[Arry]

Once they had departed from Elwë and Andtuariel, Carandû motioned for his brother to follow him down the passageway to the Captain’s quarters. He stopped just outside the door, as he had done the previous night. Once again the door was slightly ajar, and a lamp burned within. Carandû tsk’d, thinking the Captain had perhaps again left his cabin and left the lamp burning. But there was a noise inside, as of someone walking in the room, and the sounds of papers shuffling and a drawer being closed.

Annû squeezed past his brother, giving him a questioning look. ‘You were going to knock, weren’t you?’ he asked, raising his hand and tapping soundly on the door. ‘Captain? You in there?’

The door creaked open at the pressure on it from the knocking and Luindal’s voice could be distinctly heard as he bade them come in. ‘Just putting a few things away in my desk,’ he said, taking out a key and locking the drawer he’d just shut. ‘Be with you in just a moment.’ Several flat pieces of parchment were unceremoniously scraped from the table top and into the shallow drawer. And again the Captain locked them away. ‘Now what can I do for you two?’ he asked, one brow raised as he looked from one to the other of the brothers.

‘It’s about the caves,’ began Annu. ‘Carandu and I talked it over last night.’ He nodded at his brother. ‘We thought you probably already had thought about it,’ continued Carandû, picking up on his brother’s words. ‘But we wanted to give you our thoughts on it, too . . .’

Both brothers talked at length about their suspicions. Why had the rocks piled so neatly and conveniently in front of the cavern’s entrance? Why had no one in the cave felt any tremors if that is what caused the rocks to slide? And from his quick glances at the hillside above the cave as they’d left to head back to the ship, it had seemed to Carandû that a number of the rocks were pried out of the ground by some fair sized force, as there seemed to be some indents in the ground where they had lain.

‘And what about those blurry figures I heard Rôg tell you he saw hastening away from the hillside?’ finished Annû. ‘Seems to us,’ he continued, looking to his brother for confirmation, ‘that there were others there who meant us harm.’

‘My brother is far too kind in his words,’ said Carandû, stepping forward. ‘What we mean to say is that it is the southrons who compromised our exploring of the cavern. And by doing so, they killed our two companions.’ Annû nodded in agreement.

‘We mean to be fully prepared on our next outing, Captain,’ Annû said quietly . . .