Author's Note-
Sorry about the long wait! I got busy and kinda lost muse. But I'm back~!
HeysU: Why thank you~ I try my best with these things. :3
Legoelf: Woop! I know how it feels to be mentioned at the beginning of a story. ^^ I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Lindir and Legolas' head's snapped up at the sound. They waited. Silence. "Was that a bird?" Gimli questioned, hefting his axe a bit higher.
Legolas shook her head, drawing an arrow from his bow. "I don't believe that was any sort of bird," he replied, eyes scanning the forest. The only thing that stirred were the leaves on the trees.
Lindir also stood up, a small electric black fire dancing across his finger-tips. "Gimli, get everyone up and ready to fight," he told the Dwarf, standing back to back with the blonde. Gimli did as he was told, even though he was told by Elves of all races, and quickly woke everyone. Soon, the Hobbits were standing behind Gandalf while Aragorn and Boromir had their swords out, turning in circles to make sure they covered every inch of the forest. Gimli seemed to take up no position at all as he roamed silently around the sight, axe raised. Legolas had an arrow knocked and pulled back, ready to fire.
As for Lindir, well, he didn't really have any actual weapon. Being more in the shadows than the rest of them, he used his powers to create a slim, tall bow. It was spiked elegantly, if possible, along the top and bottom. Shadowy fire leapt off the bow and sparked into the sky. He created a dark black arrow and pulled it back, ready to fire.
Who knew? The timid, shy, slightly ignored Minstrel of Imladris could fight? The more you know. The sudden appearance of this mystical bow attracted some attention from the rest of the Fellowship, though none questioned it. Well, some of them might've if another call hadn't echoed through the forest, this time, closer.
Before any of them had time to search, Orcs burst out through the trees. The two Elves released their arrows, one of them leaving the Orc burning in shadowy fire after it had pierced it. Aragorn and Boromir immediately went for the closest Orcs, stabbing and slashing. Gimli roared out in rage and quickly killed anything in his path. Gandalf used his powers to blast the Orcs back into oblivion.
One thing each of them noticed was that some of the Orcs weren't normal; and that's saying something. Certain, larger, Orcs had some sort of dark magic falling off them in waves, creating a black fog across the forest floor. The fog seemed to have no affect in terms of injuring anyone, but it concerned them either , there was one problem. None of them seemed to be able to actually hit the Shadow Orcs, as they deemed them. Every time they took aim, another Orc seemed to get in the way, or the blow would mysteriously be thrown off course. Even Gandalf couldn't hit them. It was only after the regular Orcs had been killed did the Fellowship finally get a chance.
Before Legolas could fire an arrow, Gandalf spoke. "Stop!" he commanded loudly, effectively stopping any fighting. Even the Shadow Orcs stopped to look at Gandalf. "What are you and who do you work for? Why are you fighting us?"
The largest Shadow Orc stepped forward, presumably because he was the leader. "We are Kalarhia Orcs," he replied in a gruff, loud, voice. "We work for Sauron, and we're fighting you to take the Keepers you now hold."
"The what?" Pippin whispered in question. True, most everyone had heard the legend of the Keepers. It was a story passed down through generations, though rarely did anyone believe it to be true. Though, apparently it was true, or these Kalarhia Orcs were just making it up to annoy them. "I don't think any of us here are Keepers."
The large Orc growled. "Well, there are three of them, and we need to take at least one back to Sauron, but all three would be nice as well," he teased menacingly.
"We hold no Keepers," Gandalf told them evenly. Everything was silent. Nothing stirred, the wind didn't blow. All you could here was the breathing of everyone in the clearing. Then, the silence was shattered.
The Orcs roared a battle cry and charged at Gandalf. Before anyone could react or get hurt, a huge mass of swirling shadows rammed into the closest Orc and sent it flying into a tree. There was a sickening crack as he hit it before he lay still. Everyone slowly turned to the source of the blast.
A few of them gasped in shock while still others just stared, wide-eyed. Lindir had his hands outstretched towards where the Orc had fallen, black lightning/fire crackling over his hands. The Orcs stared at the brunette, hatred and anger in their eyes. "Get that one!" one of the Orcs cried out.
Soon, all the Kalarhia Orcs were charging at the Shadow Keeper. Legolas gave up on secrecy, since clearly the Orcs already knew that there were Keepers here. He used his powers to send a strong blast of wind towards the Orcs.
The wind sent about five the Orcs into the sky. Lindir used this moment to shoot out blasts of dark energy, effectively killing the beasts before they hit the ground. After these Orcs died, there were only a handful left. These Orcs, though seemingly magical, had some sense and ran away. It took a few minutes while the Fellowship cleaned up the camp-site for the black fog to clear. Even with it gone, nothing felt remotely safe anymore.
The Fellowship sat around a campfire. It was silent. All you could hear was the sound of the cracking fire of the wind whispering through the trees. "So, is it true?" Aragorn asked after a moment. He leaned his head on his hands. Instead of anger or lust to keep the Keepers, there was interest in his eyes; as was what most of them were feeling. Interest in the fact that they had been traveling with Keepers without even realizing.
Lindir let out a slow breathe before speaking. "Yes, it is true," he replied. "We are Keepers. I am the Darthen, Legolas is the Leearthen, and Gimli is the Desharthen."
When he told them about the Desharthen, all eyes went to Gimli. Who would've thought that a Dwarf, with no real mystical powers already, would be an infamous Keeper. "Is this true?" Gandalf asked the trio of Keepers. They all nodded their heads. "Is there anything else we need to know?"
This time, it was Legolas who spoke up. "We think we may have a way to find out who the rest of the Keepers are," he told them, determination sparking in his eyes. Boromir raised an eyebrow at this but didn't say anything. Legolas pulled out the piece of paper and let everyone read it for themselves.
Lindir scanned the group, hope shining in his calm brown eyes. "Do you understand any of it?" he asked them. Gandalf blew out a smoke ring from his pipe and looked over the paper.
"This is certainly quite interesting," he murmured to himself. The Hobbits gazed over his shoulder, confusion clearly showing on their faces. "Though, I have to say I don't understand any of it right now."
Lindir let out a huff. They needed to be more careful and quickly gather the rest of the Keepers before anymore were discovered and possibly captured. Only problem, they had to actually know who the Keepers were in order to go and save them. By the looks of it, no one could figure out the riddle. And we all thought that Gandalf knew all.
"Then what's our plan now?" asked the Gondorian soldier. "Sauron is watching us, somehow, so we have to be careful." Yes, thank you Boromir for being Captain Obvious.
Gandalf stood up. "We'll just keep moving,'" he replied. The sun was already peaking over the horizon, casting it's rays into the clearing. Birds started to call to each other, greeting the morning with joyous tunes. If one only saw the sun rise, they wouldn't know that a magical fight had just occurred. The Fellowship quickly erased all their traces of being here and packed up, marching on after the wizard.
For the next few days of travel, everything was peaceful. Nothing attacked them and there were no near death experiences. Still, the brave group didn't let their guard down. Now, at least one Keeper was awake at all times, though it was mostly Lindir and Legolas who took the watch. It was third day after the Orc encounter did they hit another problem.
The Fellowship had decided to rest for a bit on a rocky outcrop. Gandalf was sitting on a flat stone, pipe lit. Aragorn was next to him, smiling slightly as he watched Boromir, Pippin, and Merry sword fighting. Gimli was looking to the horizon while Sam and Frodo sat close on a pile of rocks. Legolas was scanning the surrounding area, making sure nothing was hiding among the hills. Lindir sat near a bush, using a shadow made Lyre to play soft music. He sang quietly as he did so. After a while, most everyone had stopped what they were doing to take a break and listen to the Elven music.
The music calmed them and made everything seem at peace, though every time they looked around they were reminded of the harsh truth. At one point, Legolas had stood up to investigate a cloud. A black cloud. A cloud that looked evil. No surprise there. Everything seemed evil here. "Just a wisp of cloud," Gimli said, easily brushing it off in favor of the music.
The blonde shook his head. That wasn't the right answer and he knew it.
"It's fast, and moving against the wind," Boromir commented, squinting at the mass.
At this, Legolas gasped slightly. "Crebain from Dunland!" he called out.
"Hide!" Aragorn followed up, grabbing all the bags and ducking into cover. The fire was put out and everyone ducked down behind rocks and under some of the larger bushes. The birds cawed loudly as they flew over-head, scanning the area for them. As soon as they had come, they left. All was quiet once again.
The Fellowship came out of hiding and looked around to make sure none of the birds had stayed to follow them. "We're being watched, the road is no longer safe," Gandalf stated, looking down slightly. They would need to take another road, a lesser known road, but what? "We must take to road of Caradhras."
Cold was an understatement to most. To everyone walking up the snow mountain side, freezing wouldn't even cover it. So, if you thought about it, it was too cold for words to describe. You had to be there to feel it yourself; not that anyone would voluntarily want to. But then you have Legolas and Lindir, who, if asked, would most likely describe the weather as 'just a bit colder than comfort will allow.'
Besides the cold weather, there was also the amount of snow they had to go through. Again with the Elves. They walked on top of the snow. Now why they didn't carry anyone is a story to be told later. The poor Hobbits and the dwarf had to wade through the snow while Gandalf was tasked with clearing a decent pathway. Aragorn and Boromir walked behind the group, pushing the short ones along. In no time was everyone tired and in desperate need of rest and warmth. And they weren't even half way to the top!
Suddenly, small Frodo fell down, tumbling back until he bumped into Aragorn. The ranger helped the little Hobbit stand again. Frodo dusted some of the snow off and checked for the Ring. His eyes widened when he realized it wasn't around his neck. He began to dig in the snow before he looked up and saw that Boromir was holding it in his hand. He had a wistful look in his eyes—almost as if he was somewhere else in mind.
"Boromir," Aragorn commanded. Boromir didn't seem to hear him. He squinted at it slightly, as if judging whether he should listen or just run away with it now. Aragorn moved his hand to slowly wrap around the hilt of his sword. Frodo stared with wide eyes, fearful of what would happen next. Suddenly, Boromir spoke up.
"It is a strange fate that we would should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing," he said, steadily gazing at it, "such a little thing."
Aragorn squinted at Boromir while Frodo just stared. He was relieved to have the Ring off his chest, but he had no idea what it could do in the hands of the Son of a Steward. "Boromir! Give the Ring to Frodo!" he exclaimed urgently, his hand moving to his sword.
Boromir look slightly shocked at this, but never the less he handed Frodo the ring. "As you wish, I care not," he said before ruffling Frodo's hair and walking away with a slight smile on his face.
Deep within the mines of Isengard, the Crebain dive in and swoop towards their Master, relaying their information. Saruman raises an eyebrow and puts both hands on his staff. "So Gandalf, you try to lead them over Caradhras?" he asks to no one in particular. "And if that fails, where then will you go?"
The Fellowship is struggling to scale the mountain as the wings pick up and whip around them.
"If the mountain defeats you will you risk a more dangerous road?" the dark wizard is asking to himself, smirking at the thoughts of all the ways he could defeat the Fellowship there and then.
The Fellowship struggles on, the Hobbits now being carried by Aragorn and Boromir. Legolas walks past them, his Elven 'powers' giving him the advantage to walk atop the snow. He listened silently and heard echoes on the wind.
"Cuiva nwalca Carnirasse; nai yarvaxea rasselya!" Saruman yells into the air. (translation: Wake up cruel Redhorn! May your horn be bloodstained!)
"There is a fell voice on the air!" Legolas yelled to be heard over the roaring wind.
Gandalf frowned deeply. "It is Saruman!" he called back. Suddenly, a large chunk of snow fell from the mountain above them. The snow narrowly misses the group and falls over the edge.
Aragon growled at their misfortune. "He's trying to bring down the mountain!" he shouted, "Gandalf! We must turn back!"
"No! Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho i 'ruith!" (Sleep, Caradhras, be still, lie still, hold your wrath!)
This type of thing went on for only a few minutes. Gandalf shouting for the mountain to be still, Saruman trying to kill them with snow. But, it all ended quickly once a large portion of the mountain fell upon the group. It took them a while, but the all managed to climb out. They debated where they should go next. Somewhere safer, yet descrete. "Let the Ringbearer decided," Gandalf said after a moment.
Frodo looked nervous about being put on the spot. He took a moment before answering. "We'll go through the Mines,' he said at last.
"So be it," Gandalf replied.
A/N:
ANOTHER CHAPTER IS DONE. xD
