Author's note: Oops! I guess when i copied this story in i pasted in two copies, which resulted in a chapter that started at the top again about halfway through. I apologize for the inconvenience to all those who had to read through the redundancy. Well, hope you like this edited version better. Enjoy!
Two weeks after she had made her promise of coming, Leah was sent to the armory where she was fitted with a thin mail coat (there were none that would fit her tall and thin shape) and some travel clothes. She was given a pale green vest-like tunic that left most of her arm free to allow for better movement with the coat underneath, and lightly armored leggings that matched with a similar color. But most impressive in her eyes was the sword that was bestowed upon her. Free of all wood or rounded edges, the metal sang joyfully as she pulled it out of the sheath, the blade inscribed with ceremonious designs.
It was her own to keep through battle and war, a great leap from the simple training swords that she had grown to know. She held it with confidence, a strange power emanating from it as she swung it left to right. Landrín was the one who had requested it to be forged for her, his experience with such things resulting in a blade that fit her perfectly, like a stunning extension of her being. He now stood before her, watching as she twirled it experimentally in each hand. "It's beautiful," she said as she saw the metal glint in the light as it spun about, a metallic hum resulting as she did two sharper twirls.
"It is a traditional sword that my kind has used for thousands of years, made to last through even the most trying of battles without crack or break. It will serve you well in all that you do," he said as she slipped the sword into her sheath, her ears making note of the smooth sound it made as it slid along the material. She thanked him for it and he waved his hand as if to physically brush off the subject.
Not long after Legolas and Gimli came into the room talking to each as they entered. They greeted Leah and she did the same, her mail shimmering slightly as she bowed. They then told her of where they were going to hold the meeting with the rest of the scout group, and then they too were fitted with mail as she left to find the place that they had spoken of. She found it with little trouble having been more accustomed the distinct pattern of hallways and rooms of the House, arriving a few minutes before Legolas and Gimli.
She found the room and pushed open the double doors to reveal a large open balcony, the river flowing almost soundlessly below. The noon sun shone on the hair of thirty or so elves that sat in a circle facing each other. Leah was appointed a seat next to a majestic looking elf who greeted her in his own tongue. She did the same with the simple 'good afternoon' that she had been taught. Impressed, the elf returned his gaze to the door where Legolas, Gimli, and Landrín entered, all of them clad in a new coat of mail like the rest of the elves sitting around the circle.
Before the end of ten minutes one last elf arrived: Elrond, with his tall and authoritative stature walked through the door, his feet not even making a sound as he walked over to the chair in the center of the circle. All conversation ceased as he placed each hand of the arms of the chair and addressed the rest of the company. "It has been a great battle up until this point to stay aloft in this war," he started, his voice carrying easily to the ears of those around him. "And now a final blow is said to draw near. Some of our scouts returned from their missions with news of a great force growing to the east, and it is your duty by embarking on this quest to find what challenges we face, and from there we will set a course of action," he said, saying much of what Legolas had. He continued to speak, to encourage the group of men (and Leah) to go forth and do what is necessary to help save Middle Earth from the dangers that threaten to shatter all peace. There was over an hour of this, along with the plans of what was to be done for the different circumstances that may be found.
Strategies were made, and the thirty men were divided into three groups of ten: one to follow the river, one to cover the planes, and one to scout out the area of the forest. Leah's group, which consisted of Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Landrín, Faêrendrien and his brother, and two other elves that Leah did not recognize, were assigned the task of following along the river which often served as a route that that orcs would travel along to ferry supplies or travel. Soon after the groups were established they dispersed to ready themselves for travel. Food, weapons, blankets, and other such things were placed upon a sturdy horse, one per group to carry the burden of the supplies.
About an hour after, the horses were brought out for the scouts and they mounted them, many of the elves choosing to go without a saddle and simply spoke a few words in their ears. However, Leah still lacked the ability to properly ride a horse for the focus had been on training rather than riding, and so she rode again with Aragorn. It was slightly odd, being in such close contact she thought, but such feelings quickly dissolved as they started out into the forest, the groups wishing luck and speedy return to each other. They parted ways about a mile along the trail, the horses going at a slight trot as Leah's group reached the river.
They followed it for the better portion of the day, stopping only twice to let the horses rest and to have some food. According to Faêrendrien they would reach the outer skirts of the forest within another day, a pang of excitement and apprehension growing in Leah's heart when she heard this. What she feared the most was being out in the open.
By night fall they had made camp and started a fire that blazed large enough for the ten of them to huddle together and gain warmth in the chilling night of spring. After a quick meal of small game and some dried fruit that had been brought along, the sleeping mats were dealt out and thin blankets distributed among them. Leah was surprised at the warmth that the blankets provided, and she wrapped it around her shoulders and laid her head down on the mat, feeling self conscious being the only female in the group. She closed her eyes and almost immediately fell asleep, her dreams twisting reality into the complex thoughts of her mind.
She woke up, however, only a few hours after, and she offered to take the next shift for watch. Gimli, who was the one that was chosen for first lookout, thanked her and stumbled off to his mat in an almost drunken fashion from lack of sleep. Leah then replaced him and sat upon a stump and listened to the sounds of the night: nocturnal animals chasing one another in the darkness, bushes and leaves whispering to one another when the light wind blew through them. Her eyes strained against the darkness as she sat alert to anything that might emerge from the shadows, jumping when a bush would rustle when disturbed by a bird or other animal.
She stayed like this until she was relieved an hour later by one of the elves she did not know (his name later being found to be Pulrandrion). Leah returned to her mat and tried to find sleep in the midst of the darkness, her ears picking up every movement of the branches above and the distant murmur of the river. It was deep into the night that she found it, her tired mind finally beginning to rest, fitful and shallow it was, but rest all the same.
At the break of dawn they all awoke and prepared to leave, a small breakfast served with a few potatoes that were boiled and made into soup. Within half an hour they were off again, their horses springing forward happily at the chance to move onwards. This process repeated itself for another two days, until they broke loose of the forest and entered the long, rocky planes. The grass here grew tall and yellow-green, almost like straw in the dim morning light. All the while there were no signs of orcs.
"How far do we intend to go?" Leah asked Aragorn on the third day as she sat in front of him, staring at the moss-clad and crumbling rock walls that had marked the path that they were on. It seemed almost too peaceful for any disturbance to have passed along those trails in all of history. She looked ahead and saw the deep blue sky above them giving clue to little more than good weather.
"The plan was to go on for a fort night or until we reach a trail or tracks that would suggest that anything had crossed our paths within the past few weeks," he answered, just as Legolas, who had been in the front cried out.
"Yrch!" he called back in his own tongue, and a sudden excitement billowed forth from the riders as they hurried to see for themselves. Beyond the rock wall which had drawn a sudden end and opened up to the planes, a small dot on the horizon could be seen by Leah, Aragorn, and Gimli, but to the others they saw a large group of orcs, several hundreds in number, traveling with great speed towards them. Had they been spotted? A great surge of adrenalin began to pulse through her veins as she saw this, and a few of the horses reared as they caught the foul scent that had been carried by the wind.
"Everyone to the right! Let us obscure ourselves in the boulders at hand and wait for them to pass!" cried Landrín as the dot grew in size. No one questioned this and they group soon led their horses into the random but large arrangement of boulders not fifty meters from the trajectory that the orcs followed. The land dipped into a shallow bowl beneath them as they watched the orcs pass by a few minutes after they had hid themselves. It took what seemed to be a lifetime for them to pass, and the horses began to step backwards or shake their heads nervously.
Most of the elves were able to calm their horses with only a few whispered words, but Gimli's horse reared at the sight of the hideous creatures and let out a shrill cry long before the orcs had even stopped passing by. This caused a great confusion and the band of orcs turned their course and approached the boulders with great speed, all of them snarling and shouting in their harsh language. It was then that the scouts sprang from the boulders, their horses making a sharp turn to the left to try and escape the rain of arrows that began to fall upon them. They only stopped when they reached a steep drop off, cornered by the orcs that had fanned out to net their prey.
The small group of ten backed as far against the cliff as they could, not wanting to fall to the rocky grass many feet below and not wishing to face the much out numbering of orcs. For a moment they ran along the edge of the cliff, their horses moving swiftly, almost reaching the point of where they could escape the line of enemies and run away. But as they approached the gap close to the edge, Pulrandrion's horse received a shot to the side. It let out a sharp cry as it crashed to the ground, sending Pulrandrion crashing forcefully into the ground. He rolled, clutching his arm that he had landed on, and stood up, his eyes clouded with pain. Leah saw no more as she turned to the orcs that were now only ten meters away.
"Dismount and let the horses go! There is no use for them now, and let us fight on foot!" she heard the voice of Aragorn say and she obeyed and quickly slipped off the horse and let it run off, the orcs paying no heed to them as they permeated their line and ran off into the land. Leah pulled out her sword and ushered the sense of strength to her limbs and eyes as the first blow landed upon her blade as she blocked it and sprang to the side, spinning quickly to avoid another strike.
In the corner of her eyes she saw the vague outlines of the others fighting off the plethora of orcs that seemed to keep coming. Soon she did not even see that as all clouded around her, the orcs beginning to be illuminated as she jumped into the almost solid line of opponents, each bearing a long knife or other weapon in their hands. But these were not the ones she had seen in the forest before: their arms and legs were larger with bulging muscles and their height was much taller, easily reaching over six and seven feet.
She struck down one orc within five minutes, but she was too busy blocking the attacks of fifty different orcs that that was all she accomplished. Legolas, who was not far from her, let out a constant stream of arrows, leaving a few orcs falling upon the ground. But he soon converted to using his short sword when they advanced too close for such a weapon. All the while the orcs were shouting at each other with barely intelligible words. Between the clangs of metal and the joyful growls she caught the words 'Bring to Saruman' and 'the youngest one' jumbled among words of their own tongues.
Leah took down another and blocked three more as she encountered Legolas, and they fought side by side for a while, hours passing with the orcs not even phased by the dozen or so now missing from their number. It was then that Leah heard Legolas yell "Behind you!" and she tuned to see a sharp mace heading for her. She ducked and swept her leg out before her and brought her attacker to the ground. But the orc quickly grabbed her leg when she stood up again and pulled it out from under her, sending her crashing to the ground. The air was knocked out of her lungs, the packed dirt crushing her ribs and she coughed and gasped to refill her lungs.
She rolled over as a strike from the mace, dirt flying into her eyes as it dug into the ground, just missing her head. She stood up and heard an orc yell something to the one with the mace, something to the effect of 'must take alive!' Before she could react, a sharp blow struck her head from behind, the flat of a sword contacting with great force that thrust her forward into the ground. In the distance, the cry of Legolas sounded in her ears, though faint as she began to lose consciousness again. She struggled to get up, and the orc that stuck her falling from an arrow that had sprung from Legolas's bow.
That was all she remembered.