Chapter 14
Glorfindel crouched against an outcrop of rocks as he struggled to discern tracks in the shadows. The hard packed soil and darkness made it difficult for Elven eyes to see which way the orcs had fled. Not that it would have mattered, he thought to himself. For over an hour he had followed the tracks in the valley, finding they often doubled back or circled the same location many times. The orcs were likely confused, lost, and trying to hide from the Elves that prowled the valley.
The Balrog Slayer had come across many hunting parties in the woods, and he was just one of many that were now trying to determine if these footsteps indicated where they had gone. Several hooded Elves were just a few yards before him, searching the undergrowth for any signs while more were on the ridge above him and in the trees.
Glorfindel touched his fingertips to the earth, feeling for any depressions his eyes could not see. He crept along the base of the ravine, his fingertips rose and fell along what he assumed were footstep indentations til he hit undergrowth. He saw them more clearly in the softer ground and spied snapped branches along their path.
He followed it for several feet, making sure it wasn't another dead end, keeping low to the ground. He fought his way through shrubbery and dense thickets til he came upon a small clearing that showed obvious signs the orcs had come this direction.
A smile broke out on his face as he shouted, "I found it!"
"It's about time that you did," a mellow voice said directly behind him, one that made Glorfindel nearly jump out of his skin.
"How long have you been there?" Glorfindel turned his blue gaze to the dark Elf lingering in the shadow of a great elm, his silver eyes seemed to glow in the darkness.
"Long enough," Erestor replied as he took several steps closer to the Vanya. Glorfindel stood and swiped away the twigs and leaves that had become attached to him. "The Princess Ereiniel sent me to find you."
"I knew that the moment I saw you," Glorfindel replied as he adjusted his crown of flowers. "I hope my absence didn't worry her too much, but I think I know better."
"Lord Elrond arrived the moment I left," Erestor replied, choosing not to remark on the ridiculous crown Glorfindel wore upon his head. "He can sometimes reassure her, but I have no doubts that until she sees you Lady Ereiniel will be beside herself with worry."
It was Glorfindel's own thought, but he did not want to abandon the search for the orcs now that he had found their trail. He could kill them quickly if he found them, but it bothered him that he would be the cause of needless concern. While he knew that she would fret until she heard some news of him, she would still continue to do her duty.
Though Ereiniel struggled with anxiety, which Glorfindel readily recognized since he had seen many suffer the same infliction following the Dagor Nírnaeth Arnoediad, he knew she wouldn't break easily. Especially not overnight. She would continue to lead, fight, and defend as she had always done. He had long ago realized that her profound need to protect would overcome any obstacle, internal or external. It was one of the reasons he loved her so.
"Since you have now found me Lord Erestor, might I suggest we now turn our attentions to finding these orcs," Glorfindel said. "I do not wish my prolonged absence to cause my lovely Meldanya further distress, we must find them quickly now."
Erestor rolled his eyes, but turned his attention to the tracks before them.
"These orcs are lost within the valley, that much is certain," Erestor said, his eyes fixed upon the ground. "They have been trying to avoid detection and their path has been consistent with avoiding the hunting parties combing the forest."
"The only thing that concerns me is which way they have gone and where are they now," Glorfindel said as he fixed himself beside the advisor.
"They'll make themselves known shortly, of that I have no doubt," Erestor said, discontent with the Vanya's close proximity. He started circling the clearing in a slow, observant manner. "You should pay more attention to your surroundings; you'd be able to see that there is something wrong with these orcs."
"Oh?" Glorfindel's brow rose. He followed Erestor's path and kept his gaze fixed upon the ground. The footsteps here were more spread out; unlike the single line they had followed thus far. Curiously, there was a black substance that sprayed the ground. "What is the meaning of this then?"
"You can never figure out things for yourself can you?" Erestor sighed and kicked away the brush underneath a dense thicket.
Glorfindel startled when Erestor uncovered the corpse of a small green orc. Its severed head and arm lay beside it, and black blood pooled around its arm and neck. On its back was a worn leather pack, from which spilled pouches of dried herbs, small filthy knives, and strips of crude bandages.
"It's an orc healer," Erestor explained as Glorfindel knelt to examine it. "Even within orc society medics are held to some esteem, it isn't often they are killed by their own kind."
"So what did this orc do that was so severe that they killed him?" Glorfindel said as his eyes roamed over the corpse, searching for a clue.
"I think the right question is, what was going through the mind of the orc that killed him?" Erestor replied, his eyes seemed to pierce the body of the orc and find what it was that Glorfindel searched for.
"You believe it to be bloodlust then?" Glorfindel's head snapped around as Erestor stared at him with a cool indifference.
"Perhaps," he said. "We will not know until we find them."
"Or their corpses," Glorfindel replied as he stood. "Wouldn't it be grand if this problem fixed itself?"
"There will still be the last orc to deal with and it may be difficult to kill," Erestor said. "The sooner we find it the better."
"Then let us not wait any longer," Glorfindel said, then gave a flourishing bow. "After you then, I shall follow your lead, and be your guard!"
"Must you be so dramatic?" Erestor said, rolling his eyes. He nonetheless started into the forest, seemingly knowing where to go and Glorfindel followed. "The world isn't your stage."
"It will be, should tragedy befall our beloved King ―Eru forbid― and I am made Ereiniel's Queen," Glorfindel said with the utmost sincerity.
"You're an idiot," came the tart reply.
"Do you not think the White Hall in the King's palace would make an excellent theater?"
"I refuse to answer your foolish questions."
