Lord Of The Rings Fan Fiction ❯ Days of the King ❯ Gimli's Tale ( Chapter 5 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Queen-of-Blades138 
Non Anime: Lord Of The Rings Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Mystery / Drama / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.12.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 1.7K | Visits: 215 | Status: Work In Progress
Non Anime: Lord Of The Rings Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Mystery / Drama / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.12.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 1.7K | Visits: 215 | Status: Work In Progress
A/N:Chapter 5 of my new fanfiction.
Disclaimer:I do not own LOTR and in no way profit from this..
chapter 5
Gimli was devouring a heroic breakfast when Aragorn arrived.
Aragorn leaned casually against the door frame of his room.
"How many types of beasts gave their lives for your meal, Master
Dwarf?" Aragorn laughed in spite of his troubles.
A joint of mutton had been well gnawed upon, a chicken carcass was
fairly picked clean, the bones of a brace of coneys lay in an
untidy heap. More than half of a small keg of ale was consumed; Gimli
paused in the act of devouring the last of what appeared to be
several loaves of bread.
He grinned broadly, and patted his stomach. "A nobler death they
could not have desired. They were delicious!"
Aragorn produced his everpresent hunting knife, and gave himself
a hearty slice of mutton. He bit into it, and took a swig of ale.
He suddenly realized he was famished.
"Sorry I could not attend to you earlier, old friend. But here we
are now! Tell me of your concerns."
He sat across from the dwarf, and placed his booted feet on the
table as he ate.
"Tut, tut! Such manners from the King! What would the Lady
say!" Gimli wiped his mouth daintily with his beard; it was considered
proper manners among his folk. This was followed with a stentorian
belch. When settled, his mood sobered. He cleared his throat.
"No doubt,you know of the raids and murder done among your
own folk, and that of other settlements of Men between you and
Rohan. But we have also had our troubles. We Dwarves are not
accustomed to these types of attacks".
"Of what sort?" Aragorn asked around a mouthful of mutton.
"This is the tricky part. It seems as if a few of my less
particular kinsmen have been doing custom metal work for unsavory
folk who pay well in gold and jewels for some fine mechanical
work."
"What do you mean by mechanical?"
"Oh, things similar to door mechanisms, automaton mechanics- you
know - those moving dolls for children. But all a little different.
And on a rather large scale".
"Define 'unsavory'."
Gimil scratched his head with a slightly embarrassed air.
"We think they are Easterlings, or Haradrim."
Aragorn stopped chewing.
"Why aren't we sure?"
"They negotiated through others, we think - we aren't sure because
soon after the work is completed - and paid for, mind you -
the entire Dwarven workshop - all of the artisans and their
helpers and households - have been murdered.
It was by chance that we spoke to the very few survivors of two
of these raids. By the time these tidings reached our ears, there
were five massacres."
"Have we tracked the villians? If they are Easterlings, Haradrim or
Southrons,there are very few places they can hide. None of our
folk would give then succor...not for gain,nor by threat. They
must have headed back to their homeland."
Here Strider the Ranger spoke more to himself than his friend.
"That is a fearsome long journey with threat of vengence upon
your heels all the way. And did they take these items they
commissioned?"
"It appears that they did, laddie. At least, there were no signs
of the accursed contraptions where the folk were killed."
"They are large things, right? And a raiding party large enough
to kill armed and armored dwarves would be of significant size.
What do your trackers say?"
Gimli cleared his throat. "The Dwarven trackers can find nought
for miles around the sites of these crimes. I have asked a few
woodsmen I know, and they also found nothing. I had the good
fortune to find a tracker almost as good as you, and he found
very few clues. But they are so puzzling, and lead to such
disturbing conclusions,that I will not believe it unless YOU tell
me it is so."
"Whom did you find? Ikkarun of the Northwood? Theonard of Rohan?"
"Our brother, Legolas."
Aragorn smiled. "His elf eyes miss little, Gimli. I would be
very interested to see these signs myself, for this threat grows
graver if they are making forays into Dwarf country. That means
they have traveled through my lands. Such boldness bodes ill. They
must be confident of their might to so tempt Gondor. But what does
he say that so disturbs you, my friend?"
Gimli sighed, and lowered his voice.
"It is not so much what he has said, but himself that gives me
pause Aragorn. He is not as you have known him. He briefly
mentioned spending a lot of his time in the Golden Wood".
Aragorn frowned. "Did he say why? There is nothing left in Lothlorien.
The folk have gone across the sea. There should be just the dwellings in
the mallorn trees. Pleasant enough, but...what has he done?"
Gimli leaned across the table and spoke in whispers.
"Aragorn, there WERE no tracks or traces of any kind. Legolas
just KNEW what had happened. I know all Elves can be uncanny (no
offense to your Lady), but he is getting strange and...
otherworldly. I have not the words for it. He is appearing, and
disappearing and reappearing in inexplicable ways. I saw my cousin
Rigarm from the North country a week ago. He says that
Legolas had come to find me, for I had visited there within the
month, and other kin knew of my whereabouts. Aragorn", he looked
earnestly at his friend,"
I had seen Legolas on the very day he spoke to Rigarm! It was
the journey of at least 8 days even on horseback. I asked and
asked again.
There is no mistake. Even an Elf has to travel the same ground as
the rest of us. And if he cannot fly - how is this possible?"
"Have you asked him?" asked Aragorn.
"Yes, but his answers make no sense to me! He treats it lightly,
but I have seen things that make me believe our friend has learned
some tricks from wizards of late. We made our camp one night
between two of the massacre sites. We wanted to review a different
landscape. The first settlement was surrounded by mostly rock; not
so good for tracking, except by you perhaps. The second took
place near farm country, two days away. Perhaps softer soil would
yield more clues.
Legolas decided to sleep in a tree - you know
those Elves love the high ground. I saw him there. And then in a
blink of an eye - he was gone! I woke my other companions; all
good Dwarven lads. I told them mischeif was afoot and the Elf was
in trouble. Well, not that they bore Legolas any ill will, but
you know there is always that rivalry between the rest of my kind
and all Elvendom. We searched for at least 3 hrs, from the tree
(you should have seen Baldervere climb - a cow would have been
more graceful) out for half a mile. There was no trace. But twice
I heard him - in my ear, as if to taunt me. But no matter how
quickly I turned, he was never there.
We gave up the search, and set ourselves to get some rest. We
posted a watch, of course. I could not sleep, but tried shut my
eyes for a bit. About an hour after that, as I lay still and quiet
I SAW him. He...just...appeared. First nothing, then a little blue
smoke - yes I know how this sounds. And then he's standing there,
bold as brass, almost laughing at us."
"These are grim matters, laddie. I see nothing humorous about any
of it. He did give us a bit to go on though. Legolas assured us
that what we sought would be found in Khazad-Dum."
Aragorn had crossed his arms over his chest during Gimli's
narrative. He grew increasing sombre as the story unfolded.
He spoke quietly, as if to himself.
"A recent experience has made me suddenly quite wary of sorcery,
my friend. And our flight from Moria stands as one of my less
glorious exploits. I would like to cleanse this blight from the
land and our memory".
He sprang to his feet. "I have decided. Let us reconnoiter these
sites, and find Legolas. I'll take a few of my old Rangers with me
- some came to Minas Tirith as my personal guard. I will prepare."
Disclaimer:I do not own LOTR and in no way profit from this..
chapter 5
Gimli was devouring a heroic breakfast when Aragorn arrived.
Aragorn leaned casually against the door frame of his room.
"How many types of beasts gave their lives for your meal, Master
Dwarf?" Aragorn laughed in spite of his troubles.
A joint of mutton had been well gnawed upon, a chicken carcass was
fairly picked clean, the bones of a brace of coneys lay in an
untidy heap. More than half of a small keg of ale was consumed; Gimli
paused in the act of devouring the last of what appeared to be
several loaves of bread.
He grinned broadly, and patted his stomach. "A nobler death they
could not have desired. They were delicious!"
Aragorn produced his everpresent hunting knife, and gave himself
a hearty slice of mutton. He bit into it, and took a swig of ale.
He suddenly realized he was famished.
"Sorry I could not attend to you earlier, old friend. But here we
are now! Tell me of your concerns."
He sat across from the dwarf, and placed his booted feet on the
table as he ate.
"Tut, tut! Such manners from the King! What would the Lady
say!" Gimli wiped his mouth daintily with his beard; it was considered
proper manners among his folk. This was followed with a stentorian
belch. When settled, his mood sobered. He cleared his throat.
"No doubt,you know of the raids and murder done among your
own folk, and that of other settlements of Men between you and
Rohan. But we have also had our troubles. We Dwarves are not
accustomed to these types of attacks".
"Of what sort?" Aragorn asked around a mouthful of mutton.
"This is the tricky part. It seems as if a few of my less
particular kinsmen have been doing custom metal work for unsavory
folk who pay well in gold and jewels for some fine mechanical
work."
"What do you mean by mechanical?"
"Oh, things similar to door mechanisms, automaton mechanics- you
know - those moving dolls for children. But all a little different.
And on a rather large scale".
"Define 'unsavory'."
Gimil scratched his head with a slightly embarrassed air.
"We think they are Easterlings, or Haradrim."
Aragorn stopped chewing.
"Why aren't we sure?"
"They negotiated through others, we think - we aren't sure because
soon after the work is completed - and paid for, mind you -
the entire Dwarven workshop - all of the artisans and their
helpers and households - have been murdered.
It was by chance that we spoke to the very few survivors of two
of these raids. By the time these tidings reached our ears, there
were five massacres."
"Have we tracked the villians? If they are Easterlings, Haradrim or
Southrons,there are very few places they can hide. None of our
folk would give then succor...not for gain,nor by threat. They
must have headed back to their homeland."
Here Strider the Ranger spoke more to himself than his friend.
"That is a fearsome long journey with threat of vengence upon
your heels all the way. And did they take these items they
commissioned?"
"It appears that they did, laddie. At least, there were no signs
of the accursed contraptions where the folk were killed."
"They are large things, right? And a raiding party large enough
to kill armed and armored dwarves would be of significant size.
What do your trackers say?"
Gimli cleared his throat. "The Dwarven trackers can find nought
for miles around the sites of these crimes. I have asked a few
woodsmen I know, and they also found nothing. I had the good
fortune to find a tracker almost as good as you, and he found
very few clues. But they are so puzzling, and lead to such
disturbing conclusions,that I will not believe it unless YOU tell
me it is so."
"Whom did you find? Ikkarun of the Northwood? Theonard of Rohan?"
"Our brother, Legolas."
Aragorn smiled. "His elf eyes miss little, Gimli. I would be
very interested to see these signs myself, for this threat grows
graver if they are making forays into Dwarf country. That means
they have traveled through my lands. Such boldness bodes ill. They
must be confident of their might to so tempt Gondor. But what does
he say that so disturbs you, my friend?"
Gimli sighed, and lowered his voice.
"It is not so much what he has said, but himself that gives me
pause Aragorn. He is not as you have known him. He briefly
mentioned spending a lot of his time in the Golden Wood".
Aragorn frowned. "Did he say why? There is nothing left in Lothlorien.
The folk have gone across the sea. There should be just the dwellings in
the mallorn trees. Pleasant enough, but...what has he done?"
Gimli leaned across the table and spoke in whispers.
"Aragorn, there WERE no tracks or traces of any kind. Legolas
just KNEW what had happened. I know all Elves can be uncanny (no
offense to your Lady), but he is getting strange and...
otherworldly. I have not the words for it. He is appearing, and
disappearing and reappearing in inexplicable ways. I saw my cousin
Rigarm from the North country a week ago. He says that
Legolas had come to find me, for I had visited there within the
month, and other kin knew of my whereabouts. Aragorn", he looked
earnestly at his friend,"
I had seen Legolas on the very day he spoke to Rigarm! It was
the journey of at least 8 days even on horseback. I asked and
asked again.
There is no mistake. Even an Elf has to travel the same ground as
the rest of us. And if he cannot fly - how is this possible?"
"Have you asked him?" asked Aragorn.
"Yes, but his answers make no sense to me! He treats it lightly,
but I have seen things that make me believe our friend has learned
some tricks from wizards of late. We made our camp one night
between two of the massacre sites. We wanted to review a different
landscape. The first settlement was surrounded by mostly rock; not
so good for tracking, except by you perhaps. The second took
place near farm country, two days away. Perhaps softer soil would
yield more clues.
Legolas decided to sleep in a tree - you know
those Elves love the high ground. I saw him there. And then in a
blink of an eye - he was gone! I woke my other companions; all
good Dwarven lads. I told them mischeif was afoot and the Elf was
in trouble. Well, not that they bore Legolas any ill will, but
you know there is always that rivalry between the rest of my kind
and all Elvendom. We searched for at least 3 hrs, from the tree
(you should have seen Baldervere climb - a cow would have been
more graceful) out for half a mile. There was no trace. But twice
I heard him - in my ear, as if to taunt me. But no matter how
quickly I turned, he was never there.
We gave up the search, and set ourselves to get some rest. We
posted a watch, of course. I could not sleep, but tried shut my
eyes for a bit. About an hour after that, as I lay still and quiet
I SAW him. He...just...appeared. First nothing, then a little blue
smoke - yes I know how this sounds. And then he's standing there,
bold as brass, almost laughing at us."
"These are grim matters, laddie. I see nothing humorous about any
of it. He did give us a bit to go on though. Legolas assured us
that what we sought would be found in Khazad-Dum."
Aragorn had crossed his arms over his chest during Gimli's
narrative. He grew increasing sombre as the story unfolded.
He spoke quietly, as if to himself.
"A recent experience has made me suddenly quite wary of sorcery,
my friend. And our flight from Moria stands as one of my less
glorious exploits. I would like to cleanse this blight from the
land and our memory".
He sprang to his feet. "I have decided. Let us reconnoiter these
sites, and find Legolas. I'll take a few of my old Rangers with me
- some came to Minas Tirith as my personal guard. I will prepare."