Not all those who wander are lost; [OPEN]

[therangerking]

Characters: Aragorn, his roommates, castmates, everyone. OPEN
Setting: 4-06, then all over the Tower.
Format: Prose in brackets to start. Otherwise known as: anything you want.
Summary: Aragorn arrives at the Tower.
Warnings: Potential tl;dr because that's how I roll.

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[therangerking]

Aragorn could not help but raise an eyebrow at those words. Gandalf had expected him to awake in this Tower? Did it mean that what the letter had said was true- that they were all gathered here because Middle Earth had been destroyed and they could not find a way back home? It could not be- nay, it could not, for Aragorn had spent sixty years avoiding the destiny of his blood, and the world could not fall just before he finally stepped up to it.

He shook away those dull thoughts. Gandalf spoke as if Aragorn was needed here, and it was a more important matter than dwelling upon his own troubles and worries.

"Tell me what it is I need to do, Gandalf," he said as they begun to walk, matching his stride to the Wizard's. "I know little of this Tower still, but-" he hesitated for but a moment, "Anduril and athelas have followed me from Middle Earth; at the very least, I can use them."

[the_white_rider]

"Athelas shall be useful, but do not use it unless it is absolutely necessary. Instead, try and cultivate it, there are floors where this can be done. I will show you."

He lead Aragorn to the closest stairs, not so far from their current location. Gandalf weighs his word though, as he guesses that Aragorn probably didn't believe the letter- He himself didn't when he first awoke here.

"As for what you need to do... It will come to you. Most of those arriving here are given time to adapt, to learn to know the tower, its people and think about their homeworld. You are not. The tower isn't always prisoner of the darkness as it is now. A dangerous place, yes, but something worse is happening now."

He stops as they get close to the stairs, and turns to Aragorn, his face grave.

"You have read the letter, haven't you?"

[therangerking]

Aragorn listened to Gandalf's words, and knew that they rang through. Perhaps this tower had been a beacon of light, akin to Osgiliath before it was overtaken by the Shadow and the peoples of Gondor driven further back towards Minas Tirith. He looked around him for a long moment, trying to picture it- but he could not, for this place was strange to him still, and he knew naught of it.

His knuckles stroked against the walls, slow and gentle, feeling the cold, smooth stone underneath. The smiths here were truly skilled, for not even the stones of Minas Tirith was thus so smooth.

He turned back to Gandalf, and he nodded. "Aye," he said, voice low and steady. "I believe it not."