[the phantom]

While the three of them were staring at the computer, Christopher Tolkien pulled from beneath his jacket an old battered piece of parchment, and proceeded to read from it in a low voice.

"What's he doing now?" wondered Mira aloud.

"It sounds like Elvish!" exclaimed Mnem, who knew a little bit herself.

"Can you tell what he's saying?" asked Phantom, but Mnem didn't answer. A strange bluish glow had begun emanating from a point in midair directly in front of Christopher. All three Downers stepped back from it and stared with wide eyes. Indeed, all the Downers in the room plus the pub staff were now giving their full attention to the perplexing scene.

There was a collective gasp as the small glowing point expanded quickly. It was soon several feet in height and breadth, every bit of it giving off the same eerie glow. It rippled, like a sheet of water suspended sideways in the air. Others recalled a flag in the wind, though no flag had ever looked so curious.

Phantom slowly edged around to the other side, and Mira followed. There they saw Christopher staring straight ahead, wringing his hands, his face changing back and forth between awe and disgust. Phantom could think of nothing to say, but it did not matter, for Christopher began conversing with himself.

"We mustn't do this. We mustn't!"

"But we doesn't like it! We must be rid of it!"

"No, we can't. Father said we must always keep it, and never seek to return unless they come for it. It would kill them all!"

"But they're not from here. We'd never have to see them. They don't matter. They're not even real. This is only a dream."

"It's not a dream! Father told me all about it. It's real!"

"No, it isn't. How can this be real? It's all in our head. And if we do this in our head, we'll be rid of the madness forever."

Christopher bent over and covered his head. Phantom slowly approached him. "Sir, are you okay? Christopher, do you-"

But Phantom was interrupted by Mira tugging on his shirt. "Look, look, look!" she hissed in an excited whisper. Phantom turned towards Mira, but stopped dead facing the blue glowing disturbance, or rather, what he expected to be the blue glowing disturbance. For on this side, it was not a glowing watery thing at all, but a window into someplace other than the pub. A rocky hill rose up out of sight, pines thick upon its slope. At the foot, thirty or forty feet straight ahead, a heavy wooden door was set in the stone, no doubt covering some sort of cave. Two sentries stood before it, mail clad with spears and girt with swords and shields slung upon their backs.

Even as Phantom and Mira stared, the sentries seemed to see them. The one upon the left lowered his spear but did not advance. The other turned and vanished through the door, so quick that the onlookers barely saw it open and shut.