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+This guide and thread are no longer maintained, however for the new warwick user and jungler it is still incredibly helpful+
So I originally wrote this guide because I wanted people to know how to jungle easily. But since the last and patch and the many buffs Warwick received in it, i now write this guide to show people how to win with Warwick. If one knows the basic idea, rotations and creep order he is actually incredibly easy to play and an asset to the team. The hard part is figuring that stuff out, which, after about a million practice games, and a few time motion studies I have (I hope) perfected how to do it. Anyways, this is my guide to Jungle Warwicking, I have only wrote one guide before this and this is the update of that, so please don't be too harsh.
Why play Junglewick?
There are two main reasons to jungle. The first reason doesn't really have to do with you at all: The team gets an extra solo! I have been Q dodged many times for jungling, but in reality having two solos actually helps the team tremendously, especially when the game has progressed to gank phase, or team fight phase.(Especially since the level balancing that came in the last patch) The 2v1 doesn't really affect you other than they will play overconfident and once you reach level six that is where you are most likely to get a successful gank. ( I personally recommend Nunu, Heimer, or Cho Gath for the 2v1 Lane, but in all honestly if they play defensive and take advantage of the other teams overconfidence it doesn't really matter.)
The second reason to Jungle is because during midgame you literally will rape face (if you pick your targets right) which will hopefully snowball you into late game, but more on that later.
Lastly, a small disclaimer before I start the actual guide: If you get ganked by the other team before level 3, I strongly recommend just laning, you can still do well with my build and because of the patch changes he is still a very viable laning partner especially with a stunner. Because if they have a stealthier or clairvoyance and know what you're up to, then the game will just be a pain in the butt.
Alright, and now for the actual guide:
Summoner Spells:
Rally and Smite
For Quintessent get cooldown reduction so you can spam hungering strike! Red=Armor Pen, Yellow=dodge, Blue=Cooldown reduction per level.
Mastery Points:
Deadliness 3/3
Plentiful Bounty 1/1
Alacrity 4/4
Sunder 3/3
Offensive Mastery 2/2
Brute Force 3/3
Lethality 3/3
Improved Rally 1/1
Havoc 1/1
No points Here, so you can get Utility Mastery and Awareness
3/3 Perseverance
1/3 Good hands
(You can switch Perseverance and good hands if you want, i know the regen is marginal but i find it useful for the jungling phase, however good hands can definitely make or break games, it's really up to you)
4/4 Awareness
1/2 Utility Mastery
(Both Utility Mastery and Awareness are huge factors in jungling sucessfully)
Level 1: Hungering Strike 1
Level 2: Hunter's Call 1
Level 3: Hungering Strike 2
Level 4: Blood Scent 1
Level 5: Hungering Strike 3
(Depending on if your team is doing really well, you may want blood scent 2 here)
Level 6: Infinite Duress 1
Level 7: Hungering Strike 4
Level 8: Blood Scent 2
Level 9: Hungering Strike 5
Level 10: Blood Scent 3
Level 11: Infinite Duress 2
Level 12: Blood Scent 4
Level 13: Hunter's Call 2
(I start to grab hunter's call at 13 because everyone will have their boots by now and most likely their move speed items, based on the scalazation of his move speed and the average move speed of other players with a move speed item and boots 2 you will only need level 4 to chase them down efficiently, and if they have blood boil or something like that you won't catch them anyway because of the soft cap of move speed at 405, making grabbing the extra point in blood scent pointless either way)
Level 14: Hunter's Call 3
Level 15: Hunter's Call 4
Level 16: Infinite Duress 3
Level 17: Hunter's Call 5
Level 18: Blood Scent 5
I level hungering strike as my primary or Blood Scent, depending on how well the team is doing. I do this because even after the patch blood scent scales better than hunter's call and hungering strike is awesome for staying power in group fights. Also if you pick a squishy target, one ulti plus hungering strike and a auto attack will usually get them below 50% so you can use blood scent to chase them down.
(You must get them in this order, and in the order that I outline the parts because that is how my rotation of creeps is built- trust me, it's the fastest way)
1.Cloth Armor and 2 Health potions(No more, no less)
First time Blue Pilling:
2. Long Sword/Madred's Razor Pattern/Boots Level 1, 3. Vampric Scepter
After that Since the rotation will not be a factor go back at your leasure, but you have alot of staying power if you keep grabbing golem so i would recomend only going back when you die unless you got boat loads of cash)
4. Boots of Swiftness pattern
( If your team is feeding a stunner/caster I recommend Mercury Treads here instead, but I get swiftness instead of berserkers because attack speed is so easy to grab while move speed is not, plus for chasing down squishes the extra move speed helps allot, also moving across the map to set up a gank makes a difference of 3-7 secs depending on where your coming from)
Now at this point your jungling rotation should be pretty basic/should involve a lot of ganking so the time to buy/order to buy the parts is up to you and will also depend on how the game is going, but I would do it in this order)
5. Madred's Bloodrazer
6. Bloodthirster
7. Zeal
8. Infinity edge
9. Phantom Dancer
10. Black cleaver (never had a game where I was doing well get to BC, you could exchange trinity force for more move speed/chasing down capabilities, here if you want, it shouldn't really matter at this point)
Now for the fun to begin...HOW TO ACTUALLY DO IT:
Jungling Start:
See my map attached at the bottem of the page for the places on the map to be associated with the number I have labeled/am talking about.
1. Start of by first turret on the golem of your side and wait till 5 seconds before Golem spawns to start running towards point , golem camp. (You wait at the tower to make any Stealthers or Clairvoyancers think that you are not Jungling and as a result they will probably leave you alone the rest of the game.) Anyways grab hungering strike first and open with smite, then a hungering strike, pop health potion 1 and auto attack until you can hungering strike again and then kill him and his minions.
2. Next head to the wolf/small golem camp at point 2. You will be level so grab hunter's call and spam abilities to get them down because you now have golem buff.
3. Head to the lifestealer camp at 3, you smite may or may not be off cooldown depending on crits/your rune page, if it is off cooldown use it on the blue guy, it should one shot him. If not then use hunter's call and hungering strike to get them down. You should be level 3 now...grab hungering strike rank 2.
4. head to Lizard camp and drop rally and pop health potion number 2. Again, spam abilities targeting the big lizard first and then his minions, if you didn't use smite before use it now.
5. head to the other wolf/golem camp at point 5 and kill them too.
6. Head to the other teams golem across the water but be wary of MIA's on the other team. Kill golem, about halfway through smite should come off cool down. Use it. (Watch to see if the lane your close to is ideal for a gank, you will have blood scent by now and should be able to get someone down if they are laning low, but don't do it if your going have to wait for the set up, it will take too much time.)
7. Then head to their small golem camp and kill those guys spamming abilities again
8. Head back to the life stealer camp and kill those guys too, again using all abilities possible because of golem. Hurry because you will need golem for dragon.
9. Head to the small golem camp small golem camp by your teams golem(only creeps spawned on your side at this point)
10. just as you finish those golems, the other golems on your team will resurrect and head to 10 to go kill those again, NOTE: you will have smite up, SAVE it for dragon!
11. Killing dragon by 8 minutes and getting level 6 is the basic goal of all Warwick's, with my guide you should easily accomplish this. Use smite and spam abilities, golem should run out right before you kill him.( My personal record is down by 7:47 but at that point your slightly restricted by creep respawns- if you get better definitely tell me)
BLUEPILL NOW-if you got a gank when you headed across the river to get their dragon, if not head to point 12!
12. Kill the lifestealers and then BLUEPILL NOW unless mid is set up for a gank. if it is then gank and head home.
Now it is time to shop, buy Razor, Vampric, and basic boots and head out. This is where the ganking and fun begins!
Mid Game:
Ok so now that your six, hopefully you can figure out how to do the same relative creep rotation. With your Ulti and hungering strike you should be able to get any squishy hero down to less than half health and with blood scent and a little team mate help it should be gg. Especially if they are at lower health. (NOTE: Really important you go for low health and squishy heroes during this phase, you're not yet strong enough to take on a cho gath or a mundo who has an ulti up) By squishy I mean a hero that has lower base health i.e. corki, fiddle ashe, tris, shaco ect. however these easier to kill heroes have escapes usually so make sure your team know your coming in and can stun/slow accordingly. This phase is really really easy: just run back and forth across your side of the map looking for heroes on their team that are low and jungling your way towards them.
A good way to do this, is ping the hero you plan on ganking before you start jungling towards them, that way your ulti will be on cool down because you took longer to get there, and your teammates can set up the gank either by baiting or saving their stun/slow. (For Warwick to be really effective you need at least 2 kills and 2 assists during this phase, however you can still do well without it.
Doing really well here will give them the fear factor of you and when you're in a group fight some may run away because they are so scared, capitalize on the fact that they are spreading out and chase down/ focus fire the squishies who stayed in because Warwick brings nothing to a group fight other than a long cool down initiator (ulti) and a group attack speed buff* In some situatiosn you may want to save your ulti to disable the other teams carry or AOEer. IE Ryze or Nunu once they pop their Ultimates.
In summary: jungle your towards people, pop out gank, rinse and repeat, ps. golem is important in this phase as well as lizard because it will smooth out the ganking a lot. (Also with improved rally, if you have all five people on your team with you, you can Nashor at level 11-12, it will make a huge difference in the games proceeding at such a low level, however if it is a pug i don't recommend it because they always screw everything up)
End Game:
Now I am a big fan of Warwick and usually do rather well in kills with him, HOWEVER he is not a group fight hero so you have to be patient: he is also relatively squishy if he can't life steal to keep himself up. So, although your ulti is a good initiator for smaller fights, save it in the big fights till they are a couple seconds under way, also make sure to pop hunters call at the beginning of every group fight-important!
Even at this stage you don't have a ton of armor pen, and even if you have blood razor, you still need to pick your targets wisely, i.e. no poppy or singed, or Mord with full shield ect. You will be hitting pretty hard and attacking pretty fast so take every opportunity to backdoor*
*(since I was in a game with someone today who didn't know what backdooring is let me outline:*pushing a lane where the other teams focus is not* If people start MIAing though, make sure to run since your pretty easy to kill if its 2v1. You'll get a lot of gold from backdooring and Warwick is pretty item reliant. Also if anyone on their team is dumb enough to try and 1v1 you, drop rally and put it in them or go gank them if they are backdooring. Ulti, hungering strike hunters call and auto attack chase should kill most people,
And don't be afraid to tower dive at this stage(chasing someone down with blood scent and killing them under a tower's damege) Also, dropping improved rally during group fights is a huge plus, so because of your spec (improved rally) you actually do bring something to a group fight, it is just on a really ling cool down.
So in summary: Wait a second to jump into the fray in group fights, drop rally in all fights, kill people who are by themselves and backdoor farm whenever possible. Your team should theoretically be killing there's more often because your team had two solos and theirs did not. This is a huge advantage especially if both your solos have AOE spells.
In final note: The biggest plus of Junglewick is that it helps the team, you may turn out to be the carry if you get some lucky feeds, but more likely your two solos will be the people who win the game for you. An effective Junglewick relies on a halfway decent team and a good creep rotation. After 3 good games of my rotation and item builds you'll have it memorized and it will be easy to dominate games.
Final note: I am not bragging since I am actually not a spectacular player, but just to show how much Junglewick helps the team on Seventh my win Loss ratio right now is 31 wins 5 losses, my friend Emparch who helped me figure out the rotation is 57 and 33 so having a Junglewick does drastically help the team, but it is not necessarily because of you. Its because of what it enables the rest of the team to do.
Also LoL is a game where you need to be able to adapt, by in large this guide will work easily and for everyone but if a game is going out of control i.e. your winning/losing/lot of casters/ no casters you'll need to adapt to the situation obviously.
Feel free to post suggestions and Questions, like I said I am not an amazing player, and this is my first guide, So please don't bash me too hard. But the whole point of this guide is to show that Junglewick is easy mode if you follow the right rotation and build. Please rate and try it out for at least 3 games. If you do post how you did, any suggestions ect. Thanks! Also I would love to see if someone can get dragon down and be 6 before 7:30!
Riot aBhorsen
You should state when to pill back during jungling ideally.
If you read my guide you would see that you bluepill after dragon or after the next camp depending on whether you got a gank when you crossed the river at 4.
i love feedback and new ideas, becuase i want to make my guide the best.
however posting when you havent even read the 2 most important paragraphs in my guide seems a little pointless.
Senior Member
Just wanted to say thanks for this guide, it is one of the better ones I have read. Will provide some more feedback once I have been through it 10 or so times. I appreciate all the detail though. I suck at jungling with any champ in general so this is a great help.
Can you give a sense of what runes you are using in each? Armor Pen red I assume and you said Crit Dmg quints. Yellow and Blue are crit chance?
Also, unless I am stupid I don't see where you have summoner spells listed. You mention both smite and rally and also take the improved masteries for those, but it would just be easier if you had a section for summoner spells like your rune section.
This guide seems solid EXCEPT your rune and mastery choices.
Masteries: I really don't think the stuff in Offense above 9 points is worth losing out on everything you get in the Utility tree. Two points in Utility mastery is absolutely essential, and the 6% cooldown from Intelligence plus mana regen from Meditate means your Hungering Strike is up more often in the jungle and your ult is up more often for ganking, and you can support it all the time even when golem is lapsed. I would srtrongly suggest going 9/0/21.
Runes: Crit Chance/Damage not in marks is hideously iinefficient, especially (and you don't seem to know this) as your Ult does not crit, it just does damage based off of your attack damage and applies on-hit effects. Crit Chance does absolutely nothing for you, while Amor Pen would increase the damage (as it does Physical damage, since it is based off of a percentage of your physical damage and does not say that it deals it as magical damage). Seals + Glyphs in Crit Chance or damage only gives you like 6% crit chance or 12% crit damage. It's likely better to run Cooldown in Glyphs (for more hungering strikes) and Dodge, Armor, HP/5, or HP for jungle survivability in Seals. You can probably get a bit more Jungle and early level effectiveness out of running Flat HP quints for a bonus ~100 HP at level 1.
Two suggestions coming from a Warwick mained player.
1: Save Smite for killing creeps. Don't initiate with them. (Use on Golem when it will kill him, don't use it on him right away) Creeps have health regen, and will nullify some of the damage from Smite.
2: Edit your guide a bit, paragraphing wise. It's definitely a nice guide, but very clustered and hard to read.
Thanks for posting
Vladimir Black
I really don't like Warwick on my team with useless summoner skills for me I can do the golem at lvl 1 with cloth armor 2 health pots and I take IGNITE FLASH which are much more useful late game I'd even take ignite exhaust and be even better off and the new Warwick can take lizard right after he clears the non buff camp on your golem side with hunters call and be just fine. Ignite works on creeps too which is also helpful for when you ulti ignite hungering strike if you have enough damage you don't even have to chase that person.
Hey man, Guide is still pretty hard to read. Split it up into more paragraphs likeI suggested last time you posted it. Easy of reading is a big part of how good a guide is!
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Final / OT
Series starts 11/12
|Game 1: Monday, November 12th
|Recap »Boxscore »
|Game 2: Tuesday, December 18th
|Recap »Boxscore »
|Game 3: Friday, January 18th
|Recap »Boxscore »
|Game 4: Wednesday, February 13th
|Recap »Boxscore »
Coverage: ESPN/WatchESPN
7:00 PM ET, January 18, 2013
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Marco Belinelli's late jumper gives Bulls 14th straight Friday road win
BOSTON -- In the midst of a boisterous Bulls locker room, players talked about what a crazy game it was. It was only fitting that they won it on a tough, unconventional shot.
Marco Belinelli made an off-balance fadeaway with 3.1 seconds left, Jimmy Butler scored six points in overtime and Chicago extended its Friday night road show by beating the Boston Celtics 100-99.
"That's natural. I know it's a crazy shot, the fallaway. The ball went in," said Belinelli, who was given an ice bucket shower by teammate Taj Gibson.
More on Bulls-Celtics
When a key part of the lineup goes down, as Luol Deng did Friday night, the Bulls rely on old experiences to pull out victories, Nick Friedell writes. Blog
The Celtics can point to many reasons why they lost to the Bulls, but the goat horns go to Paul Pierce after a critical rookie mistake, Peter May writes. Story
Looking as though they were finally going to get beat in a Friday road game, Chicago pushed the game to overtime when it forced a jump ball before Kirk Hinrich hit a jumper with 2 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.
Then it was Butler who carried the Bulls, scoring six straight points. Jason Terry's jumper had put Boston ahead 99-98 in OT before Belinelli's game-winner just to the left of the foul line.
"It was really fun being out there with my guys. It's crazy they have me out there," Butler said, with teammate Richard Hamilton yelling, "Way to go Jimbo!" in the background.
"They had faith in me," Butler said. "Whenever I scored a basket they kept yelling, 'Keep going Jimmy!"
Butler finished with 13 points.
Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 20 rebounds, and Joakim Noah added 14 points and 13 boards as the Bulls won their 14th straight road game on a Friday. They haven't lost since April 2011.
"It was a crazy game. It was a roller-coaster," Hamilton said. "We made plays and thought we had it. They made plays and thought they had it."
Rajon Rondo scored a season-high 30 points for Boston before fouling out with 1:16 to play in overtime.
Kevin Garnett had 16 points and Paul Pierce passed former Celtics star Robert Parish for 22nd on the NBA's career scoring list by chipping in 13. Pierce has 23,342 points and Parish 23,334.
"We had the game in our hands a couple of times and it just slipped through our fingers both times," Pierce said. "Just the little things. It just goes to show you that little things can prove costly in this league if you are not on point throughout the whole game. They beat us tonight."
Brandon Bass added 13 points for Boston, which lost for the second time in eight games.
Hamilton had 20 points for the Bulls, who have won four of five.
The teams traded leads twice in the opening 3 minutes of overtime before Terry's 3-pointer from the right corner gave Boston a 93-92 lead with 1:57 to play. Butler had a basket on the other end to move the Bulls back in front and, after Boston missed on the offensive end, Rondo was called for a loose ball foul, sending Butler to the line. He nailed both, making it 96-93 with 1:16 left.
The Bulls had another three-point lead, 98-95, after Belinelli's two free throws with 51 seconds to go. Pierce hit two from the line and Boston forced a 24-second violation -- when Belinelli fired a corner jumper off the top of the backboard, setting it up for Terry's go-ahead jumper with 12.5 seconds to play.
But Belinelli nailed his off-balance shot and Courtney Lee's long shot at the buzzer caromed off the backboard as the horn sounded.
In regulation, Rondo's long jumper from the right wing gave Boston an 86-84 edge, but Boozer hit one free throw after being fouled by Pierce on a baseline drive with 23 seconds left.
Garnett then nailed two free throws with 20.1 seconds remaining and Hinrich hit one, cutting it to 88-86.
The Bulls forced the jump ball on the defensive end with 9.4 seconds left and gained possession before tying it on Hinrich's jumper.
Garnett airballed a long fadeaway as the horn sounded, sending the game to OT.
"We talked about it -- you knew they were going to trap," Boston coach Doc Rivers said, "and you've got to do whatever you can do not to get tied up."
Rondo scored five points in Boston's 6-0 run, giving the Celtics their first lead at 80-79 with 4 1/2 minutes to go.
Hamilton's layup gave the Bulls an 81-80 edge on the next possession before the teams started to trade trips to the foul line that led to pair of ties over the next 3 minutes, the last before the end of regulation when Garnett made one of two free throws to tie it at 84 with 2:20 left.
The Celtics tied it again at 79 on Rondo's two free throws a little over a minute later.
Bulls forward Luol Deng appeared to aggravate his sore right hamstring, injured in Wednesday's win at Toronto, when he came up limping after a fast-break drive to the basket late in the third quarter. He left the game for a substitute when play stopped.
After the game, Deng said he wasn't sure if he could play Saturday.
"It's pretty swollen," he said.
Boston guard Avery Bradley missed the game with a rib injury sustained in Wednesday's loss to New Orleans.
Noah had his double-double after three quarters, collecting 12 points and 10 boards. Boozer had 17 points and 15 rebounds after three.
Rondo had a highlight three-point play late in the third quarter that cut the Bulls' lead to 62-59. He was dribbling to the right of the lane when he lost his balance, falling to the floor, but kept his dribble going before getting up and driving in for a basket and a foul.
Game notes
Chicago G Derrick Rose, expected back in late February from knee surgery, participated in the team's shootaround. Deng didn't take part, but started the game. ... The Bulls play the first of four straight at home Saturday against Memphis. ... Rivers and his former assistant, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, had dinner Thursday night to celebrate Thibodeau's 55th birthday. "We went to dinner last night and the first thing I told him was, 'By the way, your team is pretty good without Derrick, that's No. 1," Rivers said. ... Garnett and Noah were each given a technical late in the fourth.
Also See
Next 5 Games
Research Notes
Rajon Rondo scored a season-high 30 points Friday, 14 of which came in the paint. Rondo has been able to score inside in three games against the Bulls this season, averaging 13.3 paint points per game against Chicago and 6.5 against all other teams.
The Bulls won their 12th road game of the season Friday and are 9-2 away from home since the start of December. The Bulls are shooting 45.9 percent on the road this season, the second-highest percentage of any Eastern Conference team (Heat - 47.4).[+]
Chicago Bulls
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The Bulls tied a season-high with 21 turnovers Friday but the Celtics were only able to convert those turnovers into seven points. The Celtics averaged 0.33 points per possession after forcing a turnover Friday, their lowest turnover efficiency in a game this season.
Marco Belinelli's game-winning jumper Friday was his sixth go-ahead shot in the final 24 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime in his six-year career. Belinelli is 6-for-9 in such situations in his career and 2-for-3 this season.
The Bulls made a game-tying shot with 2 seconds remaining in regulation, and a go-ahead shot with 3 seconds remaining in OT to beat the Celtics 100-99. They are the first team to make a game-tying shot with 5 or fewer seconds remaining in the 4th and a go-ahead shot with 5 or fewer seconds remaining in OT since the Nets did it on November 21, 2008. Vince Carter made both shots for the Nets to beat the Raptors 129-127 in that game.
Celtics tonight are playing their 6th overtime game of the season. Only one team (Mavericks - 8) has played more OT games this season. The Trail Blazers have also played 6.
No player is averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game this season. Though David Lee at 19.7 and 10.9 is close. But 2 players HAVE been doing so since Christmas Day. The only 2 NBA players have averaged at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game since Christmas Day are Carlos Boozer (22.3, 12.0) and DeMarcus Cousins (20.2, 12.4).
ESPN Stats & Information

subset: commoncrawl


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Dwim's Legolas-Gimli playlist
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In the Deep Places: 12. To See Clearly
Tolkien gives a fairly detailed description of the blindfold scene, and certainly doesn't need any help from me. I've expanded a bit with my own dialogue and action, but large sections of spoken dialogue are entirely his. Please see the Lothlórien chapter, pages 388-389 of the movie covered Ballantine Books edition of The Fellowship of the Ring for the real version.
Legolas could hear the Orcs as they crashed through the forest, but more, he felt them. The vast mellyrn seemed too great to trouble over this passing darkness, yet a faint tremor ran through the wood. There was not the disruption in the tree-song that he would have heard in Mirkwood, but unease welled in the dark hollows of the forest, and pulsed to the time of heavy boots that pounded the soft earth.
Then the silvered tone of the Nimrodel ran harsh, and the long gentle grief of ages past was sullied by the clash of steel and iron. The Orcs plunged through the healing waters without pause, and he heard their guttural curses as the pure stream touched their skin. Does it burn? Does it hurt them, even as they would hurt it? Some distant, savage part of him hoped that it did.
"Where is the ladder?" Gimli spoke in a fierce whisper. Legolas looked at him, and he saw his own need to fight reflected in the Dwarf's eyes. Gimli had been moving as one half crippled by stiffened back and hands, but now he caught up his large axe and held it easily, all weariness forgotten. "We must get down there!"
Legolas regarded him with wonder. The Dwarf was raging, ready to abandon his safe haven and confront a hundred Orcs with no weapon but his axe, and yet this was not his home. These woods were alien to him, and he had shown his discomfort in a dozen ways since their arrival, but still he was eager to fight for their protection. Legolas had understood his rage and grief in Moria, when the destruction of his heritage and kin made him passion-blind and he sought vengeance, but this was different. Gimli had no tie to this Elvish land: no Dwarf had ever been welcomed here. And yet he rose to its defense as readily as if it were his own home. And Legolas thought fleetingly that he would be proud to fight alongside the Dwarf.
But duty was stronger than vengeance, and more than the defense of Lothlórien. There would be no victory if they saved the Elven wood but sacrificed Frodo's mission. So he shook his head slightly, and whispered, "We cannot go down. There are far too many of them, and we dare not draw them here, to the Hobbits' hiding place."
Gimli glowered at him and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. But he lowered his axe, and did not protest this logic. "It ill-suits me, to sit in a tree house and do nothing while the Enemy tramps past."
"It ill-suits me as well," Legolas murmured, turning away to scan the surrounding tree limbs. "Perhaps we need not merely sit."
With that he launched himself up into the branches and climbed quickly through the canopy. He was high enough that the tree limbs were slender and light around him, and they bent in graceful curves beneath his swift feet. He could feel the strong life that flowed in these ancient trees, quicker and more vibrant here, so close to the stars. It swelled around him, buoying him up and beating with the swift tempo of his run. The living branches flexed and sprang up again as he swept soundlessly through them. He climbed and swung from one to another, and felt half drunk with the sheer sensual joy of the cool wood's texture in his hands and the brush of golden leaf against his skin.
He swept through the crisp winter night, and the cold air seared his lungs and burned through his body. He felt the power of this place, and he longed to fly faster, faster – to leap up and catch the stars themselves, to cry challenge to the Orcs and see them fall, ruined by the terrible beauty of Ilúvatar's creation.
It was then, as the clamor of Orc voices grew stronger and he reached the lessening of the canopy caused by Nimrodel's course, that Haldir stopped him. The March-warden appeared silently at his side even as he landed lightly on a branch directly before the approaching horde. Legolas had no time even to startle, for Haldir caught his arm and swung him around so that his back was against the smooth tree trunk. His quiver dug sharply between his shoulder blades.
"What are you doing?" the guard captain hissed, and Legolas could feel the tension that ran through him and threaded his voice with steel.
Legolas rolled his shoulder in a smooth, swift motion, and Haldir's hand fell away. "The Orcs have crossed the Nimrodel. We must keep them away from the Fellowship."
"I know what the Orcs have done," Haldir said, and his eyes were murderous. "They will pay dearly for it. But you, my lord, are not part of this game. Your task is elsewhere."
Legolas held his eyes, and read the captain's anger, and his fear. "My task is to guard my companions and to fight the Enemy. I will go with you."
The Orcs were very close now, sweeping between the trees far below and churning the soft earth to mud. Their progress was marked by the growing discord of the Song: the slash of weapons against the mellyrn trunks and the grating snarl of Black Speech. Both Legolas and Haldir flinched from the pain of that harsh tongue.
Haldir stepped close. Orcs rarely looked up – they tended to stare straight ahead or at the ground as a rule, and in any case the Elves were well hidden in the canopy. But Orcs had excellent hearing, and there could be no risk of detection, for they could climb trees perfectly well. So Haldir took no chances that they might hear him, but spoke in Legolas' ear. "Your assistance would be most welcome, my lord, but we cannot risk it. Please, I know how to defend my home. None of those below will escape. Go back and guard your companions. Keep watch on the Dwarf."
Legolas could not move, pressed as he was against the tree bole, but he turned his head to look at Haldir. "You cannot be serious. The Dwarf is not a threat!"
Haldir moved back slightly, but his face was set and his eyes were as chips of ice. "That is not for me to decide. I must protect my people from all intruders, even as you would protect yours. I trusted you to keep watch over him. And if you will not, then I will send Rúmil to do so while we lead the Orcs astray, and our agreement is ended."
Legolas swallowed. He said softly, in a breath scarce above the whisper of the leaves, "He was willing to fight for you." Haldir said nothing, but held his gaze. Finally Legolas hissed and pushed the March-warden back. "Go then! And pray that the Enemy has no more sense than do we, who weaken our defenses by needlessly guarding against our allies."
He turned and slipped back through the canopy, moving more slowly this time. Behind him he could hear the cries of Haldir and his brothers, and the excited grunt and clamor of the Orcs as they were led away deeper into the wood.
Aragorn and Boromir were awake when he returned to the talan. Gimli was pacing a very short path in the middle of the flet, careful to keep far away from the platform edge. He was muttering under his breath in a steady growl. But he stopped and all three looked up expectantly when Legolas dropped silently onto the flet.
"The border patrol is leading the Orcs into ambush," Legolas said shortly. "They will not return."
Aragorn looked at him in surprise. "Are you not going with them?"
"No." Legolas bit off the word and stalked across the platform to resume his seat in the tree branches. He was being childish, he knew, and some part of him cringed to think what his father would say of this display of temper. But the greater part did not care. He was walking on the fine edge of exhaustion, and all his frustration and grief was wound into tension that knotted his shoulders and clenched his stomach. He wanted to fight. He needed to fight, to run, to do something against this evil that dogged their steps and befouled the golden wood. In all likelihood these Orcs were of the same breed that had hunted them in Moria. That had seen Mithrandir fall.
But he could do nothing. He must needs sit and guard his companions. And a very effective watch I shall keep, too, with a cracked bow and three arrows in my quiver. But he was not guarding them from the Orcs, he knew, for those were moving ever further from them, and already the song of the nearby trees was as slow and peaceful as if the Orcs had never troubled them. No, he was expected to stand guard against the Fellowship, or at least one member of it. The blind stupidity of it, the arrogant assumption of trust and prejudice, fear and scorn, rankled him.
And yet he understood Haldir's concern as well. The March-warden could not cast aside his duty on a whim, or to suit Legolas' wishes. Doubtless he knew that Gimli was not a threat. He had accepted Legolas' testimony to permit the Dwarf to pass, and he surely guessed what trust Lord Elrond had displayed in choosing him for the Company. Indeed, he had shown what degree of respect he could by setting Legolas as guard. Were he truly concerned about Gimli he would have left one of his brothers behind.
But none of this changed the fact that Legolas was left to stand watch over the mortals while the border guard risked their lives in a dangerous game with the Enemy. He was trapped, unable to fight, unable to sleep, and all because of the Dwarf.
This feeling of impotent frustration seemed to be shared by his companions, and a fine-wired tension ran through the small company. Aragorn and Boromir sat hunched at opposite ends of the flet. Gimli had resumed pacing in the center. His muttering was all in Khuzdul, and Legolas did not understand a word, but the black looks that Gimli occasionally cast in his direction were easy enough to interpret. Perhaps the Dwarf blamed him for their forced inaction. It was absurd, for even if Legolas had not been resigned to keeping his companions on the flet there was no way that the mortals could have joined in the chase through the treetops. But there was no point in saying this. Gimli was frustrated, and Legolas was simply a convenient target for his anger. And the reverse is surely true as well, Legolas thought in wry acknowledgement. His own forced inaction was surely due more to Elven prejudice than to the Dwarf, but that did not make it any easier to bear.
Aragorn rose then and walked over to where Legolas sat. He had removed his boots, and his bare feet made whispered sounds over the smooth boards. But Andúril was once more belted to his waist. He stopped next to the Elf, and Legolas looked at him curiously. His branch grew about four feet above the talan, and seated in it he was just above eye level with the standing Man.
"Can you see the Hobbits?" Aragorn asked.
Legolas turned his head and looked through the tree branches. "Yes," he said after a moment. "They have allowed their lantern to go out. Three of them are sleeping, and one is sitting up on watch. I believe that it is Frodo."
Aragorn sighed, and Legolas looked back at him. "That is well," the Man said. There was a pause, and he glanced aside briefly. "But I hope that Haldir will return soon. I would not have them unguarded for long."
Legolas tilted his head slightly. Aragorn was clearly uneasy, and he radiated a nervous tension that seemed out of place with the gentle night murmur of the forest. "What do you fear?" Legolas asked softly. He spoke in Sindarin, to save this proud Man the pain of revealing his doubts before the others. "The yrch are gone. They will not return."
Aragorn did not answer for a long moment, but stood and looked out into the shadowed wood. "More followed us from Moria than Orcs," he said finally, speaking in the same tongue. "Perhaps we lost him at the Bridge, but my heart tells me otherwise. The call is now very strong."
Legolas narrowed his eyes. That last did not sound like speculation, or even a gift of the Sight. Aragorn was speaking from personal experience. "I have not heard nor seen sign of Gollum since we entered Lothlórien," he said quietly. "But if he comes, what would you have me do?"
The Ranger ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I don't know. Gandalf would not have us kill him. But I do not know why, or what purpose he saw. And now," he shifted his shoulders in an angry gesture, "and now we cannot ask him."
"No being can tell another's place in Song. Perhaps Gandalf himself did not know."
Aragorn looked at him and one corner of the Man's mouth quirked. "Elvish riddles. Don't you ever get tired of them?"
Legolas smiled faintly. "No. But I would give you a plain answer, Aragorn, were it mine to give. Truly I do not know what purpose Gollum might serve, but I would not kill him out of hand. His life is not mine to judge."
Aragorn's eyes grew distant, and he seemed to be looking through Legolas. "His life . . ." the Ranger's voice trailed off, and he was silent for a long moment. Legolas could hear the creak of the wooden boards under Gimli's heavy boots, the shift of cloth as Boromir changed position. And always, always there was the slow murmur of the timeless forest around them. Aragorn's next words were so soft as to blend into that deep song, and they breathed with the power woven through the forest. "His life may not be for us to judge, but neither is it his own any longer. The Ring consumes him, Legolas. He would do anything for it, anything to possess it. He cannot be trusted. The need, the hunger, is too strong."
Legolas looked at him closely. After a time the Ranger's eyes focused again and he seemed to see the Elf before him. He shifted nervously, as if embarrassed, and made to turn away. But Legolas slipped easily from his branch and caught the Man's arm.
"Estel," he whispered. Aragorn pulled back, but then stopped, and stood still. Legolas held his gaze. "Gollum is . . ." he said. He hesitated, unsure of how to speak, but then continued blindly. "Gollum is alone. He hears no voice but the Ring's, he has no strength but his own. But you are not alone. The Fellowship –"
Aragorn gave a short, harsh laugh. "The Fellowship," he said derisively. "The Fellowship is broken. Without Gandalf –"
Legolas' hand clenched involuntarily, his fingers digging into the Ranger's arm. "Gandalf told us to have faith. Even without him, we must hold true to each other."
The Man did not answer. He stood mute, and Legolas saw the doubt in his eyes. He drew a soft breath and continued gently, "I told you before that I would stand with you. Trust me. Trust the others. Together we –"
Aragorn gave a twisted smile. "The Fellowship is united in trust. Is that why you are here standing watch over Gimli?"
Legolas blinked in surprise, but Aragorn shrugged. "It is not difficult to deduce. I have never known you to avoid a fight, but here you sit. And you look at Gimli as if he were a chain about your neck."
"It is not my –"
Aragorn jerked his arm free of the Elf's grasp. "Do not make excuses, Legolas." The Man's voice was tight with anger, and Legolas saw the same dangerous gleam in his eye that there had been before, after they had left the Dale. "You ask me to rely upon you, your strength, your friendship, and yet you cannot let go this pointless feud even here, in your people's stronghold. Do not ask me to trust the Fellowship until you can do the same."
Legolas wanted to refute this, to throw back the unjust accusation, but he could not speak. The anger, the distrust and malice in Aragorn's voice was not his own. This was the Ring, he knew it with a surety, and he felt the whisper of evil twist around them. But how was he to make Aragorn see this? If he countered the Man's words, if he said that his guard over Gimli was the only way gain entrance for the Dwarf, would that not seem as if he sheltered behind Haldir's prejudice? In Aragorn's current mood he surely would seem false, unworthy of trust or friendship.
So he took a long breath and said quietly, "I would help you, Aragorn. I would serve the Ring-bearer. If Gollum approaches, shall I kill him?"
The simple trust of that statement, I would do as you say, even were it against my wish, seemed to bring Aragorn back to himself. He blinked, and shook his head. "I . . . use your own judgment, Legolas. If you deem him a threat . . . do as you will."
He broke away then, and Legolas let him go. He watched as Aragorn walked slowly back to his own cloak and pack. Every line of the Man's body spoke of frustrated tension and anger, and fear. It was not so very different, Legolas thought as he cast a glance back toward the flet where Frodo sat, from the way he felt himself.
The night lengthened. Boromir and Aragorn wrapped themselves tightly in their cloaks and lay down again. It was a long time, though, before their breathing slowed into the even rhythm of sleep. Even Gimli finally ceased his pacing and lay down, though he kept his large axe close by his side.
The air was keen and cold, and Legolas breathed deeply of it to keep himself awake. It was far too easy to fall into the lulling peace of the forest song. He sat still and straight on his tree limb, but did relax enough to unbuckle his quiver and knives and set them on the flet below. His shoulders eased at the change of weight, and he arched his back and stretched, exulting in the freedom of movement.
Then, as the night song deepened and the stars danced with sickle moon, Legolas focused on his bow. The fracture in its frame was a small one, but even the slightest weakness could cause it to shatter. He could not fashion a new bow all in one night, and in any case he did not have the wood for it. The upper branches of these mellyrn might have been flexible enough, but they did not know him and he had no time to seek permission to cut their wood.
He would have to repair the existing bow as best he could. He had carried a small kit with sealant in his pack, but that had been lost during the unloading of Bill's supplies, when the Watcher had attacked. Finally he undid the bowstring and carefully allowed the arched wood to relax. Then he drew a small dagger from his boot and stroked it slowly along the grain, smoothing the fractured area. The crack was not deep, and he hoped that he would be able to wear it smooth without weakening the rest of the bow too much. But it was a makeshift job at best.
For a time there was no sound but the slow scrape of his blade over wood, regular and soothing in the deep night. Legolas felt his own anger and frustration easing in the steady rhythm of his work, the smooth wood warm and comforting in his hands. He was slipping into the hypnotic repetition of movement, his eyes glazing over in reverie, when a different sound called back his full attention. It was faint, so as to hardly be discernable, but clear: a shuffling of the leaves far below, a hissing indrawn breath. Legolas froze, listening. Then he slipped his knife back into his boot and set his bow down on the talan, making certain that it would not slip or fall, and leaped into the trees.
He had not far to go. He climbed swiftly downward and toward the mallorn where the Hobbits slept, then caught a lower branch and swung down to drop lightly onto a thick limb twenty feet below. From this vantage point he could see the forest floor and the base of the Hobbits' tree.
For a long moment there was nothing, only the shadowed patterns cast by the faint moonlight and the golden leaves. Then the hissing breath came again, and a dark shape slunk over the dappled ground. It hesitated, and the small head came up, sniffing. Legolas saw the gleam of luminous eyes in the dark.
He watched it, as he had done in Moria, but this time the creature did not see him. The living branches cloaked him as the dark stone had not. After a moment Gollum turned away and resumed his slow creep toward the Hobbits' shelter. Legolas drew his knife. If he touches the tree . . . if he tries to attack them . . . in his mind he heard Aragorn's voice again, if you deem him a threat . . .
Something moved at the periphery of his vision, and he shot a quick glance away from his target. Haldir was at his side, staring intently at the gangly creature. "What is it?" he breathed.
Legolas shook his head. "We cannot permit it to reach the Hobbits," he whispered back. "But I would not kill it, if we might capture it instead. Go down and approach from downwind. I will guard you from above."
Haldir shot him a swift glance, then nodded and dropped down through the branches. Legolas watched Gollum, the blade of his knife light in his fingers. The little creature was snuffing the drifts of golden leaves, creeping closer to the mallorn now. Haldir was not in sight. Gollum looked up; peering at the arching branches high above him, and Legolas heard the slow draw of his breath. Then in a surprisingly swift movement he leaped and clung to the smooth trunk.
Legolas did not hesitate. He hurled the knife in a spinning arc – it sang through the crisp winter air and thudded blade deep in the mallorn trunk a half inch above Gollum's outstretched fingers.
Instantly the creature dropped from the tree with a hissing gasp and vanished into the shadowed wood. Legolas did not try to follow him. He dropped lightly to earth just as Haldir appeared around the mallorn trunk. "I am sorry, my lord," the March-warden said. "I was not swift enough."
Legolas shook his head. "The fault is mine. I did not think that he would be so bold, nor move so fast."
Haldir regarded him curiously as he reached up and pulled his knife from the tree bole. "You know what it was? Why did you not kill it?"
Legolas did not answer for a long moment. He stood and turned the blade slowly in his hand. "For the same reason you did not shoot it with your bow. We could not risk it being wounded," he said finally. "We dare not take the chance of it making noise."
The March-warden studied him, his head tilted slightly to the side. Then he said softly, "There is much that you are concealing from me, my lord. I held my fire because I did not know what it was, or whether it was a threat. But you knew, and a warrior of Mirkwood would not be such a poor marksman as you imply. There is another reason you spare his life."
Legolas met his gaze silently. Finally Haldir turned away. He reached up and touched the wounded tree gently, stroking the mark that Legolas' knife had made. "I will climb up and speak to your Hobbit friends," he said. "One at least has surely waked."
"Thank you," Legolas said. He also reached up to press his hand briefly against the torn bark. But the tree's song was unchanged, as if it had taken no notice of this small impact he had made.
He was half way across the clearing when Haldir said, "Do not expect to keep your secrets long, my lord. For tomorrow you shall meet the Lady."
Legolas stopped, and turned back toward him, but Haldir leaped up into the branches, and was gone.
All was still when Legolas returned to the talan. The Men's steady breathing indicated that they had not waked, and he moved reluctantly past them toward his tree branch. Even for a Wood-elf a tree limb was not the most comfortable of seats for a long stretch of time.
But he could not sit on the level talan. Even in the tree branches and with his bow as a distraction he had nearly fallen into reverie before. Wholly aside from Haldir's admonition, he dared not rest now for fear that Gollum would return. He had spared the creature's life, but he could not explain why. Surely it was a threat, surely he risked an attack on the Ring-bearer, or the chance that Gollum would bring Orcs down upon them all, but somehow he could not bring himself to kill the miserable creature. There was no explanation save the sympathy that he had felt before, in Moria, and the pity that had led him to leniency in Mirkwood. Despite Aragorn's words, Legolas could not believe that Gollum was wholly beyond redemption. He was too tired to examine his motives further.
He had nearly reached the tree limb when a rough voice spoke behind him. "What was it?"
Legolas spun to find Gimli propped up on one elbow, looking at him with bleary eyes.
"Gollum," he said softly, and some distant part of him marveled that he did not hesitate to share with a Dwarf what he had kept hidden from his kinsman. But this Dwarf was a member of the Fellowship, and Legolas would not keep this secret from him.
Gimli was instantly alert. "Gollum! Where is he? Did you kill him? What of Frodo?"
Legolas drew a steadying breath. He felt unbearably weary, and reached to touch the tree branch for support as the questions washed over him. "He is gone. Haldir is with Frodo now. He will protect him."
Gimli frowned. "You did not tell him!"
"No, Master Dwarf, I did not. You may trust me at least not to give details of our quest to the first people we meet along the way." Although, he thought briefly as he remembered Haldir's parting words, that may be irrelevant, if the stories of the Lady are true.
Gimli's scowl deepened, and his beetle-black eyes narrowed. "But you left Frodo alone with that –"
"Oh, for the sake of the Valar, Dwarf!" Legolas snapped. "Haldir has already risked his life once this night to protect the Company, though he did not know what Frodo carries. You complain much about the arrogance of the Elves, but what of the prejudice of the Dwarves? Do not judge us when your own words so condemn you."
There was a silence. Gimli seemed to be shocked into speechlessness. Legolas turned away from him and settled once more on his tree limb. For a long moment he sat with downcast eyes, staring idly at the bow that rested on the talan floor. Finally he spoke again, without looking up. "Frodo is safe. I will watch him from here. If you will not trust Haldir, trust me at least this far. No harm will come to the Hobbits this night."
Gimli did not reply, but after a moment Legolas heard the shift of his cloak and the faint clink of mail as he lay down again. And as Gimli's breathing steadied and deepened with sleep, Legolas remembered that night so long ago when he had stood guard in Moria, and the Dwarf had stayed awake to keep watch on him. And he smiled.
The next day dawned clear and cool. The pale rising of the sun shone through the leaves and cast golden shadows over the Company as they assembled on the forest floor. Climbing down from the trees proved to be more of a challenge than going up had been, as they were forced to look down to find the rungs of the swaying ladders. But the promise of breakfast on the ground was a great motivator for the Hobbits, and even Gimli managed the distance in good time.
As he looked at his companions, Legolas thought that the night's rest had done them good. The Hobbits had regained some of their usual optimism, and Merry and Pippin joined forces to tease Sam into parting with the sausage that he had horded from the Hobbits' meal the night before. Even Frodo seemed relaxed, and watched the banter with a faint smile, though he steadfastly refused all attempts to draw him into the fray.
Haldir and Rúmil watched with fascination as Pippin attempted to claim rights to three-quarters of the breakfast food by virtue of a complex argument involving himself, the Thain of Tuckborough, Sam's Gaffer, and Bill the Pony. Merry added a short but articulate monologue in support of Pippin's position, drawing on the history of Buckland and the Old Forest. Sam listened to all of this without expression, but when the pony was mentioned he stood up and swung his pack on with a grunt. "You've no call to be bringing poor Bill into this, when we don't know if he's lost, or frightened, or eaten, or anything," he said. "And Mr. Frodo needs this breakfast more than either of you do, begging your pardons. You can just eat the dried rations while we walk."
Haldir's eyes lit in curiosity at this statement, and he shot a probing look at the Ring-bearer. Legolas stiffened, but Aragorn spoke before anyone could ask why Frodo, in particular, might need additional sustenance. "The packs are ready," he said, "and we would all do well to finish our breakfast on the way, and make the best of the daylight for travel."
Haldir glanced at the Man, and Legolas saw a speculative glint to his eye that suggested that he knew very well that Aragorn sought to distract from Sam's comment. But he only nodded, and turned to lead the way through the forest. Aragorn followed him, and the others came after. Legolas took his customary position as rear-guard, and Rúmil came last of all. Orophin was not there as he had gone on to alert the larger patrols nearer the center of the wood. The borders would be far better guarded this night.
Legolas marveled that it had taken an actual incursion of Orcs to shake these Elves of their complacency. Dol Guldur loomed only a few leagues to the north, and yet they had such confidence that no enemy could enter their borders. That confidence had been shaken last night. Whatever power guarded these woods, whether that of an Elven Ring or some other force, was being tested. And whether by some caprice of the One Ring, or the growing Shadow, that power had weakened.
The path was churned with the deep prints of Orcs, but there was no hint of disquiet in the wood this morning. Legolas tilted his head back as he walked, breathing deeply of the crisp air and watching the leaves dance gold in the morning light. It seemed strange to walk slowly along the earthen path when all the forest was alive and fresh with the dawn. In Mirkwood such a morning was a rare blessing, and would be treasured as a time to celebrate in the canopy, rejoicing in the brief lifting of the Shadow. But Haldir and Rúmil appeared to find nothing extraordinary in the peaceful morning. They seemed slightly discomfited, but that was likely because they were, as Haldir had said, unaccustomed to walking on the ground. Apart from that they were relaxed, and they walked with weapons slung casually at their backs and hands swinging free. Legolas kept his restrung bow in his hand, and marveled again at the peace that these Elves took completely for granted. What would it be like to live in a place like this, where one could walk on the ground without fear, and the forest held no taint of Shadow? Legolas had grown to adulthood during the Watchful Peace, but even then Mirkwood had not been free. He had not gone unarmed since the mortal equivalent age of six.
The others seemed to also feel the peace of this place. Gimli had stopped fingering his axe every few minutes. Aragorn walked easily behind Haldir with his hands loose at his sides and even Boromir appeared to be more at ease. He was joking with the Hobbits as they walked, and Legolas noted that he even spoke comfortably with Frodo. He remembered Aragorn's words the night before: the call is now very strong. But Boromir seemed to be resisting the Ring now, and Aragorn too was much more like himself. Perhaps it wanes here, where the Shadow does not come. But he had no faith in that idea. Despite the deep power of these woods the Ring had certainly drawn Gollum to them, and it had worked its influence over Aragorn. It waits. Even here, in the place of our people's greatest strength, it only waits.
They soon reached the crossing of the Celebrant, far deeper and stronger than the Nimrodel. Haldir paused at the bank and gave a low bird call. He tossed a coil of rope easily to the Elf that emerged at the other bank. They made the bridge fast and then Haldir called for the Company to follow as he ran across the rope.
Boromir gave an impatient snort at this display, and Gimli made a low rumbling sound in his chest. The Hobbits were staring in open mouthed astonishment as Haldir reached the other side, glanced back, and then returned to them. Legolas was tempted to laugh at his kinsman's ignorance, but he vividly remembered his own folly at that first large chasm, so long ago in Moria, and he managed to restrain himself.
"I can walk this path," he said as Haldir returned to their bank, "but the others have not this skill. Must they swim?" An image flashed suddenly through his mind: Gimli so weighed down with armour and axes that he sank and simply walked across the bottom of the stream, and Legolas stifled another laugh. He was feeling slightly giddy. Although he had not slept, the forest song had eased his pain and now, free of the oppressive weight of stone and Shadow, mere physical weariness seemed a minor thing. He was fey and light headed.
Haldir blinked at his words, and for an instant the proud warrior looked comically surprised. But he recovered quickly. Two more ropes were soon secured at shoulder height for the Hobbits and Men, and the Company crossed with varying degrees of ease. Gimli came last of all, and gripped both ropes tightly: reaching up above his head to grasp the one set for the Men and shuffling sideways like the freshwater crabs of Laketown. Legolas bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Gimli reached the shore with axes and armour intact and shot Legolas a suspicious look as the Elf struggled for composure. Legolas swallowed hard and gave what he hoped was an innocent smile before turning back toward Haldir.
The March-warden was occupied with dismantling the bridge, and if he thought the mortals amusing he gave no sign. He tossed one rope back to his brother at the far shore. Rúmil coiled it up and vanished into the trees. At Legolas' questioning look Haldir said, "He must return to the Nimrodel to keep watch. We will go on."
Legolas caught his breath in shock at this casual statement. To send only one guard back to the border alone! Such an action would be utterly inconceivable in Mirkwood, where even the Home Guard never patrolled in groups fewer than five. Even with the shelter of the mellyrn it seemed a terrible risk, and he marveled at the casualness with which Haldir sent his brother into peril. But the March-warden did not seem to consider it any great danger, and even Aragorn appeared unperturbed by the idea. The Ranger knew the dangers of the Wild, but he had traveled here before and he had been fostered in Rivendell. Once again Legolas felt the gulf that separated his home from these peaceful realms, and he repressed a twinge of jealousy. They are so rich, and they do not even know it.
Haldir was speaking further, welcoming them to the internal realms of Lothlórien, and Legolas pulled himself back to focus. "We allow no strangers to spy out the secrets of the Naith. Few indeed are even permitted to set foot there. As was agreed, I shall here blindfold the eyes of Gimli the Dwarf. The others may walk free for a while, until we come nearer to our dwellings, down in Egladil, in the Angle between the waters."
"What!" Gimli roared. "'Agreed'? Who agreed? When did –" He stopped then, and turned slowly to look at Legolas. Legolas fought down the urge to back up a step. The Dwarf's gaze was positively murderous. "You," Gimli growled. He stalked slowly toward the Elf, his hands clenching in fists. "You did this. You black-hearted, traitorous, treacherous, misbegotten Orc-spawned –"
"Gimli!" Aragorn said sharply.
The Dwarf stopped, but continued to glare for a long moment. Legolas met his eyes fearlessly. He could not explain his actions, which surely must seem like treachery to the Dwarf, but neither would he be goaded into apologizing for them. The blindfold, unfair though it might seem to Gimli, was the only way to gain entrance for him at all. It was this or splinter the Fellowship even further. And if the Dwarf had the diplomatic awareness that Ilúvatar gave a jackdaw he would realize it.
Gimli finally turned away from Legolas to glare at Aragorn. "I suppose you were in on this?" he said bitterly. Without waiting for a response he whirled on Haldir. "This agreement was made without my consent." His voice was fractured with the effort of control. "I will not walk blindfolded, like a beggar or a prisoner. And I am no spy. My folk have never had dealings with any of the servants of the Enemy. Neither have we done harm to the Elves. I am no more likely to betray you than Legolas, or any other of my companions."
Haldir raised his eyebrows in a pointed look. Given Gimli's immediate reaction, this skepticism was understandable, but oddly enough Legolas himself felt no injury at the Dwarf's diatribe. Considering the circumstances and the Dwarf's usually irascible temper, he thought that Gimli was showing admirable restraint. He caught the March-warden's gaze and nodded slightly in confirmation of Gimli's words. He had, after all, told him much the same the night before.
Haldir turned smoothly back to the Dwarf. "I do not doubt you," he said. "Yet this is our law. I am not the master of the law, and cannot set it aside. I have done much in letting you set foot over Celebrant."
Gimli was apparently immune to logic, however. He set his legs firmly apart and laid one hand on the shaft of his short throwing axe. "I will go forward free," he said, "or I will go back and seek my own land, where I am known to be true of word, though I perish in the wilderness."
Legolas suppressed a sigh. If that was what the Dwarf wished, it would not have been difficult to achieve. And it would have saved Legolas considerable negotiating time and a sleepless night as well. He felt his patience with this argument ebb rapidly.
Haldir grew stern. "You cannot go back," he said. "Now you have come this far, you must be brought before the Lord and the Lady. They will judge you, to hold you or give you leave, as they will. You cannot cross the rivers again, and behind you there are now secret sentinels that you cannot pass. You would be slain before you saw them."
Legolas gritted his teeth. That could have been better said. But before he could say anything to defuse the situation Gimli pulled his axe from his belt. The weapon came free with a ring of metal on mail, and the Dwarf swung it easily in one glove-clad hand. Instantly Haldir and the other Elf bent their bows, their arrows trained on Gimli's head.
Without thought Legolas stepped between them. He drew no weapon. He could not fully trust his bow, and in any case no Elf had drawn weapon against another since the dark days. He would not be the first, and he was trusting that Haldir would not either. The March-warden's eyes widened in shock, but Legolas met his gaze and did not move. Haldir actually held his draw for a moment, the arrow now trained on Legolas' chest, but he swiftly recovered and lowered his bow. His companion followed suit.
Legolas released a slow breath, still holding Haldir's gaze. The March-warden glared back, his jaw set and his eyes hard. There was no sound but the deep chuckle of the river and the Hobbits' faint, rapid breathing. Then Haldir stepped back. He did not look away, but Legolas felt the tension ease. A line had been set, one that Haldir would not cross.
Then there was a clink of metal and Gimli shoved Legolas aside. He knocked the Elf back a step, and Legolas whirled to keep from stumbling. All his frustrated tension and weariness came bubbling to the surface, and he glared at Gimli. Gimli glared back, a wealth of stung pride in his eyes.
Legolas could have struck him then. All his efforts this past night: his admission to Haldir, his sleepless watch, were evidently worth nothing. He had nearly had the situation under control, and given a moment to speak quietly with Haldir he was certain he could find some way to compromise. But in his stubborn blindness Gimli would not even trust him that far. "A plague on Dwarves and their stiff necks!" Legolas hissed.
Aragorn stepped forward then, his hands raised in a placatory gesture as he moved between them. "Come," he said. "If I am still to lead this Company, you must do as I bid." He shot a swift glance at Legolas, and Legolas ground his teeth at the way the Man had turned his earlier words against him. But he dipped his head in acknowledgement, and Aragorn continued. "It is hard upon the Dwarf to be thus singled out. We will all be blindfold, even Legolas. That will be best, though it will make the journey slow and dull."
Legolas' head jerked up in astonishment. That was not part of the plan!
But before he could speak Gimli gave a sudden, short laugh. "A merry troop of fools we shall look! Will Haldir lead us all on a string, like many blind beggars with one dog? But I will be content, if only Legolas here shares my blindness." He looked challengingly at the Elf, and Legolas tensed.
"I am an Elf and a kinsman here," he said dangerously.
Aragorn snorted. "Now let us cry, 'a plague on the stiff necks of Elves!'" he said. Legolas glared at him. But Aragorn was already turning toward the others. "But all the Company shall fair alike. Come, blind our eyes, Haldir!"
Haldir looked as uncertain at this development as Legolas felt. He glanced from the Ranger to the archer and back again, but made no move to produce more blindfolds. Legolas for his part stared at Aragorn with narrowed eyes. Aragorn met and held his gaze, and the message was clear. If he is to lead . . .
Legolas drew a slow breath and looked away. His jaw clenched, but he gave a short nod of acquiescence. Aragorn drew a ragged cloak from his pack and began tearing it in long strips. Haldir and his companion took the cloths and moved slowly through the Company. Gimli was making a low rumbling sound in his chest, but he did not pull away as the blindfold was drawn over his eyes. "I shall claim full amends for every fall and stubbed toe, if you do not lead us well," he said.
"You will have no claim," Haldir said as he approached Legolas. "I shall lead you well, and the paths are smooth and straight."
Then he stopped in front of Legolas, and looked at him hesitantly. "I would do otherwise, my lord, were it in my power," he murmured.
"I know," Legolas said. He turned his back to permit Haldir to tie the cloth behind his head, and fought down a thin trickle of panic as the darkness closed over him. This was the first morning they had seen since Moria, the first time he had been free to walk in the sunlight and see the play of golden leaves, and now he must be once again bound in darkness. He was breathing in short, shallow breaths as he struggled for calm. It is not the same. I hear the forest, I feel the Song. It is not the same. But his heart still pounded in his chest.
Haldir was speaking with the Hobbits, talking of the distant Havens beyond the Shire, as they were led away from the rushing Celebrant. It was then, as he picked his way along the narrow path, that Legolas realized that he could still see. Haldir had tied the bond loosely, and by looking down Legolas could make out the path beneath his feet, the glimmer of light and color in the drifts of golden leaves.
For one brief moment his heart leapt, and he grasped what Haldir offered him – the chance to walk at ease in the golden wood, the chance to see. But then, before he could give in to temptation, Legolas reached up and drew the blindfold tight with a swift, angry jerk. The light was cut off, and the darkness was complete. He was still bound to serve the Fellowship, and he would not leave his companions to suffer alone. But he wished that he could tell Gimli what sacrifice an Elf had made for a Dwarf.
Next up: Chapter 13, in which Gimli learns how to find an Elf in the dark.
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Meet the Chairs
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Alyssa Polselli '15
Hello friends! My name is Alyssa Polselli and I am majoring in math with secondary education. I am from Morrisville, PA and I graduated from New Hope-Solebury High School in 2011. I will be your New Student Orientation Chair for 2014-2015. I am very excited to meet all of you and welcome you to our family here at Immaculata.
On campus I am involved in Alpha Xi Sorority, the Anderson Math Club as president, the IU Honor Society, Sigma Zeta Honor Society (math and sciences), Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society (education), and I am a tutor in the Math Center. I was also involved in the 2012 and 2013 orientations as a student leader. Immaculata has opened the door to so many different opportunities, and I have grown so much as a person during my time here so far. I cannot wait to welcome all of you to Immaculata in person and I hope that you come to love Immaculata as much as I have.
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Hello everyone! My name is Peter Ebenau and I am a music therapy major here at Immaculata University. Originally, I am from the shore town of Toms River, NJ and attended Toms River High School East. Here at Immaculata, I am involved in varying clubs and organizations around campus such as our acapella group In Unison, Student Ambassadors, Delta Pi Fraternity, and Music Therapy Club. I also have participated in the school's productions of Little Women and Charlotte's Web. I have been involved with NSO for the past two years and am very excited to meet all of our new students and welcome you to a new path of endless opportunity and change!
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Hello everyone! My name is Lindsay Dugan and I am an elementary and special education major. I am from Philadelphia and graduated in 2012 from Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls. On campus, I am involved in a number of activities, including Student Government Association, Immaculata's Honors Program, Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society, and Student Ambassadors. I am thrilled to be meeting all of you and your families! Immaculata has opened doors for me and I can only hope that you will have a similar experience. Best of luck, and I look forward to meeting all of you!


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American Experience
American Experience | Tales From the Poisoner's...
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American Experience | Coming in January 2014 | PBS
Executive Producer Mark Samels discusses new films coming in January 2014. 02:59
American Experience | The Amish: Shunned,...
Premiering February 4, 2014 at 9/8c on PBS. Former Amish choose their freedom over family. 02:00
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In 1918, on the brink of becoming the largest metropolis in the world, New York City hired Charles Norris as its first... 00:31
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FatELF is a bad idea for everyone, and in the future, FatELF will be a worse idea than now.
Phoronix: Ryan Gordon Is Fed Up, FatELF Is Likely Dead
The news just keeps rolling in today... Besides VIA trying again to submit their kernel DRM, learning about KDE 4.4 features, announcing AMD's UVD2-based XvBA finally does something on Linux, the release of the Linux 2.6.32-rc6 kernel, and GNOME 3.0 likely being delayed to next September, we also have news this evening from the well-known Linux game porter Ryan Gordon (a.k.a...
FatELF is a bad idea for everyone, and in the future, FatELF will be a worse idea than now.
IMHO, Kernel devs are usually big boys working for good money, they don't really give a crap about you or anybody else.
Who else here is sick of the constant UT3 remarks in every single icculus article?
I'm really sorry to see him get burnt like that, but that was to be expected. This is a major undertaking. He created something that changes the fundamentals of Linux, spanning many projects. It's very difficult to get consensus for that. It really has to be absolutely clear that this is a necessity before it can take off.
And I don't think it's that good an idea. It sounds very cool, a binary that works everywhere. So I like it in a gut-feeling way. But when you look at it objectively, when are you going to need this? Why not just put two binaries in the same package and install the correct one? Yes, there is a lack of a unified package manager, but that is being worked on.
I think Ryan underestimated the difficulty of getting other people to buy into your idea. Look at how many people thought about solutions to the package management problem. You've got RPM in the LSB, you've got Autopackage, you've got PackageKit, you've got PackageAPI... will one of those be the final solution? Maybe we'll know in 10 years.
.deb already supports multiple archs in a single file, doesn't it?
First they piss off Con, now they piss of Ryan. Can it get any more clearer that they simply don't give a rats ass about making things simpler and improving the end user experience?


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Andrew Bansal of Mettal Assault has posted the following concert review. "For the past few decades, heavy metal and symphony have crossed each other's paths as several metal bands and musicians have incorporated symphonic elements in their compositions, some even employing the usage of full orchestras to record and perform live. But the much-anticipated 'Symphony Interrupted' event at the Copley Hall in San Diego promised to be unique and first of its kind, with classical music at the forefront and a heavy metal icon attempting to lend his touch to it." Read the review at metalassault.com.
Dave Mustaine was a featured soloist last night (Saturday, April 12) with the San Diego Symphony. The classical special sold-out concert, billed as "Symphony Interrupted", took place at the Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego, California. The event saw Dave perform Richard Wagner's "Ride Of The Valkyries" with the orchestra, as well as solos of Vivaldi's concertos from "The Four Seasons", plus Bach's classic "Air". Dave has posted the following message on his Facebook page. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.
Sarah Churman, who's incredibly emotional YouTube video showing her getting an ear implant so she could hear for the first time went viral, is being flown to Las Vegas by Megadeth for her first rock concert where she has also been invited to meet with and interview Dave Mustaine. Read more of Sarah's story at reviewjournal.com.
WWE Champion and Fozzy vocalist, Chris Jericho recently conducted an interview with Dave Mustaine. In this audio podcast, Dave checks in with stories about Cliff Burton, his own neck injury, the Big Four, his favorite guitar players, and Megadeth's upcoming tour. You can now listen to the podcast at podcastone.com.
A limited number of bottles personally signed by Dave Mustaine are now available to order. Only 60 of the signed bottles will be released. Mustaine Vineyards' debut Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, "Symphony Interrupted", was made in limited quantities to commemorate Dave Mustaine's sold-out performance with the San Diego Symphony at Copley Symphony Hall on April 12, 2014. You can now order a signed bottle at mustainevineyards.com.
Megafans! Sign up, renew or upgrade to an Ultimate Soldier Megapack membership during the month of April and you will get an added FREE Bonus Megadeth Vic Rattlehead Ring included with your Megapack!! This custom ring is valued at $25 and can be yours for absolutely FREE! Offer is open to all fans worldwide! Enlist today!
Megadeth is confirmed to headline a show at Casino Rama Entertainment Centre in Rama, Ontario on Saturday, July 19, 2014. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m. For more information, visit casinorama.com.
Megadeth is confirmed to perform at the "First Niagara Presents Tuesday in the Park" concert series at Artpark in Lewiston, NY. The band will headline a show at the Artpark Outdoor Amphitheater on July 15, 2014. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 11 @ 10:00 a.m. For more information, visit artpark.net.
Dave Mustaine was the guest on Full Metal Jackie's radio show this past weekend. Mustaine spoke about his appearance with the San Diego Symphony, Megadeth's inclusion in Motorhead's Motorboad Cruise and the early stages of the band's next record. If you missed Jackie's show, you can read the entire interview at Loudwire.com.
Josselyn Molina for The Daily Aztec recently conducted an interview with Dave Mustaine. "Metal and classical music elegantly fuse together in what San Diego's very own Dave Mustaine, founder of Megadeth, is calling a collision of worlds. The Daily Aztec had the opportunity to interview Mustaine on his upcoming collaboration with the San Diego Symphony." Read the interview at TheDailyAztec.com.
Tweets from @Megadeth/megadeth-dave-mustaine


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It's now one of Paris' oldest squares. It's got free WI FI too if you happened to bring your laptop battery to Paris, which I did not :(
Dogs are not allowed inside the park FYI.
The fountain is at the center of square - all is perfectly symetrical.
The fountain provides plenty of negative ions...or is it positive ions that are good for you? Whatever, it's a lovely peaceful place to come and avoid thinking about the unfinished packing back at the apartment...


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Monday, March 8, 2010
How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs – I'm Not the Eggman, but I Play One on the Internet
I shouldn't really say "my" method since I'm sure I learned it from some chef decades ago, probably in a hotel somewhere, but regardless, it has served me well, and works every time.
Easter is rapidly approaching, and if you're going to be boiling eggs to decorate, why not make them so the insides are just as beautiful? Even if you don't plan on expressing your creativity with dyed eggshells, summer will be here before you know it, and everyone knows the secret to a great potato salad is perfectly cooked eggs.
Some of you may wonder about peeling the eggs, which I didn't bother to film. I simply peel under gently running water. If you have a great trick for peeling eggs please feel free to share with the rest of us. Enjoy!
Chef John Needs Your Vote!
Have you heard? Food Wishes has been nominated in the video category for the Saveur Magazine 1st Annual Best Food Blog Awards! Help us turn the honor of being nominated into the reality of a glorious win! Please follow this link to cast your vote now. Thanks!
UPDATE: Thanks to a tip from a commenter, I present this video from Tim Ferriss on how to peel an egg without peeling it, using baking soda. Please, someone try this and report back!
44 comments:
- EcoEcho said...
Good info - thanks.
I recently bought a little gadget that pierces one end of the egg with a tiny hole. This has worked every time - to my amazement - and not one egg shell has cracked during the cooking since I began doing this. It also seems to make the peeling process so much easier!
- March 8, 2010 at 4:23 PM
Theres another method by spinning an egg on its bottom. It should spin for about 5 seconds without falling. The reason is because the yolk is centered and set, if it wasn't cooked it would wobble around and fall.
- March 8, 2010 at 4:36 PM
Hi chef John. Is it even possible to screw up a hard boiled egg? I mean hard boiled eggs have to be the easiest thing to cook!
- March 8, 2010 at 5:04 PM
- Chef John said...
Yes, but most just boil the whole way, and this is a gentler method I think, and give me great results.
- March 8, 2010 at 5:07 PM
- Chris K. said...
I love pickled eggs, have peeled thousands of them. In doing so I adopted this technique:
1. Gently tap the wide end, continuing in a line along the length of the egg to the narrow end.
2. Gently roll the egg between your palm and a towel placed on your counter top, back and forth, until the whole shell is finely cracked but still stuck to the egg. Don't press too hard or you'll split the egg.
3. Peel - and rinse if needed. With a little practice you should be able to remove the entire shell in one or two pieces, without needing water.
- March 8, 2010 at 5:20 PM
- Chez Us said...
I love that you did a video for boiling eggs. I have to show my sister - she can't boil water! On a side note, did you see the eggs series we did last year - http://www.chezus.com/2009/05/27/the-incredible-edible-hard-boiled-egg-how-to-hard-boil-an-egg/ .... the best egg salad!
- March 8, 2010 at 6:11 PM
- chris said...
The method I use is to put the eggs in the pan using the same amount of water that you do, bring the pot to a boil and leave it boiling for eight minutes. Then drain and cool as you do. No discolored yolks this way, either.
- March 8, 2010 at 7:01 PM
Wah, watching this clip makes me realize that I haven't even been able to boil an egg! WT?!
Green-tinged yolks has always been my specialty.
- March 8, 2010 at 7:11 PM
- danijel said...
There's a million recipes online for perfect boiled eggs, but I like this guy's methodical approach best:
Conclusion is that the duration for boiling eggs depends on a lot of variables so its almost impossible to give an exact recipe that works perfectly for everyone. Then again, cooking is more of an art form than an exact science...
- March 8, 2010 at 7:32 PM
Hey chef John, take a look at this video. The guy says to boil with some baking soda then you can peel the egg without actually peeling the shell! I gotta try this one:
- March 8, 2010 at 8:49 PM
- PukaDog said...
Love it! As someone who new to this game and has not yet mastered perfect hard boiled eggs, thank you for posting. Chef John's tips and various methods for doing things are probably my favorite postings on Food Wishes.
- March 8, 2010 at 10:31 PM
I hard boil eggs pretty much exactly as you do. Many people say to leave them sit for 10 minutes in the hot water. I always go 15 to 20 minutes at my home which is almost at 3000 feet elevation. I would have thought SF would be fewer minutes because it is at sea level but it looks like I was so wrong.
Anyway, I have added one step that seems to help a ton with the peeling. After I drain off the hot water, I swirl the eggs around the pan, cracking the eggs thoroughly. Then cool with the cold water. Then peel.
- March 8, 2010 at 10:57 PM
- ghanima said...
Great video, Chef John! I can't believe I've been boiling eggs incorrectly all my life and nobody thought to tell me 'til now. Shows that I can learn a thing or two, even from someone in the Rolling Stones camp. :)
- March 9, 2010 at 12:48 AM
I hope nobody EVER makes me egg salad using that baking soda peeling method. Egg salad with spit, ewwww!
- March 9, 2010 at 1:58 AM
Chef John, I LOVE your blog! I discovered it last week on youtube while investigating no-knead breads. I'm a cook/demonstrator in an up-scale grocery store and have recommended it to several customers and co-workers, and I noticed my daughter is now a follower (see thegutsygirl.com, her blog on crohn's disease and she posts recipes). I voted for your blog in the Saveur contest, and it definitely outshone the others. You write from a professional chef point of view, the videos are succinct and informational and they show me what I need to know and don't waste my time--okay, I guess that's what succinct means. I like it that you're not a standup comedian, like "Mr. Bam" on a certain food tv show.
Your introductions prior to the recipes give me insight I could use as an accomplished home cook and foodie, and that same info is helpful to novices, too. Incidentally, I made the no-knead ciabatta bread and it turned out great! Kudos, Alicia
- March 9, 2010 at 1:21 PM
- Victor said...
so do times change for different amounts of eggs? how about a dozen.. still 17 mins?
- March 9, 2010 at 2:39 PM
- Chef John said...
yes, same for a dozen
- March 9, 2010 at 2:44 PM
- Jesse said...
Huge fan of soft boiled eggs. Tips for perfecting those buggers?
- March 9, 2010 at 5:41 PM
- redforever said...
A tip to keep in mind as well, is that fresh eggs will not peel well.
So if you know you are going to be using boiled eggs for something, buy your eggs about a week ahead of time.
- March 9, 2010 at 7:28 PM
You've GOT to be kidding.
I just tried the boiling with baking soda, and it TOTALLY worked. I'm gobsmacked.
Basically the shell cracks very easily into fine shards, and the egg comes right out. Your conventional under the water technique worked phenominally easily after the soda-boil, too. The spit thing bothered me, if I'm honest, so I tried just using a thumb to push it out. If you push from the small end (didn't work from the wide end) it comes RIGHT OUT leaving a tube of egg shell.
- March 9, 2010 at 7:43 PM
Hi, Chef John. i tried your method this morning, and my mom said that the eggs are better than those we previously made. we are chinese and we usually boil the eggs thoroughout the whole process, but this really workes. thank you for sharing the method. im looking foward the new cooking book.
- March 10, 2010 at 2:39 PM
- Kevin said...
The peeling video looks good except for the spit all over the egg!
- March 11, 2010 at 10:14 AM
- San-Man said...
OK, time to play Mr Stick-in-the-mud!!! Since these eggs never really reach the boiling point, wouldn't it still be possible for cooties like salmonella to survive? Chef, comment???
- March 13, 2010 at 10:25 AM
- Chef John said...
on the VERY rare chance you have salmonella-laced eggs, it's killed way below boiling - like 130-140 degrees.
- March 13, 2010 at 2:58 PM
Hey Chef(s).
Does anyone have any tips for cooking a slightly more runnier version? My entire family likes the yolk a bit more runnier than this version.
- March 15, 2010 at 9:42 PM
- Chef John said...
not sure, but I'm sure there are time charts online for softer boiled eggs
- March 16, 2010 at 11:35 PM
How about an egg salad recipe done in your patented "lite/healthy" spins? Have you seen the Best Thing I Ever Ate - Chilled Perfection episode? Adam Gertler does a feature on the egg salad sandwich from Euro Pane. Looks delicious! It'll re-air tomorrow night if you want to set your DVR.
- March 29, 2010 at 9:00 PM
- Melanie said...
I live in the "mile high" city and this method did not work for me. The eggs were undercooked and stuck to the shell. I went back to simmering them for 20 minutes then shock of cold water...works for me.
But thanks! I love your videos and visit this blog on a weekly basis.
- April 11, 2010 at 1:12 PM
- Chef John said...
Wouldn't it be easier to just move to sea level? ;-)
- April 11, 2010 at 1:41 PM
- Gustavo Mello said...
Well, I have to say I had never been a big fan of hard boiled eggs until I tried this technique.
First time around I screwed it up cause I turned the heat down way too soon (didn't wait for them to start dancing). I don't know if the fact that they were cold straight out of the fridge was also a problem. So I just had to fry those and they were delicious.
But on my second try I left the heat on for a little longer and I have to say, they were the most delicious hard boiled eggs I've ever had. Cooking is just amazing, you can go from something that's just OK to something heavenly depending on how you do things.
Thank you for sharing this!
- October 4, 2010 at 11:01 PM
- dining room tables said...
Boiling an egg is a hard thing to do, as for me. I always fail on that task in the kitchen.
- November 8, 2010 at 7:58 PM
I add salt to the water, it makes the shells come right off without any fuss.
- November 23, 2010 at 8:13 PM
- philogaia said...
Thanks so much to danijel for the link to the serious eats page. I tried this method (at sea level) and came up with my whites still runny. Since I had just peeled a little edge to see the problem I was able to put the eggs in fresh water and finish cooking them by my old method (albeit with some amazing white foam to skim off.)
I had no idea what might have gone wrong but the serious eats page says that the amount of water makes a huge difference in how fast the temp of the water drops with 1.5 quarts of water being optimal. I used a one quart pan filled half way since I was only boiling two eggs. That must be it. Way too little water.
I get beautiful hard-cooked (not boiled) eggs by putting them in cold water, setting the timer for 17 minutes, bringing them to just under a boil, then monitoring the water to keep them just simmering. While this works great it requires attention. I'll try this experiment again with more water.
- February 24, 2011 at 1:33 PM
I've noticed that the main thing that seems to make hard-boiled eggs easy to peel is not overcooking them. Ever since I adopted a similar method of heat-and-rest, I've had no peeling problems, whether the eggs were super-fresh or not, right out of the fridge or not,and even without using running water!
- April 14, 2011 at 4:00 PM
This did not work for me and I followed all the directions to a "T".
- November 25, 2011 at 7:30 PM
It didn't work for me either I got runny eggs.
- November 28, 2011 at 4:54 AM
@Chef John:
I love those eggs but my mother likes her yolk so she can dip her toas in it.
Any good tip how to make the perfect egg with firm white but creamy to runny yolk?
- January 5, 2012 at 2:18 PM
The Easiest way to peel a hard boiled egg is wait till your water is at a full boil. THEN gentley put the eggs in the pot. They peel like butter!!!
- January 6, 2012 at 6:36 PM
- Rob Pitingolo said...
For as long as I can remember, I've had an impossible time peeling hard-boiled eggs, not matter how hard I tried.
Recently, by accident, I discovered something interesting. I usually use cheap supermarket eggs for hard boiling and better farmers market eggs for poaching, frying, etc.
One time I didn't have very many supermarket eggs left, so I threw some farmer's market eggs into the pot. Keep in mind, these eggs were all cooked for the exact same time in the exact same pot. When I went to peel them, the supermarket eggs were annoyingly difficult to peel, as usual, but the farmers market eggs popped right out!
Not only that, but the supermarket eggs seemed less "well done" than the farmers market eggs.
Here's my point... forget the salt water tricks, the ice shock tricks, etc. The type of egg you use seems to be the most important variable. I hope someone can shed more light on this, because I feel like I've only begun to scratch the surface of this question.
- March 5, 2012 at 12:18 PM
- CookinDiva said...
I just tired the boiling eggs method for the first time and for the most part it works, I think I should have waited just another minute. But it works.
- July 1, 2012 at 9:54 AM
- Capt Chris said...
Clicked both of your email links...neither are active. I have a food wish for a lol... "sexy" egg salad sandwich! A fun bread maybe?...different spices or prep?
- April 9, 2013 at 9:51 PM
- John Conlon said...
I just tried this in Albuquerque NM. Had to leave at for 20 minutes instead of 17. Wondering if it had anything to do with our boiling point being 203 instead of 212 so my simmered water is not quite as hot?
- December 28, 2013 at 2:02 AM
- Barbara Chanter Turek said...
I just tried pressure cooker boiled eggs. Wow! 7 minutes on low pressure, natural release. Perfect peeling. Perfectly cooked. Just under hard.
And guess what else? I used the pressed board egg carton to sit the eggs in. Added 1 cup water. Fit in 10 large eggs. 7 minutes low pressure and voila!
- October 14, 2014 at 2:38 PM
- Michael Williams, D.O. said...
We have a small ranch in North TEXAS. We raise chickens and lots of HELL! So I discovered eggs directly out of the factory are too fresh to boil for deviled eggs. Every Cotten picking egg shell stuck. Starting over.......don't have many older eggs. Thanks for turning on my inner chef! I have always cooked but you have opened my eyes to many new things. I can now bake bread without fear.
Mangia pane,
Dr. Mike (aka the sicillian stallion)
- February 23, 2015 at 11:01 AM