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Sir Aranel sat again and took a deep breath. "And what is it exactly that you would like to know?" he asked respectfully.

Atalya was to the point. "How the creature came back, and what happened with it the last time ... as well as why it was not reported when you came back here."

"Allow me to answer your last question first," the man said shortly. "We did not tell you about it because we believed that it was either dead or gone once more from this world. As to how it came back ... it came back in the same fortress you asked my sister to bring back, something which none of us could have foreseen."

He paused and took a deep breath. "As for what happened with it ... that will take a bit more explaining."

Sir Aranel set his jaw and closed his eyes.

"When we found the ruins of the fortress, and Altariel used the book to bring it back," he began, "everything was as expected ... even better, we found Achaar, alive and ... well, perhaps not well, but alive. It was as if no time had passed for him, he honestly thought that the fortress had just been sealed ..."

Sir Valdemar nodded. "That makes sense," he murmured. "It was completely gone from this world, who knows where it was?"

Sir Aranel shrugged. "Who knows? But he wasn't the only one we found ... our father was there as well ... but you already know all of this."

He swallowed hard, as if trying to forget a bad memory.

"At any rate," he went on, obviously forcing himself, "we were just starting to get things sorted out when the creature appeared ... Achaar was terrified, he started using spell after spell after spell ... and Altariel and Father and Feanor and I were all using every ounce of magic we had, but the- the thing seemed to be feeding off of what we used against it ... it just kept getting bigger and stronger ..."

He took a deep breath and looked back over at the queen. "At long last my father found a spell in one of the books ... he cast it on himself, and then he attacked the creature himself ... physically ... they both vanished, as if they had gone back to wherever it was the fortress had come from, though the fortress stayed ... we thought we were rid of the thing. Achaar died before we could even get out of there. We thought it was over, that the fortress was back, the creature was gone ... we thought we would never have to worry about it again."

"Clearly a mistake," the queen sighed.

Tinuviel's brow furrowed slightly, but she said nothing. She knew never to question the queen in front of others.

Atalya was still deep in thought. She sighed and rose from her feet, wandering slowly over towards the window and looking out over the mountainside and desert.

"The question that arises," Tinuviel spoke up then, feeling it safe, "is not why was it not destroyed ... but how did it come back? For that, Sir Aranel and his sister cannot be blamed. They did what they could. And if I were to see with my own eyes the creature vanishing just as the fortress had so long ago, I would also believe the world to be safe from it. I cannot say that I would have done any different."

At Lin's question, Sir Aranel reached for the bag that was on the table next to him and pulled out a thick tome.

"My sister has been keeping it for eighty years," he said, a slight edge to his voice. "She has kept it hidden away until now ... and if you would like to suggest that perhaps she aided in the creature's return, I ask with all due respect that you reconsider your words."

Atalya turned to face him again, her eyes bright with anger. "I have said nothing of the sort," she said crisply. "Nor has Lin. No one is accusing anyone of anything. We are simply trying to discover the source of a problem, and every possibility must be thought of."

Sir Valdemar cleared his throat. "If I may," he ventured hesitantly. "Your Majesty, the creature was one of the druids ... he studied magic alongside them. It was the second time the spell was used on him. Perhaps he found a way to break it, to counter it ..."

Sir Valdemar caught Lin's look, and nodded to her. "If you have suggestions, Lin," he said softly, "don't be afraid to speak up. It's an unpleasant business, but it must be taken care of."

"Perhaps," Tinuviel suggested slowly, "how and why it has returned is not important. That is a matter that can be considered in time. What is of the greatest importance right now is the fact that it has returned. What we must think of is how we can destroy the creature for good this time."

"Sir Valdemar," Atalya said slowly, thoughtfully, "what about that man you told me about? Surely he would know ... something about this matter ..." She raised one eyebrow.

Sir Valdemar nodded. "Yes," he said hesitantly, "I believe that he would ... but ..."

Atalya looked at him steadily, silently, for several long moments, and at long last the historian sighed.

"As you wish, Your Majesty," he said softly, bowing low. "I will speak with him." He straightened again and looked at Sir Aranel. "I hope it is not too much for me to ask for you to accompany me ..."

Sir Aranel shook his head. "As long as my sister is left alone, I will do anything you ask of me," he vowed. "I wish to end this just as much as anyone else, and I alone have battled this creature before."