Rangers and Hobbits

In a small forest off the side of the Mordor mountains, humans weaved in and out between the trees. They attacked the enemy army, and then they disappeared. While the humans ran around attacking people there was a shadowy figure watching them. He moved about listening to them speak to each other. He had woken up some way away. These people were the first sign of life he had come across. They looked like Imperials. Not that he could tell if that was good or bad. Still, they seemed to be the underdogs here so he preferred staying near them. He just hoped Katla and Rhavaniel were alright.

The humans stayed in a series of caves. They were filled with shadows he could hide in. Slowly he learned the meanings of the words they spoke. Little by little he understood them better. They were attentive men, but he was a master thief. He wouldn't have lived for very long if he was easy to detect.

For many days even weeks, nothing really happened. Ra'shall learnt all the ins and outs of the caves where the Imperials stayed.

Then one day the rangers he followed found a set of tiny men. They were small as children but did not have childish features. Ra'shall kept close. He was curious now. They spoke with the leader of the men, Faramir was his name. It became clear that the hobbits had been travelling with others.

They spoke at length about a man named Aragorn and one named Boromir that seemed to be Faramir's brother. They also spoke much of something called Isildur's bane. Ra'shall's eyes narrowed. He had a feeling he might need to interfere. Something felt wrong. One of the hobbits, as they called themselves, held an item filled with power. The power in itself was malicious.

Eventually, the men chose to move the hobbits.

Ra'shall snuck after them. He kept close enough to hear them, but far enough away so they wouldn't notice him. He kept close to the hobbits as the men entered their caves. The hobbits were new and interesting to him. He knew the men fairly well by now. The hobbits ate with the men and then they sat down with Faramir to speak some more. Frodo, who seemed to be the leader of the two, told Faramir of many things and places that Ra'shall knew nothing of. Then he spoke of Moria and he told tales of a tall woman with a heavy sword that came to them in a time of need.

Ra'shall's ears twitched. A woman with a greatsword. He wondered how common that was. If Faramir's reaction was anything to go by, it wasn't very common. He didn't quite seem to believe them. 'His loss,' Ra'shall thought.

Then Faramir left and Ra'shall moved out of the shadows. "Hello little ones," he said softly his accent thick.

The two hobbits turned their heads his way and their eyes widened in fear.

"Now, now calm little ones," Ra'shall said. "You spoke of a mighty warrior lady. You spoke of Katla, did you not?"

Sam recovered first. He looked at the strange man before him. The feline facial features and the big teal eyes caught his eyes first. The feline's fur was dark with white streaks. He remembered the description of the man from Katla. He had asked her about her companions once. "Are you Ra'shall, Katla's companion?" he asked.

"She spoke of me, did she?" Ra'shall said. "That is good. And yes I am called Ra'shall."

"Katla said you were the sneaky sort," Sam said. "She certainly wasn't wrong. How long have you been here?"

"I have been followin' these Ranges around for a long time now," Ra'shall said. "They have not detected me yet."

Then Frodo finally seemed to shake himself out of his stupor. He reached for his bag and pulled a greyish cloak out of it. "Katla gave me this to give to you if we met you," he said softly.

"Thank you," Ra'shall said as he took the cloak. He tilted his head to the side as he looked the cloak over. A smile spread across his face. "This is a good cloak," he said. He looked out at the tunnel. "You should probably get some rest," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow." He moved back into the shadows and disappeared. He had a message to read. Katla was smart. She had left an encrypted message for him in the cloak. He found a quiet spot and read the note over. A sigh passed his lips. He knew what he needed to do now. He was glad to get some kind of direction.

In the middle of the night, they found a wretched creature in the pools that gathered outside the caves. Ra'shall watched as Frodo defended it saying the once man was their guide. The feline would not trust that being. He approached Frodo once Faramir had left them once more. He handed the hobbit a note. "Will you give this to Faramir to give to Katla. It will let her know I am with you. I will join you once you leave the humans," he said. "No one but Katla can read that note so you don't need to worry about it fallin' into wrong hands."

Frodo nodded slowly. He already felt safer knowing one of Katla's companions would travel with them. Ra'shall was a strange character, but Katla trusted him with her life so he couldn't be that bad. "I'll give it to Faramir," he said.

"Good," Ra'shall said. "I'll see ya' later." He disappeared back into the shadows. He would keep out of sight for now. Humans tended to distrust things they did not understand or know. He travelled out of the caves into the night. He would find the hobbits later.

Back in the cave Frodo and his company were given full freedom in the lands of Gondor after which Frodo handed Faramir the letter. "Will you please give this letter to Katla if you meet her," he said.

Faramir took the letter. He looked down at it. "I will," he said. He doubted he would come across any kind of female warrior, but what was the harm in taking care of the letter for now. He put it away, before telling the hobbits they would be leaving. He allowed them to see this time. They walked out and left the caves behind.

Ra'shall kept an eye on them but stayed out of sight until the humans left the hobbits. He joined with them after they had wandered on for a while. He noticed how their creeping guide seemed both surprised and scared by his presence. He didn't say anything though.

Ra'shall stayed back and said little as Gollum led the hobbits on. The little creature pushed the hobbits quite hard through the forest. Ra'shall didn't intervene. He did not trust the creature, but he didn't feel like stepping in until he knew where they were going. For now, only Gollum knew the trail. He would stay back for now. He did take off to catch a few rabbits so they would have some more meat, though. He made sure they ate fairly well.

"All of you know how to cook?" Sam asked Ra'shall one evening when they settled down.

"You mean Katla, I and Rhavaniel?" Ra'shall asked and Sam nodded. "Yes, we all know how to cook. Since we don't always travel together it's a good thing to know. That and we tend to split chores."

"That's nice," Sam said. "You are a very good cook considering what you have to work with." He was trying to get over the fact that the man sitting by the fire cooking looked like a humanoid feline. It wasn't easy. Ra'shall was very different. Katla had been easier to deal with. She was just a woman, still human, but a woman.

They walked for a long time. One thing Ra'shall came to appreciate with Gollum was that the creature at least knew where they had enemies and what had to be done to avoid them.

They left the lush forest behind and the land became greyish brown. What trees appeared were now leafless and twisted. As they travelled eventually the sun stopped shining. A thick brown cloud spread out over the sky blocking the sun out. Ra'shall looked up. A volcano was spewing out ash. Katla had told him they were heading for a volcano. At least they were going in the right direction.

Ra'shall noticed animosity growing between the two hobbits. He gave them a stern glare. "You two don't have the luxury of dislikin' each other right now. What we are doin' is too important," he said. He rose from the ground where he had been resting. "Let's go," he said. "Gollum will catch up with us. He knows his way around here. We shouldn't stay here for too long."

Ra'shall led them on. He knew the general direction they needed to go in. He had been right of course. Gollum did catch up with them. "It didn't feel safe to stay," Ra'shall told him. "I hope I didn't mess up the direction too much."

"Big cat-man not too far off," Gollum said. "He is quiet and hard to detect. Good if orcs come." Gollum didn't know what to think of the new addition to their party. He was fairly certain that his plan would still work. Cat-man would make good food too.

They reached a crossroads where statues kingly looking men stood. Suddenly, the sun shone through and Frodo froze. Ra'shall noticed how Gollum became nervous. He walked forward and lifted Frodo up. They didn't have time for this kind of thing. "Show the way Gollum," he said. Behind them, he could hear the trampling of feet. "An army is marching," he said softly.

"They are going for Minas Tirith," Frodo said.

"Don't worry about them," Ra'shall said. "Katla and Rhavaniel will have to deal with it."

He didn't put Frodo down until they had gone quite far. If nothing else, he could spare the hobbit some energy.

They travelled on. Day and night blended together as the sky darkened even more. Ra'shall eventually had to pull Sam aside while Frodo slept and Gollum was out. "You have to step back for now," he said. "I know you care for Frodo, but he is carrying something that is slowly poisoning his mind. Don't do anything that might anger him. He will regret it later. Just let me deal with it." He placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "I'll deal with it. Just be there for him."

Sam took a deep calming breath. Katla trusted this man. She was a great person. She had protected Master Frodo. "Okay," he said. He hoped the big feline was right.

Days later, or at least they thought it was days later. They turned a sharp corner around a mountainside. In front of them, a dark city rose from the ground. Ra'shall managed to force the hobbits to move along. He asked Gollum to show the way, lifted Frodo up, and grabbed Sam's hand. He rushed across the wide road that led from the city towards the forests surrounding them. He hid them among the rocks on the other side. He didn't put Frodo down though. He didn't think it would be a good idea. Something told him that there was someone in the city that could mess everything up. Gollum led them up a narrow winding staircase. Sam walked after him and Ra'shall carrying Frodo walked last. He knew they couldn't continue forever. They would have to rest soon. "Is there a flat place where we can rest?" he asked Gollum.

"Higher up," Gollum said. He pointed. "Up there. There is a place to rest for hobbitses."

"Good, let's go there," Ra'shall said. He didn't place Frodo down until he got up to the plateau. He gave the hobbits some cold rabbit from earlier that day. "How much further?" he asked Gollum.

"Not that much further now," Gollum said. "Hobbitses rest and then we can go there."

Ra'shall held out a raw rabbit to Gollum. "Eat some," he said. He had noticed that Gollum prefered his food raw. The lean creature reached out and grabbed the rabbit. "Thanks to the cat-man," he said. He snuck off away from them to eat, and Ra'shall sat down with the hobbits. He listened to them speak with half an ear. Most of his concentration was elsewhere. He was listening to the sounds around them and smelled the air. He rested with the hobbits, but he never slept fully.

Frodo was still exhausted as they made their way onwards. Ra'shall decided to pick him up and carry him again. It was easier that way. After a trek, they finally reached the cave. Ra'shall took a deep breath as Sam complained about the smell. 'Spider,' he thought. He had been into enough spider holes to know there was at least one spider in there. He let Frodo down. He might have to fight. "Keep close to me," he said before they entered the darkness of the cave. As the hobbits lost the use of their eyes Ra'shall adjusted to the dark. Being a Khajiit, he could see just fine even in the dark. He noticed as Gollum hurried on ahead. He didn't say anything. It might be time to deal with the miserable creature. First, he had to make sure the hobbits made it. "Calm," he said softly. He moved forward. "I want us to turn up here. The air from there smells different." He guided them through the darkness. Webs blocked their path suddenly. Ra'shall drew a dagger and cut the heavy string. He moved the hobbits along. His ears twitched. "Here," he said as he handed his dagger to Sam. "Keep goin' straight," he said. "Do not stray. I'll be right back."

Ra'shall moved back as he drew another dagger. A smirk spread across his lips as he saw the spider. He leapt forward and took out an eye. He moved under the spider and stabbed up. Then he shifted again and rammed his dagger into the spider's side. Then he caught sight of a small figure. He moved forward quickly and pinned Gollum up against a wall. He pulled a poisoned dagger and stabbed the skinny creature in the heart. "Goodbye Gollum," he said. "Sleep well."

He moved away from Gollum's body and returned to the spider. He made quick work of her. He didn't feel like having it after him. The spider collapsed as he pulled his dagger out of her head. He climbed over her and sprinted after the hobbits.

Frodo was holding a light in his hand when he caught up with them. "We should be safe now," Ra'shall told them.

"Have you seen Gollum?" Frodo asked.

"No, I haven't," Ra'shall lied easily. "We shouldn't stay here though. If he has made it then, he will find us." He got them out of the tunnels as fast as he could. He found a safe corner outside and hid them away there. "Get some sleep. I'll look around to see what we're walking into," he said. "Eat something as well." He didn't stay after that. He moved quickly. He found some orcs and killed them as he moved. A smirk spread across his lips as he reached the top of a hill. He could see the fire mountain. There was still a long way to go, but he would get them there. 'I've got this Katla,' he thought.

Ra'shall would make sure that Ring reached Mount Doom.