The premise here is that Legolas is sending reports to King Elessar. Accompanying him on the journey is Captain Roland of the Citadel Guards, whose letters to his brother Ronceval are included with the reports from Legolas. Ronceval is a scribe/poet in the civil service of King Elessar.
Chapter 1:
From Legolas Greenleaf to my Lord King Elessar:
When last I sent word to you, we had just entered the road beside the Great Chasm and met the Ambassador from Khand, and the Chieftain Ararrat, whose daughter the Lady Larissa was wed to Squire Atacar, the young Sardaran Cavalier traveling with us. They left us and joined the Caravan that was returning to Sardara. Dispatches were sent with Squire Atacar to King Darius and the Duke Askelon.
This marriage between Larissa and Atacar may be more properly termed an Alliance, as it happens. Squire Atacar is the only son of old Admiral Atanatar, known as the Pirate Lord, who is close kin to King Darius and nearly every other Noble house in Far Harad. Ararrat is a powerful Chieftain, held by many of the Nomads to be their hereditary Overlord. He and the other Nomads have previously been, if not actively Hostile, opposed to the Claim of the house of King Darius to control of these huge Grasslands to the West of the Mountains, and South of the River Salasso. The ancient Hatred of Gondor was the one cause for them accepting any such Claim on the part of the Kings of Far Harad, operating on the old “the Enemy of my Enemy must be my Friend” adage. The chance Rescue by us of his daughter has opened Ararrat’s eyes and maybe his heart and mind to the Notion that Gondor is no longer his enemy, and that there may be much mutual Advantage to a friendship with your Kingdom. The fact that we are traveling with troops from the Households of both King Elessar and King Darius astonished Ararrat, and we sat far into the night as he Questioned me about your Rule and Policies. I hope, my Lord, that I was able to Answer him as I ought. While I am in no way an Official representative of you and your Council here, my long Friendship with you makes Care for your Concerns near to my Heart.............
....................We broke camp and continued our Eastern journey along the South edge of the Great Chasm. This is very Wild country, arid and rocky, but with a compelling grand Beauty that is most apparent at Dawn and Sunset, when the red rocks Glow in the light. I wonder at my Admiration for this land, because I had thought I could love no Place that did not have Trees, yet this is an aspect of Middle Earth that demands our Notice, and has an Enchantment of its own. It is a land of Eagles, they soar high, riding the Wind and surveying the rugged Landscape below them, seeking their prey. They dive with astonishing Speed upon some hapless little Creature, and sweep away on their great Wings to their lofty nests. They are enormous Birds; the nomads say they lose lambs and kids to these Eagles every Spring. There is not much Wildlife as we know it, but here and there one can discern, high on the ledges above, wild Goat-like beasts that climb from one tiny Outcrop to another, nibbling on scant grasses, moving about with careless Expertise on the nearly sheer walls. Yet, when we pause and stare into the Chasm itself, there seem to be no such Beasts on the chasm walls. There are birds’ nests, and we see little Lizards scuttling about, and strange insects, but of larger Animals, no sign..................
...................We had been meeting small Nomad parties about every other day. They have Wintered in the sheltered side cuts beside the Chasm, and are now leaving to go out onto the Plains, but we must surely have seen the Last of them, as we are now Seven days journey from where we met the Khandians. Now we will meet no one, they tell us, but Caravans going West as we go East. As before, the Sight of an Elf causes made these Nomads uneasy.
.........................There was a wonderful Moon last night. He was in Full, and the landscape was Magical in that cool light. The little creatures of this land move about more at night than during the day, and I, taking the last Watch, sat on a Boulder and watched as a family of little Mice scurried about, gathering the seeds fallen from the Thorn bushes. They scattered suddenly as a great Owl swooped down, but instead of pouncing upon a Mouse, the Owl landed on a Thorn bush and stared at me. He had great golden Eyes, and what looked like Horns upon his head as Owls do, but this seemed to be no ordinary Owl. He sat so long that the Mice began gathering seeds again, only to Panic when he spread his wings and swooped away.
I confess I was extremely Puzzled. There can be no doubt that the Owl was aware of my Presence, but more than that I cannot Fathom. The men slept on, of course, there had been no Untoward sound, but something had happened that charged the Atmosphere of the night for me. There are Wild Dogs in this country that generally Howl at night, but this night they were silent.
In the morning we broke camp and set out once more to the East. We saw that the Mountains were closing in again, a Purple shadow in the East, so we decided to ride farther than usual, in order to camp at their feet. There was no Water at our last camp, nor is there likely to be any until we reach those Mountains.
...................We have reached a stream, it crosses our road after Falling from a narrow Cleft above. The water is Cold, so cold it numbs the hands. We are just into the Mountains again, ahead of us they close in, rising in knife-like ridges. There is little Fuel for a fire but dried dung, but it Burns clean and scentless, and it cheers the Men to see the flames. Taking the last Watch, I had let the Fire die, and was again sitting upon a boulder breathing the night Air, when the Owl appeared. This time there was no Doubt—the Owl settled on the ground about a fathom from my Feet, and regarded me with his great horned Head slightly to one side. I almost expected him to Speak. It seemed good to me to remain Silent, but I was tempted to greet him, I confess. After some time he reared up very Straight, spread his wings, and rose abruptly into the night.
I lay down on my Blanket and rested my head on my Saddle, which is what all we Horsemen use for a Pillow, and awaited events. Again, the Atmosphere of the night had been Altered by the Owl’s visit, and I did not Fear I would sleep. The slightest sound reached me, perhaps not really a Sound, but a subtle vibration through the Earth—I turned my head very slowly and saw, standing half hidden behind a Rock, the outline of a Man’s form. I remained Motionless, but was comforted by the knowledge that the Horses were standing quietly—which would not have been the Case had there been any number of Men about. The keen ears of the Horses hear what no Man watching could hear, and they Scent other Horses long before we can see them, so I did not fear that we were under Attack, but instead, that we were being Studied.
The sky lightened to the East, and as the Night faded, so did the Outline I had observed. The Man, if it was a Man, did not move—his figure just Faded with the Dark. The Eastern sky was now ablaze with the rising Sun, She seems to leap out of her rest in these wild parts, and it becomes Daylight nearly as soon as we can say it. The Men stirred and refueled the Fire and our Breakfast was soon underway. I have said nothing to the Men as yet, about our Nightly visitors, but I think I must today tell Them. I do not believe there is cause for Alarm, exactly, but I am Unsure what Forces we might be about to Encounter. Many thoughts stir in my Mind, I recall many old Tales. Yet this Country is unknown to me and my Kin, and it may be that my Memories have little to do with Things here.......................
From Captain Roland: Dear Brother Ron,
Well, here we are, still riding along the edge of the Great Chasm, journeying East to Khand. Now, does that not make your desk-bound heart long to be out in the Air? The skies are high here, and the air keen and fresh when we set out in the mornings. We see great Eagles soaring over us, and exotic beasts clambering about on the cliffs. This is an amazing place, beautiful and wild, and we go along as merrily as Nomads. Our main worry is always to find water for ourselves and our Horses, but we manage to find brisk little streams spilling down from the melting snows, and falling over the edge into the bottomless Chasm. It cannot be bottomless, of course, but it will take some other fellow to prove it. When I look over, my head goes light, and my breath comes short. Somehow it would not be so terrifying if we could see the bottom, no matter how far! The Elf Legolas talks of throwing a rope over and climbing down, but I doubt if we have enough rope with us, and I for one would rather he did not. Even an Elf would not survive such a fall, if he fell.
Legolas is a great fellow, and has endeared himself to all of us with his carefree ways. There is nothing High-nosed about him and he seems as eager as any of us to explore, and to see things that none of our folk has ever seen before. I never thought an Elf would have much Woodcraft, somehow, but he is as knacky at setting up camp and foraging in the wild as any Ranger of old. He says he learned from a Master—none other than King Elessar, when they were on the Quest of the Ring. He has the Elven far sight, can spot a mote in an Eagle’s eye, as the saying goes, but he can shoot that mote out, too; his skill with a bow is astonishing. He seems never to tire, and is as fresh at the end of a long ride as when we set out. I have to admit I had some doubts about this expedition, I thought Elves were useful mostly at composing songs to the stars and gliding about in the Golden Wood, but Legolas is a good Leader and we all have confidence in him, even though his rank is a courtesy Captaincy. The Sardaran Cavaliers were very leery at first, when they were given their orders by King Darius, but now they swear by Legolas and think him a very fine Trooper. Most of them had been told a lot of balderdash about the wicked Enchantments of Elves, but they know better now........................
.......................We do not meet many folk on the trail now. The Mountains have withdrawn on both sides of the Chasm so that it cuts through a flattish plain. Not quite flat, though, because enormous boulders of strange shapes are scattered here and there—some balanced on narrow necks of stone, some arching like bridges over long dry streambeds. There are no trees, but bushes that have a sweet perfume, and plants with thorns savage enough to catch my flesh through my leather leggings. It is a land of extremes—the days are hot, so hot that our helms cannot be worn and we wrap our heads in scarves to ward off the sun, and the nights so cold our water buckets have ice in them in the mornings. But so beautiful, Ron! The purple and blue of the mountains, the blaze of the sunset, the golden glory of the sunrise—dear brother, I am beginning to think I have some of your poet’s blood! You cannot live here, of course, even the Nomads do not graze their beasts here, there is nearly nothing for grazing beasts to eat. We carry fodder for the horses, and we have a good supply yet.
Still, there are here and there signs that Men have lived here, not just journeyed through. We come across the ruins of clay dwellings at times, built into cliff faces like the nests of barn swallows. There are strange markings on some rock walls, stick figures and symbols carven into the rock, and in sheltered spots the markings retain some of the colour the ancient ones painted their carvings with. We have been told that when it does rain here it can rain a year’s worth of water in an hour, and that we must be careful not to camp in a dry streambed for fear of flash floods. I guess what I am saying is that a fellow needs to be on his toes here, it is a hard place, and will punish anyone who forgets to be watchful.....................
.....................After several days riding, we approach the Mountains again, or rather as it seems, the Mountains approach us, closing in to the Great Chasm on either side, so that we once again will be riding on a narrow road beside that Awful deep. Today I noticed what I took to be Eagles again, but Eagles do not hunt in groups, and these birds, about a dozen, were together, circling slowly above and to the North of us. The Sardarans call them Kondors, they are Carrion birds, larger even than Eagles, and they are watching from on high as some creature dies below them. The Sardarans say they wait until their prey has not moved for some set time, then down they plunge to their dreadful feast. It is true that without such Carrion eaters the world would soon be hip deep in carcasses, but such things chill my blood. I recall only too well Father’s tales of the War, and its aftermath.......................
Today as we breakfasted, Legolas told us of a Owl, and a Man, that he has been visited by during his Watch. Had any other told us of such things, we would laugh and dismiss his Tale as nightmares or imaginations, but coming from Legolas Greenleaf they must be taken seriously. We, even less than he, know what these visits portend.
Well, you know Ron that I set out on this expedition seeking Adventure, and that little escapade with Naughty Larissa did not quite fill the bill. I have a Hunch something is about to Happen!
(I'll carry on, if you like this.)