Search For The Book

[Helkahothion]

Anuion was already up when he heared the nock on his door and jack's voice. Later he heard an end to Rosfin's snoring and a loud dwarfen curse. Anuion walked out of his room and stuck his head in Rosfin's dooropenening.

"Keep it down master Dwarf. The other guests are still sleeping." Anuion joked.

Rosfin stared at him and had his mouth hanging open.

"Say wah?" The dwarf said with his mind in another room.

"Nevermind master sleepyhead. Get your gear in shape. We are heading out tonight."

Anuion walked back to his own room. He packed his Lembas in his backpack and the other supplies he always carried with him. He packed the rope last and then prepared his weapons. He stuck his bow in his quiver that was filled with his newly aquired arrows. His knife was stuck in the hilt on his back. The sword was placed in a paralel line with the knife. He went downstairs and took his place on the breakfast table. Anuion's eyes glanced when he saw what was served.

"Oh goody, bacon butties. Humans shure can do some mirecales in the kitchen. Tell me Jadae, what will you be needing from the market?"
________
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[Ithaeliel]

Angalos groaned and turned onto his stomach. His contented sleep was interrupted by talking outside his room and footfalls thudding down the hall. Opening his bleary eyes, the young man propped himself up on one elbow and opened the shutter. He gasped. The sun was already up, and here he was, not even out of his nightclothes! Leaping out of bed, Angalos changed as quickly as possible into whatever he had and ran downstairs, axe in one hand and gear in the other. "I'm up!" he announced breathlessly as he ran into the common room.

Everyone else looked up as he came in. Jack smiled and hailed him by holding up a forkful of bacon. "Good morning, Angalos! Don't worry, you're not too late; just in time for breakfast!"

Angalos took a seat and settled in to the house specialty, eating much as he knew that he may not have another meal like this one for a long time. Between mouthfuls, he tried to make conversation. "I trust you all slept well?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. "I can hardly wait to get on our way," said Anuion. Jadae and Rosfin said the same. Angalos smiled. "I'm very much looking forward to this also. I've never done anything like this, in all my years in the trade business."

After breakfast was finished, the full and contented companions prepared for the task at hand. Arethin would be meeting them, and then they would pace themselves so to be away from the valley of Dale by sunset. Anticipation shone in everyone's eyes. They were eager to be off.

[ February 17, 2003: Message edited by: Ithaeliel ]

[Orual]

Early in the morning Arethin shouldered his pack and left his house, careful to make as little sound as possible so as not to wake his family. He'd said all of his good-byes; he couldn't stand to do it again.

The day was clear and cool, a good day to set out on. Arethin avoided his old haunts, any of his friends' meeting-places, and most of all Avaran's booth at the market. He made straight for the Rusty Hilt--he was early, but maybe he could catch some breakfast before it was all gone.

He had stayed up almost all night, making a final decision. Elethil had complained of being kept up and finally Arethin pretended to sleep, well after midnight, but sleep didn't come, and the young man simply agonized more over the matter. Then his mother began to cough, one of those awful spells that seemed to last forever, and Arethin made up his mind. He would go: he would find the book and cure his mother. Everything was in order. There was nothing else that Arethin could do with a clear conscience.

So it was with an air of determination that Arethin entered the Rusty Hilt. He grabbed a roll and went up to the company--his travelling companions. They didn't notice him for a moment, and he looked them over carefully. He'd be, basically, putting his life in their hands by going on this journey. There would be hardships, and if he was in a tight spot he'd be counting on them to pull him out. Would they?

He watched as they talked, and realized that he did trust them. He wouldn't be coming along if he didn't.

He walked up to them. "I'm ready when you are," he said by way of greeting.

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

“Hello, Arethin. We just finished breakfast, but I’m sure if you haven’t eaten we can find something for you,” Jadae said warmly. Going closer to Arethin, she put a hand on his shoulder and whispered “You all right?” he seemed a bit preoccupied, or maybe worried. Arethin nodded and thanked Jack for the breakfast and began to eat.

“I only need to get one thing from the market. Something I think will come in handy,” Jadae said, shouldering her pack with her things.

“What’s that, Jadae?” Anuion asked, handing an empty plate to Jack.

“Candles!” Everyone just stared at Jadae when she answered, but then continued getting ready to leave. As soon as Arethin had finished eating, they all left the Rusty Hilt together.

Walking out into the streets of Dale, Jadae smiled as the sun beat down on the six companions. She’d miss Dale, but planned on coming back.

“My friend sells candles, and her shop is just around the corner,” Jadae assured everyone as she weaved through the crowds of people. Passing by a perfume shop, and turning left at a flower shop, the travelers followed Jadae to come to stand in front of a well-kept shop, labeled ‘Candles’ over the door. Jadae nodded in satisfaction, and walked into the shop. The main area smelled mostly of wax, but a hint of perfume could be smelled in the air, for some of the candles were scented.

“Emmy? Are you in here?” Jadae called in a loud voice. She turned to her friends. “Emmy is a bit…eccentric, so be careful what you say.”

“JADAE! I haven’t seen you in so long! Are you going somewhere else to get candles? Or are you still using the ones I gave you last week? How are you? Who are your friends?” A short, thin woman came out of a back room. Her long red hair was tied back, and her kind blue eyes were covered with safety goggles. She swept Jadae up in a strong hug, and Jadae tried not to make a choking sound. When the woman finally let Jadae go, she went to go give her friends hugs.

“No, Emmy that’s alright. I’m fine, how’s the business? Anyway, these are my friends. This is Arethin, that’s Angalos. Jack is over there, and the elf next to him is Anuion. This is Rosfin,” Jadae introduced each of her friends. They all shook hands –or bowed- to Emmy kindly.

“Aren’t you all a strange lot? I like you though! Any friend of Jadae’s is a friend of mine! Now, what can I help you with, child? I can give you all a tour and show you how to make candles! Melting the wax, adding dyes and scents, thank goodness the perfume shop is right next-door! And then…” The woman kept talking, getting quicker with each sentence.

“No, thank you though, Emmy. All we need is some candles,” Jadae frowned when she realized what she had said.

“Oh! Candles! Well I have plenty of those around here you know! We have long candles, short candles, and candles in the shapes of anything you can imagine! Blue candles, green candles, red candles, orange candles! Scented and unscented candles!” Emmy pointed to candles on display in the main room as she called out their description.

“Umm,” Jadae mumbled, not knowing what to say. “Do you have regular candles?” Emmy laughed and went into the back room. She came out with ten thin cream colored candles that were the length from her elbow to her wrist. They smelled of some sort of cake, but Emmy insisted they were unscented.

“Thank you, Emmy. I’m sure they’ll be quite useful,” Jadae handed Emmy a few coins, but it was more than enough to pay for the candles. “I hope to see you again soon,” before she could do anything, Emmy swept her up in another big hug. As the six travelers left the candle shop, Emmy waved giddily from the doorway.

“Anybody else have something to get before we leave?” Jadae asked, waving to her quirky candle-making friend.

[ February 23, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]

[Helkahothion]

"I need to get something from a friend." Anuion said out of the blue.

Jadae thought that everybody was set and ready to go, but apparently Anuion was not in a rush. Anuion walked trough the street and took a left. After a few turns and passing a couple of streets, the group halted at a house. It was a trader's house. Anuion knocked on the door and went in, followed by the others.

"Ah Anuion, I was expecting you. Right on time as always." A man said as he walked towards Anuion.

"Where you able to fur fill my request? Dimithri?" Anuion asked as he gave the man a firm handshake.

"Yes, it is here. You surely put me trough hell and back for these things." The man said while giving a package to Anuion.

"Always overreacting you humans. Dwarves and Elves are much easier merchants." Anuion said with a smile towards Rosfin.

The Elf gave the man the rest of his money and took the wrappings of the package. The package contained some more Lembas and some sort of bottle. Rosfin paid special attention to the bottle. It was light and was giving a special light. Rosfin had never seen such glass before.

"What is it?" Rosfin asked.

"It's the light of Mergasfion. My protective star. It has been given to me when I left my home. When I returned after a long travel, I gave it to my father Helkahothion until I would need it again. I was here for this reason. It will bring us some good when we least expect it." Anuion replied.

He took the phial and stuffed it in his chest pocket for save keeping. The Lembas got a place in his backpack. Anuion thanked the merchant and went outside.

"Well I'm done. Anyone else needs to run an errand?"
________
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[Mattius]

Jack looked about and thought if he would need anything. Food? Water? Weapons? He seemed to be fully stocked.

"I think that is everything then, time to be seting off I guess." The others nodded in agreement.
The elf led the way out of the town through the narrow backstreets away from the busy parts of the Dale.

Soon they were on the last eastern streets of the city and looking out into the wild. In the far distance the Iron Hills could be seen rising from the mist.

"Its somewhere out there," Jadae said almost to herself.

"Then what are we waiting for!" Rosfin said as he put his first foot forward and began the journey.

[ February 24, 2003: Message edited by: Mattius ]

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

“Well, let’s go,” Jadae said to her companions. They all nodded, and the group began the trip to the mountain that held the book, the Wanaparma.

There they were, one group made of six totally different people. A wise Dwarf walked next to a rogue Elf. A trader walked next to the artisan, and the guard strode alongside the worker. Such strange things had happened in only two days, and now Jadae was leaving her home to find a book of untold wealth and importance.

“Oh yes!” Jadae suddenly exclaimed, remembering something. All her companions turned to her, and if any could see it, she blushed under her tan skin.

“I just remembered the candles, is all,” Jadae answered everyone else’s stares. Taking her pack off her back, she opened the flap to reveal stuffed candles above extra clothes, food, water, and a few things from Jadae’s shop that she thought might become useful later.

“There are enough for everyone to have two, except for two people who will only have one. They’ll burn for a long time though, I’m sure. Emmy is very good at what she does…” Jadae trailed off, her mind wandering to what other sorts of things Emmy might have tricked her candles with, considering all that time she had.

“Anyways,” Jadae continued and began handing out candles. She decided she would be one to only hold one candle, and whoever volunteered would be the other.

“Jadae, I really don’t think it’s necessary that we carry candles. I have torches. You know well that I am always traveling in the wild, and I am of course, never unprepared,” Anuion informed when Jadae went to hand him his candles. Jadae eyed Anuion with amusement.

“Are you certain? You’ll never know…”

“I’m sure.”

“Alright then! This means everyone – except for Anuion, that is - gets two candles…” Jadae finished handing out candles. Then, from the bottom of her pack, she dug out five lumps of stone and five thin sheets of metal.

“I think it is called flint, and this is steel. When you strike the steel down across the sharp edge of the flint, a spark is created. The rock shears off tiny pieces and flakes of the metal sheet. The ripping of the metal heats up the flecks so that they can catch fire. I guess you could say that the sparks are actually tiny gobs of flying, melted metal. It may take practice to actually get this technique to light your candle,” Jadae explained as she handed out the rocks and metal.

"Would anyone care for a song?" Jadae inquired as the men and dwarf examined the items. Arethin lifted his head, ever the avid listener for such works.

"How shall we get any music?" Angalos asked, and at this, Jadae smiled. She rumaged through her pack and pulled out a small wooden flute and two intricately designed twigs of wood. She handed the latter to Mattius, and the former to Rosfin.

"A quick beat, if you please, Mattius," At Jadae's comment, Mattius beat the sticks against the rock upon which he sat, and the fast-paced sound bounced about the area. "Rosfin, could you join once you figure the tune?" The dwarf nodded, and Jadae began her song.


Under a spreading chesnut tree
The village smithy stands.
The smith, a mighty man is he;
With large and sinewy hands
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.


After the first verse, Rosfin joined in with a merry, jolly tune fitting the song Jadae had begun perfectly.


His hair is crisp, and black, and long
His face is like the tan
His brow is wet with honest sweat:
He earns whate'r he can.
He looks the whole world in the face
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morning until night
You can hear his bellows blow
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge
With measured beat and slow
Like the guardsmen ringing the village bell
When the evening sun is low

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door,
They love to see the flaming forge
And hear the bellows roar
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chafe from a threshing floor

He hears his daughter's voice
Sining in the village choir
And it makes his heart rejoice!
It sounds to him like her mother's voice
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more
How in the grave she lies
And with his hard rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes


Towards the end of the song, the mood became a somber and slow one, and Rosfin easily picked up the new tunes.


Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing,
Onwards through life he goes
Each morning sees some task being
Each evening sees it close
Something attempted, something done
Has earned the night's repose

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend
For the lesson thou hast taught
Thus the flaming forge of life
Continues as was wrought.


As the song ended, both Mattius and Rosfin continued their parts for another eight beats. Jadae bowed clumsily.

[ March 10, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]

[Helkahothion]

Anuion walked alongside Rosfin and they where fondly depating the route they would take. Anuion thought that this dwarf was just bragging about knowing the routes in this reagon, but his knowledge was equal to his own.

During the brake, Jadea handed out all sorts of gifts. Anuion was amazed to see the sparkmakers, as he called them later, actualy do what Jadea said. In his life he had never seen such things and that was something very rare. Arethin pushed Rosfin for a story and Anuion joined in. As a child he had always listened to the stories of elves and he was curious what tales the Dwarves had. He might learn something from it.

"Yes Rosfin, tell us a tale. I would like to hear about Erebor." Anuion said cheerfully in his own way.

Rosin enjoiyed the attention and sat himself down.

[ March 15, 2003: Message edited by: Helkahothion ]
________
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[Orual]

Arethin listened carefully to Jadae and Rosfin's song. He watched as the young smith transformed before his eyes into something new, something more like him. No longer was she just this imperturbable woman, who was a smith and an adventurer but little else; now she had, perhaps unconsciously, shown them all a new side of her, and Arethin felt the need to say something to her.

She bowed, looking a little uncomfortable with the motion, and when Jack and Rosfin finished their parts, Arethin went up to her, feeling a little uncomfortable himself; frankly, he was not used to girls, and wasn't sure that he was coming about this the right way. "Jadae, you have a lovely voice. I'd never heard that song before. Where did you learn it?"

[Mattius]

Jack observed the conversation with Jadae and Arethin with quiet curiosity. He was not a great lover of music but enjoyed it from time to time. Almost subconsciously he began to finger his thin gold braclet on his wrist. The keen eyes of Anuion the elf of Mirkwood picked up the illustrous jewelry.

"That is fine garment you wear," he said getting Jack's attention, "and if my eyes are correct then that is a creation of my kin is it not?" Jack looked silently at the elf and then to his braclet again.

"Indeed it is, it was given to me by an elven maiden some seven months since."

"Is that not a token of love Jack, or do our race's views of such lavish things contradtict?" Jack was silent for a long time looking at the braclet motionless. At length he rolled down his sleeve so that it was covered.

"It was, but is now no more than memories," Jack said abruptly as he stood to his feet and walked away from the elf. He wished the memories would just go away, he wished they would dissapear- but they wouldn't, and part of him wanted them to stay. He forced himself to talk to the dwarf to try and detach himself from his thoughts.

"Good Rosfin, you are a proprioter of these parts, how long will our march be to the Iron Hills?"

"Not too long," the dwarf said, "perhaps a day or two at most. In fact I think it was time we were on the move again- come on one and all- to your feet!"

With a little bit of effort the group were on their way again. Behind Rosfin, Jadae and Arethin continued their conversation.

[ March 10, 2003: Message edited by: Mattius ]

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

"Jadae, you have a lovely voice. I'd never heard that song before. Where did you learn it?" Arethin had come up to a nearly falling Jadae, for bowing and such mannerisms, especially curtsying, were not Jadae’s strong points.

“Why, thank you, Arethin! No, I shouldn’t think you’ve ever heard it. It hasn’t been sung in a long while. It was written about a smith in Dale, the strongest, hardest-working smith in all of Dale, if you could tell form the song. The younger adults in the center area of Dale may still remember the tune and the lyrics. Anyways, the children of that time were fascinated by the smith’s work, and he even took apprentices in the most dedicated children. He married, and had a child…one child. They lived peacefully and happily for a time, until his wife died. His daughter was twelve when she died, and the smith was crushed. The only things that took his mind off his despair and sadness were his work, and hearing his daughter perform in the small village choir. The smith became engrossed in his work, and forgot to watch his daughter grow up. She soon left home and started her own business. Her name was –"

"Good Rosfin, you are a proprietor of these parts, how long will our march be to the Iron Hills?" Jadae heard Mattius ask, and she stopped her story.

"Not too long," Rosfin answered. "perhaps a day or two at most. In fact I think it was time we were on the move again- come on one and all- to your feet!"

“Right. Let’s go Arethin,” Jadae smiled at Arethin and turned towards the hills that could be seen in the hazy, grey distance. “Why are you so interested in history and writings and such things? The storyteller said he had seen you often as he told stories, and yet I never saw you much. Not too many people appreciate such things as you do.”

[ March 10, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]

[Orual]

Jadae's question hung in the air for a moment. Arethin was silent, his brown eyes scanning the horizon. The hills and the trees seemed like something out of the stories that his mother would tell him...

"My mother is an artist," Arethin said finally. "In fact, some of her work hangs in the Rusty Hilt. She would paint all of these beautiful scenes of the wilderness that she explored when she was younger, I guess about your age. You see, my mother was the youngest daughter of a politician, and though she loved her family she never felt that she quite fit in. So when she was only eighteen or nineteen she received her father's blessing and left, exploring and adventuring for a few years until she met my father. They eventually settled in Dale, but her heart never truly left the forests.

"So she would paint her memories, and tell me stories of her adventures, and stories that she had heard along the way. But the best stories came from my father. Before they settled in Dale, my father went with my mother on her escapades. And the best stories were the ones he told, about the things my mother never thought to tell. My mother would paint us pictures with her words, telling us what she saw--but my father told us what he felt. When they were attacked in the wilderness by wild animals, our hearts were thudding in our chests and we wanted to run away from the beast. When they met friends on the road, we felt like we had met long-lost friends ourselves. You see, my father was a storyteller. My mother was a painter. He made me love the spoken word, as much as my mother made me love the sight of the out-of-doors. But he died, ten years ago now." Arethin was quiet for a moment. "I keep listening to remind myself of him. And I hope that someday I can continue his legacy and tell my own children, and others' children, about the stories he was told, the stories he told, and...my own stories." Arethin suddenly smiled. "Like this one."

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

"Like this one." Arethin finished.

As the small group continued on through the terrain between Dale and the Iron Hills, they stopped rarely and only for a few minutes. The sun began to set in the sky as the day wore on, and the misty hills loomed in the distance. If Anuion looked carefully with his sharp Elven eyes, he would be able to see the higher mountain farther north from the hills.

“What do you think we’ll find?” Jadae asked aloud, though not to anyone in particular. The group continued their trek as they talked, and didn’t bother to stop when their destination was so close.

“Loads of riches,” Angalos replied after a long pause from the group. “I’ll bet anything that for that race that lived in the Mountain, gold and silver were like dust.”

“What about diamonds?” Arethin chimed in, the thought of maids scurrying about dusting gold off mirrors and wooden surfaces made him chuckle.

“They’d need brooms to clean up the diamonds and the iron bits that gather on the tables and chairs of the kitchens,” Mattius replied, trying not to laugh.

“Didn’t the storyteller say that they used rubies instead of filling for pastries? Such riches, I’ve heard,” Jadae smiled at the comments.

“I’d be surprised if we get in there and can see anything past all the dust…gold and silver dust, that is. Do you suppose we’ll find anyone living in there?” Anuion continued the conversation, and his desire for action could be sensed in his voice. Jadae looked down at her feet as they walked, and kept her hands in her tunic pockets, not sure how to answer.

“Why would anyone be living in there?” Rosfin asked, the wind carrying his voice, as he was at the front of the group. The gust of wind that carried Rosfin’s voice also lifted the ebony strands of Jadae’s hair, and the tingling, cool sensation the breeze left was delightful in the mildly warm air.

Rosfin’s question went unanswered, and the companions went on in silence as the last rays of the setting sun cascaded over every nook and cranny, creating shadows over the hills and few trees that scattered the land. The wind continued to blow, steadily growing stronger as the natural light faded. Looking overhead, faint twinkling orbs could be seen as the sky darkened. If the group continued at this pace, they would hopefully be at the Mountain by mid-morning of the next day. How they would get in, however, had not even crossed the traveler’s minds.

Jadae could only imagine the time when the group found the book. Jadae could envision the sight and feel of her wrapping her strong, thin metalworker’s fingers around the book. She could hear a voice reading the script in the book, then translating it back into Westron as best they could.

Though what the group would actually find in the Mountain could not be foretold until they reached the Mountain’s entrance.

[Helkahothion]

The group continued the march towards the mountain and Anuion tried to start the conversation with jack again. He had walked away. Probably, because of sad memories.

"This girl you talk about jack, was she from Mirkwood or Lothlorien? Maybe I know her." Anuion asked carefully.

Jack did not answer. Anuion could see he was in pain by this girl. But a different kind of pain. That bracelet proved he did not hate her, but he was not that eager to remember her.

"Love is painful, but the reminders of it are even worse. I wish not to speak until I myself want to remember it. It's not you Anuion, I am having trouble getting the bottom of this." Jack said back.

Anuion silenced. Love was painful. He had experienced it quite often. He knew the pain. Jack deserved his time alone. It could be his last.
________
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[Aylwen Dreamsong]

As the group continued on towards the Mountain, Rosfin came forward to tell the group something.

“I fear I must bid you farewell before we get to our destination. I will go to the Iron Hills, and I will leave you with my hopes for your safe and successful return!” After many farewells, the remaining company walked towards the mountain as Rosfin turned south to go to the Dwarves of the Iron Hills.

Traveling through the rest of the early morning, the group came ever closer to the mountain that held the book. By mid-morning, they had come to the west side of the Mountain, and Jadae grinned and jumped gleefully. They were there! It hadn’t taken long, either. She sprinted to get to the rising rock, and when the men joined her she had her hands on her hips, with an expression that said, ‘And what took you so long?’

“Well, do you think we came all this way just to look at it? Let’s get to finding the entrance!” Angalos eyed the top of the mountain, and lifted a strong arm to point at the peak of the mount.

Everyone turned, and looked to where he was pointing. Everyone save Angalos then took on a quizzical look. None of them seemed to realize what he was pointing at or suggesting. Turning to face the mesmerized man, everyone held a questioning glance and Jadae opened her mouth to say “what?” until Arethin lifted a finger to his lips to indicate quiet.

“Can’t you see it? Surely Anuion can, with his Elven eyes. That glimmer at the top of the mountain! Perhaps a jewel of some sort!” Angalos’ eyes drifted back to his companions, and noticing their stare, he shrugged.

“Well…let’s get to finding an entrance. It does us no good just standing and staring at rock,” Anuion continued, and the group simultaneously nodded.

When the group found an entryway on the north wall of the mountain, they stood in front of a large shaft in the mountainside, except that the shaft was covered from the inside by a large boulder. Carvings and paintings chipped off the wall near the entrance. Above the entrance were four pallets with red, painted characters of what looked to be elvish writing.

Looking at the faded red paint on the square blocks above the entryway, Jadae squinted. “What do you suppose it says? Some of the paintings chipped off, or faded. Looks like Elvish, but I wouldn’t be able to read such script.”

Everyone turned to Anuion, who seemed to be daydreaming or something as he stared blankly at the writing.

“Anuion?” Jadae, Arethin, Mattius, and Angalos all question at the same time.

“I…I can’t see all the letters, but in Westron the first and third letters would be an ‘E’ and an ‘A’…” Anuion also squinted at the letters, and looked confused. He could read Elvish perfectly, his father had taught him. Yet the faded red and the crumbling rock had eroded the visible characters ages ago, in such a way that not even Anuion’s Elven eyes could read.

“Well, this is perfect! We got all the way here and we can’t even get in!” Angalos said frustrated. He placed a hand on one of the square letter-tiles Anuion had tried to read…

[ March 17, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]

[Ithaeliel]

"Well, this is perfect! We got all the way here and we can't even get in!" Angalos moaned in frustration as he leaned up against the seemingly useless engravings on the stone. Everyone's eyes were lowered in disappointment or raised in annoyance of the blocked passage. Yet even as Angalos' hand pressed against the stone, a slight rumble was heard and a small puff of dust fell from the rock. The group's attention was centered upon the stone, and a few rubbed their eyes repeatedly to make sure what they had just seen was real. Angalos gave a small gasp as he removed his hand from the stone. A moment later, it began to slide with a rumble and a grating noise. Angalos backed away as the stone moved slowly to the left, revealing a passageway into the mountain.

The adventurers all walked cautiously closer to the darkness, halfway grinning with astonishment. Arethin smiled. "Now I am very glad we have Angalos here with us. What a stroke of luck for our company!"

"This is wonderful!" Jadae cried. "Now we can finally enter the mountain and find what we came for."

"If it is there," Jack added. "But congratulations to Angalos, and his magic touch to get us inside!"

Angalos blushed humbly. "Well, it seems Lady Luck has been on my side much of my life," he admitted, "but this is the luckiest thing that's happened to me by far. I suppose we should continue on our path... the less time to our treasure, the better!"

"Be careful," Anuion said gravely. "You never know what we may find in here."

Angalos took one step into the cave, and his eyes saw something glint in the darkness. He knew instantly what it was. "Watch out!" he cried, but it was too late. Poison-tipped arrows were already flying at them. He sucked his torso in and turned in profile to the onslaught of deadly shafts. Anuion dodged two or three, then saw a pack of arrows flying straight for Arethin. He gave a shout and leapt over to him, pushing the man down on the ground and narrowly avoiding the arrows. Jack and Jadae crouched low, but not in time to save Jack's forehead from being cut by a passing arrow. Jadae was all right, and Jack would not need too much care.

After the last arrow had flown out, the company gave a sigh of relief. They had come through the first obstacle with little hindrance. Now they had to continue on their way, looking out for other dangers... which Angalos somehow knew would abound.

[ March 18, 2003: Message edited by: Ithaeliel ]

[Mattius]

Jack touched the cut on his head with his middle and index fingers before bringing his hand to his eye level to look at the blood. In a few seconds he didn't have to as it started running into his eyes,

"Erm guys," he said, "could one of you give me a hand with this!"

Anuion turned to look at the boy and quickly reached into his pack and brought out some stitches. Jadae put pressure on the wound so that not as much blood was lost and then the elf began his work, painlessly sowing the skin on Jack's forehead back together. When he was done the blond-haired lad was left with a neat row of stitches of the buterfly variety.

"Are you okay Jack?" Asked Arethin. Jack looked up at the big man.

"I think so, the pain seems to have totally gone!"

Jack jumped to his feet feeling so revived that he began to lead the group through the dangerous cave, seemingly forgetting what had just happened. So happy he was that he began to hum to himself as they wandered in the gloom.

They didn't have to walk far before they faced another problem. In the gloom Jack had fallen over some sought of chair and long couches covered with dust and spiders. Jack picked himself up and rubbed the eight legged things off before looking around.

"Looks like a problem," he sighed.

"What is it?" Questioned Angalos.

"The path splits here, into three seperate routes," Jack walked into the doorway of each one before speaing again. "One goes up, one down and one straight on."

The group gave a collective silent sigh. They all knew what this meant- they would have to split up. And seeing as though Rosfin had not reached the caves with them, someone would have to go by themselves.

"We are going to have to split up then," Jadae said, "and draw straws over who is going to go alone."

They stood in a circle, each holding one of the random straws they had cut down just prior. The atmosphere was tense and no-one wanted to go in one of the doorways alone.

"Okay, one by one reveal your straws," Jadae said. Slowly Jack then Anuion, Arethin, Jadae and Angalos opened their hands. Angalos looked down at his tiny straw- he would be going alone.

The groups stood at the doors together- Jack and Anuion would be going straight on, Jadae and Arethin to the lower level and poor Angalos would be heading upstairs alone.

"If any of us find anything," began Jadae, "then head back to this room and wait for the others- we will meet back here in a few hours and be careful!"

"Good luck everybody," whispered Angalos as he walked into the darkness.

[Orual]

"Let's start, then," Arethin said quietly to Jadae. "You're the boss, so which hallway do we take?"

Jadae thought for a little while, and Arethin took the moment to dig through his pack while keeping his eyes politely on Jadae. Yes, the candles, there they were, some food, a blanket. There were the rest of his belongings, yes, it was all there. He turned his concentration back to Jadae just as she said "left."

"I think it leads down," Jadae added as they began to go down. Arethin was staring around intently, terrified that at any moment they would trip something that would either send the ceiling crashing in atop them, or that they would suddenly find that there was nothing to stand on, and fall hurtling through space.

"Do you think this is safe?" he said in a somewhat weak voice that sounded fairly comical coming out of his strong, muscular body. At least, he thought, he made no excuses about his fear. He had some dignity left.

But to his disappointment Jadae shrugged. "In all probability, no, it isn't safe," she answered. "But for the moment, it seems all right."

In the end Arethin's fears were unrealized. The ceiling didn't fall and the ground didn't disappear, but the chute he fell down was rather a nasty shock.

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Jadae had no time to curse her luck as Arethin began to fall down a suprise chute. Jumping to help her companion, Jadae reached for Arethin's tunic, but grabbed only air. Falling head-first into an old, rocky chute was not one of the better experiences of Jadae's life. Tumbling through a chute, Jadae tried frantically to keep from having her skin scrape against the rough stone.

When the chute finally came to an end, Arethin landed with a thunk and a cloud of billowing dust. Soon after him came Jadae, knocking Arethin, who was standing up, over onto the cold, stone floor.

"Arethin?" Jadae's whisper became a loud echo in the silent room.

"Yes?" Arethin's voice came from her right. Nothing could be seen, and the chamber was dank and stuffy.

"Grab a candle, will you? I've got the stone and metal in my pocket, we'll have light in no time," When a vanilla smelling stick began hitting Jadae in the face, Jadae grabbed it with a quiet, but amplified, 'Thanks'. She easily lit the candle, having been used to using the lighting method, and the candle's flame lit a small, circular orb around the two humans.

From their light, Jadae could see a bookshelf to her right, and a bunch of wooden chairs to her right. Walking over to the bookshelf, the light extended to a group of fallen sheet music stands. As Jadae lifted up a pile of parchment and crumpled pages, she noted that the faded markings upon the carefully drawn lines were indeed, sheet music. Showing Arethin, he nodded and took the candle from Jadae as she continued to examine the music.

As Arethin walked towards the center of the chamber, Arethin blinked as a drop of water fell into his wide eyes. The extent of the candle's flame lit a corner full of different instruments, several were stringed, and many were also variations of pipes and flutes. Turning left, Arethin came to stand next to a canvas for painting. There was a large, rough paper set against the canvas, and on it was painted a great, bright yellow sun.

"Jadae...I think this is an art and music room," Arethin mumbled absent-mindedly. His eyes brimmed with interest as he wandered towards a shelf filled with paints and other coloring mediums. He sifted through the older paintings that had already been finished, and lifted up several to take a closer look.

Picking up a fife, Jadae wiped the dust off and tried playing one of the songs. Arethin covered his ears as the slow, flowing, bouncing tune echoed throughout the chamber, ringing against the natural walls. Jadae stopped, and the room was silent again.

"I can only imagine how many people have been in this room. What kind of magical music was played in this place, do you think? Such artists, too!" Jadae broke the somewhat disturbing silence.

[Ithaeliel]

The echoing footsteps of his companions slowly faded down their separate corridors as he stood in the common, and Angalos was suddenly alone. Now he was left to wonder... was there really one book, or could there be rooms stacked with records? The latter seemed more likely. "Ah, well," he said to himself as he began to walk down the long, dark tunnel from the common room, the light of the candles swaying with his steps. "It's strange how men fashion mountains out of molehills, and romanticize everything that seems unlikely until they make it an impossible fantasy. The race, at least, must exist... no wild animal would have the skill or wits to build such structures or plant poisoned arrows in our path... oof!"

Angalos had been so absorbed in his thoughts again that he had tripped over the first step of a stone staircase. After righting himself and making sure the candles had not been snuffed out, Angalos' gaze travelled up the steep, spiraling stairwell. He cringed, having an awful fear of heights. "There had better be something worth seeing up there," he whispered, "and it had better be worth searching for alone and helpless." With these words, Angalos began to ascend the steep, dark- and now that his feet touched them, slippery- stairs, his candles still burning brightly in the gloom.
He reached the top of the stairs and let out a sigh of relief and triumph. The trader was faced with a half-open door. He was no ranger, but he could see that it had been flung open in haste by the last visitor to the awaiting chamber, for there was an indentation on the wall where the handle had hit it, and the position of the door implied that it had bounced back. Angalos anxiously passed through the door, and gasped as he was greeted with what seemed an entire library: shelves and desks piled high with records and books, seemingly ages old, covered in dust; it smelled of rotting wood. Despite Angalos' revulsion, he was entranced, and he knew it was his duty to find out what he could and try to bring it back with him to show the others. His eyes settled on a desk at the front of the archives. On top of it were piles of papers and stacks of books, all greyed with age and dust. He picked up a book from the top of a stack, but to his great astonishment and disappointment, the pages crumbled to white ashes in his hand, leaving only a thin, ragged cover and a spine as fragile as glass. Dropping the remnants in disdain, Angalos cautiously picked up the next book, seemingly less worn than the previous. The pages were old and crumpled, but stayed whole as he opened the book. He immediately recognized the text as Tengwar, the common script of the Eldar, but it was barely legible. There was, however, a sketch of what looked like several elves. Turning the page, he saw that from that point onward the writing was less damaged, and he read it with little difficulty. After a few pages, Angalos realized that it described much of the early history of the Eldarin races, and mentioned many famed heroes of the Elves. "They are a lost race of elves!" he cried out in spite of himself. "Or else great admirers of them."

He could not contain his curiosity. Quickly setting the book down, Angalos pulled open one of the drawers in another desk with fewer books on top. He coughed and fanned the air in front of his face. Upon opening the drawer, some of its contents had crumbled, covering the papers he now saw in ash and dust. Angalos carefully pulled out a collection of papers and wiped the dust off the front. He saw that they were medical records. Some amazed him, stating that chronic illnesses had been treated successfully. "These people have cured and prevented illnesses that mankind has not yet come to grips with... and now we can. This is incredible!"

Almost as soon as he said it, he heard a loud groan behind him. Whipping around, Angalos gave a hoarse cry as he watched a full bookshelf collapse and fall toward him. He had no time to run, for the shelf was already pinning him to the ground. Lifting his head, he coughed up a cloud of white dust. Many of the books had- thankfully- broken apart on impact due to their age. As a book slid off of his head, Angalos thought he saw someone standing to his right and staring at him. He blinked in surprise, and the person was gone. To his eyes, it had looked like an elf!

"Could I be seeing things?" Angalos thought to himself. "Have I gone mad? Or... am I not alone up here after all?" He wanted desperately to go and find out, but his limbs were useless: they were pinned by the fallen shelf. The worst that could happen, did happen: Angalos was in a sticky state, and there was no one around who would help him.

[ March 26, 2003: Message edited by: Ithaeliel ]

[Mattius]

The middle doorway was a large stone arch with some incomprhendable writing inscribed on it.

"No time like the present," said Jack as he put his first step into the pathway. Anuion followed silently, so silent he was infact that Jack could not even hear the elf's light footsteps as they felt their way through the darkness. Suddenly Jack stumbled over to his right, the wall had come to an end.

"Let us risk a little light here Jack," Anuion whispered whilst rumaging in his pack and bringing out a candle. In no time it was lit and the elf then used it to light a torch hung near by. Jack squinted as Anuion swung the torch trying to see what type of room they were in. It was of reasonable size and there seemed to be beds lined up neatly against each wall and a row in the middle, bunk beds in fact.

"There is enough beds to sleep at least three hundred surely!" Jack exclaimed.

"Indeed..." Anuion replied whilst mentally noting that the sheets were so dusty that their original colour of blue was now a strange mouse-brown. The elf kneeled down and looked under one of the lowers bunks. "There are items under this bed, and that one too!" Jack ran over and looked with him- Anuion was right!

"Old memoirs it seems," Jack guessed as he looked at the dusty dolls, wooden swords, jewelry and papers written with the same runes as he saw above the door. Anuion nodded but then shot to his feet as his keen elf eyes pierced the distance and darkness noticing something in the corner of the room.

"Quickly Jack look!" He shouted as he ran off. At first Jack didn't know what the elf was talking about but then he saw it too. The bunk beds in the very corner of the room were not neat and tidy like the others, it looked as though they had been slept in. Jack looked at the other bunks, each so well made that he guessed a rock would bounce of them if one was dropped from above. The sheets on this bunk also had their original blue hue.

"What do you make of this then," Anuion whispered in an extremly quiet voice, now fearing that they were not alone in the room. Jack drew his sword in reply; just in case.

[ March 26, 2003: Message edited by: Mattius ]

[Ransom]

Angolos angrily berated himself for his carelessness as he struggled to free himself from under the ancient bookshelf. While the cold and dry air of the cave system had left the ancient papers and furniture intact, decay and entropy had still done quite a bit of work. The wood of the bookshelf, having grown soft and weak, could crumble under the slightest touch. He should have considered that, especially since he was alone. Quite suddenly, he felt the wood and paper cocoon shift around him. If he was not already frightened by the mishap and the mysterious figure, the movements brought idea of being buried alive to the front of his mind. This was certainly not his day.

However, after what seemed to be an eternity of uncertainty, his weary body slowly informed him that a great weight had been lifted from his back. Angalos , sensing that he might be able to wriggle out, began to renew his efforts. While the frame and back of the bookshelf was still fairly sturdy, the papers and the shelves had been almost completely destroyed by age. However, it still took quite a bit of effort before the human managed to pull his body out of the pile of his rubble. He lay panting for some time before gingerly establishing that none of his limbs had been broken. Finally, he managed to pull himself up with the help of a nearby table.

It was quite obvious that the phantom he had seen earlier had been in the room. The frame of the bookshelf bore the evidence of several blows from some sort of heavy tool, and the back of the shelf had been thrown aside. At the very least, this mysterious visitor wasn’t entirely hostile. Why else would he have allowed the man to life? Angoloe pondered this new turn of events as he headed back toward the still burning candle. His eyes caught sight of a small scrap of paper underneath the candle. From the near absence of wax, it obviously had not been there very long. Curiously, he lifted the candle and quickly read the unsigned message.

Gentleman-

It would be very wise to leave the Empty Mountain now, lest any more unfortunate accidents occur.

[ March 27, 2003: Message edited by: Ransom ]

[ May 24, 2003: Message edited by: Ransom ]

[Orual]

Arethin stared around at the room in awe. With an air of reverence he gazed at the paintings, the instruments, the sculptures. There were images of war and of peace, love and hatred. His favorites were the landscapes, many of which resembled his mother's own work. If he got most of his physical characteristics and love of lore from his father, he had received from his mother a deep appreciation of art.

"Jadae, this is incredible," he said, his voice a little hoarse. He gently touched a chipped stone statue, life-sized, depicting a young woman sitting on a stone and weeping. He guessed that it was supposed to be Nienna. It was beautifully done, and unconsciously his heart went out to subject of the sculpture.

"Mm? What is?" Jadae asked, rifling through a heavy ancient tome. She looked over her shoulder at Arethin, who shook himself out of his reverie.

"Oh, the whole thing," Arethin said lamely, his gaze lingering on the statue a moment more. There was a long silence as he went around the room, softly touching the paintings. He felt his heart swell as he looked at them, and then finally turned to Jadae, saying, "Did you see that statue?"

"Which?" Jadae asked, not looking at him but studying a flute.

"Nevermind. We probably ought to be going." Arethin felt a little chill, and became fairly eager to follow his own advice. "Well, the Wanaparma is obviously not in here." He looked around, and found a stairwell leading out. His voice barely above a mutter, he added, "Here, let's go down, come on..."

[ March 30, 2003: Message edited by: Orual ]

[DayVampyre]

"Let us risk a little light here, Jack."

A pair of violet eyes watched curiously the new intruders of the mountain. Few had had the courage to venture here and even fewer had entered the mountain.

The two had begun to explore the old quarters. One appeared to be of the Elven race, but very distant from her own.

"Quickly Jack look!" The elf had noticed Crystwen's bunks. She had forgotten to make them.

A trivial matter. Crystwen moved silently through the darkness. Hidden high above the vandals, among the stone rafters...

[ March 29, 2003: Message edited by: DayVampyre ]

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

"Well, the Wanaparma is obviously not in here." Arethin commented.

Arethin finished exploring the Art room, and to one edge of the chamber was a long, spiral stairwell leading down into the rock. Walking to the exit that would certainly be theirs, Arethin left Jadae and her dusty flute in the dark. Scrambling to catch up to Arethin and the light, Jadae stopped when she felt a cool gust of air blow over her.

"Wait! Hand me the candle for a moment, Arethin!" Jadae cried. Once the candle was in her posession, Jadae wandered towards the eastern wall of the chamber. She could've sworn she felt something!

There, in a rounded, natural corner between the east and south walls, was an air vent-type opening in the rock. Cool, damp air blew through it and into the room.

"It probably leads outside, and we won't find the book out there, for sure." Arethin suggested as Jadae shook her head in a slightly defiant 'No'.

"It probably circulates throughout the caves somehow, a form of air renewal through the caves, and especially the floors not above ground. The caves have to get new air somehow, and this shaft is probably it." Jadae explained, as she examined the shaft.

"Well, what do you want to do about it?" Arethin asked.

"Come now, I know you can fit in here too, so lets go exploring the fun way! You'll never know, it could lead to the book - or even better, the smithy of the mountain!" Jadae exclaimed, and Arethin wondered inwardly about the girl's priorities inside the mountain. Jadae gave Arethin no time to protest, if he had planned to, as she hurriedly bound into the shaft, leaving Arethin in the dark.

~*~

Weapons raised, the two warriors, carefully examined the rest of the barracks. Anuion was ever alert to the slightest noises throughout the chamber. Jack was watchful and wary of the shadows that lurked. Suddenly, a loud roaring sound filled the cave, and dust filled the air, and settled long after the roar had dulled.

"Hey, Jack..." Anuion broke the silence that had consumed the cavern again.

"Yes?"

"We've been locked in." Anuion finished, pointing to the large boulder that covered the way they had come in. Not even Anuion could hear Jack's whispered curses.

"There has to be another way out. Who do you think is doing this to us? They're obviously not friendly!" Jack exclaimed, searching for another exit.

"Better the coldness from a friend than sweetness from an enemy." Anuion replied, and Jack was very tempted to ask what it meant.

Dangling just above them was a sturdy rope ladder, that could be reached by climbing a three-bunk-bed a few rows away from the travelers. It waveres and swayed, as though it had just been climbed.

Foolish people, thought Crystwen, who had just climbed from the rope ladder into the next higher level of the caves. She had entered the small chamber that had, for long years, held the store of weapons for the race of the Ti'Lavan.

~*~

Glancing at the note, Angalos crumpled the parchment and threw it at another shelf of books. The light paper sent the victim books flying into dust.

"Who are you? Where are you?" Angalos cried, his voice bouncing off every wall and every crevace of the wall.

For me to know, and you to not find out... Thought Angalos' persuer, clearly quite pleased with his note.

Angalos wandered towards another stairway, and began to scale up the steps, which led to a kitchen of sorts.

[ March 30, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]

[ March 30, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]

[Mattius]

With is keen elf eyes Anuion saw the swinging rope above his head.

"Jack, it seems there is another way out of here!" Jack looked up and saw the rope. "We can climb this bed and make it up there!" The elf began to cilmb up without thinking about what could be up there. Jack cursed silently thinking they could be being led into a trap.

"Is this such a great idea?!" He whispered up to Anuion who simply turned and nodded. Jack growled in anger, looked either side of him and made for the rope.

It was pitch black but he could hear the elf pulling himself upwards. It was longer than he thought it would be. Eventually he heard Anuion whisper,

"It ends here." With a silent jump he landed on a new floor. Jack followed, not so silently though. The new room was dark, so dark it was impossible to know how big or small it was. After fumbling around for a few moments Jack found a torch and lit it. Through swinging it around the two companions could see that they were in an armourary, and a large one at that.

"Enough to arm all those who slept downstairs," Jack said. Swords, shields bows were stock pilled. Anuion took a closer look at them.

"They are elf-like!" He exclaimed, "but different, I have never seen anything like this before. Jack, do you think..." He was cut short when the sliding of metal on metal could be heard from behind them. Jack spun around and but ten feet away stood a figure, violet eyes burning bright. In each of his or hers arms was a curved dagger. Yet the pair were not attacked, the creature turned and ran towards the darkness.

"Quick Anuion!" Shouted Jack. Apprihensively the elf notched an arrow and fired it. The figure dodged it easily and slipped into the darkness. All that could be heard was Jack and Anuion breathing deeply. Then something happened- something terrible. The torch burnt out.

[Orual]

Grumbling silently to himself, Arethin followed Jadae through the shaft. He fit, all right, but it was a bit of a tight squeeze for his broad shoulders. Jadae's slender frame gave her no trouble getting through, but Arethin found himself twisting and turning occasionally.

"Do you see light yet?" Arethin grunted, prying himself free from a particularly narrow spot.

"Not yet," Jadae replied, sounding like she could stay in the ducts all day if she felt like it. Arethin hoped she didn't.

The air was steadily getting more and more humid, and the ducts were getting hot under Arethin's hands. Not hot enough to burn, but hot enough to be uncomfortable. "It's hot," he commented casually.

"Really?" Jadae said, laughing a little. "Thanks. I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't told me."

"Jadae, ahead. It's the opening--there, turn right." Arethin nodded in the direction of the opening. Jadae crawled through, and Arethin followed. He tumbled out, and, dusting himself off, looked at Jadae. Her eyes were wide, and a smile was on her face.

"Would you believe it, Arethin? It's a smithy!" she exclaimed.

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

“What a coincidence!” Arethin exclaimed, but Jadae could hardly notice the slight sarcasm.

Jadae’s eyes widened as she took in the smithy with what little light she had. Arethin brushed himself off and composed himself as Jadae looked about the smithy in wonder. It was so much larger than her own, and Jadae couldn’t help but wander away from her companion as she explored the chamber. Turning back around to face Arethin, Jadae was surprised to see that in her haste and excitement, she had left him in the dark.

“Sorry, Arethin. It’s just…” Jadae trailed off, and was at a loss for words. Sweeping her arms up as if to make up for her silence, Jadae then spun around, for this was her place. Then she noticed Arethin’s stare and stopped. “Sorry! If you wish to leave, we always could. I know you want to find the book as quickly as possible…” Jadae would readily leave for the kind man, but she really didn’t want to.

“It’s so...warm in here,” Arethin said again. Jadae had become so used to the warm temperatures of her work environment that she could hardly notice the stuffy heat of the room. Jadae took a deep breath and smiled. She had missed home, though she would hardly mention it to anyone. It felt good to get some memory of home while on the journey.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll only look around for a few minutes, then we can leave.” Jadae commented, and handed Arethin the candle as she got out one for herself. He nodded, and Jadae was glad that he would wait for her.

“And if you don’t mind, may we leave in a less ‘adventurous’ way than the ducts? If there is one, of course,” Arethin asked in return, and Jadae nodded absent-mindedly.

Jadae strode over to the forge, and was a bit confused and befuddled to find that some of the coals were still simmering. The bellows was in place, the hammer was left on a bench nearby, and molds lay scattered across the floor. Sheets of paper lay on the worktable, and on them were sketches and mathematical equations involving the amounts of chemicals and ingredients of some such ornament. Jadae could recognize several symbols, though a few elvish characters would remain unknown to her.

“These are so advanced! These equations and proportions and…and…” Jadae didn’t finish her sentence, as she began rolling up a few of the top papers and storing them in her pack.

Arethin, however, had gone to investigate already finished works. He found several cups and pots in pewter, gold, silver, and other metals he could not recognize. Another shelf held designs and pieces of art. A pewter dragon glared at Arethin through inlaid ruby eyes. A silver-wrought wizard thrust his staff towards a perplexed Arethin. The intricate design on the old man’s cloak surprised Arethin, and the wondering gaze of the aged face bemused him. Arethin lifted a finger to touch the metal man, but before he could, a loud sweeping noise caught his attention.

“Arethin!” He heard Jadae cry, and spinning around, Arethin barely caught a glimpse of a large log flying towards him. The log had been connected to a sturdy rope, which was in turn connected to the ceiling of the rock chamber. It had been triggered when Arethin stepped too close to the shelf of metal creations. Arethin was knocked in the stomach by the strong, wood log, and was sent flying backward into a shelf full of metal working tools.

As the stirred dust settled, Jadae ran to see if Arethin was all right. Arethin lifted an arm to signal he wasn’t dead, for he was too out of breath to speak, and as he lifted an arm, he accidentally and unknowingly set off another trap. Soaring through the air in the same way the log had, was a finished and polished spear. It flew low as opposed to Arethin’s log, and lodged itself into Jadae’s thigh, towards her knee. Jadae gasped, and could barely let out a cry of pain. The daring log swung slightly back and forth still near Arethin, and the provoking spear had lost its metal head to Jadae’s leg, thus is swung harmlessly to and fro.

[DayVampyre]

Crystwen had noticed the fire's glow disappear and she heard one of the vandals give a shout of surprise. She halted her run and spun around. Accustomed to years of living in the dark, Crystwen could see the two silouettes of the travelers.

She silently sheathed her swords and crept back toward the two.

"Who was that?"
"'What' would be more appropriate"

Crystwen had grown weary of sulking behind these two. With a sudden burst of speed, Crystwen bolted up and drew her bow, the tip of the arrow was surrounded by a ball fire. The fire had been magically worked so that it would not burn the arrow. Crystwen only had three of these rare arrows, but she had never the chance to use them before.


"From where hast thou come and why do you intrude on this sacred place?" Crystwen said and there was a tone in her voice that would have chilled a Balrog's heart.

She was only feet away from the two. It would be easy enough to shoot and kill, but she held back her arrow...

[ April 06, 2003: Message edited by: DayVampyre ]

[Orual]

"Arethin!"

The log struck Arethin's chest with such force that he could hear his ribs crack. His brown eyes widened in pain as he crashed to the floor. His ears rang as the back of his skull came into contact with the stone floor. He nearly blacked out, and he saw stars.

His overly-sensitive head ached with the vibrations of Jadae's feet, light though her steps were, as she ran to see if he was alive. With an effort he lifted his arm, though his head hurt to do that. He could not speak, and could barely breathe. He was in dreadful pain, but could not even gather the breath to cry out.

There was a whistling in the air, and a weak cry of pain from Jadae. His head spinning, Arethin sat up to see what had happened. He just barely missed knocking his head soundly on the log, still swinging above him, and crawled to where Jadae had fallen to the floor. He tried to talk but coughed instead, and let out his first spoken breath as a curse when he was rewarded by a thundering headache. Finally he caught his breath and got up to Jadae. "Are you--" he began, but his sentance was cut off when he saw the spearhead lodged in her knee. "Don't move," he said. "Don't move your leg. Especially don't straighten it until I get the spearhead out; it might tear the muscles more."

He looked concernedly at Jadae, but she was taking it in stride, at least externally. He admired her bravery; it was an ugly wound.

He dug into his pack and brought out a small red satchel and his skin of water. The satchel had powder in it, from the dried leaves of a plant that his mother used when he and Elethil cut themselves (which was often; both were fairly clumsy boys). It was used mostly as an anaesthetic, but also had coagulating properties. He couldn't remember what it was called, but had made sure to bring some along.

As he mixed it with the water in a small bowl, he watched Jadae. "This'll sting some," he warned her. She simply nodded. Once he had it the proper consistancy, he gripped the spearhead with his left hand and Jadae's leg with his right, and carefully pulled it out, quickly rubbing the mixture into the wound. He tore a strip off of his shirt, and wrapped it around her leg. "Better?" he asked.

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Jadae bit her lip and winced a little as Arethin pulled out the metal spearhead. Before she could open her mouth to say something, the man already applied some sort of mixture to the wound. After he finished wrapping the wound, Arethin turned to Jadae and asked if it was better. Jadae couldn’t help but grin at this, for Arethin’s voice had changed to a dull squeak as he regained his breath.

“More so than having it in. I never thought I’d actually have to tolerate metal being in my body, I always thought having my hand clumsily burned with silver would be the worst. Thank you, Arethin. Anyway, are you all right? You took quite a hit!” Jadae’s gaze flew from Arethin’s face to the lulling log above.

“I think I may have broken something, and I fear there shall be quite a bruise there soon. ‘Tis a bit hard to breathe, but it does not ache much,” Arethin informed her, and Jadae nodded, biting her lip again.

“It's like my father used to say, 'It's not how many breaths you take during life, it's how many times something takes your breath away. This is definitely one of those times. Let me see, there may be something I can do.” Jadae ordered gently. Arethin nodded, and pulled his tunic over his head and held it. Jadae flinched and looked away when she saw the wound the log had caused, but gritted her teeth and resolved to tell the man.

“It must look a lot worse than it feels, eh?” Jadae commented, though didn’t quite expect an answer. The man’s stomach was already turning a sickeningly yellow color, and red scrapes were surrounded by a purple-blue color. Arethin’s left side was horribly crooked, and Jadae was sure of a cracked rib or two. “I’m not sure if I can do much. Maybe put some of that…that stuff onto the cuts. We’ll see a doctor when we get back to Dale about those ribs.”

“That is, if we get out of here.” Arethin commented as he put his tunic back on. “We should go, and carefully. Wouldn’t want to set off anymore traps.”

“This place is absolutely rigged with traps, it’ll be impossible or nearly so to tell where any are. But we should still go. We can’t stay here forever, as much as I’d like to.” Jadae sighed and turned to one of the shelves. She’d already taken a few parchments of equations and writings and such from the smithy, but before she went to help Arethin find a way out, she grabbed a small dragon figurine and stuffed it into her messy pack.

The two searched every nook and cranny for a decent way out of the smithy, but could only identify two, and they weren’t exactly very dignified. One was the way they’d come in, through the ducts. Arethin was not very willing to leave that way, but the other exit was not much better. There was a small shaft leading both straight up and down through a tunnel. There was a cart with a rope wheeled through several pulleys that would serve to pull something up or down. It was that, or through the ducts. Jadae would’ve gone either way, but Arethin was a bit opposed to the stifling air ducts.

“So, which way do you want to go? We’d have more sense for direction going through the ducts, but the cart would send us to the ground levels, for we are surely below ground now. And the cart would make it easier for you to breathe, and easier than crawling for me.” Jadae was obviously leaning towards the cart, and assumed Arethin was too, but she would’ve gone either way for Arethin.

“Cart. Definitely.”

“Right. Lets go!” Jadae exclaimed as she leapt into the cart. Arethin was a tad slower in following, but the two were ready to go in no time. Looking up the shaft, Jadae mouthed a silent ‘Whoa’, and then grabbed the edge of the cart tightly with her right hand. She noticed Arethin’s look, and retracted the hand quickly. “No, I’m not afraid of heights!” she assured him without being asked.

“Going up, I assume?” Arethin wondered, and Jadae nodded.

“Let me pull us up. When I used to run with my friend, she’d tell me after we ran to put my hands up and behind my neck, so the air goes to the lungs more easily. Try, it might help. I’ll pull us first,” Jadae spoke, though she wasn’t quite entirely sure of her ability to pull both of the humans up. Grasping the thickly wound rope, Jadae began to pull it downwards to bring the cart upwards. Slowly, inch-by-inch, the cart made it’s way up the shaft. Jadae was tired before long, but Arethin, who was not satisfied just sitting and doing nothing, helped the girl pull the two up the shaft.

“Wouldn’t it be funny if the rope snapped?” Jadae wondered aloud, unintentionally doing so.

“Funny isn’t exactly the word I would use. It would be just our luck though.” Arethin replied. “Look! There’s an opening!”

In his excitement, Arethin let go of the rope. An unprepared Jadae accidentally let the rope slip through her fingers, and once they started falling, they didn’t stop until Arethin grasped the rope again. This time, Jadae let go of the rope for a moment, and Arethin let her. She shook her hands through the air, and then blew on them. Her hands were red, and she knew it was all her fault.

“Sorry, rope burn. We’re almost there.” Said Jadae after she had finished blowing on her burning hands. The two pulled themselves up, and set the rope into a hook when they reached an opening. Sending the candle out of the shaft door, the two human’s eyes widened. In front of them was the back of some unknown being, and in front of it, stood Jack and Anuion!

Jadae hastily jumped out of the cart, but had forgotten the sting her wound would bring and she stumbled, almost falling down through a space between the shaft and the wall. Arethin caught her though, and the two got out of the cart again.

“What is that?” Jadae couldn’t help but speak as the violet-eyed…elf…turned to face the newcomers. What in Middle-Earth was an elf doing in the cave? There were not supposed to be living things in the cave!

[ April 07, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]

[DayVampyre]

Crystwen was startled by this new group of travelers. She turned and fired her arrow at the facing wall. It hit just above an old torch. Old or new the fire from the arrow touched onto the torch and the cave was filled with an orangish glow. Crystwen dropped her bow and drew out her two long knives and them seemed to glitter in the light. She moved almost fluidly so that her back was to a wall and she was facing the four.


"If you are all traveling together, speak now, and tell me why such a large group has come to these forsaken mountains."

[ April 08, 2003: Message edited by: DayVampyre ]

[Helkahothion]

"It is of better use asking what you are doing in this deserted mountain?" Anuion replied. ?It might be rude, asking what you are doing in your home, but I am wondering why you have not joined us in Mirkwood."

"Thou are talking of Mirkwood, but I know not such a place. What is this Mirkwood you are talking about?" Crystwen said curious.

"It is the forest and homeland of my race. We have another forest where our kin lives. It is named Lorelindorenan. Still does not ring a bell?" Anuion asked, now less feared of the shadow.

"Still does not. Your voice is clear and your step does not pollute the chambers with sound. Are you an elf like me?" Crystwen asked.

"I am an elf yes, but how where you able to survive her without company? And how did you manage to get food and water in this abandoned place? That is what I would like to know." Anuion asked, now freely like talking to one of his kin in the forest.

The girl stepped out of the shadow and faced Anuion. She looked at him for a while and Anuion stared right back. For a moment it was as if the two elves had been frozen in time. The "mortals" stood there and watched with amaze as the two where looking at each other, trying to penetrate each other?s minds with their fare looks.
________
Toyota Type A Engine

[DayVampyre]

Crystwen sheathed a knife but keep one gripped loosely in her hand. The elf that spoke seemed like her, but there were some physical differences between them. Becoming reaware of her surroundings, she answered a question that was put forth to her.

"I am not alone here. There are others, I am called Crystwen, a captain of the soldiers that inhabit the mountain."

The stranger, even being and Elf still made Crystwen feel uneasy, she was after all, quite outmumbered. She'd probably be able to fight them off for awhile but in the end...

"I sitll know not the answer to my question as to why you have treaded the mountain's path."

[Mattius]

Jack sheathed his sword and cleared his throat. He took a step towards the strange looking elf. Jack decided to leave the matter of the book out of this conversation as he felt this elf creature would not particularly like the idea of several invaders entering her lair to steal a book of magical proportions.

"We are indeed sorry that we disturbed you, we thought this place was unhabited..." Jack said before he was cut off apruptly.

"Well you were wrong and I demand you tell me why you are here!" Crystwen snapped back. Jack looked at Jadae who remained looking at Crystwen.

"Very well," Jack started, "we stumbled upon this place and now we are locked and lost inside the belly of the cave." Crystwen put her hands on her hips and snorted.

"All lies," she hissed at Jack, "you are here to steal from us, how would you feel if I broke into your homes and took your things!" At this point she walked up to Jadae and quick as a flash snatched the small dragon minature from her pocket.

"Thief!"

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Uh oh.

Jadae bit her lip and tried frantically to think of an excuse. She had in fact taken the figurine, but only because she had wrongly assumed that no one would be missing it. If the smith had known that their was something living in the Mountain she wouldn’t have taken the dragon in the first place!

“I have no idea where that came from!” Jadae lied outright. What else could she have said? Arethin elbowed her and Mattius raised a suspicious eyebrow. The Elf-woman shook her head, probably wondering if Jadae was crazed, for everyone in the chamber was almost certain, if not absolutely sure, that Jadae had taken the dragon.

“This human could not act or lie to save her life,” Crystwen muttered in her elvish dialect. Anuion understood enough of the altered words to catch the elf’s distain in Jadae. “You are a little thief, and none better!” exclaimed the elf, now in common.

“I would not have stolen…I mean, I would not have taken it as a souvenir if I had known someone lived here. I didn’t think it would be missed,” Jadae spoke softly at first, but then came just short of yelling at the annoying inhabitant of the Mountain.

“Tell me now, why you are here, or suffer the consequences!” The Elf-woman shouted back, making Anuion’s sensitive ears ring. “I know every trap set in this mountain, and I’m not afraid to kill you all!”

Mattius had been smart in not telling the Elf to begin with. She’d kill them anyway if she could when or if she found out why the travelers were there. Why would she let them continue if she knew they were after her home’s treasure? Jadae kept quiet, and gently kicked Anuion when he went to reply.

“We’ve come to see what was inside the Mountain,” supplied Arethin.

“And steal it, no doubt,” Crystwen retorted, and glared at Jadae.

“No, only to investigate, as our King has sent us for!” cried Mattius, following Arethin’s lead. Jadae kept quiet, knowing how bad she was at lying. Crystwen eyed the group suspiciously.

[DayVampyre]

"and who this king of which you speak?" Crytwen said a great deal more softly. She had not meant to get so loud. However, thieves are thieves. She ran her hand over the dragon

"I knew the blacksmith who made this. She has passed on. A good friend of mine and my family's"


"I didn't know, I'm sorry." Jadae

Crystwen tossed her head a little
"Just a memory though, what good is a memory? Here, you seem to want it more than I. That still doesn't explain your prescence here. I'm sure that there are much more interesting places to explore for you king than these musty mountains." She said tossing the small piece of metal to the wide eyed girl.

[Ransom]

For many of their silvian cousins, the lifestyle chosen by the Ti’Lavan was as alien as the ways of the dwarves. Having long ago forsaken living on the vast plains that surrounded the city of Dale and the Lonely Mountain, the elves had instead chosen to expand upon the labyrinth of natural tunnels that honeycombed their mountain. While they still maintained family units like the Nordor, the unusual variety of caves necessitated the appropriation of the larger caverns for workshops, storehouses, and kitchens. In particular, kitchens and smithies needed to be near the outside of the mountain to allow for proper ventilations. Families made their dwellings in the multitude of smaller caverns left over.

It was through a series of living quarters that Angolos was moving now. There was certainly evidence of habitation-stone carvings too heavy to be moved, old furniture, and even the odd piece of crumbling cloth. However, it appeared that each room had been carefully cleaned. Try as hard as he could, the man could not find any sign of the rumored treasure. Even books were hard to come by, and those he found often crumbled to dust under his touch. Angolos wandered for what seemed like half an hour, keeping away from the larger pieces of furniture. He certainly didn’t want a repeat of the fiasco with the bookcase.

For one accustomed to the hustle and bustle of humanity, the mountain was eerily quite. Angolos kept his ears alert, listening for the benevolent(?) inhabitant. After what seemed like half an hour of walking, the man found himself in front of a pair of rotting wooden doors. A faint ray of light issued from within the cavern, illuminating what seemed to be a number of low stone benches. He cautiously made his way towards the sunlight. The mysterious stalker surely wouldn’t attack him out in the open, where he had room to move and light to let him see. The shaft of sunlight came from a shaft in the roof. From the black soot on the stones on the roof, Angolos deduced that it had served as some kind of chimney, maybe for a kitchen or some sort of meeting room.

Further examination supported his former theory. A series of knives, long rusted past use, sat on the table to his left. The area immediately under the chimney was a large fire pit, roasting forks still in place as if the inhabitants would return soon and resume their daily activities. Anglos slowly strode along the outside lip of the fire pit, using the unexpected shaft of light to examine his surroundings.

A pair of sharp eyes watched the intruder from a crevice scarcely a four yards to the human’s left. While this man was certainly persistent, he was alone. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too much work to turn him around. But it would take a bit more observation to see how to influence the intruder. The stalker pulled out a small bundle, scarcely longer than a man's forearm. It was one of the few hand crossbows in Middle Earth and one of the few projectile weapons useful under the ground. He raised the weapon to his shoulder and fired the bold at the entrence Angolos had entered from before slipping back into the darkness. Now he would watch...and wait some more.

[ April 10, 2003: Message edited by: Ransom ]

[Helkahothion]

"Oh please Jadae, don't lie to elves. They will only be more mad if they found out." Anuion said who had been biting his lip the whole time. ?We are here for the book of curing. Arething's mother over there is almost dying and needs it. And many creatures need its wisdom to continue living. It could serve much to the world. Unless used properly of course. During my travels I have seen many people in need of cure. The book of curing can help them and prevent a lot of grieve."

"Oh really? Who says that we are not using it to prefend a lot of grief out here?" Crystwen asked looking scrawny at the elf that was a head bigger than her.

"Surely the immortals in here have been able to learn the curings by heart considering that you can't get a lot of different deceases inside a cave. You have had a lot of time to learn a book that would have taken a lot of elves only a few years to master completely." Anuion said back sharply, but with a calm voice.

Arethin was looking as if he was expected to be impaled by something out of a wall. It was almost sure that the girl did not like a reply from an intruder in her own home. She had options enough and a lot of tools to dispose of them no questions asked. No one knew they where there except from the lady they bought the candles from. And the Jack's parents. But no one would dare to go into the cave since they had died trying. This girl controlled the entire situation.

"It is a nice blade you got there. Is it made in this cave?" Anuion asked changing the subject.

"Yes we have the proper means to produce weaponry." Crystwen said back, slightly less tense.
________
ALASKA MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY

[DayVampyre]

"As I am sure that you could tell by the smithy that a few of you went through. And as of the book you're talking about. It has been destroyed. The was a great fire and it destroyed much of our records as well as the book." Crystwen said as cooly as though they were conversing about the weather of yesterday.

Anuion spoke "Now you are lying, elf of the mountain, you are not much better at it"

Crystwen bit her lip to keep from retorting an answer. "With all the lying and deceit going on anyway, it will soon be hard to tell when anyone is speaking true."