Chapter III: Lost

A/N: Warning! The bad guys do a lot of talking down about the elves which includes them saying Elrond had a relationship with a whore. They also use a bit of language throughout the next chapters. Please, please do not be offended. It's the bad guys that said it..*Looks pleadingly and pouts*. I just wrote it down for them. There are some big surprises in store in the next coming chapters. When someone speaks Sindarin it will be in italics.

Halbarad raised his head from his pillow and squinted blearily into the sun that streamed in through the window and onto the two boys. He sat there for a moment trying to remember something when he jumped out of the bed and onto the hardwood floor, disturbing Estel in the process. Estel moaned and rolled over in his sleep. Hal was hurriedly getting dressed and struggling with his breeches. He held them halfway up as he grabbed a pillow and threw it at Estel, "Wake up!" Estel sat up clutching the pillow with one hand, "Let's go we're late!" Estel did not need to be told twice. He nearly flew out of the bed and into his clothes. Hal was still struggling with his tunic as they ran down the stairs and out of the house. Open air filled the spot where the wain had been.

Not a single soul was about and Estel stood staring at the empty place where the wain had been with his mouth agape. He slowly closed his mouth and now hoped that his discarded cloak would no longer go unnoticed. "I don't think they have been gone too long," Hal offered, "Maybe you can catch up to them. I'll get you a pack." Hal ran back into the house while Estel retrieved his vest from behind the rain barrel. When Halbarad came out, Estel was deftly re-braiding his hair, however nowhere near as intricate as before. His Ada had done that. Hal shook his head and handed him the pack when he was finished. Hal pointed in a generally northward direction, "Rivendell should be more or less in that direction. Good luck to you!" Hal clasped his friend on the shoulder. Estel smiled weakly and set off hoping he could catch up with the elves.

He stumbled and slid, trying to maintain his balance in the slippery mud. It was raining again and didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon. He had run as fast and as long as he could but he never caught neither sight of the elves nor any sign of them. He had to change course several times because the brush and the shape of the land made it impossible for him to travel a straight course. Frustrated and tired, he finally sat down with his back against a tree, shivering from the chill and the rain. He hung his head in defeat, he was lost and he knew it.

He did not know the direction of the village anymore than he did of his home with changing course so many times. Sheltered a bit by the tree, he lay on the ground and curled himself into a ball as sobs wracked his frame.

A rough hand yanked the child off the ground and from his sleep. It was dawn and the rain had stopped sometime during the night. "What have we here?" The bearded man that held Estel asked. Estel stared at the man with eyes wide open. The man's blond hair was thinning. He had a square face and a scar that ran from the upper left corner of his forehead, across his nose, to the right side of his chin. The man was stocky and well muscled.

"It looks like one of those elven brats," said a taller thin man. He had dark hair and a narrow face with several scars, some small, some large across his face and over his exposed arms. He looked younger than the man holding Estel. Tattoos covered his arms and a large earring hung from his left ear. The man carried a bow and he spat after he had called Estel an "elven brat" as if the words had fouled his mouth. Estel was in trouble and to scared to contradict the man. The man holding Estel looked at him and grinned. Estel began to struggle but he could not pull free from the man's strong grasp.

"I think we can do something with you," the man sneered. He half carried, half drug Estel back to their campsite. A woman was bent over the fire she was tending. She straightened and turned towards them with one hand on her hip holding a long stick, "What have you brought back this time?" she said not sounding at all amused.

"A lost, lonely elven cub," the man threw Estel several feet in front of him to the ground. Estel hit the ground hard and fought to catch the breath that had been knocked from him.

"An' jus' what do you plan to do with 'im?"

The man walked over to the fire and sat down with his back resting against a log. He stretched his feet out in front of him and crossed his arms behind his head, "I was thinking of holding him for ransom. Those elven bastards are rich enough and will pay handsomely to get their kid back. You can see how he's dressed that they've got some money." The other man grabbed a piece of rope and bound Estel's wrists rather tightly. He yanked the boy upright to his feet. Estel glanced down and without warning, kicked the man in his groin. The man fell to his knees bent over, shielding himself and not wanting to show the amount of pain that had caused him. Estel brought his leg up to kick him in the head but the man grabbed the ankle that was in the air and pulled him down to the ground. The man punched Estel in the stomach and then slapped him in the face. By this time the other man had reached the pair on the ground. The stocky man reached down and pulled the man beating Estel off of him, "Now, now, Ravin, don't you go killing our little gold mine."

Ravin stood scowling at Estel and wiping blood from his mouth where Estel managed to strike him, "I don't care, Darryn! He's got it coming to him. Besides, how do we know which elven whorehouse he came from?"

"Look at his hair," Darryn grabbed a fistful of Estel's braids and released them with a jerk, "It's dark like the lot up in Karmingul and he looks just like those cursed elves we nearly ran in to last week. I'll wager this one's related to them." Darryn looked down at Estel. Estel was sitting hunched over on the ground. The blows he had received from Ravin were catching up to him, "Now," Darryn stepped towards the boy, "which elves should we contact in Karmingul?" Estel felt hot tears run down his cheeks. Karmingul must have been the Westron name for Rivendell but Estel did not feel like answering nor did he want to tell these men anything at the moment, "Answer me!" Darryn shouted and Estel flinched, "Answer me boy!"

Estel lifted his head and shouted, "Grod naulion nibin!" Ravin stepped forward and backhanded Estel so hard that Estel fell back to the ground. Estel felt blood in his mouth from the hard strike. He could see Darryn holding Ravin back once again. Once Ravin had calmed down a bit, Darryn released him and knelt down in front of Estel.

"Now, it seems my friend understood what you said but I frankly don't care. It's probably true anyhow." Estel looked at him questioningly. He would have laughed if he weren't in this situation. He had called the man an "underground dwelling son of a petty dwarf"', of being an insignificant son of a dwarf. Estel doubted seriously that this man was even half dwarf. Darryn continued, "I want you to listen to me carefully boy. If you ever want to see your family again, you will tell us what we want to know. Ravin here is not a very patient man sometimes. If you don't tell us, Ravin may have found himself a new toy to play with. Am I understood?" Estel nodded. Darryn didn't really mean the last part about letting Ravin hurt the boy but he wanted answers, and threats of that nature usually seemed to work. "Are you from Karmingul?" Estel nodded, "and which elves should we contact there about the ransom?"

"El-rond," Estel's voice chocked with his quiet answer. Ravin's brows furrowed and he called Darryn over to him.

"I don't know," he began when he noticed Estel was staring at him. His eyes were red and wet from crying but they held Ravin in a steely grip nonetheless. Something about the boy was not what he'd expect from an elf child and he was unable to hold the gaze. That irritated Ravin, but holding his ire in check, he grabbed Estel and dragged him over to the woman and then went back over to Darryn, "I don't know what this kid is trying to pull, but those two elves we almost ran into last week were Elrond's two and only sons."

"But the kid says his pop is Elrond."

"Impossible," Ravin shook his head, "His wife sailed centuries ago for the grey havens. This child is far to young to be hers."

"Maybe he's a bastard, I don't know and I don't care what whore this Elrond felt up as long as we can get a ransom from him."

"Do we really want the Lord of Rivendell's wrath upon our heads? It would be better if we found out whether or not the kid is telling the truth before we plan anything." Darryn agreed to finding out more about the boy. Ravin left the group to find out the information. Estel had very sharp ears and had heard the whole thing. At least up to the point where they had called is Ada a whoremaster. He had never thought about his parentage before. His mother was a human and his Ada was an elf. He knew his mom and his Ada were not married but he was both their son. Had his parents conceived him out of wedlock? His mind was reeling from these thoughts and it began to sicken him and his head to ache.

Ravin (a variant of Raven) : to obtain or seize by violence
2 : to devour eagerly or greedily : consume wholly, to prey or plunder with rapacity : prowl after or devour prey : feed greedily : be or become ravenous or consuming

an act or habit of preying or devouring : PREDACITY, PREDATISM b : something seized or devoured as prey --Webster's dictionary.