[Mithadan]

Chapter XI

BLUE AND BLACK

Pallando stood to his full height and drew a deep breath. Elediriel tensed, worrying for the first time that he might actually be a wizard, for he had done nothing wizardly up to this time, and this did not seem a like a very good time for him to begin! King Thranduil stood as still as a quiet pool and waited with seeming calm.

Perhaps it would be good for me to tell you here that the king of the wood elves was a very ancient and wise elf, though he looked rather more like an elder brother than the father of Legolas, who had seen the passing of many centuries himself. But, as I say, he was both ancient and wise, and knew much of what happened in the lands around him, as any wise king would. It is fair to say that he had said as much as he knew about the history of the Five Wizards in his questioning of this old man who stood before him. It is also fair to say that there were few folk in all of Middle-earth who knew much more than King Thranduil about such lofty matters. He hoped to learn more to better judge the situation rightly. He was a king who took no chances with the safety of his good people.

Gimli had said before that the old man reminded him of the beloved wizard Gandalf, and Ellie now thought that this may have seemed so to Legolas as well. Perhaps that is enough to explain why the elf had brought Pallando into his father's kingdom and had taken no trouble to learn more about him. Seeing by comparison how sternly and carefully Thranduil dealt with the self-proclaimed wizard, the little hobbit girl wondered nervously why they had not been more guarded themselves and, whether he was a wizard or not, if they had not been too free with their words and with their trust. How much had they said? Should they have said anything before him at all?

Pallando no longer spoke as he did when they first found him at the ruins of Dol Goldur. With each day of travel, his strength of mind and personality grew greater. Now, standing tall in the cavern hall of the wood elves, lit by the glow of bright elven torches, he looked wizardly indeed, if not outright kingly. In fact, he no longer at all seemed the crazed and starved old man they discovered picking through the evil ruins. His majesty and regal countenance now made even Thranduil seem rather ordinary and of lesser account. The dark bristling brows of the old man drew together, creasing his noble forehead, as he strove to remember the long events of an age of tumult.

"I am not as once I was, O King," he said, his aged voice filling the cavern and reaching every ear. "I set out with strength in my hand and a mission before me. An age has passed and I know little of what has passed with it. My story seems to me like an unending nightmare, yet end it did and here I am.

"As you know, an age ago I did pass into the East, with Alatar, my friend. Cloaked in blue, we set forth to check the might of wicked men and to foil the subtle schemes of Sauron. Alatar went to the South, where the stars are strange, and through the long years, we met infrequently and ever less often as the strength of the Dark Lord regathered and the range of our duties grew. At each meeting, my friend seemed ever more worried and burdened. At the last, it was a lifetime and more before I heard from him and I thought perhaps we would not meet until the forces of the gathering storm hurled us together again."

The old man looked about him in the cave and saw that every eye was upon him and every ear was attending.

"But meet again we did. And this was what Sauron had awaited. He was ever aware of us, thwarting his efforts when we could and diminishing the effectiveness of his plans when we could not thwart them entirely. He wanted revenge and he wanted to turn his attention to the lands of the West.

"You have heard of the Nine Nazgul, O King?"

Thranduil nodded, saying nothing.

"I know not what they did in these lands in the days after the Dark Lord returned to Mordor, but they came to do much in the days beforehand, in the lands to the South and to the East.

"Alatar sent for me and I came to meet him in the wilderness east of Mordor. The Nazgul came to meet me and I could not withstand them. I was besieged in a desert place and had a choice of death or captivity. Would that I had chosen death! But the Nazgul King, potent in the spells of darkness and armed with a ring of terror, humbled me that day, for I could not withstand the Nine Ringwraiths together. I will not say more, though their horror was not the greatest I came to know.

"My staff was taken, and I was bound and led, not west to Mordor as I expected, but south to Harad. I was weary and near powerless, and my captors were terrible and cruel. My timid hopes of escape died quickly. Without pause and without rest, they drove me before them terrified, wizard though I was, until we reached the Tower of Harad. All fled at our coming and none dared remain in sight as we passed.

"There, at the inland crossroads of an ancient empire of slavery, the savage king of that bestial land had made his fortress, inhabiting foundations and walls laid by greater men than he, though no less evil in their days of high pride and arrogance. Tall it stood, crowned in cruel strength, a castle of despair for the slaves who laboured in the lands about it, a prison of torment for those who dared raise their heads. I thought of how Alatar must have worked in vain to prevent the effective use of this stronghold. Even in my misery and horror, I wondered what had happened to my friend of old. Soon enough, I found out."

His voice had gradually filled with something of the terror that he must have known in that time so long ago. He paused to draw breath and seemed to be gathering resolve to continue. Elediriel could hardly imagine what could be worse than what he had already said, and found that she was drawing the short, fast, shallow breaths of fear. But she could not take her gaze from the wizardly old man. Gimli's eyes were cast down and Legolas was still. Ellie could not turn to see the other hobbits or the three rangers. Pallando's dark and haunted eyes peered at them all from beneath his dark and bristling brow.

"I was taken down to the dungeons of the fortress, built by the kings of men in their days of vanity and arrogance. The black stone of my cell seemed to lend further darkness to the still air itself in my unlit prison. How long I was kept there I cannot say, but the time seemed endless to me then. I found later that this was as nothing compared to the toment I was later to endure.

"They came to me late one night or early one day. I did not know which. I knew hunger and thirst and could not resist as strong men bound me in cold iron to the cold black stone. I had despaired of life, but hoped I might be freed in death. How little I knew of what they had planned for me.

"When at last they came, I had vowed to resist them unto death. I did not expect to look up, blinking in the glow of a staff, to see in the open door of my cell, my old friend Alatar, dressed in a cloak of black. At first my heart surged to think he had come to free me. But then I learned the bitter truth.

"'Pallando, my brother,' said he softly. I can still remember the words. 'I am sorry for all of this, and would see you freed,' said he.

"'What do you mean?' asked I, not daring, not wanting, to guess.

"'I mean that this was the only way that was at hand to save you, grim and hard though it may seem. Yet I hope, when you have heard me, you will understand that all of this has happened so that you might be saved and that we might be together again, as of old.'

"'I do not call any plan that employs the Nazgul as one that leads to salvation,' said I.

"'That was beyond my power. But by my counsel, you were not slain,' said he.

"'A counselor of some importance,' I said with building wrath, for I grew angry as I came indeed to understand. 'You have risen in the world, Alatar. Once you were a problem for the Dark Lord. Now you are his problem solver?'

"'Believe me, I feel your pain. And your anger. But for the sake of our friendship of old, hear me," said he, and his voice softened as he thought to win me.

"'Sauron the Great would have had you tortured and slain, had I not entreated him to give you this chance. I set the choice before you, Pallando: the chance to continue our work together, as best we can, thinking of the ages, rather than merely of the day at hand.'

'"You mean join him in his wickedness, adopt his ways and his goals, hoping in time to overcome him by treachery?' I asked. 'And what shall remain of Middle-earth in that day, if it ever comes? Whatsoever remained of goodness and beauty would have utterly fled. And what could not flee and did not die would be ground under in subjugation, poisoned and twisted. What will you save in that day? And for whom?' I asked, knowing his answer, seeing the bent of his mind as ever I had. How it both grieved and terrified me to see what he had become.

'"And what shall remain if we do not?' he whispered to me fearfully, as if the Dark Lord far away could hear us if we spoke too loudly. 'Our mission has failed. Strength does not exist in Middle-earth to resist him. We cannot inspire it. We cannot create it. We should bring such strength as we ourselves have against him when we can, whenever that may be. If it takes an age, then so be it. If we resist him we will be slain, or worse. Sauron will never again be defeated by arms. Surely you see that! But he is not beyond defeat. Not even when he wielded the Ring of Power, and not even if he should ever find it again. Still, the chance may come in the passing ages when a bold stroke may end his terror. Then, whatever he has done to the land can be undone. The slaves can be freed, and peace under a more benevolent rule will last until the ages are ended.'

"'That is not a hope,' said I. 'That is a lie that you tell yourself to assuage whatever decency you have left. Even if this plan of yours had hope, and the only chance I see for it is if I helped you, it would only mean a second Dark Lord after the first. Why not a third after the second? Would that be my black ambition during your rule? Or would you let me live to entertain it? I choose death now.'

"'I did not say that was your second choice,' said he. 'You do not see the wisdom of my hope?'

"'I see the wickedness of your desire,' said I. 'Kill me now and have done.'

"'I think not. Pallando, you are a fool. You have always followed me, yet you choose otherwise at this last. You should not have broken that habit.' he hissed. 'If I kill you now, perhaps your spirit will find its way home. Not yet, my friend, not yet.'

"He raised his staff. I saw then that it was black in his fist, and that there was a ring upon his finger. What dark powers he called upon I despair to think. He uttered an incantation in the hated speech of Mordor;

"'In this darkness let him stay
here forever and a day,
until the Sun has shown her last,
hold him here and hold him fast.

"'Blackest night shall cast its pall
over sky and over all;
the world itself shall one day fail,
yet keep him here in endless jail.'"

With these words, though spoken in the Common Tongue, the bright elven torches seemed to dim and a chill filled the air of the cavern. Elediriel shivered in horror and with a cold that came without a draft. Pallando continued his story.

"Then at last I began to understand, too late, that there was a fate worse than death. Those words in that foul tongue were graven into my being and I remembered them when I could think of nothing else. I felt myself stiffen and I cried out in the rigour of my sudden pain. And so I was transfixed, mid-cry, alive, and yet unmoving, aware, and yet speechless, able to feel an unendurable pain of cold, yet unable to grow numb.

"'I truly am sorry, Pallando,' said he. 'I shall be lonely without you. Yet not so lonely as you.' And then he turned, closed the door to my cell, and left me in utter blackness.

"I cannot describe the agony I felt in mind and body and spirit. My best friend betrayed me. I was frozen in darkness with no relief from excruciating cold beyond the coldest winter on the highest mountain. And there was no end. I do not know how long a time or how short a time I held on to my sanity. I tried to recall all that I ever knew, and to think over all that I had ever seen. How many times I did this, I cannot say, but the cold would not let me hold a thought for long, though I tried and tried again. At last, in the dark alone, tormented beyond despair, after years or decades, I went mad.

"And so I stayed it seems, until a cataclysm came and I was free. O King, I knew not how or why, until your son and these his friends came upon me, but the Dark Lord was defeated. Indeed, I wonder if Alatar would have done as he did, and chosen as he had, had he known that one day, Olorin, Gandalf you called him, would bring about the fall of Sauron.

"But with the passing of the Dark Lord, so too did pass the spells that were woven about his strongholds and they came crashing down. From the Barad-dur to the Tower of Harad, all were cast down to rubble and ruin. The staff of Alatar was broken and so too was the transfixion which held me frozen through an age.

"Alatar had been made the lieutenant of Sauron over the lands of the South and the East, and as such, escaped the rout of the Dark Lord's forces at the end of the War of the Ring. Had he been closeted in the tower when it failed, perhaps he would have met his fate then. He was in the courtyard, and lived to see his fortress become a ruin all about him as his blackened staff burst asunder in his hand. Even so, though his staff was broken, still his mind turned with thoughts of dark ambition. He thought to turn his position into that of ruler where before he had merely been overseer.

"There was only one difficulty. And that was me. He encamped himself near the ruins and already was begun ordering things as he would have it, sending messages to the important places and maintaining the fiction of empire, hoping to soon make it reality again, before the enslaved peoples knew better.

"But I was awakened. The merest shaft of light filtered down into the darkness of my cell at highest noon, so broken and destroyed was the fortress above me. I lay in the darkness, cold beyond cold, frozen and unmoving, but I remember the beauty of the light, frail and thin, indirect and fleeting. I do not know how many times the daily radiance of the Sun chanced into my cell. It seems to me that I saw it several times before I knew it for what it was.

"Gradually, I became aware again of myself. I was miserably cold and afraid. I cannot say that I thought or that I truly knew much of anything, except that I was miserable and alone. I must have cried out, for I remember wailing in my pain and despair.

"This must have been heard by some who worked nearby, for it was brought to Alatar's attention. They cleared away enough of the stone and the rubble to open the dungeon entrance. When he opened my cell, he stood there long, looking upon me. He grasped my hands, for the chains had rusted to pieces and had fallen away in the ages. I was held no more by shackles, but only by the memory of a broken spell.

"But that memory was still strong upon me, though I remembered nothing else. I knew he who cast it and I recognized him, though he was saying words and claiming to be my rescuer. I grasped Alatar by the throat with freezing hands and felt the warmth drain from him as I uttered the same words that had entombed me alive for an age of men. I was aware as he struggled to escape me of the precarious stones piled high above, now falling in the tumult of our struggle. Soon, the cold and the blackness reclaimed us both and we were buried alive, he for the first time, and I once again.

"I perceived him in the darkness, conquered by my hate and his own folly, frozen and fearful and full of despair. And I knew nothing more. Many more years passed in the cold painful blackness, until I did not know if what I had done was real or a dream. In my madness, I did not care.

"It was long before men came again, taking the stones of the old fortress, hauling them away for some new construction. After the war, eventually there was trade again, and with trade came wealth to those who ruled Umbar. And with wealth came the ambitions of nobility, or what tried to pass as such. The stones were needed for a new palace for the latest of their kings.

"When the stones were cleared away, we were discovered at last, locked in a death grip, colder than ice, stronger than steel. The ruler ordered us brought into the light, and so we were. By the time he arrived, our grip on one another had been broken apart and we were lying under blankets and watchful eyes. I awoke first, I think. I was still as mad as could be, but I did not see Alatar or my cell about me. I drew the warm blankets close, and became frightened of the men. I soon felt strong enough to move, and move I did! I sprang up and ran, clinging still to the blankets, and bolted into the night.

"It was long before I had any idea of what had happened. I only remember long travel on foot, drinking out of pools, eating such herbs and fruits, berries, or nuts as I could find. There were great stretches of wilderness where there was nothing, and I hungered. But how wonderful this was compared to my torment! I was free! How I came to love the warmth and the wind! I kept moving. I suppose I feared pursuit, but I cannot say. I walked, ever wandering west when I could, looking for I knew not what. That is how I was when I was found. And now, now I am here. That is all that I can tell you, O King. I know nothing else to say about Pallando the Blue and Alatar the Black."

Elediriel felt herself breathe again. The cavern no longer seemed dim and cold, but was once again filled with warmth and light. She looked at Madrigal and saw the pretty hobbit's green eyes open wide in pity and glistening with tears. Turgon and Fingon looked with new and earnest respect at the wizard. The three rangers seemed to share this feeling, as did all who stood there before the throne of Thranduil. The elf king sat now and pronounced his judgment. It was only then that Ellie realized that by bringing him to the secret halls, Legolas had placed the life of the wizard into the king's hands.

"I deem that you are indeed one of the wizards who passed beyond these lands an age ago to fight the Dark Lord in such ways as you could. There is much that I would ask you, but you say you know nothing more. Then let this be so. Legolas, who brought you hither, will conduct you thither, with his eyes open and his hand ready. He shall be responsible if you prove false or if you prove mad indeed, though you seem neither this day. He shall go about with you for one year, and if he is satisfied that you are all that you seem, he shall return and your return shall be welcome too. Elsewise, neither the one nor the other shall return alive to this land. Let it be so!"

"Let it be so," said Legolas grimly.

The wizard nodded his head and bowed before the king. He and the company were led back out into the open air and silently taken to the camp prepared for them. No one quite knew what to say, and even the merry wood elves seemed somber and quiet as they stood guard around the subdued camp until all had fallen asleep.




Chapter XII

MESSENGERS AND KINGS

The next morning came early and when Elediriel woke, she felt as if she had not rested at all. She could not remember the strange and disquieting dreams of the trailing night, but knew they had not been pleasant. Madrigal and the Took Twins also were not their cheerful selves on that chill gray morning. Legolas was speaking to the elder rangers with quiet urgency. The hobbits were all curious and the four of them drew closer to hear, while Cairdur and Gimli tended the fire. Several elves stood about the camp, waiting for Ellie knew not what. Pallando sat off to himself, looking at the sky through the limbs of the trees of Greenwood and listening intently to the birds in the boughs.

"...so my father commands, and I must obey him in this," Legolas was saying.

"And yet our own mission is clear, that the Proclamation be delivered by the Heralds of our King and Queen to King Thorin at Erebor," said Cairduin. "We are not bound by Thranduil's commands, as you are, and though we will not gainsay the good king in his own kingdom, we must obey our own."

"And I would not counsel you otherwise," said Legolas. "Yet these circumstances were not anticipated ere you set out."

"What are you talking about?" asked Maddie. "And shouldn't the Heralds have something to say about it?"

"Our pardon, Little Mistress," said Aradhel, bowing gravely. "We sought to learn more ere we advised you. We are charged with your safety and your mission. But we have other charges to keep as well. Though we deemed it light labour, and only a pleasant journey with pleasant company, yon wizard has presented us with a dilemma."

"It will be better, I think, to keep him occupied with these small doings," said Legolas. "If he is still recovering from unimaginable torture, then let him do so among us, with whom he is now familiar. Invite him along."

"Perhaps you are correct, Master Elf," said Cairduin. "But what will Master Wizard have to say, I wonder? And how shall we prevent him from doing as he pleases? Methinks now I do not like his tale. His part was not all sweetness and light, it seems to me."

"I think he's been hurt enough!" said Maddie to the grim ranger. She turned then on her bare heel to the tall green-clad elf. "He needs our help. I think your father is mean not to help him. And the way he treated you, Legolas!"

"He treated me justly," said Legolas, sadly. "I do not know what I was thinking to bring him to the secret places of my father's kingdom as I did. And that gives me cause for concern. Besides, it may be that I was fated to have looked upon Greenwood the last time no matter what decisions or errors I have made along the way. I have seen enough even of Fangorn Forest, the greatest woods of Middle-earth, and there is little that now holds me here."

"There is more to all of this than yon wizard alone," said Aradhel. "There is the other wizard to consider as well. How long has it been since Alatar the Black was also released from captivity? What may he be doing even now? I think that our duty to make certain that King Elessar knows of these matters outweighs our mission to herald the birth of the Heir."

"And I say otherwise," said the elf. "Thranduil, my father, has already sent word on its way to Rivendell, to Gondor, and to Dale and Erebor as you slept, and his messengers will arrive more swiftly than we, whatever our path. If we take Pallando the long way with us, then it will be that much longer that he is kept from harm or from doing harm as you dour men seem to suspect. I will go with Pallando whatever his choice. Let us see if he will come to Erebor with you, and then to Rivendell."

"If Rivendell will have him," muttered Cairduin.

"Well, I hope he does go with us!" said Maddie. "But we still must go to King Thorin, mustn't we?"

"Yes," said Aradhel. "So we must. And for my part, I will be vigilant, but I suspect the wizard of nothing. He was honest, it seems, to have told us of how he called upon a spell of the shadows in his sorcerous duel with Alatar. Surely, if he wished to conceal dark designs, he would have made no mention of such a thing. Is even the mind of a wizard as subtle as that? He did not sound proud of the deed. Though I will watch him with one eye, I shall think no ill of him until he gives cause. So, let us follow the advice of Legolas, by your leave, Heralds of my King and Queen. But it does ease my mind, Legolas, to hear that Thranduil's messengers are on their way. Now, let us ask the wizard his mind, since it is so improved."

Gimli was speaking to the wizard near the warming fire. Pallando was listening with interest as the dwarf told of the increasing fortunes of the Dwarves.

"...aye! Since the fall of the Dragon, the winds of fortune have blown to favour the Dwarves! Even the designs of the Dark Lord did not stem the advance of our industry and prosperity. Our artisans are the greatest in the world, in the entire world mind you! We trade with all the realms of the West and all lands clamor for our goods! If I may say so, my own house has seen great profit in these golden years and though I have spent great wealth in Aglarond, I have greater wealth still in Erebor. But what is the good of wealth, if not to create things of use and beauty in the present, to inspire the future, and to memorialize the past? It has not harmed my fortunes to so spend it!"

"But wealth must also be conserved against days of dearth and destruction," said the wizard. "You cannot eat memorials, nor can fountains defend you against other dragons or other enemies."

"That is true," said the old dwarf, stroking his red and silver beard. "And in right measure, it is prudent indeed. But to hoard the labour of a lifetime against fear is to live without the joy your labour should bring. Eh, Legolas?"

"You speak rightly, Gimli," said Legolas, as the elf drew near.

"This dwarf speaks almost with the tongue of an elf!" Pallando laughed. "Times have indeed changed since I last walked freely in the world. I would dearly love to see this Kingdom under the Mountain."

"How wonderful!" exclaimed Madrigal. "We were just about to ask if you would come with us!"

"Too late!" cried Gimli. "I already have and it is settled! Shall we be off?"

The tall rangers looked at one another but said no word. Soon, the party had their breakfast and made ready for their journey to the Lonely Mountain. The wood elves conducted them to a place in the forest where a couple of rather large rafts awaited them on a small river. They all got aboard, horses, ponies, wagon, hobbits, rangers, dwarf, wizard, and the elves, who polled the flat crafts down the forest river until it joined the Long Lake and they were on their way to Esgaroth.

There is not much to tell of this part of their journey. Elediriel thought on how much more comfortable this was than when Bilbo Baggins had ridden a barrel down the chill waters to Lake Town. The wizard happily chatted with any that would listen or talk with him. He even talked to the birds of the air in their own languages as they flew overhead, so glad he said he was to have any conversation at all, after his long imprisonment. Ellie thought this a little irritating at times, since some of the birds were crows, whose language, though she did not understand it, was obviously not always drawing-room fashion.

They floated past, but not over the ruins of a town, where the elves said that the gigantic bones of the dragon Smaug could be seen amongst the rotten pilings of the old town. A new town had been built on the Long Lake and they made for this. Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, could be seen in the distance and it grew taller and more majestic with each passing day and with every passing league. Before setting out again for Dale, they stayed briefly at the new Lake Town, which it was still called by some, though no one who lived there was old enough to actually remember the old Lake Town. The wood elves stayed with them this whole way, and on a word from Legolas, remained on the northern shores of the lake to await their return.

The weather was now cold and the sky was grey. It looked very much as if it might snow. They proceeded on horse and pony and wagon north to Dale, stopping for a day and a night, graciously received by the King Bain of Dale, who took a keen interest in the hobbits and in the wizard who traveled with them. He warned them not to expect as warm a reception from the Dwarves, who were aware of their coming. He gave them small gifts and promised the undying alliance of the men of Dale with the men of Gondor and Arnor.

The hobbits marveled at the largest city and kingdom of men that they had yet seen. Gimli chuckled that the beautiful buildings and pools and fountains of Dale were largely the plans and constructions of Dwarves, and that to really see something, they must be patient. The next day, thanking King Bain for his hospitality, the party went on its way to Erebor and the Kingdom under the Mountain.

They followed the fast, cold, mountain river from Dale up the narrowing valley to a great carved, cavernous opening at the base of the great mountain. Gimli thought it unusual that there was no traffic upon the road. The snow began to fall in flurries of big flakes. When they arrived at the great opening, they saw that a vast iron portcullis had been lowered across the paths on either side and into the water itself. Before the iron gate stood many dwarves clad in shining helms and gleaming mail, clutching large axes in the iron grips of mailed gauntlets. Their faces were hard and grim.

Among them was another dwarf, whose long beard was gold and silver as Gimli's was red and silver and was plaited and thrust into his belt in the fashion of dwarves girt for war. His helm was tall and golden, though sturdy and built upon a foundation of iron. His eyes were cold and blue and he called out in a loud voice that stopped the party in their tracks and startled a squeal out of poor little Ellie!

"Halt, ye who are come to the Kingdom of Erebor, and state your business!"

Despite the warning of the King of Dale, this was not at all what the party expected, I can tell you! King Thorin II, called Stonehelm for reasons that are legendary among the Dwarves, was, by all accounts, a fine and just king, if a little gruff, as dwarves are apt to be. But not even Gimli thought they would be received in this fashion!

The old dwarf stood forward and bowed low before the mighty dwarf and said, "I am Gimli, son of Gloin, whom Your Majesty knows well. With me is my friend Legolas, son of Thranduil, and Rangers of the West, Aradhel, Cairduin, and Cairdur. And these are hobbits of the Shire, Fingon and Turgon Took, of the line of Peregrin, relations of Bilbo Baggins, whose name is well known to the King under the Mountain. Also I present Madrigal Brandybuck and Elediriel Cotton also of the Shire. These hobbits are here as heralds of King Elessar and Queen Arwen, come to deliver you a proclamation of great joy."

"And this other, whom you carefully fail to name?" demanded the kingly dwarf.

"He is Pallando the Blue, a wizard who after great hardship in the east in long years past, has found his way again to these western lands, and seeks healing and a return to whence he came," answered Gimli. A sudden west wind, especially cold and especially fierce, laden with thick snow, blew hard against the dwarves and the company as Thorin Stonehelm, King under the Mountain, looked upon the old man. At last, he spoke.

"He shall find neither healing here nor ships of elves," said King Thorin. "Nor is my hospitality open to him or to those who travel with him. I liked not the news I received from Thranduil. Once before this kingdom was lost for lack of vigilance. You have grown too trusting, Gimli, son of Gloin. I would not be inhospitable in these easy times, but I will not risk all that has been gained, until this wizard has proven himself through years of deeds and service. Not all who have called themselves wizards have meant well, and a King cannot take chances. The rest of you are welcome here, and more than welcome. But not the wizard. Let him find healing among elves or men, for we are not masters of such arts here. Let him find his way home on the road west, for it does not lie within these gates. Let him forgive us our mistrust, and understand our misgivings, and perhaps in later years find us more hospitable. But let him go."

"I shall go with him," said Legolas.

"And I," said Gimli, hotly.

"Then go with my blessing. And how much more will I bless your return. Without the wizard called Pallando the Blue," said Thorin, King under the Mountain.

The wizard himself then stepped forward. He looked to be only a tired and kindly old man, dressed in a plain blue cloak given him by the wood elves and heavy boots and warm clothes from Dale. The cold wind of the mountain whipped the cloak about his bent frame and the long whitened hair about his noble head.

"Thorin Stonehelm. You are a wise king, and I do not fault you for your suspicions or for your regard for the safety of your realm. Little do you know of me, or of my long struggles against the Enemy of old. To you, I am a relic of a more dangerous age, a memory of dread. And so, like a memory, I shall fade away and trouble you no more. But will you not receive these who have come a long way with glad news?"

Madrigal looked thankfully at the wizard and then stepped forward and curtsied prettily before the dwarven king. His hard visage softened and he nodded his iron and gold-helmed head.

The pretty hobbit girl broke the seal and read aloud the proclamation in her high clear voice and the King under the Mountain took the scroll from her and gravely thanked her.

"Would that I had received you in other circumstances," he said. "There is a special place in the hearts of the dwarves of my kingdom for you hobbits and your land of the Shire. Well did Elessar choose his heralds. I will not have it said that you were sent away from these cold gates with empty hands, and bereft of all hospitality."

He snapped his sturdy fingers in the cold air and four stout dwarves came forward carrying four small but strong boxes, carved of black stone, bound with iron, and inlaid with gold. Each dwarf opened his box so that the hobbits and all there could see the contents within.

"Ooooh, how beautiful," said Elediriel involuntarily. Within the boxes were small mirrors of exceptional quality, with brushes and combs for the girls, and there were small daggers and shining arrowheads for the Twins.

The hobbits thanked the king of the dwarves with many thanks, bowing and promising their service and the service of their families. The gruff old king then smiled and made them promise to return when they could.

The party left, feeling not unkindly to the dwarven king, but still somewhat disappointed. None more so than Gimli, who had looked forward to many a night of feasting and to showing the hobbits the many wonders of the Kingdom under the Mountain. The winds had ceased and the snow fell so lightly as to be scarcely noticeable. The sun peeked down through the clouds, and if she could not warm the cold air of the valley of Dale, then she at least made the day brighter and not as bitter.

I must say that Maddie (and Ellie too, if truth be told) was not at all concerned about the winter weather. She was more than satisfied with the fine mirror she had received, and gazed at her pretty face long in its flawless and captivating reflection. The Tooks, too, were quite happy with the daggers, testing their hard keen edges and marveling at the workmanship. It did cheer the old dwarf somewhat to brag on the craftsmanship and to answer the many questions of the hobbits (who knew full well that Gimli would be all too happy to answer!).

"Those mirrors are made of the hardest stone, polished as smoothly as our craft allows, and painted with a thin coat of silver overlaid with mithril and finely polished again at every step. They are kingly gifts indeed! And those arrowheads are forged of hardest steel, holding inset blades of mithril point and edge. Do not lose them! Do not use them! Save them for greatest need and recover them always!"

Cairduin laughed (for once) and frankly observed that it was perhaps better that things worked out as they had, at the gates of Erebor.

"No doubt Master Dwarf would have kept us there until next winter, boasting of the craftsmanship of generations of his relations!" said the ranger.

"No doubt, Master Ranger!" Gimli laughed in agreement. "But you undervalue dwarven skill! It would take me almost as long to show you and to tell you all there is to see as it did to craft it! And here I thought to hold a grudge against my King! Perhaps he well knew that his kingdom should be seen by these hobbits at greater leisure than you hard rangers would spare!"

"No doubt!" laughed Aradhel.

"Well," said the wizard. "It is a long road from Dale to the land of the Beornings. There shall be time enough perhaps even for our dwarven friend to tell us what we may have seen. I feel badly that you young hobbits were denied sight of the wonders. It is my own fault I fear. I would gladly have waited for you in Dale."

"I think it may be for the best," said Turry. "Now, we have an excuse to come back! Eh, Furry?"

"You are right, brother!" Furry said. "And we shall come back! What about you Maddie? Maddie?"

But Madrigal was still observing herself in the enchanting dwarvish mirror held in one hand, with Cider's reins held lightly in the other.