[Orofaniel]

"Is everything alright with you, Annû?" Galhardir asked He could see the discomfort in the eyes of his friend, and he didn't like it. "I'm fine, Galhardir. Don't worry," Annû replied quickly. Galhardir noticed a certian insecurity in Annû’s answer, but he wouldn't bring it up once again.

Galhardir himself, felt recovered. His strengths were returning to him after the battle but his wounds were still healing; he could still feel the pain in both his arm and his leg. The mood however, was as joyous as ever. The net they had prepared was ready. Galhardir wondered if Rôg would be able to find the Palantir. He hoped he would find it as soon as possible, so that this whole “adventure” would be over, both for his sake and for Rodhal’s. He didn’t think at first, when he had volunteered, that it would take this long. Galhardir had been of the impression that the whole thing would go ever so smoothly, without anyone getting as little as a scratch. It had turned out quite differently; Carandû was dead.

To be honest, he wondered if it had been worth it.

He cast those thoughts away as he knew it was unreasonable to think about such things. Of course it had been worth it. If they didn't find the Palantir, the Corsairs would, and that would be bad indeed. He shuddered.

"We wait, don't we?" Galhardir then said to Annû. Annû chuckled, while he nodded. "Yes, and we hope. We wait and we hope..."

**

Rodhal had spent the last time quite alone on the ship. He had not witnessed the battle with the Corsairs as he had been under deck by the order of Luindal. He had however, seen the result of it; his uncle was still in bad shape even if he didn’t admit it. He was smiling still though. Poor Annû had been badly beaten up, and Rodhal could sense unhappiness in the eyes of the elf that he hadn’t seen before. Even if he is a nine year old boy, children at his age sense those things quicker than one would have guessed.

“Uncle!” Rodhal gasped. “Did you make this net?” he asked slowly, examining it. “Well….” Galhardir started, looking at it. “What will you do with it?” Rodhal continued, even before Galhardir was could answer the boy’s first question. “Eh…Well, we’re going to use it to secure the Palantiri when Rôg finds them,” the man answered, looking at the boy. Rodhal smiled. “Has he found them already?” he cried, seeming very excited about the news. “No, not exactly,” Galhardir then answered, while his eyebrows narrowed slightly.

Rodhal’s face expression showed disappointment, but it disappeared as soon as Annû told him that Rôg would by all means, find it by the end of the day. “How can you know for certain?” Rodhal asked Annû, curiously. “Now, you’re asking so many questions my ears are about to fall of,” Galhardir said, seeming a bit annoyed. However, Galhardir could never really be angry with the boy; it was after all his only nephew. Besides, he knew how though it had been for Rodhal as he had been alone- constantly; First Galhardir had fallen through the ice, spending several days recovering from the bitter cold and the horrible fever, and now; the battle. Poor Rodhal had been taken care of himself all along. While wondering if Galhardir had indeed been most irresponsible when he had taken Rodhal with him to this mission in the first place, he was interrupted by Rodhal’s howling laughter. The boy was still awaiting the final answer from the elf. “Well, I have a good feeling about this,” Annû told him. “He has to find it, or this will all be in vain…everything we’ve done will be in vain,” he finished.