When the sun was high in the sky, the King, his son, his daughter-in-law, his bodyguard and his guest were all on horseback, waiting to depart the palace. When Mirkwood had been placed in the secure hands and protection of the council left behind and Thranduil had said a few words of hope to the people watching them go, they all set off at a steady pace. They were in no great hurry, but Thranduil said he would like to be there before sunset – they could be more easily attacked in the dark. No-one save Thranduil knew for certain where they were going.
Maeglin rode alongside Anié, who rode alongside Legolas, who rode alongside his father, who had his bodyguard riding alongside him. All of them were armed – Thranduil and Maeglin carried swords and Legolas, Anié and Idhrenion also carried bows and arrows. They rode for many miles, deep into the heart of the forest of Mirkwood, all keeping alert for any signs of evil or evil-doers.
Eventually, approximately an hour before sunset, Thranduil called them to stop.
"Here" he said, dismounting from his horse.
The others followed in dismounting. They were in a rather small clearing and each of them watched different spaces in the trees for any sign of shadows moving. Idhrenion had already fitted an arrow to the string of his bow in case he needed to protect his King particularly quickly. There were no signs of any bodies or blood – it was completely empty.
They all stood there in absolute silence, simply watching. Suddenly, Anié cried out, her eyes wide and a finger outstretched before her:
"There!"
All eyes turned to the dark area she was pointing at. No-one else could see anything but darkness.
"What is it?" asked Legolas.
"I saw something moving in the shadows" Anié replied, her hand on the beautifully crafted hilt of her sword.
Idhrenion's bow was lifted, ready to fire, as was Legolas'. Maeglin had drawn his sword. Thranduil drew no weapon, but called out in a clear voice:
"If someone is there, show yourself".
Silence followed.
"We will not harm you if you have no desire to harm us".
A shorter period of silence followed before the shadow replied.
"I come in peace".
The voice was masculine, calm and almost melodic and did not sound like one who disliked them. Within the shadow, a tall, thin figure emerged with its arms open as a sign of peace and friendship. As the figure stepped out of the shadows, it became clear to the group that it was of no threat to them, so Anié removed her hand from her sword and Legolas lowered his bow.
The male figure was dressed in pale robes, though not finely tailored ones like the robes Thranduil and Legolas wore. He was also unnaturally pale and his eyes were almost sunken into their sockets, causing shadows to surround them. His face was vaguely skull-like, like someone who has been seriously ill for sometime. He had long brown hair and was clearly unarmed.
Thranduil stood tall and showed his authority as he commanded:
"Tell me your name".
"I do not have one" the man replied, clearly not intimidated by the King of Mirkwood, or by the armed warriors that stood before him.
"Then tell me – what is your business here?" Thranduil asked, determined for answers.
The man cocked his head sideways, as if answering a silly question.
"You summoned me" he replied.
"You asked me to come out, and so I came".
Thranduil was becoming frustrated.
"Do you know of anyone or anything in this area that has been attacking the soldiers or Mirkwood? Have you seen any people taken away or killed of late?"
The man thought for a moment.
"I do not believe so" he replied.
"Why do you ask?"
"There have been several disappearances recently" the King replied, "and we wish to discover the cause of it".
"I see …" the man said, almost to himself.
A silence followed that frustrated Thranduil more so.
"If you have no more information for us, then we must go" stated Thranduil, moving to remount his horse.
"I have a friend who may know" the man said suddenly, yet still with a strong element of calmness.
Thranduil turned suddenly to him.
"Do you? And where might this friend of yours be?"
"He dwells not far from this place" the man replied.
"You could easily reach it by sunset".
He slowly lifted his head to the sky.
"The darkness grows with every minute spent here talking".
He lowered his head just as slowly and looked directly into the eyes of the King once again.
"If you wish to arrive there soon, you should leave now".
Thranduil thought for a moment and then looked to the others for their thoughts. Idhrenion and Legolas looked uncertain, whereas Anié and Maeglin saw no harm in the man. If he led them to any danger, they could easily defeat it and they could even more easily kill him, if that sort of action was necessary. After hearing their opinions and thoughts in his mind, Thranduil turned back to the man and said:
"Very well. You will take us to this friend of yours. But we warn you now – should you lead us to any harm, you will pay heavily for it".
"No harm shall come to you from my own hand, I promise you that" he said.
"But I must warn you, King of Mirkwood – my friend has a way of seeing things that many eyes cannot, even the eyes of the elves".
Thranduil looked into the face of the man and was disturbed by it. His words worried him slightly and the expression on the faces of his son and his bodyguard as they exchanged looks of distrust worried him even more so, but he showed none of it and the man seemed of no harm to them for now, so on horseback, they followed him at a slow and steady pace.
Legolas was the last to leave, as he was reluctant to follow this stranger, but quickly rode up beside his father. Speaking without sound, he said to his father:
"I do not trust this man".
"He seems of no threat to us" Thranduil replied, equally as silent.
"I do not believe he is leading us to a place or a person who can help us" Legolas continued.
"We could be walking directly into a trap".
"We know not where we are being led, but I will not leave my soldiers to die or suffer any form of torment from the enemy. Besides, we have the greatest archer in Middle Earth with us, amongst a group of highly skilled, highly trained warriors – what could face us that we could not defeat?"
Thranduil looked over at his son and smiled, trying to encourage him. Legolas returned his father's look with a small and brief smile, but lack of trust still reigned strong in his heart.
"Fear not, Legolas, my son. I am no fool. I am on my guard just as you are. If this man can help us in any way, then so be it – the more information we have, the better. I just want my people to be safe".
Legolas smiled, understanding his father perfectly. He trusted his father and would follow him anywhere. He even had a ring from his father with the words 'To wherever it may lead' engraved on it and he intended to stick to that.
He then felt a warm presence beside him and realised that Anié had ridden up to join his side. They smiled at each other and held hands as they rode on together, having no idea what was awaiting them and yet walking straight into it, like blind children led to the slaughter house.