Friends Of Nimrodel: Tapestry of Dreams, Part 2 RPG

[littlemanpoet]

The sky was ablaze with sunlight. The snow glared the light into the eyes of all so that they were almost blinded. Except for the Elf. Nevertheless, they pushed on. It was cold and the snow was deep. The path was treachersously narrow as it circled along the mountain slope, the deep chasm yawning to their right.

Ædegard supposed that there must be a fast flowing mountain stream at the bottom of the gorge, and that it must be filled quickly to a torrent in spring, considering how much snow lay upon the mountains. But for now it was a quiet waste.

Erembemlin went ahead, walking lightly on the surface of the snow. Ravion came behind, given the guidance of Erebemlin's barely discernable footprints, using his arms and feet to clear as much as he could of the snow from the path. Bergil came next, clearing what escaped Ravion's limbs. He was followed by Mellondu who cleared what Bergil left behind.

It became clear soon enough that the horse must be left behind. Mellonin/Avarien was told the situation, and agreed to walk, hard on her as it would be. She spoke to the horse, removing its gear, and set it free. It picked its way down the mountainside and was lost from view finally around the knee of the mountain.

The others straggled behind the Elf, rangers, and Mellonin, with Ædegard taking up the rear. They stopped often to rest, for the going was very difficult. Erebemlin tried not to show impatience. They all feared that Tharonwë was leaving them far behind.

So it was that the sun was just going down behind the jagged horizon of the mountains to their west when they came to the final pass, where they found a small cave. They decided that they must rest there.

To their surprise they found Indil waiting for them, as if she had been expecting them all day. Behind her stood Raefindan, calm and serious; behind them was a small and fitful fire, and sitting beyond it in a shadowy corner was Tharonwë.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

"Raefindan!" Indil cried, "They found us just like I said they would! Was there very much snow where you came from?"

Very seriously she stood before them, waiting for response to her query, her face glowing with her smile, her entire little body radiating peace and happiness at their friends' arrival.

Yet Tharonwe's voice spoke from the shadows in a hiss, "The child, perhaps, they have come to save, Roy Edwards, but have they come to set a murderous traitor free?"

Jorge growled at the Elf, and scuffled his way over the rock to Indil, tail wagging as he approached her, and she threw her arms around his neck, and all at once began to cry, blind to all the others, as he licked at her face and whimpered in commiseration.

[mark12_30]

Mellondu's gaze at the black elf was cold and distant, but Mellonin's flamed with rage. Ravion glanced at her and then grasped her upper arm, and restrained her; incredibly, the elf-woman allowed it.

Erebemlin stepped forward, slowly, and Mellondu's body stiffened with each step Erebemlin took.

"Roy Edwards, or whatever his true name may be, is not our concern, however he may have grieved us. His doom is his own, I deem. Nor are you our concern, now that we see that the child is safe."

Tharonwe seemed to struggle for a moment, and then he slowly stood. "If I am not your concern, then you are a fool."

"Perhaps, " Erebemlin replied, but his eyes lit with a joy that he did not conceal. A moment later, a lilting laughter filled the cave, growing louder and louder as it rang out in the cold air. Erebemlin's joy spread from his eyes, to his lips, and soon his deep ringing laughter joined Mellonin's. Then the blacksmith's laughter joined them too; but the blacksmith's laughter was not like the laugh of men, but like rippling gold, sunlight on the water.

Ravion looked at Raefindan, and wondered what sudden joy had come over the elves; all the elves but one. Black rage was on Tharonwe's face, but it held no sway over the others.

Erebemlin turned to face the blacksmith, and his eyes were wild with joy.

My lord, my lord, she is near. She is near. Do you not feel her song? She is near.

Mellondu walked to Erebemlin, and the great golden elf and the sturdy gondorian blacksmith clasped forearms. The fire in Erebemlin's eyes spread to Mellondu's.

Yes, my faithful friend. I hear her voice. At last, at last. She is near. At last.

Mellondu turned to Avarien.

I shall nevermore name you faithless. Good lady, best of friends, I name you friend of Amroth. You have led us well. May you be forever blessed.

Mellonin shook her head, tears of joy stinging her face in the cold. "Good my lord," she replied. "It was the child. I but followed the child. The blessing belongs to her."

[mark12_30]

Ravion waited, fidgeting. Mellonin and Mellondu were more happy than he had ever seen them, and their laughter was rich and full. He had but one wish; that Aeron and Gwyllion had been here to share it.

He watched Raefindan, and releasing Mellonin, slowly approached the red-haired man. He spoke through the ringing laughter, and was barely heard.

"Erebemlin may release you from the judgement of elves; but as a man, I am less than satisfied. Where is Aeron?"

Raefindan opened his mouth to answer, but Jorje leaped up with cold wet paws and a great red tongue ran over Raefindan's face. He spluttered. The dog leaped at Ravion next, who stepped backwards; glaring at Raefindan, Ravion fended off the great hound as he leaped and leaped again. Then the dog burst into a warbling howl, tail thrashing with unbridled glee.

"Enough!" Ravion shouted, and the dog replied with a torrent of barking. Between the laughter of the elves and the barking of the dog, there was no time for speech.

Ravion met the eyes of the black elf, and then looked away. He did not want to sink into that mire.

"We will speak of this in time, " he shouted to Raefindan. Jorje jumped on him again, and Ravion wiped his face with his sleeve.

Bergil stepped forward even as the laughter caught up with Indil. Her little voice rippled with glee, and the mountainside rang again; Raefindan was laughing now, and several of the Rohirrim were exchanged puzzled smiles. Bergil knelt down near Indil, and looked into her eyes..

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

"Hello, Indil," he said quietly, taking her hand in his. "As you can see, we are glad to have found you. How are you feeling?"

The Ranger looked her over carefully, and found her little worse for wear. While her face looked far paler, and her feet and hands were scraped, and she looked very tired, and her eyes still held the traces of tears, her face was lit with a truly happy smile, and her little body seemed to have acquired no hurts which time alone could not fix.

"I wish mama and papa were here." she said, petting Jorje slowly. "Mama used to tell me stories about Elf ladies. She said they had pretty laughs, and that their eyes sparkled." She bowed her little head. "I miss my mama."

[littlemanpoet]

Roy laughed for the joy he saw and heard, and felt.

With Bergil greeting Indil, he considered himself freed up for the moment to engage whatever questions might come. He became suddenly aware that he could hear familiar voices in his head, and some unfamiliar. More surprising yet, he realized that he was listening in his head to the four Elves in the room. Did they know that he could hear them?

Ravion's question needed to be answered. Roy grew sobre, but the smile did not leave his face. He motioned to Ravion and the other humans, excepting Bergil, to gather just outside the cave so that they could speak. Ravion seemed willing enough, and the others as well. They moved outside. It was still cold, but warming, and the sun shown almost blindingly on the bright snow.

The others stood watching him and waiting.

"Aeron is dead," Roy told them. "I am responsible. I allowed Tharonwë to control my mind for a while, and he caused me to try to kill Mellondu. But Aeron fought against me with Mellondu, and in the heat of the moment I threw him over the edge of the cliff to his death. He lies there now. The moment I had done the deed, I came to my senses and regretted the deed. Regret cannot bring him back nor redress the deed. Had I been truthful with myself the sooner, I would have had the strength to withstand Tharonwë; but because I allowed myself to believe lies, he had a means into my mind, and so the deed was done.

"But finally I told myself the truth and repented of my lies, and all my memory came back, and I was able to withstand Tharonwë, and more, was able to hold him prisoner in the cell he had made for us, until you arrived. That is my tale, and it is true. I grieve for my part in Aeron's death, and will do all I can to avenge him and redress my wrong."

[Formendacil]

Bergil thrust any concern for the strange laughter affecting the Elves from his mind as he bent down to greet Indil, who herself had caught the infectious glee. At another time, Bergil would have been rather concerned about the Elven laughter, for their seemed to be precious little to laugh about. They had unexpectedly found Tharonwë incapacitated, certainly, and Indil was safer than he had dared hope, but the situation was still far too grave for such mirth, in his view.

Kneeling in front of Indil, and holding her hand, Bergil glanced over her face and arms, hoping to confirm that she was an unharmed as she appeared. There seemed to be little to fear, for Indil wore a smile that had no shadow of fear, and bore all the excitement of a child who, having just been found, had suffered no worse trauma than being lost.

"As you can see," he said, himself smiling in wide relief, "we are glad to have found you. How are you feeling?"

"I wish mama and papa were here." she said, petting the dog that followed them slowly. "Mama used to tell me stories about Elf ladies. She said they had pretty laughs, and that their eyes sparkled." She bowed her head. "I miss my mama."

Indil's smile faded, and Bergil's own heart tensed in sympathy. The little girl had been separated from her family for many days indeed now, and at her age, that must have seemed an even longer age than it did to Bergil.

"Don't worry, Indil," said Bergil, his hands on her shoulders now, eyes directly across from her, "we're almost done with this quest. Just another few days and we can go home and find your family."

Indil said nothing, and seemed to be on the verge of tears, so Bergil pulled her into a tight hug, rocking her slightly. Looking over her shoulder, he could see the four Elves (or those who were acting as Elves, anyway. Bergil was beginning to lose surety over who was whom). They were speaking not, but still bore smiles wide with joy, and Bergil could tell from their eyes that though they said nothing, they were still communicating with each other, and as his eyes lit up Raefindan, it seemed to him that the red-haired man understood them.

This gave Bergil a deep shiver, and he clung to Indil's trembling body, seeking comfort in her small, human warmth. Once before, he had seen Elves in a great celebration, during Midsummer's Eve after the War of the Ring, when Elessar had wedded Queen Arwen. That too had been an eerie night, and even as a rash boy, Bergil had been clearly aware of the differences between Men and Elves.

"They are fey," his father had said. "Fair, both in their actions and in their appearances, but also fey."

Still clasping Indil, Bergil understood why the Rohirrim had shunned the Golden Wood, and why his own people had fallen out of friendship with the Elves. They were indeed a fey people.

Letting Indil go enough that he could look at her again, as her trembling subsided and the readiness to cry turned into more of a sniffling, Bergil held her away so that he could see her face.

"It will be all right, Indil," he said. "We will find your family."