The dagger of metal at your side, Poppy, will not avail you against the likes of Maladil. Yet the courageous mettle of your spirit shall mayhap pierce through to disarm him, or his kith and kin. And I shall be close by to lend all the aid I may, should you find yourself in difficulty.
What you shall see depends upon how much light there will be to see by. Perhaps Maladil or some of his household will try to communicate with you, with what degree of success I cannot say. For you, as a Hobbit and inexperienced in these matters, are not naturally inclined towards speech with the dead. You may see flickering, transparent forms, you may see objects levitate or seem to move themselves. You may hear muddled or distorted bits of words. Beware of their touch. If you feel a threatening coldness, cry out and I shall fight on your behalf. All you need do as our ambassador, Poppy Took, is to make a present of the sack of gold to the Lord of Laurëondo.
* Gandalf bent down enough to loosely clasp both of Poppy's arms for a moment, and smiled encouragement. In a half whisper he confided, * I believe in you.
* Gandalf straightened again at the approach of Mornen's hoofbeats, then nodded appreciation at Alearindu's report. * Thank you for your fine service to the company. The sun shines its favor upon our road this day. All is now in readiness for us to resume our journey.
* Having cleared away the breakfast kettles, dishes, and mugs, put out the fire, and gathered and stowed their gear, the company took to the road again. They made good progress all that day, stopping in late afternoon to camp one more night before coming in sight of the Castle. *
[ January 14, 2003: Message edited by: Gandalf_theGrey ]
|