Where two raging fires meet together,
They do consume the thing that feeds their fury.
Though little fire grows great with little wind,
Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire and all.
William Shakespeare
Vaire shrank back from her tapestry in horror. How could this be? She sent a mind-speak message to Varda who appeared after a few seconds. She saw the distressed look on Vaire's face and took both her hands in her own.
"My dear, whatever is it? What is wrong?"
Vaire stared into Varda's starlit eyes, but saw nothing of their beauty. "The path we opened, Morgoth has intercepted it. He has used it for his own ends." She gasped.
Varda felt chilled to her very soul. The original plan had been quite simple. In order to simplify the situation for Eonwe/Gary, Gil-galad and everyone concerned and for her own safety and that of her unborn child, Varda and Vaire had decided that Kim needed to be returned home to her own time away from the meddling hands of Namo and Chief Knowles and certainly away from the self-destructive Feanorians.
True, the sons of Earendil would undoubtedly protect her to the best of their ability despite the fact that they were not far out of their majority and no doubt Maglor would try to defend her if it became necessary, but where the constant quest for the Silmarils was concerned, those remaining Feanorian boys, Maedhros and Maglor tended to be very blinkered. Neither would hesitate to push one pregnant mortal woman to one side if the madness came upon them, whether she was the future mother of the Herald of Manwe's child or not.
Every move that Namo and the Chief made in their game and every mile covered by the Feanorians merely moved her closer to the last place she needed to be; in the forefront of a massive battle. As long as Eonwe knew she was in danger, his mind would not be on the monstrous task to hand, that of capturing Morgoth and bringing Thangorodrim down around his ears let alone the task of retrieving technology that had no place in Arda in the First Age. If he knew that Kim was safe in her own time, it would make it easier for him to bear the intervening millennia and deal with his task. This was, of course, supposing that he and Gary did not manage to stay apart or that the pursuit of Thadak and the weapons took so long that their personas joined up to be one being once again.
The cunning plan had been to, temporarily but safely, transport one of the only other modern mortals who had been near or within the rift when it happened and make it possible for him to return home with Kim in tow. However it could not just be any mortal from the future. It had to be someone who had had contact with the rift at the time the temporal causality formed and it had to be someone who Kim would know and would trust. That mortal just happened to be Detective Inspector Alun Davies.
Vaire's eyes filled with tears. "What should we do?" She whispered.
"We will have to tell Manwe. We have no other choice." Varda's heart sank. She had been hoping to keep this little venture of theirs quiet. "Where have they transported him to? Thangorodrim?"
"Yes." Vaire said sadly.
Varda thought for a moment and cursed the sluggishness of her thought processes. This had been a bit of a shock really. It had never occurred to her or Vaire that Morgoth might sense the path they had opened and use it. He must have been jubilant at the idea of circumventing their plans. It was just too bad of him and how like him. Then just as she was about to give up, go to her husband and confess, she had a brainwave. "Was he transported directly to the throne room? Does the tapestry show this for certain?"
Vaire cast her eye over her tapestry and her grim expression lightened. "He has not been taken to the throne room. He currently lies in what looks like a sleeping chamber in a somnolent state. Perhaps Morgoth is too busy to deal with him at the moment."
Usually she unconsciously wove the tapestry as events started to clarify themselves. Only afterwards did she look in-depth to see what events would take place. Her weaving was the last in a sequence of visions of possible events; events that might be, some that would be and those that already had taken place. The conduit by which Vaire received these events and which enabled her to weave the tapestries could only be interrupted by those with sufficient power and knowledge. So far only Melian the Maia and Artanis now known as Galadriel, daughter of Finarfin, who was Melian's pupil, currently had that knowledge.
Varda rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, how very odd. Perhaps it was not Morgoth who did this, yet who else would have the power?"
"I can only think of one."
"Sauron? Then your thought matches mine." Varda frowned. "But for what purpose? Unless…"
Vaire peered closer at the tapestry work and then sat back with a chagrined look on her face. "How could I have missed this? It is Sauron who seeks to draw Eonwe and the host out to Thangorodrim."
"It is quite clear, but I cannot understand what he would have to gain from it." Varda agreed. "But we shall worry about the why later. Now what to do? Perhaps we can take advantage of the fact that it is not Morgoth who called the mortal through the path of the stars. I think we can safely assume that he has shielded his action from Morgoth. He was ever a slippery customer."
"But what can we do? We are so far away. We do not have permission to travel to Arda Marred, only Tulcas was granted this for the purpose of accompanying Eonwe."
Varda considered the situation for a moment. "Then we must bring the mortal to us in his dreams on another plane of existence and try to influence his path. I believe I can cast a web to make time temporarily slower so that we can do this, but we will not have long. This will also mean that we may not be able to effect the way back to their time for either he or Kim" She looked a little guilty. "And we will have to bring Irmo in to help us speak to him in his dream state."
Vaire snorted. "Dear Eru , before we know it, everyone will be taking a hand in this matter. I wish I had never suggested putting a spoke in Namo's wheel in the first place." She concluded crossly. "It's all gone terribly wrong."
"Be that as it may, the milk is now spilled. All we can do is limit the damage and mop us as best we can." Varda put a comforting arm around Vaire and kissed her on the cheek. "Try not to worry. I will go and speak to Irmo to secure his assistance. Let us just hope that he does not have a fit of conscience and insist on worrying Manwe with this, he has enough on his plate at the moment."
She was gone in a swirl of starlight.
"I have a really bad feeling about this." Vaire muttered. She glowered at the tapestry and kicked the inoffensive loom. "Stupid thing; it's not like I desperately want to know what's going to happen." A naughty grin split her face as she remembered a rather choice phrase picked up from their mortal guest. "This job sucks." She said firmly to the empty air and then giggled.
ooOoo
The Camp of Ereinion Gil-galad
Celeborn. The voice of his lady was urgent enough to bring him straight out of his reverie. He sat up abruptly and searched around him only to see the glow of the camp-fire and various sleeping bodies littered around.
ooOoo
Gil-galad had stopped the main group for some much needed rest since the pace they had set themselves had been fierce. Fiercer still was the pace the orc Thadak set himself in his efforts to get to Thangorodrim with his prize. Now they had reached a bit of an impasse in the form of a deep valley. Somewhere down in the valley among a dense group of trees was their prey. Thadak had gone to ground as the sun rose high in the sky and at first the Elven battle group were jubilant. They had him! The scouts came back to the main group with the news, but Eonwe asked Gil-galad to scout further around the whole area before they went in.
A scant hour later one of the scouting groups came back with the grim news that there was a large Orc battle group with Wargs and a tall vaguely man-shaped creature formed of fire and smoke on the opposite side of the valley. Glorfindel blanched when he heard that and Eonwe was heard to whisper "Valarauko" (1) under his breath.
"You cannot fight this foe Ereinion." He said quietly. "We will need to stop and consider our options. Thadak has seen the Orc battle group and knows that if he runs into them they will take the weapons and he wants the credit, indeed has probably been promised a great prize for bringing them to Morgoth. He cannot run back because he will then have to face us. He is, as Gary would say, between a rock and a hard place."
Cirdan nodded and Gil-galad expelled a deep breath. "So, what do we do then?"
"We assess their battle group as we are doing now for numbers and capability." Eonwe said patiently. "And we take some rest. We have been riding hard without rest for some hours now, your warriors are weary and need to eat and sleep. Thadak can go nowhere for the moment. He is stuck wherever he is. Then tomorrow we engage, or rather you engage, the main battle group and I will engage the Valarauko."
"And I will assist you." Glorfindel interposed quietly but firmly.
Eonwe gently grasped the Balrog Slayer's shoulder. "You do not have to do that Glorfindel. The Valarauko is one of my kind and we stand equal in power, he will not prevail against me."
"You do not have Lord Tulcas beside you to watch your back Lord Eonwe, nor do you have the help of the other Maiar who travel with the Host. You will be alone and I cannot in all conscience let you face even one of your own corrupted kind without supporting you." Glorfindel had a remarkably stubborn expression on his face. "You know as well as I do that only by the power of light as well as fighting ability can the Valarauko be defeated. Your light and power are undeniable, but who else here among the Eldar was both born into the light of the Two Trees and then re-embodied back into Valinor, other than I? You know this yourself, for once I stood outside the Halls of Waiting, it was you who greeted me and led me back to Valmar to begin my teaching. You need my light and my sword arm my Lord."
Eonwe saw how determined her was and nodded. "So be it. There is no one I would rather have at my back than Lord Glorfindel of the House of the Golden Flower." He flashed Glorfindel one of his beautiful smiles. In truth as the Maiar mightiest in arms, Eonwe was perfectly capable of killing a corrupted Maiar on his own, but it wouldn't hurt to have backup.
"Besides which." Said the Golden Elf Lord with a cheeky grin. "I've killed one of those things before."
Laughter rippled among the Elves and Eonwe smiled. "Indeed yes. Let us hope your hair doesn't get set on fire this time."
Glorfindel gave him a horrified look. "I'll wear a helm." He promised.
ooOoo
Celeborn. The voice was more urgent and insistent. There is another mortal. I am not sure how or why, but I do know where.
Is he in danger? Celeborn answered his lady in far speak.
I do not sense danger to him, at least not yet, but there is danger all around him. Danger and evil. I believe he is in Thangorodrim.
We can do nothing if he is in Morgoth's stronghold. Celeborn replied.
That is true, but he cannot be here for any good purpose. Everything I see tells me he is from the same place and time as the other mortals. I think perhaps he has been brought here because of the weapons that the Orc carries. For what other purpose could he have? Celeborn could hear how concerned she was.
I suppose a name did not come up? If the mortal is from their time, the young Edain Jim or even Eonwe may know who he is and what his purpose might be.
It is difficult. You know that my gift does not always show such things, however, I got an impression of the name A-lann.
I will go now and speak to Eonwe, he and Gil-galad are probably still awake discussing tactics for tomorrow. We will see if this name is familiar to him.
As to tomorrow, please be careful my love. Galadriel's voice held a note of wry amusement. Do at least try to stay out of the Balrog's way!
I do not think there is much danger of that. Celeborn replied dryly. Our resident Maiar and Glorfindel are positively head butting each other to have the pleasure of killing it. I think, I hope, I will be surplus to requirements.
Her silvery laughter followed him as he wended his way towards the small camp-fire where Gil-galad and Eonwe sat.
ooOoo
(1) Valarauko (n) Quenya - Balrog of Morgoth