"How long do you really think you can keep this up?" Frodo listened silently from the top of the stairs. He and the other hobbits had been moved into a comfortable bedroom shortly after they'd fallen asleep talking to Tom Bombadil, but Frodo had awakened to the sound of voices. When he'd crept out of his room, he'd found Goldberry, seemingly finished patching up the majority of Shadow's wounds speaking with the mysterious man by the waning light of the fireplace.
The woman's voice was strained through its hush, her eyes red with tears as she stared at the hooded man before her.
"From what you have told me, this is the beginning of the beginning of your journey," she leaned in closer. "Look what it has done to you already!"
"These are but the first of many wounds," Shadow stared at the floor, "Many lives will be taken by this venture."
"And yours CANNOT be one of them," Goldberry shook her head with a fierceness that made Frodo frown. Who was this man? "You have come close to throwing it away already. It is doubtful the hobbits know how close you came to losing your life to ease their passage. Those wounds were more severe than you let on. Come on, Dai! Taking on the Nazgul? ALONE? What were you thinking?"
"I was THINKING that I have no other choice." Shadow suddenly looked up. Frodo could only imagine the expression in the eyes he had yet to see. "Why is my life more valuable than the men and dwarves and elves who have already given everything?"
"Because there is more riding on your survival than this world alone," Goldberry stood firm despite Shadow's dismissal. "You have told me of the other worlds to which you travel. And even if those were not counted, what of Starkaven? How would those beyond the Grey Havens survive without you?"
"They would survive just as they have in the thousands of years before my arrival." Here, Shadow hung his head, resting it on his arms between his knees. "Do you really think, Goldberry, that Starkaven would survive if Sauron wins with or without me? If he succeeds here, it will only be a matter of time until his evil has grown to where nothing will stop him."
Goldberry fell silent. She knew nothing would sway the thoughts of the dark man before her.
"All my hope," Shadow's voice was muffled as he spoke to the ground, "All the hope of the world lies with that one tiny hobbit. I will see him through his journey if it kills me."
"I pray that we may keep our hope," Goldberry stood once again with tears in her eyes, "and your life with it." With that, she was gone, and Shadow sat alone before the fireplace. Frodo watched him for a moment before turning to sneak back up the stairs.
"Come down, Frodo," the hobbit jumped at the mention of his name, but after a moment of hesitation, he did as he was told.
"I'm sorry," he said as he descended the stairs, "I didn't mean to be rude. Your voices woke me, and—"
"There is no need of apology," Shadow lifted his head and Frodo stared into the black abyss of his face.
"What was that she called you?" Frodo ventured to ask after taking a seat next to his dark protector. "Dai, I believe she said."
Shadow sighed, staring at the fire.
"You should know that one, Frodo," the hobbit could sense the smile in the man's voice before he responded thoughtfully, "It's the Elvish word for Shadow. Few now call me by that name…mostly the oldest of the old…and those who do not speak the common tongue."
"So then, Goldberry is old?" Frodo raised an eyebrow at him.
"Very old," Shadow's response was quiet, and Frodo said no more for a time.
"There is more you wish to ask me." Frodo thought for a moment. Shadow was right. A thousand questions now tumbled through his mind, but Frodo was at a loss to put them into coherent words.
"What…Who are you?" Frodo felt the second question better suited the situation at hand. Shadow chuckled a bit.
"I am a Jedi Knight," Shadow's voice was far-off, lost in some distant memory, "we are protectors of the weak and keepers of the Force. In simple terms, it means that we are attuned to the life force of everything around us. It is how I can move objects with my mind. It is how I knew you were at the top of the stairs," here, he paused to look sideways at the red-faced hobbit.
"I am different in terms of the Jedi in that I can travel through time and space. Like this:" Shadow stood suddenly and vanished. Frodo almost fell backwards out of sheer shock when suddenly Shadow reappeared on the other side of the room. He walked back calmly and retook his seat next to Frodo before continuing. "I have left the galaxy of the Jedi in the middle of a war, Frodo. My reasoning being that there is something far more important than that war happening here and now, and it all centers on you, my little one."
Frodo stared at the man in amazement and sudden fear.
"How is the fate of Middle Earth greater than that of an entire galaxy?" the hobbit stammered.
"Because," Shadow sighed again, "as I was telling Goldberry, if this land should fall into darkness, it will have a ripple effect that will eventually throw all of time and space into darkness. I have tried to prevent this for many long years, but it would seem that the fates are against me. I have gone to the future and heard tales of the deeds done in this war and have come to offer aid."
Frodo's head was spinning from all he was hearing at this moment. "And Goldberry spoke of the Grey Havens, what of them?"
"Ah, Starkaven," Shadow nodded, unfastening the brooch from the cloak at his neck and offering it to the small hobbit. "Starkaven is an empire beyond the Grey Havens—one of many. It is home to many of the elves who travel into the west, and it is ruled by a just and fair queen by the name of Daiel."
"Shadow Star?" Frodo looked up from the brooch.
"Yes," Shadow chuckled again at Frodo's quickness. It was something that few of his kind possessed. "That would be her name in the common tongue. Anyways," he took the brooch back and refastened it around his neck, "I have spent much time there, and call it home when I am here on this world."
"Goldberry spoke as though you were one of high rank there," Frodo pressed.
"You could say that," Shadow turned back to the fire. "I brought new technologies and ideals with me when I came here. Daiel looks to me for council when she needs it. It is long since the lands of the far west have been at war…but it is not a foreign concept."
"Why do you hide your face?"
Here, Shadow laughed quietly.
"Because my appearance might frighten people." Though Frodo couldn't see it, deep in the black oblivion of Shadow's face, a bright eye winked at him.
Frodo yawned suddenly, and Shadow patted his back.
"You should get some sleep, little one. Tomorrow, our journey begins again."
~#*ITS*#~
The sun had yet to reach the tiny house in the forest when Shadow roused the hobbits to come to breakfast. He sat quietly in the corner watching as they ate, then ushered them to pack their things for the next leg of their journey.
"You seem to be in a hurry this morning, Master Shadow," Merry commented as he stuffed extra food in his pack.
"The road by which we will be travelling should not be taken," Shadow helped Pippin stuff his bag. "When necessity dictates it, however, it should be travelled by light of day. We need to leave as soon as possible in order to spend as little night as can be managed on the Barrow Downs."
"The Barrow Downs?" Merry stopped, dropping a few apples in his surprise. "I've heard rumors of that evil place."
"And they're all true," Shadow handed him the apples, "So we need to get moving."
~#*ITS*#~
The day passed with little incident on the foggy, dreary place known as the Barrow Downs. The group marched in silence with Shadow in the lead, ever watchful of the land around him even under the sun's warm rays. The mists around them were an unnatural green-grey, and the feeling of the air and land was one of poisoned death. Tom had left them at the edge of the Downs and had wished them well in their journeys. As the day wore on, however, it became clear that they would be spending at least one night in the cursed place.
As the sun began to set, Shadow found them a small place where the earth dipped and the rock jutted out to form a little bit of a shelter. The Jedi built a roaring fire in the back of it, and instructed the hobbits to lie with their backs to the flame when they wished to venture into sleep. In the earth outside the small camp, Shadow carved Elvish spells of protection with the green light he'd used as a sword when fighting.
"Inside this space, you're safe," Shadow had told the Hobbits. They had protested as he started to walk into the mists, but were answered with a soothing promise that he would be watching from atop the rock embankment. "I'll be able to see a threat long before they're upon us that way, and even if it's only a whisper, I'll be able to hear you should you need me."
Everything was perfect, and though every sound made them dart up in fear, eventually the tired hobbits nodded off to sleep with their backs to the fire as they'd been instructed. When they woke in the morning, Sam wondered who'd been keeping the fire all night, and he could have sworn he'd heard the sounds of fighting and Shadow's humming green light off and on, but the cloaked man pressed them on in the morning light as though he, too, had restfully slept the night away.
When night fell again, the group was long out of the Barrow Downs, and for the first time since Buckleberry Ferry, they were on the East Road again. The star-filled sky had grown overcast on their journey and a chilling rain began to pour when Shadow and the hobbits topped a hill and found themselves looking down on the bright lights of Bree.
"Time for some ale and a comfortable fire at the Pony, boys," Shadow's steps took on a lively bounce as he headed down the hill toward the large gate of the town. The hobbits followed, thinking that ale sounded like it was just what they needed.
~#*ITS*#~
A/N: A distinct lack of action in this one, but it was chocked full of the information you've all been demanding. Haha! I hope it satisfied some of what you wanted to know while still leaving you hungry for more information on our mystery hero...who probably left out a few important details when talking to our dear little Frodo. ;) . Till next time!