Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Fellowship of the Gundam ❯ Giant Statues ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13: Giant Statues

In the morning, Zechs was limping and he kept glaring at Treize while they packed up their canoe.

“Why do you keep glaring at me?” Treize finally complained. “You didn't get any mud on you!”

“Yeah, but I didn't expect you to suspend me from a tree and have your way with me to avoid it!”

“But it worked!”

“And why did you have rope, anyway?”

“Trowa recommends always having a bit of rope available for just such a situation.”

“It worked for us,” Trowa agreed.

Quatre rubbed his hip but remained silent.

Zechs pointed an aggrieved finger at Quatre. “He weighs less than I do! He can hang in the air all day getting banged and not feel it!”

“That's not entirely true,” Quatre murmured.

Treize put his arms around Zechs. “Does it hurt a lot?” he asked sympathetically. “I'll massage it for you later. I'm sure Roku has therapeutic oil I could use.”

Zechs regarded him with open skepticism. “You want to rub me with oil? I suppose you'd want to warm it first.”

“It's better if it's warm.”

“I can see where this is leading.”

“I just want to make you feel better.”

“Stop snogging, you two,” Quatre ordered. “It's time to go.” He climbed into his boat and Trowa pushed off.

“Right.” Treize held the canoe steady while Zechs climbed into the front. Alexa and Jett clambered in after him and Treize pushed off before hopping in himself. The other canoes were already making their way out into the middle of the river, turning into the current and letting it carry them downstream.

“Any sign of that stupid Gollum character?” Heero called, his eyes scouring the farther bank.

“I have seen nothing,” Aragorn said, his eyes also studying the dark trees abutting the river's edge.

“This is going to come back to haunt us,” Heero declared. “You should have just let me kill him.”

“Didn't Wu-Fei beat you up enough last night?” Duo said.

“He didn't beat me up!”

“Maybe I should have,” Wu-Fei said.

“Like you could.”

“In a heartbeat.”

“Ok, let's go ashore and settle this.”

“Later!” Duo interrupted. “We're actually trying to get somewhere, remember?”

Heero scowled at Wu-Fei. “This doesn't get you off the hook, buddy.”

“Like I'm worried.”

“I'm sleeping with Hadeya tonight,” Duo said. “You guys are too prickly today.”

“What?!” Heero snapped.

“Can we just row quietly down the river for an hour or two?” Wu-Fei said pointedly. “Look how scenic, peaceful and quiet it is.”

“Are you telling me to shut up?” Heero growled.

“Who's making all the noise?” Wu-Fei retorted.

“That's it! We're pulling over!”

“No, we're not!” Duo ordered sternly. He flicked his paddle through the water and doused Heero with a big splash. “Cool off!”

Heero spluttered and shook the water out of his hair. “You're both getting your butts kicked when we stop.”

“If you want to involve my butt,” Duo said, “there's something better you can use than your foot.”

Wu-Fei chuckled. “You know I'm just messing with you, right, Heero?”

“That's not getting you out of a butt-kicking.”

“I wouldn't have it any other way.”

The travelers continued downstream between panoramic banks of towering trees and rocky cliffs, with sandy beaches sometimes appearing on either side. They pulled ashore at one of these beaches to have lunch.

Roku promptly turned back into a tiger and galloped into the trees. “I'll be right back!”

“Where are you going?” Quatre shouted, but he was already out of sight.

“I bet he smelled something yummy,” Duo said. He wrinkled his nose at the lembas bread Legolas handed him. “I hope he brings some back.”

“The lembas bread will fill you up,” Legolas said. “And it's tasty as well. Why would you need anything else?”

“Legolas, my friend,” Duo said with a shake of his head, “you have no idea what real food is, do you?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Duo held up the lembas bread. “This may fill your belly, but so would tree bark and, frankly, some trees taste better. I would rather have road kill, especially if it's fairly fresh.”

“Elven waybread is the perfect travel food!” Legolas declared. “It stays fresh for months! Your road kill would be spoiled within the day!”

“I know!” Duo agreed. “It gets better as the days go by.”

“What?! Spoiled road kill is not better!”

“Says you! Three day old road kill has a pleasantly piquant bouquet, particularly when it's been out in the sun.”

Suddenly, Wu-Fei dashed to the river's edge and tossed his guts out.

Duo blinked sheepishly. “Sorry, Fei. I didn't know you were listening.”

Wu-Fei rinsed his mouth. “Pay attention, next time! I'm not the only one whose lunch you just ruined.”

Duo glanced around. Sitting in a row on a fallen log, all four hobbits looked decidedly nauseous. “Oops. Sorry.”

A throaty growl that almost sounded like chuckling floated out of the trees, standing up the hairs on the backs of everyone's necks.

Pippin leaped to his feet with round eyes. “What in heaven's name was that?!”

“It's just Roku,” Duo said. “He's hunting. He makes that sound to scare his prey into running. Whatever it is usually ends up running right smack into him. Saves him having to chase it.”

Something suddenly started crashing through the underbrush, heading in their direction. An instant later, Roku's growl was cut off by the sound of a heavy impact, a whole lot of thrashing, and then silence.

“Sounds like it worked,” Duo concluded. He tipped his head to one side. “He caught a deer. He says he'll bring the rest back after he's eaten all the really yummy bits.” Duo made a face. “That's so unfair!” He shook his fist at the trees. “I want brains, too!” He listened for a moment more and then broke into a smile. “Cool! He says he'll bring me some.”

“Duo!” Wu-Fei groaned with a hand over his face. “I'm trying to enjoy my waybread!”

“It would go down better with a nice wet dollop of fresh brains on top.”

Wu-Fei promptly ejected the second piece of lembas bread he'd eaten after tossing up the first one. “Goddamit, Duo!” he rasped hoarsely. “I'm not letting you in my pants for the rest of this vacation!”

“Aw, Wu-Fei, don't be like that! I was just kidding.”

“Actually, brains make quite a tasty spread when properly prepared,” Sam said conversationally. “My gaffer taught me this great recipe with goose liver and sheep brains that goes really well on rye toast.”

“Oh, is that the one with the chopped walnuts in it?” Pippin asked enthusiastically.

“That's right.”

“That's really good!”

“My grandma likes to put just a dash of fresh currant in hers to give it a little sweetness,” said Merry. “It makes a good breakfast spread then.”

“I've had that!” Pippin said. “I liked it a lot.”

“I'm never eating at any of your houses!” Wu-Fei declared. “I'm going to look for some berries.” He stamped off into the trees.

“Watch out for the red ones with white spots!” Aragorn called after him. “They're poisonous. And the dark purple ones with shiny skins! They'll give you loose bowls. Oh, and the green berries growing on a vine with bright yellow flowers! Those ones will make you hallucinate for days.” He winked at Legolas. “It's actually kind of fun when you don't have anything better to do.”

“We use green tree frogs for that,” Legolas said. “If you lick their backs, you have the most amazing visions.”

“Somehow,” Zechs murmured to Treize, “licking the back of a tree frog does not sound like a good idea.”

“I daresay if you tried that on Earth you would expire within the hour. Many of the tree frog species I know are highly toxic.”

“In dwarf halls,” Gimli spoke up, “you'll find this particular lichen growing in some of the damper caverns that imparts a certain lightness of spirit when consumed. I've known dwarves who claimed to be able to see through walls after sampling it, although their attempts to subsequently walk through them met with poor success.” He laughed heartily.

“Rather like attempting to climb trees that aren't there,” Legolas snickered.

“Hah!” Gimli barked and he thumped Legolas on the back. “I didn't know you elves knew how to have fun!”

“We're not all straight-laced and majestic like the Lothlorien elves.”

“That's good to know,” Gimli said. “We'll have to discuss it over a tanker or two of beer one day.”

“I don't drink beer.”

“It's never too late to start.”

“We drink beer!” Pippin immediately piped up.

“Good lad!” Gimli boomed. He thumped Pippin on the back and sent him sprawling. “But I hope you hold your liquor better than you keep your feet!”

Pippin pushed to his feet, gasping for breath. “We manage!” he wheezed.

“Far better than one might expect for their stature,” Aragorn put in. “When I first met these two, they were trying to drink a number of men under the table.”

“And we would have, too, if Frodo hadn't drawn attention to himself,” Merry put in.

“What?!” Frodo yelped, jerking out of a reverie. “What are you talking about?”

“You disappearing in the middle of the Prancing Pony.”

Frodo clutched spasmodically at the front of his shirt. “That was… that was an accident!” he stammered.

“We know, but you did interrupt the drinking.”

“Leave Mr. Frodo alone!” Sam said defensively. “You drink too much anyway.”

“All this talk of beer when there isn't any around is depressing,” Gimli said.

“Roku probably has beer,” Duo said.

“No, he doesn't!” Quatre interrupted quickly.

“We'll check later,” Duo whispered to Gimli.

Not long afterward, Roku returned dragging the deer carcass, minus its guts.

Aragorn pulled out his belt knife. “We should cut off as much meat as we can to take with us. We can smoke it tonight.”

Boromir frowned. “Do you mean to stop again before we reach the lake? We could get there today if we keep on at sunset.”

“I would prefer not to arrive there after dark,” Aragorn said. “Should any of our boats miss the landing, they could end up going over the waterfall.”

“Just how high is this waterfall?” Treize asked.

“About 150 cubits,” Aragorn said.

“What the hell is a cubit?” Heero snapped.

“It's an ancient unit of measure,” Treize said. “150 cubits would be about 80 meters, I think.”

“That's pretty high.”

“Yeah, it might hurt a bit.”

“I agree with Aragorn,” said Quatre. “I trust his judgment.”

“Oh, very well,” Boromir grumbled. He glanced quickly at Frodo and then looked away. “I'll help.” He unsheathed his belt knife and knelt down next to Aragorn by the carcass and started skinning.

Wu-Fei came back with a double-handful of plump black berries. “Is there anything wrong with these or can I eat them?” he asked Aragorn.

“Ooh, blackberries!” Merry and Pippin exclaimed in unison. “Where did you get those?”

Wu-Fei nodded over his shoulder. “Over there. There's a big patch of them under the trees.”

Merry and Pippin raced off in the indicated direction.

Quatre took a berry out of Wu-Fei's hands and popped it in his mouth. “Yum! Tasty! They're really sweet.”

Trowa, Duo and Heero crowded around and helped themselves to Wu-Fei's berries.

“Hey!” Wu-Fei stepped back and tried to shield his haul with his body. “Get your own dang berries!”

“I know a really good sauce for venison made with blackberries,” Treize said. “I could probably improvise something for dinner tonight.” He rummaged around in his backpack and produced a large square of cloth. “I'll pick some for later.” Alexa and Jett trailed after him as he left the beach.

Watching Aragorn and Boromir cut steak after steak off the deer carcass, Sam scratched his head. “Just where are you planning to put all that, Strider? Our boats are already pretty full.”

Aragorn sat back on his heels. “Um…”

“I'll carry it,” Roku said. He started grabbing steaks in his mouth and pitching them over his left shoulder, where they vanished.

Sam shuddered. “I just can't get used to that!”

“But it is convenient,” Frodo said.

By the time the deer carcass was stripped of meat, the others started drifting back from the berry patch, their faces and fingers stained with juice. Treize carried his piece of cloth by the corners; the berry stains already leaking through.

“We had better get moving,” Aragorn said.

With that, everyone packed up and piled back into the boats, and they set off once more. As Aragorn predicted, sunset caught them still a ways upriver from the lake, so they pulled ashore again for another night on the riverbank. But a pleasant dinner of venison steaks with blackberry sauce had everyone pleasantly drowsy by the time it started to get cold.

Watching people drifting off to sleep one by one, Heero snorted. “Looks like we're on watch,” he said to Boromir, who looked to be the only other person still awake besides Aragorn.

Boromir frowned unhappily and his eyes strayed to Frodo again. “We should be more careful. If the ring should fall into enemy hands…”

“It won't,” Heero said shortly. “Especially if we keep watch.” He stood up. “I'll go upriver. You go downriver. Aragorn can go inland.” He tapped Roku with his toe. “You watch the river.”

“Yes, Papa Heero,” Roku responded without opening an eye.

But the night was uneventful and in the morning, they resumed their journey after a cold breakfast of leftover venison and lembas bread. As they continued downriver, the banks began to climb, becoming towering cliffs on either side of the river.

About midmorning, Aragorn touched Frodo on the shoulder and pointed ahead. “Look. The Argonath.”

Everyone looked ahead and stared in amazement at the giant statues that loomed up on either side of the river. Although still some distance away, they towered above the river, taller than the cliffs on either side.

“That's impressive!” Quatre said. “The stonework reminds me of the kind of construction my ancestors used to do.”

“They're bigger than a Gundam,” Duo said. “They must have taken a long time to build.”

As they neared the statues, their massive size and intricate construction became more apparent.

“Once we pass between them,” Aragorn said, “we will enter the lake. The landing is on the western side. We should stay close to the shore so we aren't caught in the current leading to the waterfall.”

“Are these statues intended to guard the entrance to the lake?” Treize asked.

“Yes,” Aragorn replied. “They represent two of my kin from a distant age, when a great city thrived on the edge of the lake.”

“What happened to the city?” Trowa asked curiously.

“Time,” Aragorn said with a sigh.

“And fish,” Boromir added.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Or more accurately,” Boromir clarified, “a lack of them. The fish population in the lake collapsed and the city lost their main source of food. People moved away and eventually the city succumbed to decay. It's an old story.”

They rowed out into the lake and Duo stared. “They overfished this lake?! How?!”

The shores on either side widened rapidly as they pulled clear of the Argonath and the farther end of the lake was nearly invisible.

“The city had a large population.”

“Apparently.”

Legolas kept watching the shore as they traveled down the western side of the lake, a worried look on his face. “Are you sure the western shore is safe, Aragorn?” he asked. “I sense something that troubles me.”

“Orcs patrol the eastern shore,” Aragorn replied. “It would be better to cross the lake at night.”

“But if there are orcs,” Heero said, “we might get into a fight. I think we should go to the eastern shore.”

“Sheesh!” Duo shook his head. “You still need to fight?”

“I just don't see any point in running from a perfectly good opportunity for a fight. Better to just face your enemies and finish them off.”

“That's the right attitude, if you ask me,” Gimli put in.

“But we would be vastly outnumbered by any enemy we are likely to face,” Aragorn pointed out. “It is better not to take the risk. We'll stop on the western shore and wait for nightfall before crossing the lake.”

They continued down the lake until a towering spire rose into view, with the spray of the waterfall foaming up on either side. At the crumbled remains of an old pier, Aragorn finally put ashore and they pulled the boats up onto a gravel beach.

“We should eat,” Quatre said. “If we're going to continue after dark, it may be awhile before we get dinner.”

“I agree,” said Aragorn. “It should be safe to start a fire, but no one should wander off alone.”

“Perhaps you should have mentioned that before Frodo wandered off,” Alexa said.

“What?!” Sam looked around in alarm. “Where is Frodo?!”

“I just told you!” Alexa rolled her eyes. “He wandered off.” She pointed. “That way.”

“Was no one watching?!” Gimli exclaimed.

“I was!” Alexa threw up her arms. “Why else would I know he went that way?! Goodness gracious but you grownups are useless today! Come on, Jett. Let's go get him.”

“Alexa, wait!” Zechs called out, but the two girls were already dashing away up the leaf-covered slope. “Dammit!” He hurried after them.

“Maybe we should have asked her if she saw where Boromir went, too,” Wu-Fei said. “He's also gone.”

“What?” Aragorn's eyes narrowed. “I'll look for him. Everyone else please stay here.”

“This isn't good,” Legolas said worriedly. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Good!” Heero snarled. “Maybe it means we'll finally get to fight.”