The Other Ranger [ Lord Of The Rings x Silmarillion ]

Finding Clues

"Look at this," Miril murmured as she found a manuscript page written in Silvan with Tengwar script.

She stood from the table she'd been sitting at and walked over with it to where the twins dug through their own crinckly stacks of old parchment. Both sons of Elrond looked up at her. Miril placed the document before them.

"Nimrodel never made her way to Do Amroth," Míril explained, gesturing to the document before her.

Elladan nodded. "Indeed. We know of the tale, most elflings learn it, especially as we visited Lothlorien often."

"But why did she never reach here? Did Mithrellas never tell?" Míril grinned excited. "What is this then?"

The three half elves gazed at the picture on the document before them. On the side was a small sketch of a wooden shack amidst trees. The document was in Silvan.

"I am not well versed in reading old Silvan language," Míril frowned. "But you two must be."

"It says this." Elrohir nodded as he stopped over it.

"I was walking with Nimrodel when we first came across it. A house in the woods, unlike anything we'd come to know before. Beside it was a cave, dark, deep. Nimrodel desired to stay. I urged against it, feeling it would be wise to keep moving. Yet my lady insisted. She knocked on the cottage door and an old elf answered. His hand was burned beyond use and his face tired. He agreed to let us stay the night.

"When I awoke the next day, the man, who refused to tell us his name, was gone. Nimrodel was gone too, having left a note describing how she had gone to inspect the cave upon finding our host missing.

"I stayed in that place for many days but she never returned. I am unsure if she merely left without me, or if she never returned. The people in this settlement seem to think she never arrived but I find this difficult to believe. My lady was a strong maiden. She could hold her own if she wished.

"As for the elf in the shack, I never saw him again. I think perhaps he was waiting until we left to return. He seemed rather skittish."

Míril, Elladan, and Elrohir were stunned silent. Some of it made sense. Other parts just warranted more questions. One thing they felt for sure was true was that Maglor was in the White Mountains.

"We must return to Minas Tirith," Elladan insisted. "We must tell Aragorn of what we found."

"Agreed." Elrohir nodded emphatically. "Míril. He needs to know."

Míril stood hesitantly. She knew they spoke truly. Yet the urge to discover her distant relative was overwhelming. She wished to head out right away to find him.

She sighed. "Very well. We will spend the night here and leave in the morning?"

Her two companions agreed. Together they left the lore houses and climbed back to the surface. It was dark out. Míril hadn't realized how long they'd been down there. She made her way with the twins into the Royal house to the guest rooms on the ground floor. The three of them took two rooms, Míril and Elrohir in one, Elladan in the other. They were all exhausted and eager to sleep.

"I know you wish to find him, melda," Elrohir soothed as he ran a hand through her hair, lying beside her, "but we must be cautious. He could be dangerous."

With a sigh, Míril nodded, snuggling closer to her partner. "I know."

They fell asleep like this, each comforted by the sound of the other's breathing and heartbeat. Míril's dreams were filled with screaming and the cries if babies, towns being set alight with blue fire. Darkness engulfed the ground and killed the plants. But the strangest thing of all was that these were towns like she had never seen before. They reminded her of the town's Aragorn had told her about in tales of of the South as a child before bed. Cities of southern men, in Harad and Khand. The men and women were dark skinned also, just like the Haradrim and Easterlings she had fought.

When she awoke the next morning, she was not the least bit surprised to find Elrohir already up and changed for the day. He looked at her in concern.

"You tossed and turned all night. Are you alright?" He tossed her the bag she had brought which held her travel clothes.

"I had horrible dreams." She shook her head but refused to continue or delve further into them. "Is your brother up?"

Elrohir sighed at her silence but shrugged. "I will check."

He left the room as Miril changed and came back with his brother alongside him. She packed up her bags and told them she was ready to leave, but that before they got on the road, there was someone she needed to see.

"Idril is here as Captain of the Guard," Miril reminded them. "I wish to bring her up to speed."

Elladan nodded and agreed that would be a good idea. "We will find Prince Imrahil, you go find Idril."

Miril carried her bags as she left the guesthouse and traveled through the city of Dol Amroth. It really was quite beautiful, almost like a cross between Minas Tirith and the Grey Havens. She supposed this made sense if Mithrellas really had helped found the city with Imrazor. It had an elf's touch, should could tell.

The streets were white cobble and fountains were strategically placed along the walkways. Purple flowering vines wound their way up miniature columns, adding green and purple to the white of the stonework. As Miril asked directions from a Knight, she was directed around to a path that ran parallel to the cliff face. The sound of the crashing waves below her and the sight of the sea was incredible. She heard the cry of the gulls, and for a moment she almost felt like she could hear a voice in the water. It was like something out of a dream, but she couldn't quite decipher it. This had happened to her on more than one occasion, but it was a stronger sensation by the sea.

Finally the path wound its way to a large, flat training ground surrounded by barracks and weapons buildings. Idril stood in the center, clad in armor, sparing with a recruit. Miril watched with a smile as her friend trained the young man. Once the spar was over and Idril victorious, Miril clapped.

"Very good, my friend. Very good," she told the woman.

Idril turned around and faced her in surprise. "Miril? What are you doing in Dol Amroth?"

"That is not for all ears, unfortunately," she murmured to the woman as they drew near one another. "Come. Let us go inside and I will tell you some of the tale."