The next day Laerdan made a visit to his old friend Cugusaelon’s house. Laerdan looked concerned as he explained the problem to Cugusaelon.
”So Elrond wants me, Elladan and Elrohir to gather a posse to go hunt these servants of Sauron around the Trollshaws”, he said. ”The locations Laureanis gave us shouldn’t take us anywhere near Delossad, but I don’t like this.”
”Laureanis?” Cugusaelon repeated.
”Yes, her. Turns out she’s been Elrond’s spy for years now, consorting with all sorts of unseemly characters around the Trollshaws to uncover Sauron’s secret plot to poison Elrond, can you believe it? I’m not sure which I find more incredible – that even Sauron could attempt such a plot here, or that a Quendë could infiltrate a group like that, consort and socialize with evil men from Mordor and Angmar and make them believe that a Quendë would agree to poison Elrond in his own house at Sauron's behest. How is that even possible?”
”What would you have me do?”
”Go to Delossad. Warn Sara. I try to make sure Elladan and Elrohir won’t stray too close to Delossad, but I want someone to stay near Narmeleth and make sure she’s safe and guarded. Besides, it might be dangerous for Sara to be wandering alone in the Trollshaws when Elladan and Elrohir are on the warpath. Best she keeps inside and lays low for a few days. It shouldn’t take too long to track down the members of the cabal and deal with them. Then everything can go back to normal.”
”Don’t you worry about a thing”, Cugusaelon said. ”I will do as you say. We will keep Narmeleth protected and out of sight.”
”Thank you, Cugusaelon”, Laerdan sighed. ”You are a true friend. I knew I could count on you.”
Laerdan’s heart felt much lighter as he left Cugusaelon’s house. One less thing to worry about.
