The End (SYOC) – See Author's Note at end of Chapter
Chapter 2:
The group made their way out of Minas Tirith the same night, not ending too far out of the city before they were confronted with the darkness of night. Stars glittered in the sky above them, and their only shield was a forest that laid away from the city. Alassien, injured from the fight with the shapeshifter, led the group towards it. The forest wasn't very big, for they could nearly see the end of it with even Remme's sight.
They laid there for the night, all tucked in. They were surely an odd sight to any passerby, two Elves, wearing just nightclothes, a Man, tucked in with one of the Elves' cloaks, and a Dwarf, already bundled in furs, laying off to the side of the group. A small fire burned amid their camp.
The night was luckily uneventful for our small troop, or at least for most of them. The tallest Elf among them, Alassien, could feel the bitter pang of a broken arm while he attempted to sleep. And when he did manage to doze off, he was sucked into a dream not his making.
Visions blurred through his mind, of forests alight, ground splitting between Gondor and Rohan. Visions of Men, Elves, and Dwarves dying, of…Orcs. Hordes of them, looking as though they'd come right from the books of history that had popped up since the War of the Ring. Orcs were rare, and when noticed, were pursued heavily throughout the lands. When he came to, his arm was throbbing even harder than before. However, he was surprised when he felt someone touch it.
Remme, the man whore from Gondor, was kneeling beside him, the arm in his lap. Different vials of liquids and balms were set beside his feet, the skin bared to the young man. His hands were resting above the broken bone, applying a salve.
"You know the healing arts?" Alassien was surprised, unable to keep it out of his voice.
Remme gave him a grin. "Yeah." He said sheepishly, grabbing some cloth.
The pain was beginning to subside in Alassien's arm, the balm that Remme had applied had worked wonders. He regarded the man for a moment, wondering just where he'd came from originally. He seemed as talented as some of the healers in Lorien. "Where'd you learn how to do that?" Alassien asked.
Remme didn't reply for a moment as he bound the arm in the spare bit of cloth that he'd found in his bag. His warm eyes found Alassien's. "Some things better left unsaid, don't you think?" Without another word, the man got up and wandered to look at trees in the forest.
The elf very much disagreed with his assessment. Maybe he'd trained with Elves at some point, Alassien thought, or even some Elven-trained Men. Either way, he was an asset to the group if he could heal as well as that. Though, Alassien wondered, was it a coincidence that they met him?
When the Man was off by himself, Alassien walked to his Elven counterpart and shook him awake. Blinking, Turin sat up. His neat blonde hair hadn't been disturbed by sleep, staying as straight and perfect as it had been before. "Your arm." Turin said immediately, having noticed he shook him with the formerly injured one.
"Remme fixed it," Alassien said.
Bemusement flickered through Turin's face, and settled into a look of confusion. "How? He's a prostitute from Minas Tirith, how would he know how to do that?"
"I'm not sure," Alassien bit his lip, thinking.
"I'm not sure about a lot of things," Turin admitted as he got up, stretching. The sun had begun to rise in the distance, providing them with a bit of morning light.
"Guys?" Remme's voice came from a distance away. "Help?"
When Alassien and Turin scrambled over to see what the matter was, they were both surprised. A fierce-eyed she-Elf stood with an arrow nocked straight at Remme's head. She had even paler blonde hair than Turin had, as if she'd been out in the sun. Her sun-kissed skin confirmed that, tanner than most Elves. She wasn't quite as dark as Alassien but was much more than Turin. Bright blue eyes were focused on the two Elves that had approached.
"You know this man?" She demanded, looking at the two of them.
"Yes," Alassien replied in a measured tone. "He's with us. What's your name?" He said lightly.
"Rialle," She lowered her bow. "I've been tracking a shapeshifter here to Minas Tirith from the plains of Rohan. He got out of my reach and seemed to nearly flee for the city. Have you seen him?"
"Seen him?" Turin was aghast. "He's dead now."
"Dead!" Rialle was surprised, resting her bow on the ground and leaning on it. "Who killed him? Was it you?"
"It was him," Alassien gestured to Remme.
"Him?" Rialle raised an eyebrow.
"Not entirely," Khumen had woken up and wandered over. "Made him incapacitated, sure. It was Alassien cutting his head off that probably finished the job."
"A dwarf too?" Rialle marveled. "What are you doing in this forest, some sort of strange ritual? What would you need two Elves, a Dwarf, and a Man for?"
Khumen and Alassien's eyes met. Khumen shook his head resolutely, and they seemed to argue through their eyes. Turin simply sighed and took a seat on a large rock that happened to be sitting nearby. He ran a hand through his silky blonde hair, working out a leaf that had worked its way into his hair. Remme, freed from the she-Elf's grasp, took a seat beside Turin. The elf nervously shifted a bit to his right, remembering the incident from the day before. Remme's warm laugh echoed through the forest.
"I was also following a group of Orcs that seemed to be near him," Rialle said, interrupting Khumen and Alassien's war of thoughts. "Have you seen them?"
The sound of pounding against the ground seemed to answer their question. Khumen let out a string of colorful curses, his stubby finger pointing at Alassien as he grabbed his axe from off the ground. "Why didn't you lead with that?" Khumen yelled at Rialle.
She was confused. "The shapeshifter was more important."
They formed a defensive circle with Remme at its core, as he was the most inexperienced fighter. He was armed with but two daggers, pressed into his hands by the dwarf. Alassien and Khumen were on either side of him, Alassien's sword drawn and Khumen wielding two axes. Meanwhile, Rialle and Turin had scurried up two trees to get a better advantage from above. They simply waited.
The Orcs didn't make them wait long. A group, probably thirty strong, crested over the hill to their right within a minute. They were banging their armor, teeth bared at the seemingly small group of warriors at the bottom of it.
"Why didn't we grab the high ground?" Khumen snarled.
"And run straight into them as they emerged? I don't think so," Alassien replied coolly. "Get behind me, Remme." He thrust the man behind him.
They had come up a different side than they had thought, Remme now behind Alassien and Khumen. He stayed closer to the Elf, more similar in height than with the shorter dwarf. The first rank of Orcs began to descend the hill, weapons drawn and making good time. At that moment, a spray of arrows unleashed from the trees, Rialle and Turin having stocked their bows with three and four arrows each. Only a few Orcs went down, their thick armor making some of the arrows snap on impact.
Alassien spun as soon as they got within range, his sword making a beautiful arc and slicing the throats of two Orcs that had the misfortune of being the first to get near the Elf. Khumen sprang into action after that, ducking beneath Alassien's attack, and slamming his axe into the chest of another. Another volley of arrows was launched, sinking into Orcs at the back end of the group.
Remme watched with a fascinated expression as Alassien and Khumen expertly dispatched Orc after Orc, sending them crashing down the hill towards him with limbs and heads severed. Once they were all dead or incapacitated, the two went back to him. Turin leapt out of the tree, letting out a whoop of delight as he hit the ground on both feet, sticking the landing. Rialle simply rolled her eyes as she climbed back down the tree.
"Would you like to join us?" Alassien asked Rialle, brushing his auburn hair behind his ear. "We could always use another sharpshooter in our midst."
"I would be honored." Rialle replied, giving them her first grin. Remme chuckled a bit at that.
Alassien once again led the group out of the forest, striding ahead with Rialle as they launched into a conversation on their pasts. Turin was enjoying the wind brushing through his hair as he ran more than was probably necessary. That left the dwarf, Khumen, alongside Remme as they walked into northern Gondor.
"When did this all begin?" Remme asked Khumen curiously, knowing the three of them were together before they had even reached him. "How do you know Alassien and Turin?"
"Ah, kid," Khumen said as he walked beside Remme. "You surely don't want our entire origin story, do ya?"
Remme simply shrugged, carrying a pack on his shoulders, the two knives in sheaths on his belt. "I mean, what else are we doing as he walk all this way? Not much. You can tell me, I just want to know where you all are from."
"Well," Khumen began, his gruff voice beginning to tell the tale. "Truth be told, I don't know much of Alassien's background. I know he's a pretty powerful Elf and all that. He was the one that sought me out. I was in the Blue Mountains with some Dwarves up there, scavenging off the land, doing as we wished. Back when Thorin retook the Lonely Mountain, some of us stayed in the Blue Mountains with what we had. That's where I'm from, the Blue Mountains."
"Oh." Remme replied, running a hand through his curly, dark hair. "I may have passed by there once."
"Sure," Khumen said good-naturedly as they walked side-by-side. "But, anyway, one morning, we all wake up and there's this tall, red-haired Elf standing in the middle of our camp. As soon as he spots me, he takes me out and we're alone, and he asks me to join this journey to try and find the Silmarils that will somehow defeat this Melkor guy, who's been dead for thousands of years, but is somehow coming back again. It was confusing, but hell, I didn't have anything else going on, so I said sure, why not, I'll come."
"Uh huh," Remme clucked his tongue lightly. "Family? Friends? Just left that all behind? And where did Turin come in?"
"Getting there," Khumen muttered impatiently. "Alassien must've made quite the journey, because I know he's from Lorien, which isn't actually absurdly far from here. He journeyed all the way to the Blue Mountains alone, on foot. From there, he and I went to Bree, spent a night or two resting there, then made our way across the Misty Mountains. I never questioned what he was doing, where we were going, none of it. It would be wise if you didn't either. We made it to the Elvenking's Halls in Greenwood, or what used to be Mirkwood."
"What was Turin's job there?" Remme asked curiously.
"You're not very patient, little one," Khumen grumbled, despite being significantly shorter than the man. "He was a guard of the Elvenking's daughter, one of the best too. Alassien spoke to the King, then to his daughter, and Turin was allowed to come with us. From there, we ventured south, tracking the steps of this shapeshifter, followed him all the way to Dale, and then tracked you to Minas Tirith."
"You skipped a lot," Remme noted. "But we'll get to that at a different time, I suppose."
"What about you?" Khumen asked him. "Seems as though you've been everywhere too, and you're but a whore. Mind telling me anything about that?"
Remme let out a laugh and jogged ahead of the dwarf, supplanting Rialle to walk beside Alassien. The she-Elf chased after Turin, who was joyfully rolling down hills and doing full-body somersaults down them. "Slow down!" Rialle grinned as she caught up to the younger Elf.
"You did well with a bow," Rialle noted as he brushed grass off of his pants, standing up beside her.
Turin gave her a bright smile. "Thank you."
Rialle grinned when she noticed he didn't return the compliment. "I could use a bit of work, couldn't I?"
Turin sheepishly nodded a bit. "Yeah. Some of your arrows simply bounced off harmlessly. There were some good shots," He added when he noticed he had been a bit blunt.
"Not as many as yours," Rialle replied with a grin, sliding her arm around his waist. "You did wonderfully."
His cheeks were pink, a color that Rialle found suited the young Elf quite well. She smiled brightly, having noticed earlier when he had tried to scoot away from Remme. "My," Rialle smirked and stroked his abdomen. "You don't seem like someone that has that much muscle underneath there."
Turin actually shivered, and Rialle let out a laugh, unhanding him and letting him go back to running about the grassy plain that lied ahead of them. The group walked farther away from each other, Turin sprinting ahead, Alassien walking alone after that, his crimson robes billowing in the wind, then Remme with his sparkle in his eye only getting brighter after walking near Alassien. Rialle was after him, keeping her distance from the man, and Khumen brought up the rear. They walked like that for days, stopping and sleeping only when either Remme or Khumen got too tired to go on.
One night, it had begun to rain. It pelted them from all angles, and they knew they'd need somewhere dry to stay the night so they would be able to dry their clothes and belongings. Turin was on ahead of them again, looking for a cave or a small village they could stay in. "Here!" His voice boomed ahead of them, pointing at a small cave that was just barely poking out of the ground.
They climbed down into the now-muddy cave. Khumen carried larger rocks to try and keep the water from coming in too far into the cave. Meanwhile, Alassien worked on starting a fire in one of the dry areas, where the mud was just dirt. Rialle bent down to help him and let out a joyful chuckle when she was the one to succeed.
The dim light illuminated the damp cave. There was little room to maneuver, and it seemed that they were already at the back of it. Remme hung a spare bit of wire from one end of the cave to the other, tucking it against rocks so it would stay.
"So…" Turin said awkwardly, knowing they'd need to get rid of most of their clothing to let it dry.
Remme simply raised an eyebrow and stared the young Elf in the eyes as he began to take off his clothes. Turin blushed and looked away, unable to keep eye contact. None of the rest of them made any noises, Remme dressed in just his trousers as he bent down by the fire.
"Now you," Rialle said jokingly as she jabbed Turin in the side with the hilt of her knife.
Turin thought she was serious, stammering as he undid his robe and took off his undershirt. Rialle grinned when she saw the pale skin, Turin slim and slightly muscular. He laid his clothes on the wire. Alassien had laid his cloak down on the floor so someone could sleep on it, having nearly an infinite number of underclothes on.
Khumen didn't get completely undressed, wearing a thin undershirt and trousers, but it still seemed as though he had the most clothes on the wire. They all watched as water flooded down from their clothes, turning the dirt into mud underneath the wire.
"Not much room," Rialle said, she herself in simple pants and a shirt, swaddled in her own cloak on the ground.
"No," Alassien agreed, having kept on a thin shirt for himself as well. Remme was atop Alassien's cloak, looking adorable as he curled up into a ball.
"There's room for one more," Remme's doe-like eyes met Turin's, Khumen's and Alassien's in turn.
Turin turned and sat down by himself, huddled against the wall of the cave. Khumen snorted and took a seat beside the young Elf. Alassien sighed and laid down beside the man, feeling him brush up against himself. They all began to doze off from there, having more or less refreshing nights. By the time the last of them had awoken, Alassien had doused the fire, dressed himself, and set everyone's clothes out in the morning sun to dry even faster.
"On the road we go," Remme muttered deliriously, bundled up in Alassien's cloak.
A/N: That was admittedly more of a filler chapter than anything, but you got to see Rialle, who was submitted by ShadowWolf223, thank you for her! Thank you to theStormHunter for Thrael, a prince of Erebor. That brings our total to 3 Elves, 2 Dwarves, and a Man. I would love for two more men, and perhaps one more of the others, or even more men depending on what goes. So if you're thinking about submitting, strongly consider a Human! I also have five guys and a girl, so about two more girls would be good. To those of you who are new: welcome, read Chapter 1, and the form is on my profile! Thank you! Let me know what you think, drop a review please :)
