A very late birthday present for sailinginthenoondaysun. Enjoy, my friend!
"We are crossing into Rohan," Aragorn stated as they crested a small hill. A steady stream of warm wind was blowing (a sure sign that they were moving south) and a jumble of horses had churned the earth on border patrols. If he turned his head to the right, he knew that he would see a familiar profile of mountains which were only visible at this place.
Legolas ran smoothly past him and climbed the next, higher hillock as Aragorn watched. He angled his body like a hound on a scent, his eyes searching the horizon. His voice floated back on the wind to the waiting ranger. "A village lies six miles hence. We can stop there for a few hours' respite."
Aragorn eyed the sky warily; its pale blue expanse held not a single cloud. As urgent as their quest to reunite with their hobbit friends was, he knew that it would become deathly cold that night. Besides, they would make better time the next day if they had even a little sleep and food. Legolas was right.
Gimli huffed and grumbled as he jogged up to Aragorn's position. "What's the bloody elf saying now?"
"There is a village a little ways ahead. We will rest there for the coldest part of the night."
The dwarf looked like he was about to protest, so Aragorn ran down the hill towards Legolas. Now that he knew that there was rest ahead, the impacts of his feet against the packed dirt seemed to resonate through his tired body. He had never run for three days straight before; there had always been periods of hiding, of fighting, of sleeping, of walking, even. Legolas held back to wait for Gimli, but Aragorn kept up his steady motion towards a mug of ale and a warm bed.
Selhan was the first village east of the Rohan border. The three travelers quickly discovered that the small cluster of buildings held just one inn, which they entered just as the cold sun sank below the horizon. The warm interior of the building was lit with the dim yellow glow of tallow candles, sparsely placed. It was small but clean, and filled with the rich scents of ale and stew. Two cloaked and hooded men lounged at the table nearest to the fire in the corner, and the only other inhabitant was the thin innkeeper.
Aragorn beckoned his followers to the well-scrubbed bar. "Three of whatever you have for a meal, please. And a mug of ale for me and one for the dwarf."
The innkeeper nodded and walked through a back door while the ranger counted out the appropriate number of coins. He returned a few seconds later with the drinks and gestured for them to seat themselves at a table. Gimli led the way, face already buried in his drink, to the table in the other corner from the two men. The travelers ignored the wary looks they were receiving and set about making a plan.
"We need to eat quickly, resupply our food, and sleep. We must leave as the sun rises."
Legolas cocked his head. "Where do you intend to purchase food?"
"From the local people. I have gold to use, so they will not feel the loss too dearly."
The innkeeper carried three steaming bowls of stew to where they sat, eyeing their weapons with distaste. "Here ye go, sirs."
Aragorn nodded politely and stirred the mixture. It wasn't ideal, considering the packed land in the area made for poor farming soil. The stew was mostly broth, with a few small bites of carrot and potato and one smallish chunk of beef. But it was hot, and they had eaten nothing but elven bread for nigh on a week, so they devoured it. Then they finished the loaf of hard-crusted bread which had been provided while Aragorn and Gimli drank. When they had finished, which didn't take very long at all, they approached the innkeeper again.
"Have you any free rooms? We wish to stay here for the night."
The man nodded and dug a plain brass key out of his pocket. "If there's no one here when ye leave, just put the key under th' counter." He handed them the key, but hesitated.
"Is there a problem?" Legolas inquired frostily. Aragorn could tell that the elf was already irritable from trying to eat his stew without consuming the meat.
"I was just wonderin'," the man finally asked, "if there was any news from where you're comin' from. There's a bit of a stir in the East, we're hearin'."
Gimli snatched the key from the ranger and made to move away. "I'm afraid, sir, that we journey from the west this time. We have no news. And we're in a hurry."
Aragorn let the dwarf leave. In response to Legolas's silent question, he nodded and the elf followed. Then he addressed the innkeeper.
"There is movement in the East. I travel from Bree, and my two companions joined me just west of the mountains. Two other members of our party were captured by orcs. We are tracking them, and I suspect that we will reach the Golden Hall before we find them. If I were you, I would prepare the people of your village for the possibility of orcs."
The man looked nervous. "There are rumors… of a powerful object… and a party of travelers making their way to Mordor."
A small alarm, that little voice which was necessary for any ranger's survival, caused the hair on the back of Aragorn's neck to stand up. Worrying that he had given away too much information in his sudden wish to help the village, he shrugged nonchalantly. "I have heard such rumors. Likely such stories as give false hope to the hopeless."
"But what other reason would an elf, a dwarf, and a ranger have for traveling together? And so well armed?" The innkeeper was sweating profusely now. He eyed one of the men in the corner, who had stirred with interest.
"We follow our companions, as I said," Aragorn replied, one hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword. "Otherwise, our business is our business."
The cloaked men suddenly stood, causing the innkeeper to squeak and scurry through his back door. The men's hoods fell back to reveal the twisted, ruddy, painted faces of the Uruk Hai. Aragorn drew his sword, but the close quarters forced him to back against the wall. The snarls of the orcs and the crackling of the fire seemed incredibly loud in the small room, and Aragorn wondered if he shouldn't have forgone the ale.
A silver-fletched arrow flew through the doorway and into the eye of one of the monsters, and Aragorn managed to swing his sword well enough to dispatch the other one with a blow to the neck. The two figures collapsed, and the ranger ran out through the doorway to where Legolas and Gimli were waiting. He put one hand on each of their shoulders.
"I am sorry, my friends, but there will be no sleep and no more food for us tonight."
"Yes there will," Gimli grinned. He revealed two loaves of bread and a bag of carrots from behind his back. "Not enough to weigh us down too much. It was the best I could do on short notice, but it should help a bit."
"Excellent!" Aragorn wiped his sword on the stubby grass which grew next to the inn, leaving a rusty stain on the moonlit. "In that case, we must continue. There are two hobbits who require our assistance."
His two companions nodded, and they set up a steady run out of town. They felt the cold light of the stars on their heads and the frightened stares of the villagers on their backs. After they had run for most of an hour and the village was long out of sight, Gimli staggered to a stop, forcing the others to wait for him. He started to pull out one of the loaves of bread.
"What are you doing?" Legolas inquired.
"I'm havin' a bite to eat."
"You just ate!"
"I'm still hungry. And I'm not eating any of your bloody bread," he added when the elf opened his mouth to speak again."
"Gimli, my friend," Aragorn interjected. "We must save the food. We'll need it later."
The dwarf huffed but put away the bread. "Fine."
"It is only a few more days before we reach the golden hall, where we can purchase horses and have a proper meal. Let's keep going."
Gimli examined the sky, which had stayed clear. A dusting of frost was beginning to form across the landscape. It would be unpleasant to stop for too long.
"Are we going to discuss the fact that there were two Uruk Hai hiding in a border village of Rohan?" Legolas asked.
Aragorn sighed. "The group was a few days ahead of us, they probably left behind scouts."
"Should we have checked to make sure there weren't any more?"
Aragorn shook his head. "We don't have any time. We need to catch up to Merry and Pippin as soon as possible. We don't know what they're going through as we speak."
"What are we waiting for, then?" Gimli asked. "Let's keep going!" He jumped a few times to show his eagerness.
The others nodded, and they took up their steady pace across the hills.