Off to save a dwarf! I had meant to post this yesterday but didn't get a chance. There was an error with update alerts going around the past several days, so if you didn't get an alert about the previous chapter I posted on Wednesday, make sure and check it out or this chapter won't make sense. Enjoy!

Chapter 26

When we approached Minas Elendúr, a frightened traveler was huddling outside the door. We had dismounted and tied our horses nearby, out of sight, but could hear the person crying hysterically. I approached first, keeping my hood up, and called, "Hail traveler! Can I aid you in some way?"

The man let out yelp and scurried to the far corner of the small courtyard, cowering. I stayed on the opposite side, my hands up in front of me in a peaceful gesture, and moved slowly. "I mean you no harm. I have come with some friends in search of a dwarf who was captured. Have you seen him?"

The man stopped cowering and looked at me warily. I kept a calm expression on my face, approaching him like I would a frightened animal. He didn't look dangerous, but looks can be deceiving. Finally, he said, "This dwarf for whom you are looking is somewhere in Minas Elendúr? Well, you will have your hands full looking for him. These ruins are a bewildering maze crawling with Uruks of various tribes and other dangers. It is enough to drive a man mad!"

I wondered if it had driven this man mad, but kept the thought to myself. "We believe he may be, that is why I ask if you saw him. We intend to rescue him and return him to his family, who reported him missing."

"Well, I was just inside, searching for treasure, when I heard a commotion. It sounded like a dwarf yelling at the Uruks, but I did not lay eyes on him as I had hidden myself behind a large pillar. Once they passed by, I ran for it and have been sitting out here since, trying to calm my racing heart." He then looked at me suspiciously. "You say you are here to rescue him? How can I be sure you are to be trusted?"

I hesitated; this man had likely seen Elves before if he was in Eregion, but sometimes even the sight of an Elf puts fright into Men, as some believe all Elves have magical powers. However, it was also possible he would be comforted by seeing an Elf, as we are not known for treachery. I could hear Elladan and Elrohir nearby, and motioned for them to join me. I then lowered my hood and put on the kindest smile I could muster…

…and the man went from suspicious to starry eyed. This was another issue when interacting with Men; some became enamored with our beauty. To be honest, I was only of average appearance in the Elven race. Perhaps being an adventurer added to the grandeur and appeal? Noting this, I decided to use this to my advantage. "Sir, what is your name?" I spoke softly and warmly, and with a smile.

His jaw was slack but he snapped it shut before stuttering, "Fathahem milady. Y-you are so b-beautiful, like the s-sun on a summer day…" I looked sideways and saw Elladan roll his eyes.

I forced the smile to stay on my face and replied, "Thank you, that is very kind. Now, do you know where Echad Duann is?" He nodded dumbly. "I would like you to travel there; it is much safer than here. Will you do this for me Fathahem?"

"Y-yes of course milady, anything for you," he gushed, and I heard a quiet snicker behind me.

I held out my hand and helped him rise, which awarded me with a kiss on the back of my hand and a big smile from Fathahem. "Ah, well, off you go then," I muttered, and he slowly wandered in the right direction, looking behind him toward me frequently. Once he was out of sight, I pointed my finger at the twins with a stern look and said, "Don't." They thankfully kept silent but looked very amused.

The door creaked as I pushed it open and I winced. Luckily, we only had to move it part way to slip inside. As soon as we entered, I could hear the angry shouts of the dwarf we were looking for straight ahead. I crept slowly forward, my boots soundless on the stone, and I motioned my companions to follow behind me. There was no need to split up when we had already found our quarry.

Unfortunately, he was guarded, and there were many Uruks wandering around. I looked at the twins, unsure of what we should do. One option would be to take them out one by one, killing them as silently as we could, but it may still fail; it was a sizable force. Another was to create a distraction that would draw the Uruks away from the dwarf, which could be dangerous to the one causing it. A third option was to somehow make the Uruks fight each other; they had short tempers, and if we could make it look like one of the Uruks injured or killed another, they may start killing each other. This was risky because it could go very wrong.

I walked back to the entrance to have a whispered conversation with Elladan and Elrohir. "There are some arrows from their bows lying around. If one of us could shoot a Uruk but make it look like it was another Uruk who had done it, they may get angry and different factions could start fighting each other. It would give us a distraction and possibly decrease the number of foes around. What do you think?"

They looked uneasy. Elladan nodded reluctantly, "It could work…but we would need to flee if they turn on us and leave the dwarf behind or we risk getting ourselves killed for a dwarf." I sighed at this; there was bad blood between Elves and Dwarves, for good reason, but prejudice would hinder us here.

"I understand your reluctance, but our mission is to rescue him. I got a look at the dwarf from a distance; he seems to be just sitting there without restraints. If we are unable to get to him physically, I will have to just shout for him to run for it." I felt anxious and unprepared. Candaith would be furious. Actually, any of the Dunedain would be; I had made it seem like I had it all figured out…but in truth, you cannot really know what you are getting yourself into in these types of rescue missions. "Ok, let us go find an arrow that is the type the Uruks use; if we used ours, they would notice the superior make and be suspicious."

Luckily there was one just a few feet from the entrance that was in decent shape, and I handed it to Elladan; he was the better shot by a slight margin from what I understood. We crept forwards and I noted some steps leading up to the right, overlooking the courtyard. I motioned for Elladan to go that way carefully. It would work better to shoot from a higher vantage point. Thankfully he faced no Uruks on his way, and he seemed to spot his target quickly enough; he motioned us to climb the stairs a little so he could show us. Talking was not an option, but I could easily see the Uruk he was targeting; it was standing a little way from an archer, and he was looking the other direction. It was also quite dark, but not too dark for an Elf. I noted that the Uruk next to our target had different markings on his rough skin, likely differentiating it from the former. Elladan lined up his shot, his bow steady, and I held my breath as he let the arrow fly. It hit the Uruk in the arm, which was the goal. We wanted the Uruk to get mad at the other.

The plan worked much better than I thought. We watched in fascination as a bloodbath occurred. The injured Uruk accused the archer of trying to kill him, and before the archer could say anything, the first Uruk stabbed him in the gut. Clearly, they were of two different 'factions', so they began to take sides and start killing members not of their faction. It was both horrifying and satisfying; I did not make a habit of relishing in the deaths of any creature, but these ones were pure evil.

Once the number of Uruks had significantly thinned, I took my chance and sprinted into the courtyard, staying behind statues. The dwarf saw me and looked shocked. I waved him towards me, and thankfully he got the hint and made his way over quickly, saying "What in Durin's name are you doing here?"

"We were sent to rescue you by your brother," I said quickly. "There is no time to explain. We must be careful but fast." I pointed in the direction of the door. "On the count of three, we will run as fast as we can to the door. Do not stop." He nodded in understanding. "One, two, three!"

As we flew towards the door, the twins fell into step right behind me. The Uruks didn't seem to notice us, as they were still furiously fighting one another and it was very chaotic, and we made it out safely. Elrohir shut the door firmly, slightly out of breath, and then looked down at Funi the dwarf with a somewhat annoyed expression.

"Well we best be off then!" Funi exclaimed joyfully, and started running off.

"Not even a thank you?" Elladan said, "Typical." He rolled his eyes. "And then he just takes off running."

I sighed, "Let us gather our horses and head back; we will be able to catch up with him quickly."

Sure enough, it only took a few minutes of galloping before we encountered Funi, huffing and puffing. I slowed my horse next to him and asked, "Would you like a ride? We are heading to Echad Eregion, where your brother is waiting for you."

He gave me a steely gaze, "Ride with an Elf? That is unheard of!"

Elladan looked offended, and his eyes flashed angrily, "Even one who just saved your life? We could leave you out here alone; I hope you can avoid the wargs and Uruks wandering the land."

The dwarf huffed, "Very well, very well." I jumped off my horse and gave him a leg up, which he seemed to find very embarrassing. He flushed when I mounted up in front of him and said "Hold on tight."

At that, we took off at a fast gallop. He had not expected such an abrupt forward motion and threw his arms around my waist in a vice grip, and I winced. "Master dwarf, please relax your grip somewhat or I will suffocate," I managed to choke out.

Almost immediately I felt him loosen his grip slightly, and when I looked behind me his face was red as a tomato. I wanted to laugh but held my tongue, and Elrohir gave me a cheeky grin as he rode closer to me. "Are your ribs cracked? Will you need a healer?" he shouted in Sindarin, a twinkle in his eye. I sent him a withering glare and did not answer, which just made him laugh.

We arrived at Echad Eregion a little before the 5-hour time limit had expired. As we approached, I could see Candaith standing with Saeradan, clearly agitated. Saeradan had a firm grip on Candaith's shoulder, as though trying to prevent him from going somewhere. I felt a little twinge of guilt for making him worry, but was mostly just relieved to see him and everyone else unharmed.

Halbarad saw us first and called out to us, "Hail! I see you were successful!" Before I could reply, I felt Funi scrabbling to get off the horse, finally managing to dismount by nearly falling on his face. He sprinted off again and I saw with some satisfaction that the two brothers were reunited and hugging. I gave Halbarad a smile and he returned it, pleased with the outcome.

I saw Candaith start at Halbarad's voice and was clearly planning on walking over to me, but Saeradan still had a firm grip on his shoulder which stopped him. Candaith looked very annoyed, but Saeradan was muttering something in his ear, which caused him to relax slightly and nod with a resigned look on his face. I wondered what they were speaking about.

Deciding I needed to debrief Halbarad before I could make my greetings to the others, I dismounted and handed my horse to Radanir, who grinned and clapped me on the shoulder before he led her off to the stables. "We found the fortress without incident. Luckily the dwarf was near the entrance, in a courtyard. Elladan caused a distraction which made the Uruks start fighting amongst themselves, and this allowed me to get Funi to safety. We escaped without notice."

Halbarad raised his eyebrows, "That is quite some luck. You are certain you were undetected?"

I shrugged, "I cannot be completely certain, but no one tried to stop us from leaving and we were not followed. Of course, we must remain on our guard, but that would be the case anyway as this land is not safe."

"They will have realized the dwarf is missing…" Halbarad countered.

"Yes, but they may assume he just escaped in the chaos of the fighting; he was not bound in any way."

"They could return here in search of him."

I shook my head, "They did not find him here; he was wandering further North of here, with no indication he planned to travel in this direction. Besides, I do not think they would find recapturing him worth the risk."

Halbarad nodded slowly, a thoughtful look on his face. "Your words are sound Gwinthilnel."

"Well they usually are," I quipped back, a grin on my face.

He huffed a sigh but squeezed my shoulder fondly before walking away to speak with the twins.

Funi was lucky there were some Elves willing to save him! I'm sure he would argue that he could have found a way out himself, but Elrohir would probably roll his eyes and mutter something about the "stubbornness of dwarves" haha. We'll have to wait until next chapter to speak with Candaith; I hope he doesn't get too impatient! Thanks for reading, and please review!