All standard disclaimers apply.
I awoke to the sound of hammering, the people of Archet were busy rebuilding the town. The Mad Badger was packed with people, most of the people here had lost everything and were living in the Badger until they got back on their feet. All the rooms were taken and filled. The bar was noisy and crowded. I ordered myself some bread, beer and fish. The beer had a woody aftertaste, probably from the barrel it was stored in. The bread was crunchy, yet not hard. That told me that I was somewhere in the northeastern bree lands. This area was just north of the wheat fields of Bree. The Chetwood forest to the east, formed a barrier with the Lone Lands. I had come a long way from home, witch was north of the Shire and located at the ruins of Tinnudir. That would make most people think I was raised in a tent, or in the ruins themselves, but I was raised in a log house.
The Dunedain established a camp there and over time, the camp grew to a small town huddled around the ruined keep. It was mostly intact and guarded by the other rangers. The sounds of the lake waters were my earliest memories. Summer was bright and warm, the waters sparkling like glass. Lake Nenuial was fed by the melting snows of Forochel. The lake waters were always pleasantly warm for me. Something special seemed to be looking out for me as I swam. The reason I say that is because one time, something pulled me under. Maybe it was a current or the tide.
Anyway, the moment I tried to swim for the surface, my legs got tangled in seaweed. I had been born next to this lake and I would die in it. The irony was sickening. As my lungs demand for air grew, water flooded it's way into my lungs. My vision began to darken and I felt as sense of nothingness, just a drifting peace. What I saw began to darken and I began to face the doom of men. That was when, someone pulled me from the waters. I awoke in a cave, yet it was damp and warm. Some kind of green moss grew on the cave walls, it was kind of cozy.
Small lights flitted before me, dancing on the wind. A waterfall echoed around the cave. Then I realized I was underneath some blankets made of plant material instead of furs. My sopping swimming clothes laid next to blazing fire that consumed no wood, drying slowly. I was naked and venerability took me over. I began to shake in fear. Shame made me get up with my blankets, when a voice said. "Lie back down, you are in no shape to move." It was then that I saw her, a river maiden. A spirit of the waters.
She was completely blue, dressed in a flowing elf dress with scales covering her waist and upper thighs. "My name is Gwindeth." Her eyes were blue with black pupils in them giving the impression that I was looking into the depths of the lake. She waved her hand and water gushed out of my mouth like a fountain. She had a regality around her that came from nobility. I wouldn't be surprised if she knew some of the Kings of Gondor. She gave me something to drink and my sick feeling washed away.
"It's an honor to meet you, Gwindeth." I bowed my head giving her thanks. A smile formed on her lips. "It's been a long time since any of the race of men came into my home, Danagor." She knew my name without me introducing myself. I felt a little nervous. During storms, I had seen the waters of Lake Nenuial whip up into a frenzy of mighty waves, crashing upon the shore with almost a desire to consume the small town.
"Should I visit sometime then?" I asked. My clothes had dried. Gwindeth waved one blue hand and the fire went out, fading into the air. "I am used to being alone, Danagor. The life that swims in the waters of the lake gives me all the companionship I need. Other water spirits sometimes visit, so I am never really alone." Her wisdom was the kind that could advise kings. She turned aside, as I put on my clothes. "Did you save me?" I asked as her back was turned. "I usually don't interfere with the lives of mortals, yet you are young and have a role to play of your own in the future."
"Thank you, Gwindeth." She turned around and I noticed that she was blushing slightly. Her cheeks had gone a bit darker shade of blue. "Before you leave, please tell no one of my home." I nodded and bade her farewell. Instead of walking out, Gwindeth touched my forehead and my eyes grew heavy. The dream I had afterwards featured a jewel shining with a golden light, bathing an underwater chamber with it's glow.
The chamber was some kind of tomb, fit for king with it's white walls and soaring roof. On the tomb itself, lying in the center, was a name and title. "Here lies Elendil The Tall, King of The Two Kingdoms." The words were Westernesse. The gem lay on top of the tomb as if an offering. I remember being shaken awake on the shore by a ranger. The experience with Gwindeth was like that of a dream, as much as that of the gem lying underwater.
I was shaken out of the memories of home by Jon. "Someone's been asking for you. The stranger reminded me of Amdir because of his behavior, said he was looking for The Hero of Archet. Probably you, Danagor. He said the matter was urgent and you would find him at Comb, in the Comb and Wattle Inn to the south of here." It was the first time I had been called hero. Jon's attention was drawn to some shady types in the corner.
I tried to pay the tavern keeper, who insisted that the meal was free of charge. "We owe you our lives, Danagor. You gave this town a chance to rebuild." "I can't not pay you for a meal." I left the exact amount of money for the food on the table between us. "You are going to need coin sooner or later." I left the tavern.
Jon had followed me. "He's right you know. You have given this town hope." My horse was waiting for me saddled and prepared for the short journey to Combe. Someone had taken care of my horse. In the light of day, the skelton frames of the burned homes and buildings were clearer, showing the amount of devastation that had been done by the fire. I got in the saddle. "Farewell, Danagor. May the path for you be light." We shook hands. It was doubtful we would meet again. Something had changed in Jon with the death of his father. He now had a greater responsibility to the town and to his father's memory.
I began to ride south, enjoying the feeling of the wind in my face. As I went past Cal's farm, he waved at me. He had a few less farmhands but everything would go back to normalcy for the town. The gate was unblocked and as I went down a hill, Combe stretched before me. From the heavier traffic to the south, the road led to Bree. Combe was between the fields of Bree and the Chetwood. It was small town, with a town hall with few homes dotted here and there among the high hills. Hobbit homes lay in the south east and a clear lake to the north. The Combe and Wattle had an elevated front porch with a stables built underneath it. I counted at least five guards patrolling the streets. Only a few people went outside. The place had a tenseness about it, probably from the sightings of the Nine abroad in Bree.
I paid a stable boy with two silver pieces and made sure my horse was well fed and brushed. All conversation stopped as I walked in. It wasn't that busy. Only a few people were here. They went back to their business after a moment. The word of Archet apparently reached them faster than I did. A young woman with red hair behind the bar, spoke up. "Oh my, a real live hero! We don't get people like you running through town often." I went over to the barmaid. "Has someone been asking for me?" While still appearing busy, she whispered."Toradan told me to sent you upstairs to his room as soon as you arrived. The stairs are across the room there, and Toradan's is the door at the end of the hall." She went back to the bar, furiously scrubbing mugs.
Rangers usually weren't welcome south of their homes, or outside of the Lone Lands. Those lands were sparse and mostly dry, reaching from The Forsaken Inn to the Last Bridge, that marked the entrance to the Trollshaws. Toradan was wearing ranger's grab, but it was streaked with the dust of road, a sign of a long and rough ride. HIs room was dark with only one window providing light. He shook my hand. "The Hero of Archet, I am pleased to meet you. I'm sorry for the cryptic summons, but I dared not betray my whereabouts to just anyone." His voice turned to whisper.
"The Nazgul have chased us out of the Shire, chasing us east and killing most of us. I had hoped to join Amdir, but I heard what happened in Archet. We must find Amdir quickly, if we are to heal him. He is likely being held by the Blackwolds somewhere in the Chetwood. We must find a way to enter their lair and free him, but first we must find them. Speak with Constable Underhill, the hobbit...he may be of help." He stopped talking. A series of heavy footsteps came up the stairs.
We both retreated to the shadows of the room. I hid on one side of the door, while Toradan shoved himself into a closet. I heard the telltale 'click' of a crossbow being loaded. The door swung open and Blackwolds came in. As soon as the enemies were in the doorway, Toradan shot. "CHHOOooom."The crossbow bolt went through three Blackwolds before pinning a fourth to the wall. The bolt was armor piercing.
I leapt from behind the door and Toradan joined me. The hallway became a battle ground. I hacked and stabbed fighting in close quarters like this would be easier with a dagger. "Arda, I could've settled with a kitchen knife." A dagger streaked towards me and I knocked it out of the air with my sword. I ran down the hallway, the remaining three brigands piling on my shield. I disposed of two quick enough, to face what looked like the leader. He rolled backwards and that was when a bottle broke over his head. The brigand fell over as his eyes rolled back.
A hobbit dressed in chainmail and leather with a leaf design on his chest held up a broken bottle neck. His brown hair was cut in a bowl shape. "I thought something was up with those shady types. Name's Bolger." He offered his hand and I shook it. "You're the Hero of Archet aren't you? It's good to have you on our side, I must say!" The hobbit's voice cracked occasionally from excitement. Toradan was no longer beside me. It was kind of unsettling when your kin disappeared as quick as they appeared in times of danger.
The hobbit grinned as he looked down at the Blackwold. I could tell they were Blackwolds by the bright orange sash they wore on their waists. Bright blue leather was also a common part of their dress. "That one there is the recruiter for the local bandits. He's been on the wanted list for years!" A crumpled note had fallen out of his pocket and Bolger picked it up. He read the note quickly.
"Ellie Cutleaf! Well, I should have guessed. She's smart and disreputable, by all accounts... and she's just the sort who might led us to the Blackwold's hideout." We walked outside and he pointed west of Combe. "Ellie lives just in the north west corner of town, by the pond. From the letter, it looks like Ellie is looking to back out from the Blackwold's plans." The Constable's eyes flickered to the center of town. "I would like to go with you, Hero. It seems that the Blackwolds have less men after the Archet raid, but someone sent those men after you."
I was being watched. The fight was an accident, the men that had followed me seemed to have wanted to know what I was after. No wonder Bolger had noticed trouble. He would protect the town while I was gone. "My name is Danagor, just a wanderer in these parts." I certainly didn't feel like a hero. So far, it seemed I brought darkness wherever I went. "You'll be the first to know if Amdir is found." The Constable smiled, "Just Danagor, the wanderer then? Maybe the tales are selling you short then."
"One deed done in a small town and already I'm known wherever I go." "Gain Cutleaf's confidence and remember, you're a brigand!" He went back to his post. His eyes watching the east road. Ellie Cutleaf's home had three or four cages around it. She was a dog breeder. I debated whether or not to kick down the door. The problem solved itself when the door opened. "Not another one! You'd be better served just going home. You don't want to join up with the Blackwolds." Ellie was wearing a hunter's uniform along with a blue blouse.
She looked to be expecting a lot more brigands than just me. A sharp "Awooooo!" Came from the north of her house. The door was thrown wide open and the woman came outside with a quiver of arrows. An unshaven man with a blue cape appeared on the slope of a high hill. "Cutleaf!" He shouted. His armor was all thick leather. Two knives hung in their sheaths, but he was using a sword. The beast he was riding was not a wolf. Wolves did'nt grow two or three times the size of normal ones. It's fur was thick and shaggy. It's jaws looked like they could pierce through mail. A Warg.
"I'm gonna bleed you and you're friend for poisoning my wolves!" "How did I always come at the wrong time?" Ellie readied her bow. "I hope you know how to hunt Wargs, friend." She loosed an arrow and the rider took a spill down the hillside as the warg reared up and fell over with one of Ellie's arrows in it's mouth. The dismounted figure rose and hurled his daggers at me. I dodged one and blocked the other with my shield. No other bandit's came down the hill. The attacker was alone.
Ellie shot two arrows and they both hit him in the chest. He dropped like a sack of flour, stone dead. Ellie stood at the pond looking at the hill and down the road leading into town. All was quiet. "I'm no brigand, Bolger sent me to see if you needed help." She sighed. "It seems Jagger Jack finally decided to come out of his hidey hole after the food I gave the his dogs was poisoned." She nudged the body with her foot. "I got in too deep, I admit. Got scared. Saw some things that haunt me in their hideout."
"What's your name?" "Danagor." I greeted. "You have the makings of a warrior, Danagor. Thank you for blocking those daggers of his, those things have claimed many lives." She hurled them into the pond. "If Bolger sent you, he knows I am in trouble and wanting out from my deal." She glanced around and pressed something into my hand. "Skunkwood expects you're coming as a possible recruitment. I usually lead one or more new robbers to him each day." She pushed me away. "Go! Reach him before news of his right hand man does."
I unfolded the paper Ellie had given me. It was a map east of town. Beside a waterfall labeled "Staddle Falls" was a black X. The Blackwolds hide out. Approaching on a horse would be too nocitable so I walked. The sun was already near midday, when my stomach growled. It was near lunchtime. The hobbit holes of Staddle were welcoming. The smells from the local market made me hungrier. I stopped at one of the stands. "Oh, my. Big Folk!" The hobbit tending the stand was a little nervous. I smiled and gave him two silver pieces, enough for two chicken legs, some mashed potatoes and a flask of ale. I drew some stares from the residents, so I went behind a grove of trees and ate in silence. I also changed my bandages, inspecting the cuts from the wolf I got earlier and the night before. They had healed nicely, just scratches that would fade over time.
I threw the bandages away and the remains of my lunch, starting again for the Blackwolds hideout. On the eastern border of Staddle, I came to the Midgewater Mashes. I looked again at the map. The map seemed to be divided between Staddle and the marshes. Turning north, I noticed a well worn path. The path wound below a high hill, where a steam fed the marshes. A waterfall fell over the hill, a door next to it's left side. I had found their hideout. Only a person looking west could spot the door from where I was standing. The wood was pockmarked, the iron rusted. It opened with a creak.
Two blackwolds stood guard next to a second door in the back of a cave. Torches were bracketed onto the walls. One of them spat onto the ground. "You must be the new blood Ellie was talking about. Skunkwood's waiting for you inside." The brigand opened the door, squeaking on it's hinges. Inside the cave was damp, the sound of dripping water from the stream above hit the cave floor. Tables were thrown haphazardly around the cave, each of them showing signs of damage. A set of iron bars and a locked door barred one tunnel of the cave.
Taking the unbarred path, I walked into a smaller cavern. Blue colored torches bathed the room in their light. Sitting on top of a rock, crudely fashioned into the shape of a throne was who I assumed to be Skunkwood. His clothes were cleaner and two wolves sat next to him on each side. "You must be the new recruit Ellie sent me. After our losses at Archet, I'll be glad to have new blood in the fold." He spoke with authority, not a man to be questioned. "I am glad to join, but I heard about a ranger you captured in Archet." Skunkwood smiled, showing yellowed teeth. "Amdir was his name, but what to call him now I have no idea. It's unnatural what's happening to him. Eogan tells me he'll be a boon to our services but all he has done so far is rave like a madman."
He smiled to himself, a smirk on his face. "Why don't you go check on him for me? The last guard that got assigned to him just left his shift." He gave me a ring of keys. A shadow passed over his face. "He's not exactly what you would call a man anymore." He made some signal and I found myself back in the main cavern, being escorted by two more bandit's. They both had clubs in their hands. One muttered to himself. "What are we doing with men such as Eogan? I'd rather leave this place." The other nudged him. "Careful, fool! He might hear you."
I unlocked the door, going deeper into the cave. Rounding a bend, I saw something that made my blood chill. The skin on Amdir's face had turned gray, the color of ashes. His eyes were a solid red a slightly slanted. The nose and lips were completely gone, giving the impression that his skull was going to press itself forward. "Make it stop...Make it stop." He held onto the bars of his cell. "The voice it ...tells me things...commands me. Tells me about the end of what is and the beginning of the new. It calls me...it calls me to service..." His voice was raspy and a whisper. "The wound is so...cold." The guards backed away trembling. Lidless eyes focused on me. "You...I remember..." He trailed off. Then his body stood upright with a jerking motion. "I must serve the Dark Lord!" Amdir shouted it, the yell paralyzed me while the others slumped unconscious. He ripped the cell door off it's hinges. Amdir ran past me.
"Help! Help me!" The cry broke me out of my stunned state. There was someone else in there. The cell was bigger than it appeared. An old woman was shackled to a post. Her skin sagged from age slightly, her hair white and hanging in uneven bangs. Her cloth clothes were rumpled and dirt stained. She was about half my height. I unshackled her and she rubbed where the bands had held her. Rage blazed in me. "How dare the Blackwolds harm an old lady!" The elderly were to be cared for, a source of wisdom and wit to those who least expected it.
"Thank you kind stranger! That poor man is passing into the shadow world." Amdir was midway to becoming a Cargul. Even midway was sign that I had failed. No healing of men could save him now. She shuffled forward. Shouts came from behind me, followed by the sounds of a pitched fight. The guards rose from their unconsciousness. The old lady moved faster than what I had thought possible for her age. She hit them both on the back of the head with her staff. "How good it will be to greet the sun!" She began making her way to the exit, on the way out the way was blocked by Skunkwood. "Traitor! You have freed the prisoners!"
His wolves came at me snarling. The old woman leapt into their path, using one end of her staff like a spear. The first blow went into a wolf's mouth and used it's charge against it, by throwing it over her head. The other wolf bit the staff and she twirled it away, for it to come down like a club on it's head. The wolf behind her rose and collapsed. Skunkwood leapt into battle with his sword swinging. I parried, blocked with my shield and pressed it up against him like a wall. Ducking, I slashed his thigh. Skunkwood's cry of pain echoed around the cave. As he was down, the old woman finished the job with her staff, knocking him out.
Other brigands lay around us, probably Amdir's work. "He will live, just wake up with a splitting headache." The old woman assured me. "One life spared at the price of many." I had killed before to hunt and had seen the bodies of those that had died from sickness or old age. These men were just men, just trying to scrape by the only way they knew. War had claimed them. In that cave, surrounded by death and pain, I came to realize that something bigger was happening than just the threat of Angmar. What I couldn't tell, but I felt it in my bones. Suddenly, I felt very old.
The old woman pinched me. "Ow!" The old woman grinned. "You standing as if struck dumb. I do'nt want to be here when this one awakens." She nudged the unconscious form of Skunkwood. "Shouldn't you be after that Amdir fellow?" That got me moving again. Almost to the exit, I stopped in black. Amdir had stopped. In front of him stood Toradan. His eyes were wide. "By the Valar! It is too late!" Amdir mumbled to himself. "The morgul blade...the voice...the eye." Toradan brandished his sword and everyone of us went still. "Stay back! It is to late for him!" Toradan's eyes went back to Amdir. I remembered my own shock at seeing what the ranger had turned into.
"I am sorry, my friend. I must end this." Toradan's voice was soft. As if he was beside his friends deathbed. I tried to speak, but Toradan gave me a look that cut me off. I felt helpless. Stabbing a man in the back was not fitting of a Ranger. Amdir spoke, his voice had changed to a humorous one, but there was nothing funny about it. "End this? Kill Me? Is this the compassion of the Dunedain?" His attention turned inwards. "The voice was right... I shall end you my brother!" Quick as lighting Amdir struck, his blade going deep into Toradan."And every other Ranger as well!" He ran faster than what was normal, his sprint desperate. The door opened and closed with a slam that shook it's hinges.
I went to Toradan's side. It was not good. Toradan had not been stabed with a morgul blade, but the wound would claim his life. Toradan coughed up blood. "You must warn the Rangers...Strider...stop Amdir if you can." His voice became strained. His whispered his next words in my ear. "The Midgewater Marshes...Amdir will now claim two more rangers...I know it with certainty..." "Strider must be told...Bree..Prancing Pony... Barliman.." The breath was leaving him. "Danagor...I am proud to have you here...remember... hope, courage, love...can defeat darkness." Toradan stilled, his spirit going to the Halls of Mandos, along with two other rangers whose names I didn't know.
I stood up. The old woman shivered. "What a terrible sight for these old eyes! The blade that stung Amdir has almost finished it's work and he is nothing more than a servant of the enemy." She looked at me her eyes a bit clearer than usual. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine now that I am out of that cage. You have done me a service today, Danagor." She ran through the door in that fast walk she had, her movements swift. Something was off about that old woman.
The sun was beginning to set as I reached Comb. As much as I wanted to bid farewell to Bolger and Cutleaf, duty to a dead man came first. I left a note saying what happened at the Blackwold's cave and a farewell. Taking the south road and going west at the next fork, my horse came into Bree. The entire village was surrounded by a stone wall, the buildings crunched together. I stopped at the main gate. A slot opened in the wall and a bedraggled old man peered through. "What brings you to Bree?" "I am heading for the Prancing Pony to meet Barliman." The gate opened at my statement. "The barkeeper? Must be word of his ale going around."
Going down the road at a walking pace, I turned right at a fountain noticing that the townsfolk here were dirty and ragged. Mud caked the stones that made up the road. Everything seemed huddled together, cowering before the darkness. The Prancing Pony was on the side of a hill, built so that only the second floor had the view over the wall. A scratched sign swung in the breeze, the paint was peeling and the bronze rusting. Stabling my horse, I noticed that the stables were nearly full. I paid one of the stableboys who was a hobbit. Apparently Hobbits weren't just found in the Shire. His clothes were muddy and stitched in some places. I gave him five silver pieces, well over the price of stabling. "Thank you, sir!" The hobbit nearly bowed.
The Prancing Pony was loud inside. Less of a risk to be overheard. I caught sight of a few daggers though. Behind the barman was a crossbow. That sure would make anybody think twice about starting something. The barman was balding slightly, with bedraggled straw colored hair. Lines etched into his face, probably sixty or seventy. "Good evening, sir! You look to be an adventuring type, so we have nice warm beds for customers."
I stepped towards the bar. "I am looking for a man called Strider is he here?" The barkeep when silent as if trying to remember. "Strider...It's odd he came in right before you did. Seems to be waiting for something, hasn't come down from his room yet. Insisted that it be over looking the road." He pointed up the stairs to my right. "Turn right before the second set of stairs at the end of the hallway, but I'd be careful around him. The brooding sort that like the shadows often have the most weapons on them." Going up the stairs, I found that the hall wound around the second floor, with another set of stairs going to another room. I knocked on the door to the right. The door creaked open. "Hand me your weapons." I took off my bow and sword. I placed them on the ground. The door opened wider.
Strider was framed in the doorway. A bow was in his hands. His tense posture relaxed slightly. "If it was someone else, I would be concerned about they managed to find me. Pick up your weapons, never leave them on the ground unattended." I went into his room to find it mostly dark, except for the light coming from outside. "The Blackwolds have been defeated, but not without cost. Toradan and two other rangers are dead. Amdir has now become a servant of the shadow, and has escaped. It was Toradan's dying wish that Amdir be stopped." I summed up what happened wityh Amdir in a few sentences, while the adventure took a day.
Strider slumped into a chair. "Your tidings are grim, Danagor. Though not unexpected. This is a plan of the Nine, though swift action may unravel those plans. East of Bree, there is a Blackwold camp that I have been watching closely and the shadow has fallen on it. I believe Amdir will be found there tonight." Strider stood. "Are you ready? The shadow is strongest at night." I had came this far and would go wherever this road took me. "I am."
We left the Pancing Pony, blending into the crowd that Barilman was serving. We left through the South Gate, the road turning east. Strider guided me over the road going northeast into the Southdowns. The moon hung in the sky, serving as a light to guide us. We went along the border, following the Greenway. Stopping short of the old ruins of a fort built into the hills. Campfires blazed within, but tension filled the air. Two other rangers approached us.
"Danagor, this is Torthann and Lenglinn." The chill in the air wasn't natural. Their greetings were silent. "We should split our strength. For the good of Middle-earth, none can be allowed to escape. Lenglinn and I will look for another way inside, while you and Torthann search for Amdir." Strider and Lenglinn faded into the stillness of the night. "Let us go, Danagor. Before Amdir can escape." Torthan started down the hill, as we got closer I realized that no one was on guard. Someone was running towards us. We both crouched behind a bush. Their voices came over the wind. "What were those things? That dwarf has gone mad!" We knocked arrows and let them fly, each finding their mark in their chests.
"Foreword! Let us root out this camp." Torthan charged through the gate, I went in behind him. We cut down the brigands surrounding their fires, stopping just before an archway leading deeper into the ruins. As we caught our breath's we heard a conversation going on behind the archway. The voice that spoke was gruff."Why are you so worried, Blackwold?" Another voice spoke, Skunkwood's. ""What do you want with me! I don't know anything!" His voice was on the edge of hysteria. The gruff voice spoke again. "There, there now. There's no need for concern...yet. Did you think service to Angmar came without a cost?" He spoke sagely, with that we are both in the same boat way.
We charged out as one. The voice had come from a dwarf. Though it wasn't exactly a dwarf. Dwarves eyes don't glow completely green. He wore battle armor and a crown on his head. His skin was paler than usual. "Ah! I have found them after all. You are relieved of your obligations, Blackwold." The dwarf struck Skunkwood down with his hammer, breaking his skull with a sharp crack! "Now to deal with you two." The dwarf came at us swinging his heavy hammer. The first strike hit the stones on the floor, lodging it in the floor.
I rolled behind him and backed up as he circled it around his head. Getting hit with that thing would like being hit by a troll club. We needed to get him off balance to defeat him. Torthan seemed to know it as well and we began a game of "chase" around the arch. His hammer never hit as we kept a taunting distance from him. "Stand and fight, cowards!" The dwarf grew madder, swing his weapon with more and more force. When his hammer lodged deeply into the wall, we struck. Our blades went deep inside him. The dwarf simply laughed at his wound. No one could have survived a blow like that. "I have other business to deal with...my servant shall deal with you!"
He left his hammer behind as he backed away from our swords, the blades sliding out of him with no blood to tell he had been wounded. Two skeletons armed with swords came out of the ground. "Wights!" The dead attacked and we each took one. The skeletons wore mail, so we had to pierce through it and the spine. The skeleton I was fighting swept his sword around in wide slashes. Blocking with my shield, I stabbed t in the chest and it collapsed with a clatter followed by Torthan's enemy.
"Who was that dwarf and by what power has he to command the dead? I fear that something greater is yet before us." We went beyond the arch, past Skunkwood's body. Up a series of stairs, we found Amdir surrounded by five Nazgul. We became rooted to the spot. "You shall not interefere! Amdir is now a servant of the Great Eye!" In a place of such evil, we were of no consequence to the Nazgul. "Amdir, take on the robes of the Cargul, The Foresworn!" A hooded man in leather and pale red robes ran into the open chamber. "My Lords, The Rangers approach with fire!" The voice that responded was dismissive. "It is too late. Amdir's change is complete!" Amdir or what was left of Amdir rose from the altar he was placed on. He now wore the bright red and gold runes of the Cargul.
"Come brethren, now is not the time for a fight. We leave these fools in your care, Eogan." The Nazgul disappeared into the shadows. The hooded man rose. "Yes, Lords." Strider entered and I could move again. The Cargul that was once Amdir joined Eogan. The two fought with desperation, but it was four against two. Eogan fell under Strider's blade. I fought the Cargul.
The wraith fought with broad slashes and stabs. Parry, strike, parry, strike. I threw everything I had at the Cargul. Torthan joined me. Then it collapsed, Strider's blade in it's side. All that was left was empty robes. "It is a day both dreary and joyous. It grieves me that we were forced to slay Amdir, but a relief that he should now know peace." Strider spoke solemnly. "Let us leave this place." The ride back to Bree was silent. Amdir's death hung over us like a cloud. How could such men fall? In the face of such evil, what could anyone do?
"Those who fall into Darkness will soon be ruled by it."
Reviews keep me writing.
