Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

In a land of shadows	By : Nuredhel Category: -Fourth Age to Modern times and beyond > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1448 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, it belongs to Tolkien, and i do not earn any money from this work of fiction, it is solely written for entertainment and not for profit at all.I do not own Lord of the Rings, it belongs to Tolkien,

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
Chapter Three: Like a fox in a henhouse
What worth has wisdom
If no one heeds its truth
What have we learned
If the past is to be forgotten
What future do we face
If we turn our backs to what we are

He was pacing up and down the floors looking like a thundercloud, his eyes were shooting blue lightning and his fists clenched so hard it hurt. His father sat in a chair with a chalice of wine, it had been emptied several times already and his son stood by a window and stared out at the city with distant eyes. The first day of meetings had been exactly the way he had feared that it would. It had been a chaos, everybody wanted to press their own opinions and beliefs forth and refused to listen to others and Thranduil had almost wanted to just leave there and then. They would never find an answer this way, the only thing they would achieve was to create an utter mess and nothing would be gained.
Oropher sighed and stared at the red fluid in his chalice, he made a grimace. Normally he would never allow himself to get drunk, but now he needed it. Legolas turned away from the window, his face looked strange, he was normally never this somber. “They are blind to the truth ada, what can we possibly hope to achieve here?”
Thranduil sighed and sat down, his heart was beating in a wild rhythm and he knew that he’d better calm down before he did something very stupid. “I don’t know ion nin, not any longer!”
Oropher placed the chalice on a table by the chair, got up and placed a map on the bigger table in the middle of the room. “If they only had the brains to see the pattern, but they refuse to think about anything else than their own glory. And the Valar are helpless too, I would have guessed that an attack within their own land would make them take some sort of action but no, I am disappointed to say the least.”
Thranduil made an ugly grimace. “They are afraid, that is the truth. They are being forced to face the unknown, something of which they have no control and I think it makes them almost paralyzed.”
Legolas nodded. “Yes, I think so to. Manwe did not even send one of the maiar, only a courier.”
Oropher pointed at the map. “There has been four attacks so far, and they have followed a line, from east towards the west. And all the cities that have been attacked have been rather large, no small villages. It should tell them something but they just argue about who’s got the best weapons and most experience.”
Thranduil tried to shake the stiffness out of his hands. “I hope tomorrow will be better, they have clattered their weapons now and should have been able to determine who’s the stronger one. They remind me of a herd of stags during the rut, everybody trying to impress the others with the size of their antlers.”
Oropher grinned. “Or the size of something else, but I get your point. So far the attacks has happened in cities that are less important, just wait until something happens to someone in family with any of them.”
Legolas sat down, he looked restless. “I fear that it will escalate, but we need to know more, much more. Why are we being attacked, and by what?”
Oropher bit his lower lip. “They have sent riders to the closest city that was burned, they will return tomorrow, maybe we will learn more then?”
Thranduil just nodded. “Let’s hope so. Not knowing is almost torture, if we are to do anything at all except crawl together like frightened children we have to know our enemy.”
Oropher smiled, the grin was melancholic. “Yes, know your foes and keep them close, I taught you that son and I know I taught you well. But if that gang of hot heads gets their will they will try to fight the way we used to, with huge armies and battles lasting for days. We all know where that will lead us!”
Thranduil shivered, he could still see it, the battlefield which had claimed his father’s life and the lives of so many others. He had lost two thirds of his men back then, Greenwood had never been able to get over the loss of so many warriors. Legolas sighed. “They spoke a lot today but said very little, I have never seen so much time being spent doing absolutely nothing. It would have been more rewarding watching the craftsmen paint the walls of this palace.”
Oropher nodded and sat down. “Yes, a heck of a lot more interesting, but I noticed something rather odd today, while we had a break. It did not appear as though the commoners know much about this, somehow they have managed to put a lid on it.”
Thranduil turned his head around with a shocked expression. “What? Oh Gods, just wait until the news reaches the streets, there will be panic.”
Oropher lifted his chalice again, he drank deeply. “Exactly, and what’s worse, the rumors will be flying like flies above a carcass. And with no real information it will get nasty fast.”
Thranduil felt tired, very tired. All of a sudden his many millennia of life came back to haunt him, he felt old. Legolas bowed his head. “It is getting late and my head hurts, it was like listening to a huge murder of crows. I think I will retire for the night.”
Oropher got onto his legs again, rather unsteadily. “So will I, lets pray that tomorrow will shed some more light on the nature of the problem. I hate being stuck in the dark.”
Thranduil closed his eyes, yes, a good night sleep would be nice but he feared that he would be unable to get any real rest. He had a strange and very uneasy feeling within his heart, as if he heard something he just could not separate from the background noises. It was eating away at him. “Sleep well, I will see you tomorrow”
Legolas went by him and petted him on his shoulder, he could see the worry in his son’s eyes. It was not a very pleasant sight and he wished that he could have removed this burden from him but they needed him there. It was a fact that they were forest elves, that they were perhaps less civilized than the others and with less of the fine culture and history of the other elven groups but it also brought with it benefits the others lacked. Being a bit feral also means being more alert and able to see things differently. Back in the Greenwood of old his warriors had fought not in huge battles with thousands upon thousands of warriors but in smaller groups with both stealth and speed. Quick attacks upon the enemy, retreat and then a new surprise attack from another angle, guerrilla technique at its best and he had a creeping suspicion that this was the preferred style of this new enemy, whoever or whatever it was. He went to his room, missed Nireariel deeply but felt better knowing that she was safe within their stronghold.
It was not very likely that such a small settlement would be attacked, he just prayed that his assumptions were right.
The next morning they were awakened by some servants who seemed to be extremely curious as to what this meeting was about. They all saw how these elves tried to hang around to eavesdrop on those who were assembled and Thranduil had to grin and shake his head. The servants usually knew more about their masters than the masters ever could imagine. They had a quick breakfast and Thranduil had go grin when he saw his father’s expression. It was rather obvious that Oropher suffered from a serious headache and had a rather bad temper this morning. He was grumpy to say the least. Legolas was very quiet and didn’t say much and Thranduil felt the tension in the air as they entered the huge meeting hall. There were elves gathered in groups everywhere and he felt that their small group of just three drowned in the crowd. How could they possibly hope to get the attention of these kings and warriors of old?
Thranduil was about to find a seat by the table when he felt someone approaching him, he turned around and saw Elrond and he was accompanied by Glorfindel. The golden haired warrior bowed his head and Thranduil could see that he was worried, there was something dark within the warrior’s eyes and Thranduil’s keen eyes did notice that Glorfindel was armed. He carried two long knives discretely attached to his thighs and the hilts were covered by his long tunic. Elrond sat down next to Thranduil, he saw that many threw suspicious glances at them. The peredhel sighed and there were some lines on his face Thranduil had never seen before, Elrond looked scared.
“This is a nightmare Thranduil, I cannot describe it any differently. Four cities destroyed! And we haven’t got the slightest clue as to by what or how.”
Thranduil nodded, Legolas and Oropher had sat down next to him and they both looked very determined and concentrated. “Will the riders they sent out return today?”
Elrond rested his head in his hands, he nodded. “Yes, they could be here any minute. I just pray that they will bring some useful information.”
Thranduil noticed the stress hidden within Elrond’s voice, he remembered how calm and collected the peredhel had been even in times of war and destruction and this change frightened him a bit. There was something Elrond knew which he hadn’t been told anything about yet. He bowed a little down, whispered. “There is more isn’t it?”
Elrond nodded slowly and Thranduil could see a strange expression within his eyes. “Yes, there has been attacks on earth as well. Four of them!”
Thranduil gasped but managed to hide his emotions, as always. “What?!”
Elrond pretended to be straightening the sleeves of his robe, he did not look at Thranduil at all. “You heard me, four attacks. All in cities of medium size, from east towards the west and all happened at night. Mithrandir and some other wizard has managed to camouflage it as gas explosions and such so that the mortals don’t understand that they have been attacked by something but it is just a question of time before all hell breaks loose.”
Thranduil sighed, he felt like he suddenly needed fresh air although he just had arrived. Legolas was leaning towards Elrond. “Isn’t your sons on earth at the moment?”
Elrond made a grimace. “Elladan is yes, Elrohir is with a group of scholars visiting Lithui. It was Elladan who send us the information about the attacks.”
Thranduil tried to breathe, to think clearly. “Is there anything to be learned from this information?”
Elrond took a quick look around as if to make sure that nobody was listening in to their conversation. “The attacks happened at exactly the same time as the attacks here in Aman, and they all happened two hours after sunset. “
Oropher had a grin on his face, one that explained why some had described him as more than a little mad back when he was a king. “There is no sun in Lithui, whoever it is that is behind it, they are probably not too fond of sunlight!”
Thranduil nodded. “Yes, that conclusion is rather obvious. We know too darn little about that place. Could it be that the contact we have established between our worlds has caused this?”
Elrond looked dubious, he shook his head. “I doubt that my friend, if it had then this would have happened earlier I think. And the inhabitants of Lithui have never mentioned anything like this. But then again, it is a vast area and even they don’t know all of it.”
Thranduil sighed and Oropher unrolled the map he had brought with him. “If this pattern continues then the next place to be attacked will be this city here, Almar”
He pointed at the map and Elrond swallowed hard. “I pray you are wrong, Elladan’s fiancée lives there.”
Legolas raised an eyebrow. “Oh, he is engaged? I thought he liked…well. You know, males?”
Elrond had a peculiar expression upon his face. “That’s what everybody thought yes, but it turns out that my son apparently has a taste for both genders, and he met this rather special elleth and well, he fell like a ton of bricks.”
Legolas grinned. “I would never have thought that in a million years, Elrohir is as straight as a ruler but I always suspected that Elladan would find some handsome ellon in the end.”
Elrond nodded. “Yes, but if something happens to her he will be heartbroken.”
Legolas had always been fond of Elronds two twin sons and they had been friends since he was an elfling but they had drifted apart after they arrived in Aman. “Who is she? I would love to meet the elleth able to catch Elladan’s attention.”
Elrond had to grin. “Her name is Celegeth and she is the daughter of an elleth who is born her and one of my warriors who was lost during the war of the last alliance. A nice young elleth but she is insisting on becoming a warrior and she has temper enough to frighten a balrog.”
Legolas laughed. “Sounds like quite a female.”
The peredhel nodded. “I thought my son was crazy at first but now I am thankful for the fact that they have met. She can provide him with some much needed determination and not the least purpose.”
Thranduil sighed. “All that is well and good but please, let’s focus on the task ahead shall we?”
Elrond nodded. “I have already ordered our colonies on earth to be prepared, none of them seems to be in danger but I want them to be ready just in case.”
Oropher nodded. “A wise decision, until we know what we are up against that’s all we can do, prepare for the worst.”
There was some commotion by the doors, Thranduil could see that the groups standing there spread and he got on his feet, stared at the three warriors who walked straight up towards the top of the table where Finwe was seated. Thranduil frowned, the legendary king had actually been rather passive throughout the meeting so far and he wasn’t sure if he liked that. Everybody was suddenly gathering around the three like bees around a rose and the warriors were trying to make the crowd shut up. It was almost impossible, everybody tried to ask questions at the same time and Oropher just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Elrond sighed and hid his face within his hands and Thranduil took a deep breath, he was ready to shout something less than polite but Glorfindel acted first. The golden haired warrior was suddenly standing on top of one of the tables and he threw his head back and yelled, a piercing warcry that made everybody just shut up, turn around and stare. Glorfindel sent the crowd a rather menacing glance, he was practically sneering. “Be quiet, let them talk! We will all know what they have discovered when this is over! Now, be seated or I will throw you out of this room!”
Everybody obeyed and Glorfindel sent Thranduil a quick grin, the king could see a glimpse of mischievous fire in his deep blue eyes. The three warriors looked at the balrog slayer with an expression of gratitude before they bowed and turned towards the crowd, many were staring at Glorfindel with obvious nervousness. They had seen the blades he was carrying and everybody knew very well what he could do with them. The officer among the three looked a bit pale and his face told them that he had seen something rather incredible. “Honored members of the council, we have been to Ennir and we bring some information which may be hard to believe. “
Finwe just nodded. “Tell us what you saw, don’t leave anything out.”
The officer closed his eyes for a second but his voice was steady and he did not look away but faced the many eyes without flinching. “First of all, there has been done a body count. Just in Ennir they found over six hundred dead.”
There was a moan coming from the crowd and Oropher was moving his lips but he spoke no words, Thranduil guessed that he was praying. The officer continued. “The fact is that more than twice that many of the cities inhabitants are missing, completely gone. It is apparently the same with the other three cities.”
Some were starting to shout again and Glorfindel growled, everybody shut up immediately. “Are the inhabitants being kept as prisoners? Are this enemy interested in capturing slaves?”
Thranduil did not recognize the ellon who spoke but he guessed that it had to be someone who had been living in Aman his entire life due to his Vanyar appearance and stylish clothing. The officer looked down. “We sent a small patrol out of the city, just to check the surrounding area for clues. They found about one hundred bodies just twenty minutes away from the main gate, all dead and I am sorry to say this, all more or less eaten.”
There was a dead silence, nobody moved and you could have heard a pin drop, it looked rather bizarre, almost a hundred wise and mighty elven lords and they all looked as if they had seen a ghost or something. They just stared with huge eyes and some were rather pale. “Oh gods, oh no! It cannot be true, eaten?!”
The officer nodded slowly. “Yes my lord, eaten. Some were just bones, picked clean. It appears that the attacks were to gather food, not wealth or anything else.”
Finwe swallowed and Thranduil could see that he was shivering slightly. “What would do something that horrible? What are we fighting?”
The officer nodded to one of the other two warriors, he pulled a small backpack from his back and opened it, took out some object covered in cloth.
“We found this underneath a collapsed building, it appears to be some sort of weapon but we have no idea of what it is made from.”
He unwrapped the thing and there was a collective gasp. Thranduil had never seen anything like it, and he could only guess that the thing was being used the same way as a sword would. “What the hell is this?”
It was Amroth who spoke and Thranduil knew that he was a potential ally if need be, he would support Oropher and Thranduil’s opinions in this. The officer held the object up so everybody could see it, many just stared. Thranduil could immediately use his sense of logic and learn a few things of this enemy. First of all, whatever it was that wielded this weapon the thing had to be bigger than an elf but in possession of far less technological knowledge. It was a vicious weapon no doubt but it contained no metal whatsoever. It was what had to be some sort of antler shaped into an outstretched s shape and pieces of what had to be some sort of volcanic glass had been placed within grooves in the material. This was a weapon that would leave horrific wounds, nothing like the clean cuts of a sword and he felt a chill run down his neck. Primitive did not need to be less efficient and he saw the blood on the sharp shards of black rock and had to swallow hard.
The officer spoke again, he let one of the soldiers hold the weird sword. “We found footprints, it appears that the enemy just showed up out of nowhere in the middle of the night and just killed everything that moved. Even pets were found dead. Whatever it was it went berserk, and it was many of them too.”
Finwe was pale, he stared into the table. “How did the footprints look like, are we dealing with trolls perhaps?”
The officer looked a bit uncertain. “My lords, I have only seen this land, I have never been to Middle earth. But the tracks suggest that the beings were at least ten feet tall and the feet appeared to have just two toes, like the foot of a weird animal of some sort. They were heavy and we could smell a very unpleasant odor there. It was as if something was rotting away.”
Glorfindel made a grimace. “So, they are big, smelly and nasty and like to eat their meat raw. That sounds like trolls to me.”
One of the scholars hawked and everybody turned their heads and stared at the man. “No, I don’t think this is trolls. First of all, the attacks are too well organized, trolls do not cooperate very well. Second of all, they don’t use weapons. And third of all, who has ever heard of so many of those things assembled at once?”
Finwe nodded. “You are right, trolls do not work well in groups, they are too egocentric for that.”
Glorfindel caught the gaze of the officer. “What was the general impression you got when you saw the destruction? Was it planned or just random?”
The officer swallowed. “Random, very random. But it had some sort of plan to it still. It was as if these creatures who did it had someone controlling them. “
Oropher made a grimace. “I think it sounds a bit like what you’d expect to find whenever a fox enters a henhouse. It will just kill until there is nothing more left alive.”
Finwe smiled. “An excellent metaphor yes. But then we do know a thing or two about our enemy don’t we? They are organized but just barely, they attack at night and they are after meat, not anything else. They are probably very primitive and have weapons but not of metal.”
Someone mumbled. “Still they sound like a real threat to me!”
Glorfindel made a grimace. “Nobody has said anything about these creatures not being a threat, but we still know too little to know what to do.”
Finwe nodded, he was staring at the crowd and Thranduil could see that he was trying to come to some sort of conclusion. “We have to send someone to Lithui to gather more knowledge, if the inhabitants there knows anything we need that information.”
Some shrugged while others looked a bit more enthusiastic. “Then who should we send?”
Finwe sent the elf who asked a rather menacing glance. “We’ll get back to that question later.”
The officer bowed and turned around, he was obviously ready to leave but Glorfindel stopped him. “Have you got any estimations of how many the attackers were?”
The officer looked a bit helpless. “No, I am no forest dweller, I am not that good at tracking. It’s anybody’s guess really, but at least two or three hundred.”
Glorfindel was thinking as a warrior should, Thranduil admired his calm appearance. “Had anyone had time to fight back? Did you see anybody who had been armed?”
The officer was a bit green and the two soldiers swallowed, they were obviously not too happy about having to remember what they had seen. One of them, a rather willowy elf with red hair and blue eyes tried to smile. “No, it looked as if it had happened so fast that nobody really had time to understand what it was that was happening. I think that may have been a mercy, at least to the children.”
Many groaned and had to look down, the idea of children being murdered like this was heart breaking and Thranduil could see that some of the elves had to leave the room. Their race had not suffered such a loss of civilian lives since the kin slayings and Thranduil could see the dark expression upon Finwe’s face. Elrond was staring into the table as if it was his last hope, it was obvious that he was trying to keep calm. Thranduil could see that the peredhel had gone pale and his eyes were distant and filled with fear and grief. Finwe was about to ask everybody to sit down once more when the door at the end of the room burst open and a courier ran forth, he was panting and covered with sweat and dust. He had obviously been riding very hard. “My lords, there has been a new attack, this very night!”
Finwe was on his legs within the blink of an eye and he was pale like a ghost. “Where?”
The courier was kneeling, he panted and had problems talking. “Almar, west of Ennir.”
There was a sudden outburst of voices and Oropher caught Thranduils gaze, his eyes were ablaze with bitter realizations. They were right, it followed a pattern. Elrond was apparently completely paralyzed and Thranduil grasped him and shook him rather roughly. “Get a grip, we have to go there to see for ourselves what this is. There is hope, she could be alive.”
Elrond blinked, he was shivering. “Yes, yes, she may be alive. We have to go!”
There was an exodus of elves trying to get through the doors all at once and Thranduil swore and opened a window, they were on the third floor but there was a tall elm growing next to the wall and he and his father and son had little problems jumping over to the branches and climbing down. Elrond was more hesitant but he managed to get down in one piece. Thranduil raced towards the stables, they had to get their horses before someone else took them and he wanted to be among the first to arrive. The stable workers got the horses ready and Elrond got a tall long legged mare which appeared to be quite a handful. He did not look all that happy about that but Thranduil knew that the peredhel was an excellent rider. They rode out through the gate when the other elves reached the stables, they heard that someone tried to reason with them and get them to understand that everybody didn’t need to go but not a single soul listened. They all wanted to leave and see for themselves and some had family there.
Thranduil allowed the horse to run at full speed, it was several hours ride to reach this city but he did not care, they could not allow themselves to be slowed down. They had to get there before important clues were lost forever and he knew that his horse could run for almost an entire day without collapsing. He hoped that they would get to the attacked city before noon and he shouted at people on the road to make them clear the way. All the cities had been on the east side of the great chain of mountains which had been erected to keep Morgoth out and he feared that the attacks would continue on the other side. New Greenwood was placed south of the pass through the montains, they had ridden through it when they were on their way to the meeting and the mountains had felt like a security back then, a barrier capable to stop any enemy. Well, probably not this one, he shook his head and tried to think only of the task ahead.
Almar was a city placed at the base of the Pelori mountains, it was a very idyllic place normally with rolling low hills covering the landscape. This area was known for growing grapes for making wine and some of the best wine of Aman came from the vineyards surrounding the city. Thranduil saw the smoke from afar and his heart dropped, he felt the taste of bile in his mouth. This place was not built to keep anything out at all, it was really just a gathering of buildings around a central square and it had grown in size over the years and developed a certain rustic charm many found endearing. He had been there once, just fifty years after they arrived in Aman. He had marveled at the skill of the wine makers and organized for twenty barrels to be delivered to his home each year. The buildings had all been made from the clay of the slow flowing river which was meandering through the gentle landscape and they had a very soft and nice color of orange. Mixed with the greenery it had made this city look very inviting and he feared what he soon would see.
They saw it when they reached the top of one of the hills around the city, huge flocks of crows and ravens were circling together with vultures and he could hear that Legolas was swearing, he wondered where his son had learned those words, it had to be that dwarf who had taught him such exquisitely obscene phrases. Oropher moaned and Thranduil swallowed hard again and again not to become sick in public. There were a few people on the road, heading towards the city but only a few. He knew that most were too afraid to dare to go closer to the obvious destruction. Their horses were panting and sweating and as soon as they reached the city gate they dismounted and let the horses loose within a paddock. They saw no other horses there, not even cows or sheep and Thranduil got a freezing sensation that everything had been slaughtered. Elrond was mumbling prayers and his face was grey, the dark eyes were filled with horror. Thranduil had seen death before, lots of it, too much of it. But he had never seen anything like this, nothing this utterly horrible. There were corpses everywhere, the buildings looked as if they had been hit by siege machines. It was just ruins and death to be seen and the stench was already strong. Legolas was walking as if he was in a trance and Oropher had already said goodbye to his breakfast. No wonder since he had been rather hung over from yesterday.
Thranduil tried to think fast and analyze what he saw, it was not easy for his senses were utterly overwhelmed by the sheer violence of it all. Blood had filled the gutters and it was shining like red jewels in the sunlight. He kicked aside a broken door, underneath it was the body of a small child, a girl. She had a nightgown on, was clutching a doll in a stiff pale hand and her eyes were staring blindly into the skies, still filled with a mix of horror and pain and most of all disbelief. Her head was unharmed, her braids with colorful beads in them formed almost a sort of halo around it and Thranduil gulped and turned around, too late. Her midsection was more or less missing, as is something had taken a huge bite out of her, blood and entrails were pooled around the huge gaping wound and he could see her spine and hipbone through the mangled mass of tissue. He fell onto his knees, heaving heavily and shivering as he too got rid of everything he had eaten earlier that day. He felt a hand on his shoulder, someone held his hair and stroked his head. “It is ok Ada, I feel like puking too.”
Legolas had tears in his eyes and he was ashen grey, he had never seen his son looking like this. “What could possibly have done this?”
He felt his voice shiver, Oropher was walking around and he appeared to make mental notes of everything he saw. “Look at the wounds, most have just one, see? As if some huge thing has bitten chunks out of them and then discarded of the rests.”
Legolas nodded. “I was visiting the coast once, and I saw the remains of a whale the sharks had attacked, those wounds looked a lot like these.”
Thranduil managed to get a grip on himself, it was just that the sight of a child, an innocent child this horribly mutilated had thrown him out of balance mentally. It was almost a sort of sacrilege, a crime against life itself. “These things are huge, bigger than an ordinary troll whatever they are.”
Elrond had just stood there, without moving and his eyes were staring into nothing, Thranduil realized that the peredhel had gone into some sort of shock. Legolas grasped Elrond by the shoulder and Elrond yelped and blinked, his eyes were overflowing with tears. “Dead, all dead”
Oropher had a grim expression on his face, Thranduil had only seen it one time before, when they marched against the very gates of Mordor, into the battle that would claim the kings life. “We can’t know that for sure, we have to check it out.”
Elrond nodded and started to run, he was heading towards a part of the city where many of the craftsmen lived and Thranduil was stunned to see that even the jewelry stores were just leveled with the ground but nothing was stolen. They saw several dead horses, all more or less ripped apart and some dogs too. And dead elves, some had been in bed when they were attacked while others appeared to have been sitting together enjoying conversations and song. Thranduil found that he could do this if he didn’t think of them as people, just as pieces of dead meat. If he started to wonder about who they had been he would go insane, he made himself as cold as he was rumored to be and tried to be efficient. He saw several footprints where the ground was soft, they were huge and strange and didn’t look like anything he had seen before. Elrond stopped in front of what had been a small home, the roof had caved in and smoke rose from the remains. He panted and looked around himself with wild eyes, then he shouted out. “Celegeth? Miria? Nierion?”
There was a rattle in the debris and Legolas pulled his knives, he stared at the pile of boards. What appeared was a young elleth, she was bleeding from a huge gash in her left arm and she had another wound on the top of her head. She was wearing just the remains of a gown and she was covered with blood. She had a sword in her hand and she shivered and stared at them with huge eyes. Elrond let out a sob. “Celegeth, you are alive!”
The elleth whimpered, her eyes told them that she was very close to tipping over into madness. Elrond rushed forth and grasped her, she dropped the sword and her eyes were still out of focus. “It killed them, it killed them”
Her voice was a mere whisper and Thranduil saw that she was going into shock. She needed a healer and that fast, Elrond should be able to help her but he wasn’t in shape to do anything right now. He was too terrified and too emotionally unstable. “What killed them girl? Can you describe it?”
She turned her head towards him, she was very pretty and he could very well understand that Elrond’s son had fallen for this elleth, she appeared to be both elegant and strong and she moved with grace even now. “It just appeared, out of nowhere! There was a flash of light and they were everywhere, they just grasped people and…and ate them!”
She started to shiver and Elrond tried to calm her down but to no prevail, the elleth was getting hysterical and Legolas surprised his father by slapping her in the face, rather hard. “Focus Celegeth, what were they? What did they look like? Were someone controlling them?”
She swallowed, she had blood on her lips and Thranduil cringed, she probably had some internal injuries as well. “I heard ada scream, I was weaving and I had only a candle but I put it out and found my sword. It broke through the wall, through the wall. It didn’t even use the door!”
Legolas nodded, his voice soft and spinning. “Yes, and so?”
She stared down at the sword at her feet. “I knew that ada was dead and I heard naneth scream too, but I didn’t want to die like a sheep for the butchers knife so I attacked it. “
Thranduil just gasped. “You did what? And you survived?”
She nodded, her eyes were so black, so unnatural. It looked crazy. “I killed it, ada taught me well. It hit me but I killed it, I killed it”
Oropher was staring at the elleth with wide eyes. “Where is it girl, show us!”
She shivered and pointed at the ruins of the house. “Underneath that wall, I hid in the chimney after I killed it, I could not fight another one.”
Oropher rushed over, grasped onto pieces of boards and bricks and tossed them aside and the other ellyn helped him. What they uncovered made them all back away, they stared at the sight with eyes filled with disbelief and disgust. Thranduil pressed his sleeve against his nose, the creature was stinking badly and it was already decomposing. Oropher was slack jawed in amazement and he could see a sort of bizarre fascination within Legolas gaze. “What in the name of Melkor’s minions is that thing?!”
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In a land of shadows