Friends of Nimrodel: Tapestry of Dreams - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

mark12_30 · 06-23-2004, 10:02 AM

Mellonin's eyes closed. Dreams. Can we not have a restful nights' sleep? Must we always be haunted by longing, drownings, dust and despair?

She opened her mouth and was about to speak, when Ravion spoke. "We must move on. We are weak and weary, but I do not want to stay here near that..." he nodded towards the river. "The walk will warm us up, and later we will make a fire and dry our clothes. But first we must change into such dry clothes as we have." Ravion paused, and considered Raefindan. "We could go and ask the elf for a warm fire."

"I think not, " shuddered Raefindan.

He pointed at Gwyllion and Mellonin, and said "Gond's right side. Men on Gond's left side." THey struggled to their feet, separated as ordered, held blankets for each other and put on what dry clothing they had, hanging their wet things off of Gond's harness as best they could and using blankets as cloaks.

Mellonin marched in silence. Everyone still wore their wet boots, and they were glad when Ravion found a hollow between two low hills. Raefindan and Aeron collected firewood; Ravion started the fire; Mellonin gathered long sticks to hang their wet clothes on near the fire. The cloaks and boots dried slowly, and they sat in a tight circle around the fire warming their bare feet.

Suddenly Mellonin laughed aloud. "Halflings, barefoot and wandering! Four halflings and a man; Raefindan is Aragorn! This is Midgewater! Aeron, you shall be Peregrin, and Gwyllion, Meriadoc!"

"Nay, " chuckled Ravion, "Peregrin was the younger; Ernil i Periannath falls to Gwyllion."

"But Aeron is the rascal."

"Quite true! Very well, then!"

Once the laughter faded, Raefindan said, "So then who will be Samwise?"

"I will, " replied both Mellonin and Ravion; each glanced at the other, and looked away.

Raefindan hid a smile.

Mellonin looked up at him. Then she reached into her bag, and brought out a pen, and a bottle of ink. She shook it. It had held against the water. The papers were wet, and she laid them out by the fire; in the still air they did not stir. She brandished the pen in the air, and smiled grimly, and laid it beside the papers, smoothed her hair, and looked at Raefindan again. "I must hear of your dreams," she said, wriggling her toes nearer the fire. "Tell me your tale now."

littlemanpoet · 06-23-2004, 05:45 PM

"I must hear of your dreams," Mellonin said, wriggling her toes nearer the fire. "Tell me your tale now."

Raefindan sighed. Mellonin wanted the dreams told before all of them. Truth be told, they did not feel as if they belonged to him alone. Still, it was as if she was asking him to reveal dark secrets from his past from the witness stand.

"I dreamed that I was Imrazor. That I took Mithrellas to wife."

"Who are they?" asked Gwyllion.

"Old tales tell of Amroth and Nimrodel," Ravion said. "Amroth, king of Lorien, loved Nimrodel, who gave her name to the river flowing out of the Misty Mountains, and through Lorien until it joins the Silverlode. Amroth went over sea, and Nimrodel became separated from him. He was lost in the waves, and she was lost in the mountains. It is told that Imrazor found and took to wife Mithrellas, one of Nimrodel's serving women."

"You have almost told my tale for me, Ravion," Raefindan said. He widened his eyes and shook his head. I dreamed of finding and wooing her, and helping her to look for Nimrodel. We gave up hope and she consented to be my wife."

"Cunning scented?" One brow rose on Aeron's face. "What kind of smell is that?"

"Consented. It means, agreed."

"An odd word." Aeron frowned.

"No doubt!" Raefindan grinned. It's from a language you cannot know, my friend. "In my last dream, she left me and my son and my daughter, and ranged into the mountains, as if drawn by some call. Perhaps Nimrodel called her. She fell to her death. From a high cliff." Raefindan hung his head, for he did not want the others to see how his eyes welled. He rubbed them. "The smoke!" He stood and stretched. "So that is my dream. Make of it what you will." He sat back down.

Imladris · 06-24-2004, 04:54 PM

"What were you doing beside the water?" asked Aeron, as he plopped himself down beside the water. "You weren't thinking of going for a swim, were you?"

"Yes. I wanted to swim in the nasty muck," Gwyllion said, rolling her eyes. She tossed her head, put her nose in the air, slided her eyes down at him and said, "I was investigating. "

He chuckled and tossed a pebble at her, which cuffed her on the ear. "That is a big word for you," he said, winking. "Did you hear it from Raefindan?"

"I should have stayed under the water and died," said Gwyllion, stifling a yawn. "You do not even seem to be grieved that I almost died."

[/i] Women were so sentimental.[/i] "But you didn't die," he said. "Why should I shed tears over something that didn't happen, eh? You're alive, and ripe for tickling, teasing, and all sorts of brotherly affection."

"Brotherly abuse, you mean," Gwyllion replied, throwing a pebble at him.

It flew wide the mark and Aeron laughed. Girls were such rotten shots. If objects didn't naturally go down towards the earth, she would even miss that. "Missed!" he chortled.

Frowning, she picked up another and threw again. This time he caugt it and said, "You're a hopeless cause, little Gwyll."

"That is because you caught it, brother." She sighed, and yawned.

"Are you tired?" he asked. He was tired too, though he didn't have a reason to be. He hadn't even had a chance to throw in a punch or two during the scuffle between the elf and ranger. But Gwyllion had had a near death experience including a bit of venom.

In answer she crawled toward him and put her head on his knees and closed her eyes. "What do you think I am -- a cushion?"

"A bony one, yes."

"Good night, Gwyll."

Orual · 06-25-2004, 06:30 PM

The morning rose quietly, sneaking up on Ravion like the creature in the water. It was almost as unwelcome.

He turned over, trying to block out the first rays of the sun, but it did not work. It never did. He sat up with an effort, his muscles stiff and his head throbbing. What time was it, he wondered? How long since he had fallen asleep? Had it really been any time at all? He groaned softly, so as not to wake up his companions, and went to Gond.

He stroked Gond's neck and took several deep breaths, struggling against the foggy feeling in his head. Gond looked at him soulfully and whinnied sympathetically. Ravion smiled faintly and set about making sure that everything they needed that was not in use currently was packed.

After he folded the now-dry clothes from the previous night, everything was. All that was left was to pack the blankets that they had used overnight. He would let the others sleep for a half hour, then they would have to go. He leaned his head against Gond and took some more deep breaths. It would take more than the poor night's sleep he had gotten to pull him through the day.

mark12_30 · 06-27-2004, 06:36 AM

Mellonin pulled her coak up over her head. "It cannot be time to rise. Not yet."

No one replied. She huddled deeper under her cloak and blanket, thought better of it, opened one groggy eye partway, found the fire, and crawled towards it. When she could feel its heat through the blankets, she curled towards it and pulled her hood over her eyes again.

She heard Raefindan's racking cough not far away. Gond snorted. She thought she heard Ravion whisper; but he was always noiseless. She opened an eye and peered out, and saw Ravion moving through the mist, hooded and cloaked.

She closed her eyes again, snuggled closer to the fire, and drifted off.

Blistering heat. Caustic fumes. Dust and ashes. It was neither day nor night. She stood in a valley-- no, a crevasse; on both sides sheer cliffs rose. Bones were scattered about; skulls leered at her. Misty forms wafted past her, each one a wave of fear in her soul. Despite the heat she was chilled.

"Why have you left me? Why have you not returned for me?"

The cliffs echoed her cry. The skulls mocked her. The misty forms drew nearer, listening. Fear took her breath away; she grew faint, fighting for air.

" You cannot be false. I have been true. I have waited. Why have you not come?"

Darkness fell. The skulls glimmered in the unlight. The misty forms wove around her, and sometimes passed through her in an ancient dance; she writhed to avoid the touch of their clammy hands. Their hands met hers nonetheless. Every handclasp made her weaker. Each breath was a struggle.

"Mellonin, wake. It is but a dream. Hear me. Mellonin, wake."

"I will not wake, for waking is only torment. I wake to find that you are not here. Beloved, when will you come? Why have you not come? I will sleep forever and dream of you."

The dance quickened, and every touch brought a deadly chill to her hands, her arms. She was slipping, slipping. The dance wove around her. Every breath seemed her last. The chill neared her heart. She welcomed it.

"Yes, I will sleep; I will forget my despair in sweet dreams of my love. Come, dreams. Come, sleep of death; would that you would take me hence. But alas, you may not. I will dream til my love comes."

No longer were the misty forms taking her hands in the dance; now they seized her by the shoulders.

She was face to face with a skull; she shrank from it, closing her eyes, willing herself to dream of her love.

"Mellonin!"

"You are too gentle, Ravion." Aeron slapped her hard. Ravion glared at him.

Mellonin's eyes opened. Mouth open, choking for air, she stared wide-eyed at the faces hovering over her, shrank from the hands that held her.

"Mellonin, " pleaded Ravion.

Aeron raised his hand to slap her again, but Raefindan caught his wrist, and spoke. "Mellonin, it's us. Your friends. You're with us now. Ravion is here, Aeron is here, and Gwyllion. We won't hurt you. Remember us? You're awake now. You were dreaming. It was a dream."

Raefindan's soothing voice gradually brought her around. She sat up, looked at each one in turn, put her face in her hands, and slowly regained her breath.

mark12_30 · 06-27-2004, 07:02 AM

The night was clear and bitter cold. The horses' whiskers had frost on them. They camped near a small copse and made two large fires, and huddled together for warmth. Even the elves on watch stayed near the fires.

The next morning they woke cold and stiff, and hungry. Lembas had no appeal, but they used dried meat, fruit, and lembas to make a sort of breakfast stew. Cheered, they mounted and rode.

The river murmured and bubbled along its thin edges of creaking, crackling ice. Fallen leaves blew along the shore, and swirled along the river, eddying near rocks and shallows. The sky was clear, the midwinter sun had been bright but cold. Liornung had wrapped his fiddle in his spare shirt and stored it deep in his saddlebag. The sun went down; they could see their breath even in the twilight.

Careful search all along the bank had showed them nothing. Amroth let his thoughts roam further south; there were no elves here.

"Erebemlin, there are no elves along this riverbank."

"None with open minds, my lord. I do not think her mind is open. If she had opened her mind, would you not find her?"

Amroth considered his friend, and nodded. With a sigh, he said, "We will search the bank." He rode on, pondering. "But Erebemlin, when I first came, I thought I found her in dreams. I thought that I sensed her presence. Yet waking, I could not and cannot find her."

Erebemlin grew thoughtful. "Yet the nightmares weary you, my lord. Your body needs sleep or you will sicken as men do."

Amroth gazed ahead. "Do not think me ungrateful, friend. But perhaps you should lessen your guard over my sleep."

Erebemlin hesitated, and bowed his head. "As you will, my lord. Yet I would not see you weaken again. It is not many days since you first regained any strength."

"I will rest when I find her, " Amroth replied.

mark12_30 · 06-27-2004, 07:10 AM

Nethwador listened as Amroth and Erebemlin talked. Their minds did not touch his, and all he heard was the words. He felt left out.

Nudging his horse, he trotted up between them. They looked at him, and Amroth's mind touched his.

"The night is cold; we will need a fire, " Nethwador reminded them.

Amroth laughed. "Yes, little brother; we will indeed. No doubt the horses will want some grass. How I do forget the comfort of my friends. I am sorry." His smiled gently faded, and he looked ahead in the twilight.

He shook his head. He could see little. He felt blind.

"Erebemlin."

Erebemlin answered gently. "There is a dead tree two miles hence, my lord. Enough to feed several fires."

They urged their horses into a trot, and made camp under the dead tree.

06-23-2004, 10:02 AM	#1
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Dec 21 Mellonin's eyes closed. Dreams. Can we not have a restful nights' sleep? Must we always be haunted by longing, drownings, dust and despair? She opened her mouth and was about to speak, when Ravion spoke. "We must move on. We are weak and weary, but I do not want to stay here near that..." he nodded towards the river. "The walk will warm us up, and later we will make a fire and dry our clothes. But first we must change into such dry clothes as we have." Ravion paused, and considered Raefindan. "We could go and ask the elf for a warm fire." "I think not, " shuddered Raefindan. He pointed at Gwyllion and Mellonin, and said "Gond's right side. Men on Gond's left side." THey struggled to their feet, separated as ordered, held blankets for each other and put on what dry clothing they had, hanging their wet things off of Gond's harness as best they could and using blankets as cloaks. Mellonin marched in silence. Everyone still wore their wet boots, and they were glad when Ravion found a hollow between two low hills. Raefindan and Aeron collected firewood; Ravion started the fire; Mellonin gathered long sticks to hang their wet clothes on near the fire. The cloaks and boots dried slowly, and they sat in a tight circle around the fire warming their bare feet. Suddenly Mellonin laughed aloud. "Halflings, barefoot and wandering! Four halflings and a man; Raefindan is Aragorn! This is Midgewater! Aeron, you shall be Peregrin, and Gwyllion, Meriadoc!" "Nay, " chuckled Ravion, "Peregrin was the younger; Ernil i Periannath falls to Gwyllion." "But Aeron is the rascal." "Quite true! Very well, then!" Once the laughter faded, Raefindan said, "So then who will be Samwise?" "I will, " replied both Mellonin and Ravion; each glanced at the other, and looked away. Raefindan hid a smile. Mellonin looked up at him. Then she reached into her bag, and brought out a pen, and a bottle of ink. She shook it. It had held against the water. The papers were wet, and she laid them out by the fire; in the still air they did not stir. She brandished the pen in the air, and smiled grimly, and laid it beside the papers, smoothed her hair, and looked at Raefindan again. "I must hear of your dreams," she said, wriggling her toes nearer the fire. "Tell me your tale now." Last edited by mark12_30; 05-30-2008 at 03:10 PM.

06-23-2004, 05:45 PM	#2
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Raefindan "I must hear of your dreams," Mellonin said, wriggling her toes nearer the fire. "Tell me your tale now." Raefindan sighed. Mellonin wanted the dreams told before all of them. Truth be told, they did not feel as if they belonged to him alone. Still, it was as if she was asking him to reveal dark secrets from his past from the witness stand. "I dreamed that I was Imrazor. That I took Mithrellas to wife." "Who are they?" asked Gwyllion. "Old tales tell of Amroth and Nimrodel," Ravion said. "Amroth, king of Lorien, loved Nimrodel, who gave her name to the river flowing out of the Misty Mountains, and through Lorien until it joins the Silverlode. Amroth went over sea, and Nimrodel became separated from him. He was lost in the waves, and she was lost in the mountains. It is told that Imrazor found and took to wife Mithrellas, one of Nimrodel's serving women." "You have almost told my tale for me, Ravion," Raefindan said. He widened his eyes and shook his head. I dreamed of finding and wooing her, and helping her to look for Nimrodel. We gave up hope and she consented to be my wife." "Cunning scented?" One brow rose on Aeron's face. "What kind of smell is that?" "Consented. It means, agreed." "An odd word." Aeron frowned. "No doubt!" Raefindan grinned. It's from a language you cannot know, my friend. "In my last dream, she left me and my son and my daughter, and ranged into the mountains, as if drawn by some call. Perhaps Nimrodel called her. She fell to her death. From a high cliff." Raefindan hung his head, for he did not want the others to see how his eyes welled. He rubbed them. "The smoke!" He stood and stretched. "So that is my dream. Make of it what you will." He sat back down.

06-25-2004, 06:30 PM	#4
Orual Speaker of the Dead Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Superbia Posts: 868	Ravion's Ramblers: Ravion The morning rose quietly, sneaking up on Ravion like the creature in the water. It was almost as unwelcome. He turned over, trying to block out the first rays of the sun, but it did not work. It never did. He sat up with an effort, his muscles stiff and his head throbbing. What time was it, he wondered? How long since he had fallen asleep? Had it really been any time at all? He groaned softly, so as not to wake up his companions, and went to Gond. He stroked Gond's neck and took several deep breaths, struggling against the foggy feeling in his head. Gond looked at him soulfully and whinnied sympathetically. Ravion smiled faintly and set about making sure that everything they needed that was not in use currently was packed. After he folded the now-dry clothes from the previous night, everything was. All that was left was to pack the blankets that they had used overnight. He would let the others sleep for a half hour, then they would have to go. He leaned his head against Gond and took some more deep breaths. It would take more than the poor night's sleep he had gotten to pull him through the day.

06-27-2004, 06:36 AM	#5
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Dec 22: Entwash Delta, Ravion's Ramblers Mellonin pulled her coak up over her head. "It cannot be time to rise. Not yet." No one replied. She huddled deeper under her cloak and blanket, thought better of it, opened one groggy eye partway, found the fire, and crawled towards it. When she could feel its heat through the blankets, she curled towards it and pulled her hood over her eyes again. She heard Raefindan's racking cough not far away. Gond snorted. She thought she heard Ravion whisper; but he was always noiseless. She opened an eye and peered out, and saw Ravion moving through the mist, hooded and cloaked. She closed her eyes again, snuggled closer to the fire, and drifted off. Blistering heat. Caustic fumes. Dust and ashes. It was neither day nor night. She stood in a valley-- no, a crevasse; on both sides sheer cliffs rose. Bones were scattered about; skulls leered at her. Misty forms wafted past her, each one a wave of fear in her soul. Despite the heat she was chilled. "Why have you left me? Why have you not returned for me?" The cliffs echoed her cry. The skulls mocked her. The misty forms drew nearer, listening. Fear took her breath away; she grew faint, fighting for air. " You cannot be false. I have been true. I have waited. Why have you not come?" Darkness fell. The skulls glimmered in the unlight. The misty forms wove around her, and sometimes passed through her in an ancient dance; she writhed to avoid the touch of their clammy hands. Their hands met hers nonetheless. Every handclasp made her weaker. Each breath was a struggle. "Mellonin, wake. It is but a dream. Hear me. Mellonin, wake." "I will not wake, for waking is only torment. I wake to find that you are not here. Beloved, when will you come? Why have you not come? I will sleep forever and dream of you." The dance quickened, and every touch brought a deadly chill to her hands, her arms. She was slipping, slipping. The dance wove around her. Every breath seemed her last. The chill neared her heart. She welcomed it. "Yes, I will sleep; I will forget my despair in sweet dreams of my love. Come, dreams. Come, sleep of death; would that you would take me hence. But alas, you may not. I will dream til my love comes." No longer were the misty forms taking her hands in the dance; now they seized her by the shoulders. She was face to face with a skull; she shrank from it, closing her eyes, willing herself to dream of her love. "Mellonin!" "You are too gentle, Ravion." Aeron slapped her hard. Ravion glared at him. Mellonin's eyes opened. Mouth open, choking for air, she stared wide-eyed at the faces hovering over her, shrank from the hands that held her. "Mellonin, " pleaded Ravion. Aeron raised his hand to slap her again, but Raefindan caught his wrist, and spoke. "Mellonin, it's us. Your friends. You're with us now. Ravion is here, Aeron is here, and Gwyllion. We won't hurt you. Remember us? You're awake now. You were dreaming. It was a dream." Raefindan's soothing voice gradually brought her around. She sat up, looked at each one in turn, put her face in her hands, and slowly regained her breath.

06-27-2004, 07:02 AM	#6
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Night of Dec 21, morning & nightfall of Dec 22: Ædegard's troop: Banks of the Anduin The night was clear and bitter cold. The horses' whiskers had frost on them. They camped near a small copse and made two large fires, and huddled together for warmth. Even the elves on watch stayed near the fires. The next morning they woke cold and stiff, and hungry. Lembas had no appeal, but they used dried meat, fruit, and lembas to make a sort of breakfast stew. Cheered, they mounted and rode. The river murmured and bubbled along its thin edges of creaking, crackling ice. Fallen leaves blew along the shore, and swirled along the river, eddying near rocks and shallows. The sky was clear, the midwinter sun had been bright but cold. Liornung had wrapped his fiddle in his spare shirt and stored it deep in his saddlebag. The sun went down; they could see their breath even in the twilight. Careful search all along the bank had showed them nothing. Amroth let his thoughts roam further south; there were no elves here. "Erebemlin, there are no elves along this riverbank." "None with open minds, my lord. I do not think her mind is open. If she had opened her mind, would you not find her?" Amroth considered his friend, and nodded. With a sigh, he said, "We will search the bank." He rode on, pondering. "But Erebemlin, when I first came, I thought I found her in dreams. I thought that I sensed her presence. Yet waking, I could not and cannot find her." Erebemlin grew thoughtful. "Yet the nightmares weary you, my lord. Your body needs sleep or you will sicken as men do." Amroth gazed ahead. "Do not think me ungrateful, friend. But perhaps you should lessen your guard over my sleep." Erebemlin hesitated, and bowed his head. "As you will, my lord. Yet I would not see you weaken again. It is not many days since you first regained any strength." "I will rest when I find her, " Amroth replied. Last edited by mark12_30; 08-23-2004 at 10:23 AM.

06-24-2004, 04:54 PM	#3
Imladris Tears of the Phoenix Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Putting dimes in the jukebox baby. Posts: 1,453	"What were you doing beside the water?" asked Aeron, as he plopped himself down beside the water. "You weren't thinking of going for a swim, were you?" "Yes. I wanted to swim in the nasty muck," Gwyllion said, rolling her eyes. She tossed her head, put her nose in the air, slided her eyes down at him and said, "I was investigating. " He chuckled and tossed a pebble at her, which cuffed her on the ear. "That is a big word for you," he said, winking. "Did you hear it from Raefindan?" "I should have stayed under the water and died," said Gwyllion, stifling a yawn. "You do not even seem to be grieved that I almost died." [/i] Women were so sentimental.[/i] "But you didn't die," he said. "Why should I shed tears over something that didn't happen, eh? You're alive, and ripe for tickling, teasing, and all sorts of brotherly affection." "Brotherly abuse, you mean," Gwyllion replied, throwing a pebble at him. It flew wide the mark and Aeron laughed. Girls were such rotten shots. If objects didn't naturally go down towards the earth, she would even miss that. "Missed!" he chortled. Frowning, she picked up another and threw again. This time he caugt it and said, "You're a hopeless cause, little Gwyll." "That is because you caught it, brother." She sighed, and yawned. "Are you tired?" he asked. He was tired too, though he didn't have a reason to be. He hadn't even had a chance to throw in a punch or two during the scuffle between the elf and ranger. But Gwyllion had had a near death experience including a bit of venom. In answer she crawled toward him and put her head on his knees and closed her eyes. "What do you think I am -- a cushion?" "A bony one, yes." "Good night, Gwyll."

06-27-2004, 07:10 AM	#7
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Night of Dec 22: Nethwador Nethwador listened as Amroth and Erebemlin talked. Their minds did not touch his, and all he heard was the words. He felt left out. Nudging his horse, he trotted up between them. They looked at him, and Amroth's mind touched his. "The night is cold; we will need a fire, " Nethwador reminded them. Amroth laughed. "Yes, little brother; we will indeed. No doubt the horses will want some grass. How I do forget the comfort of my friends. I am sorry." His smiled gently faded, and he looked ahead in the twilight. He shook his head. He could see little. He felt blind. "Erebemlin." Erebemlin answered gently. "There is a dead tree two miles hence, my lord. Enough to feed several fires." They urged their horses into a trot, and made camp under the dead tree. Last edited by mark12_30; 08-23-2004 at 10:24 AM.