[VanimaEdhel]

Menelduliniel pushed against the Western Door. It would not budge. She tried again, to no avail. She looked around, but found no key. Estelarion and Poppy aided in her search, having no more success than she had.

Finally, Poppy slowly turned the nob to the birch door that stood to the East. It opened easily and quietly. Poppy swung the door open, only to behold a shimmering image sitting upon a bed. Kenelm sat, playing his harp.

When they entered, the spirit stopped and looked at them suspiciously.

Estelarion saw nothing but a shimmering, but saw enough in Menelduliniel's expression.

"What do you see?" he asked her.

"A shade," she whispered simply, "He was playing the harp, but he stopped upon our entrance."

Kenelm continued to give them suspicious glances as he rose and came towards them. He stopped a few paces from them.

"Who...you?" Poppy and Menelduliniel heard. Estelarion did not hear any of this sentence. The two women looked at each other, debating how to respond.

"I am Menelduliniel, an Elf," Menelduliniel finally said, "This is Poppy. And that," she pointed, "Is Estelarion. He cannot see you."

"...can?" Kenelm said, looking at them curiously.

"Yes," Menelduliniel said.

Estelarion looked at the conversationalists, only hearing Menelduliniel's words and a few of Kenelm's.

"What do you propose we do?" Menelduliniel said to Poppy.

"What brings...here?" Kenelm asked them.

"We are with Gandalf the Grey," Menelduliniel said. Kenelm nodded.

"...danger," he said. Menelduliniel, in turn nodded.

"Aye, so we found," she said.

Estelarion, thoroughly confused due to his lack of skill in communicating with these shades grew bored and began to look around the room a bit. Suddenly, Estelarion spotted the skeleton on the bed next to the shimmering "form", its mouth open in a hideous scream. Estelarion's entire body gave a jolt. Menelduliniel, who had already seen the skeleton, touched Estelarion's arm, as she did not really want Poppy to see it, if she had not already done so. She did not want to frighten the poor girl.

"We seek to help you," she continued, "We seek a deed. Do you know where it is?"

Kenelm looked at them sadly, "I cannot tell you anything," he said, "It is not allowable for me to do so."

Menelduliniel looked at the beautiful spirit and felt that she was going to cry. She yearned to know his story. Yet, somehow she knew that it would be futile to pry into Kenelm's life...or what could be deemed "existence" now, she supposed.

Kenelm looked at the three with interest. Menelduliniel wondered if he had seen living beings recently. She decided that they still had a mission to fulfill and, as Kenelm was not permitted to tell them anything, they should probably live.

"Well," she said finally, "I guess...I suppose...we must go."

Menelduliniel looked wistfully around the room, wishing she could stay but not wanting to disturm Kenelm anymore.

"I suppose we should leave?" Menelduliniel said to Poppy, who nodded, also seeming disappointed that they had to leave. Menelduliniel nodded to Estelarion and they moved back towards the doorway.

"We apologize for disturbing you," Poppy said as Kenelm immediately went back to his harp.

Out in the hallway, Menelduliniel looked at Estelarion and Poppy, depressed.

"I really wish he could have told us something," she said, mournfully, "And I wish we could get behind that Western door."

Menelduliniel trudged down the stairs, the other two following her. Menelduliniel sat near the bottom of the stairs and the other two followed her example.

The three sat on the stairs, regrouping and trying to figure out what their next plan should be. So far, both of their decisions had ended up harmless, yet useless. Menelduliniel was beginning to lose hope that they would indeed complete Gandalf's mission.

[ March 02, 2003: Message edited by: VanimaEdhel ]