Second chapter: Mission failed

They had been at the southern border for three weeks by now, and every day was a battle for survival. The orcs attacks almost every day, and the elven warriors at the border did everything in their power to strike back.

An early morning Legolas sat on a branch of an old tree with Rozarko and Girion, spying on an orc patrol under them. In the trees surrounding them sat the rest of Legolas' team, all of them with their bows in hand, awaiting his signal.

The orcs stopped and what seemed to be their captain looked nervously around. Then Legolas gave the signal, and the arrow flew towards the orcs. Soon the orcs drew out bows and arrow, and shot them towards the trees where the elves were.

Girion jumped to the tree next to the one he came from and took cover behind its trunk. Legolas took cover behind his trees trunk, with Rozarko just over him on another branch.

There was about thirty orcs, and twelve elves, well, twenty now, Legolas concluded and let lose an arrow who pierced through an orcs eye.

The orcs begun to spread out, and more elves jump of the trees and fought the orcs with swords or knives. Legolas tree soon was surrounded by orcs, and he drew out his white twin knives. He jumped down from the tree and landed on top of an orc. He cut its throat over before he turned to block a strike from another orc.

Soon Rozarko and Girion was at his side, protecting him and fighting off orcs. Rozarko bloked a strike from an orc, and Legolas beheaded the creature. The three elven warrior fought with accuracy and a fierceness only seen in highly trained elven warriors. They fought back to back, and not one orc came through their defenses.

Soon all the orcs ley dead before the feet of Legolas' elite team.

"The second team will deal with the burning of the corpses" Legolas said to his team when they were assembled. None of them had any serious wounds, only a few small cuts and bruises.

Legolas and his team continued south, towards Dol Guldur. The second team was not long behind them, and would deal with the burning of the orcs corpses, and the orcs who fled the fights. Legolas had in mind to get as close to Dol Guldur as possible, to see what lay behind the old fortress walls. His team would fallow him as long he deemed it save for them, the second team would thereafter deal with orcs trying to move past the elves.

The elite team move soundlessly through the forest. After four days of traveling on foot, they were only an hour from Dol Guldur, and Legolas stopped his team and regrouped.

"Anglond, Mirthral, Tristan and Cyan" Legolas said in a low voice, "you take watch here. I want Rogon, Logon and Galdor to take watch to the eats, and the rest, Falael, Kaleth and Gilthron to take watch west from here. The eastern and western watch just a mile from here. Rozarko, Girrion and I will sneak towards the fortress, you have half an hour to be in possession before we move forward. If we are not back before the sun sets, move back to camp and regroup, you know the drill".

"Yes captain" they all said before moving out.

Half an hour later, Legolas, Rozarko and Girion moved forward through the trees. The forest was completely silent, not even a bird or an insect made a sound. The wind was silent too, and the trees did not even make a sound. Legolas found that very distressing. He was used to the trees in the north sing out to him when he walked by. But not here, here the trees were weighed down by the darkness.

After an hour the three elves found themselves before the walls of Dol Guldur. Legolas could clearly feel the evil from inside, and shuddered by the thought that he was going that way.

They had not seen a single orc on their way towards the fortress. The fortress lay on a hill, surrounded by rocks. The only way in was a small stone bridge over a gulf. The trees stood close to this bridge, and the three elves climbed as close as they could.

Legolas was the first to jump soundlessly to the stoneground, and after a signal from him, Rozarko and Girion also jumped down without a sound.

With Legolas in the front, the three of them sneaked towards the open gate, Legolas with bow and arrow ready, Rozarko and Girion with sword ready.

The courtyard was empty, so Legolas moved further inside. From a corridor to the left they heard the sound of orcs, but not approaching. Legolas walked slowly towards the sound. The corridor ended abruptly before a gab in the ground, and in the bottom of that gab could the orcs be seen. Legolas, Rozarko and Girion sneaked towards the gab on their stomachs, and took a look over the edge. They saw rank after rank of orcs and wargs.

An orc captain walked through the ranks, yelling at them. Legolas could understand a great deal of the words the orc spoke, and soon he knew what their plan was. He therefore signaled to Girion and Rozarko to withdraw.

They moved backwards before turning and standing, just in time to see five orcs coming their way. The three elves hid behind a wall before the orcs saw them, all of them with their weapons ready. Luckily, the orcs walked right past them, and the elves hurriedly walk towards the gate.

But soon the orcs saw the elves and sounded the alarm. The three elves ran as fast as they could towards the gate, but the orcs surrounded them, and the gate closed before the elves. In the courtyard the elves stood back against back, orcs surrounding them.

Long they fought the orcs off, but they kept coming, and soon they were overpowered. Girion took a strike to his left leg and fall to his knees. Rozarko was hit in the head with the hilt of an orc sword and lost consciousness. The orcs drew him away from the fight.

Legolas tried to fight off the orcs who drew Rozarko away, but got overpowered when three orcs sprang open him and knocked him to the ground. He tried to fight them off, bur more orcs came and hold him to the ground.

The orc captain came walking towards Legolas, and crouched down in front of him. He led a finger ran over Legolas chin, he tried to move away from the touch, but the orc atop of him press his neck harder to the ground.

An orc came up to the captain with Legolas' weapons, and the orc took one look at them.

"The elven prince" he said in western, "take him to the dungeons".

Legolas struggled as the orcs took him underground and threw him in a small, dark cell. There were no windows, and the only light was the torch in the corridor outside the cell. He looked around, he was alone in his cell, the one opposite his was empty. He had no idea where Rozarko or Girion was.

The cell was moist, three of the walls was of stone. Legolas was chained to the wall like an animal. For hours and hours Legolas fought against the chains. The shackles around his wrist bore into his skin and made him bleed. But he didn't care for the pain it caused, he just wanted to be free, to come home to his beloved wife and upcoming child. He made a promise, to me home within two months, and he vowed to keep that promise.

After what felt like days of struggle against the chains, Legolas gave in. For now, anyway. He was becoming short of breath, and sweat rippled his forehead.

"Girion! Rozarko!" he decided to call.

He didn't get an answer, and de didn't expect one, but had to try. He moved as close to the bars as possible, but could not see anything, only the cell opposite his own. He couldn't see down the corridors. With a sigh he sat down, back to the wall and pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head upon his knees.

De didn't dare fall asleep, didn't dare the orc take him of guard. He watched the corridors, and listened for any sound, but nothing. He was let alone in his cell for five days before anything happened. By that time, he was tired beyond words, hungry and thirsty, and very frustrated.

Four orcs appeared before his cell, one of them Legolas recognized as the captain.

"What are you doing here?" the captain demanded to know.

Legolas didn't answer him, but glared at him with eyes that burned with anger.

"Where are the rest of your hiding?" the orc captain growled.

Legolas kept his silence. With a nod from the orc captain, the three orc unchained Legolas and chained him instead to a chain in the ceiling. They pulled in the chains until Legolas didn't touch the ground, but hang in his wrist.

Legolas bit his lips to keep to keep his silence. The chains bore into his skin and made his wrist bleed again.

The orc captain walked into the cell, wearing a whip in his right hand. Legolas had been tortured before, and therefore didn't make a sound when the first whiplash sounded and hit him over his back. The orc continued five more time.

"You will give me my answers!" the orc yelled, "why are you here?".

Whiplash.

"Where are the rest of you?".

Whiplash.

"What are your plans?".

Whiplash fallowed by two more. Legolas hissed when the two last hit his, by now, very sore back. He could fell the warm and moist soaked his back, and he began to fell slight dizzy of the pain, and the lack of sleep and nutrition. His body trembled by the stress and pain it was put through.

"Let him hang" the orc captain said before exiting the cell, and Legolas once again found himself utterly alone I the dark.