Chapter Seven

Rings of Power

The elves came back within the hour, and Trolo, hearing them sneaking down the passage on their elf-feet, got ready with his speech. Peg could hear him muttering it to himself in the corner. But it proved unnecessary – for the moment.

The elves opened their door and seized both of them.

'You are to come before the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn,' said Calendula. 'You too, hobbit. And mind who you kick.'

'I'll behave,' said Trolo, meekly. But Peg saw the twinkle in his eye. Perhaps the elf did, as well, because he looked suspicious.

But they went back up the many stairs to a great, open hall where the white elf-lady, the elf-king Thranduil, and another blond elf were sitting in a row. Calendula stood behind the orc and hobbit, and since Trolo wasn't trying to talk, no one covered his mouth. Calendula gave them both a dig in the back and whispered.

'Bow before the Lady Galadriel.'

Trolo bowed in the general direction of the elves, presuming one of them was the Lady Galadriel, but Peg saw nothing in it for him and didn't bother.

'What is your name, Halfling?' asked the elf in white.

Trolo tried not to snort and managed to respond gracefully.

'Trolo Sackville, Your Honour.'

'I am the Lady Galadriel. You are from the Shire?'

'Originally.'

'You have travelled far and seen many things,' said Galadriel.

'I know,' said Trolo.

'I see no evil in you,' said the other elf, who must have been Lord Celeborn. 'Why are you in company with an orc?'

'Well, I didn't see any evil in him,' said Trolo, shrugging.

Galadriel's eyes widened, then she smiled patronisingly. 'Hobbits have hearts full of goodness but little wisdom,' she said. 'You must learn discernment, Master Sackville, between the evil things of this world and the good.'

Trolo said nothing.

'Now for the orc,' said Thranduil. He was obviously impatient. 'Lord Celeborn, I urge you to look upon the ring in his ear and declare, is it or is it not the ring which hitherto belonged to Thrain II of the dwarves?'

Celeborn drew closer to Peg and looked at the ring in his ear.

'It would seem so,' he said, slowly. 'But we knew that the Necromancer of Dol-Guldur obtained this ring, and how therefore could an orc be in possession of it, now that the Dark Lord has returned to Mordor?'

They could ask Peg, the orc reflected, but he didn't say it out loud. Apparently, they had forgotten he could talk.

Galadriel was looking far into the distance, like one hypnotised.

'It was taken from Mordor,' she said. 'The Dark Lord seeks it.'

The elves turned to her as to an oracle.

'If he were to regain control of it,' she went on, 'he would turn Durin's Folk against us, and against the Men of the West.'

She added the last as an afterthought, because the Men of the West didn't seem to matter much.

'We have not had dealings with the dwarves since the dark days,' said another elf who stood by.

'Great then would be the danger, should the Dark Lord regain this thing,' said Thranduil, gazing upon Peg as upon a fly.

'The ring must be destroyed,' said Legolas, who was standing near his father.

'Yes, son,' said Thranduil. 'Thank you for pointing that out.'

'But it can only be destroyed by dragon fire,' said Lord Celeborn.

'There are few dragons left in Middle-Earth,' said Galadriel.

'There are some,' said Calendula. 'But none knows where they are.'

Peg looked at the floor. Unfortunately, Galadriel saw it.

'You are wrong, Calendula,' she said. 'There is one among us who knows.'

Everyone looked at Peg, and he blushed.

'The orc shall speak,' said Lord Celeborn, seeming to assume that simply saying it would make it happen.

'Talk,' said Calendula, kicking Peg.

Peg found that Trolo was winking very obviously at him.

'There is a dragon in Mordor,' he admitted, in a snarly voice, because he was scared stiff.

'How can this be?' asked Galadriel. 'Why has the Dark Lord not used him against the peoples of Middle-Earth.'

'They don't get along very well,' said Peg. 'He lives in the Mountains of Shadow and keeps his own company. He neither aids nor receives aid. He walks alone.'

'Mordor,' murmured Galadriel. She looked at Celeborn and Thranduil. 'Legolas speaks aright. The ring must be destroyed.'

'But by whom?' asked Thranduil.

'This shall be discussed,' said Galadriel. 'Take the hobbit and the orc away.'

'Wait!' said Trolo, drawing away from those who held him and throwing himself on one knee. 'Fairest of all peoples, do not lock me up. I will not fight or get in the way. Don't put me back in the dark! Please, my lady!'

Galadriel smiled upon him. 'The hobbit has done no wrong,' she said. Apparently, Peg had. 'Yes, Master Trolo, you will not go back to the prison, but you shall not leave Caras Galadhon. If you set foot outside the gates, you shall be bound in chains. Haldir, take the orc away. And the hobbit must leave our secret meeting.'

Trolo and Peg were led out again, and Trolo touched Peg on the shoulder.

He winked, as if to say 'Our hero had everything completely under control. And then Peg was dragged back to the dungeon and left in the dark cell across from the dwarf who, seeing that Trolo was gone, didn't bother to talk to him.

Trolo came back down to the prison just before supper, and was put back next to Peg, but he wasn't in chains. For a while he simply fumed, but after half an hour he was able to answer the questions Oort and Peg plied him with.

He had tried to get at the ring. He hadn't been sure if Lady Galadriel was the she-elf Oort had mentioned, but when he discovered that Legolas was Thranduil's son, he supposed she was the next best bet. She had been in conference for hours, in fact she still was, and so he had wandered around Caras Galadhon looking around before he had encountered a stroke of luck.

In one of the bathrooms upstairs he had found it – the ring! He knew it must be the ring Oort was talking about because it was so shiny and beautiful, and he could feel the power of it when he touched it. The she-elf had taken it off while washing her hands, he supposed. So he had pocketed it.

But then he realised he had been double-crossed. Lady Galadriel had set elves to watch him while he wandered, and just after he found the ring they accosted him and dragged him back down to the counsel room, where Galadriel had been very angry. He had tried to 'blackmail' her, but Calendula, Legolas and Haldir had simply knocked him down and taken the ring away. Celeborn had sent him back down here and promised he would stay there until he had learned his lesson.

'That's what I'm wondering about,' said Trolo, grasping the bars of the door and glowering through them at Oort. 'They said I would learn my lesson like the dwarf. Are you the dwarf, and what exactly was it you were trying to steal before?'

Oort seemed to blush in the dark.

'Oh,' he said. 'I just thought this might be a good way of getting at it. I just have a weakness for rings.'

'Well,' said Peg, 'you should have seen it wouldn't work. I knew they would take it from you.'

'Why didn't you say so?' demanded Trolo.

'No one ever listens to me.'

'I am very angry at dwarves at present,' said Trolo. 'Is nobody in the Wide, Wide World trustable?'

'You can trust me,' said Peg.

'Yes,' said Trolo. 'Well.'

'Look,' said Oort. 'It was worth a try.'

'I suppose so,' said Trolo, grudgingly. 'But now we'll never get out of here.'

'Rather, I think you will, and rather sooner than you would wish.' Somebody had snuck up on them, and they all looked up to see Haldir.

'Where is the elf with the tuft of hair under his lip?' asked Trolo, as Haldir began unlocking their door. 'Don't tell me you're going to drag us up there all over again. This is getting to be a habit with you. Our hero felt most ill-used and unwilling to oblige.'

'You must oblige,' said Haldir, unlocking Oort's cell as well and hauling the dwarf out. 'Lady Galadriel has an offer for all three of you.'

Trolo and Peg took a chance to look at Oort. He was dwarf-sized, very heavy and very hairy, with a black beard and lots of tarnished armour. He carried a pack on his shoulder. It was the biggest pack Peg had ever seen. It doubled the dwarf's size.

'Come,' said Haldir. 'And you may be grateful of her goodness. She is willing to offer you grace.'

'Humph,' said Trolo. 'I don't trust her.'

'Neither do I,' whispered Oort. 'But we may as well go and have a fight for our trouble.'

'Aye!' said Trolo. 'Our hero would greatly enjoy that.'

They followed Haldir up the stairs once again.

Peg hoped they wouldn't have to climb those stairs again. He could easily get tired of stairs, having such short legs. Oort actually seemed to be enjoying the chance to stretch his limbs, and hummed a dwarf song to himself.

When they appeared for the third time before Galadriel they all knew that something either very dreadful or very fortunate was going to happen. The first thing they saw when they entered the room was Calendula, standing in the middle of the room, facing the three nobles. He looked a little scared but as if he was trying to hide it.

'Ah,' said Celeborn when dwarf, hobbit and orc entered. 'Bring that orc here.'

Peg was shoved forward into the middle of the room. He glanced shyly around.

'You spoke of a dragon,' said Galadriel. 'You know where he lives?'

Peg nodded.

'Could you lead someone there?' asked Celeborn.

Peg started.

'I don't know,' he said.

Thranduil interposed.

'We offer you your life,' he said, 'for what it's worth, if you agree to lead Calendula, son of Eminem, to the home of this dragon.'

Peg, Trolo and Oort all suddenly turned to stare at Calendula. The elf turned a little pink but looked proud and elegant.

'Hmm!' said Oort.

'He wants to take the ring?' asked Peg.

'He will destroy it,' said Celeborn.

Peg considered this. His beautiful ring! His precious!

'Promise?' he asked.

'You have our word,' said Celeborn.

'Fine,' said Peg.

Nobody bothered to thank him. Celeborn turned to Oort and Trolo.

'As for you, thieves,' he said. 'We have an offer for you. If you agree to accompany Calendula on his journey, you will be released. If not, you will remain in prison until the end of your lives. You both attempted to steal the great ring Nenya, and for this you should die, if we weren't more merciful. What do you choose?'

Trolo looked at Oort. Oort looked at Trolo.

'Why do you want to destroy this ring?' asked Oort. 'What is it?'

'I answer no questions,' said Celeborn. 'Do you agree or don't you?'

'We could do it all right without the elf,' said Trolo. 'Does he have to come along?'

'For that matter,' said Oort, 'do we have to take the orc?'

'ANSWER ME!' cried Celeborn.

'All right,' said Trolo. 'Our hero was quite put out but he answered with chivalry.'

'Very well,' said Oort. 'But you must return me my weapons. I refuse to set foot outside this palace without them.'

'They will be returned,' said Celeborn. 'Calendula, you will set out tomorrow morning. Withdraw these three,' he added, gesturing to Trolo, Peg and Oort. As soon as the three had left he rose from his throne and approached Calendula and laid a hand on his shoulder.

'Friend,' he said. 'See that you take care. The hobbit and the dwarf might cut your throat or save your life, and it is not in my power to know which. Hobbits are in general creatures of their word, but this one has proven to be something of a liar and a cheat. It may be he was urged by the dwarf. The dwarf you know to be a hopeless thief, but even in this he may prove useful to you. It is this kind of person who will not fear a journey through Mordor.'

'You did not tell them we would go through Mordor.'

'There is no need yet,' said Celeborn. 'I have reason to believe that they will keep their word in accompanying you, but if they do not, you know what you must do.'

Calendula nodded, and went out.