Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar
Kalrendor Hasso Introduction
Kalrendor Hasso awoke in the middle of the night, his tight brown clothing gone. His thin, sharp dagger was no longer on his belt… his entire belt was gone, everything was gone. He remembered having been walking back to Bree from Buckland when three dwarves ambushed him. The thin, strong man pushed his un-kept brown hair from his face and sighed. Standing up, he looked around and realized where he was. It was a prison, in a wooden fort, and he could only see due to torches outside his large cell. Kalrendor looked down and saw a body, of another prisoner. He could see he had beige garments on, the same as the dead man next to him.
He walked over to the wall separating his cell from the rest of the fort. Looking outside the portcullis door, he could see that the people keeping him were men, and that there were a lot of them. Suddenly, he felt a tapping on his left shoulder and jumped away. A man in a green hood stepped out of the shadows, looked out of the portcullis door onto the small courtyard, then back at Kalrendor. The two stared at eachother for a moment, before the other man stepped out into the light. He was dressed as a ranger, and had a shortsword in his hand. He was a ranger, Kalrendor could tell.
"Good, you are awake. The Blackwolds gave you quite a knock on the head, and I feared you would not wake up sooner. There is little time to talk, but I will tell you what I may." He said. "My name is Amdir, I am what some in Bree call a ranger. I have come to learn what connection these men have with the black rider I've been tracking from the Shire.
"However, the situation has worsened. I learned from Jon Brackenbrook, a hunter in Archet, that a man in his father's garrison – Calder Cob by the name – is working for the Blackwolds and has captured two visiting hobbits. Indeed, I have seen them here. I will need your help if I am to rescue them." He said.
"What's in it for me?" Kalrendor said, raising an eyebrow, and grinning. Money came first, it was survival, and it was everything he needed.
Amdir frowned, "Well, I could free you from a miserable existence and probable execution by the Blackwolds. I suppose that is enough."
"Umm… yeah, that's more than enough" Kalrendor said, quickly making his decision.
"First, I must free you from this pen. When you are free, search the crate outside for your belt and weapons. Speak to me when you are armed. Quietly now! I must await the right moment…" he whispered, looking out to the courtyard. "Now, someone is coming."
Amdir crouched down, and Kalrendor ran back towards where he was unconscious a while ago, pretending to have been sleeping and listening to what was going on. Outside, a man in red garments walked up to the Blackwold lackey sleeping near the prison cell, a bottle of ale on the bench in front of him. He shouted to the lackey, "Wake up, you fool!" and the man immediately shot up, shocked.
"The Nazgul is coming for the hobbit Cob brought us. Before he arrives, we must dispose of Kalrendor and that hobbit-girl. You take care of Kalrendor!" he said in a deep, slow voice, before walking off.
"Yes, sir!" the lackey shouted, then looked back at Kalrendor. He said out loud as he opened the cell door, "Guess your times up, Kalrendor!" The lackey planned to say more, but was cut off when Amdir swiftly stabbed the man through the heart with his sword, and let him drop to the ground, dead. Kalrendor shot up, and Amdir nodded to him, the two running outside to the courtyard.
"Here, search this crate for any of your equipment. Be quick now!" Amdir said, watching Kalrendor and opening the crate.
Kalrendor searched through the crate and found his belt, putting it on and gripping his dagger.
"Now, while you see about freeing the hobbits, Celadine Brandybuck and Mundo Sackville-Baggins, I will follow that fellow in red and see what he knows about the Black Rider. Free Celadine first, for the man's words tell me she is in the greatest danger. It is Mundo they want alive. When you have both hobbits safe, seek me near the main gate. We will return the hobbits to Archet and expose Calder Cob's treachery to Jon's father. Now, you should find Celadine that way, hurry!" he said, and ran off to one door, pointing for Kalrendor to go to the other.
Kalrendor chuckled, having suddenly been brought into something important. He sighed, looking towards the door and walking towards it. He came to a long section of the fort, and before him was a small stable for cows. The Blackwold there turned, hearing the door open, and held out his sword. "You will not get past me!" he said, running at Kalrendor stupidly. The fight was quick, as Kalrendor ducked under the lackey's blade, turning and piercing the man's head, dropping him easily.
He looked over to see two others, one of them watching something to the right through a large portcullis, and one facing the other way, near a campfire. He stealthily moved through the shadows, to the point that he could hear the second man's breathing. Kalrendor took a rock and tossed it away from the portcullis. He was surprised by the sound, and as he went to search for it, Kalrendor tripped him and stabbed him in the heart.
The nearby man stood up, and having better vision, was able to make out Kalrendor's location. "Look.. A rat escaped its cage," he said, taking out a mace and running at Kalrendor. He did not expect to be seen, and failed to dodge the mace's hit. It knocked him back, and he stumbled onto the floor, having been hit in the arm. He crawled in the other direction, watching the ruffian, who began running after him. He waited until the right moment to roll to the side as the man's mace slammed into the ground, and stabbed the man. It pierced his chest, but he was not dead, and he kicked Kalrendor away.
Kalrendor was able to stumble up, and make a quick subtle stab to the man's face. The man fell down, clutching his cheek, and Kalrendor jumped on him, killing him with a stab through the head. He stood up, and moved quietly behind a plant to see what was behind the long portcullis the other men were watching. It was one of the hobbits, tied by rope to some wood, but Kalrendor knew he could not rescue him. There were four armed Blackwolds taunting him, one of them armed with a big axe. Kalrendor would have no chance. He quietly walked off to another portcullis and walked through it.
On the other side, he saw, a large open oven was off to the side, with boiling water in a container on it, with two figures on the center. There was the female hobbit, who was in a similar predicament as the male. However, only one ruffian was watching her, and was twirling an axe. Kalrendor ran up to him stealthily, unleashing a surprise attack with his dagger. He was caught off guard, and managed to just get one missed swing before he was overwhelmed and sliced through the neck by the burglar.
The female hobbit cheered, "Take that, you villain! Ha!" and looked up at Kalrendor happily. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was hoping that hooded fellow – Amdir was his name I believe – I was hoping he was here to rescue me. When I didn't see him return, I had feared those men had caught him. But it seems he had only gone to get help!
"My friend Mundo is nearby too. We must save him as well! These brigands have been saying terrible things! We'll need a distraction… and I know just what to do." She said, grinning. "Just need a bit of flame…" she mumbled, taking a flaming piece of wood from the oven, "and a place to put it!" she said, throwing it up on the roof of a nearby wooden building. In a few moments, it began to catch fire, and she laughed. "That should get their attention" she shouted. "Now, follow me!" Celadine said.
The two ran out through the portcullis, then through another to where Mundo was being held. Three of the lackeys were off trying to fix the fire, only one remaining. Celadine shouted, "there he is!" pointing to Mundo. This alerted the attention of the remaining brigand, who looked back at Kalrendor and frowned. He shouted, and took out a shortsword, running at Kalrendor and slashing at him. The blade barely met its target, making a small cut in his chest. He took out his dagger and dodged another large slash, making a cunning attack on the brigand's shoulder.
He stepped back, holding his sword with his damaged shoulder. The man switched arms and made a series of stabs at Kalrendor. They were blocked by his quick reactions, except for the last, which made a tiny hole in his chest. Kalrendor grunted, rolling through the ground under the tall brigand's knees and turning around, stabbing him in the neck. It was an instant kill, and as the man dropped, Kalrendor began to feel the heat as more buildings caught fire. He cut Mundo's ropes and Celadine ran over.
"Oh, Mundo, are you alright?" she asked, worriedly.
"Yes, Cela, I'm fine, just a bit beat up is all." He said, then looked over to Kalrendor, frowning. "Its about time! Was I expected to… to umm, rescue myself? Come on, you big clodpole. Get me out of here before those ruffians return. They want to sell me off like a bag of potatoes!" he said rudely, and Kalrendor scowled.
"Listen here, you little hobbit. If I wanted to, I could have left you here to burn with the rest of the ruffians. You're almost just as bad, you little piece of garbage." He growled, and Mundo stepped back, obviously fearful. Kalrendor shook his head and ran off towards the main gate, the two hobbits following him.
They reached the thick portcullis separating them from the gate in a few seconds, and suddenly, were exposed to fear they could not imagine. Before them, Amdir waved a large torch from side-to-side before a black rider, whose horse backed away with every swipe of it. The horse was slightly armored, and was pitch-black, its eyes glowing red. The rider atop it was covered in dark robes, and its face was not visible. It held a sharp longsword, and tried to slash at Amdir.
"Back! Go back to the shadow, fallen king!" Amdir shouted, holding the torch in front of him.
"Fool, your kingdom is dead! You have no power over me! But soon, I will have power over you!!" The rider shouted, with a sharp, snakelike voice. Its horse turned, and the rider made a wide slash with his sword, finally cutting Amdir in the chest and arms. The rider laughed, and its horse turned around to the two hobbits and Kalrendor. His heart, like the hobbits', was heavy with dread. He was frightened like never before, as the rider approached. It was as if fire filled his very vision, and he stumbled back onto the ground in fear.
"Where is the 'baggins' promised me?" the rider shouted, moving towards them.
Mundo suddenly backed away to the wall, shouting in fright, "Mercy me!" and fell onto the ground.
Suddenly, the horse backed away, and the rider shouted sharply, "Accursed flames! This dunadan will suffice for my night's work. May you all burn! Either now, or in Mordor on the morrow!" it said, the horse speeding away through the gate. In a few moments, Celadine ran over to Amdir, shouting "Kalrendor, come quick!" and gasping.
Kalrendor came slowly, still shocked by the black rider, and looked down at Amdir's wounds. Amdir looked up slowly, sighing, "You… You found them. You rescued the hobbits. Do not concern yourself with me… The greatest danger… has passed. The nazgul fear those who wield fire… Ugh…" and collapsed, lying down on his stomach.
Celadine looked down at Amdir in horror, "Oh no, Amdir!" she shouted, then looked over at Kalrendor, shouting "Poor Amdir is hurt! We need to take him to Archet! Its not far, someone will know what to do!" and Kalrendor nodded.
It had been the first time Kalrendor had truly done something important, and that was all he thought of, after he had returned to Archet with the hobbits and placed Amdir in medical care. Still, he thought, the amount of rewards he would receive from the Dunedain for this would probably be substantial…