The Misty Mountains ahead, Rivendell behind. The group walked up the path leaving the Elven settlement behind them with mixed and confused feelings. Even someone who isn't fond of Elves and their ways can be captivated by Imladris and that is what happened. That strange bliss that fills one's heart there started to diminish once they all fully realised that they are leaving and entering the den of the wolves, but it's not the danger, it's the absence of that warmth that comes in RIvendell, the absence of... completeness and peace of mind, even the Rohir who wasn't too excited to stay with the Elves felt it as they all made their way up the path. A quick glance behind showed the booming trees of all kinds, the colourful ground full of grass and flowers, the many waterfalls that add a pleasant background to the ambience and the sounds of the birds and the structures in absolute harmony with nature, as if they came out of the ground like the trees and the flowers. The pleasant smell of the nature soon gave way for the absence of any smells altogether as the cold winds blow ceaselessly and get colder by the step. In front of them they can only see rocks and the path that once was so clear is now hard to tread on and gradually disappears under the many stones and the snow that falls constantly. And they go on.
After a good thirty minutes walk in the path they have crossed the borders of Rivendell and stepped into the snowy land. Tall mountains stand in the distance, barely visible due to the snow that falls with force and the winds that make it dance crazily and sometimes against them. The only good thing is that the land is barren and white, so it will be hard for one to sneak up on them, unless dressed and moving properly but that's not too comforting. The group went on, trying to stay North, following the map that they looked an hour ago as much as they could, not wanting to take it out in the snow. The sounds of the wind as it blows past the varios tops of the mountains draws their attention and it seems as if they can see it, as if they can see wind itself by the way it blows away the snow that rests on the tops. They follow it with their eyes and can make out when it howls and when on, they see how it changes course fast and abruptly, without anything that man perceives as logic. And North they went.
The barren landscape breaks down when trees appear out of the snow, tall pine trees with their trunks covered in a layer of ice and their upper halves covered in snow, snow that falls when the wind blows only to be replaced by the constant snowfall. The group stood there, watching the trees, a pleasant change in a landscape after walking for five or six hours. They stood there, marvelling, once more observing the wind taking the snow with it and making shapes in the air before falling on the ground. Once more they stopped and looked for dry branches for a fire later, an effort that didn't prove fruitless, as Athlenah found some, and ensured their survival for a few hours more. Just then they noticed that the sun was getting ready to set, signaling the time to find a spot to camp for the night, a secluded spot to make a fire possible, away from the wind and sight, to ensure their survival. Under the sound of the wind they heard something else, something that was adding to the ambience in Rivendell. They walked faster now, wanting to cover more ground before nightfall and reached it, a narrow and shallow by the looks of it river, a time for some more brief respite and refill of the waterskins. The water was crystal clear but freezing.
Been quite curious, Fiontann decided that he wanted to follow the river up, just to see where it was coming from and they made their way up along it, only to reach a small lake with a thick layer of ice on it and under the ice the water was flowing down creating the river. The ice could hold their weights in order to explore the snowcovered Dwarven structures that they saw in the distance and Athlenah, Carmillia and Gaeded went on, Fion deciding to stay there and keep watch. A few moments later and a little before the sun's complete setting the women returned and with them appeared something else. A long dark lining on the mountains, moving fast, with fires here and there at its length. The mystery of what it was resolved soon as a distorted laugh that sounded like a shriek echoed in the mountains towards the group. Goblins! They were coming too far from their usual locations, on the Western side of the mountains. The drumming was fast, very fast than the usual, giving them time in their running march, the laughter and shrieks were coming closer, their shadows from the fires playing tricks on the snow next to their line. The group had to find cover fast, they were too many, way too many... And the Dwarves and Cerriel were still out there somewhere...
