Chapter 19: Wild Path

As they drew further away from Lothlórien, the land on either side of the river began to wither. Thick trees were interspersed more frequently with dry brown earth on the left, and flat green grass on the right.

They made camp beneath a low cliff that rose above the bank. Toven climbed to the top to take a look around. There had been no sign of strangers (friendly or otherwise) that day, but Aragorn had spotted a large eagle circling in the sky. The sight had made them all uneasy.

Just beyond the cliff was a rocky stretch of bone-white boulders. Toven watched them for a moment, his shadow a long dark stripe as the sun burned low behind him, then turned to make his way back to camp.

As he took the narrow path down the cliff, a pair of hushed, strained voices caught his ear.

"…there is courage also, and honor to be found in men. But you will not see that," Boromir was saying.

A slight scraping noise sounded, and Toven tensed.

"You are afraid!" Boromir hissed. "All your life, you have hidden in the shadows, scared of who you are, of what you are."

Toven stepped out from behind a tall, dry bush. Aragorn and Boromir were standing a little ways off from camp. Boromir was clutching Aragorn's arm, though they both glanced at him at the sound of his footsteps.

He frowned, eyes flickering between the two. The muscles of Boromir's face were taut with distress, while Aragorn had masked his own expression with cool indifference.

"Everything all right?" Toven asked lowly.

Aragorn pulled his arm from Boromir's grasp and leaned closer. "I would not lead the Ring within a hundred leagues of your city."

Boromir scowled at him for a moment, then turned and made his way back to camp.

Toven watched him go, his neck prickling with the same unease that had overtaken him on Caradhras. He stepped closer to Aragorn, who straightened his tunic. "What was that about?"

"Boromir is of the mind that we should make for the White City," he said shortly.

That clearly hadn't been all that they'd been discussing, but Toven let it slide for the moment. "You disagree?"

"I would not put us on a more dangerous path solely for the opportunity of refuge." Aragorn turned to look at the shimmering water nearby. "For now, the river is our surest path to Mordor."

Toven hummed in agreement, crossing his arms and fidgeting with the fabric of his sleeve. They needed to focus on destroying the Ring. But if more enemies found them, as the goblins had in Moria, and they were forced to flee to Minas Tirith…

"Do you think we can trust him?" he asked, lowering his voice to nearly a whisper though there was no one nearby.

Aragorn looked at him sharply, as if he hadn't expected the question. "Boromir is an honorable man," he said, a hint of rebuke in his tone.

Shame flickered through him for a moment. What he was doing was dangerous—sowing seeds of doubt between the members of their company, sharing his suspicions with their leader. But the thought had taken hold of him now, and his doubts were eating at him. Whatever Quinn had said earlier, he couldn't just sit and wait for something to go wrong.

Gathering his courage, he told Aragorn about the warning Galadriel had given him. "I don't want to pass judgement on anyone here, but if there is something we need to worry about…"

"You are right to be vigilant," Aragorn said. "But do not let it consume you." He stepped closer, gripping Toven's shoulder. "That is the dark power of the Ring. It seeks to sow discord and mistrust between those around it, and eventually drive them mad."

He swallowed, a shiver passing through him. Had that cursed thing been affecting him without him even noticing?

"You can still fight it," Aragorn said, his gaze softening somewhat. "You have a strong will, Toven. I hope you will tell me—or Quinn—if you continue to suffer from these doubts."

"I will," he said hoarsely, feeling both shaken and reassured. Aragorn turned to head back to camp, but Toven stopped him with another question. "Are you afraid?"

Aragorn looked back at him, one brow raising slightly. "It would be folly not to be."

Toven searched his face, unsure what it was that he actually feared. They would face orcs and other dangers as they drew closer to Mordor. But it had sounded as if Boromir was accusing Aragorn of avoiding something more personal.

It had been months since they'd last spoken of it, but he hadn't changed his mind. King or not, Aragorn was a leader worth following, and he would trust in his judgement, wherever their path led them.

Quinn was lying on her back, her heel propped up on one knee, tapping her foot to a melody she was trying to remember the name of. Everyone else was asleep except for Legolas, who was keeping watch.

The stars seemed to be covered in a haze of some sort, their brightness dimmed and their light unmoving in the dark sky. It had been a while since she'd taken a moment to really look at them. They had been her first comfort when she'd first come to this world, surrounded by people but feeling incredibly lonely.

She lifted her head and looked at the sleeping figures around her. She was glad to be traveling with friends, despite the stress it caused her.

Maybe she'd go quietly bother Legolas, just to help pass the time. Quinn sat up and froze as an arrow sunk into the ground right where her head had been.

Eyes wide, she looked up at the top of the cliff. Several stout figures were standing there, their silhouettes barely visible against the night sky, with arrows nocked and aimed at their camp.

Legolas was already moving, firing two arrows in quick succession that struck both of their targets and sent them tumbling over the edge of the cliff.

"Orcs!" she shouted, her sword drawn before the bodies had even hit the ground. "Everyone up!"

The rest of the camp stirred, some quicker than others. Aragorn and Toven leapt to their feet, reaching for their weapons. Boromir and Gimli followed them a moment later and took up protective stances in front of the hobbits.

The orcs unleashed a volley of arrows. Grateful the moon was out tonight, Quinn swung her sword in a wide arc. A beam of light caught the majority of the arrows, vaporizing them midair. One of them struck Frodo in the chest, but it bounced off harmlessly, and she remembered this time that he had the mithril shirt to protect him.

Quinn sprinted for the steep path leading up the cliff, Toven and Gimli on her heels. Aragorn and Legolas covered them with their bows while Boromir rounded up the hobbits and ushered them towards the boats.

Something between bloodlust and rage was surging through her veins as Quinn leapt forward and drove her sword into the heart of the first orc. She kicked it off her blade, and it fell over the edge of the cliff.

"Du bekar!" Gimli brought his axe down onto the knee of the next orc, its bones cracking beneath he force of the blow. Toven echoed his cry and cut down a third orc.

No way are we losing anyone to these fuckers. Quinn cut off an orc's arm at the elbow before it could strike her with its sword.

These orcs were different—most of them had a white handprint smeared with some chalky substance across their armor, and a few had the mark emblazoned on their faces. She decided to dwell on it later, and cut down another orc.

"To the boats!" Aragorn called up to them. "Quickly!"

Quinn looked around. It was too dark to see very clearly, but they were definitely outnumbered. There must have been at least fifty orcs swarming up the rocks toward them.

An arrow sank into an orc's ribcage before it could strike Gimli. He finished it off with his axe, then turned and started toward the path.

"Quinn, we have to go," Toven said.

"I'm right behind you, I promise," she said. There were still a few archers in the pack, and she wanted to make sure the others had time to push off before receiving any fire.

Toven hesitated for a second, then turned and ran down the path.

Quinn swung a beam of light into the horde. One of the orcs came up behind her, and she grabbed its arm and pulled it forward and over her shoulders. It landed with a grunt, and she brought her boot down onto its neck with as much force as she could muster. She sent one more light beam into the crowd to give herself some distance, sheathed her sword, then leapt off the cliff. She managed to turn her landing into a roll (a move that had taken several broken bones to perfect) and sprinted for the boats.

Aragorn and Boromir had already pushed off and were taking the hobbits further down the river. Legolas was still firing at the orcs, while Gimli paddled away from the bank. Quinn ran into her boat with full force, shoving it into the water, and Toven helped her in as the current swept them downstream.

They turned and watched the orcs, who stood at the top of the cliff, staring down at them with glinting eyes.

"They won't be able to keep up with us on foot," Toven said.

"Then we should be fine as long as we don't stop." Quinn turned and looked him over. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I'm fine. Just glad you were able to wake us up in time."

"Yeah." Quinn watched the cliff as it faded out of sight, then remembered herself and grabbed one of the paddles to keep their boat steady. "How the hell did they find us?"

"It might have been dumb luck." Toven grabbed his own paddle. "Have you ever seen that symbol before? The white hand?"

Quinn shook her head. Most orcs didn't wear any symbols at all, though she'd seen a few near Mordor with a red eye that she guessed was supposed to represent Sauron. She didn't know who else would be hiring orcs except—

Saruman.

He'd sent orcs after them, and he'd found them. She'd hoped he would have lost their trail after Moria and Lothlórien, but it seemed she was wrong.

Some of the white paint had smeared onto her hand, and Quinn rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger. Something was pricking the edge of her mind, but she couldn't grasp it just yet.

"Quinn?"

She looked up at Toven. "We're missing something, here. That couldn't have been a coincidence that they just found us like that."

Toven's eyes flickered to the boats ahead of them. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know yet. Give me some time to mull it over."

They continued on down the river even as the sky began to lighten. They'd seen no sign of the orcs, but Aragorn urged them to continue on, to put as much distance between them and the pack as they could.

Quinn was partly waiting for Belekur to say, "I told you so." They'd been right in that she couldn't keep ignoring Saruman. He was going to keep harassing them right up until they reached Mordor, and they couldn't afford to keep running from him. Someone could have died during that attack.

But how did he keep finding them? As far as she knew, he didn't have the ability to look just anywhere—that was why he kept sending out spies, like the orcs and the crebain and…and her.

Dread filled her like molten lead. She looked down at the paint again and frantically wiped it off her hand.

She didn't have anything solid to back it up, but if what she was thinking was true…she'd majorly fucked up.

They didn't stop again until the afternoon, and even then Aragorn said they would be leaving once it got dark. They chose a flat stretch of the bank to make their camp, on the opposite bank from where they'd been attacked. It was exposed enough that they would be able to see anyone trying to sneak up on them.

Once they landed, Quinn gestured for Toven to follow her a little ways off from the others.

"What is it?" he asked once they were out of earshot.

Quinn paced for a moment, feeling uneasy and guilty. It was the same panic that had enveloped her when Thorin's Company had learned she was lying about her identity, but now it was worse—she was supposed to know better, dammit.

Finally, she steeled herself and faced him. "I think it's my fault Saruman's been tracking us."

Toven narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Look, way back when I first got here, I made a deal with him to help him look for the Ring."

He continued to study her. "And why would you do that?"

"Well, to be fair, it was Belekur's idea, and I didn't really know what was going on back then." She spread her hands. "It took me a while to realize the guy was kinda crazy, and after that, I thought it would be smarter to just keep tabs on him, to make sure he didn't do anything dangerous."

"And we can see how well that went."

Quinn nodded, knowing she didn't have the right to defend herself. "Seeing as I've been working with him for years, I think he might have put some sort of spell on me or…or something. That's how that bird was able to find me, and how he was able to attack us on Caradhras, and how those orcs found us just now. Somehow he's been able to know exactly where I am," she gestured to the camp, "and the rest of you, too."

Toven's eyes widened as he took in the full magnitude of what she was saying. "Do you have any proof?"

"No. But I don't see any other possibility." She crossed her arms. "If we still had a wizard with us, maybe he would be able to check, or we could try to fix it, but…"

"You're going to leave," he said quietly.

Quinn forced herself to look up at him. His jaw was set in resignation, his eyes searching hers as if trying to discern another answer. Leaving the Fellowship, leaving him, felt more like a betrayal than anything. But she was terrified of what would happen if she stayed.

"Galadriel showed me a vision," she said, feeling chills crawl up her arms at the memory. "I…I saw us fighting orcs, completely outnumbered, and you were…down."

His brow tensed slightly. "So you're planning to…what? Lead them away?"

She nodded. "I'll be able to stay ahead of them. I'll get them off your trail, give you all time to slip away."

"And what then?"

"After that?" Quinn clenched her jaw, seeing Belekur's glimmering figure in the corner of her vision. It was time she stopped putting off something she should have done a long time ago. "I'm gonna go kill a certain wizard who's been bugging the shit out of me for the past few months."

Toven's frown deepened. "He'll kill you first."

"I won't let him. If there's one thing I know for sure about wizards now, it's that they can't fly. I'm gonna throw him off the top of his tower, and I'm gonna make sure he can't hurt any of you ever again."

He fell silent for a long moment. She half-thought he was going to try and talk her out of it, but he only said, "Are you going to tell the others?"

"Yeah, I probably should." She tried not to wince. "Wouldn't look great if I just up and left. I just wanted to talk to you about it first."

"I appreciate that." His eyes flickered back to her face for a moment. "You should do it soon."

"I guess now's as good a time as any." Quinn flexed her fingers, trying to calm her nerves, and the two of them walked back towards camp. The sinking feeling in her gut increased, but she tried to relax as much as possible. "Okay, guys. I got some good news and some bad news."

They all turned to look at her.

"Uh…" She shifted uncomfortably. "Good news or bad news first?"

"Let's hear the good news," Pippin said. His tone was light as ever, but she could see on his face that he sensed something was wrong.

"Well, I think I know how to get the orcs off our trail." Quinn paused for a moment and gathered her courage. She would rather have them all angry with her if it meant they survived the next part of their journey. "Bad news is I'm probably going to have to leave. If I'm right and these orcs are working for Saruman, then he's probably tracking me."

Everyone stiffened at that. The hobbits exchanged worried glances, and Gimli paused in sharpening his axe.

"How can this be?" Legolas asked.

"I agreed to work with him, before I realized he was…evil. He might have put a spell on me in that time." She was finding it harder to make eye contact with the others.

"How long have you known?" Aragorn asked. His expression was mostly unreadable, but she thought she detected some disappointment in the lines of his face, and it stung.

"I mean, I just put it together a few hours ago. I wouldn't keep something like this from you guys if I thought it would put you in danger." The silence of the others was starting to get to her. She spread her hands. "Look, I had good intentions, but as you can probably tell, I'm not very smart."

"Aye, we know that," Gimli said, though there was no accusation in his tone. "So, what are you planning to do now?"

"I'll draw the orcs away." She put a hand on her sword. "And then I'm gonna go kill Saruman."

"And how do we know you won't betray us once you reach the wizard?" Boromir asked, his expression dark.

"Because she risked her life to save us from a Balrog, you idiot," Toven said, glaring at him. "Don't ever accuse her of being a traitor."

Boromir looked away, a deep furrow between his brows.

"Seriously, I would never willingly do something to hurt any of you." Quinn looked around at her friends, shame burning hot in her chest. She caught Frodo's eye. "I'm sorry. I wish I could go with you."

Frodo looked exhausted. Worry was written on his face, but it had been there for a long time, before the orcs had attacked them. He didn't smile, but his tone was gentle as he said, "It's all right. I know you mean well, Quinn."

She nodded, feeling a fraction of her discomfort dissipate. "I guess I'd better get going. Good luck to you all."

Merry and Pippin waved goodbye, and Gimli raised his axe in farewell. Aragorn gave her a slight nod, and she guessed he understood what she was feeling at the moment.

Quinn turned and walked out of the camp, heading west. Toven followed her to the low ridge a little ways away, and the two of them paused at its summit.

"Look out for them, will you?" Quinn turned to him. "And make sure Merry and Pippin don't eat all the lembas."

A ghost of a smile flickered across his face. "I will. And what are you going to do once you're finished with Saruman?"

She shrugged. "I guess I'll try and find you guys again. If all else fails, we can just meet up at Mount Doom."

Unless they managed to destroy the Ring before she saw them again. If that was the case then…this would be the last time she ever saw them.

She could see in his eyes that Toven was thinking along the same lines. "You'd better be quick."

"Yeah." She reached out and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tight against her chest. "I'm so proud of you. You're gonna kick ass."

Toven returned the embrace. "Just be careful. Please."

"I will." She pulled back and cupped his cheek in her hand. His eyes were shining with unshed tears. "I love you. I'll see you later."

"I love you," he said quietly.

Quinn held onto him for a moment longer, then pulled back, turned away, and began running westward.