no doubt was! How was Elrohir supposed to get his younger twin home safely when he had no idea where they were! Elrohir had always been protective of his siblings. After all Elrohir was the eldest and truly determined that nothing bad befell any of them, especially Elladan. Elrohir was quite surprised when his brother came up with a reasonable plan since he was the one who normally formulated the plans!
"Why don't we ask a shopkeeper to see if we overlooked something?" asked Elladan.
"Excellent suggestion" Elrohir said. "I was about to think of the same thing myself." He continued.
Elladan's POVElladan rolled his eyes at his brother's pitiful attempt to save face as he walked towards a round table with the sign "Information" on a plaque overhead. Which made perfect sense to Elladan since he was certainly seeking information. A young man sat at the desk reading a book. He was quite portly with sandy hair, light eyes and more than a smattering of freckles. He wore a name sign that said "Eric".
"Begging your pardon sir, but my brother and I seem to be having trouble finding certain documents." Said Elladan.
"Eric" didn't look up from his book. "Whatcha looking for" he grumbled.
"My brother and I seek a map showing the whole of middle earth." Said Elladan.
Eric looked up from his book. "Are you talking about seismology maps? The kind that show the different layers?" He questioned
"I don't understand what you mean about layers. The land we seek is not on any of the maps we found." Said Elrohir.
"What is a seismology?" asked Elladan.
The shopkeeper looked a bit confused.
"What is the name of the country your looking for?" said Eric after a long pause.
"It would be a great service if you could help my brother and I find a map to the misty mountains especially the areas around the Bruinen River." Said Elrohir. Both brothers were reluctant to give the exact location of Imladris to anybody in this strange land.
It was to the twins' great surprise that the shopkeeper burst out laughing. Elladan thought that the impudent merchant would surely pass out from lack of air, so loudly was he laughing.
"Your shitten me right?" said Eric in between peals of laughter "You can come out!" he exclaimed. "This is Candid Camera, right?" he continued.
"What is a "camera" and how is it "candid"?" questioned a very confused Elladan.
The shopkeeper abruptly stopped laughing. "Your serious?" he sputtered.
Both twins simply nodded. Eric looked upset.
"So, you're a pair of those psycho pre-history buffs eh? For the last time we're not publishing that sacred little red book anytime soon. Hell, your precious bit of heresy isn't even in a language us mere mortals can even read!" raged Eric.
Elladan was shocked by the shopkeeper's arduous venom. However, it did raise the slim-hope that Imladris could be found somewhere in this dark world; Although Elladan didn't have a clue as to what "pre-history" was.
"What is going on here!" exclaimed a woman's voice.
A middle-aged female wearing the same style of clothes as the shopkeeper stalked to the desk.
"What is all this yelling about!" demanded the woman.
Eric wilted under the formidable woman's stare. He hung his head trying to hide the embarrassed blush that graced his cheeks.
"Go wait in back Eric." The woman said curtly "I want a word with you privately."
Turning towards the brothers the woman smiled and said, "Hello, my name is Theresa Gonzalez and I am the head manager. I apologize for my employees' bad behavior, he will be dealt with. How may I help you?"
Elladan was slightly taken aback considering how the woman's voice could change from deadly dangerous to sweet and pleasant.
"My brother and I are looking for a map of the misty mountains milady," said Elrohir politely.
Theresa Gonzalez arched her eyebrow at Elrohir's comment.
"I'm afraid we don't have any pre-history maps," said Theresa Gonzalez.
"However, I do believe there is a pre-history lecture at the CSULB later today. Just a moment, I think I still have a flyer." With those parting words left the twins and walked through a door that said "Employees only."
Before Elladan could ponder what a C.S.U.L.B. was, and how it might fly Theresa Gonzalez returned carrying a piece of paper.
"Here we are, there is a pre-history lecture in the gym at 7pm tonight." Said Theresa Gonzalez.
Guessing that CSULB was a place, Elladan politely took the paper and asked for directions. Theresa Gonzalez left once again and returned with a "Route" map for "Long Beach Transit". She gave careful directions on which "buses" to take and what a "stop" looked like. She even gave them some coins to buy passage on the "bus." Theresa Gonzalez was very polite and seemed quite intent on helping them, so that the twins would leave her shop. Her tactics were quite successful since she had indeed managed to interest the twins in "pre-history."
Elrohir's POVElrohir was delighted on how well Elladan's plan had worked. Both twins had a destination, one that would hopefully help the brothers find their way home. Even though it meant facing the mechanical monsters, (Elrohir still wasn't completely convinced that they were safe)
He was convinced that this "pre-history" was the key to their problems.
It did not take Elrohir long to discover the "stop" that Theresa Gonzalez had described. Finding the courage to step onto the dragon-sized mechanical contraptions was a bit more difficult. The twins both remembered to ask for a "transfer" when they got off the "bus", only to walk a ways and get onto another. During the ride, both twins noticed massive signs that seemed to be promoting strange things that neither twin could guess at. Things like "McDonalds" or "Bausch and Lomb", or "Skyyla the Psychic." They "transferred" three more times and within two hours found the "CSULB". Elrohir was delighted when he discovered that the "CSULB" was in fact a human school. Both brothers spent a leisurely afternoon walking around and admiring the strange buildings that made up the school. They found what had to have been a massive library and enjoyed looking at the books within. The sight of so many books in such condition was incredible. Even more so, this library was even larger than the "Borders" had been. As the sun began to set, both brothers set out to find where the meeting would take place. After some directions from passing students the twins found themselves in front of a massive building that was shaped like a giant blue pyramid. Upon entering, the brothers found chairs set in rows all facing a small platform. The twins found a seat near the front and watched as other men, filed in and sat down as well.
Elrohir had been growing steadily more impatient (not a common elven emotion) when a man stepped onto the platform and addressed them.
"Hello and welcome to the Archaeology Clubs' "Analysis of pre-history" presentation" he said. "For those of you who don't know me I'm Professor Jameson of the Archaeology department." This brought a chuckle from the crowd though Elrohir failed to see what was so amusing.
"Alright then let's get this party started then." Said Professor Jameson.
"As you are all aware, we at the archaeology department came across an amazing discovery not to long ago. During an excavation in the country outside of Liverpool, UK a book was discovered. We can now confirm that this book is indeed the oldest ever found! This book has proven definitively the presence of an advanced civilization thousands of years before ancient civilizations in the east, which were originally thought the eldest. The book itself is in amazing condition despite its age. While at this time the language remains undecipherable, certain aspects are being unraveled as we speak." Said Professor Jameson. He walked to the end of the platform and picked up an object that Elrohir could not quite see and seemed to press a button. The lights in the room dimmed and the image of a book appeared on the wall behind Professor Jameson. Before Elrohir could begin to decipher this new bit of magic, the professor began to speak again. "Here is the cover of the book, the binding is still in amazing condition considering that radiocarbon dating or the binding material places this book at around 260 MILLION years old." Exclaimed Professor Jameson. This brought silence followed by the muttering of everyone in the room attempting to speak at once and the occasional shouts of "heresy" from someone in the back. "Silence please!" exclaimed Professor Jameson. "Let us proceed under the assumption that I am not a hack, and that I DO have evidence to support my claims," said Professor Jameson. Silence once again fell. "Thank you, and now proceeding." said Professor Jameson. "Radiocarbon dating of the books materials have helped to determine the age, as well as the fact that the wood in the binding and the composition of the ink and paper, point to several plant species that went extinct in the late Cambrian. The writing itself is in a language that has not been deciphered however the book contains several maps, and key points listed have been tentatively identified." Said Professor Jameson. As he used his wand again, the picture changed. "Here is a map from a page in the book, several points have been identified, these mountain ranges are named "Misty Mountains", and this city or landmark here is called "Immladrin" to the best of our knowledge," he continued.
As Professor continued describing the events leading up to the discovery of the book and showing images of the books contents Elrohir felt the first twinges of fear creeping up his spine. He knew this book, had seen a very old halfling WRITING it not, three months past and knew very well its contents. It was Bilbo's autobiography. A book that he called "There and Back again." Elrohir had teased him incessantly about the red leather the book had been bound in, saying that the contents should be what attracted readers to it, not it's brightly covered binding. Elrohir sat in stunned silence his mind racing. This Professor had stated the book was millions of years old! Which meant that he and his brother weren't in harad at all; they were in the future! Elrohir glanced at his brother and saw the same sentiments echoed in his brother's stunned face. Then, it seemed suddenly that the meeting was over. People were standing up, and leaving. Both brothers remained rooted to their chair until a young man approached them.
"Meetings over" said the young man. "We need to close up now, there is going to be a class here soon." He continued.
"It is incredible to believe that so much time has passed and yet men are still around." Mused Elrohir. Belatedly he realized that he had spoken aloud.
"Sure is" said the man with a grin. "The names' Owen. I was working with the Prof. When the book was discovered." He said.
Elrohir nodded. "Look, I'm doing research on my own. The language of the red book is incredible! If this is your sort of thing is part of your major, I'd be happy to go over it with you in more detail." Said Owen.
Elrohir wasn't sure what a "major" was but more information about Bilbo's book could be incredibly helpful. "I am called Elrohir, and this is my brother Elladan. We are both interested in different languages and cultures and would be fascinated to learn more about this discovery." Said Elrohir.
"Excellent!" said Owen. "You can usually find me in the library or in the common room of Off-campus 5. Hope to see you around then. " He continued.
Elrohir assured Owen that that the twin's would indeed seek him out soon, and after a few more pleasantries with the enthusiastic young man, parted ways leaving the twins alone again.
"What now?" questioned Elladan?
"Obviously we need to try and find a way back to our own time. Perhaps this Owen holds the key, perhaps not." Answered Elrohir.
"Or perhaps Becka the Witch might have a few answers. Now that we know more about our situation, we might be able to reason with her." Said Elladan
Elrohir nodded. It did make sense, after all when they HAD appeared in the Witches' home. Both brothers agreed that staying near the school would be beneficial and that studying the book as much as possible was crucial. Perhaps old Bilbo had left a clue to help them find there way home. The twin's found another "park" that was not far from the school. That evening, not even the stars were able to ease the twin's minds.
