Elrond watched from the door of the inn as his sons paused briefly as they debated where to go first, then vanished. He beckoned to the guards in the stable yard. “Eilenach? I want you to keep an eye on them, please – discreetly. It is not that I do not trust them, but – well, this is a strange town. None of us know it that well.”
Eilenach nodded, and strolled through the archway, casually heading in the direction the twins had taken. Reassured that Eilenach would do his best, Elrond returned to the inn, where Brindley Butterbur led him and Celebrían to their rooms. Butterbur bustled about, talking the whole time.
“Well now, I’ve put you and your lady in here, and the lads next door. The other two are at the end.” He looked doubtfully at Elrond, then at the beds. “The beds may be a little small – you’re all a fair bit taller than my regular guests! I hope they’ll suit. Supper will be a meat stew – ’tis my wife’s special dish. Will that suit you all? The lads have gone exploring, have they? Well now, you don’t need to worry about them – they’ll come to no harm. Twins, are they? I thought so. I reckon they can be a right handful at times! I remember what my two were like. They’ve grown into good lads now, though. Now, if you want anything, just call me, all right?” He hurried off again. He had given Elrond no time to reply to any of his questions, but it was clear that no comment was needed – or indeed expected.
Celebrían looked at him in amusement. “I feel quite breathless! Do you think he is always like that? He seems very kind and welcoming, though. Come, I want to see the other two rooms.”
The three rooms they had been allocated were all very similar. They were a little small, and basically but comfortably furnished. There was a long, low window, two low beds – they were indeed a little short, but would be adequate for one night. There was a chest between the beds, a small table, and two hard chairs. A candle and tinderbox stood on the chest. Celebrían sat on one of the beds and smiled. “It all seems delightful. What a good idea of yours! Do you know, I have never been in an inn before?”
Elrond laughed. His wife was every bit as excited by the novelty of staying in a town of men as his sons were. “I will go and make sure that the horses are settled while you unpack,” he said.
The horses were stabled in a stall with clean straw, and fresh hay and water. They seemed quite comfortable, and Elrond realised he need not worry about them. He was just leaving the stable again, when he saw Eilenach returning. The guard approached Ilmarin, sitting in the yard in the late afternoon sun, and joined him on the bench. Eilenach looked annoyed. “The little buggers gave me the slip!” he explained to his companion in disgust. Then he spotted Elrond, and amended his description. “My lord, I am afraid that your sons realised I was behind them, and – eluded me. I am sorry.”
Elrond sighed. He had been afraid that would happen. “I think your first explanation said the same thing. I feared they might do that. Never mind – Butterbur assured me that they could come to no harm. They will be back soon – and what is more, they will apologise to you!” he added.
Yet as the afternoon drew into evening, his sons did not return. The horn sounded, signalling the closure of the town gates for the night – and his sons did not return. The inn’s lamps were lit, shining out into the darkness – and still his sons did not return.
Elrohir glanced along the road as they left the inn. “Which way shall we go?” he asked.
Elladan peered left and right, considering. “We came that way,” – he pointed along the route they had taken earlier – “and that way just leads to the other gate.” He turned, and indicated a lane that led alongside the inn. “Up there!”
The lane rose steeply as it began to climb the hill, and they were quickly level with the upper floors of the inn, and then able to look down on the roofs. They came to a small crossroads, and halted again. Elrohir pointed to the right, Elladan to the left. “That way!” they both said simultaneously. Elladan shrugged, and nodded at the track that continued straight ahead, climbing again. “That way, then,” he suggested.
Elrohir nodded his agreement. They slowed down as they passed several houses and small cottages, and studied them with great interest. Some had shuttered windows, others were flung open to the air. They tried to peer in through some of the open windows without being too obvious about it, curious to see what lay inside.
A little further on, they found a group of children playing, tossing a ball to and fro. As they saw the twins, the children stopped their game, the ball rolling at their feet, and clustered together, staring with round eyes. “Who are you?” a child who appeared the oldest demanded.
“I’m Elladan, and this is my brother, Elrohir,” Elladan told them.
“Why do you look the same?” another child asked curiously.
Elrohir smiled. “We’re twins. It means we were born at the same time,” he explained.
“No we weren’t. I was born first, then you, little brother,” Elladan answered irritatingly. “You were born after me.”
“Shut up, El! You know what I mean!”
The Bree children began to laugh. Elrohir realised that he and Elladan had lapsed into Sindarin – the children could not understand their last few words, but the tone was unmistakeable. They could easily recognise an argument between brothers. He sighed. “Come on, El,” he muttered. They wandered along several other lanes and alleyways, watching people as they came and went, and listening to the sounds around them – a baby crying, laughter, a tuneless voice singing, an argument from one house. Turning a corner, they came on a surprisingly familiar, homely scene – a woman unpegging washing from a line. Instead of running between two trees across a wide green lawn, the line ran from her house to a neighbour’s across the alley.
The woman turned to face them in surprise. “Hello!” she greeted them. “Who might you be? I’ve not seen you in these parts before!”
“We are travelling from Imladris – Rivendell,” Elladan explained.
Elrohir nodded. “We’re staying at the inn tonight.” She smiled at them as they passed her by.
As they rounded another corner Elladan suddenly pulled Elrohir into the shadow cast by an outbuilding. “El? What –” he began. Elladan clapped his hand over Elrohir’s mouth.
“Shh!” he hissed. “Look back there. It’s Eilenach. He’s following us!”
Elrohir looked carefully. Sure enough, the guard was climbing the lane behind them, trying hard to look unobtrusive. He gave a sudden laugh. “Come on, El – I don’t want to be followed. We can easily get rid of him. Come on!” He darted down one of the narrow lanes, closely followed by Elladan, turned right, and ran along another. A short flight of steps led down to another track. At the end of the track they stopped, listening.
“I don’t see him. Or hear him,” Elladan announced. “I think we did it!” He breathed a sigh of relief, and they studied their surroundings. They were in a wider, busier street with a few small shops; somewhere on the southern end of Bree-hill, judging by the low sun. The fragrant smell of bread and yeast came from one, and Elrohir’s stomach rumbled.
“Are you hungry, young ones? Would you like some bread?” A man – the baker – stood at the door of the shop, a brush in his hand, and his apron covered in flour.
Elrohir shook his head, and spread his hands apologetically. “We are hungry, but we have no money,” he explained.
“Not even a copper or two? Oh, never mind. I’m about to shut for the evening, anyway. Here, you can have this – it will be stale by morning!” The baker threw a small loaf to them
Elladan caught it deftly. “Thank you, sir!” they chorused, gaining a chuckle from the man as he disappeared into his shop. Elrohir scowled at his brother. “Why did you say that? He was talking to me! We sound so – foolish – when we do that!”
Elladan shrugged, and tore the loaf in two, giving half to Elrohir. “Sorry, little brother. It just happens, you know it does!” Breaking off pieces of crust and eating as they went, they continued their exploration, meandering from street to street. “I must say, everyone here seems very friendly,” Elladan continued. “The innkeeper; that woman we saw; the baker – they seem very pleasant. I like it here.”
Elrohir nodded, then sighed. “That man – the baker – said he was going to close for the evening. I suppose we’d better go back soon.” He stopped in mid-pace, looking about them. “El, do you know the way? The streets are such a maze – I’m not sure how we got here.” As he spoke, a distant horn sounded, calling villagers in from the fields, and warning approaching travellers before the gates were shut for the night.
Elladan groaned. “That settles it – we’ll have to go back. We’ll find the way – it can’t be far.” He grinned suddenly. “I know!” We just need to keep going downhill, until we get to the road. Then we just follow that!” He sounded triumphant.
“Of course! It won’t take long at all. Come on, El!”
They walked a little further along the street, then took a narrow lane that plunged steeply downward. Halfway down, Elladan stopped. “El? Do you hear that?” They listened, and the sound – the faint, plaintive whine of a dog – came again, this time ending on a yelp of pain.
“Something’s wrong,” Elrohir pointed out. “It sounds hurt.”
The next sound was even more chilling. There was a harsh laugh, another shrill yelp, and a chorus of jeering shouts and yells. The dog whined again. The twins stared at one another. “Something is wrong,” Elrohir whispered. “It is hurt – someone’s doing it deliberately!”
“We’re supposed to be going back now,” Elladan pointed out half-heartedly. “We promised to be back at the inn before dark.”
“El …” Elrohir began warningly.
“I know! I was just saying! Come on.” They followed the sounds – another yelp, and more taunting laughter – towards the road, and turned left to the south gate – moving ever further away from the inn.
On the far side of the road, on flatter land inside the shelter of the protecting hedge, lay a large timber yard. The smell of freshly-cut wood and sawdust drifted on the evening air. A gate faced the road, shut now for the night. The twins scrambled over it, and rounded a stack of tree trucks ready for cutting. Three youths surrounded a dog, tied to a solid-looking log. As they watched, one of the youths aimed a kick at the cowering dog, and struck it with a long piece of wood, raising it above his head for another blow. “Bloody cur! I’ll teach it to try and bite me!”
The twins raced forward. Elladan jumped and caught at the boy’s upraised arm, while Elrohir ducked beneath him and stood in front of the dog, facing its tormentors. “Stop it!” he shouted furiously. “Leave him alone! What are you doing?”
The boy – who appeared to be the oldest of the three – stared at Elrohir incredulously. “Get out of the way, brat, or you’re next!” he threatened. He tried to shake Elladan off, but to his obvious surprise, was unable to lower his arm. “Get off me, or you’ll be troll bait!”
“No,” said Elladan grimly. “Put that down. You’re not going to hit that dog again!”
The youth nodded at his companions. “Bob, Harry – get him off.”
One of the lads took a menacing step towards Elladan, but the other pulled at his arm. “Leave it. They’re just kids. Leave the bloody dog, too – old Appleton will be after us if he finds out, anyway. Let’s just go.”
For a long moment, the boy armed with the plank stared hard at Elrohir. It was clear that he longed to deal the same treatment to both twins as he had to the dog. At last, however, he shrugged and dropped the wood with a thud. Only then did Elladan release his vice-like grip on the boy’s arm. “I’ll remember you – both of you,” he threatened vaguely. “Bob, Harry; come on – let’s go.” The three youths turned and left the yard. There was a clatter as they climbed the gate, then silence.
Elrohir released a breath he had not even been aware of holding. “They’ve gone,” he said with relief. “El, are you all right?”
Elladan nodded. “Yes, of course I am. They didn’t touch me. What about you, little brother? And what about the dog?”
When they turned to the dog, it cowered away from them in fear, and as Elladan stretched his hand towards it, it flinched. “He’s frightened of us,” he said in disgust. “He expects to be hit! What did they do to him?”
Elrohir moved slowly towards the dog, talking to it softly. As he drew near, it snarled and tried to snap at him. He stilled his hand, then began again, until he touched the dog’s head gently. “Good boy. Good dog. Did they hurt you? Let me see.”
The dog had one paw raised from the ground in pain, and hobbled on three legs as he backed away slightly. In the lengthening shadows they could see a dark patch of blood on his grimy, matted coat, and another on his leg.
Both Elladan and Elrohir had begun to learn simple medicine from Elrond, working at his side in the infirmary. They knew enough now to know that this was beyond them – they would need their father’s aid if they were to help the dog. At last Elladan sat back on his heels. “We’ll have to get him back to the inn. Father can look at him there.” He sighed. “I wish Eilenach was around – we could do with his help.” He looked up at the darkening sky, then back at the dog. “We should have been back ages ago. El, what are we going to do? He can’t walk, and we can’t carry him – I don’t think he’d let us, anyway. We’re going to have to get father to come here.”
Elrohir nodded. He had come to the same conclusion. “I know. But El, I don’t think we should leave the dog here alone. You go – I’ll stay here and look after him.”
“No!” Elladan protested automatically. “Elrohir, we promised to stay together.”
“We promised to be back by dark, as well,” Elrohir pointed out. “El, we have to. We have to let father know what’s happened. And I won’t leave him here,” he added stubbornly, resting his hand on the dog’s head again. This time, it did not cringe away.
Elladan hesitated. “El – I don’t want to leave you here on your own. If those boys come back …”
“They won’t,” Elrohir said, rather more confidently than he felt. “They’re just bullies. Like Finglor at home. They just like to find someone smaller than them, who can’t fight back. El, please go. You’ll just have to explain. And hurry.”
Elladan hesitated again. “All right,” he said at last. “I’ll go. But El – be careful.” He backed away slowly, then turned and ran. Elrohir heard him scramble over the gate, then there was silence, and he was alone with the dog in the gathering gloom.
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