Húldas was surprised to see that, nearly simultaneous with his arrival in the clearing, a Hobbit had emerged from the bowels of the wood. He had never personally had much to do with the Halflings before, but by all accounts they were a happy folk, fond of good food and good drink, and not inclined towards excitement and incident, except for the remarkable events of the War of the Ring. The Hobbit that faced them, however, wore a grim expression that dared the Elven archers to nock arrow to string again. He removed his hand from the hilt of his sword only reluctantly. Húldas supposed that one needed that kind of attitude to survive Mirkwood as a Hobbit.

The beautiful female Elf, who seemed to be the chief of their band and who gave her name as Elennína, addressed the motley assembly, bading them to state their name and their purpose in Mirkwood, and suggesting that, if their ends were the same, they should accompany one another on their search for the lost colony. Húldas was pleased for having stumbled into this part of the wood. This was a fortuitous meeting if ever there was one, though he had to admit that delving into the deeps of Mirkwood with two Hobbits in tow struck him as odd. 

[i]Strange bedfellows[/i]...

But there was little enmity between races now, as there had been in the Third Age. A peace reigned in Middle-Earth, though recent events augured that it would not last much longer. Men lived in relative peace; the Elves were departing to the West; the Dwarves were rebuilding their mansions. It seemed that the mixed nature of their company would be fitting for the times. But most of all...

[i]It reminds me of the great deeds of old[/i].

Húldas smiled, removed his hood, and stepped a few paces more towards the band of Elves, nodding at the Hobbits and the Dwarf. 

"I am Húldas, son of Hárlas Elftongue, [i]éored[/i] of Thélmar, Marshal of the East-Mark. I am also seeking the Dôr-min-Taur. A brother I have that lives there. Dúnmer, son of Hárlas...do you know him?" he asked the assembled groups in heavily accented Westron.