Alright, level with me here, I know that I am a little late with the chapter, but I have my reasons. I am very fucking busy. It is near the end of the year and work is getting hectic and home is not much better considering that I work to live there as well.
But still I got this out, a nice little chapter for you to read and love and not annoy me over. So please read and enjoy. Also I posted a Compendium Chapter as well and will post two more tomorrow. So there you go.
Reviews at the bottom, enjoy.
Lords of Warcraft
Chapter 23: I Don't Like Tomatoes
Lonelands
"So their only partially manifested onto the physical plane, that's good, means that harming them is easier." Annie said, walking next to Aragorn, they both were discussing the Nazgul, more specifically their abilities. "I assume that destroying their physical containers will hinder them or at least banish them?"
Annie had been going over details about the Ring Wraiths; apparently they were former kings, warriors and sorcerers that had been corrupted by Sauron during the second age. That was over four thousand years ago, each of them earned the Dark Lords attention and because of that he gave them a gift. Each of them received a ring of power that gave them glory and wealth beyond comprehension, but in turn damned their souls.
Slowly but surely the ring took them over and they were taken hold her, their bodies discarded and their souls forever bound to Sauron's will.
"Yes, destroying their garments would force them back into the Wraith World or the Shadow Realm as you call it." Aragorn stated, he looked around again, looking mostly to the south and east, keeping an eye out for said Wraiths that were likely patrolling the countryside.
They were on the move in the Lone-lands, moving through the barren grasslands towards Rivendel, which was not the best place for them to be. Aragorn was on edge, as much as this place was deserted it was also open, one could see someone move for miles off in the distance. The swamps had provided excellent cover for them, but if the Nazgul were moving here in force then they likely would be scouting a large area and watching the roads.
They were in the open, and if the Ringwraith's were only a few miles from them, they would easily be found.
"Good to know, to bad Varro or Zul'kal aren't here, they would be able to take them out fully." Annie replied, annoyed that she didn't have any Saronite on her, even if she couldn't use the stuff.
What they were dealing with her were spirits, while her magic can repel them and push them back for a time. Killing them was another problem entirely, spirits were near impossible things to put down, Lich's were by far the most dangerous. As long as their physical containers were destroyed they would mostly be harmless, they would simply be banished and wouldn't be able to cause any trouble. But it still left the soul to simply recover from the ordeal and later return.
That is the reason the War against the Lich King was becoming a costly affair, killing the Scourge's commanders was not easily done as they could be resurrected. They made that mistake with Kel'thuzad, and several other Scourge leaders. Since the Scourge was getting fresh bodies daily, restocking their lost soldiers with the freshly slain of the Alliance and Horde, they didn't have to worry about getting in reinforcements.
But now that Saronite was becoming a tool for the Alliance and Horde, they can use it to not only destroy the Scourge, but also kill the souls of their more intelligent leaders. That would scatter the Scourge and leave them effectively leaderless, making their job of waging the war all the more easier.
This would be perfect for the wraiths, if they were physically manifested, even partially, then a Saronite blade would be the perfect took to take one down. But without it they had no chance, but even so the dangers of using it are likely not worth it in the long run. Even exposure to the metal, without even touching it can prove fatal.
"I would call into question how they would accomplish something like that, but knowing that you are far from a simple user of magic, I must ask, what do they have that can kill a Wraith?" Aragorn asked, this woman's world certainly had a much greater abundance of magical influence, as she often spoke of many impossible things.
Floating cities in the sky, that was the home of an entire army of mages and wizards. Another was a mountain that a great tree sat upon and was said to have granted the elves of her world immortality. Then she said that her race were actually not created as flesh and blood, but metal and whirling gears, something he could barely comprehend let alone imagine.
He supposed that she likely had something in her world that could probably hurt or kill a spirit, despite that sounding completely impossible.
"Saronite, a special metal that completely negates magic, and can even prevent someone from using it, but what it is best known for is that it can kill souls as easily as it can a normal man," Annie replied. "It was put to great effect in the war against the Lich King, using it we could cut down his undead minions and commanders, destroying them body and soul and preventing them from being resurrected again later."
Aragorn quirked a brow, he had heard of this Lich King from Annie in their tasks together, and if he had to say anything about it, was that the Lich King was very similar to the Dark Lord. Both commanded a powerful force of darkness, leading their legions for complete dominance over the world and were known for their incredible cruelty. But the only difference is their element, Sauron is one of fire and rage, the Lich King was of ice and cold disregard for life.
"That is a powerful tool, do you have any on you we could use," Aragorn ask, if a weapon like that existed even the dead would fear the living.
"No, as much as it is useful, only Death Knights can use it, Zul'kal is a Shadow Hunter, and has the Saronite tipped arrows stored in a blessed pouch," Annie said. "The metal in dangerous, it can instil madness into those who come into contact with it, people claim that they hear whispers in their minds and sometimes, it can change you physically as well."
Aragorn frowned, it was strange that they had such a potent tool yet it was also something they were unable to use fully. But what he found strange was her saying, that it could change a person in body, he shuddered to think of what it could do to someone if it came in contact with them.
"Where does this metal come from?" The Strider inquired, his interest piqued and wanting to know if more of this magical metal.
"The metal is actually not metal at all, its congealed blood, from a being known as Yogg'saron, one of the Old Gods of ancient Azeroth." Annie said, making Aragorn look at her with a raised eyebrow, ofd all the answers that was certainly not what he was expecting.
"Your world certainly has strange things within it," Aragorn said, looking forward and scanning the horizons again.
"Hey, keeps things interesting," Annie replied with a shrug, smirking at his comment as if it was a compliment.
But despite the smile on her lips she felt a little down, being away from her own world was difficult to deal with. Sure she had spent months in Outland when the Portal opened, but that was different. Then she had the option and power to return home at a moment's notice, but now? Now she had no choice.
It was funny how when the choice is taken out of your hands, things started to get serious and frightening. She just hoped that they could return, she had some knowledge on travel such as this, but she would require a lot of help. Hopefully if she channelled enough energy she could connect to Dalaran and from there the people on the other side could figure out that it was them. But she would need Adria's help; her connection to the Nether was the most crucial part she needed in order to send them back.
She heard something behind her, and with a sharp turned she glared at the one called Pippin.
"You say something!" Annie yelled.
He flinched, that was good, she was picking on him because she hadn't gotten over the fact that he had fallen on top of her and groped her. As much as it was an accident, she could not get over the fact he was right on top of her, and had his hand on her breast. As much as she was willing to give it a passing thought, that damn goofy smile on his face pissed her off so much.
As such she had developed a small hatred of the little man, and found torturing him to be a good stress reliever.
"N-n-no!" Pippin responded, frantically shaking his head and stepping back.
Annie stared at him for several seconds before she turned away, a small smirk on her face.
"Why are you hounding him?" Aragorn asked, as much as Annie was a care free and sociable individual she was quite vindictive when it came to certain people, especially Pippin.
"Bastard smiled when he touched me," Annie replied with a grimace, and Aragorn had to resist rolling his eyes at the statement, although he could understand her discomfort.
"Why is she mad at me, I said I was sorry, what's wrong with that?" Pippin said, not understanding why she is so angry for.
"Because you touched her… where you shouldn't have, and had that big dumb smile on your face when you did it." Sam said, sounding tired and annoyed at the fact that he was having to explain this to him, again.
"It's not my fault! I tripped on a root and fell on her, it could have happened to anyone"
"Yet for some reason I think you were happy it was you," Merry said, although he wasn't being playful when he said it.
"No I wasn't!" Pippin yelled back, and an argument descended between them, all aside for one.
Frodo watched the two people ahead of him, the ranger and the mage, both of them were a mystery to him. The ranger was more than simply a vagabond from a group of archers and trackers; he was something more than that. Despite his status as a ranger, and from what he heard Rangers were quite dangerous. But not this Strider, he seemed quite refined for someone who lived in the wilds. He sang in elvish, and although he did not know the language, the words he could pick up on showed he was speaking of a lost love.
Also the Strider was quite knowledgeable of the Ringwraiths, quite extensive if he could guess, Frodo doubted anyone but Gandalf would know more. But what frightened him a little was the fact he knew of the ring, Frodo's hand went to it instinctively. He was afraid of letting it fall into his hands, the ring was entrusted to him and he would make sure it did not leave his side.
His knowledge also extended to the ring, while he did not say what it truly was, he hinted at it that the ring was well known to him. Something that made him hesitant to trust him, after all he was not the fairest of people he had met. Also the fact he couldn't trust anyone else and that he claims to be there to take them to Rivendel, Frodo was left with no other choice.
It was clear he had to follow the ranger, despite the chance he may try to take the ring. Yet the sinking feeling in his heart told him that he couldn't trust the man, that he was dangerous. Yet it was the woman that caused him more concern.
Often he would see Annie looking at him, her eyes glancing towards him and to where his ring would reside. A scowl would appear on her face, one of concentration and curiosity, as if she wanted to know what the ring was. But he could see she was similar to Gandalf, she was a wizard of some calibre, her staff and the strange glow that came from it was testament to that. But she could use spells that he had never thought possible, able to transport them in the blink on an eye from one point to another. Conjure food and even turn invisible at times.
Also while she didn't know about the ring, speaking of what it could do as well as the Ringwraiths and their connection to it and that strange world he entered. He remembered entering that realm, seeing that great burning eye. When he told them of it, she immediately went on about the realm likely being controlled by Sauron and that he likely is using the place as a hideaway to keep his spirit bound to the world of the living. He did not deny that she sounded as if she knew much of the ring and the wraiths.
It even seemed that she knew more of it than the ranger. It scared him a little, he wondered if she planned on taking the ring from him as well. He did not know why he felt such a thing, but he couldn't give it up, he wouldn't give it up.
"Mr Frodo? Are you alright?" Sam asked, taking the young hobbit out of his revere. "I was asking what you think."
"Think?" Frodo asked, confused, having focused so much on the two ahead of them that he blocked out everything else.
"About those two, the ranger I don't trust, and that woman, she's dangerous," Sam said, looking towards the Strider and Annie, the latter being the most violent of the duo.
"I don't know Sam, but we don't have any other choice but to follow them," Frodo said, before they were motioned to a halt by the Strider, the Hobbits stood awkwardly as the two started to argue with one another.
"No, the high ground is likely where they will search for us, if we go to a site like that we will be cut off from escape and also they will likely have someone watching the place in case we swing by," Annie said, arguing with the ranger.
"Yet these grounds are quite dangerous themselves, they are low and without cover, we would be seen for miles should something glances in our direction," Aragorn replied. "Weathertop offers us a chance to scope out the area and also to see if our ally is there; his aid would be dire in a time like this."
"This is a double edged sword, and you know it, while the mountain top is a good place to hide within and also give a good scope, it is possibly occupied already, we go there and they will see us coming." Annie said, not liking this, she knew enough about ambushes to figure out the best places to put one when you really wanted to catch somebody.
"We have little choice, I need to know what we face, and to see if Gandalf remains or has left us any clues as to where he had gone," Aragorn said, looking off towards where Amon Sul was, he could see the hill just off the horizon. "The Lands to the north I do not know, aside they are flat and easy to see across, the south is better, but the roads are too treacherous to cross without being seen. But we cannot move to Amon Sul from the east, we will go from the north. We will have greater cover from that direction and I will be able to gather information on the area east of the mountain as well of the location of the Riders."
"What if they are there?" Annie asked.
"Then we will face them," Aragorn stated, although it was easy to see the apprehension on his face, facing them was something he did not wish to do.
"If they are there, we won't survive a single confrontation, I have no idea on their capabilities, but if they're anything like Death Knights, we are all dead." Annie said, very serious. If there were eight of them as they were told, even if their leader was not among them, then they were all dead regardless.
If some were warriors and sorcerers, then the fight would be a major struggle, one that would have them all dead before they could even do any damage. Worse was that they have four stragglers that likely wouldn't be able to run fast enough, not like they would either. So protecting them would be a major problem.
"There is little we can do, this mission is more complicated than I last thought, the Wraiths were never thought to be accounted for, neither were these excess passengers." Aragorn said, glancing at Pippin and Marry. "We have no idea where they are, if I can find their locations from the mountain top then we can plan accordingly, and if they are there I can still plan our escape."
"Remember that if we get to close they may be able to sense the ring, if they can it won't matter if they see us or not, they will simply come running." Annie warned him again, understanding his reasons, but that came with great risk.
Who was she kidding, this entire thing was a suicide mission, and the Wraiths were likely scouring the entire area and knew exactly where they were going. They also likely were in groups rather than together. They could have three at Weathertop, waiting to attack while the others were running off scouring the region between there and Rivendel.
"I know, but we have little choice at the moment, if we continue east we enter the vast expanse with no cover and little idea of the area around it, if I can see if anything resides there we may be able to plan our way through," Aragorn said, looking at Annie seriously, he knew this was a gamble, but it was one they had no choice but to take.
"Dammit, I hate it when you're right." Annie said, he was right, knowing where the riders were was the most important thing, if they went in blind they likely would run into them. "You do realize that this likely will result in something bad happening right, that light show three days ago cannot be good."
"I know, but if Gandalf was there, then we can only hope he is safe and that his actions had driven the Wraith's off." Aragorn said, turning and moving to the north, planning on using the few hills near the mountain range as cover while they approach Amon Sul.
"Didn't take you for an optimist," Annie replied, following the ranger.
"I'm not, I simply know when to take risks when not to," Aragorn said, not another word was said between them; instead they remained silent as the worried hobbits followed behind them.
The chances of them being found by the Black Riders adding to their worries, along with the fear of what will happen when they are found.
Rivendel
Elrond sat in his study, his eyes looming over the strange armor and weapons that had been taken from the creature. For the last few days he has spent countless hours looking over these items, more than he normally should. With the threat of invasion on his home and the Ring of Power resurfacing, and now on its way towards his city, his attention should have been focused elsewhere.
He was already gathering his warriors and preparing them for the war; but still he had some time left to prepare, to gather information and call for aid. The Ring was the target of all things evil, all things that serve Sauron, it was no guess that this haven would soon become a target as well. Meaning that others would need to be informed of this, already he has sent messages to Loth'lorien and Gondor to alert them of this crisis, request for aid from the Dwarves of Erabor and their elven cousins of Mirkwood.
His greatest warriors were being prepared, but they would not be enough to end this war, he would need their aid as well. He hoped that those that received his message would arrive in time; he could not fight this war alone. All the races of Middle Earth needed to unite if they hoped to survive.
Despite his growing concerns and worry over this encroaching war and the exodus of his people, something that was within months of happening, he could not draw his mind from something else. That strange being that his two sons had captured, it defied anything he knew that existed within the world, and it took up most of his thoughts. It appeared monstrous and uncivilised from its appearance and the crude words it spoke, but there was more beneath its short furred body than he knew.
It held great fighting prowess and cunning; lasting longer against him than any other warrior had, and even nearly killing both his sons and their hunting party. He could see the intelligence in its eyes; it was more than a beast that acted like a normal humanoid. But still its origins eluded him, and that caused his much anxiety, was this creature a new creation of Sauron. A new warrior made to fight against the free people of middle earth? That was something he didn't know.
"What are you?" Elrond said, looking the arrow in his hand.
Even as he turned the arrow in his hands he felt a wave of anxiety pass over him, as if some part of his mind was telling him to put it down. But another part, was telling him to kill that creature, why he thought of it while holding the arrow, he did not know.
"The prisoner, has he spoken?" Arwen inquired, looking into the cell that houses their captive, standing at attention on either side of the bars were two guards. While eight more were stationed around the vicinity, bows in hand and ready to kill the troll should it attempt to escape.
"No my lady, it had remained quiet and does not eat," One guard said, looking inside to see it had not moved from its place.
Arwen moved forward, looking into the dark stone walled cell, the creature she saw was sitting against the far wall. Its body bear aside from lose leather pants to cover its body, while its torso was bare along with its head and arms. Most of it was concealed in shadow from the dimly lit room, its head bowed and body completely unmoving, aside from the slowly rising of its chest to show it still breathed.
"My lady, please do not move to close," The guard said, warning her not to move to close to the bars, not willing to risk her safety again with this creature.
Arwen spared the guard one glance, before turning back to the creature, it position still against the wall with its head lowered. It remained there for as long as she stared at it, she needed to find out what it was and where it came from. Her father was so occupied with so many different things that he couldn't possibly deal with this creature and question it.
"Who are you?" Arwen demanded, looking at the troll for a moment, but received no reaction from it.
Arwen looked him over and found nothing of note, he simply ignored her. She doubted that violence or torture would work; especially since she did not revel in such things. Yet if she was going to get information from him then she needed to figure out where he came from and who he serves. A name or anything he revealed could be the key she needs to figure out who they may be dealing with.
"Who do you serve?" Arwen asked, looking at him, again she was met with silence.
For several minutes she watched as he remained motionless and quiet, there was no point in this anymore. She wouldn't be able to make him talk; she would need to get someone more effective to question him, maybe one of her brothers. She turned to leave, planning on speaking with her father to see if he was alright. But before she did something caught her eye, his severed hand, the wrist appeared to be healed. He was no longer wearing the bandage over it, but that was no what caught her attention, it was that she could see it on his lap.
But the odd protrusions coming out of the stump, what was that?
It took a moment for her to realize, and to her shock it was then that she noticed that his head may be bowed. But she could easily see he was meditating or in a trance, the troll was actually regenerating its lost hand.
"How did I not notice?" Arwen murmured to herself, having only now realized that the wounds it should have had were all gone, the cuts and arrow holes had healed and were no longer noticeable. "Guards, keep an eye on him, and watch his hand."
"My Lady?"
"His severed hand, I think me may be growing a new one," Arwen said, taking her leave, she would need to speak with her father; this was something he needed to know, even if it may be minor.
Amon Sul
Annie sat down on the ground and let out a pent up breath she had been holding; she couldn't believe that the Riders were not here. It was simply impossible to believe that they would have simply disregarded this place, not even bothering to leave a single rider to watch over it. Maybe whatever happened three days ago really drove them off for good, just as Strider had said.
"Stay here, and keep close to the walls, and keep your cloaks tight, it will be a cold night." Strider said, speaking with the Hobbits quickly before handing them off some short sword.
Annie doubted they would do any good for the hobbits, even with training they were at a severe disadvantage. The Black Riders were likely master swordsman and also practitioners of dark magic, some more power than others. Against eight of them the Hobbits wouldn't stand a chance.
"Come." He said, his command directed to Annie.
Annie nodded and followed him up a small incline to the top of the mountain, moving to the small remains of some form of watch tower situated at the very pinnacle. Annie looked around as did Strider; they likely did not want to be caught unaware, for the next minute they gazed at their surroundings.
Only when they both felt comfortable that the Wraith's were not in the vicinity did they move off to the edge of the ruins and gaze over the Lone Lands. Looking out and seeing miles of flatlands in every direction, even though the sun was setting they still had a spectacular view of the countryside. Despite the splendidness of the view, gazing out at it aimlessly was dangerous, they kept their bodies close to the pillars as they scanned the slowly diming horizon.
"We won't be safe here for long, I suggest you get whatever you wanted and then we move, to the Nether with staying the night," Annie said, remembering that Strider said that the Wraith's grow stronger during the night.
If this place was being used as a camp for them or even a staging ground to attack, then nightfall would be the worst possible time to be here.
"I will let the Hobbits rest for a time before we continue; I will scout out the grounds and check for any paths, I want you to see about creating an escape route in case something happens." Aragorn said, his eyes travelling east as he gazed at the very flat lands, few things he could see that offered cover.
Traversing it would be trouble; they may need to actually see about moving between different areas of cover to pass through it unnoticed.
"Expecting trouble? Or did you only now realize were in the lion's den?" Annie asked, staring at the ranger in a bored manner.
"No, I fear that the Hobbits may have another accident," Strider replied, a small smirk pulling at his lips as he glanced at Annie, who pouted at his crude and annoying joke.
"That is not funny, he groped me and smiled, he is a pervert." Annie retorted quietly.
"Of course, I am sure someone as virtuous as you must maintain your purity from unsavoury individuals," The Strider said, his tone laced with something that most would call sarcasm.
"You have been real lippy lately, I don't like that, you're less fun and more annoying, also it makes it harder to mess with you." Annie said, but wasn't met with a response as the Strider moved down the path and towards the base of the small mountain, likely to scout of the eastern area.
Annie turned and simply gazed off into the distance, letting her mind wander. She just hoped that they would leave soon, staying here is certain to be a death sentence.
Two Hours later
'So…bored!' Annie mentally wailed, leaning against the side of the pillar, using a minor invisibility spell to conceal herself. But even from a hundred leagues away one could see the irritation on her face.
Annie never realised it until now, but sentry duty was a living nightmare, to simply stare out at nothing and wait for something to appear was so boring. How was anyone meant to do it she didn't know, how did Zul'kal, that damn lecherous troll handle doing this sort of mundane work? Looking off into a singular direction simply boggled her mind, how could someone retain their sanity?
In a way Annie could understand her predicament and why she felt so bored, it was because of her occupation. Her entire life was one big adventure, one problem to the next and those problems had more problems mixed up into them. Her time in Dalaran was spent looking over tomes and spells to best counter the Scourge and the Blue Dragonflight, working tirelessly to find ways to defeat them.
She remembered spending days working over the different types of undead that the Scourge employed and their capabilities. She was able to classify over seventeen different varieties of Ghouls alone, three of them were discovered personally by her. That was dedication and commitment. But it also kept her busy.
It was a very hectic schedule she had for the last eight months, fighting and studying were not easy, and especially with the foe she was fighting. It was a wonder how being part of a very stressing job can also be something you cannot go without. Odd how being in a hectic job can pass the time so easily and how going without it is so dull. No wonder Death Knight fight all the time, going without it is likely maddening even without the hunger pains of not fighting.
"I miss Northrend, all those undead there, and me to burn them, it was paradise." Annie said aloud, moaning at her departure from her home world and what it was doing to her. "Burning them to death… the charred meat and metal, I can almost smell it."
As much as she was a frost mage, fire was a speciality for her, something she put to great effect. But still the smell of burning flesh did not smell good, not like the aroma she smelt now. Cooking meat, yeah flesh and that didn't smell like that, it was completely different. And tomatoes as well, yeah flesh didn't smell like that, it didn't smell that good.
"Wait… what do I smell?" Annie thought, looking around confused as she smelt a strange and delicious aroma.
Why did she smell this? She followed after the strange scent, looking for the source of the aroma. She traced it down the mountain face, near where she left the hobbits. As she walked around she found Frodo asleep, covered by his cloak and sounds asleep.
As she looked up she found the other three huddled together, chatting to one another and doing something over a small mound. It was then that she noticed what the source of the strange scent was.
The three hobbits were cooking over a small fire.
They were on the side of the slope, without something to cover the fire.
The slope that faced to the south.
In the dead of night.
Annie stood stock still for several seconds; she couldn't fathom what she was looking at right now and why in the name of the titans they were doing what they were doing right now. It wasn't until one of them noticed her that she became responsive again.
"Oh, hey Annie, want some tomatoes?" Pippin asked, smiling as he offered up the pan to the Gnome, two sizzling tomatoes in the cooking implement.
Annie didn't reply, she just stared, long and hard. Then she started chuckling, a mad look in her eye, as if somehow that little sentence had broken her sanity.
"Why are you laughing?" Samwise asked, confused, only to shout in shock when a blast of ice hit the fire and doused it.
"Why did you do that? You've frozen my tomatoes." Merry asked, sounding angry at her action, but it faltered when they saw the furious look on the Magi's face.
"Are you three complete and utter morons!" Annie yelled, pulling at her own hair as she looked at them as if they were, ironically, mad. "Do you not realise we are running from eight horsemen who likely could see that fire from miles away!"
"Oops," Merry said.
Then a loud shriek filled the air, sending chills down everyone's spines.
"I hate you." Annie said, holding her head, she knew it was too good to be true that those riders were not too far away. "All of you, so damn much." She pointed at Pippin, righteous fury in her eyes. "I hate you the most!"
She looked down to the ground, the moonlight barely illuminating the surrounding fields below. Only the dispersing of the fog showed something was moving towards them, five dark shadows that glided above the ground with unnatural fluidity.
"Up the top now!" Annie yelled, planning on getting them out of there quick, there was no way she was going to fight five of them.
As they ran up Annie felt the strange sensation of these beings press upon her, she felt worry seep into her heart and her mind go frantic over them being present. Even though she knew most of their capabilities, she couldn't hold back the fear she was feeling right now. It would seem that the aura of dread those Wraiths release was quite potent when they needed to be.
"Get up there!" Annie cried out, moving up she brought them to the very top, having them huddle in the very centre of the ruined mountain top.
She glanced around to see if the coast was at least clear, she knew they were close, but she needed to make sure she has enough time to cast the teleport spell in case she was attacked.
"Alright keep together," Annie said, channelling a spell, she needed only a few moments. "I will get us out of here, and then we can hide…"
Before she could finish speaking or her spell it simply halted, her powers dispersing and the arcane energies simply fading from her hands and floating away. Moving towards one of the arches, where it gather into a ball and floated there. But that was only a trick of the eyes, for a wraith stepped forward and out of the darkness; his form shrouded in a black ragged cloak and in his hand was a long black staff.
'This guy has to be one of those sorcerers,' Annie groaned mentally.
"Come here you undead wretch," Annie growled, raising her hand and planning to fight, yet when she caught a glimpse of something in the corner of her eye she was forced to leap away as a blade tried to sever her head.
"Get back!" Annie yelled, commanding the Hobbits to move away while she dealt with this.
Annie moved between the huddled Hobbits, raising her staff and releasing a bolt of arcane energy, it struck the wraith in the chest and sent it stumbling back. Yet it remained on its feet, letting out an irritated hiss as it moved to attack again.
Annie leaped away and tried to keep focused, but found it quite difficult to do even that. Whatever magic these things were using was not natural and it was hard to concentrate while dodging their blades. Every times she tried to summon up a spell to attack, their combined aura seemed to prevent her from finishing it, and worst off that one wraith seemed to be taking her power from her every times she attempted to use her magic.
Even more problematic she didn't have much to work with right now. All Magi draw on the arcane energies around them with their own mana. They channel their mana, which is arcane energy in the body, into a fixed point in the body and let it draw in more energy from the atmosphere. When controlled right the surrounding energies can be moulded into whatever the mage wanted. That is why you don't need a large amount of mana to use powerful spells; you just need the concentration and skill the gather the energy.
Sad part was, there is almost no arcane energy in the surrounding atmosphere, barely a few specs of energy really. And she suspected that the energy around her was actually remnants from whatever this Grey Wizard did here three days ago.
'This is bad, I didn't expect this, why didn't I think of this before?' Annie chastised herself, she should have known that she had no way of using her powers here; she should have been able to sense the arcane energies, or lack thereof.
She ducked down as a blade moved to lop off her head, dodging again when one tried to stab her through the back. She rolled to a crouch and into the path of another sword; with a quick spell she blinked herself to safety. Standing atop a pillar she glared down at the five riders, even when at half strength they still were impossible for her to deal with.
"Get back you devils!"
Annie turned and gasped when she saw the hobbits try and fight against the Wriaths, they wouldn't stand a chance against them. She leapt off to pillar and glided down to the ground, able to release a bolt of fire at the closest wraith. The wraith was hit square in the back and his robes began to burn, he ran around in desperation to quench the flames but with another bolt of arcane energy he was thrown off the side of the mountain.
But Annie took in a deep breath, she was starting to get tired, she didn't have much power left. She had a very small amount of mana in her body, in fact when she was given a test to see it showed she was actually below average. The only reason she was an accomplished mage was because she was smart enough and skilled enough too actually use only the bare amount of mana to use her spells. The worst part was though, with so little reserves and nothing else to use but that, you tend to run dry very fast.
"This isn't looking good." Annie said, before she raised her staff to block a sword strike, she fell to the ground, unable to remain on her feet from the telling blow.
Annie rolled to the side as the blade came down a second time to finish her, she continued to roll and when she looked to see the wraith she raised her palm and fired. A bolt of fire hit the wraith square in the face, or whatever passes for one under that hood. It staggered and swiped at his cloak as it burnt, fighting desperately to put out the flames.
As it ran off, falling off the side of the hilltop, Annie lay there, unable to get up off her back. She felt dead tired, as if all her muscles simply didn't have the energy to operate. Another thing about arcane energy, it practically replaced the body's natural proteins and nutrients to keep a person alive. So if you used it to much you would suffer something similar to dehydration, and she was feeling it right now.
"Damn, can't move, guess I'm dead." Annie growled out, looking up to see one of the Wraiths moving towards Frodo. "Crap, Frodo run!"
Frodo pushed himself as far back as he could, moving as far away from the wraith as he could. But when he hit a collapsed stone pillar behind him, he was trapped between a hard place and three ring wraiths. The lead wraith loomed over him, his hand raised to claim what was his, while in his free hand was a long dagger, ready to kill the hobbit should he resist.
The wraith reached forward, its gloved hand moving towards the Hobbit's neck, reaching for the ring that lay beneath his shirt. Frodo could hear it in his mind, the whispers of the Ring of Power were loud and clear, yet his terror drowned them out as the wraith drew closer.
Frodo reached into his shirt and grasped it, the wraith hastened its attempt to capture its prize. Frodo could feel something pull on the ring, an invisible for that drew it close to the hand of the wraith. But Frodo in a fit of desperation placed it onto his finger, hoping that it will protect him somehow, prevent them from seeing him.
As Frodo entered the strange dark world he saw them, they glowed as if ghosts, and from their appearance he did not doubt they were just that. They appeared corpselike, dried up husks of men who have been long dead. But while their pale and decrepit bodies appeared to be solid husks they moved as if they were alive.
The wraith reached forward, his bony hand moving towards the ring on his finger, unaffected that he had entered the realm. For he realised then that he had only moved himself closer to them, entering the world they live within. He pulled back his hand, denying them their prize, but was met with punishment.
He retracted his hand and put forward the dagger, stabbing it into the Hobbit's shoulder.
Frodo let out a scream of agony as the metal dug into the tender meat of his shoulder, slowly moving deeper to prolong the pain. Frodo was unable to keep his hand from moving of its own accord, too focused on the pain, and slowly the ring drew closer to the wraith.
Before the rider could claim the band of power, he was violently forced back by a wave of fire. Khamul did not expect the little woman to be still capable of fighting; he had hoped that the Undying would have finished her off and stolen what was left of her magic. But it wasn't that short woman that had forced him back; instead he faced a man, one that wielded fire, but not of magical origin.
Aragorn swung his sword forward, pushing the wraith away and giving himself some room to fight. Using the flames from his torch to keep them from attempting to attack, he could not best three of them with swordplay alone. He was glad Annie was able to remove two of them, she did well considering. But now it was up to him to dispose of the remaining three.
Aragorn slashed at the closest wraith, forcing it back, and followed up with his torch, preventing any form of counter attack. With another swing he kept the others at bay. Ducking he avoided a blow from one wraith, before he turned and brushed his torch along the bottom of its robes. Slowly it began to burn and Aragorn now only faced two wraiths, the other fighting to douse its burning cloak.
With a quick stab he forced one of the wraith's back, while the other tried to steer clear of its burning brethren. With a few quick swings he forced it to the edge of the tower, and with a swing of his torch the Wraith leaped away, unwilling to be set alight.
Aragorn turned, to see the final wraith still there, making another attempt at Frodo and the ring. He did not allow that, giving a quick whistle he drew the Wraiths attention. And when it turned he tossed his torch right at it. With superb accuracy the torch struck the wraith right in the face, or the general area where its face would be.
It let out a surprised shriek before it turned and ran off, trying helplessly to douse the flames. Aragorn quickly sheathed his sword and moved over to Annie, finding her sprawled onto her back and panting. Her face was pale and she looked exhausted.
"What happened?" Aragorn asked, referring to her current state.
"No… damn… mana… I… hate… your… world…" Annie breathed out; at least she was still in the right frame of mind.
"It is good you are alright," Aragorn said.
"How… in… the Nether… do… you… use… magic… without… any… arcane…energies?" Annie breathed out, taking in shuddering breaths.
He didn't have an answer for her, and even if he did another call forced him away.
"Strider!" Aragorn was on his feet, moving with purpose towards Frodo. "Help him Strider!"
Aragorn kneeled beside the wounded hobbit, finding that the wound on his shoulder did not appear too deep, yet the pain he was experiencing seemed quite severe. Glancing down he found the cause, a Morgal Blade.
"He has been stabbed by a Morgul Blade," Aragorn said, this was not good, a weapon like that was well beyond his healing abilities. Worse yet the only ones that could help him were days away, and he was very short on time. "He is in need of Elvish medicine."
Aragorn scooped up the wounded hobbit and carried him off, he needed to get to Rivendel quickly. A Morgul Blade would slowly turn the boy into a wraith, something he would not allow. He was meant to protect him and he would make sure that nothing would take him from this world. Never even death itself would claim him as long as he protected them.
Aragorn halted next to the still panting magi, her breathing was starting to level out, but she appeared very tired. Stopping only briefly he turned to the other hobbits, he would need to have them carry her.
"Get Annie to her feet, we need to move, now!" Aragorn commanded. Pippin and Merry went to her side and picked her up, carrying her over their shoulders.
Sam collected her staff and followed after everyone else. They moved down the hill quickly, not willing to waste time while the enemy was close. Even if all of them were driven off one still was unharmed and there were three unaccounted for.
"We're still six days from Rivendel, we'll never make it!" Sam shouted.
"Have faith… you idiot," Annie said, groaning as she tried to remain conscious, but that string of words were too much for her.
"Uhh, I think she's asleep." Pippin said, finding that Annie was no longer awake, her head lowered and her body covered in a cold sweat.
Aragorn looked back for a moment before letting out a curse, she was in worse shape than he thought, and he would need to get her somewhere safe before he could help her. He just hoped that both of them survived until then, or any of them for that matter.
There it is, only a few more chapters to Rivendel.
Reviews:
Sharnoriasian Empire: That is sad to hear, I am sorry that you lost track of the story, that is what happens sadly when there are long update intervals. Sorry to see you go. Also against sorry to hear that you lost your story with NightIncarnate, it would have been great to see it come into play. Both of you are great writers.
Mbh040: Glad you like it, and I can say that the next few chapters will be interesting to say the least.
Bandgsecurtiyaw: Glad you like it my friend.
Leapinglemur: Glad you liked it. Really, Paladins can do that to their enemies, I always wondered where all those stone statues came from on the Warcraft website. Now I know.
FractiousDay: I did a little research to see and based on what I found Generals are not actually mentioned in Lord of the Rings. As far as I know. While it does say that, the rank is not shown anywhere else as far as I know, and also I do not know if that is an official title. As he is the Captain of the White Tower and in different countries ranks can often hold different prominence and prestige to others.
Also Mairne likely would need to fight for control over the elements, and fighting against a powerful user such as Agandaur would not be easy. Even if he did it Agandaur likely would still be able to control the storm to force Beleram away. After all Thrall used all his strength to hold back the wave made by Jaina, while she was able to still use her magic unhindered. Despite she was using an object to control the wave.
Guest #1: Glad you're happy, also Zul'kal will be making an appearance in a latter chapter, he is a prisoner but he will be a main for that chapter.
: To each his own my friend, not all love anime and at times I am the same. But still we all tread where our heart take us. But I will not abandon my first born so easily, despite how hard a time he is giving me. This story has great potential and after playing Shadows of Mordor I am all the more driven to see this story completed.
Ultima-owner: That it is, but still the Hobbits always want more.
Fantasywind: As much as I value your opinions I have to tell you that I am not as well versed in the lore of Middle Earth as you. And despite that I would like to make a compromise, if I were to send you drafts of each chapter beforehand would you be willing to look it over and correct anything you see. Give me notes, I am a perfectionist at heart and seeing something wrong in my works is something I dread, especially since I didn't see it. So if you are willing I would love for you to be my lore checker.
Shinkicker: Sadly at the time of this story's start that gear was the most currently available, I simply chose it for aesthetic reasons. I actually don't mind the armor, I find it awesome. But still too each his own.
There you all go and good night.