Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or some characters. (For full disclaimer see chapter 1).
Enjoy!
Chapter 2: The Wait
Night fell and with it came a cool breeze sweeping through the forest. The moon this night was full and bright, casting its' rays on the weary travelers. The patrol was exhausted after the fight with the small spider horde and from walking all day long. Even though they were fatigued, the elves were in good spirits.
Once the camp was set up and sentries were posted, most of the elves went to sleep. Four of them weren't quite tired enough to go to sleep, so they gathered around the fire enjoying each other's company. For a while, a comfortable silence hung over them as they stared into the fire. They didn't really need the fire to keep warm since elves don't really feel the cold, but it was necessary to keep away unwanted animals.
"So what are our traveling plans tomorrow?" Hithaeron finally broke the silence. Trelan raised an eyebrow. "Our plans are going to be walking and then when we are tired of that, we will walk some more." Hithaeron rolled his eyes at the other warrior's sarcasm. The others chuckled at the short banter.
Legolas stretched and looked at the stars for a moment. He smiled when a memory of the time when he and his mother would sit for hours looking at the stars. He sighed and stood up. "We should all get our rest. We do have a lot of walking to do tomorrow." He added in as he made his way to his spot for the night. The others also made their way to their beds.
As the Prince of Mirkwood lay down for the night, he suddenly felt the feeling of dread sweep over him. He looked around his surroundings but found nothing that could represent a threat. 'Strange, I wonder what this feeling means.' After a moment, he slowly drifted off into sleep as he pondered this feeling as his dread grew.
~S~
Not far from where the elves made camp, a group of evil was hidden by the darkness. Being as quiet as these creatures possibly could, orcs prepared themselves for the battle that was to come. Swords were being sharpened, arrows were being prepared and those who were lounging around, waiting for orders.
Captain Raztag watched the activity closely. He wanted to make sure that no fights broke out while they were this close to a group of the Firstborn. He glanced up into the trees above him and glared at the three oversized arachnids. He despised their kind, but he was under his master's orders to work with these behemoths. He looked back at his troops, relishing in the dream that perhaps these spiders might accidentally perish.
'Yeah, right. Master made these beasts special, so any "accidents" won't be easy.' He growled softly to himself. 'Soon they will be gone and I can go back to running my company the way it is supposed to be.'
"Raztag, a word." The orc captain looked at the head spider sitting right above his head. He turned and took a several steps back in order to see it without having to strain his neck. "Must you insist on doing that? You know how much I hate it when you sneak up on me like that."
The spider hissed loudly, resulting in some venom landing on the ground. Where the venom touched, it began to slightly smoke as the acid burned the ground. "Insolent, worm! You should pay more attention to your surroundings. However, I am not here to argue about your lack of skills." The spider crawled down the tree to the ground until it was standing in front of Raztag. It stood three feet taller than the orc and it was as wide as two orcs put side by side. Its glowing red eyes seemed to pierce through the orc like it was glass. The orc captain shivered from the intense gaze.
"Are your troops ready?" The spider questioned. Raztag nodded. "Yes, they are about ready. We should be able to attack as soon as they are finished preparing. An hour before dawn should be the ideal time to attack."
The spider narrowed its' many eyes. "No, we will not attack then. For you see the Firstborn will be mostly rested at that time. No, we will wait until closer to the next evening. That way they will be easier to defeat." It seemed to grin, at least as well as a spider could.
Raztag growled. "Attacking during the day? Are you crazy? My warriors will be slaughtered for sure." The spider hissed, making the orc captain have to dodge its' venom. "We will wait and attack when I say we attack, unless you would like me to eat you as a snack and have another orc much more obedient take your place. Would you rather have that?"
Raztag growled loudly with displeasure. "Fine, we'll play it your way." The spider seemed to smile and made its way back up the tree. The orc captain watched it go for a minute, and then turned his gaze back onto his troops. 'If these were normal spiders, I could outsmart them, but these new ones seem to be much more intelligent than I give them credit.' He realized in dismay. 'Very well, I will do things your way. For now.'
