Meetings with the Muted

I scuttled along sideways through the thin hallways that led to the cavernous meeting room. Here we where to meet with Mernwen and the orcs, or the strange Muted Orcs as I called them - muted around their hardness, and soft and almost Evish they had become.

I kicked a stone and listened to its fading echoes bounce back to me. PLINK PLONK. It had hit a puddle  I emerged from the tunnel too small for anyone else.

'Ruby!' Isilindil looked delighted to see me - I could understand, the orcs were very off putting.

'So glad you could make it, we are about to show you why you have been summoned here'. The raspy voice of a Muted Orc emerged from the shadows, and he stepped forth, dragging a bundle of cloth which seemed to be writhing slowly in his hands.

'Look well, elf and hobit'. He cast the cloth to the floor, and it opened to reveal a small elf, almost a child. Pointed ears emerged from raven hair, and smooth skin showed bellow the tunic.

And then, the elf child looked up.

Surrounding bright, green eyes, was the thuggish face of an orc - with voluptuous lips and a delicate nose. It scowled up at us.

'It is the Orc, Elf, Child' The Muted Orc explained. 'This one was the first to change. We are all changing.' 

Isilindil and I exchanged galnces, and then looked down at the Orc - Elf - Child again.

'Changing!'. I shuddered.

Merenwen spoke up, "With the darkness that is beginging to crawl through these lands it's effects have not been entirely evil," she paused, "It has so far left alone the Orc's, and as time passes and they are not under an evil influence they have begun to," Merenwen paused again, "change. What this all means we do not know, our hopes are that eventually they will take again their compleate forms as elves, from which they came. But that is but a wild hope."

"Are you sure they are trustworthy?" Isilindil exclaimed. 


"That is a risk we must take, and you needn't look so disgusted at them." Merenwen reproved.

"Well if there is no other choice then there is no disuccsion which needs to be done I suppose." I said. "I suppose Orc allies  are better then no allies."

"Hardly!" Isilindil cried. 

"Enough!" Merenwen said, "You are here and therefore under my command."

"Who gives you commands?" I asked

"Olorin, through messengers," Merenwen continued, "The plan is to stay here until Olorin arrives, then we will decide what is to be done against the evil." 

-Ruby Burrows.