Chapter 7
Enjoy!
The wind whipped through the trees, stripping the leaves from the branches, mercilessly. The wind howled and screeched, splitting through the air. Objects that were once just simple parts of nature, parts of the forest, were turned into weapons as they were tossed violently through the air. The poor trees- victims of this brutal assault of nature were shaking, while others lay strewn across the ground. The trees left standing swayed and moaned in the brutal wind.
The sky was dark and grey clouds were gathering in the sinister looking sky. The travelers were constantly on the look out for any form of shelter, any cave or hidden location that would provide safety and relief from the harsh, whipping wind and dangerous conditions. Even Legolas who normally excepted and loved all parts of nature was looking fearfully up at the darkening sky, just as afraid as his companions. All of them knew, unlike fighting a common enemy- such as orcs or spiders, they had no control over the weather, and could easily be thrown around by this violent wind.
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They were having a hard time making good progress because of the wind and the trees that lay broken against the forest floor, blocking their path. Legolas felt for these trees, knowing the pain they had been through, and feeling it himself. Being a wood elf Legolas had a strong connection to nature and it pained him to see trees in such a state, even if it was done by a natural cause. He whispered soothing words to his fallen friends, offering comfort and support.
"Namarie, mellon nin," he whispered.
(Farewell, my friend.)
As he ran his hands over the brown, broken surface of the tree, softly digging his slim fingers into the cracks in the bark. He closed his eyes, mentally communicating with the tree. He traced the rough surface, feeling sorry for the broken piece of nature.
"Come on Legolas," Aragorn whispered gently, knowing how much his friend cared for and loved trees, "we have to leave before the storm gets worse," he reasoned with the elf.
Legolas only nodded, casting a last, longing glance back at the tree. With that they set off, traveling at a much faster pace, though all of them knew: they could not out run the storm.
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They pressed on, sending their horses into a full blown gallop, Legolas felt the harsh movement pulling and tearing at his painful wounds. For the elf to heal properly, he would need lots of rest and proper treatment, none of which could be provided in their current situation, and Legolas felt him self slipping further and further away from consciousness.
They pulled the horses through the woods and into a small clearing where the travelers saw a sight that practically stopped their hearts, one that would be engraved into their memories from that day on...
Spinning around in the small clearing was a giant tornado. The tornado was yanking trees out of the ground and chewing them up, broken and stripped of their leaves. This was how the unnatural clearing had been made, the ground stripped of the trees by the barbarous twister. The grass has been ruined, leaving only a mixture of mud and dirt strew across the ground. Branches and rocks were flying through the air, with a terrifying amount of speed and force. The tornado looked grey against the green sky, twirling around and picking up objects as it went along.
It was such an extraordinary sight that the travelers just stopped and stared, mouths wide open in shock, before regaining their senses. It was Elladan who spoke first, 'We should... we have to... run,' he said, clearly in shock at the display of the extremity of nature.
They quickly dived back into the woods, hoping to avoid the twister until it died down. Unfortunately, they would not be so lucky. Legolas was gasping with every step the horse took, but continued on desperate to escape the clutches of the destructive tornado.
Rocks and branches were flying through the air, whistling over the heads of the riders and knocking with a loud thud into the already suffering trees. Though the noise was lost to the great roaring of the twister.
Suddenly, a large object flew through the air and smashed into Legolas's back, surprising the elf, who due to his injuries, went flying off his horse landing deeper into the woods. He hit the ground hard smashing his head against the dirt, and was knocked into oblivion before he couldeven process what was happening.
Legolas's horse, Midnight was sent into a paniced frenzy at her master disappearance, and reared up, neighing in distress. The three brothers turned to Midnight, staring as the horse jumped around, frantic and upset because of the tornado and Legolas's disappearance.
"Where is Legolas?!?" Aragorn yelled, over the storm, distress creeping into his voice.
"When I last saw he was on his horse!" Elrohir yelled back, just as surprised and clueless as his brother.
"Well he couldn't have gone far, so scan the ground for him," Elladan said, taking charge of the situation.
They searched for Legolas but could barely see over the storm, and they had no idea where he went. They weaved in and out of trees, looking for their lost friend, but saw no signs of where he could have went.
"We have to go! We will come back later but we need to find shelter from the storm." Elladan yelled, after the failed search.
"I am not leaving with out him," Aragorn shouted, anger at the situation and his brother edging his voice, "we have to find him!"
"We have to go before something happens to one of us, we will come back later!" Elrohir replied agreeing with his twin brother. The ranger sighed defeated, shooting one last desperate glance over his shoulder, hoping that Legolas might miraculously show up after their fruitless search.
"We will find him, but we will be much more useful to him if we can bring him back to a shelter." Elladan said gently, seeing his brothers sadness at leaving. With that they rode off in search of saftey.
The three brothers, after about an hour of riding came across a cave, hidden behind a group of trees, and coated in ivy. The cave was low down, and they all had to duck to enter, but it was huge in width. It stretched on, further than any of them had imagined, and at the end of the cave was a tunnel like hole, that dug deep underground.
Relief washed over the three at finding this oasis and they rushed inside, happy to be free from the harsh wind and flying tree branches.
They quickly began unpacking and preparing to set out after Legolas as soon as the tornado died down a little. For now, they were content with finding the cave.
What they did not see or hear over the screeching and whipping of the violent wind was the shadows in the corner of cave, creeping closer and closer to the three unaware travelers.
TBC...
A tornado, I know no one was expecting that! Next chapter will have more action I promise! Hope you liked the cliff hanger.
