Estateillio

Crebain from Dunland

• They knew immediately when they entered Eregion, for Estateillio stopped put a hand on a rock and declared: "This is Eregion, the land of holly trees, one of the realms of my kin, before it was destroyed by Sauron and Ost-in-Edhil was sacked, and it is forgotten now by many and only the stone still recalls the touch of the Eldar that once wandered here millennia ago. Look closely as we traverse these lands and let them be a reminder to you, a reminder of the malice of the enemy, for the ravaging orcs have burnt all trees and nothing more than dry grass and small scrubs grow here now."

• Having said her piece, the elleth saw no reason to linger and so they walked on, in silence first as the fellowship thought about her words, looking at their surroundings, until Merry asked quietly: "You know these lands then?"

• "I... have lived here once, for a time, and more often have I visited, for my aunt dwelled in Ost-in-Edhil, before she moved to Lothlórien, and my cousin also. And then after it fell too, when I visited Khazad-Dûm, few those visits though were, for war was approaching, and afterwards I only crossed, in haste mostly", she explained calmly, "They were vastly changed. I know them like I know Forodwaith or Enedwaith or Minhiriath, in passing only, other than Ithilien where I spent many years."

• "What was it like? Before Sauron?", Pippin questioned, eager to hear stories to battle the boredom of travelling, and Estateillio indulged him:

• "It was beautiful, in its own way. A raw wildness, untouched nature between great cities, where there was music all the time and you were welcomed with open arms and they were quick to offer help, quick to trust, which was their downfall in the end."

• And she talked for a long time, about things bit and small; their corporation and friendship with the dwarves of Moria, the peace and lack of fear, for there were no orcs to bother them then, and she described the greatness of Ost-in-Edhil and the beauty of the music that had in the end adopted a few things from the dwarves, which of course lead to the request of hearing one such song and she did her best to recreate the sound without instruments and even Legolas and Gimli had to agree that the blend of styles worked quite well.

• And quickly the conversation turned into a telling of stories from home, Boromir recounted the beauty of the white city and the Ered Nimrais and the dwarf compared them to Erebor and Ered Luin and of course the elf prince had to make a snarky comment about how the woods were better than mountains (And they argued) and even Aragorn once spoke of the forests surrounding Imladris. The hobbits also told about the Shire with its meadows and rolling hills.

• And they talked till nightfall and the tension that had claimed them since they departed eased somewhat.

• The next day, Estateillio awoke with a deep sense of foreboding. Whatever had been waiting for them would happen soon and during breakfast she inconspicuously checked her weapons and polished her dagger and the ranger picked up on her anticipation and did the same, though she had not spoken of her suspicions.

• They decided to make a larger lunch break when the elleth shot a hare that had basically run into them and they built a small fire that would not smoke and Sam prepared a stew, while Boromir and Merry and Pippin sparred and the others sat on the rocks that surrounded their small camp. Only the two elves stood and held watch, Estateillio had asked Legolas to join her, for though she could cast her mental eye far out, it was still limited in comparison to the elvish eye that knew not the boundaries that the horizon put upon the mortal children of Ilúvatar.

• Weapons clashed and the sound rung through the air, accompanied by Boromir's encouragements and advices and even Aragorn gave some, though he did not participate in the training.

• Legolas spotted something in the distant sky and squinted his eyes and in that moment the man's sword slipped and injured Pippin's hand and the hobbit cried out in surprise and Boromir made to apologize, lowering his blade, and the smaller one used that opportunity to kick him in the leg and Merry pounced and exclaimed: "Get him!"

• And the two cousins wrestled down the taller man, much to everyone's amusement. "For the Shire!", Pippin urged, "Hold him, hold him down, Merry!"

• Finally Aragorn admonished: "Gentlemen, that's enough!" And the two turned their attention from their laughing victim and throwing the dúnadan to the ground instead.

• Their fun didn't last long. "What is that?", Sam asked and pointed into the distance, where there was something dark in the sky, and Gimli huffed: "Nothing, just a whisp of cloud."

• "It's moving fast", Legolas noted and Boromir realised: "And against the wind." And Estateillio cast out her mind, so far until she was barely in her body anymore and beneath her golden tan her skin paled a her body entered a state similar to the elvish sleep.

• And she found the source of concern, many small bodies, minds held in the strong claws of dark sorcery, of Saruman, and they were coming their way and she returned to her body and cried: "Crebain from Dunland!"

• "Hide!", Aragorn ordered and everyone grabbed their packs or helped extinguish the fire or found hiding spots for them all and quickly they were lying underneath dry bushes in the shadows of rocks and the crows circled above them and cawed and after a few moments of fear they left again, returning south to Isengard and Saruman.

• "They are spies of Saruman", Estateillio reported, once they had emerged from the scrubs again and Gandalf concluded: "The passage south is being watched."

• "Even I cannot keep us hidden if we are actively looked for. Going south now is no longer an option", the elleth added, "Caradhras we should turn to now, I'd say." And she pointed at the snowy peak that laid to their left and grimly the fellowship agreed and they quickly broke camp and journeyed on in silence.

[《◇》]
Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoyed!
AT
P.S.: Crebain means Crows. I'm not exactly sure why they used Sindarin in the movies, other than to make us believe that those are some strange and dangerous birds, but it's a good line and I thought of a reason for it to be used here, because Estateillio knows that Crebain and Crows means the same thing. She uses elvish to indicate that something is amiss, because the fellowship as a whole has only used Westron so far, and she speaks Sindarin, because Legolas is there and he is a Sinda and speaking Quenya in the presence of one can easily lead to trouble. There is also the fact that to those who do not speak Sindarin, Crebain sounds far more dangerous than Crows, and thus they will hide more quickly.
P.P.S.: This explanation got way to long.