Category: Tolkien-Universe
Rating: M
Couples: -
Warnings: AU, blood, mentions of torture, character death, Loss of bodily autonomy (no Non-con)
Chapter: 29
Copyright: Characters & places © By Tolkien Estate, Plot & OC´s © by me
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They had lost - and refound - the trail three more times before they finally found someone who knew of Arafinwë, though the group of Secondborn was convinced he was some mystical being, bound in human form by the Sorcerer Lord of the South. For them, that was the only explanation for his skills and form.
Both Ñolofinwë and Fëanáro were less than thrilled by that, but felt that trying to explain the intrinsic nature of elves would bring even greater delay.
After that, the five elves traveled by word of mouth about their golden-haired sibling, rather than what remnant remained of their kin's passage in these lands. Even Huan, Hound of Valinor, had been hard-pressed to find the trail that last time, and they were not going to risk being led astray somehow at this juncture.
"This still carries his echoes." They had arrived at a small settlement on what was apparently upriver from the mansion of the Lord.
"Yes." Fëanáro agreed with him, staying at a respectable distance from the small field of grains. They had already learned that the inhabitants in this region were very leery of people getting too close to their food-sources. Which was fair, considering the effort that had to go into growing anything resembling 'enough' in this climate had to be intense, even if someone had been Singing over it. "His voice still lingers."
"So downriver it is?" Nelyo returned from his brief stint into the village for some supplies. His large form and red hair automatically made the people here believe he was kin to the Lord, so they were marginally more willing to trade with him than they were with the other four. This time, they needed some new clothes, as aside from the few items that had Songs woven in, their outfits were getting threadbare and none of them wanted to face Sauron in half-worn-through items.
"Yes." Ñolofinwë rose from his crouch where he had been leaning towards the tall grains. "We're close now."
"Love that we still have no plans whatsoever." Makalaurë mused, sitting a short distance away with his feet in the water. He was dressed almost fully in the local fashion, and if there was not all the worry about their relatives, they might have accused him out loud of loving the dramatic swishing of the wide and flowing garments.
Huan surfaced in the middle of the river, a large fish of some kind in his jaws.
"There's a good chance they would not go with us even if we manage to drive Sauron out of here." Fëanáro reminded his second son while helping his eldest spread out the clothes he'd brought from the village. "Namó did not specify, but we can all make good guesses as to what 'swore themselves to him' means."
Indis' eldest accepted the fish from the dog at the same time, turning to food-preparations. Tyelkormo was near the nearby ravine-walls to search for a place to shelter during the hottest part of the day. They had turned basically nocturnal by now, sleeping as Arien was at her highest point and food could be roasted simply by laying it on rocks and traveling at night, when they and their horses were not liable to cooked alive.
"We'll have to make a deal." He murmured, remembering how well that had gone for him last time when he had not and not for the first time wondering if things would have gone far better if he'd just shaken Sauron's hand on Tol Sirion.
"We'll have to hope we have something he'll want." Maidhros put down one of the clothing-piles beside him. "He might not want to trade them on principle."
"I'm not leaving without them." The eldest of the five declared as he bundled up another set. The second-youngest brought over some of the spices from the saddle-bags, which they had been gifted a few villages back when he'd Sung over their field much like Arafinwë had done over this one.
"I think none of us are." He briefly considered the angle of the light, wondering if they had enough time to make the food now or whether Tyelkormo would get here with news for a sleeping-spot before the fish was done.