Boromir was up and sprang past Legolas, drawing his sword from it's sheath with a fearsome glare in his eye as he pointed the blade at Jack Sparrow. "You DARE address the elf like that again, and I will spill your dirty blood." His sword was pointed toward Jack's throat warningly, and all the distrust he felt for the pirate was emboldened in his eyes.

But before either of them had time to do anything, Gandalf too was up, and took Boromir's shoulder pulling him back. "Stay your anger, Boromir. This man has obviously had much drink, it will be well once we all rest." He turned his attention then to the maiden in their company, frowning deeply. This might raise some problems, seeing as the gentlemen accompanying her had little honor, as far as he could discern. But then, he had been mistaken about folk in the past.

"We do not yet know your name?" he queried.

Sam sprang up and joined Frodo as they went towards Aragorn. Samwise had no deep trust of this Ranger, but he was obviously better than these pirates.

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Barbossa was still considering his options. Obviously he wanted out of this as soon as possible, but joining the company also meant spending an indeterminable amount of time with -he cast a disparaging look about- these people.

Miss Elizabeth had proven to be tolerable enough -if one overlooked her deceit and penchant for making situations even more complicated- but the other two... Sparrow, he just flat-out hated. No reasons required, though there were plenty to be given. And Turner was proving to have his father's naivety and tendency to say the worst thing possible at the worst time possible. Not a good person to have around when one was trying to keep certain details undisclosed.

But on the other hand, not enduring such undesirable company for the time being could ultimately result in being stuck there forever and thus forever having to endure the curse. And this, above all else, he did not want.

"Agreed," he finally said with a slight nod. "Though I'm curious as to yer definition of 'a while.'"

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Gandalf took a long stare into the darkness, and then back again at the group. The older one, this one who seemed to have the levelest head on his shoulders, was obviously thinking the whole thing through in detail. That was good. That proved he was not here merely as a spy taking orders from Sauron. The other one was hard to judge, as obviously he had been partaking of mead shortly before this. His actions did not reflect those of a perfectly sane man. Perhaps they could tell him better in the morning. Then this boy- hasty, with a quick tongue. He, out of the group, looked the most normal in appearance, and yet acted quite strangely. And the maiden... what did they know of her yet? And yet, none of them had the look of spy's, though all were peculiar to the eye. But he snapped out of his reverie upon Hector's question.

"On our journey we may cross with someone who can help you solve this wonder. We can guide you there, and I trust ease your meeting with them."

He fell silent as if pondering something then, and Boromir, had his eyes fixated upon Will. Slowly he leaned over to Aragorn, whispering in his ear quietly, "Though it be impossible, it is as if I had seen his face before."

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"That hardly answers my question," Barbossa commented dryly. "Ye'll have to forgive my skepticism, but to this point we've been nothin' but honest with ye." Or at least, as honest as necessary, he added silently. "I'm still curious as to th' length an' specific nature o' this...'quest.' Thus far yer answers have been vague, at best. I agree t' join ye because I've no other choice, but I'd still much rather know what I'm gettin' into. Who is this 'someone' who might help? An' why can they help any more'n you?"


Aragorn nodded imperceptibly as he continued to observe the discussion. "He does bear a striking resemblance to someone," he agreed quietly.

Elizabeth, too, was noticing this uncanny similarity - though of course she was far quicker to pinpoint it than any of the others. Males. Obtuse, all of them. It took her only a moment of gazing at Elven Legolas to picture him with dark hair, brown eyes, a sturdier, shorter build - and there you had the man beside her, Will Turner.

Finding herself frowning slightly upon noticing this Elizabeth turned her attention to the discussion at hand - and again found she had nothing to contribute except a listening ear.

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"Elizabeth Swann," was Elizabeth's abrupt interjection in response to the wizard's query. She folded her arms, expression indicating that this was the extent to which she would contribute to the conversation. So far all of the humanoids in her immediate vicinity were doing nothing but proving her earlier point - men and imbecility went hand in hand. Unless you were that wizard, or possibly those strange little men.

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Gandalf begin to see that he couldn't be brief with these men; and after all that could be forgiven, seeing as they knew nothing of Middle Earth. He nodded in response to this- Elizabeth, and ran his fingers through his grey hair. What to tell them? How much to tell them? How much to trust these unknown strangers?

"Lothlorien," he said, more to Aragorn than anyone else. "We will take them to Lothlorien. The Lady Galadriel has a discernment which will aid us in this difficulty." He turned back to Barbossa, choosing his words carefully, inwardly pleading that none of the foolish hobbits decided to impetuously reveal everything he had been so careful to conceal.

"There is an uprising danger in our land, Middle Earth, dark alliances are ascending to power. Our company goes to the very heart of this evil, where we will aid those who are already under attack." It was only a half-lie, this mission WOULD be aiding everyone in all of Middle Earth. "You will understand then, our distrust. Wariness is wisdom in times like these. But in Lothlorien, the Lady Galadriel will discern what best to do- perhaps even how you might return unto your own world."

He paused then, as if unwilling to share any more information, and added,

"If such is possible."

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((:blink: Right, then...I was waiting for other people to post, but sure. That works too...))

Barbossa considered the information for a moment and shrugged. "Still doesn't answer my question concernin' how long it'll be, but I s'pose it'll suffice for now. We'll set out in the mornin', then?"

"As soon after first light as can be managed," Aragorn replied with a slight nod. "And I would estimate about a week to Lorien, allowing for the unpredictable weather of the mountain pass."

[Feel free, whoever comes after me, to skip ahead to the next morning.]

Gandalf grimaced slightly at the mention of Caradhras, and turned his face away from the group. Clearly he was content with the information he had, to ponder and think on. Boromir seemed slightly overwhelmed with it all however, and wasn't shamed to boldly look from one pirate to the next. Often his gaze rested on Elizabeth, for he found such a thing as a woman -and clearly a well brought up one- amidst these dirty men, a strange and curious thing.

He took a step toward Frodo, saying quietly, "Not one of us really knows what manner of people we shall meet." He lowered his voice, meaning it for the hobbits ears alone as he stated, "Them. We did not expect to encounter people who claim to be from another world. I fear Gandalf's trust is ill-fated."

As he sat back down, Sam said as comfortingly as he could, "Don't you worry, you'n me know old Gandalf better than Boromir. He isn't about to let no silly tavelers from another world bog him down. I reckon Gandalf's been around longer'n them, they don't seem that wise anyways."

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