Disclaimer: Go back to chapter one for true ownership of LOTR.
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 11
The next day a few miles to the southeast of Thomias and the children…
Two fair, dark haired elves crouched inspecting the ground before them.
"Elladan, these Orc tracks were made only a few hours ago. We are gaining on them!"
"Yes brother, we shall reach them before mid-day."
Elladan and Elrohir were twin brothers. Their father is Lord Elrond of Imladris, or Rivendell as many took to calling the peaceful haven.
The twin brothers were currently hunting down a band of orcs that had been spotted near Rivendell's borders. They enjoyed killing the cruel creatures because they had tortured their mother and forced her to sail from Middle Earth to the Undying Lands. Because of that, they were always on the quest for blood-lusting revenge, vowing to never rest until every single one of the spawns of mordor lay dead at their feet.
They were picking up their discarded packs and prepared to resume their pursuit. But before they could take another step, a thundering sound reached their ears. They tensed and hastily drew their weapons.
The twins stood their ground with weapons drawn prepared to face the horse and rider when it finally crashed through the trees and dense foliage around them. Just because they had extra sensitive hearing didn't mean that they could distinguish the approaching hoof-beats friend from foe.
They were equally surprised when a very spooked pony reared before them. Simultaneously, the twins rolled clear of the crashing hooves, both going in opposite directions in the hopes of calming and catching the poor animal.
Elladan reached out and slowly advanced upon the pony speaking soft, soothing words. The pony stopped rearing and snorted a few times, its sides heaving for air.
"That's it, calm down boy. You are in good hands."
Elrohir caught the pony's bridle and began to gently stroke his head and nose, also whispering calming words in elvish.
Before long, the twins had successfully calmed the pony down. They inspected the contents of the saddle bags after learning that the rider was not present. What they found shocked them. They found two small sets of clothing and equally small stores of food, cooking utensils, and miniature water flasks.
"I do believe it was a hobbit that rode this pony. These supplies are of the Halfling make."
"Something bad must have happened if the rider is not present. The pony was spooked enough to run all night from the looks of it," Elladan thoughtfully mentioned.
"We now have two options. One, we continue to follow the orcs tracks or we divert our course and follow the pony's tracks in hopes of aiding the fallen rider."
Elladan stood contemplating their options. He really wanted to go after the orcs since they were so close to catching up. But at the same time, his heart yearned to find the injured rider. Elrohir voiced Elladan's very thoughts. It did not take long for the two to reach a decision.
"We follow the pony's tracks." The twins voiced together.
A few hours later…
"Elladan! Tolo si!"
Elladan quickly reached his brother who was currently staring intently at a small stream.
"I found this on the bank."
On closer examination, Elladan noticed that Elrohir was holding a small piece of clothing. It was covered in a dry, red substance. It is blood. Elladan realized.
The pony that Elladan had previously been leading by the reigns nudged Elrohir's arm and snorted at the cloth still held in his hand. The Pony whickered and nudged Elrohir harder and nearly succeeded in knocking the lithe elf off his feet and into the stream behind him.
"Elladan, I do believe he is trying to tell us something."
"Yes, that seems apparent. It seems that the pony recognizes this cloth. It must belong to his owner! I too have found something of importance dear brother."
Elladan led his twin away from the stream and stopped near a cluster of small saplings. Elrohir gasped at what he saw. The same orc tracks we were following!
"They came this way. But that would mean…" He trailed off as the gravity of the situation came crashing down upon him.
Elladan's eyes also went wide when he figured it out too.
"…the orcs are going in the same direction that the pony has come from, thus where the rider has fallen."
"Then we are on the right track! Come, we must hurry. I hope that we are not too late."
A few miles north in a small clearing…
Thomias finished packing after they had a small breakfast. Tony still fared no better but appeared no worse. Thomias knew that they needed to get back to the Ranger's base camp as quickly as possible. For there were a few skilled in the art of healing that could aid young Tony.
Rebecca turned from where she had bathed a cool cloth on Tony's forehead to ask him something but froze. Her brandy brown eyes filled with horror and she screamed.
Thomias had a cold feeling of dread but before he could whirl around to combat whatever was behind him, a knife hilt hit him on the back of the head, knocking him out cold.
Rebecca stared in shock as she saw Thomias's body crumple to the ground a few feet from where she stood. She fearfully turned her gaze upwards and met the dark, cruel eyes of the mercenary.
"We meet again! This time, there will be no mistakes." He grinned evilly through crooked, tobacco stained teeth.
Rebecca frantically looked around for a weapon she could use against him. She reached the horse's saddle bags behind her and retrieved a small dagger. It was a fool's errand, she knew. But I have to try. For Tony and Thomias.
She tightened her grip on the blade and stood protectively in front of Tony's prone form on the ground and glared defiantly at the mercenary.
"You will come no further!" She growled through gritted teeth. She was afraid but did not betray her fear to the evil man standing cockily before her. She was going to be strong and bravely, if not dutifully fight back to protect the ones she loved. She would willingly die before going back into the hands of her stepfather.
The mercenary simply laughed a harsh, grating laugh and advanced upon her. She swung the knife and managed to neatly cut the mercenary on his arm.
He didn't even bat an eye when that happened and grinned wickedly when he brought his own blade up against her. He knocked the dagger out of her hand and managed to slice her hand in the process.
She did not cry out but bit her lip in pain. That really hurt. At least it wasn't too deep. It could have been worse…
By the time she regained her footing from the attack she was knocked to the ground by the mercenary, who backhanded her. HARD.
This did bring a small cry and she mentally kicked herself for it. The last thing she wanted was to give the man satisfaction of having hurt her.
The mercenary noticed the rag that bound her leg and grinned in triumph when he remembered the wound he had inflicted upon her at their last meeting. He mercilessly placed a booted foot upon her leg before she could squirm away and pressed hard upon it.
Rebecca had completely forgotten about the gash on her leg until that moment. The agony was enough to entice a heart-wrenching scream. Tears flooded from her eyes and she felt warm blood ooze from beneath the man's boot.
The pressure was nearly too much for her but it wasn't over yet. In fact, her situation went from bad to worse when she heard an audible crack and the current pain she was first experiencing increased a thousand times over.
She continued screaming until she couldn't anymore and wished for darkness to claim her. She whimpered and harshly whispered, begging and pleading for the man to leave her alone.
The mercenary apparently had his fun and lifted his bone crunching boot off of her leg. The drastic change in pressure to her injured leg caused dark spots to dance before her eyes.
The mercenary proceeded in tying her hands up and left her feet untied since he knew she was know unable to run anywhere. He also tied the unconscious Ranger up before turning to the little boy.
His victory in capturing them was short lived when a foul smell hit his nostrils. Guttural shouts were heard before fifteen orcs stampeded into the campsite. They surrounded the three helpless humans before eyeing the un-maimed one.
Their yellow eyes flashed in excitement and they advanced upon the mercenary. The tables had turned and now he was the one about to face torturous pain at the hands of the foul creatures. But the mercenary had his mind set. He wouldn't allow that to happen.
With a cry he rushed forward and knocked one down as he tried to hastily escape. But his escape was thwarted when an orc tripped him causing him to land on his own knife. He howled in pain and gripped the handle of the knife embedded in his leg.
He was prevented from pulling it out of his leg when two orcs grabbed his arms and hauled him to his feet. They tied him to a nearby tree. A few of them pulled out rusty, rough edged knives and thought of ways to dismember the man before them.
Rebecca cowered away in fear when about five of them surrounded both her and Tony. Fortunately, the ill child was unconscious and thus spared the nightmarish horror's towering above them.
The orcs licked their lips and one said in a gravely voice, "Let's eat them while they are still fresh."
They apparently favored Rebecca and the Mercenary for eating first since they were the ones that were the most injured. Not to mention the enticing smell of blood was nearly too much for the starving orcs to bear.
It seems that fate is favoring the orcs this day since we've practically been handed over to them on a silver platter. Rebecca snidely thought as she struggled against the ropes binding her hands.
One of the horrible monsters noticed her struggling and kicked her before bringing his filthy blade close to her neck and threatened her.
"If you keep squirming, I'll gut you like a fish!" Its putrid breath washed across her face and made Rebecca gag in revulsion. It kicked her once more for good measure and joined its comrades that were currently jeering at the helpless man tied to the tree.
Rebecca managed to drag herself over to Tony since the orcs were now preoccupied with their new sport.
She felt his face with her bound hands and gasped at the heat that radiated from him. He needs help! Actually, we ALL need help! She smiled weakly and wished she had the power to heal like the elves.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard orcs screaming and running rampant around the glade. She wondered if the brutes had gone half mad! But she then saw the source of the commotion. Or rather, what was causing the commotion.
She saw arrows flying from the trees and one by one the orcs fell dead. One of the evil beings nearly fell on top of her. Black blood oozed from its head where a green feathered arrow pierced its skull. She wasn't sure if the orcs smelled worse when they were dead or alive.
Before long all of their bodies were scattered along the ground. Rebecca truly believed the orcs were worse than the wolves. Let me face wolves any day! But not this ever again!
Rebecca feared that the horrible images of the creatures would forever be branded in her mind.
Relief overcame her when she saw two fair people jump from a branch in the trees overhead. She held back an audible gasp when she realized what they were.
They are elves! Elves ARE real! Maybe now we can finally reach Rivendell.
The last thing she remembered before falling into darkness was the soothing voices of the two elves as they knelt beside her.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Thanks to my reviewers! Hannon le to: Telboriel, Dreamer51963, Purple Empress, werecanigeteyeslikethose, and Elwing-Evenstar!
Elvish Translations: "Tolo si" – come here
"Hannon Le" – Thank you