It did not take Legolas long to prepare. All that he had in his possession when he rode Arod out of the gate was his bow, arrows in his quiver and his two white knives. Weapons were the only necessity on this trip, he needed nothing else to stay alive
Théoden had given Legolas two days to find out what he could about the orcs movement. After that he would lead his people to Helms Deep regardless of where they were headed. Legolas agreed with this, because should fall during this mission, they would be out of harms way if the orcs were planning on attacking the city.
The elf had to endure a long speech from Gimli, explaining to him why he should come with. But the dwarf was left disgruntled and without an answer when Legolas brought up the fact that the orcs could hear his vertically challenged friend's footsteps from half mile away. Not to mention the endless conversations he could have with himself.
Legolas left just before the sun ducked under the mountains. He rode hard through the night to Fangorn Forest. He pulled Arod to a stop just in front of the tree-line when the purple glow on the horizon announced the coming sun. Legolas lead his companion to a tree and tied him there. Arod whined a little, not wanting to be alone.
"Do not fret my friend." he said calmly, slowly rubbing the horse's muzzle, "I will return soon." With that Legolas cautiously entered the wall of trees. The air was still, but this was not the same atmosphere that Legolas had delved into the last time he had been in the forest. It felt more awake, almost hopeful. He scanned the forest floor and then the treetops. Flowers had started to emerge from the ground and buds were appearing on the branches of trees. This forest had definitely undergone some sort of change in between the periods in which he had been there.
Legolas' elven body allowed him to walk swiftly along the forest floor without so much as crunching a dead leaf. He walked quickly but did not run, careful to watch out for even the slightest movement. A few times he stopped dead still, seeing a deer or a wolf in the distance. His ears picked up every sound in a two mile radius. Birds chirped and hooves stomped on the soft ground. He went for hours without seeing anything out of the ordinary.
It was only in the late afternoon, the sun high above, piercing through gaps in between the canopy when Legolas found a sight very out of the ordinary. He had walked right into a clearing where the evidence of a battle littered the ground. Pools of blood surrounded the bodies of three Rohan soldiers. Intermixed in the clearing were the bodies of four Urukai. Legolas sighed sadly and said a lament for the soldiers, and silently cursed the abominations next to them. He scanned the scene for a moment, one of the soldiers was halfway in the tree line, blood covered his right pointer finger.
The scout who sent the message, he thought to himself. It was no wonder they were caught, bringing your horses with you on a scouting mission was like screaming 'Look at me, I'm right here'. Legolas smiled slightly and shook his head at this thought.
He considered burying the bodies or covering them, but he had no time. The sun was on its decent and the orcs would be settling down soon. Finding the battle field but not encountering the orcs yet was a sign that they hadn't moved far, if they had moved at all. Encountering the scouts probably scared them. They had lost their element of surprise and were probably strategizing or waiting for new orders.
"Perfect." Legolas said as he allowed a wide grin to cross his face. If the orcs were strategizing, their conversations would be filled with information There was no doubt in his mind that he would be able to find out all of the information that he needed tonight and be able to be back by morning.
The elf once again entered the seemingly endless sea of trees and this time was more alert. He opened up his mind to hear everything he could, weather it was 5 miles away or 5 feet. He scanned the forest more often investigating anything that moved. He needed to find their encampment as fast as possible. He was scared if he waited until too late they would trade in their conversations for sleep.
It was only about fifteen minutes when Legolas began picking up the fait conversation of rough voices. He stopped in his tracks to find out where the voices were coming from. As soon as he was sure, he headed east at a run, when he knew where he was going, he did not need to be so alert. The voices got louder and clearer as he got closer. He began picking up words such as "south" and "attack". He quickened his pace, but he was still gliding over leaves and branches without a sound.
Legolas slowed when he got close enough to hear every distinct sound from within the encampment. He knew their would be some of them on patrol and he would have to be very careful. Darkness was taking over the forest, he crouched down behind a small bush. He focused his mind in only on the surrounding half mile, and listened.