Elhadron laughed softly at the words of the Ranger before flinging himself on the ground beneath the boughs of the trees.
"Evil, some, yes, but not the forest itself. The forest itself is older than the memories of Men, and evil has been allowed to fester in its southern marches, bringing the Shadow with them, but blame not the forest. Greenwood the Great, it was named once, in the Westron speech, but also Eryn Galen, Eryn Lasgalen, or Taur-e-Ndaedelos, and it stretched far and wide across the land, and our the Eldar have dwelt in these woods since before my ancestors returned from the West."
He hummed softly to himself, half-remembering an old song, but let it fade out, and his eyebrow raised as he heard the final words. "Creatures of evil intent? Nay, my friend. Bold would they have to be to pass through the forest gates or lands of the Beornings. Wild and less wise my woodland kin may be, their eyes are keen and their arrows never miss their mark, and here..." He waved a hand idly to indicate the over-reaching boughs, "The trees remember us as we remember them. They have little love of Men or Dwarves, too quick are you all with your axes, but they have no ill-will here, where they feast on sunlight and drink clean waters unfouled by evil creatures."
Elhadron leaned on one elbow to watch the board game take shape. "I am intrigued by this game of yours."
Not far away, a broad shouldered, dark-haired man stood facing away from the woods, gazing at the distant shadows of the mountains to the west and north. "Do your kindred remember the tower in the north?" Annungil turned back to look at the gathered travelers. "I have yet to search the archives in the White City, but none whom I have corresponded with have any knowledge of such an expedition."
The Noldo of Rivendell could only shake his head as he plucked a strand of grass and chewed on the end. "Little attention do we give to the cold north. We have not dwelt there and the Great Enemy tainted much of those lands. We have no desire to walk where its shadow lay if it is not made of dire necessity."