Chapter 11 - The escape
"It was really absurdly simple to figure out," Teti explained as we felt our way down the dark hallway. "If the fish was not brought in through the normal routes, there must have been another way into the walls. As you said, he would go into the larder and emerge with the seafood, so it seemed likely that this was the point of entry. Especially since, as you have no doubt noticed, there is a slight breeze through here, which indicates that there is some kind of outlet at the other end. Last night I was able to confirm my theory when I found the other end of the tunnel in a cave by the shore. Within was a rough staircase leading to approximately the location of this building."
"Do you mean to tell me he dug a tunnel through the rock down to the shoreline, just so he could get clams?" I asked.
"More likely, it is some poorly documented route for escape or supplies ," Elrond suggested. "The idea of a siege in this land must seem unthinkable now, but it was not so in those early days for those who had lived through the war of wrath."
"Yes, I believe that is more likely," Teti agreed.
"Could we not have come in that way?" I asked, one hand clutching my aching side.
"That would certainly have been easier, my friend; however, the door at the top only opens outward."
We arrived at the far wall. "It should be here somewhere," Teti murmured, feeling at the wall. I also ran a hand along the rough stone blocks, though I was not really sure what I was feeling for.
"What if we can't find it, or if it has been built over?" I asked.
"Then, my friend, we will all have brutal executions to look forward to," Teti answered cheerfully. I redoubled my efforts.
"I believe there is a lamp somewhere," Elrond said. "Ah, here it is." A sparker snapped, and a thin orange light lit the room. With horror, I saw that the room was filled with shackles, cages, and all manner of instruments of misery. Elrond pointedly did not look at any of them. His gaze was fixed stiffly on the far wall where Teti and I searched.
"How did you find that?" I asked him.
"I have spent some time here," Elrond replied darkly.
"There should be a slight draft near the door," Teti told us. "Actually, Elrond, hold the lamp still. Let us see how the smoke travels." To my astonishment, the thin line of smoke that streamed from the lamp flame curved toward a spot on the wall, before dissipating into a break in the mortar. Teti pressed on the wall there, and with a bit of coaxing it swung open into a narrow stairway.
"Three thousand years that door has been hidden, and you have found it in one day," Elrond said. "It is well for Vardamir you were not around in his lifetime."
We descended the staircase and emerged on the shoreline below, not far off from where Teti and I had spoken the night before. Elrond laughed with relief as he stepped out into the moonlight.
"I doubt I shall ever be able to thank you adequately, but I will try," he told us.
"We are not in safety yet," Teti warned, "There is still much time for things to go wrong."
"I would be grateful, even if we make it no further than this," Elrond told him, looking up at the sky. "I did not think I would ever see the stars again."
Despite Teti's warning, the rest of our journey went smoothly, though my side ached horribly by the end of it. Elrond seemed weary as well, though he kept up and made no complaints. We arrived at the port without incident, the orange light of dawn just barely visible across the water. Teti identified the Rôthbalak and we descended quietly down to the dock.
I jumped as a figure cloaked in black emerged from behind a stack of barrels. Then, to my surprise, I heard a familiar voice.
"Good morning, uncle," said Ar-Zimraphel.
"Miriel!" Elrond exclaimed. They embraced, and suddenly she seemed to me like a child with a beloved caretaker, though she stood half a hand taller than he.
"I don't expect you will be searched for," she told us. "Things are a bit of a disaster for Sauron back in Armenelos. From everyone's perspective, he called away the guards from the prison, went inside, alone, then a few hours later Elrond was found to have escaped. As you might imagine, considerably suspicion has fallen on Sauron. The only point in his favor is that Teti and Abrazîr are missing. I expect he'll worm his way out of it, but for the moment there is serious doubt that Elrond was responsible for the poisoning at all, though I'm afraid he'll probably still be blamed officially. I really must commend you, Teti."
Teti nodded graciously. "I was most glad to do it."
Ar-Zimraphel held out a branch from an Oiolairë tree to Elrond. "I brought this. It's said to bring good luck for a journey by ship."
Elrond accepted the fragrant branch gladly. "How did you come here?" he asked.
"It seemed wisest to be far away when Teti made his attempt to free you, so I said I didn't feel safe in the palace after the poisoning."
"I should imagine not! You will be safe in the east though." Elrond ushered her toward the ship, but she backed away.
"You misunderstand, I came only to see you off."
Elrond blinked in surprised. "I cannot just leave you here."
Then the child was gone, and she was a queen again. With all the authority of her position and ancestry she said, "You can if I command it. I did note the very deliberate mis-wording of your oath. 'The rightful holder of the scepter of Númenor.' You swore fealty to me then, did you not?"
"An oath seemed the only way to gain Pharazôn's trust, but I could hardly make one to him."
"I was surprised you would make one to me, even," she told him. "I know you do not take such things lightly."
"I certainly regret it now, since you would use it against me in this way."
"Then you may consider yourself released - once you have reached the east."
Elrond took her hands in his own. "Please come with us," he pleaded. "Sauron has already tried to poison you. It isn't safe here."
Ar-Zimraphel looked at Teti and me sheepishly. "I thought Teti would have told you. Sauron was not behind the poisoning, either of them."
"Who then?" Elrond looked surprised.
She stammered. "Please understand, I did not intend for anything to happen to you."
Realization, then pity, filled Elrond's face, "It was you?"
She nodded sadly, "I'm sorry."
"That is all the more reason for you to come with us, then, if you are so desperate to be away from that usurper," Elrond said.
"I didn't do it for myself!" Ar-Zimraphel exclaimed. "I did it to protect my people. He has invited evil into my land, and he rules my people as a tyrant. The loss of the power I am due does not free me from the obligations I inherit. I must do whatever I can to protect my kingdom. I cannot simply abandon them."
"You have no hope of defeating him," Elrond told her.
Ar-Zimraphel laughed bitterly. "On the contrary, uncle, hope is the one thing I have left. Good travels." She kissed him on the cheek. "Don't come back." Then she turned and left back down the dock. That was the last we ever saw her.
The ship left without incident that morning with the high tide. When we were safely distant, I gingerly made my way to the deck to take a last look at my home. I found Elrond already there with the Oiolairë branch clutched in his hands, watching as the great central mountain of Meneltarma sank below the horizon. The bruises at his bony wrists and the many welts and punctures on his rash-spotted arms were starkly visible in the sunlight. Noticing my gaze, he self-consciously pulled his sleeves down to cover the worst of the marks.
"Where is your friend?" he asked.
"Down below. Sleeping, with any luck," I told him. "The sea does not agree with his stomach."
"He would find the motion easier to bear here on the deck."
"So I have told him."
He saw me wince as a particularly large wave jostled my aching ribs.
"Here, let me see what I can do for your side," he said, setting the branch on the deck. I accepted gladly, and his hands nimbly found the center of the damage. He sang softly in west-elvish for a long while, gently adjusting the bone as he did, and slowly I felt the pain fade to little more than a faint twinge. Then his hands fell away, and he lay back on the deck, exhausted.
"That will have to do for now," he told me. "Be gentle with it, it is still broken, but the pain should be lessened at least."
"It is indeed. Thank you," I said.
Elrond chuckled slightly, though there was no trace of mirth in his face. "After all this, you need never thank me for anything."
I reached into a pouch at my belt. "Here, Teti asked me to give you this. He managed to save it from the king's men. He thought it must have some sentimental value to you, for you to have kept it so long." I held out the star-shaped brass cloak pin from the inn.
Elrond looked at the brooch with wonder. "It does indeed! It was a gift from your ancestors when I was a child, a long time ago while they still lived in the east. I did not think I would see it again."
"I am glad Teti saved it then."
Having no cloak, Elrond pinned it to his shirt and looked back over the water. "How are you handling this, Abrazîr? Of all of us, the loss must be hardest on you."
I thought of my home in the city - of my chair by the fireplace, the sun in the windows, and the flowerbeds where my mother had planted roses when I was a child. I would never go back there. I felt tears begin to sting in my eyes.
"I will be fine," I managed to say, not really believing it.
"Undoubtedly," Elrond assured me kindly. "Have you thought of where you will go?" he asked.
"I hadn't considered it yet, actually," I answered, "though I imagine Teti has. Where will you go?"
"I hadn't considered it yet either," Elrond said. "I do not dare return to Lindon, as it may make it seem they were involved in the poisoning attempt." He thought a while. "There was a valley I wintered in during the war in Eregion. There was little more than a rough camp there, but it was a fair place, and well hidden. Perhaps even some shelters are yet standing; they were made by Círdan after all. I think I will go there. You and Teti are welcome to join me, of course."
"Perhaps," I said.
We caught a final glimpse of the broad summit of Meneltarma as it vanished below the horizon. Then there was only the sea, the sky, and the swaying of the deck below us.
There we go! The longest story I've written by a pretty wide margin. Thanks for reading it!
