Making their way along the gloomy paths of Mirkwood, the company pressed onwards toward their goal for the day. Their destination was Mithecad, a small outpost that had been erected within the ruins of an old elvish building manned by a detachment of Malledhrim soldiers, and it lay close to The Tower. It was the group's final stop before they were to enter that dreadful place and Danel, Estarfin and Belegos seemed to share a dark foreboding about their task they lay ahead. Parnard was his usual self, taking delight in whatever he could find around him and Elloen was ever-reserved, his chief concern being their supplies and how much wine remained to them.
They had encountered a number of orcs on their way, but in the darkness they had taken them at unawares and dispatched them speedily and without difficulty. Only when they reached a large, stone bridge that crossed a river, the waters of which looked black in the half-light, did they stop and talk. "I wonder who built this bridge, and when?" Asked Elloen as he looked up at the great stone arches. They had all gathered in the centre of the bridge, looking East and upstream of the river. East leading to Dol Guldur. "It was not my folk." Answered Parnard, his eyes fixed on the water below. "If we had a boat, we could use the river and sail right to The Tower," he suggested, whimsically. Belegos opened his mouth as if to say something, but thought better of it. He was still irritated by Parnard's earlier disappearance near to The Pool of Tranquility. The companions had thought Parnard to have been taken by the evil spiders of the forest, or worse, slain, for he knew too well the paths of the wood to become lost, but upon looking for him they had found him beside the pool revelling in its beauty. Belegos had grown wroth at his carelessness and removed himself from the rest of the company for a while so that his temper might cool whilst Danel had tried to make the wood-elf see the folly of his actions.
Gazing up at the arches, Belegos could see this was no work of the elves for the engravings and symbols carved into the stone had been done by a hand cruder than that of any of his kin. "Perhaps it had been the work of Men, now long passed," he thought and shrugged.
"Come, let us be on our way. Mithecad is not far now," Danel told her friends, and they carried on into the darkness.
A light began to grow in the distance. It was at first a dull orange glow through the mist but the closer they got, the clearer it became and in front of them emerged the flames of a camp fire which burned fiercely, illuminating the ruins surrounding it. As they neared the camp Belegos halted, a sad expression on his face. Estarfin, noticing his friend had not followed the others, also stopped. "This is what has become of the Elves," Belegos said looking at the sorry building, and sorry it was. There were great holes where parts of the walls had crumbled away and a large section of the roof had collapsed many years past. "Our time has passed on these shores," he continued, his eyes not leaving the ruins, "all the deeds of the Eldar have come to naught and we shall be forgotten, for the lives of men are short, and it will not be long before we are nothing but tales that mothers will tell their children." A queer look passed on Estarfin's face, but he remained grim and silent. "There was a time when I found delight in these lands, but this journey has altered my desire." Belegos sighed and shook his head. "I vowed I would remain here until this present evil has been destroyed and to that I hold, but I will not linger once that task has been achieved. I will take the ship into the West. Would you come with me?"
"To be greeted by those who would rather me dead?" said Estarfin, the sudden words were sharp and caused Belegos to face his friend. "Nay, I shall remain here. I have no desire to see those shores." There was a cold look in his eyes and his jaw was tense.
"I think..." Belegos was hesitant for a moment, " I think that if you made the journey, you would be surprised at the welcome you would receive. All has been forgiven, every past transgression of our kin has been pardoned, you know as much."
"Forgiven yes, but not forgotten. I do not wish to see those faces from so long ago, that look of hate in their eyes which they would have seen in me so long ago. And besides, it was the Valar that forgave us, not those who fell under our blades." Estarfin's voice had become a little distant and his eyes glazed, as if trying to recall the faces of which he talked.
As the two elves spoke together, Danel made her way toward them from the ruin. Her silhouette was one of grace against the fire that burned behind, and somewhere out in the forest, a wolf howled. It was a long, drawn-out wail that one could almost mistake for the sound of a creature crying out in sorrow which only fed Belegos' feelings. "Will you not join us?" Danel asked them, her usual smile absent. "Belegos will take the ship," said Estarfin, though the harshness of his words had lessened slightly. Danel looked at her guide for a moment and Belegos thought that a grimace flashed upon her face when Estarfin had told her, but it had only been fleeting, if at all. "Belegos?" Her tone was almost pleading, "Is this true?". He nodded.
"It is," he answered. "I am old beyond the count of Men, as are you," he gestured to his two friends. "Has the time not drawn near to leave our burdens of this land behind us and look to a better place? Our people have fought the Long Defeat for thousands of years. Too few of us remain now, and of the Noldor, fewer still. Whilst I count myself blameless for the actions of my kin and forebears, I am nonetheless not blind to the weight of their deeds," he paused, "Of your deeds." This time the grimace was plain to see, and there was something else too, something he had not seen before in her eyes. "I would that we could leave together, for that is what my heart desires, yet in your company or alone, I will sail." Those last three words cut Danel like a knife and he knew then what it was that her eyes betrayed to him, and it was grief. "You would leave me - leave us - here? I cannot go," she looked to Estarfin for support, but he stared into the distance, unmoving.
"But why not? What keeps you here?" asked Belegos, "There is nothing here for us now. We have turned into lingering shadows, barely visible in a world which is no longer ours. I would not have it that you waste your life here alone when all others have gone."
"Not alone I hope," she answered, looking to Estarfin again in vain. The stoic warrior paid no attention to either of them. "I do not ask you for an answer now, but it would grieve me beyond words if I were to depart from any one of you in the knowledge I would not see you again. Please, think about it for me," Belegos said to her softly, his eyes never leaving hers.
After a while, Parnard came to the companions standing outside of the ruins. "My Lords and Lady, will you not come and sit by the fire? It is most comfortable. More comfortable than out here to be sure! For only a short while ago Elloen and I saw an orc throw himself at one of the sentries in a fit of rage, only to be cut down by arrows mere feet from the camp!" he informed them, stirring them from their own thoughts. It was Danel who answered him. "Yes Parnard, it will be good to rest," she said. They all made their way into the broken shell of a building without a word, and Belegos noticed Estarfin quietly slip away to aid the Malledhrim in their patrols of the camp. The hunter could tell that his friend was bothered by something, for at oft times Estarfin would carry out his own hunt when he needed to think things over, but he left him to it. He had said enough tonight, he thought.
During the night, Belegos, Elloen and Parnard strayed in Elvish dream and slept in their own way. The fire still burned brightly, tended by those in the camp and the crackle of of the dry, brush-wood rang out in the darkness. Not all slept so easily though.
As silently as she could, Danel finished writing a hurried note for her friends and gave it to the care of one of the camp vendors to hand to Parnard upon his waking. Being careful not to disturb the others, she gathered her belongings and left the ruins to disappear into the gloom.
All the while Estarfin carried out his vigil, unceasingly pacing the perimeter of the camp, his steely eyes never glimpsing Danel as she departed, and all the while, somewhere in the distance, wolves howled.
