Long Lost Leaves - Part III

[Varnafindë]

Barufiniel smiled at the wizard.

"I used to trust Gandalf, and I trust you," she said. "He also had to use some ... strange ... techniques at times, but he usually did get things done. Just tell us what to do - even if it is only to watch you in silence - and I at least will do it."

[Acalewia]

"I trust you, Radagast," Aelfwine said. She had followed his lead this long, she wasn't going to abandon him now. And the Entwives deserved for them to fight for them.

[Midge]

Magor voiced his agreement with everyone, while Aerin nodded. If they doubted Radagast now, they couldn't trust anyone.

[Aikanáro]

He wasn't going to ask her to do anything forbidden, was he?

Tabrîl could hardly refuse now, whatever it was he needed. She nodded. 'I stand at your side, seth'enati,' she said to him quietly.

[Earniel]

Visually touched by their support, Radagast said: "Thank you all."

He turned to the shadow martens. "That must go for you too. If you want me to help your captured sibling, you must trust me and do as I say. This is the best I can offer you."

The shadow martens looked at each other uncertainly. The recent events and the eventual capture of their companion had rattled them severely and left them indicisive what to do next. They merely nodded.

"Very well," Radagast said. He walked to the cave-entrance. "Hedrim! We have made our decision. We will agree to leaving this cave and leave our weapons but we will require reassurances."

"Very wise, wizard. State them and I'll see what I can do."

Radagast laughed. "Not from you, my dear friend Hedrim. Oh no, it'll be a cold day in Harad before I entrust myself and my companions to your word again. Only the Khagan can give me those reassurances I need before any of us sets foot outside this cave. Go get your master."

Without another word, Hedrim stomped off. Not long later the Khagan joined his troops on the grass field before the cave. With his bodyguard in tow and herald in front, the leader of the Ultai strode towards the cave entrance. The soldier holding the captured creature followed in suit, but kept a good distance to discourage any attempts to liberate his hostage.

"What do you want, wizard?" The Khagan's voice was full of bored confidence.

"You word, lord Khagan. I need your word that you will not allow anyone to harm myself or any of my companions if and as we come out of this cave. That you will release your hostage unharmed and immediately as soon as we have done that. And that you or any of your men will not prevent or hinder our leaving unharmed afterwards. And I need you to swear it on your honour as Khan of Khans and on your rule over the Ultai. In exchange we will come outside unarmed, stand aside and we will not hinder you any further."

It was the heaviest oath in Ultai culture that Radagast could think of and if the Khagan gave it here, before his troops, he would find it difficult, if not impossible to out-right break it without losing the support of his men.

"And the Entwives?" The Khagan demanded.

"I cannot speak for them," Radagast said thruthfully. "I can only speak for my companions who have followed me here. The Entwives will remain where they are in here. We will do nothing to prevent you from claiming them. Although I do hope you intend to treat them fairly."

"And what weight does your word have, wizard?"

"I will give you my word and call upon Mandos as my witness. That is a greater oath than you will ever have to swear, lord Khagan."

The Khagan stroked his chin in silence. He was considering the terms, looking for loopholes.

"Very well," he said after a while and raising his voice, he continued. "I am the Khagan, Khan of Khans, ruler of the Ultai and you have my word as such."

"Excellent," Radagast said. "As Mandos is my witness, it shall be thus. We are coming out."

Radagast turned to his companions. "Follow me. All of you. Take your weapons and leave them next to the entrance outside. It's a gamble, but you must put down all your weapons, if we want them to keep their word. "

Taking his staff, Radagast went out into the daylight and demonstratively put it on the ground next to the entrance, then he walked a few feet away to the right, to give the others room to exit the cave and assemble outside.

[Varnafindë]

All my weapons? Well, I said I trusted him, so I should follow his instructions to the word, Barufiniel thought. It would probably destroy his plans if I tried to keep a dagger hidden away. He must know what he's doing.

She went over to Radagast's staff and deliberately first got her dagger out from where she kept it at her belt, and put it next to the staff. Then she took her bow and her quiver of arrows and, keeping the bow stringed, put it next to her dagger.

Unsmiling she went and stood next to the wizard. She cast a short glance at him, as if to reassure herself that she had done what he wanted her to do.

[feawen]

Nami stepped away from her guard of the cave mouth, shot a glare at Hedrim and lowered her bow, arrows and knife to the ground. She always thought the ways of wizards was odd but this took the buiscuit!

[Midge]

Aerin, when she heard what the wizard wanted, stood and took her place in line to deposit her sword and her bow and arrow with the others in the pile. At least with no weapons, there would be no fighting. Rather, there would be no fighting of the kind that she was any good at.

Magor watched as his companions, one by one, did as Radagast had promised the Ultai. He was deeply disappointed that their trust in Radagast had resulted not in a full-on battle as he'd expected, but with this surrender-like behavior. He'd given his word to do as Radagast said, so he too laid his weapons on the pile, but he went and stood near Aerin and whispered rather loudly, "What does he think he's doing? The Ultai will have a straight shot at the Entwives now!" Aerin shook her head and lowered her voice to a mere breath. "Man of Rohan, do you know nothing of wizards? He probably knows something that we do not. Continue to trust for the time being. You'll more than likely get another fight soon enough. If not with this army, then surely you'll be able to start one in a bar somewhere." She smirked at Magor and he winked, though chagrined because he knew she was right.

On the ridge, cleverly disguised as (what else?) a tree, Blossomshade stood next to Earthshaker and watched the scene unfold below. They'd been careful to listen to everything that went on in the pit, and they could hear snatches of things from the Ultai camp, so they were partially informed. Of course they did not know what Radagast had said to the group in the caverns, though, and to the Ent and Entwife, it appeared that at the very last, when they were so near the goal that had taken then far from home, they were going to give up.

Blossomshade closed her eyes to keep from Ent-weeping. She did not now want to alert the Ultai to her and Earthshaker's existence.

[Aikanáro]

There was one thing alone that counted in this plan's favour. It wasn't actually forbidden by the law of her people.

Tabrîl stared at Radagast for a long moment, wondering if he knew what he asked, and whether his knowing would make the fact that he asked it better or worse. A warrior of the Kindi did not lay down their weapons before an enemy. Yet she, in trust, had agreed to follow him before knowing what he would demand of her.

She took a step closer to the wizard, and told him in a low voice: 'I suffer this only at your word. If you have any regard for my service these past months you will see my weapons restored to me.'

Before he could respond she turned away from him, knowing that she had to accept this dishonor for his sake, and ignore the protests of pride and indignation that rose within her. She did not lay what was hers in the pile with the weapons of the others, but set apart a small way. First her sword, placed down with reverential care, and then the t'rai. Two of them, the first her own, that she had carried with her since she had left childhood behind, and the second even older, the t'rai of Abasi who she had hoped one day to take as shirikabi. The t'rai she had pledged to care for as her own. She laid them down slowly, one crossed over the other.

After it was done, Tabrîl felt strangely bereft. To her dismay she felt the slightest trembling in her hands, and at once she crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at any she thought seemed to be watching her too closely.

[Varnafindë]

Barufiniel knew that she ought not stare at the others as they laid down their weapons, but she couldn't stop herself from casting quick glances at them. They were surely no happier than herself about the seeming surrender. The wizard's plan had better be good - and if he was of Gandalf's quality, it would be.

Tabrîl murmured something to Radagast before she laid down her weapons - Baru only heard something about 'my weapons restored to me'. Oh, it must be harder for Tabrîl than for anyone else of them. She was a warrior through and through, and this play-acting wasn't her style at all.

Baru saw that some of the weapons she laid down, were the knives that Tabrîl and Abasi had been training with some weeks ago. Didn't one of them belong to Abasi? Was Tabrîl keeping it safe for him? In that case, it might mean more to her than just being a weapon. Baru decided to do everything she could to make sure that Tabrîl would indeed have her weapons restored to her.

[Earniel]

Radagast didn't need Tabrîl's words to know how utterly unhappy some of his companions were about disarming. But he was relieved that all of them obeyed. It had been the only thing he could think of to keep them all alive.

The only alternative was an unfair fight, and as not all of his companions were warriors, when faced with the numeric advantage of the Ultai many would have perished needlessly. Radagast could not accept such an outcome. He had to try it this way, risky though it was.

Soon all of his companions stood beside him. Even the shadow martens reluctantly followed and joined the rest of Radagast's companions.

"There, we have done our part. Lord Khagan, now it is up to you."

"Indeed," the Khagan said, still looking at the wizard, trying to read his mind. He motioned to the soldier who held the captured creature to approach but did not release it right away. "You are free to go, wizard. I have no other need of you and your followers. Although it would be polite to remain just a little longer until I have claimed my goal?"

"By all means," said Radagast amiably. "I think we can spare another 30 minutes. But if you are true to your word as Khagan, I trust you will release your hostage as soon as your men come back from the cave."

"If your word has been true, you will not find mine contrary, wizard. Hedrim! Go and earn your reward, bring me the Entwives!"

"Gladly!" said Hedrim, smirking. Taking a torch, he lost no time to enter the cave with several Ultai soldiers in tow.

Radagast tried to look as casual as he could, whistling innocently with his arm crossed. He felt the Khagan was looking at him intently. Obviously the old fox expected a trick. Well, he wouldn't be entirely wrong, Radagast thought. There was after all going to be a trick of some sort, and Radagast prayed to all the powers in the West that it would work.

[Varnafindë]

Barufiniel was in no hurry to go. She wanted to stay, stay until the Ultai had left, so that the Company could pick up their weapons again and go home.

And of course she guessed that whatever the wizard's plan was, it involved them staying put. If not for them to do anything, then at least for Radagast himself to do something. That oh-so-innocent whistle of his wouldn't fool anyone who had known him if only for the last few weeks. It might not even have fooled Hedrim, but he had disappeared into the cave.

The wizard was up to something. Barufiniel hoped his plan was as clever as Gandalf's plans used to be.

[Acalewia]

Aelfwine placed her bow and belt knife next to the others' weapons and joined Radagast. He had to have a plan to ask them to do this. She waited and watched as Hedrim and the handful of soldiers went into the caves.

And she wanted to know what the wizard had planned.

[Earniel]

It took less than 15 minutes for Hedrim and the Ultai soldiers to search the caves. The dark look on Hedrim's face when he came back was enough to guess what he had found.

"The caves are empty!" He spat.

"How remarkable," Radagast said pleasantly, "the very same thing happened to us!"

The Khagan narrowed his eyes. "Wizard..." His tone was threatening.

"Before you consider yourself cheated, lord Khagan," Radagast said urgently. "I must remind you of your word that was given. Unharmed. How strange and unlikely it may seem, we have kept our side of the bargain. Here we are, unarmed and not interfering. We have left the road to the Entwives wide open for you, as we promised. You are now exactly as near to claiming the Entwives as we are. But neither you or Hedrim have bothered to find out if we actually had found the Entwives before you and your army descended upon us. We can not be held accountable for that. Every word I have spoken has been true."

"But the Entwives aren't here," the Khagan said.

"Oh but they are, I would happily bet my neck on that. The cave was still closed when we arrived, Hedrim can attest to that. When we opened it up, it was clear it had been sealed for centuries. The Entwives have written their names on the walls of their prison. The Guardian that was set on them confirmed they are here. They cannot be elsewhere. If they have survived the many centuries since their emprisonment, they simply must be in that cave. We just... haven't managed to find them yet. And unfortunately for you, lord Khagan, you did not give us any time to do so before you showed up. It is your own timing that has defeated you."

[Midge]

Despite her admonishing Magor to trust the wizard, Aerin could not help but be astonished at what he was now saying. She thought the whole point was to make the Ultai believe that the Entwives weren't in the cave, to make it seem that their company had found them and miraculously hidden them somewhere secret, somewhere far away. As she listened to the wizard, she felt that the only thing in which they had seemingly had the upper hand over the Ultai was fast becoming equal footing.

After all, the Ultai had only promised not to harm their company and the hostage shadow marten. What was to stop them from planting themselves outside the cavern to capture the Entwives if ever anyone from this company dared go inside and actually found them? And surely if or until that happened, the Ultai would ravage the cave, searching in what was bound to be a more destructive manner than what Radagast had originally planned.

What had he done?

[Earniel]

"So now I would like you to be true to your word and release your hostage," Radagast pressed again. "And we'll be on our way and out of yours."

"You keep saying that, wizard but I wonder whether you would give up on your quest so easily." The Khagan said.

"We'd be foolish to remain here and try to find the Entwives with you and your army present. We have no desire to free them from one prison to see them carted off the next one. But we can wait."

At the incredulous look of the Khagan, Radagast went on. "Yes indeed. Because, well, I'll be frank with you, lord Khagan: I consider your chances to find the Entwives on your own very, very low indeed. We were in there for days and did not find them. The Guardian that was set on the Entwives had magic, and it must be by magic that she had locked away the Entwives. You have power and cunning, lord Khagan and an army at your call. But you neither have time or magic. If I were you I'd give up your hopeless search now and return home while you still can."

"You have a way with words, wizard, I'll grant you that," the Khagan said. "But words, like swords, can bite two ways."

"A word given cannot be taken back. But I can see your thinking," Radagast said with a raised voice, indicating his disapproval. "Your greed has blinded you. Already you are thinking of breaking your oath and find some way to justify it to your soldiers. Given enough time, I reckon you just might succeed. But I do not intend to give you that time, lord Khagan. Honour your word this instance, or the consequences will be dire."

Hedrim laughed. "You are unarmed and outnumbered. Nobody knows you are here. You are in no position to make such idle threats."

"I am not in the habit of making idle threats. Look up," Radagast said. "Do you see those mountain crows, perched on the valley side? They have come to feast on the scraps your soldiers throw away. It is very fortunate that they have been lured here this way. Do you recall me whistling just a few moments ago? That was me informing the crows of our situation and asking them to bear witness. If we do not walk out of this valley within the hour, they will fly like the wind and inform the Dwarves of your treachery right away. And then you'd be lucky to run home head over heels, before the Dwarves come and cut your legs from under you. You know how territorial they are. And they like oathbreakers even less."

"The Dwarves! By the time they have mustered and arrived, we will be long gone. They won't bother to pursue us in our own lands, and we will send them such riches that the Entwives will bring us that they'll soon forgive us any transgression."

"You think that everybody can be bought like you, Hedrim," Radagast said. "An erronous assumption at best. But it's hardly just the dwarves you'll have to contend with. I have asked the crows to also inform the Ents, and they will not like you trying to claim their Entwives. Have you ever seen the Ents march to war, lord Khagan? They're a powerful force, unlike any army left on these western shores. They are able to level cities, break down rock and tear open earth with their bare hands. They are terrible when inflamed. What will you do against such a force, lord Khagan? And the Ents cannot be bought off by any treasure safe what is theirs."

"And just in case you actually manage to hold out against two armies," Radagast went on, "there's more. Since I hate to underestimate you, lord Khagan, I've also taken the time to talk to your horses. A very strong moral compass, horses and very good hearing too. And like the crows, they tend to like me. And they will talk. And soon all the Ultai herds will know, and the Seer will hear of it, and then the Khans and eventually all your people. And either way you will have a terrible fight on your hands, lord Khagan, perhaps even three. So trust me, it will be far easier and pleasant for you to hold your word, than to break it and deal the consequences. Let it go."

[Varnafindë]

I ought perhaps to have recognized some of that whistling, Barufiniel thought, mentally bowing low to the wizard (not physically though, not in front of the Ultai).
I know something of the birds' language - but I didn't recognize this even as a different dialect. And the horses have a language, too! That's a disadvantage of having grown up with Talking Animals, perhaps - you don't think of the dumb beasts having languages all to themselves.
And Radagast knows all of them! Perhaps he could teach me some of them? Some time soon, when we've finished our quest?

[Aikanáro]

The waiting had not been easy for Tabrîl, and while Hedrim and the Ultai had searched the cave, she had paced back and forth, never straying too far from the spot where the group had laid down their weapons, as if at any moment she anticipated a change in their fortune.

She had heard the Khagan swear, and she knew that such an oath was binding. It also occurred to her that unless the Kindi and Ultai were very different in their understanding of such things, the Khagan would lose everything should he break his word. No warrior worth the name would follow an oathbreaker. And yet Tabrîl did not know for certain.

Radagast knew better, it seemed, and when the search party emerged empty-handed it seemed that he suspected that the Khagan would indeed attack them. Tabrîl stood still, her attention drawn, and listened to Radagast's words.

He had spoken to the birds in the sky and to the horses! This indeed was the work of a seth'enati. Tabrîl watched the Khagan closely, not seeing that he could nowdo other than he had promised.

[Earniel]

At the same time, one of the horse in the Ultai camp neighed loudly, as if to show it knew what was being said below. Recognising the sound of his own stallion, the Khagan was taken aback and made a surprised movement he could not conceal fully.

"Sometimes it pays to be just Radagast the bird-tamer", Radagast said, somewhat pleased with himself.

For a moment the Khagan stared at the wizard, then he threw his head back and roared with laughter.

"Well played, wizard," he said approvingly. "It is obvious Men underestimate you at their own peril."

"You're going to let them go?" Hedrim asked incredulously. "He's bluffing! A few birds and nags aren't going to start a war! Of course they know where the Entwives are, and I know just the way to make them talk!"

While still brandishing the torch, Hedrim marched over to the soldier holding the emprisoned shadow marten. He wrenched the bottle from the soldier's grasp and held it above the torch. The captive creature screeched loudly in pain and fear, and furiously writhed to get away from the burning heat. The other shadow martens screamed in earsplitting unison.

"Hedrim, you fool! Stop!" Radagast started to run towards the Northern King but stopped when he heard a noise behind him. It wasn't a very loud sound but a verry telling one at least. Behind him it was as if the mountain gasped. And the sound came from the cave entrance.

Hedrim had done the one thing Radagast had not thought was possible. He had gotten the Guardian's full attention.

Radagast's ear popped. "Everybody get down!" he shouted hurriedly before promptly following his own advise.

A gust of wind blasted from the cave, going over Radagast's head, and narrowly missing the Khagan who was smart enough to heed the wizard's words quickly. The wind hit Hedrim full in the chest, sending him tumbling into the sky in a whirlwind while Ultai soldiers were tossed and thrown aside.

The shadow martens yapping happily like excited young puppies, galloped along side the whirlwind and disappeared into it as drops of water into a wave. The flask in Hedrim's hand shattered under the pressure.

The whirlwind beat against the valley walls, until it spilled over and tore through the Ultai camp. The siege engines were tilted and the horses' enclosure torn open. Tents were flattened, or dragged into the air, flapping wildly.

"FREE!"

The whirlwind rose higher, until it lost contact with the ground and disapearing into the air, taking the shadow martens and apparently Hedrim with them.

[Midge]

Blossomshade had watched horrified at the way things were playing out; first that Radagast seemed to betray them all (And you know, she told herself, you really should have caught him at that whistling...) and then at Hedrim's ridiculous behavior. She watched as all the Company seemed to duck as if it had been choreographed and the Ultai who realized what was going on were seconds behind them. She watched as the King on the North (quite a stupid King, she mused. I surely feel sorry for his subjects...) was hurtled skyward and she watched him seem to fly towards the clouds till he was so far away that he was no more than a speck, all in a matter of seconds.

And then, equally horrified at the thought of what happened to Hedrim as she was at his behaviour, she turned to see what would come next.

~-~-~

Aerin and Magor had both been surprised at how easily they obeyed the Wizard's wise order. They felt as though it was rather an instinct they felt themselves than something they heard another suggest.

It was a testament to each how the scene was taken in. Aerin, as soon as she ducked, shut her eyes tight and didn't relax her eyelids, let alone open her eyes, and she didn't dare stand up until she felt Magor's hand on her shoulder, gently tugging her to her feet.

In the meantime, Magor had ducked, but he kept his eyes skyward. He saw the wind sweep out of the caves, had seen the shadow martens dance with joy, had seen the look on Hedrim's face as his feet left the ground. He knew he would never forget that sight.

Finally, both stood and looked at the wizard, clearly waiting to follow his lead, whatever he might wish to do.