Chapter 16: Old Elves are Very Superstitious
The Pale Orc roared in rage, and the Wargs howled in indignation at having their prize stolen, but the eagles paid no mind to them.
Soaring high above the ground, the eagles sped away from the fray and into the coming day, covering the remaining distance over the mountains with ease. They soared around rocky outcroppings and dipped downwards to follow the paths of waterfalls. Some of the dwarves were still clutched in their talons, while others were able to ride on the backs of the eagles.
Elenath sat upright on her eagle's back, watching the company and the land around them with wonder and joy on her face, occasionally exclaiming in Elvish to her eagle when her keen elven eyes spotted something only the two of them could , Ithilel would also have been able to see what they were seeing if she didn't have her face firmly pressed into the neck of the eagle she was riding, her hands curled tightly around the feathers.
"Don't pinch!" cried her eagle. "You need not be frightened like a rabbit, even if you look rather like one. It is a fair morning with little wind. What is finer than flying?"
"The solid strength of tree roots and their voices as I travel on the ground or on their reasonably tall branches," responded Ithilel morosely.
"A warm bath and a late breakfast on the lawn afterward," muttered Bilbo from the back of his eagle, trying to blink away the wind.
"I thank you for your help, Gwaihir," Gandalf spoke to the Lord of the Eagles, on whom he rode.
"Even without your call, we would have seen to the uproar in the forest," said the Lord of the Eagles.
"Still, your aid was most welcome. We are in your debt, Wind Lord," Elenath called.
"You are in no debt to me, my Lady Elenath," returned Gwaihir as he soared closer to the dark-haired elf. "Gandalf healed me of an arrow wound from an orc, and this is my repayment of that debt. But even if that were not so, you are of the blood of Turgon and would never be in our debt for aid."
"You are kind, my lord," answered Elenath with a bow.
"How far can you take us?" asked Gandalf. "One of our company is injured and in need of medicine."
This reminder of the battle prompted the dwarves and Bilbo to check on Thorin, whom they had all but forgotten in the confusion.
Several cries of "Thorin!" echoed around the mountain, but the dwarf did not answer, hanging limp in the talons of an eagle.
"We will not take you near where men live," answered the Great Eagle to Gandalf. "They would shoot at us with their great bows of yew, thinking we were after their sheep. And at other times, they would be right. No! We are glad to cheat the goblins of their sport and glad to repay our thanks to you, but we will not risk ourselves for dwarves in the southward plains."
"Only fools would," muttered Ithilel into the wind.
"Well, my foolishness is well-known, sister," responded Elenath, catching the remark.
"Well, you may be a fool for following these dwarves, but that would make me a double fool for following you, while you follow fools," retorted Ithilel, her face still buried in the feathers.
"Take us where and as far as you will! We are already deeply obliged to you," answered Gandalf, ignoring Ithilel.
The eagles flew on in silence for a while until they rounded a bend in the mountains and came out onto the plains, where, at the edge of the mountain range, was a large, flat place rising high in the sky.
Soaring and circling, the eagles slowly descended to drop off their passengers.
Elenath nimbly leaped off and stood by Gandalf and Bilbo, while Ithilel slowly slipped off like grease off the back of a spoon, slithering down the eagle's feathers until she lay face-first on the rock, where she remained, muttering unintelligible sentences.
"Farewell!" the eagles cried as they took flight. "Wherever you fare, may your eyries receive you at the journey's end!" For this is the polite thing to say among eagles.
"May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks," answered Gandalf and Elenath, while Ithilel muttered something into the ground that sounded vaguely similar.
With that farewell, most of the eagles swiftly returned to the mountains, disappearing from sight just as they had appeared, while some still circled the platform.
Wasting no time, Gandalf rushed to Thorin's side, where he lay motionless on the rock.
"Thorin," he muttered in a low voice before placing his hand over Thorin's eyes and slowly moving it over his face, murmuring some words that Bilbo could not quite catch as he came to stand alongside Gandalf.
Elenath remained behind to try and pull Ithilel to her feet, which was proving difficult since it seemed Ithilel was trying to transform into a wet dish rag with no bones.
In fact, Gandalf had more luck reviving a nearly dead dwarf prince than Elenath had in getting a completely healthy and experienced warrior to her feet.
"The halfling?" asked Thorin in a low, hoarse voice.
"It is alright. Bilbo is here," answered Gandalf. "He is quite safe."
Bilbo let out a sigh of relief when he heard the question and answer, but that relief was short-lived as Thorin struggled to his feet and approached the hobbit with a menacing look on his face.
"You!" exclaimed Thorin. "What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild? That you had no place amongst us?"
"He was trying to save you when you nearly got yourself killed," snapped Elenath, letting go of Ithilel's arm as she slid back down to the ground, though she managed to give the dwarves a sideways look as she descended.
"I have never been so wrong in my life," Thorin finished, pulling Bilbo into a hug and casting a glance at Elenath.
"I am sorry I doubted you," added Thorin as he withdrew from the hug and looked Bilbo over.
"No, I would have doubted me too," interjected Bilbo. "I am not a hero or a warrior, not even a burglar."
"You are more than you think you are, Bilbo Baggins," said Elenath, abandoning Ithilel and coming to stand by the two of them. "And I think by the end of this adventure, you will realize that."
Bilbo smiled at her as Thorin turned to face the elf.
"Bilbo is not the only one to whom I owe an apology for my words and actions, nor for my ungraciousness in their company," said Thorin to Elenath. "My words about your fallen family and my actions toward you were neither those of a ruler nor a dwarf. I wronged both you and my family with my words about your fallen kin. I let my anger cloud my mind and did not wish to see you as you are, only as I perceived you."
"Your remorse is heard, Thorin, son of Thrain, but what you said is not forgotten. It is your actions to which I will look for change, toward both my sister and me as well as Bilbo. You have the makings of a great leader, Thorin, but beware prejudice and power, for they have brought even the strongest in Arda to their knees."
Thorin seemed to accept what Elenath said and bowed to her, which she returned in kind, prompting the other members of the company to cheer. The remaining eagles let out cries as well as they rose higher in the air, circling the rock ledge.
Bilbo followed their movements before noticing that Thorin was becoming transfixed by something in the distance. Turning, he asked,
"Is that what I think it is?"
No one answered as the company slowly climbed up the slanted rock to get a better view of the land.
There, in the distance, its outline softened by clouds and placed against the purples, pinks, and blues of a new day, was a single solitary peak.
"Erebor," answered Gandalf. "The Lonely Mountain. The last of the great dwarf kingdoms of Middle Earth."
"Our home," whispered Thorin as he looked out at the mountain.
A bird call distracted the company for a moment as a shape flew by them.
"A raven!" exclaimed Oin. "The birds are returning to the mountain."
"That is a thrush," corrected Elenath.
"We will take it as a sign, a good omen," stated Thorin, glancing at Bilbo.
"You're right," said Bilbo. "I do believe the worst is behind us."
An unholy scream followed Bilbo's statement.
"No!" screamed Ithilel as she appeared from seemingly nowhere and slapped a hand over Bilbo's mouth at the same time as Elenath.
The company started at the sudden noise, and Bilbo clawed at the hands on his mouth, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Never say anything like that before or during an adventure!" snapped Ithilel, bringing her face close. "Now you have doomed us to never have another peaceful moment again on this journey."
"Is that an old wife's tale?" questioned Kili. "Aren't you being a bit superstitious?"
"Do you know how many elves born in the First Age are alive now?" asked Ithilel, rounding on the dwarf, who shook his head.
"I am one who has witnessed the breaking of the world in the War of Wrath, the drowning of Númenor, and the shadow rising again in Sauron's wake. I have seen the stars dim, the forests burn, and the hopes of Men rise and fall like the tide, and yet I am still alive when all the high kings and great warriors have passed. Do you think I got here by not listening to the wisdom of those who have seen many years in the world, old wives?" answered Ithilel, her face darkening.
There was a long beat of silence before both elves removed their hands from Bilbo's mouth, and Elenath spoke again.
"Well, there is nothing to do now but go forward. Bilbo did not know, and now he does, so he won't make this mistake again. And it is high time we began to descend this mountain. On our approach, I saw a stair down."
With that, Elenath turned and walked to the edge, where the side dipped down into a rough-hewn stairway carved out by long-forgotten men who most likely intended to turn it into a watchtower before the fall of the North.
"Is that the only way down?" asked Ithilel as she peered over the edge, her face turning both pale and green at the same time.
"I am afraid so," said Elenath, reaching out her hand. "Hold on to me and look forward."
With that, the company began to descend in silence. Even the dwarves were uncomfortable with the descent.
After a while of silence, and probably tiring of Ithilel's tight grip and wanting a distraction, Elenath broke out into song, quickly followed by Ithilel and the rest of the company, even Gandalf and Thorin,
Far over theMisty Mountainsrise
Leave us standing upon the heights
What was before, we see once more
Ourkingdoma distant light
Fiery mountain beneath themoon
The words unspoken, we'll be there soon
For home a song that echoes on
And all who find us will know the tune
Some folk we never forget
Some kind we never forgive
Haven't seen the back of us yet
We'll fight as long as we live
All eyes on the hidden door
To theLonely Mountainborne
We'll ride in the gathering storm
Until we get our long-forgotten gold
We lay under the Misty Mountains cold
In slumbers deep and dreams of gold
We must awake, our lives to make
And in the darkness a torch we hold
From long ago when lanterns burned
Till this day our hearts have yearned
Her fate unknown theArkenstone
What was stolen must be returned
We must awake and make the day
To find a song for heart and soul
Some folk we never forget
Some kind we never forgive
Haven't seen the end of it yet
We'll fight as long as we live
All eyes on the hidden door
To the Lonely Mountain borne
We'll ride in the gathering storm
Until we get our long-forgotten gold
Far away from Misty Mountains cold
Thank you for reading. I intend to continue this AU for Desolation of Smaug and Battle of Five Arms. But it might be a little bit until I start those, hopefully later October or early November, but that really depends on what life throws at me.
For background story on Elenath and Ithilel, "Life Changes" by creator of both of these characters.