Pirates in the Fellowship Chapter 21
Will yawned and shifted around as he began to wake. He opened his eyes slowly when he realized that he was leaning against someone and carefully turned around. He blinked to see Jack sitting behind him, one of the pirate's arms wrapped around Will's waist, holding him in place on his horse. "Jack? Why am I up here with you?" he asked around another yawn.
"Because you nearly fell off your horse as you slept last night." Jack replied, as he loosened his grip on the blacksmith. Now that Will was awake he wouldn't need Jack to keep him balanced in the saddle.
Will nodded and looked around, the sky a mixture of beautiful blues, grays, and pinks as the sun began to rise. "Well, I think I am awake enough to ride on my own." Will said with a smile.
Jack pulled his roan stallion to a stop and Will swung down and made his way over to his mare. Will stopped for a moment to rub behind her ears, and then jumped up into her saddle.
"Have you seen any signs of Strider?" he asked Jack as they urged their horses into a gallop to catch up to Eomer's riders. The two horses responded eagerly, and they quickly closed the small distance that had opened between them and Eomer's men.
Jack shook his head. "Not yet, mate. And if we don't by nightfall we'll go back and search for Merry and Pippin."
Will nodded in agreement and looked around again, praying to see his friends coming up over one of the hills as they mixed into the group of the Riders of Rohan.
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Legolas came to a sudden stop and turned around, looking at the rising sun as his companions ran ahead of him. The prince shivered as he remembered an old saying among his people. He whispered it under his breath, as it was not a good omen. "A red sun rises. Blood has been spilt this night." He took one last look at the rising sun before turning and rejoining his companions, who had paused as well while Aragorn reexamined the ground, looking for tracks. The prince came up to stand next to where the ranger knelt on the ground, studying the orcs' path for signs of how far ahead they were.
Aragorn's head came up suddenly when a shrill whinny broke the silence of the early morning. Getting to his feet he looked off in the direction that it had come from, and then glanced at Legolas to confirm what he saw. The elf nodded in agreement, and Aragorn signaled his companions to follow him as he hid behind some boulders.
They had barely ducked out of sight when the large group of horsemen appeared over the hill. They stayed hidden as the group of horsemen passed by, banners of Rohan flying above their heads. Aragorn shifted around slightly and looked at his companions before standing and emerging from behind the boulders. He decided to call them back, hoping that they might have information about the Uruk-Hai they were hunting. "Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?" The words were barely out of his mouth when the group began to make a quick turn at a signal from the leader.
"Let me talk to them, Aragorn." Boromir said, coming up behind the ranger as Legolas and Gimli also stood and came to stand behind their friend.
Aragorn looked back at Legolas, and then shifted his gaze back to the quickly approaching group of riders. "As you wish, Boromir." he replied. Aragorn knew that they would get through this much more quickly with Boromir talking to these men, since it was almost a guarantee that they would have heard of him, whereas they would regard Aragorn with suspicion and the hunters would lose more time in tracking down their friends by the time he won their trust.
Jack and Will had been near the front of the group, telling Eomer of their plan to part ways with his company at nightfall when they heard Aragorn calling to the group. Will tried to tell Eomer that it was the rest of their companions, but he was drowned out by the noises created by the riders as they turned and made their way back towards the ranger.
"You two stay in the back and let my men and I handle this!" Eomer called out to Jack and Will when they tried to follow him and push through the group towards their friends. The riders parted to let their commander through, but closed ranks again before Jack and Will could squeeze past, keeping the four members of the Fellowship enclosed in a circle.
Jack rolled his eyes and dismounted. "Come on." he said, waving for Will to follow him as they tried to squeeze their way through and past the other riders on foot.
Eomer made his way through his men, and was about to speak when he was greeted by a familiar face. He blinked as he realized that he was looking down at the son of Denethor.
"Hail Eomer!" Boromir called when he recognized the King's nephew. The two had met when Boromir had first been heading to Rivendell, and they had instantly gotten along. Eomer smiled and waved for his men, who had their spears aimed at the Gondorian captain and his companions, to stand down. The Third Marshal of the Riddermark handed his own spear and reins off to one of his men and dismounted, making his way over to Boromir.
"Long has it been since we last saw each other Boromir! Tell me, did you find the answers you were seeking?" Eomer asked, but was taken aback when he took notice to Legolas.
"I have and much more. Eomer, I need your help in an urgent matter." Boromir said, not noticing Eomer's reaction to Legolas. But Aragorn had grown up with Lord Elrond, and had become adept at reading faces and expressions, and had learned to observe without appearing to, so he had noticed the man's reaction to his friend, and wondered if that meant that Eomer had seen Jack and Will. He barely kept himself from fidgeting nervously, but that would not present a good front.
"We are tracking a party of Uruk-Hai; they have taken four of our friends captive." Boromir continued.
"Two rangers and two hobbits." Eomer interrupted.
Boromir cast a quick glance at Gimli and Aragorn, who were both by now beginning to look very impatient.
"You have seen them?! Where, when?" Legolas asked, taking a step forward, his sapphire eyes reflecting all their hopes. Eomer nodded, but he was beginning to be very suspicious of this group Boromir was traveling with.
By this time, Jack and Will had managed to work their way to the front of the group, and Gimli was the first one to spot them. The dwarf leaned on his axe and studied the two men, who stood smiling at their companions. "We've run all this way on foot, and all this time you two have been riding around on horses!" Gimli said with mock annoyance in his voice, his lips pulling into a small smile.
"Actually, I believe that Elendur is the only one who has not done any running at all, Master Dwarf." Will said as he and Jack walked up to their friends. Despite being glad to see them, he was still careful to use the ranger names that they had given Eomer.
Aragorn couldn't help but laugh in relief as he drew first Jack, then Will into a hug. He didn't know what he would do without these two. However, in spite of his joy, he picked up on Will's subtle hint to not use their real names.
"Don't ever do this to us again!" Legolas mock-scolded as he also gave Will and Jack a hug. He, like Aragorn, had become so close to the two outlanders that he couldn't imagine life without them.
Jack frowned and placed his hands on his hips. "We didn't exactly plan on getting captured, mate."
Aragorn was watching Boromir carefully, wanting to see how the other man would react to the safe return of their friends. To his surprise, Boromir didn't react at all. He seemed to be completely emotionless. But then Aragorn caught a glimpse of the Gondorian's eyes, and realized that this was not the case at all.
Boromir had no idea what to say to the two men as the guilt from what he had done to Will washed over him again. And then there was Jack. He didn't even know where to begin, how to thank the pirate for what he had done. Boromir lowered his eyes, suddenly finding the ground a very interesting thing to study. He mentally kicked himself for the way he was acting, but he had never been a very demonstrative man. Will had become one of his closest friends, and Jack had nearly died for him, and he couldn't even express how happy and relieved he was to see them alive and back with them.
Boromir finally looked back up from the ground and was about to say something when Aragorn beat him to it.
"Where are Merry and Pippin?" he asked Will and Jack, who in turn looked to Eomer.
Eomer shifted uncomfortably as all eyes turned to him for an explanation. "We slaughtered the Uruks during the night. The only two who were left alive were Elendur and Ciryon. We piled the carcasses and burned them." he pointed back the way that they had come, where the pyre was still smoking in the distance.
"Dead?" questioned Gimli in disbelief. Legolas looked down and laid a comforting hand on the dwarf's shoulder in shared grief. Aragorn felt the joy that he had known at Will and Jack's safe return turn bittersweet at the thought that the two cheerful hobbits were dead. He turned to Will and Jack, who averted their eyes from him.
"I am sorry." Eomer said, looking back up at Aragorn. "I don't believe you ever told me your names." he finished lamely, his gaze shifting from Aragorn and passing between Gimli and Legolas.
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Gloin; and Legolas of the Woodland Realm." Aragorn answered, frowning. "We are friends of Rohan, and of Théoden, your King." he added, when he saw that Eomer was eyeing them suspiciously, his voice holding a definite annoyed tone, which was only intensified from his grief over Merry and Pippin.
Boromir narrowed his eyes at Eomer. "You can trust my companions, Eomer. Do you really think that I would travel with servants of the Enemy?" he asked, his own voice sounding a little offended that Eomer would even consider such a thing.
The younger man shook his head. "No, I apologize. But know that Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe. Not even his own kin." he added while removing his helmet.
"What do you mean, mate?" Jack asked curiously.
"Saruman has poisoned the mind of the King and claimed Lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan, and for that, we are banished." Eomer said sadly. He looked between the six men standing in front of them, and suddenly felt an odd desire to help them. Turning he whistled. "Hasufel! Arod! Authon!" At the command, three more horses moved up to stand near Eomer.
"May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters." he said as he handed the reins off to Legolas. He looked between the company in front of him once again, with the strange desire that this was not the last time he would see these men, elf, and dwarf. "Farewell."
Eomer turned and placed his helmet on his head, mounting his stallion smoothly, and turning back to Aragorn. "Look for your friends," he glanced sadly at Will and Jack, "but do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands." He straightened and took his spear from the rider who held it. "We ride north!" he yelled, spurring his horse into a gallop. His men followed close behind, leaving the Fellowship standing there, with five horses, as Jack's stallion and Will's mare had also remained.
There was silence for a few moments, and then Aragorn looked at Jack questioningly, with a trace of hope in his eyes. The pirate met Aragorn's gaze for only a moment, before he looked away, closing his mouth on the words that he had been about to speak.
"We told them to hide in the woods near where the battle took place, but Eomer insisted that there was no way they would have made it past his men. We didn't even get to look for them." Will finally said.
Aragorn felt hope begin to rise in him again as he took Hasufel's reins from Legolas. He swung up into the chestnut's saddle. "Then we shall look for them now." He tried to sound encouraging, and offered a smile to his companions, as Jack and Will mounted their horses, while Boromir swung into the saddle of his horse, which actually looked like a larger version of Bill the pony.
Arod, the white stallion that Legolas claimed, seemed very happy to have an elf riding him. Legolas whispered soothingly to him, and then jumped onto the stallion's back, calming him with a touch. The elf prince reached down and lifted Gimli up onto the horse, settling the dwarf behind him. "Hang on tight, Master Dwarf." Legolas said, flashing the dwarf a brilliant smile, before he nudged Arod forward after Aragorn and Hasufel. The ranger had already started, heading for the place where Jack and Will had been held captive, not that long ago.
As the six of them rode closer to the forest, Boromir brought his stallion alongside Jack. "How are you Jack?"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Ah, so you can talk, mate." he replied sarcastically. Needless to say, he and Will had been hurt by the way he had ignored them earlier. "Tell me, are you always ignorant to people that save your life?"
Boromir lowered his gaze from Jack's cool stare. "Jack, I am sorry for the way I reacted, I just didn't know what to say." the warrior admitted as he kept his gaze away from the pirate next to him.
"How about, 'thank you', mate?" Jack replied to Boromir, who still wouldn't look at him.
Boromir looked up, smiling slightly. 'Thank you, my friend."
"You are welcome. Now, was that so hard?" Jack teased. Boromir would have laughed at the comment, if he hadn't caught sight of the smoking pyre just ahead of them, an Uruk head on a pole greeting them.
Aragorn was the first to dismount, grimacing as his eyes scanned the smoking bodies of the Orcs and Uruks. The others made similar faces as they also got down. All of them stared at the pyre for a few moments, afraid to begin to sift through it, afraid of what they might find.
Gimli finally stepped forward and used his axe to shift through the pile, looking for any signs of Merry and Pippin. As he did, Aragorn bent down and retrieved an arrow from the ground and began twirling it through his fingers nervously. He had a bad habit of fidgeting among the people that he was most comfortable with, but around strangers he was able to force it aside and present a calm, composed front.
Jack felt his stomach twist into knots as Gimli gasped, stopping in his search and turning towards them, holding a bit of burned leather in his hand. "It's one of their wee belts."
Will moved towards Gimli and took the belt from the dwarf, studying it. "This one was Merry's." he said as he threw the belt back into the pile.
Aragorn frowned. "How can you tell?"
In response, the blacksmith reached into his boot and pulled out Merry's dagger. "That sheath didn't have a dagger in it. I took Merry's from him, in case we saw an opportunity to escape."
Legolas bowed his head and placed his hand over his heart. "Hiro hyn hidh ab'wanneth. {May they find peace after death}"
Jack turned and moved a few paces away from the others as Legolas spoke, understanding every word. Jack shook his head, swiping tears from his eyes, a few choice curse words spilling out of his mouth.
Aragorn could feel his emotions boiling over as he watched Boromir try to comfort Will. Without really thinking about what he was doing, he lashed out, kicking a helmet lying on the ground by his foot and screaming as loudly as he could while sinking to his knees.
"We failed them." Gimli said sadly, glancing at Legolas before lowering his gaze to the ground.
Will shook his head. "You four did not fail anyone." he replied, looking over at Jack, who closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face.
"Me and Will did." Jack finished, speaking the words that Will was unable to.
Legolas turned to the pirate. "You and Will did no such thing, Jack. This was not your fault, nor was it Will's, mellon nin." he stressed, hoping Jack would listen.
"We were right here with them, and yet they were still killed!" Will cried, the distress and helplessness he had felt when he and Jack were captured returning with a vengeance.
"No they weren't!"
Everyone's attention turned to Aragorn, for it was he that had shouted. While the others had been talking, he had noticed hobbit tracks next to him and had followed them, finding Jack's own footprints among them. He was now a fairly good distance from the others, closer to the borders of the forest and had noticed a few feet back was where Jack had left the hobbits to go in search of Will.
The others rushed over to Aragorn's side. "What did you find?" Boromir asked the ranger, unable to hide his hopes that Aragorn was right and that Merry and Pippin had indeed made it past Eomer's men.
"They were followed, but not by one of the riders." Aragorn replied as he followed the tracks further, stopping a few feet from the woods. He looked at Will and Jack, smiling broadly. "They did make it into the forest. Fangorn Forest." he finished, his gaze shifting over to the others, the smile falling from his face.
Jack frowned as he noticed that he and Will's companions were all looking warily at the woods before them, but not saying anything as to why. Jack took a second look at the trees and he thought he understood, his own face reflecting his uncertainty as he realized how dark, haunting, and dense the forest actually looked.
Aragorn began to move towards the trees when Legolas grabbed him by the arm. "We should give Will and Jack back their weapons, Estel. Who knows what we may run into in there?"
Aragorn nodded in agreement. "Of course." Turning to Jack, he handed the pirate his bow and the arrows that Galadriel had given him, which Legolas had retrieved before they left the camp. Jack slid the arrows into his quiver, which was still fastened over his back. Legolas then handed him back his sword and much to the pirate's delight, his pistol and the supplies he needed for the weapon.
Jack quickly fastened his sword around his waist, and slipped his extra bullets and gunpowder into his quiver, slipping his pistol into the small of his back, under his shirt and tunic.
"What happened to your sword?" Will asked Boromir, as the other man handed him back his sword.
Boromir shrugged. "It was broken at Amon Hen. Legolas carries the pieces in his quiver." he said, nodding his head in the prince's direction.
Will immediately handed his own sword back to Boromir. "Keep it for the time being. Otherwise you have no weapon."
"If I keep this then you have no weapon." Boromir countered.
Will smiled and looked down at Gimli. "Master Dwarf, may I borrow one of your throwing axes, and the short sword you carry?"
Gimli handed the sword, which belonged to Pippin, and one of the requested axes to the blacksmith. "I want that back in one piece, lad." he said, referring to the axe.
Will laughed. "I swear you will get it back in one piece, Gimli." Will looked back at Boromir. "Keep that for now my friend." Boromir smiled in thanks and slipped the sword into his belt at Will's insistence.
Once everyone's weapons situation was sorted out, Aragorn moved into the woods, following the tracks. Inside the forest, the air was very heavy, and there was an odd twilight quality to the light trickling in from the canopy.
As they came upon a small stream, Gimli noticed a dark substance staining the leaves of a bush. He stepped closer and placed his fingers in the substance, bringing it to his lips to sniff, and then tasting it. Almost immediately he spat it back out. "Orc blood!" he hissed as the others began to jump the stream, still following Aragorn.
The ranger knelt down at a large depression in the ground, studying it. There was another identical depression a few yards ahead. "These are strange tracks." he frowned, having never seen any tracks like this.
"The air is close in here." Gimli said, looking around uneasily.
"This forest is old. Very old. Full of memories…and anger." Legolas observed with his eyes half closed as he listened to the trees. Jack and Will froze as groans began to come from the trees.
"They were doing this last night too." Jack said, looking around uncertainly as Gimli raised his axe.
"The trees are speaking to each other." Legolas replied, turning to face Jack and Will, who were remembering Merry's tale of the living trees.
Aragorn took notice to Gimli's raised axe and whispered to the dwarf. "Gimli! Lower your axe!"
As Gimli obeyed the ranger and lowered his axe the groans coming from the trees died down.
Legolas fixed the dwarf with a serious look. "They have feelings, my friend."
"The trees have feelings?" Boromir questioned half in disbelief.
Legolas nodded and looked around again. "The elves began it. Waking up the trees, teaching them to speak."
"Talking trees." Gimli huffed. "What do trees have to talk about? Besides the consistency of squirrel droppings." The dwarf looked around as they continued to search for Merry and Pippin.
Legolas froze as his keen senses detected something. He only hesitated for a moment before picking up the pace and passing Aragorn. "Aragorn, nad nâ ennas! {Something is out there!}"
He paused and Aragorn ran up behind him. "Man cenich? {What do you see?}"
"The white wizard approaches." the prince whispered back, nodding over his shoulder. Will and Jack both froze. It seemed as if they were doomed to face the wizard.
Aragorn also tensed, not at all happy with this new predicament. "Do not let him speak. He will put a spell on us." he whispered as he wrapped a hand around the hilt of his sword, pulling it out a little. Boromir and Will did the same, while Jack and Legolas strung arrows onto their bows and Gimli readied one of his throwing axes. 'We must be quick." Aragorn finished.
With a yell they all turned around, attacking, as blinding white light flooded the area around them. Gimli threw one of his axes and Legolas and Jack both fired their arrows, all of which the wizard deflected with his staff. Will, Boromir, and Aragorn were all forced to drop their swords as the blades became red-hot in their grasps, shielding their eyes with their arms.
"You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits." the wizard said, his voice unrecognizable.
"Where are they?!" Aragorn demanded, taking a step forward.
"They passed this way, the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?" the figure replied.
Aragorn hesitated for only a minute, then shook his head. "Who are you? Show yourself!" he yelled.
The wizard suddenly stepped forward out of the light, revealing himself to them.