Ranger of the North

By: Katerinaki

Published: 10/6/2014

Beta'ed: No

Notes: The third chapter, with lots of action, a few lines from the movie but mostly things are from Arindeth's perspective. Also, you begin to learn a little more about our Ranger. Please take the time to comment on the story. I want to make sure Arindeth doesn't turn into a Mary-Sue behind my back. Thanks!

Cheers,

-Katerinaki

Chapter 3: Looking Ahead

It was yet another few days before Arindeth was able to find the trail left by the Company. She searched tirelessly during that time, moving ever eastward and staying off the road. Gandalf was with them and although he did a fair job of concealing their passage, Arindeth was a fair tracker and even a wizard could not hide the wake of thirteen dwarves on ponies. The trail remained stale, however, for some number of days hence before Arindeth at last came across fresh tracks in the Trollshaws, a thick forest of beech woods in the old kingdom of Rhudaur.

It worried her that Gandalf would bring the company this way. The Trollshaws were riddled with caves and thick trees. They were often hideouts for vagabonds or worse, mountain trolls descended from the Ettenmoors. In truth, it had been some time since any trolls had been spotted in the Trollshaws, but with the increase of dark creatures in the west Arindeth remained on her guard as she guided Bruidal through the trees. If she recalled correctly, there was a farm not far away where a farmer and his family lived who often took in weary Rangers. She could camp in his barn that night and perhaps rest peacefully and awake tomorrow refreshed for the continued chase.

Arindeth climbed from Bruidal's back to give the tired horse some rest. As she adjusted her sword and quiver, her eyes spotted something that had been hidden by the brush. She picked her way through the underbrush closer until at last she could see it clearly. Her heart leapt into her throat.

It was a track, large enough for Arindeth to stand both feet inside and still have room to spare. All around her she could see branches that had been snapped and flora crushed underfoot. Something big had barreled through recently and left a huge swath of destruction behind it. She moved on to the next such track and her eyes widened and fear gripped her heart. Quickly she raced ahead, pulling a reluctant Bruidal behind her. He already knew what she was just coming to discover. The tracks had indeed been left by a troll. But there was not just one mountain troll. There were three sets of footprints, pointing the way towards certain death. It was the middle of the night; the trolls would be most active now before they had to hide themselves away lest they be turned to stone by the daylight.

Bruidal snorted in warning and Arindeth spun, drawing an arrow faster than the eye of man could follow.

"Peace! I do not mean you harm."

Arindeth breathed in relief. "Gandalf!" She lowered her bow at the presence of the gray wizard, but did not replace her arrow.

"There are three trolls about. Where is the rest of the company?" she asked urgently, for indeed Gandalf was quite alone as he wandered through the Trollshaws. The dwarves were nowhere in sight and that worried her.

"They made camp at the old farm house. The farmer and his family are gone and their house is destroyed."

Arindeth's eyes widened in shock at the news. "The tracks lead right to it! We must return at once!"

They hurried through the trees, uncaring of the tracks they created now. Simply they tried to return to the company that was most likely in grave danger. They arrived back at the camp to find it deserted. Arindeth's heart ached when she saw the remains of the farmer's once sturdy house. She saw the proud man as he fixed the thatch and his wife tending the garden. Their two sons fought with sticks nearby, hooting and hollering much to the annoyance of their dairy cow. None of it remained, just a collapsed shell that had been overtaken by weeds. All around Arindeth spotted the bedrolls and equipment from the company. A cooking fire burned low with a pot still atop.

"They left in a hurry," Arindeth murmured, noting how some of the equipment had been scattered.

"But not under duress," Gandalf added.

Arindeth agreed. There was no shuffling, no blood or death. No struggle had taken place. Her eyes flitted over the ground, squinting in the low light to find some indication of what happened to the dwarves. She desperately wished her brother was there. He was a far better tracker than she could ever be. She often saw him read the land as others might read a book, his keen eyes missing nothing.

'Take a breath. Listen, look,' he would tell her. She paused a moment, letting the sounds of the forest fall over her. And then she heard the grunts of a struggle and felt the vibrations of heavy footsteps beneath her feet.

"There," she said at last, spotting the convergence of tracks as they headed off deeper into the shaws. Gandalf was immediately with her as they followed the track. Just beyond the line of the trees they came across the company's ponies, many still picketed. A few were free, though, and they stayed close to the others, safer within the herd than apart. Several trees in the area had been uprooted but Arindeth need not track anymore. She could see the light of the trolls' fire and hear their arguing. Quietly and carefully, she and Gandalf stole closer until they were on the edge of the circle of light cast by the fire, watching the very dire situation.

Three mountain trolls sat around the fire and were arguing amongst themselves. Over the fire, a number of the dwarves were slowly being roasted tied to a giant spit. Off to the side the rest of the dwarves were tied up in sacks and though they were struggling to break loose, none seemed to be having much luck.

"We have to help," Arindeth hissed. She prepared to fire an arrow and was already drawing her bow when one of the sacks leapt up. It was Bilbo Baggins and part of Arindeth was proud to see he had decided to come along on the quest. Another part of her, very aware of the desperate circumstances, feared for the little hobbit as he stood before the three very large trolls.

She couldn't hear precisely what he said, but it seemed to give the trolls some pause. Gandalf smiled.

"My dear, I think Bilbo has the right of it. Dawn is approaching."

Sure enough, beyond the tops of the trees the sky was becoming more of a deep purple. It was nearly morning and these three trolls were not safely burrowed away in their hole. She turned back to Gandalf but the wizard had disappeared. Hoping that this was indeed what the wizard had in mind, she drew her bow and shot. She hadn't wanted to hit the troll directly. The arrow glanced off the tough skin, but it did its job. The troll she hit leapt up with a horrendous yowl, rubbing its thigh where her arrow had struck.

"Something bit me!" it complained.

"Shut up!" another growled, smacking it across the head. It reached down to pick up poor Bombur but Bilbo's quick thinking brought it up short.

"No! He's infected. He's got worms in his…tubes."

A second later another arrow hit the first troll.

"I swear, Bert! Something bit me!"

"Would you shut it? They're playing us for fools."

Gandalf's voice boomed out over the shaws. "The dawn will take you all!"

Arindeth caught sight of the wizard as he split the rock upon which he stood and bright, orange sunlight streamed through the break.

The trolls moaned and groaned in agony as the sun burned their skin and hardened it. They tried to hide but it was of no use. Within seconds they stood as nothing more than grotesque statues. Breathing a sigh of relief, Arindeth finally broke through the line of trees. She tipped over the great mugs that still stood by the fire and doused the flames, much to the immense relief of the dwarves still on the spit.

"Arindeth! What're you doing here?" Bofur called from the spit.

"I was in the area," she replied. She took out her hunting knife and began cutting through the ropes holding the dwarves up. Dwalin, a grizzled old warrior Arindeth remembered from the dinner at Bilbo's house, eyed her suspiciously the whole time she sawed at his lashings. But when he was once more on his feet he nodded gruff thanks before setting about finding his weapons and armor.

The dwarves were all in a state of disarray, some only half dressed and most missing their weapons. In the shuffle to find everything, Arindeth joined Gandalf who had found Thorin.

"…and I would not have found you, were it not for the skills of Arindeth," Gandalf added as she arrived.

"How did you find us?" Thorin asked curtly.

"Thirteen dwarves on ponies are not difficult to track," Arindeth replied. "I came to warn you—"

"Thorin, come look at this," called Bofur.

Thorin was quick to go after his dwarves, following them not far through the trees with Gandalf, Arindeth, and Bilbo in tow. Arindeth, for her part, was frustrated for being interrupted, but curious to see what Bofur and the others had found so exciting. Just down a ways in a moderately-sized gully they found a cave, hewn from the rocks and ground by the trolls. And indeed, inside was a troll hoard. The stench was unbearable and Arindeth had to pull her cloth over her nose and mouth, even though it did little for the smell. Yet inside, beneath the dirt and muck and remnants of the trolls' past meals was gold and lots of it. Thorin and the others ventured inside and Arindeth followed, though she didn't go too far.

Gandalf and Thorin seemed mesmerized by some weapons they found, full of dust and cobwebs.

"This was not forged by a troll."

"Nor any smith among men," Gandalf agreed. "These were forged by the high elves." At the mention of the elves Arindeth became interested in the finds, but the information seemed to have the opposite effect on Thorin. He went to put it back, a look of disgust mixed with reluctance coming across his face.

"You could not wish for a finer blade," Gandalf snapped, making it clear that he thought Thorin was a fool if he chose to leave the weapon behind. At the wizard's urging, Thorin seemed to accept that perhaps the blade would suit him. Arindeth watched both Thorin and Gandalf chose two of the elvish blades, but all the while she was restless and shifting from foot to foot. For while she had found Thorin and his company, the orcs and their wargs were still hunting them and wargs could run much faster and longer than any horse.

"We cannot linger," she insisted, even as Bofur, Gloin, and Nori buried a chest of gold.

"Bofur, Gloin, Nori," Thorin commanded, ordering them away. He turned to Arindeth, his hand on the hilt of his new blade. "Now, what is so urgent?"

"There are wargs about," she told him. "In league with an orc pack. I saw them on Weathertop and I believe they are hunting your party."

"And why would you think that?"

Arindeth had no chance to answer though. They all heard it and a second later, turned with weapons drawn. It was a great crashing through the trees and it was coming towards them very fast. Arindeth's mind fell back to the great wargs she'd seen fighting on Amon Súl. She tightened her grip on her sword and prepared to defend just as their attacker crashed through the trees.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!"

An old man in ragged and frayed brown robes burst through the trees riding a sled pulled by enormous rabbits, of all creatures. Gandalf recognized the stranger at once.

"Radagast!"

Upon hearing the familiar name, Arindeth too lowered her weapon. Radagast was one of the Istari, the five wizards who watched over Arda. She had heard of him in her travels and in stories before, but Radagast was a recluse, preferring to remain deep in the forest surrounded by his beloved animals than with men or elves. By the crazed look in his eyes, Arindeth might've said he had been deep in the forest too long.

"Gandalf, I came to find you! Something terrible has happened!"

The wizards moved away from the group to converse as the dwarves packed their left-behind things. The whole time Arindeth stood watch, listening carefully. But it was impossible to hear anything beyond the chatter and the clanging as the dwarves re-packed and so she moved away from the main group, scouting ahead. The way seemed clear, at least within the Trollshaws. She was about to return to the group when she spotted yet another sign of trouble.

It was a tuft of hair, caught between some branches, which was not uncommon when animals roamed the wilderness. What worried her was that it was gray and set much too high for a normal wolf. The wargs had caught up with them. There was only one safe place now.

Arindeth hurried to rejoin the group. In the distance there was a howl and Arindeth burst through the trees.

"Warg scouts!"

No sooner had she said it there was a rustle above their heads. Arindeth instinctively drew her sword, stepping between the company and the warg. It snarled at her and leapt, but an arrow flashed past her head, burying itself in the beast's muzzle. She followed through with a slash across the throat and a stab through the belly, ensuring the filthy creature was indeed dead. No sooner did another attack from the other direction, but Thorin's blade intercepted the beast and Dwalin helped finish it off.

"The pack won't be far behind," Arindeth told them.

"Orc pack?" Bilbo squeaked.

"It seems you were right," Thorin conceded.

"Who did you tell of your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf demanded.

"No one," Thorin replied.

"Who did you tell?!"

"Who did you?"

"We don't have time for this," Arindeth snapped, putting herself between the dwarf and wizard. "We have to leave now."

"We can't," Ori called. "The ponies, they've bolted!"

"I will draw them off," Radagast declared.

"These are Gundabad wargs, they will outrun you," Gandalf replied dismissively.

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits! I'd like to see them try."

It all seemed like a great risk, but there was little else to do. "If Radagast can draw them off, I know of a safe place," Arindeth said. "It's not far from here. We can hide until they have lost our trail."

All looked to Thorin to make the final decision, but Thorin shook his head.

"What other choice do we have?"

In the distance a warg bayed and the others took up the call. They were very close.

"None," Gandalf replied frankly.

Thorin nodded. "Alright. We'll do it your way."

Radagast seemed positively giddy as he prepared his sled for the ride of a lifetime. Arindeth, for her part, knew stealth would be their best chance. That meant Bruidal could not come. He was too fast for the dwarves on foot and would be too tall for the terrain they would have to cross. The faithful horse had stood his ground while the ponies ran but now she needed him to go.

"Noro bar, Bruidal," she murmured in his ear, patting his nose and neck. Bruidal tossed his head in acknowledgement before he trotted off.

"What did you tell him?" Thorin's nephew, Fili, asked.

"I told him to go home," she replied simply. She pulled her bow from her quiver and loosened her sword in its sheath. If all went well, she would not need them. But all never was well, otherwise she would not be with the Company at all.

"Ranger," Thorin called. He gestured to the front of the group. "Lead the way."

As Arindeth passed through the dwarves, they all stared at her, much as they had in Bilbo Baggins' home during the unexpected meeting. Only now she saw very different sort of looks. There was curiosity, but also hope and trust, that she was able to get them through the chase and to safety. Arindeth wasn't even sure she knew all of their names, and yet they trusted Thorin wholeheartedly and therefore they had to trust her too.

"Stay close," she urged them. "Keep together and alert. Try to make as little noise as possible. Stealth is our need. Wargs have excellent hearing and even greater smell."

There were a few nods and many hefted weapons.

"This will be a merry chase!" Radagast declared as he stood on the back of his sled and his rabbits thumped their feet against the ground. "Until we meet again!" And he was off, bursting through the trees and Arindeth and the Company heard the wargs give chase.

"With me," she hissed, and began to jog, staying close to the trees and ever just out of sight. The dwarves mirrored her movements and though they were noisy, off in the distance they could hear Radagast's shouts and whoops and knew the wargs still had their target.

It was a hard and fearsome run that they took, out from the Trollshaws and out onto the hills where there was little cover but for a few rock formations. Each time they came to the end, Arindeth would look out and judge where Radagast was, still leading on the wargs. Thorin and Gandalf kept the Company together, urging the dwarves and Mr. Baggins to keep up, despite the hard running. Arindeth's only focus was on the position of the wargs in relation to where they needed to go. It did not help that, although she knew the way to her hideout, she could not see the proper markers until she was nearly on top of them. They wove through the rocks, armor and weapons clanking and still managed to not be seen.

"How much further?" Thorin hissed in her ear as they paused behind a large outcropping. Radagast still had the attention of the wargs, but he was unwittingly coming closer to their location.

"Not far," Arindeth assured him. "Go. Quickly."

They darted out around the rocks and made it to the far side.

"Ori, no!" Thorin grabbed the youngest dwarf just as he was about to be spotted by the wargs. They huddled in a group, hidden but their luck would not last. In the brief pause they heard the heavy snarling from over their heads. Arindeth, crouched to the height of the dwarves craned her head back and spotted the warg and rider that had taken up position on the very rocks they were using for shelter. She saw Thorin nod to his youngest nephew, Kili, and the dwarf pulled an arrow from his quiver, taking a deep breath. In one swift movement he turned and shot.

Although his aim was true, he only hit the warg in the throat. Arindeth followed the shot, but was not able to silence the rider or the warg as both fell down to rock face, tumbling over the party. The others were on the enemy quickly, bludgeoning them but the screams echoed across the hills and Arindeth knew their stealth was lost. The howls and bays halted before taking up the call again, louder.

"Move! Run!" Gandalf shouted, and they took off, headless of the rocks and trees anymore. Arindeth focused on maintaining her direction as she led the group, trying to spot each marker along the way. In the end, they found themselves surrounded with wargs closing in.

"There's more coming!" Kili screamed.

"Shoot them!" Thorin commanded, his own sword in hand.

"Gandalf!" Arindeth called as an arrow flew from her hands and buried itself in the neck of a warg. But the wizard was nowhere to be found. The dwarves shouted and called out to each other as the wargs closed in. It was then that Arindeth's eyes alighted on the very place she had been looking for.

"Thorin!" she called, gesturing towards the rocks at their back. In that moment Gandalf returned.

"This way, you fools!"

Thorin looked to her but she didn't have patience nor did they have time for questions. "Go!"

The wargs were closing in and Kili and Arindeth were running out of arrows. One already got too close and Dwalin slew it with his great hammer.

"Come on, move!" Thorin shouted, as he and the dwarves retreated. "Quickly! All of you!"

One by one the dwarves disappeared into the rocks until only Kili, Arindeth, and Thorin remained.

"Kili, run!"

The younger dwarf shot his last arrow and started sprinting back towards the rocks, but there was a warg too close. Arindeth reached back and found just one last arrow, sinking it in the warg's head. Kili darted past her and slid down the rocks into the cave below.

"Ranger, come on!" Thorin ordered. He cut down a warg about to attack. Arindeth turned and started running back. Thorin slipped down the rock face just as she was arriving. She turned and swung at the warg and rider at her back, just as a familiar horn echoed in the distance. Her heart lightened at the thundering of hooves and the arrows that flew past, piercing the skin of the wargs. And then the rider of the warg attacked. She couldn't get her sword up in time and she stumbled back but her boots landed on open air. She and the orc fell down the rock face, the jagged pieces scraping her hands as she scrambled for purchase. She hit the bottom hard and the orc landed on top of her.

"Ranger." The dwarves hauled the dead orc off of her and Arindeth at last saw the arrow jutting from its back. Thorin ripped it from the corpse and grimaced as he examined the head.

"Elves," he spat, repeating what Arindeth already knew. He threw down the arrowhead and turned to her. "Are you injured?"

"No," Arindeth replied, shifting her weapons and brushing off her hands. They were battered but her gauntlets had protected her arms from the worst of the damage.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads," Dwalin called from further down the passageway. Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it of course!" Bofur replied.

Arindeth heard a mumbled, "I think that would be wise," from Gandalf as the dwarves set off deeper into the gorge. He shared a look with her, one that had Arindeth worried. Gandalf seemed apprehensive, and he kept glancing to Thorin, as if he were waiting for something. At last they found the end of the gorge where it opened into a beautiful valley, one that Arindeth knew well. She slipped past the dwarves and her heart sang with joy and relief as her eyes at last fell on the one place she felt safe. She turned back to the dwarves, but they did not share her joy. Most looked on in puzzlement, though a few, like Bilbo, seemed stunned. Thorin seemed angry.

"You will be safe here," she assured them.

"The valley of Imladris," Gandalf explained. "But in the common tongue it is known by another name."

"Rivendell," Bilbo breathed.

"Here lies the Last Homely House east of the sea."

Thorin turned on Gandalf. "This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy." He turned on Arindeth. "And you were his accomplice!"