Their time in Lothlorein

This is my story. I am Bregolas of Lothlorien, a Sindarin . My people have been here in the middle Earth since the first age. I am older than many that are on the earth at this time. This is the story of something that happened in the forest of Lorien.  I witnessed it toward the end of the third age.
Lothlorien is the enchanted forest of Galadrial and it is one of the few remaining protected forests of Middle Earth. It's proximity to the mines of Moria make it very necessary to have the protection of the great lady. We, Sinderi are woodland elves and it is important to us that he forests are preserved. Since both the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn are ring bearers of two of the elven rings they are able to protect Lorein from the depredations of Sauron and his minions. It is that this oasis is here in the middle of much evil that makes this a story of hope. I was in charge of a group assigned to patrol of the northwestern reach of Lorein and we had just left to return to Galadhiem . When we heard and saw large commotion over toward the mines. for several days there had been drumming coming from the mines, not unlike that we heard a bout five years ago. The ground had shaken and we were almost certain that something of great portent was happening but no orcs or goblins had fled the mine as they did last time. That night smoke and fire belched from the eastern gate of Moria, confirming that there was a major event occurring, possibly the Balrog had been awakened again. Galadrial had the western reaches of Lothlorien guard re-enforced thus we returned to aid our fellow elves. All seemed to have quieted down but close to midnight, as the moon rose, eight dark figures were seen crossing the plain that lies between the mines and Lothlorien. They were spread out in the fashion of some in a hurry and some hanging back from the objective of the others. They seemed to be having an argument about something that is troubling to several of the larger figures. As they drew closer, I could hear one of the men saying, No, of all the ways we have used coming this is the most perilous. I refuse to go into the Golden Wood. His argument was countered by a listing of the only ways out of the valley. Lead on but it is perilous non the less was his reply. Another replied saying, Perilous indeed, fair and perilous but only the evil need fear it. I wondered who was that ,he seemed to know the secret of Lothlorein.
The group splashed across the Nimrodel and one told them all they needed to be as quiet as possible. I and my fellow guards stood back and let them enter to forest. The Dwarf was like an Elephant from the south. He thought he was being quiet and was extolling the 4 halflings to be careful because a dark lady lived here and we need to slip in and out before she detected us. one of the halflings said in a surprised voice that there were elves near by. The elf in the group answered that yes there were and that you are all being so noisy they could shoot you in a thrice. That was when I stepped out shadows and stood in front the dwarf much to his surprise. He challenged me and I pulled back on my bow, only to be stopped by the hand of one of my fellow guards. He reminded me that Galadreil wants to speak one of them.
We led them through the tall trunks of the silver Mellyrn trees. They gazed in awe at our dwellings on platforms at the top of winding staircases. The dwarf GROUSED THAT he was not going to sleep in a tree, to which the elf replied , you can just dig a hole in the ground for your bed then. He had no cause to worry as we lead them to a quiet pavilion with a fountain near the center. I told them that they would be called when the lady was ready to see them. They all settled down for the night. The group was made up of four halflings, two men, a dwarf and a fellow elf of the woodland realm.
I wondered what they were up to, where were they going, why was a fellow elf with this strange group. Legolas Greenleaf is the son of Thranduil, the King of the Mirkwood forest. I had heard that he was a master archer. He was the only one of the eight that was comfortable here. It wasn't long before he was speaking to us of the trials of his companions. Of the reason for their travels he was less forth coming saying that the fewer that knew of it the safer we would all be. It is unusual for the Sindari to be so closed mouthed with kin. . The Dwarf, Gimili son of Gloin, is one of the most uncomfortable of our visitors. He is stout as a small log and has such a bushy head of hair that if he was green and brown instead of red and brown he could of hid totally in our forest. His gruff voice kept me on edge until I realized that it was not anger but his normal way of talking. He and the Legolas seem to be friends which is beyond me. What has occurred that has made this unusual duo friends. He seems to have a complaint for everything.
There are four Halflings, I think that three of them are related by the way the act toward each other. I learned from Legolas that they are Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Merridoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. They are indeed cousins and Samwise is the garderner to Mr. Baggins back in the Shire. Sam set about making Frodo a meal as soon as I left them while both Pippin and Merry tried to explore the area with what seemed to be an eye toward defense. Of the members of this group the halflings are the most unusual. The two men are Boromir from Gondor and Aragorn the ranger. Boromir is the traveler that was refusing to come into the forest. He's sullen looks and constant hovering over the halfling Frodo are disconcerting. I fear that he is not wholly convinced that the group is going the correct way to achieve there goal.
Aragorn is familiar to some of my friends but I have no memory of his having lived here in Lothlorien. They say he is a ranger of the North and was raised here and in Rivendale.

That evening at our meal I and my fellow guards were the focus of the million questions floating around since we brought in the travelers. Of course there were the usual questions, who were they? What are they doing out here? Did they really come from the direction of Moria? Did they have anything to do with the disturbances last night? Much to everyone's disappointment we had very few answers. Someone said that they had heard a rumor that Galadreil was expecting Mithrandir with the group, was he with them? I told them all we knew was they had indeed come from the direction of Moria but there were only the eight and Mithrandir was not with them. The air in our usually relaxed home was becoming tense and I fear that we will soon be hearing even worse news than the loss of Mithrandir. After several days of recuperation the travelers were called to the main room to meet with Celeborn and Galadriel. After the meeting which left Celeborn very disturbed the atmosphere of worry and uneasy grew.
Deep into the night I was called to the main throne room by one of Galadreil's guards. Go and get the Halfling Frodo and take him to Caras Galadon , I was instructed. It was there that the Mirror of Galadreil is kept. I wonder what the lady wants with the halfling, they seem so insignificant. I wasn't told if I was to wait to return the Halfling so I stepped off to an alcove out of sight of the garden. I must of dozed off lulled by the gentle voice of the lady. Suddenly the air grew stormy and I could barely breath, the voice of our gentle lady was a stormy roar. I peered around the corner and our beautiful lady was huge and dark and looked so evil I could not believe it was the lovely Galadreil. As suddenly as she grew to evil she diminished and was even smaller than before. This gave me a very bad feeling about the future of the elves in Middle Earth. Whatever happened went unnoticed by the rest of elves and the travelers. Frodo was definitely shaken but had pulled himself together by the time I had him back at their camp.
The next morning the travelers were once again called to the throne room where the plans for them to leave were discussed. Galadriel offered them boats to easy their journey to the Falls of Rauros. Haldir was appointed to guide them to the landing on the eastern edge of the Lorein. There were three of our boats tired and ready for use. Most of the elves that made friends with the travelers brought them gifts of travel food, Lambas,three ropes were packed in each boat and each was given a cloak and hood made of the cloth woven by the Galadhrim. The cloaks have special properties that hide the wearer from prying eyes no matter the terrain. Everyone was ready to leave, They divided into the boats Aragorn with Frodo and Sam, Boromir with Merry and Pippin and Legolas and gimili in the last boat. After a warning of take care from the elves on the shore the headed down the Silverlode. As they turned into the channel heading for the great river the swan boat of Celeborn and Galadriel came along side the boat of Aragorn and invited them to return to the hyth to have a last meal with them before parting. So it was that on the grass of Egandil that they shared a meal and wine with them. After they had eaten Galadreil presented everyone a parting gift that would aid them on the rest of their quest.
To Aragorn she gave a sheath for Aundial and the Elfstone of Elendil. To Boromir she gave a belt of gold. To Merry and Pippin she gave silver sheaths on a silver belt with a buckle in the shape of a flower, To Legolas she gave a bow such as the Galadherim used , it is stronger than those used in Mirkwood and It was strung with an elf hair. With it went a quiver of arrows . To Sam she gave a small box with the letter G on it. Inside was soil from the lady's orchard and a blessing that will help you when you return home and find desolation. Lastly, she turned to Gimili, What gift can I give to you son of Gloin, she asked? Gimili stood silent for a second. He said nothing my lady , to have set eyes on you and to have heard your gentle voice is gift enough. He, then gestured for her to lean over and let him whisper in her ear. Galadriel smiled at his request and reached into her braided hair undoing the braid and removed 3 strands of the golden locks. We were all astonished at his request . Lastly, came Frodo. She addressed him as Ring bearer and handed him a small phial. In this phial is the light of the Star of EARENDIL. May it be a light to you in dark places when all other lights go out. With that they once again divided into the boats and after a short practice to get used to the light boats of the Fey again,they were off down the Silverlode to the Great River and the Falls of Rarous. They each waved to her and Celeborn as their boats and sailed off . I have realized that whatever their quest was it was so very important to everyone on Middle Earth but it was also causing the diminishing of the elves