Gwin's spirits are raised, and a quest is begun. Enjoy!

Chapter 37

I woke up and was disoriented. I could hear that things were busy outside of my tent, and wondered how late I had slept. I poked my head out and squinted at the sun, which was already high in the sky. Ducking back into my tent, I proceeded to throw myself down onto my palette and stare at the tarp above my head. Sometimes it was easier to choose not to face the day ahead, for I knew it would be potentially stressful with all the planning and reorganizing. The Brenin made it clear that we needed to leave, and Halbarad would have to find us another safe place to set up camp.

My eyes flicked to the entrance of the tent as I heard someone knock tentatively against the wooden post. I debated not answering and pretending I was still asleep, but decided it was childish. "Who is it?" I asked, sighing.

"It is Elrohir, may I come in?"

Holding in another sigh I replied, "Yes, of course," and drew the blankets around me. I was pleasantly surprised when not one but two smiling faces entered, both of which were identical. "Elladan, you are back I see," I said softly, a true smile on my face.

"Yes, safe and sound," he replied with a grin. "I told you I would be fine, did I not?"

"I never doubted you for a moment," I said, and he rolled his eyes. "It's true! It is Elrohir that was worried you would fall off your horse!"

"What? Brother, how dare you think such heinous things?" Elladan exclaimed, and I laughed as he tackled Elrohir to the ground and they wrestled around playfully.

"Oh, stop you two, there isn't enough room in this tent for your shenanigans," I scolded, but yelped when I was pulled into the fray. "You're going to knock the tent over!" I gasped, an elbow of one of the twins in my stomach.

Sure enough, that's what happened.

So it was that Halbarad wandered over to investigate and found us sprawled on the ground and looking like guilty elflings. "Is there a problem here?" he asked, his eyes twinkling. "Do I need to separate the three of you?"

"No…" I murmured quietly, "We're…fine." My cheeks were red from embarrassment. We untangled ourselves from the fabric and posts of the tent and stood up, and I quickly threw a blanket around myself as I noted I was still only in my sleeping clothes, making me blush even more.

"Um, sorry Gwin," Elrohir mumbled. "We didn't mean to knock over your tent."

I rolled my eyes but gave them a fond smile, "I'll forgive you, but only if you pack up my tent for me." They nodded in unison and I gathered my buried belongings so they would be out of the way. Glancing around, I noticed people had been looking at us curiously, but once they saw me looking, they continued on their way.

"You Elichthi are strange," a voice said, and I turned to see Nona standing next to me, a smirk on her face.

I chuckled, "Those two certainly are." I watched them for a few moments, smiling as they joked back and forth so naturally with one another. "They always find a way to lift my spirits, even when it seems nothing will."

After a few moments of silence, Nona turned to me and asked, "You will be leaving soon?"

I nodded, "As you requested, I am going to travel up the mountain in Thror's Coomb to investigate what your brother was up to. I will be bringing a few others with me, and hopefully we can find you some answers and discover whether or not it relates to Saruman."

"I hope what you find is of use to you and your group," Nona replied, looking grim. "I worry for what will happen now that we have rejected the offer of Saruman."

"I saw your father at the council meeting, but he did not speak one way or the other to how he felt. Whatever the case may be, the Dunedain and I need to leave your city and relocate in order to keep your people safe," I sighed. "Although where we will go, I do not know."

Nona looked thoughtful, "These hills are full of hidden places. You could make camp somewhere and be relatively safe from enemies. If you stay nearby, you could send someone occasionally to buy supplies, as long as it is done quickly and with stealth."

"That is a good idea!" I replied with a smile. "If you could speak with Halbarad and suggest any specific safe areas, we would be most grateful."

"I owe you for what you are about to do," Nona said. "I will do what I can to help you."

I nodded but did not reply. I was unsure if our mission would give her the knowledge she wanted. I could only hope that we would find something useful.

After we gathered our belongings and said farewell to the Brenin, we relocated across the road and found a secluded spot near a lake not too far from Lhanuch. It was in a dense copse of trees, and was where Radanir was originally going to make camp before recent events. He seemed pleased to learn we would be joining him, but a little bummed he would not be coming on my little 'adventure'. "Are you sure you don't need someone of intelligence on this mission, quest…thing?" he joked.

I rolled my eyes and smirked, "Halbarad wants you here so he can keep an eye on you." Radanir pursed his lips and I laughed, "Don't pout, we will be back soon and I'm sure you will have plenty of stories to tell us about what mischief you've been up to."

He smiled ruefully, "Well don't have too much fun without me."

I squeezed his shoulder, "You'll have to think up some jokes to tell me when we return, since I'm sure Elladan and Elrohir will drive me crazy and I'll need something to lift my spirits." He laughed and it made my heart lighter.

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It was not long before I began to regret going on this quest. The path was slippery and it was snowing hard as we made our way up the mountain. We also didn't really know where we were going; Wadu had not told Nona exactly where he had traveled. Nona had spoken to several others in Lhanuch, and had heard mention of a hidden dwarfhold somewhere, but they did not have an exact location. Therefore, we were near blindly looking for a potentially well-hidden safe haven. My guess was that we should stay on the path and hopefully come across some sort of lead.

Candaith had been upset when I had asked him to stay behind, at the base of the mountain.

"How can you be so sure I will not follow you?" Candaith asked, and I could not tell if he was joking or not.

I frowned. I knew Candaith wanted to be with me while traveling, and I wanted the same, but this was bigger than our personal desires.

"Halbarad told me this was how it must be." I took his hand and he laced his fingers with mine. "I wish you could come, but it is not my decision to make." I smiled and he tried to smile back, but was not very successful. "I will be back before you know it."

He looked worriedly into my eyes, "How can you know this?"

I frowned, "Do you doubt my skills?"

"Of course not…I just worry for your safety. You do not know what you are walking into. Things could go very wrong, and I will not be there to help." He looked so disappointed, and all I wanted to do was tell him he could come along…and perhaps kiss him senseless.

But I couldn't do that.

Before I could respond, he stepped closer to me, squeezing my hands tightly. "After what happened in the Lone Lands, I promised to protect you…always. How can I do that when we are apart?" He was looking into my eyes so intently, like he was trying to memorize them.

Unsure of how to respond, I said, with a smile, "I will return to you. Pray that the Valar guide our steps, and perhaps they will listen." I gestured around me. "I am not going alone; the others will look out for me."

"I know. I…" he paused, looking unsure. "Ah, good luck Gwin," he replied. It seemed like he meant to say something else but changed his mind, and I wondered what it was.

Could it be the same as what I wanted to say? Why could I not work up the courage to do so?

"Thank you," I replied softly. "Do not follow me, as much as you wish to." It hurt me to say such things, but I was not in charge of our group. "Be safe."

It took much effort to turn away from him, and I could feel his gaze on me until we passed beyond his sight.

I shook myself and came back to the present. We were approaching what looked like a very rickety bridge, and the wind was howling and blowing snow and ice everywhere. Elrohir volunteered to cross first, and we tied a rope around his waist so, if he slipped, we could pull him back up. Luck was with us, for he quickly made his way across without trouble. He untied the rope and we pulled it back across, tied it to Calenglad's waist and repeated the process. All was going well until Corunir went to cross. He was halfway over the bridge when a huge wind gust blew him off the edge. I screamed in fear for him, but focused on pulling the rope tight, and along with Elladan's aid, we were able to get him back on the path next to us. He was shaking and breathing hard.

"Corunir?" I shouted, trying to be heard above the howling wind. "Corunir, are you all right? Are you hurt?"

He did not respond to me at first, but then shook his head in the negative. I crouched down to his level and turned his face towards mine. "I know you are afraid, but we must get across this bridge and find shelter. We are too exposed here." I hated to force him to do this again, but we were not in a safe place. The air temperature was dropping and the other Dunedain were shivering with cold; I feared we would be dealing with hypothermia soon.

His eyes were full of fear and doubt, so I continued, "We have scaled huge cliffs in Angmar together, with drops further than this; do you remember when we climbed our way in that horrific thunderstorm to try and avoid the giants? It was even windier than this, and we survived." He nodded, and I saw a flicker of determination. "You can do this mellon nin."

I stood up and had Elladan tie the rope around my waist, and turned toward Corunir. "I will go before you, and give you a moment to prepare," I shouted. I waited until a powerful wind gust swept through, and right after, without hesitation, I ran as fast as I could across the bridge. Elrohir gave me a quick hug before untying the rope, clearly glad I was safe.

Elladan pulled the rope across and tied it around Corunir's waist. Thankfully, he moved just as quickly as I had. Elladan crossed last, and all of us were on the other side. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, and turned to face the very steep incline.

For some reason, I had a good feeling about this. Perhaps there would be somewhere safe to spend the night at the top? Along our way today, we had been looking for shelter, but nothing had been very suitable. The rock wall to my right seemed like it might have an overhang we could fit under that would keep us out of the wind, but until we ascended, it was impossible to know for sure.

I had us pull out metal hand stakes I had purchased at the market from a blacksmith. They had been useful a few times already, and I made sure we had enough pairs for everyone. You put one pair on your feet, and used another with your hands.

"Careful now," I said needlessly; I knew everyone would be very cautious, especially after what had happened to Corunir. Thankfully, no one had any issues, and we got to the top successfully.

"Gwin, look!" Elladan exclaimed. Just ahead of us was a door into the mountain! Elladan raced over and knocked as loudly as he could manage, and I prayed to Eru that someone was inside to open it. I jiggled the handle and notice it was locked; if no one answered, we would have to find a way to break in. It was clearly dwarvish in make, and dwarvish doors are very challenging to unlock.

Thankfully, an older, red-haired dwarf opened the door cautiously. "Durin's beard! Elves?" He peeked around Elladan and I and noted the others. "And men!"

"May we come in?" I asked, and the dwarf seemed to finally notice the weather outside and our freezing cold state, and ushered us inside.

Finally, somewhere safe to spend the night! Who is this dwarf, and what kind of shelter did they find? I'm sure all of you caught the "Fellowship of the Ring" quote in there; I know, it's silly but I just had to use it! Thanks for reading! Review/follow/favorite if you have a moment, I love reading what you have to say!