The week flew by fast for Brooklyn who had been bed ridden for a time until soon he was woken by Beorn.
"The poison in your system seems to have died down," he revealed. Brooklyn nodded; he didn't feel much pain anymore in his body, sitting up.
"But, where do I go from here? I really don't feel ready to confront my father even though I'm searching for him," he stated in worry, holding his covered legs in his bed. Beorn at first didn't reply then suddenly thought of a place for him to travel to first.
"You should visit the other clan of elves beyond the Goblin King's realm called Rivendell. The lady of the elves Galadriel could help you learn of your father," he replied. Brooklyn's eyes rounded slightly from it but felt nervous. "A-are you sure? Just unsure if they'll not welcome me looking the way I am. And they probably despise my father."
Beorn nodded in understanding. "I can see your fears. But in order to face your father you need to know of him both good and bad. I shall give you supplies and a map to Rivendell to help you on your journey. And something else I discovered too."
After that was nothing but preperation for Brooklyn's long quest to Rivendell then to the Lonley Mountain. He was scared but willing to do anything to feel how Angela felt at having a biological father. Beorn filled an old bag with food, medicine and water, and his own map of Middle Earth. Brooklyn accepted them with gratitude. But then Beorn brought something else out; a strange sword weapon that looked elvish.
"This sword had belonged to a powerful Elf whose name no one knows. It glows blue whenever Orcs or Goblins are nearby. I entrust this blade to you since you've respected my hospitality. May it protect you until you no longer have need for it." Brook was stunned but happy for the gift, holding the blade. "Nobody… ever really gave me something like this. Thank you, Beorn. I hope we meet again." The skin changer gave a rare smile. "As do I, Son of Smaug," he said, when they were outside of the house.
Brooklyn gazed out at his direction and hoped he could reach Rivendell in one piece. He gulped slightly and Beorn saw his fear. "Remember your dragon side; it will help you bring out more of your courage," he said, a hand on the gargoyle's shoulder. Brook nodded, shouldering his bag. "Goodbye," he said softly, looking back once more at his second friend in Middle Earth before finding a tree to take off from, soaring into the afternoon air.
….
As the day went on by Brooklyn glided across the terrain towards the mountains in the distance. At first it was just flat fields and trees like when he ran into those Orcs. Thankfully none were about as the young crossbreed kept his pace. He wanted to go straight to the Mountain but in Brooklyn's gut told him that wasn't the best decision for himself.
But in his head memories of his clan arose. Brook frowned when recalling playing with his two brothers. Sure they lied about his heritage but they were also family. Tears came to his eyes, hoping to see them again soon.
Eventually Brooklyn now started flying over a canyon with towering mountains. For some reason here Brook could feel familiarity with this place even though he was still an egg here. Shaking his head he spotted a tall rock tower below, gliding down to rest his wings. He landed, breathing heavily in exhaustion, sitting down and pulling out a piece of bread, lembas. Beorn told him about it while packing his bag this bread would sustain him for a long time.
Sniffing it Brooklyn took a bite out of the bread. His belly filled up nearly instantly and the bread wasn't too bad either. He grinned; downing the rest of it but saved the others for his next stop, drinking water too.
After his meal Brooklyn stood on his feet. Taking the map out he directed himself towards the Misty Mountains, first wanting to explore near the bottom of the mountain and find any friendly faces or other food around.
Touching down he saw how foggy it was in the woods below the mountains hence the name. Brooklyn squinted through the fog but couldn't see anything well. "Guess I should move on if nothing's here worth looking for," he muttered after a while but then suddenly a harsh yelp like a wolf rang out. The red male jumped in the air, eyes glowing white. He heard that before. If the Orcs had followed him…
Taking some breaths Brooklyn followed the source of the sound through some misty trees. After shoving through them the sound got louder, revealing a clearing that had an orc trap. From behind the tree Brook gasped softly from what was caught in it.
It was a Warg pup, hardly two years old, and it's paw was caught in that Orc trap. The warg was dark brown with a white spot on his snout. It whined frightfully in pain, clawing the trap but nothing it did got it out. Brooklyn's talons scraped the tree bark, ears flat at the sight of the small one. Just seeing the warg hurt made him feel pity for it, even if its kind attacked him before.
Breathing shakily, Brooklyn stepped out. The warg noticed him, ears shooting upward, then growling, not a deep growl. It made the young male halt. "Hey, easy. I won't hurt you," he soothed, trying to make his tone gentle. The warg pup kept its ears flat, limping and crying again from the trap. Brook knelt. "I'm not going to kill you, I want to help you," he stated, heart thumping, reaching with his hand.
The pup snapped its teeth, growling more, as Brooklyn pulled out some dried meat from his bag that was also part of his supplies, causing the warg to whine questioningly, gazing at the strange creature before it.
Brook could see that the warg was a male, as he knelt down to give the dried meat to the pup. He placed it on the ground just in reach. The warg puppy sniffed the meat cautiously, giving another unnatural whine, before going to eat the meat. This gave Brooklyn enough time to sneak around to unhook the trap from the warg's leg. He grunted and pulled on the trap, flinching from the teeth cutting his hands but the red one wouldn't let it stop him.
Eventually he was able to yank the trap open, the pup yelping after finishing the meat and stumbling out, Brooklyn collapsing to the ground. He glanced up in fear as now the warg was free, keeping still but shaking. The warg growled, it's eyes flashed up, limping on its three good legs. It went closer to Brooklyn who now saw the pup was bigger than he thought but not a full grown adult. He turned his head away, expecting to be eaten.
But instead he felt a nuzzling muzzle on his shoulder. Glancing back Brook was a bit surprised but happy to see the warg whining thank you. Even though it looked fierce it was just a young pup. He held out his hand.
"I'm a stranger to this world boy. It would be nice to have someone to travel with me just to be a companion. If you don't want to, I understand. But do you have a family?" He asked curiously. The warg pup whimpered, ears lowered. His whole family had been stolen by Orcs and either enslaved or killed. All he wanted was to roam Middle Earth wild and free. But this strange creature that looked like a dragon had saved his life. He licked Brook's hand.
Brooklyn could guess that this warg pup wanted to come. He petted his head, the warg wagging its tail but knew too it probably had no family if he wanted to come. "I'm sorry about your family little one. But if you'll be coming I can be your new family, if you like. But I'll have to name you."
The warg tilted his head as Brooklyn thought for a while. Then he decided.
"I'm gonna call you Fangspirit. Do you like that boy?" He asked. The warg now called Fangspirit yipped, beginning to suddenly now lick Brooklyn's face. It made the red one laugh softly from the affections. "Ok, ok!" The warg stopped, wagging his tail. Brooklyn stood up after tending to Fangspirit's front paw, wrapping it up with some cloth in his bag. "Going to be glad to have some company. Been traveling on my own for some time now. Plus I wasn't looking forward to venturing into those mountains by myself," he said, shuddering slightly at the height of them.
Fangspirit whined, nuzzling him. Brooklyn petted his new friend once more before setting off again to find an entrance going up the hill. The mist was beginning to clear which helped the red male more. He spotted a hole in the mountain then, ears having fallen. Brook knew he could glide over these peaks but the elevation just felt too much for him and his wings. Now that he had Fangspirit too the pressure felt too much to bear to have to carry his warg friend.
Fangspirit tilted his head at Brooklyn with a whine that sounded like Bronx. Brook smiled slightly and petted his ears. "I think going through this mountain may be our only option to get to the other side into Rivendell boy. If you still want to, that is," he said nervously. His new friend mostly woofed again, jumping up and down despite his wounded paw, moving towards the entrance into the mountain.
The half dragon gave a grin. This warg definitely had adventure blood in him. Shouldering his bag he nodded. "Into the caves then. Hoping we make it out alive…" he said, ears falling slightly as the darkness of the entrance came closer, knowing there was no turning back at this part of his quest.
