Part Sixty-three
Setsugekka slipped from her unrolled bed, drew on her new outside gown, which had lain over her blanket, and crept from the cave, through a rear exit Annavala had determined only to be useful as an air hole and not visible as an entrance from without. Annavala remained watching the wood from the larger entrance; she could hear the music and singing from the strange Elves of the west. The dialect was somewhat removed from that the Rómendar spoke, but the song seemed to be a lament.
The Wizards had protected Setsugekka's people, and though few survived free of the Dark, those few lives had earned the Wizards the right to claim wards or apprentices as they would. Setsugekka would not resist The Sea, but the Rómendar did not have the same rights. Since traveling west, she had often been left in their watching. They did not even allow her time to look on the Moon.
Setsugekka moved through the trees, looking for a suitable clearing. She was careful to avoid any patrolling Rómendar or strange westerners as she went along her way. The feast still continued and as the lamentful song ended the sounds of wind and strings these Elves favored increased in pace and volume, and there was laughter. Setsugekka could see the glow of lantern light from their meeting place, through the trees, and avoided it.
Duma had sought darkness away from the light and found enough in this clearing amid willows, where a cold stream ran down from mountains to river. He had considered finding a warm fiery place, but expected others would look for him there. He wanted to be alone, to not consider who owned whom and where allegiance was placed. He wanted to not think about what he might do to Ugarit and whether she would allow it.
He crouched there, quietly as he ever had when hiding in tunnels from his master who expected to find him near the furnace. There was a trickling sound of water as Duma lifted his cupped hands from the stream and poured cool water over his hair and neck, but the sound was indistinct from the stream's own sound. His hair and pants were dark, so only his near-Elven skin could have revealed him. He had removed jacket and shirt, and so would only become visible to those in a position to view him in moonlight.
Duma was considering moving further into shadow, now he had found water to cool him, but a scent on the air froze him still. Something thudded on the dirt and rolled into the water. And then Duma saw her.
Setsugekka mistook him as one of the Rómendar at first. Their skin tended to be darker, but in moonlight was quite radiant, and his brown hair, as well as the angle at which his ears protruded from his head seemed alike to theirs. "Retrieve my bauble from the stream for me," she said.
The mortal girl spoke Elven, and to Duma, the accent sounded most alike to Lenaduiniel, though the choice of words and order seemed more alike to Beryl's speech, when he was not pretending to be unlike himself. As they had both tutored him, Duma nearly understood Setsugekka. She wanted the thing that had rolled into the water.
Duma put his hands into the stream, one to support his weight and the other to seek the plaything. This girl was beautiful, and Duma felt an Orcish urge to believe she was no longer considered a child. She seemed to smell like a woman, but she did not smell like any particular female he had met before.
Duma walked his hands forward, and then put his knees to the ground to crawl, and finally found the thing. It was too perfect to be a river-smoothed stone. Its weight intrigued him. Duma drew the stone from the water. It seemed something that had been prettier before being gouged and burnt in some destructive event.
Setsugekka was beginning to think this one was not Rómendar. His skin was decorated with scars rather than plant dyes and though the angle of his ears was very similar, the shape of the lobes was not. His eyes looked familiar. They were the eyes that had swam and blinked before her. The eyes of that strange red-haired nature spirit, or possibly, Elf of the west.
"Are you not old for playthings?" Duma asked, crouching again on the side of the stream opposite Setsugekka.
She understood the meaning of his words, though the accent seemed ugly. He was an abomination. He was something only partly Elven. The Rómendar said that any Elf would rather die than live in such a form and that they must take it upon themselves to put all such abominations out of their misery, even if sorcery had robbed them of the understanding that they were imperfect and twisted things and could not understand why they must die. This one in particular looked unlike the bodies of the abominations Setsugekka had seen in the east and unlike most drawings as well. He looked as if he might be offspring of an Elf forced to wed some abominable creature. The Rómendar would surely be quick to end this miserable life.
Setsugekka's hand moved toward the opposite sleeve to draw her small knife, but she stopped. She was a priestess and her god gave her no sign that this creature should die. She sensed that he knew of his imperfection and despised it, and though she felt sadness for him, Setsugekka also realized that this being was not so twisted by sorcery that he could be righteously cut down. He was not mindless and unaware of his state.
Setsugekka wondered if other abominations possessed this awareness, this spirit, which she sensed. She wondered if the Rómendar would believe, and if it would make a difference in their actions if they came to believe. This creature was still an abomination, but Setsugekka could see in his gaze that he was not a mere tool of the Dark One, but one that could know goodness and choose it over evil.
Duma scraped the spherical stone with his claws. "Moonstone," he said. Setsugekka could not understand the following words. Duma did not know how to describe his thoughts on mineral substances undergoing change under heat or great force and his speculation that the moonstone may be restored to some beauty in Elven and Setsugekka did not understand his western Common Speech.
"Return my bauble to me," Setsugekka whispered.
"If you can only demand, then I shall make a demand in exchange; I am not yours to command." Duma smiled, baring fangs. "What would you do to command me?"
It seemed to Setsugekka this creature attempted rakish charm. She put her fingers to her mouth and laughed. She could sense many things about others, and this creature would have to try earnestly to be rakish.
She was beautiful when she laughed, Duma thought. He lifted the sphere to offer it, as it was not really his and the half-hidden smile seemed fair payment for his trouble.
Setsugekka went still as she sensed one of her guardians approaching. "Hide," she said to Duma in her native tongue. He did not understand the command, but the gesture for him to be gone was clear as well as her posture of listening. He rolled from the edge of the stream, taking up his shirt and jacket as he did, and then crept quickly into shadows.
A flurry of snow fell as Setsugekka watched Duma pull on his jacket and fade into the dark.
Annavala found Setsugekka near the stream, looking down into the water. "What are you looking at here? Did you not hear my signal?"
"Forgive me. I saw a frog near the water and believed it an omen."
"A frog at this time of year? They should all be sleeping in the mud."
"Yes."
"Surely your god does not demand you walk into danger," she said irritably. The priestess often found a way to escape their attention and offered devotion to her god as excuse. "Do you not understand your peril? The abominations press on into the wood. It only proves their mindlessness that they encroach on a wood kept by the western Elves who have proven their better in countless battles in these lands. They would violate your body most foully if they came upon you."
Setsugekka blinked snow from her lashes. "I will return with you now."
The feast continued in the pavilion as Elves marveled at the first snowfall of the year within the region and enjoyed drink, music, dancing, and feats of skill. Some guests had already wandered from the pavilion, accompanying friends or lovers to some scenic place to watch the black sky and stars or the approaching grey cloud cover and softly falling snow.
Dale had come with Tsuki to his chamber and couch. The curtains were all open to the night and snow as they lay in each other's embrace. The cold air made no difference to them, as drink and desire for each other kept them warm. Dale wished to see the snow.
Any night, even laying upon rocky ground, Dale felt good with Tsuki's body pressed against his, but somewhat drunken and lying on a soft couch it felt even better. Tsuki was happy to hear Dale say it.
"I love you," Tsuki whispered to Dale, "I would spend every remaining day of my mortal life with you. I love everything that you are."
"Tsuki," Dale said as his face was kissed. "Tsuki, I…"
Dale's speech broke off as Duma vaulted into Tsuki's chamber with his obsidian blade in hand. Dale clutched at Tsuki and hissed loudly at Duma.
Duma crouched beside the lovers and snuffed the air. He appeared quite disheveled; his jacket was open and his shirt untucked from his pants.
"Do you mind?" Dale growled.
"There is no door on this chamber and all these flaps are open. Tsuki may continue pleasuring you while I tell you what I found."
Tsuki returned to kissing Dale, but Dale quickly pushed him away to scold Duma. "It's private! Sharing is meant to be private! How many times must I explain this to you?"
Duma did not know how many times. He shrugged and twitched. "The flaps were open. I did not enter a closed chamber this time."
"That is not the point," Dale huffed.
"It seems a condition of breeding that the young disturb their parents at most inopportune times," Tsuki said calmly as he turned to his side and propped his head in his hand. "What did you see, Duma?"
Dale huffed again, but Duma answered despite him. "There are some…some others in the wood. I saw a girl! An Easterling girl. She spoke to me in some queer Elven dialect, which I only somewhat understood. She communicated to me that I should move or hide, and I heard someone come to her and speak after I left. A female I think, one who spoke in the same strange accent. I did not understand all the words, but I think they spoke of the Orcs."
"Perhaps she was the same girl that Dale saw by the river."
"You disturbed us just to tell me that you saw the girl?"
"The other…"
"The Elves are not native to this wood and they have many accents that would be unfamiliar to you."
"Dale," Duma said desperately, "This female did not sound like you, or Beryl or the children of the Elf King or any of the Elves I have met here, and I did meet with many today and hear them speak. The words were like the Sylvan dialect, but also like the ancient words Beryl speaks, and yet unlike either. There are others here, Dale. Others. Maybe they are Elves, but they are not those who attended the feast. I told you, I understood some of the words, and they were speaking of some people moving into the wood, and they said that the Elves of the west were the betters of those that entered the wood and they had battled before."
"That would indicate they are neither Orcs nor Elves allied to any in this community," Tsuki offered.
Duma nodded excitedly.
Dale listened. "The drums have stopped," he whispered.
Duma and Tsuki also listened then. Whatever the Orcs were doing, they were no longer announcing their actions with drums. As they listened, a high-pitched wail sounded in the distance. Duma instantly scrambled backward and put his back to the half-wall of stone. "Elf-scream," he rasped.
Dale sprang up from the couch and ran through the archway into the wood.
Tsuki took up his shirt and swords. "What was it? Did you hear something?" he asked Duma as he dressed.
"It was the sound of a young Elf in distress. It is a sound Orcs are amused to hear in their prey but not happy to hear from other Orcs."
"Stand and come with me to help," Tsuki said firmly.
Duma stood and threw his legs over the wall as Tsuki moved through the archway then they both hurried in the direction they had seen Dale go.
Lain heard Dale calling out to him and stumbled as he changed direction to run toward Dale. Dale saw him and caught Lain by his arms just as Tsuki and Duma caught up with him. They saw the other Vale Elf in Dale's grasp was wearing only his shirt and he was terrified.
"I-I wanted to help him!" Lain cried. "He said I must be safe. He told me to go. He said I should go and send help. I did not want to leave him!"
"Loriol. Can you tell me where to find him?"
"We were in a thicket of holly, in the glade, near the old oak. He fell along the way."
"Was he injured?"
"I do not know," Lain said quietly.
"Duma, take him. Take Lain to his house, where he may dress, then go for Denelas and bring him to see Lain."
"Dale…"
"Go." Dale pushed Lain firmly toward Duma and then with a brief glance to Tsuki continued on, seeking Loriol.
Duma did not wish to escort the half-naked young Elf, but some part of him knew well what it felt like to be youthful, Elven and frightened, even if he had not known it as Elven at the time. He did as Dale ordered and led Lain back toward the Elven homes.
Dale and Tsuki ran in search of Loriol.
Loriol pulled himself along the ground, to drowsy to walk or crawl upon hands and knees. He clutched the dart that had stuck him in one fist as he used what strength he possessed in his arms to pull his weight toward the settlement. His mind was fogged, but Loriol called on all the Gods and all his fortitude to keep moving. He was determined to find a friendly face and show the dart and speak warning before those who had attacked him could pry the evidence of their actions from his sleeping fingers.
Loriol had hope that Lain would find help for him, but he did not rely on it. Lain, he thought. Loriol fixed his mind on his young lover and told himself that he must return home to him. This vow gave him strength to continue, though Loriol could no longer see clearly where he was or what might be before him. His vision blurred and his eyelids closed, though he willed them to lift.
He could hear whispers on the air and feared enemies were closing in. Perhaps they would slay him as they had Rosenrod and Gildenmund.
Hwesta of the Rómendar crouched nearby, one of his elite party at his side. Their party especially was to remain unseen, their bodies had been altered by Wizardry to appear as the western Elves, and if they should be seen now in their own garments, or by the Halfling, all would be forfeit. They should dispatch the Elf wriggling like a lost water dragon, but the terrible scream of that young one had stunned them long enough for that one to escape, and Hwesta's experience told him that there was not time to deal with this straggler before others came upon them. They must trust that neither Elf had gotten a clear view of them. He would trust that the darkness had covered them well enough.
Forhrondo would not be pleased.
Duma brought Lain to his tree-house and saw the Elf go up the ladder. The Elf seemed dazed to him, and he was not certain he should leave him alone, but he was as well uncertain that he was able to help Lain, and so he told Lain to rest and do nothing until he fetched Denelas.
Denelas was Dancing with Lenaduiniel when Duma returned to the feasting pavilion. No one there was aware that there was trouble nearby. The music drown out screams in the night.
Ugarit noticed Duma's return at once. She was annoyed waiting for him to return and uncertain if it would anger the Elves if she left. Many of them danced now, and Dog did not understand Elven dance any more than Ugarit. Orcs danced when called to entertain or arouse a master. It was pet behavior, dancing. Even the Elves who danced without partners while others watched did not really seem pets to Ugarit. They looked ridiculously happy. Those dancing with partners seemed to dance for each other and also to enjoy this activity. Those on the floor seemed to enjoy dancing near other couples. Those at tables seemed to enjoy watching but never quite seemed to leer.
Dog had moved to the bench, though it hurt him to sit, because the Elves had removed jackets and cloaks to dance and were flimsily dressed as they stepped and twirled about the floor of the pavilion. Dog watched this eagerly as he enjoyed to see Men pleasuring each other in turn. It interested him to see the strange breeding rituals of other races.
"I think it is pre-breeding," Dog said, "like contests of strength. They will have various partners and leave the feast for a bed with the one that seems most comely to their senses. You see how some leave together. Look how they touch each other as they walk."
Ugarit did not notice. She only watched Duma as he approached a couple in their dance. "If he dances with her…"
Dog snorted a laugh, and then whimpered as the laughter pained his injured body. "Is it his ears?"
Ugarit slapped the side of Dog's face with the back of one hand and then stood, still holding Tashmetum in her other arm. There was nothing wrong with Duma's ears, but Ugarit did not feel she needed to explain to Marduk's pet.
Lenaduiniel encouraged Denelas to stop as she saw Duma approach. "Will you dance?" she asked.
Duma was silent a moment as he tried to think of the correct and polite Elven words for such a situation. He felt that Denelas would not enjoy having this activity interrupted any more than Dale did his lovemaking, doors or not. "I ask pardon."
Lenaduiniel nodded.
Duma was not certain of all the Elven words, so he switched to Common Speech. "I was sent to fetch Denelas. Some trouble befell Loriol and Lain in the wood. Lain is at his home, and needs an Elf to tend him. Dale and Tsuki have gone to search for Loriol, as Lain told us that he had fallen and was in need of help."
Denelas had not paid close attention to Duma's appearance before, he had not even realized he was half-Orc when they first met. He found himself staring at the bare arm and exposed scars as he heard Duma say that Loriol was in trouble.
Duma raised his right hand to rub his arm, feeling uncomfortable when Denelas stared, though he did not feel so in the company of others.
"I will send out a search party after Loriol at once," Denelas said.
"But Lain needs help," Duma said sharply. "I think he might…despair."
Denelas did not like the way the Orc spoke to him. He turned to argue, but Lenaduiniel put a gentle hand to each of them. "Send out your search party, it is only proper. I will go to Tigh myself, as he is brother to Lain, and Tigh will see that he is looked after. Thank you, Duma."
"What can I do?" Duma asked.
"Go back to the guesthouse," Denelas said, then turned and went to find Elves to send on a search
Lenaduiniel knew that Duma would rather feel useful and likely felt mistreated by Denelas, but she felt it best she carry on with her own promised task before worrying for Duma.
Dale spotted Loriol in a flickering beam of moonlight on a bed of dry leaves, shirtless, snowflakes melting on his pale Elven skin. The clouds covered the moon even as Dale's keen eyes spotted the other Elf and sent the wood into darkness. Tsuki called out from behind as Dale skidded to a halt on broken leaves and dark earth.
"Here," Dale called as he fell to his knees and reached for Loriol. Tsuki came upon them shortly, as Dale was turning the Elf onto his back. Loriol's arms and chest were smeared with broken leaves and dirt. "He lives, I think," Dale whispered, and then he raised his voice slightly. "Loriol, wake if you are able. Answer."
"It has become dark suddenly," Tsuki whispered. "Can you see? Lift his lids. How do his eyes appear."
"I do not need any more clues to know this…" Dale broke off as he felt dread. He lifted Loriol in both arms and then stood. "Quickly, we must find our way back to the others. Do not stop for anything, Tsuki."
"I will stop if you fall behind."
"Do not speak here," Dale whispered, "Move." Dale began walking even as he commanded Tsuki to do the same. He was not yet certain what lurked in the wood, but he now sensed there was some danger to them. It had not been Orcs or Elves of this wood that attacked Dog and Galadhiel both. Orcs and Elves claimed no part in the death of Rosenrod and Gildenmund. There were Orcs that may drug an Elf, but Orcs would not have left Loriol to crawl slowly away.
"The birds," Tsuki whispered as he ran to keep pace with Dale's longer stride.
"I told you not to speak here," Dale hissed.
Tsuki had not entirely understood Dale's purpose before, but now he did and was silent. Dale sensed some danger, some intelligence that would listen and use what it learned to advantage. Tsuki knew not what form this danger took, but he trusted Dale's senses on the matter and hurried to return to the clustered dwellings.
Denelas's search party had only started out when they spotted Dale carrying Loriol in his arms. They rushed to him with their lanterns. "I will take him now," Denelas said firmly.
Dale allowed the Wood Elf to take his unconscious friend. "You must put your people on guard, Denelas. There is something out there. Some presence I have not felt before, yet it filled me with dread. If Lain had not cried out, I think both would have been slain as Rosenrod and Gildenmund."
Denelas felt angry, but he knew Dale was not the cause of his anger and forced calm into his voice. "My first concern is to take Loriol to the Healer, but I would hear what you have to say."
Dale watched the Wood Elves carry Loriol to the House of Healing. "Let us go find the others now, Dale," Tsuki said to him. "We must decide what we will do now."
Dale nodded without turning to look on Tsuki. His gaze still followed the Elves. The Elves of this wood were in danger, but they had a mission of their own to carry out. Abandoning the Elves here who were so youthful and surprisingly accepting seemed wrong, but so did abandoning duty.
Many leagues north, Lord Barad stood looking over the south wall of Stone Keep. They had had several snowfalls already this year, but this seemed to be the first heavy one, and the guards upon the wall wore double layer of cloaks as well as caps and scarves. Stone Keep had been emptied of nearly half its complement, as the onset of winter only increased incidents of masterless Orc bands raiding settlements of Men, Dwarves and Halflings. Now this fort and the towns and homesteads it protected were served by Rangers less than a year in training and even newer recruits who had come during autumn, mainly from western lands suffering Orc attacks. Seeing the threat first hand had sent many young Men to the forts to learn how to defend their people.
"Sir, a rider!" Dior called. White Rabbit Squad had watch duty.
Barad looked out from the wall in the direction the full blooded Elf indicated. A rider came from the southeast, fast, blond hair flying over a fallen grey hood. It seemed Duinhir, but Barad doubted his vision, as he hardly expected a commander to ride as messenger. He expected a runner from Thorn's Rangers who now patrolled the trade road to the south, but messages from River Forge were most often by pigeon.
As the rider approached, Barad was certain it was Lord Duinhir, the commander of River Forge. "Do not challenge this rider!" he ordered. Barad leapt down from the fortifications to the yard and called out to the Rangers at the gate. "A rider comes. Let him in and show him to my quarters immediately!"
Duinhir found the gates opening as he approached. He dismounted from the horse that had so kindly carried him and walked quickly through the gates. A Ranger there announced himself as escort and said they would go to see Barad.
Barad was building up the fire in his private quarters when Duinhir entered. Barad dismissed the escort and then straightened to greet Duinhir. "Thank you. The fire is most welcome. I thought it cold off the river, but the air seems bitterly cold over the high ground."
"It is the nature of higher elevations," Barad said as Duinhir warmed himself at the fireplace.
"Are those garments warm?"
"Oh, this? Yes. Dior came upon the cut of them. He is of the line of Lannén."
"They are skilled with such things."
"I did not expect your visit."
Duinhir nodded slowly and then raised his eyes to look at Barad directly. "I have news I could not trust to any other carrier. I have learned something…"
"Shall we sit?" Barad pulled a bench closer to the fire and then removed his calf-length wool coat, which Dior had presented to him. He saw that Duinhir was seated and then took the place beside him. "Does our campaign against the Orcs go badly? I expect to hear from Thorn any day."
"I met Thorn's messenger along the way and sent him back. The Campaign goes as well as can be expected."
"So badly?"
"There were greater numbers of Orcs remaining in the mines than anyone knew. Men and Rangers concerned themselves with the armies of Orcs to our south and the east, but no attempts to war on the mines were made. Survivors of the Orc armies retreated to the mines, and they have been breeding for certain. I hear reports of Orcs with unusual features which are unfamiliar to our best scouts. Those Wizard spawned monsters breed with the mine dwellers and so on to make a more cunning breed. The Orc parties are mixed, those from the east leading the northern type familiar to us, and inversely northerners leading easterners."
"I have heard such reports myself. We underestimated their numbers and their ability to work together I fear. Have there been more civilian casualties?"
"Few that I hear, but now we lose Rangers. We have called at homesteads and brought families into the cities to winter. My fear is that they will not retreat when Spring comes, but that is not why I came."
"Tell me."
"Do you recall some months ago I passed on a set of orders from the Elf King?"
"Yes." Barad did not need to think long on this. He remembered the occasion well. "I sent out four of my best new Rangers on those orders, two to go through your post and two that I dispatched from Stone Keep directly, with the courier."
"I have heard from my kin recently," Duinhir said. Barad knew that Duinhir was of some relation to the Elf King, a cousin or nephew among the Grey. "He has spies and informants of his own and is wise. He has heard word of his older son and daughter before we and is angered that we Rangers have placed his children into danger. He says he never sent such orders."
"Never sent…? What do you mean to say?"
"The Orders I received and passed along to you were falsified and did not originate from the Elf King and were not given with his authority."
"Then…who does the courier serve and what message does he carry?"
"Good questions both, but it also brings to recollection that the messengers who carried the orders between our forts were attacked."
"We believed that the Orcs intended to stop the messengers, but…"
"We never truly saw any intelligent motive on their part, but perhaps the Orcs knew something we did not."
"This seems strange. If the orders are not from the Elf King…"
"And we know no reason other legitimate authorities would use his name…"
"Then we have done the work of some group or individual with no authority to command Rangers and who may indeed be an enemy."
"Yes. And did the Orcs know of the deception, or did they also believe the message from the Elf King and wish to stop his orders to us."
"Did your kin indicate that orders were switched for those he meant to send, or that he sent no orders at all."
"He sent no orders at all."
"We should consult the Brown on this."
"I will agree to it. I have sent word with trusted Rangers to other Rangers, Anto, Boró, Cinsley and Royalhill in particular, also to our the King and the Elf-Lords, saying that we have learned some false orders were given and that all should be warned and take what precautions they see necessary to insure proper chain of command is kept."
"You have not contacted the Order of Wizards, the Dwarves or Halflings?"
"No."
"It may not seem necessary, but they would feel offended if they learned the others received such a warning and they did not. I will send word to the Mayor and to the Dwarf-lords known to me in the west. The Brown will aid us in informing his Order."
"What remains of them."
Barad looked to the window, fearing he was being watched. He trusted the Brown, but had a cautious attitude toward Wizardry.
Duma had returned to the house as Denelas had suggested. Dale found him there, as Tsuki, Fei and Laurel entered with him. Dog and Tashmetum were already asleep, and Ugarit sat on the floor nearby Duma, as he polished the bauble he had rescued from the stream. Lenaduiniel soon let herself inside, causing Ugarit to mutter about the manner in which others disregarded territorial boundaries. Duma was accustomed to the double standard in knocking on doors and paid little attention to the others as he worked.
Lenaduiniel informed them that Lain was resting peacefully now word had been sent that Loriol was in the care of the Healer. "I went with my brother to take Galadhiel again to the House of Healing and saw Loriol there. A dart was found clutched in his hand and it did not seem Orc made."
"Why would it seem Orc made?" Ugarit asked.
"Orcs do sometimes poison Elves," Duma said calmly as he continued his work with gem dust coated cloths and boards.
"Not so often darts."
"Pardon my phrasing," Lenaduiniel said kindly, "I only meant to say that it does seem there is some other party or individual within the wood and that they are perhaps enemy to both Orcs and Elves."
"Dwarves," Dog said, half-sleeping.
"I doubt very much it is Dwarves," Dale warbled.
At that there came a knock on the door, and many within expected the Dwarven entertainers to have something to say to them, but when Tsuki went to the door he found only Beryl.
"Has Kato come here?" he asked.
"We have not seen him since the feast."
"I fear he has gone missing," Beryl said. His voice was soft as always, but wavered with real fear. "I greatly fear he is not simply peering into bed chambers, but has run off to complete his mission without any escort."
"He cannot have gone far, we shall go after him at once," Laurel suggested.
"No," said Tsuki, "Dale and I must go, and here we must part company, for not one of you would be more safe or more useful than you would be here with the Elves. You all have guessed the truth. Kato bears a message and Dale and I are Rangers assigned to see he carries it safely to his destination. Gwindor and Galadhiel served in distracting and defending against our enemies, but now they should both stay here. The Elves need you as well, Lady Lenaduiniel. As for the rest, we will return to find you soon, but for now, you are likely safer here and may serve to defend each other, if not to give aid to the Elves."