Infiltration

Frodo looked up at the menacing gates in front of him. They were huge, with massive iron bars and spike tips at the top. The tips were covered in gold leaf, and on the inside of the gates were massive gold letters. They were in the Elvish tongue, the ancient language of the Elves beyond the Sea, and it took a couple of seconds for Frodo to decipher them. The lady Galadriel herself had used this language in her song to farewell the Fellowship as they rowed down the Great River from Lórien. This is what the letters said:

Rómello vanwa ná Valimar! Nai elyë hiruva.

They were two lines from that very song! They meant:

Lost to those from the East is Valimar! Maybe even thou shalt find it.

Frodo contemplated these words from the safety of a clump of bushes where no one might see him, or be shocked by his shortness. "Those from the East" could mean all those who originated from the Homeland. But that just meant about everybody! Unless it meant even further east than Middle Earth or the Homeland. What was beyond that? Frodo didn't have a clue. And what was "Valimar" anyway? It sounded like the words valieren (which means "truth") and maroch (which means "ruler") put together. Perhaps this was a prophetic statement from long ago forseeing the loss of the real monarch of the Homeland. Maybe even thou shalt find it. What did that mean? Is it a hopeful thing to say, or an accusing thing? Perhaps the one who put it there thought it might make people guilty enough to put the real ruler back on the throne. This was all speculation, and Frodo wanted some facts, because so far he knew nothing about this place.

He needed a hearing device, that would allow him to listen to other conversations to find out what he needed. He found a rock and placed it on the ground, making sure it wasn't touching anything. Gently he started to magnify all the vibrations the rock was feeling through the ground. Sounds began to emerge rather similar to words being conveyed through the shaking rock. However, everything was jumbled, and Frodo could decipher any particular conversation. Nor could he see how he could eliminate the other conversations to make one clearer. Then he had an idea.

What if he put a circle around the rock, above ground of thickened air, and below it of thickened earth? He fashioned the sphere until it was so steady, only minimal vibration could escape through it. He then made a small hole in the sphere, letting vibrations only from a small area into the area to shake the rock. He then made another hole directly above the rock so he could hear what the rock was saying. He tested his device by placing a hole roughly in line with some guards who were chatting by the gate, supposed to be keeping vigilant watch. He magnified the vibrations until all the sounds came into focus.

"… bet 1000 lantars on the skimpy one."

"I couldn't think of a worse way to get poor. Did you see them repossessing his garden? His missus was harassing the coppers."

"Yeah, you could hear her shouting from ten streets up! My sister offered me ear plugs."

"Well that goes to show, always take good advice when betting on races, you never know when…"

Frodo grinned. It worked! It also appeared that human nature hadn't changed. It didn't matter where one went, or what language they spoke, humans always acted with the same desires. Funny lot, humans. Some of the most brave and gentle people he knew were humans, yet some of the most evil and manipulating were human too… Frodo couldn't get his head around them, at least they spoke the same language he supposed. Talking about language, it appeared the locals didn't speak ancient Elvish, but the common tongue of Middle Earth. Perhaps this meant it was "common tongue" to everybody! Frodo briefly wondered if that meant people couldn't decipher the letters on the gates. But of course there would be scholars who could read it; it looked like a well developed city, obviously with a bit of history.

Frodo decided it was now time for infiltration. He daydreamed a bit at what would happened if he decided to fly straight into the main palace's front door to watch the King/Queen gasp in shock promptly followed by a gold statue in his name, but then he reconsidered. Besides, what if the door was closed? What if he missed the door and landed on the thick stone wall? Frodo shuddered at the result; the elves too would be ashamed to think that their secret weapon hobbit was rash and foolhardy enough to smash himself into a solid object. Sighing Frodo studied some peasant men who were entering the city, and guessed he would just have to disguise himself as a human. Euch! This new disguise would take a lot of thinking...

Hi everyone! I hoped you liked the new chappie! R & R please! I hope the thing with the rock wasn't too confusing... ah well, it had to actually work, didn't it!

Much love

Empress Pip