~0~0~0~

Gorluk choked for breath as he was lifted three feet off the ground by a strong hand that clutched the back of his neck. He darted his eyes to the right, and saw an old and gnarled hand grab Faroth by his golden collar. Faroth's eyes immediately popped open, and as he was also lifted off the ground with surprising strength, he stared up at Gorluk with fear. Gorluk glared back at him with a look that said I told you so.

"You have no idea how long I have spent trying to look for you two! And such a big waste of my time it was!" he heard an angry voice behind him say. He gasped for breath as the hand around his neck loosened, and he could feel himself being turned around, just enough to see whoever it was that grabbed them. His heart nearly stopped as he recognized the person's face.

"G-G-Gandalf…?"

He was hardily able to whisper his name, so great was his astonishment. It had to be him! It had to be the same wizard, who less than two months ago he had first seen blowing smoke rings in Hollin, then had seen trying to battle out the worst snowstorm that probably ever existed, and fight and scare away an entire Warg pack… It was the same wizard that was now glaring at them with a fury in his black eyes that could never be measured.

"Fools! Out of all the cowardly Orcs, Wargs, Balrogs, Trolls, and other twisted and ugly creatures that will find more use crawling in the pits of hell, you two are the worst!" Gandalf continued.

That insult sailed over Gorluk's and Faroth's heads as they gaped at him in astonishment. "We thought you were dead…" Faroth whispered, "We saw you fall into the Mines with that Balrog…"

"You've been following the Fellowship for that long!?" the Wizard shouted. Gorluk and Faroth both nodded sheepishly. "I've been following the Fellowship since I first saw all of you in Hollin, and Faroth joined me after all of you entered into Moria… Wait, how do you know that we've been following the Fellowship?" Gorluk asked in bewilderment.

Gandalf sighed and lowered Gorluk and Faroth back to the ground (but he still didn't let go of their necks). "After I… came back," Gandalf began slowly, "I came to Lothlorien and spoke to Lady Galadriel. She told me about the council that she gave you two, and where the Fellowship was heading. All of you had left the day before I arrived, but long I stayed in Lothlorien. It was there that I recovered from my long battle with the Balrog, formed my own council, and became Gandalf the white."

It was then that Gorluk noticed for the first time that Gandalf had on a white robe beneath his grey cloak. He began to wonder what the significance to that was, but Gandalf continued on with his story before he had the chance to ask. "And so, it was about a few days ago that I left Lothlorien and traveled here to find the remains of the Fellowship… but while I was traveling I ran into an angry group of Orcs that had just had an unsuccessful time in trying to kill some very particular targets." Gandalf glared down at them, and Gorluk suddenly understood what group of Orcs he was talking about. "It was a nasty business, but in the end I successfully killed them all," Gandalf said as he let go of Gorluk's and Faroth's necks and reached into his cloak, "As I left, I found two items on one of the Orcs. One of these you may find familiar."

He extended his hand, and on his palm he held a small knife with a wooden handle. "Hey! That's my old pocket knife!" Gorluk exclaimed happily. Gandalf frowned deeply. "Yes, I know that it is… Because you were foolish enough to carve your name onto the handle!" He tossed it to Gorluk, who accepted it gladly.

The wizard then got out something else, something that appeared to be a cloth that was neatly rolled up (but had a few drops of Orc-blood that stained the edges). "This is the second item that I found," he said as he unrolled it, "It is a message written in black speech, concerning the both of you. Would you care to read it Gorluk?"

Gorluk glanced down at Faroth, who nodded eagerly. Whatever it said, it had to say the reason why Gorluk and Faroth had been attacked in the first place. He nervously extended his hand and took it, and held the message close to his face. It was a while since he had needed to read black speech, and it was harder to read the words still because the ink had nearly faded. But luckily, he was able to read a few words aloud. "…Wh… wanted… Orc and Warg… traveling together… crafty… Both are…" Gorluk suddenly stopped when he read the next part.

"Both are what?" Faroth asked, not understanding the shock on his friend's face. "Both are…" Gorluk read again, "Both are traitors and are working for the enemies…"

"What!?" Faroth gasped, "How could they possibly find that out!?" Gandalf pointed at the bottom of the message. "read that last part," he ordered.

Gorluk squinted his eyes at the sloppy and small handwriting, but he miraculously managed to read the rest. "If found, please…. BURN THEM ALIVE!? SHOW THEM NO MERCY!?"

Gorluk flung the cloth to the ground and jumped away from it like it was a poisonous snake. Faroth's jaw dropped open in horror. "But how…" the Warg slowly said, "How could they possibly know?"

"Orc scouts can figure a lot out from one small clue," Gandalf said, "Isn't that right Gorluk?"

Gorluk stared down at his knife and suddenly understood how the Orcs were able to piece it together. Maybe a few Orcs found his knife next to the Lothlorien border, and were able to figure out where it was from, judging from the type of wood on the handle. Maybe the Orcs that he and Faroth chased off were able to figure out their trick later, and found their tracks that crossed over the Lothlorien border. The rest of it was easy to figure out.

"So we practically gave ourselves away just from that small knife?!" Faroth asked in bewilderment. Gandalf crossed his arms over his chest and nodded gravely. "They know more about him though, since he carved his name onto the knife handle," Gandalf said, "You, Faroth, may be much safer."

Gorluk and Faroth both slumped their shoulders. "What are we to do now?" Gorluk asked hopelessly. "We have no idea where Merry and Pippin could be, the rest of the Fellowship are probably hundreds of leagues away and walking in the opposite direction, we're lost in the middle of this forest, and now we know that there's several Orcs that have been ordered by who-knows-who to burn us alive? What's the worst thing that could possibly happen now?"

The anger in Gandalf's eyes seemed to cool, and for the first he showed a slight and almost unnoticeable sense of pity on his face. "If it is of small comfort to you," he sighed, "Merry and Pippin are safe, and you need not search for them anymore. And as for the fellowship, they scattered apart in more ways than you know. Most of them are in these very lands right now. Also, I shall help you with your current problem. Follow me. " And with that, Gandalf walked down the hill and into the forest. Gorluk and Faroth had no choice but to follow.

The three of them walked through the trees in silence, with Gandalf walking at a surprisingly fast pace, and Gorluk and Faroth struggling to keep up as they tripped over stones and roots. But to Gorluk and Faroth's surprise, the rows of trees stopped and they found themselves walking into a grassy field.

"Where are we?" Faroth asked in amazement.

"We are now north of Fangorn forest," Gandalf replied. "Those mountains to your left are the mountains of Dunland, which is a fragment of the Misty Mountains. Exactly south of us, beyond Fangorn Forest, is Isengard. That is where the Orcs that were ordered to kill you came from, and the one who ordered them is Saruman. He is a Wizard like me, but he is on opposite sides now. Like I was saying, if you were to head north, away from Isengard, and reach as far as Mirkwood, you two may be safe from them… For now. "

"That is kind of you," Gorluk said, "But we don't plan any time soon on going that way. Galadriel advised us to follow the Fellowship, so we'll stick to what she said."

Gandalf sighed irritably. "I have never spoken against Galadriel's council, but this is the first time that I do so now. I cannot fully trust you two yet, for together you have caused the fellowship more harm than good."

Gorluk's jaw dropped by what Gandalf said, but Faroth stamped his front paw to the ground and appeared angry. "How dare you speak against the Lady of the Elves!" he hissed through clenched teeth. "And how to you think that we've caused the fellowship more harm than good? When they first entered Lothlorien, Gorluk and I chased off an entire group of Orcs from the Lothlorien border with nothing but two torches! What's the harm in that?!"

"Aren't you forgetting that it was you two that led the Orcs to the Fellowship?" Gandalf replied back, who was strangely calm, "And because of that, Boromir was killed, Merry and Pippin were captured by the Orcs, and now Frodo and Sam are making their way alone into Mordor, beyond our aid. Now do you see the harm that you two have done?"

Gorluk and Faroth were silent. This was the first time that they realized that it was their fault that the fellowship was scattered. "We're sorry…" Gorluk sighed. "Sorry that we've caused this much trouble without realizing it, but most of all, sorry that we woke up the Balrog."

Gandalf's eyebrows went straight up into his forehead, and for a moment he seemed to be in a frozen state of shock. "You… did… what?"

Faroth lowered his head to the ground. "We're sorry that we woke up the Balrog," he whimpered.

Gandalf's eyes began to twitch, and a moment later he once again grabbed them by their necks and raised them up off the ground until they were at eye level. "AND GALADRIEL STILL TRUSTED YOU!?" he roared.

"It was an accident!" Faroth choked. "We didn't even know what it was at first, so we just poked it with a stick and…"

"YOU WHAT!?" Gandalf was now shaking with rage. "FOOLS! I SPENT TEN DAYS FIGHTING THAT BALROG! TEN DAYS! ALL THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU POKED IT WITH A STICK?!"

Right as Gorluk thought that his face would turn blue, Gandalf threw them to the ground and towered over them as Gorluk and Faroth huddled together in fear. For a moment, it seemed that a dark cloud had covered the sun, and Gandalf seemed to grow taller and looked nothing like a harmless old man. To Gorluk and Faroth, the wizard's powers were finally revealed to them.

But with a sigh, Gandalf turned his head away. At once the sun shone bright again, and Gandalf was back to an old man, his powers hidden. "If you two did not bear Galadriel's blessing I would not be showing any mercy," he said quietly. "I do not call her opinion of you two unwise, for she is one of the few with the greatest amount of wisdom in Middle Earth, but I still question it. She tells me that in the end, both of you will perform one of the many great deeds in defeating the Dark Lord, but what it could be she does not say."

Gandalf turned away and began to walk back into the woods. "Gandalf! Wait!" Gorluk called out.

Gandalf stopped and turned around. "If it were to be your decision, what would you have us do?" Gorluk asked.

The wizard shrugged. "Advice is a very dangerous gift, for even the wise cannot see all ends. If you still wish to follow Galadriel's council, then do so! But one more act of foolishness and my sword shall meet your necks!" And with that, he turned away and disappeared into the trees.

Gorluk and Faroth stood in the field in silence for several minutes. But Faroth was the first to speak up. "Wizards can be so violent."

Gorluk nodded with agreement. "And why did he walk off like that without any explanation for where he was going? And without explaining exactly where Merry, Pippin, Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli are?"

"At least we know exactly where WE are," Faroth said. "Maybe if we circle around this forest we'll be able to find them. It's worth a shot."

"And if we don't?"

"Then…" Faroth seemed unsure. "If we don't end up finding them, then we'll decide what to do next afterwards."

To be continued…

~0~0~0~

So… The people that were able to guess that it was Gandalf are: NTSFroes, and DrangySmallfoot (guest).

Yesterday was a very important day… it was the one year anniversary for this story! I was going to publish this chapter on that day, but I didn't finish in time… Anyway, I'm so glad that I was able to go this far, and my goal for this is to have the whole story finished by September.

~Tatharwen