A/N:

This story is dedicated to Nina (PeppyPower.) "Sorry that it took a little longer than I had guessed. I'm sort of paranoid when it comes to editing my work, and I'm my own worst critic. I never like to share anything with anyone unless I'm sure it's the best work that I can possibly do. Hope you like it."

Anyways… To everyone else…

I am a huge fan of Tolkien, so (sorry P.J.) I wanted to follow the facts that are directly from the books instead of the movie, (but, they're still my favorite movies.) That being said, don't let the title deceive you. I'm trying to write the characters as they appeared in the books; this means no Arwen-warrior stuff. I hope to update it by one chapter every couple of days. I also thought that it would be neat to add in fun facts about Tolkien and his life in front of every chapter, starting with chapter two.

I don't own any of the original characters, places, or spoken lines. No copyright intended. Enjoy the story!

P.S. Sorry if the other Middle Earth languages aren't very fluent. I only speak English and Sign Language.

Chapter I - The Hunt:

Fourteen winters and fourteen springs, have been counted since the sway of Sauron's evil was destroyed. True peace could at last be tasted by all free folk alike after the dark lord's bitter noose had almost tightened over all that was good and pure. Needless to say though that the darkness had not yet been emptied out of the lands of Middle Earth, for even in such blissful days as these, foul things still lurked within the dark crevices of the world. Not all orcs were slain in the Battle at the Black Gates, and not all servants of Sauron remained scattered. The War of the Ring was a long and terrible one and would not be mended so easily.

Hence now, over green lands of swaying grass, there road a host of men nearing the edge of the Gap of Rohan. Gold and silver light glistened in radiance from their bright plated helms, and spears of iron thorns gleamed over their heads alongside two noble banners that flew above them, weaving through the wind. On one banner, there was a pale stead, and on the other a white tree, for indeed, these men were of the kingdoms of Gondor and Rohan. At their head was King Éomerof the golden hall of Meduseld, and by his side, there road King Elessar from the white city of Minus Tirith. Among the Éored and the host of Elessar's riders, there also was Legolas the elf, and Gimli the dwarf. No swift speed could outlast against such a company, for they were hunters chasing prey.

Less than two furlongs by the horses stride, fetid orcs fled northward, in search of cover beneath the thin forest which lay yonder no more than a league's way away. Together the riders in their raging might, were one hundred and eighteen warriors in arms, and against the small band of orcs in the near distance, they were indomitable.

'Don I count of their numbers,' said Legolas, 'ten there are that flee.'

'Spoken well,' said Gimli 'the language of Khuzdûl may yet befit you Legolas. But alas ten is not enough for the likes of us when we ten times their count.'

'Alas, it is not,' replied Legolas, 'but one of us at least may have a victory against these orcs.'

'Another game it will be then,' answered Gimli cheerfully, 'we shall see soon who slay his orc.' A cloudless sky was tilted to the west, and above them all was a light so fair that the ocrs cowered beneath it. The sun was abroad, so bright and glorious that no darkness could cast a veil to cover it.

'They will not get far,' declared Éomer. 'The sun shines against their foul faces. The day is with us my friends.'

'So it is,' answered Elessar. 'They will reach their end ere the day is up. Woe to the enemy that runs, and woe to the dying darkness. Forward Sons of the Free Lands!' The king's sword, brandished in his grip, was held aloft, and a white flame blazed in his hand. 'Andúril!' he cried, and then as arrows launched from the strings of bows, the horses charged against the orcs. Beneath the fast beating of hooves upon the plains, the very ground trembled with fury. Two horns, each from the houses of Gondor and Rohan sang loud and clear, trumpets not of war, but of battle and guard over the lands of their bearers. Shivering cries shrieked themselves ahead of the company as the orcs fled faster, but without use, for they were no match against the horse lords and the men of Númenor.

'Gúthwinë!' shouted Éomer. Another horn was blown and rung for leagues across to hear and then the rushing wave of horses swept upon their foe, passing once over the orcs in a single charge. Bows sung and arrows whistled. Spears rose and pierced down alongside the swords that struck and hewed down the wicked creatures. No sooner than it had begun, the battle was ended, short and vengeful, with every orc felled and slain upon the Gap of Rohan.

'What have you Gimli?' said Legolas 'I have taken two.' The dwarf mumbled something in his own tongue, for he had not the chance to swing his axe ere the orcs were already overtaken and finished. The elf laughed, turning his head lightly to the trees that were at the roots of the Misty Mountains. Suddenly the eyes of Legolas caught a glimpse of a something small: movement over to where he had swiftly gazed. He shaded his eyes to better see what was thither, then called Elessar's name as his sight was bent to the north. 'There are twenty three orcs in hiding yonder,' he announced to the company. 'They have seen us, and are fleeing deeper into the trees.'

'Twenty three?' questioned Gimli, 'ah yes, that is a good number. Enough heads for my axe, and for me to redeem myself. I will not be out scoured by an elf.'

'They will be hunted,' the king of Rohan agreed.

'But lord,' said Éothain, the king's second in command. 'Past those trees and hills is Dunland, the Wild Man's country? Dare we leave the borders of Rohan?'

'Their mistake shall be their own undoing if the orcs think that they may hide from us in those lands,' said Éomer, and Éothain said no more. Nothing he said would change his king's mind. Elessar – however slightly – was troubled by it, though knowing that twenty three enemies could not withhold against their might. He yet wondered what such number of foes awaited for them if there were more than what Legolas' keen sight could track beyond the grey branches and shrivelled ferns of pine trees ahead. 'I do not doubt that they will have scattered to all roads but those that lead south,' continued Éomer. 'If such is true, then the hunt will be more difficult if we continue onwards as we have ere.'

'I deem that it will,' said Elessar, 'but that cannot be helped by us.'

'Speak not so swiftly yet Aragorn,' said Éomer.

'My friend,' said Elessar, 'when have you yet known me to be too swift when patience needed?' he asked.

'I have not,' answered Éomer. 'Indeed, forgive me for saying such, yet even as the orcs are divided, I see other paths that we may both pursue to overtake them all.'

'Other paths? Of what do you speak lord?' questioned Elessar. By now the company approached over the borders of Rohan, coming nearer and nearer to Dunland with every stride of their steads.

'Our skills and size outnumber their own,' said Rohan's king. 'If they are divided, perhaps then we must send separate parties of our own after them.'

'That is just reasoning my lord,' said Elessar, 'were the hunt still in thy lands. But to the north where still the house of Erol and the men of Númenor are looked ill upon? Even as war is ended between our realms and Dunland's, their courtesy is less than merciful.'

'Not far into Dunland will we venture, nor shall we tarry longer than we must to slay an enemy which the Wild Men also hate,' persisted Éomer. 'I will lead my Éored on the trail of these orcs, but what of those who flee in a different direction? Are we to show no vengeance against them after the many sons and fathers of our people were struck into death by their hands?' A chorus of nays chanted up in answer to the king, for their riders were too driven by hate of the orcs to falter now on their hunt. It was with a heavy heart that Elessar agreed. He did not approve of this plan, but knew that he could not convince all of their company otherwise.

'So be it,' said King Elessar. 'My men will follow me along the brink of the hills and the forest to hinder all orcs that will retreat to the west.

'I thank you Aragorn,' said Éomer, 'but bring Legolas and Gimli with thy party. Let it not be said that the Three Hunters from the songs and legends of war be separated on this very hunt. I will ride my men behind the trail of the orcs and cut down any who flee north or east.'

'That is well, but be wary and swift,' warned Elessar. 'Even in such times, these lands are not safe.' Wryly, the king of the Mark laughed and placed a thoughtful hand upon Elessar's shoulder.

'Now I must I ask you, my friend, if thou hath yet known me not to be swift when haste is needed.'

'Indeed, and ne'er I must answer,' laughed Elessar, 'but still, heed my word Éomer, and be wary, for I cannot say what such path lies before thee, if you choose to ride forwards.'

'None ever shall know that road, less it is taken by them,' answered Éomer, speaking now with words of the wisest in Rohan. 'But come, we have yet another matter to speak of. We must know when to end this crusade and when it is finished, and so I say this: In peril, let the horns of our nations call out endlessly until aid has come, but for each felled orc, let only a single horn sing, separately and in turn.'

'And what of the Dunlanders?' questioned Gimli. 'They surly will hear the cries of our horns if we voice them within their lands.'

'They do not dwell so closely beneath the mountains Gimli,' said Éomer. 'If they come in search of us, we will by then be hours departed from their borders.'

'Then if go we must into Dunland, we must make way in haste while the noon sky isn't waning into the west,' said Elessar.

'Well spoken. I will delay us no longer,' answered Éomer. Elessar said naught as he measured his own decision, but nodded nonetheless in accord. King Éomer rose taller than he had been ere in his saddle, and re-summoned the Riders of Rohan to his command.

'Good luck my Friends,' he called back to them, and then departed on the trail of the stray orcs. Elessar watched as the shadows of the king and his men faded away and mingle between the distant shadows of the darkening trees, until only Legolas' keen sight could find their shapes amidst the tall brooding stalks of pines that stood slivered between the roots of the Mountains.

Noon was pressing on and would in hours, turn to dusk and nightfall. Thus, King Elessar called the men of Gondor to him, and they rode on past the borders of Rohan and along the forest and hill lines of Dunland.

The company was watchful of any movement beyond their own party, and the king did not relax the hold upon his sword. Two and a hundred years were weighed down upon his shoulders, but they were left unnoticed by most, and forgotten of, for he looked no wearier than any of the worriers among him with only the wisdom in his eyes betraying the countless winters that he had seen. Upon the grey stead, Arod, Legolas and Gimli rode alongside him in companionship, whilst still on the lookout for orcs.

'This is not wise,' whispered Legolas, in a voice that only Gimli and Elessar could hear.

'I know,' said Elessar, 'we must not disturb these lands. It may be a great deed of service that we do to rid the Dunlanders of these orcs, but nonetheless, though I said otherwise, it is not them that I fear to meat. I do not doubt that we are in danger here. The tidings of these orcs is queer to me, and we do not know why they have journeyed hither, if it is by more means than to run from us.

'Aye, and a strange thing it is,' said Gimli 'to find so many orcs on the Planes of Rohan.'

'Indeed,' said Elessar. 'No such numbers have been reported since these lands were under the shadow of Sauron. I worry that Éomer is troubled too much by this. Ever we have been hunting for orcs throughout Rohan, and ere this day, we have charged upon four ranks of orcs, and to find yet another pack travelling in the same direction as the others is strange.'

'The king's mind is restless,' said Legolas. 'The love for his people is very strong, but I fear that a loathing hatred grows with it.'

'I fear so also,' said Elessar, 'but speak not of such things, for he is still a noble king to all of Rohan that loves him. He has no care for orcs, a loathing that which is shared by us all, and when he bade us to ride with him, we answered. For now, that is all that can be done by us.' He said no more, and they rode on without delay. The pebbles and earth of Dunland loosely turned beneath the strides of their horses, and was the only sound heard and made by the company from Gondor. As hours passed, nothing stirred, and to many of the men, it was as though the land was in a still and ghostly slumber. No birds whistled in the crooked branches of the wood and even the grass did not rustle or bend beneath the breeze. All was kept silent about them.

Such a thing however, did not last, and as many of the hunters slowly turned towards weariness, farther yonder, the woods began to wail, and the company halted, listened, and were un-eased by what they heard. 'Wargs,' said Gimli 'that howling is made up of the voices wolves, or I have never heard one before.'

'Yes, I hear them too,' said Legolas 'but not do I see them, and nor did I before, when I gazed upon the forest.' This was troubling to Elessar

'Of what did you see?' he questioned.

'No such animals or beasts,' answered Legolas, 'saves for the orcs that King Éomer pursues. Yet even I cannot see past the many miles of knotted trees and risen stones.'

'Then this is a different pack,' suggested Gimli.

'Yes, and maybe one that is in league with the orcs we have seen,' uttered Elessar. 'I do not like this.' At these words, the wailing wolf noises ceased suddenly, and all was quiet once more.

'Would you have scouts ride ahead lord?' asked Hatalmá, one of the king's men.

'No, let us not risk it,' said Elessar. 'The wolf prowls soundlessly by most ears save for those of Legolas', and are cunning to approach, gathering silently around their prey ere they spring.' He sighed and looked on to the east, 'I would that Éomer's men did not part our company.' These words he spoke to himself, but then commanded to the other: 'draw your swords!' The king's men, loosened their weapons. Legolas fitted an arrow onto his bow and while Gimli loosened his axe from his belt. They did not stir.

Suddenly the baying cries of wargs arose again, this time nearer and were gaining rapidly towards them. Few of the horses endured the wailing sounds, and those that did not, shuddered and shook beneath the saddles of their masters. The howling brewed up and travelled over the hills, but came from the woods.

The long, narrow road that they were upon was sheltered beneath the hills of the west, but to the east, the trees opened out, and from there the warg's voices cried loudest. The king gazed deeper into the thicket of trees to their right side, and there two bright orbs appeared, glinting red in the deepest depths of the forest shadows.

Five wolves, pale coated, and ravenous, sprang out from the shadows, darting past their path, and upon them rode orcs as foul and bitter looking as the ones they were hunting. A dark arrow, sent in flight, whistled past the Elessar's ear, only ere more arrows from Legolas and the men or Gondor assailed against the orc felon that dared to harm their king. The first orc and his mount were felled with many shafts stuck in their reeked flesh. The men's horses reared and pushed backwards, all save for Arod who took off like the wind, on the tail of the four wolves that fled. Some men followed, but none could outmatch the riding skills of Legolas as he and Gimli chased the wolves at their heels. Up, up they chased over the hills with the company of men behind them, Elessar in lead behind Legolas and Gimli. The elf's bow twanged as he sent an arrow into the warg furthest away. It shrieked and tumbled, flinging it's rider to one side. The second and third wolf jumped nimbly over its fell carcase. The fourth one however, was not as lucky, and tripped flinging both it and the orc mounted on it, into the rugged soil.

'Not an arrow in any of these, Legolas!' shouted Gimli 'They are mine to finish.' With that, the dwarf leapt down from Arod's back and landed with two stout feet upon the hill. Legolas took heed of Gimli's words, and rode on in pursuit of the two other wolves and their masters. With his axe in hand, Gimli met against his first orc. In front of him, it held in its hairy hand, a foul, black horn, which it pushed its peeling lips against blew. The horn shrieked and spoiled the air with its sound, but the dwarf's stout stance did not waver, and he charged. 'Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd!' he chanted fiercly, swinging his axe against the orc. With one quick arch of his axe, the foul hand holding the horn was cut from the creature's limb and then Gimli swung his axe once more, and the orc fell headless to the ground.

Now there were only two to face the wrath of one of Durin's folk. A two handed stroke hewed the legs off of the second orc, ere he cleaved down upon its skull, but then the pale warg, tall and fierce, with eyes of cold red ice, sprang. Gimli leapt to one side and missed the wolf's attack, but tumbled backwards as he did. The warg charged again towards him, teeth bared like rows of silver knives, yet even as the beast drew near, Gimli pitched his axe. It flew for a moment before it carved itself deep into the flesh of the wolf. The beast went rigid, fell, and did not move again.

With a satisfying grunt, the dwarf stood up once more and hefted his axe from the felled carcase which he had slain. As King Elessar came up the steep rise with his men behind him, Legolas returned over the peak of the hill and approached the dwarf, who by then had lifted his axe and placed it back upon the strap of his belt.

'You do not make it easy to follow you my friends,' said the king. 'How went the hunt without us?'

'Three necks broken!' answered the dwarf. 'My count has passed that of Legolas' at last.'

'Only three?' questioned the elf. 'My count is now at four, but nae! The last two escaped me, for the distance between us was far too wide for me to cast my arrows against them.'

'By no fault of yours, I am sure,' said Elessar, 'but nonetheless, these wolves and their riders were on some foul errand. The wolves travel westward, further into Dunland, but where? And to what purpose?' From Roheryn's saddle, Elessar climbed down and went on foot, further over the hill. Legolas leapt from his own mount on Arod and stood beside him, each studying the land ahead to the west. 'Now after a day's tracking, I do not know which course is best,' said Elessar at length. 'Do we drive forwards after the wargs and their riders, or do we stay hither and rest till dawn?'

'If we can find another row or orc heads for my axe to swing at, then all weariness shall be gone from me, even till after tomorrow's dawn,' said Gimli.

'And I would fight with you Gimli,' said Legolas, 'but our steads are yet still tiresome from our travels in the many days behind. They have gone far enough without rest.'

'On foot I would go if I must,' said Gimli. 'Dwarves are better on their own two feet then they are in a saddle.'

'Then you would be running after orcs who have wolf steads to carry them much farther,' answered Legolas

'Ah, sadly that is true,' sighed the dwarf, 'and even if we continued, we cannot track orcs or wolves without the light of day. Perhaps some sleep will do us all good, though I doubt that I will get a wink of it myself tonight.'

'No indeed,' laughed Legolas, 'for a dwarfs' blood is quick to boil in ire, yet will take many hours more before it cools again.'

'And so does an elf's when he is stirred,' said Elessar, 'but still you are right. The light will not last for our hunt. Already the sun has waned greatly in these past hours.' Even as he looked up, the eastern sky was slowly welcoming shadows, and passing into a time of twilight. Elessar looked westward at the sun that was eagerly westering in the sky and saw that the grey light was fading into darkness.

'Gather up our kindling for fires,' he said, his mind made up at length. 'We shall rest here tonight.'

A/N: Well, there you have it. Chapter One Posted! What do you think? A little slow perhaps, but I promise that the plot and story line will pick up by Chapter Two (with more action included.)

Translation: Nae – Alas