Last chapter in Imladris, at least for a very long while. Enjoy!

Chapter 24

After breakfast, Lord Elrond had us gather at the stables, where we would all make sure we had horses for the journey. As we walked, I decided to speak to some of my companions to see how they were doing. I knew we all had our own feelings about this mission, and I was curious to know more.

Lothrandir was the first I approached, and he gave me a smile. "Good morning Gwinthilnel! Are you ready for the journey?"

I nodded, "As ready as I can be. I heard you had some troubles with your horse on the way here, is she well?"

"Mithúl is ready for the next leg of the journey, perhaps moreso than the rest of us! She is a smart horse, and I trust her not to let me fall on the rocky road we will travel." His smile faded as he turned thoughtful. "Last I traveled this land, the Dunlending tribes were not in agreement on whether outsiders were welcome to pass through. Lhanuch, home of the Ox-clan, has a leader who was friendly to me as I stayed for a few days. I hope this will hold true." He patted me on the shoulder. "Luckily we will be staying with some of your race in Gwingris for the night; they are a cautious but welcoming group of Elves, and we will be able to gather some intelligence on what we will be walking into in the northern part of Enedwaith." Lothrandir looked closer at me. "I sense you have found some peace since we last spoke. Did you work things out with Candaith?" I smiled and nodded, but did not elaborate. "That is well! I am happy for you." With that, he waved goodbye and went to speak with the twins about something.

I cautiously approached Golodir. The last I had spoken with him was in Angmar, as I had not seen much of him in Imladris. Corunir had mentioned that the ranger had spent much time in solitude, reflecting on his life and what would become of him. "Hello Golodir, how are you?" I almost did a double take at the peaceful expression on his face; it was so markedly different from what I had experienced that it was hard to contain my surprise.

Golodir chuckled, clearly reading this on my face, "Are you surprised to see a smile on my face? Surely not as much as I. The ride here was a marvel, and I could feel the weight of the past falling from my shoulders with the feel of the breeze upon my face. I have found a sense of peace here that I had not expected." He paused for a moment, looking pensive, "This refuge has not changed in the many years since I last came here, but surely I, myself, must be unrecognizable. Yet the Elves treated me with kindness and respect, and I found that reflecting in the quiet of a garden or by the rumbling of the falls helped me come to terms with who I am now, and finding I could accept it. Despite this, I am ready to be off again; we have a purpose to fulfill, and that lies to the south with our chieftain."

I couldn't help the smile that formed on my face; it made my heart lighter to know that Golodir had found some healing here. I then fell back a bit and waited for Radanir to catch up, and he fell into step beside me, smiled and said, "Hello Gwinthilnel! Is there something I can help you with?"

I shook my head, "No, I just wanted to speak with you a little more. Are you ready for the journey?"

"My horse certainly has been ready for days now! When I went to visit him yesterday, he was antsy and tried to run out of the horsebox; luckily, I caught him in time and he became more docile after a few sugar cubes! Glorengúr is a fine horse, but a stubborn one. He will enjoy being able to ride on the open road again." An odd frown replaced his usual joyful expression, "I had ridden out a week or so ago to visit Thorenhad. I hoped to run into Elweleth…but she was not at the camp. Perhaps she has chosen to move on, knowing we will be parted for a potentially long time."

I looked at him with some empathy; there were feelings between them, but I was unsure how Elweleth would handle their parting. She was also an Elf, so I could empathize with her struggles, "She likely feared saying farewell in person; it is hard to say goodbye to the ones we love when we cannot guarantee we will return to them." Radanir blushed. "Although I cannot say how she feels, I hope you will be reunited healthy and whole. You will have to tell me about her as we ride; I did not have much chance to get to know her."

"Ah yes, she did mention you often rode in and out of Thorenhad, barely taking the time to speak with the Lords Elladan and Elrohir before setting off again. I know she admires your tenacity and skill," he replied. "But I see you have more investigating to do," he continued, an impish smile on his face.

I looked at him with mock affront; "I am not 'investigating', I am simply wondering how all of you are doing and hope to ease your worries if I can." He rolled his eyes and laughed, walking further ahead to join Lothrandir.

"Talkative this morning, are we?" a mischievous voice murmured, and I jumped as I saw Elrohir beside me, laughing merrily.

I nudged him with my shoulder "You know, it is rude to sneak up on people."

"You wound me my lady," he replied, mock hurt on his face.

I rolled my eyes, "I am sure you will be fine, oh mighty warrior." I schooled my expression into one of polite interest, "Can I help you?"

He chuckled but answered, "My father had some curious words for me this morning, and I would hear your thoughts on what they mean."

"Of course, I would be happy to help, but no guarantees I will have any answers."

Pausing for a moment, he began to speak, "He said that the time is approaching when we can no longer hold back, and we must do more than defend against the actions of the Enemy. He said that the time is coming when we may need to wager everything on a final throw, and by so doing we will have done all that we can. Better a death in far off lands in the service of a chance, however small, than death at home a certainty." He looked at me thoughtfully, awaiting my answer.

I tapped my chin in thought, "A final throw? Sounds ominous. I can guess what he means by a 'chance, however small'; as we know, the chances of the Fellowship succeeding are indeed small, but we must do whatever we can to help them along. I knew that by embarking on this errand to help Aragorn that it was a form of an offensive strike, so I would agree that the time has come to stop defending and go on the attack," I frowned, "I would hope to avoid death here or far away…but I know there is a fair probability that not everyone leaving here today will come back alive." The thought made me want to shudder, but I pushed it down. "There is no time for doubt or worry about the what-ifs; we must move forward and know that whatever action we take is for the greater good, no matter the sacrifice." I was not sure if I really believed this, but I wanted to provide an exterior of confidence.

Elrohir looked at me closely, "Do you tell me this to provide me with peace of mind, or to convince yourself?"

I shrugged, "Perhaps a bit of both? I cannot know the future, but moving forward with anything but a positive attitude will only make things harder for everyone." I squared my shoulders, "I must be strong, and although I am not the leader of our little band, I want to exude confidence."

"That I can understand," Elrohir replied. "My father said much the same about my brother and I. We represent the people of Imladris, and wish to make them proud."

I smiled, "They are proud of you already, mellon nin."

He nodded, "Even so, I wish to do my part, as you do." He looked ahead and noticed his brother waiting for him. "I will say farewell for now, but I know we will spend plenty of time together on the road." Before he left, he winked at me, "Do not think I am unaware of the secretive glances between you and Candaith. I do not know what happened between the two of you, but I am happy for you." I blushed and he laughed lightly, gesturing behind him subtly. "In fact, I believe he waits for you now." I glanced quickly behind me and saw Candaith slowly meandering, keeping his distance as to give our conversation some privacy, but he had a small smile on his face. "Namarie," Elrohir whispered, running ahead to meet Elladan.

I stood in place, pretending to adjust something on my pack strap, and a few moments later I felt Candaith brush against me. Our fingers barely touched, but I still felt a tingle up my arm. We did not hold hands; I was unsure exactly where our relationship stood, and I did not yet want to share anything with my Dunedain companions. We needed to have a long, serious talk before we went 'public', if in fact that was what we both wanted.

Yes, there was physical attraction, but I felt there was more to explore. Is that what he wanted, or was he interested in something less serious? I shook off these thoughts and gave him a smile, my heart fluttering at the wide grin, "How is my fair lady this morning?" he asked quietly.

I tried not to blush and elbowed him lightly, "You are quite the charmer, aren't you?"

He gave a small laugh, "Only for you Gwin." He then turned more serious, "How are you, really?"

I could not help the small sigh that escaped, "I am not sure; I am choosing to remain positive and hopeful, but there are always doubts in the back of my mind. Who knows how this will all result? I believe in this mission, and that it is the right thing to do, but part of me wishes the journey was shorter. It will take us several weeks of travel to reach Rohan, and who's to say that Aragorn will still be there? I find it likely he will have moved onto Gondor by that point. There is also a high probability of us facing trouble on the road that will need to be dealt with before we can move forward. If the conflict in Enedwaith is dangerous, caution must be observed if we are to avoid being pulled into something we should not be."

Candaith nodded, giving my shoulder a squeeze, "Our group is made of strong warriors who are brave and capable. We are in good shape." He looked thoughtful, "How much do you know of the history of Gondor and the Dunedain?"

I considered this for a moment before saying, "I know the basics, but I know it is paltry in comparison to what you know."

"Would you like to hear of it?"

I smiled and nodded. With a smile of his own, he began to tell me some of the history of the Dunedain. There was a journey made to Forochel in the year 1975 of the Third Age by a party of Dunedain in search of their King Arvedui; he had gone missing, and they refused to abandon him. A ship had been sent to rescue him, but there had been no word of its progress in too long. Eventually they came upon the wreckage of the ship and despaired. Praying the King was not on the ship when it sank, they approached it cautiously. They were met by the Chieftain of the Lossoth, who informed them that the ship had been attacked by the forces of the Witch King of Angmar, and all perished. Luckily Arvedui had a son, so the lineage of the Kings of Gondor would endure.

The Chieftain mentioned that King Arvedui had gifted him with a ring, one that had no magical power but was very important to the Dunedain. It turned out to be the Ring of Barahir, which is the signet ring of the line of the Kings of Gondor. They bartered for it with various goods, and returned it to their people. One thousand years later, Arador was leader of the Dunedain. He ventured into the Ettenmoors to defeat the leader of the Hill-Trolls. Unfortunately, his kin arrived too late to save him, and the Ring of Barahir and leadership of the Dunedain passed to Arathorn. Sadly, his reign was short, and his son Aragorn was only an infant when he was secreted away to Imladris for protection. Being too young to be Chieftain, it passed onto another for a brief time until Aragorn was old enough.

"There is more to the story, regarding Aragorn's great deeds in his youth, which he deemed necessary to be worthy of being Chieftain, despite the reassurances of the other Dunedain, but suffice to say he went through much before you met him in Bree," Candaith finished.

"I met Arvedui in Forochel," I said slowly.

Candaith look shocked, "How can this be?"

I hastened to explain, "It was not him alive, but rather his spirit. I helped him with some unfinished business, and he finally is at rest."

"You always seem to surprise me Gwin," he said, shaking his head with a smile.

I simply shrugged, and he winked at me before we hastened to catch up with the others.

A bit of a filler chapter, but I felt it was necessary to set things up for the exciting journey they are about to embark on. Much of the text is directly from the Epic Book, but I did change some things to make it more interesting. Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you have a moment!