While Frodo and Sam were following their strange guide, far away from Emyn Muil , a group of Uruk-Hai , the ones who survived the fight at Amon Hen , were running down a open grassy pathway between two rock walls. Among Saruman's creatures , on the shoulders of two of them, were their prisoners, Merry and Pippin and the first one seemed ins-conscious and had a cut on his head.
Pippin looked at his friend with concern " Merry !" he called out but he received no response so he called out again "Merry !" Only to have the same result : nothing. Suddenly, the Uruk at the head of the troop stopped dead in his track before putting a fist in the air ; a signal to say 'stop' to the rest of his comrades.
A few seconds later, from behind the rocks, appeared a group of Orcs " You're late ! Our master grows impatient ! He wants the Shire-rats now !" Their leader remarked with annoyance to which the Uruk leader responded in an angered tone " I don't take orders from Orc-maggots ! Saruman will have his prize ! We will deliver them !" The look in the Orcs' eyes were easy to understand how they felt : they hated the Uruks.
Pippin then looked at Merry whose mouth was open as a painful moan came out of it "Merry! Merry! Wake up!" he called out for him but he received no response. Glancing at a nearby Uruk drinking something from a leather pouch. Gathering all his courage and in hope to help his best friend, Pippin called out " My friend is sick! He needs water... Please!"
The commotion caught the Uruk Leader's attention as he made his way through his soldiers to approach them " Sick is he? Give him some medicine, boys !" The Beast said with a laugh and ,all around him, his comrades did the same. The Uruk who was drinking , pushed Merry's cheeks to open his mouth before pouring a sticky red liquid in.
Merry instantly began to choke as he coughed and spitted the liquid out. "Stop it !" Pippin inquired as he watched his comrade "Can't take his draught!" The Uruk Leader said with a roar of laughter along with the rest of his troop. "Leave him alone !" Pippin ordered defiantly "Why ?" the Uruk Leader asked as he approached him " You want some?"
Saying that Pippin won't respond, the awful Beast snarled " Then keep your mouth shut !" then he walked away. Pippin ,for his part, looked back at his comrade with the same look of concern that earlier "Merry..." to his surprise, his longtime friend looked back at him "Hey Pip..." "You're hurt !" "I'm fine… It was just an act..."
Pippin looked at him with disbelief and confusion "an act ?" " See? I fooled you too. Don't worry about me, Pippin" Merry responded with a smile but we could clearly see that he wasn't entirely okay. Suddenly, one of the Uruks, the second-in-command, sniffed the air with an alarmed look on his ugly face " What is it ? What do you smell ?" the Uruk Leader asked him which caused his soldier to turn around and responding "Man-flesh"
At those words, the Leader and the rest of the troops sniffed the air as well with worried looks on all faces."Aragorn..." Pippin realized with a smile but his thoughts were interrupted by an Uruk who shouted with an alarmed look on his face "I smell those dawn Cats as well !" to his comrades who instantly flinched as if they remembered a bad souvenir " They've picked up our trail ! Let's go !"
Saruman's creatures ran at their Leader' order and the Orcs joined them despise their hatred. At the same time, Pippin teared his elven brooch off his cloak with his teeth before dropping it onto the ground. The brooch landed on the dirt before being smashed by a running Uruk but thankfully was still visible among the dirt and grasses.
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Kopa was standing on a rock , watching the land before him : a land full of grass ,rocks and massive hills. Beside him was his mate Vitani and she looked bloodthirsty. Anyone who knew her would understand why she was acting this way. Two of her comrades were taken away by the Beasts that attacked them at Amon Hen three days ago.
Since the first day of their quest, Vitani grew attached of the Hobbits and was very protective of them. And now that two of them were captured… She wanted nothing more that to tear their flesh apart and save her friends.
Kopa , who knew about her ferocity in combat, was almost feeling bad for the Uruks once his mate would have them between her claws. He too took a liking to the Hobbits and he was ready to DIE to save them. The two Pridelanders promised themselves to protect the Fellowship but deep down they felt miserable because they were unable to prevent Gandalf's fall, Boromir's Death and the Capture of Merry and Pippin.
So they were determined to not fail again. Beside them was their comrade and Leader, Aragorn , Isildur's heir who had his left ear planted on a rock , listening carefully. " Their pace has quickened..." He remarked as he slowly got up , looking forward. "They must have caught our scent !" "Then we should hurry ! Come on !" Vitani shouted as she ran away.
Kopa shared an amused glance with Aragorn before following his mate. Isildur's heir , before joining the two Felines, turned his head to say " Legolas ! Gimli ! Hurry !" Not far behind, the Prince of Mirkwook looked at the Dwarf who looked exhausted "Come on Gimli !" he encouraged as he ran after Aragorn , Kopa and Vitani. A few feet more behind, Gimli breathed hard as he was completely out of breath " Three day's and night's pursuit… no food, no rest, and no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell !" The Red Dwarf remarked as he walked up the slope before getting back on jogging mode.
The five of them ran as fast as they could across a grassy mountain plateau with Legolas , Vitani and Kopa at the lead followed by Aragorn and Gimli. The two Lions were amazed by how fast The Elf was. He managed to keep up with them and not sweating one bit !
Some times later, the group were running down a rocky part of the plateau with Kopa and Vitani at the lead. Then the Brown Maned young Lion spotted something on the ground and looked at it closely. His eyes widened when he recognized the leaf and turned his head to shout "Over there !"
Aragorn came over while Vitani approached them : she was ahead and hadn't noticed the brooch until she heard her mate's voice calling over. Isildur's heir picked up the leaf , examined it before saying " Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall..." The Beige Lioness lowered her head down to sniff the brooch before saying with relief "Its Pippin's !"
"He must have dropped it to help up out !" Kopa said with a happy smile before Legolas came over " They may yet be alive !" Everyone could hear the relief in his voice. " How further they are from us ?" The Brown maned Lion asked his comrades with seriousness. " Less than a day ahead of us, come !" Aragorn responded as he dashed away quickly followed by the rest of the group.
Behind them, Gimli came down the hill stumbling and rolling on the ground while groaned with annoyance and pain "Come Gimli! We are gaining on them !" Legolas called out as he glanced at the Dwarf without stopping. In response, Gimli picked himself up before going back to jogging saying loudly " I'm wasted on cross-country ! We dwarves are natural sprinters ! Very dangerous over short distances !"
At those words, Kopa looked at Vitani with a devious grin "Now we know how to beat Dwarves..." The Beige Lioness returned the grin "You just outrun them !" The two felines shared a laugh in response. Aragorn and Legolas, who were close by, heard their comments and chuckled in amusement.
The group of five turned around another massive rock before running up a razer-short hill whose spot overlooked the area before them : a large open land with grass and rocks. Aragorn , Legolas, Vitani and Kopa stood on some rocks while Gimli stood on the grass as all of them were gazing at the vast territory before them.
"Rohan…Home of the horse-lords" Aragorn remarked softy but loud enough for the others to hear. Then he added , still gazing at the vast plain "There's something strange at work here...Some evil gives speed to these creatures, sets its will against us..." Legolas hopped down to the ground as Aragorn finished talking. Then the Elf ran forward to another rock to overlook the land.
"Legolas ! What do your elf eyes see ?" Aragorn asked him loudly from his spot. Legolas staid silent for a few second as he scanned the landscape in front of him before responding with a worried look on his face " The Uruks turn Northeast…. They are taking the hobbits to Isengard !"
Kopa flinched visibly before asking "Isengard ? Isn't it the place where is-" "Saruman" Aragorn said as answer for the Brown Maned Lion's unfinished question. Hearing this, Vitani growled deeply as her eyes narrowed in fury " Saruman… If you laid a hand on Merry and Pippin… I will kill you… slowly and painfully..." She thought to herself as she ins-consciously unsheathed her claws.
Her mate, saying this, had to repress a shiver of fear. He knew how her mate was when she was angry and deep down, he was grateful to not be in Saruman's place.
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As the five 'Hunters' carefully ran down a hill, far away from them, the group of Uruks and Orcs were doing the same and as fast as they could. Kopa ,Vitani , Aragorn and Legolas were now running on a ground with mixed grasses and rocks with Gimli still at the rear of the group "Keep breathing, that's the key ! Breathe ! Hooh !" the Dwarf said to himself to keep going.
As the Hunters passed some massive rocks, Legolas said those words " They run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them..." " They should be ! Because It won't be pretty when I get my claws on them !" Vitani hissed in anger and narrowed eyes as she ran forward with determination. The rest of the group winced at her words and we could see some of them sweating in fright. The Uruks pissed off Vitani… They would regret it dearly… No one mess with Zira's daughter !
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It was the night and near the entrance of a forest , the group of Uruks and Orcs stopped to catch their breaths "We ain't goin' no further 'till we've had a breather !" one of them shouted as he seemed completely out of breath. Many of them had the same state. Then raised his head, the Uruk Leader ordered " Get a fire going !" While some Orcs went into the forest to 'gather' woods, Pippin crawled over as fast as he could despise his binded hands toward Merry " Merry ! Merry !"he called out softy to his friend who looked up at him with a weakened look as the Hobbit laid sideways on the ground.
" I think we might have made a mistake, leaving the Shire, Pippin..." Merry remarked in a weak tone as he gazed at his longtime friend. As the Orcs and Uruks chopped at the trees, low groans and rumbles were heard coming from the forest. A sound ignored by Saruman's lackeys but not by the two Hobbits "What's making that noise ?" Pippin asked his friend who looked at the forest with awe " It's the trees..."
Pippin looked at him with confusion as he asked " What ?" " You remember the Old Forest? On the borders of Buckland? Folks used to say that there was something in the water that made the trees grow tall, and come alive !" Pippin's eyes widened at the last part "Alive ?" he asked in disbelief which caused Merry to nod before adding " Trees that could whisper, talk to each other. Even move !"
At the same time, one of the Uruk remarked with anger and annoyance clear in his tone " I'm starving ! We ain't had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinking days !" " Yeah! Why can't we have some meat ?" An Orc agreed as he looked around before his eyes landed on Merry and Pippin who looked back at him with fright.
"What about them ? They're fresh !" The Orc inquired with glee in his tone. The Uruk Leader approached the Orc as the others was beginning to recover from catching their breaths "They are not for eating !" he stated loudly as two Uruks picked up the Hobbits to pull them away from the Orcs. The Orc Leader stared at them as he appeared " What about their legs? They don't need those !" At this , Merry looked at his legs while Pippin stared at the Orc with fear
"Ooh! They look tasty !" The Orc Leader said in glee as he rushed toward them… or at least attempted… because he was stopped by the Uruk Leader who pushed him back "Get back, scum! The prisoners go to Saruman. Alive and unspoiled !"
To which the Orc Leader inquired by asking " Alive? Why alive? Do they give good sport ?" Merry and Pippin were wondering WHY they were captured in the first place ? After all, the Uruks tried to kill their comrades and they KILLED Boromir who tried to protect them! So why did they spared them ? The answer soon came from the Uruk Leader " They have something...An Elvish weapon... The master wants it for the war !"
Pippin realized what they were referring and quietly said to Pippin " They think we have the Ring !" " Shhh! As soon as they find out we don't, we're dead !" His comrade added quickly and no one noticed the Orc behind them. He had a drawled blade ready to use and was looking at the Hobbits with hunger " Just a mouthful. A bit off the flank !" He lifted his blade to cut the Hobbit.
Thankfully, he had caught the attention of the Uruks and suddenly, the Uruk Leader rushed forward which caused the Orc's eyes to widen in horror as he found himself be-headed by a swing of the Uruk Leader's sword. The head landed in front of Merry and Pippin who looked at it in horror before turning around to see the headless body falling to the ground.
" Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys !" The Uruk Leader remarked with glee which caused all present (minus the Hobbits) to roar out in cheer before rushing toward the corpse, pushing the Hobbits away in the process.
Some of them were tearing the body apart to get some 'meat'. Noticing that they were ignored at the moment, Merry glanced at his comrade before hurriedly inquiring but still in a soft tone to not be heard " Pippin, let's go !" The two of them began to crawl away from the Uruks and Orcs gathered. Suddenly, a foot pinned Pippin's back , stopping him in his track which caused him to turn around with fear because he was now facing the Orc Leader who was visibly the only one who noticed their attempted 'departure'.
"Go on, call for help !" The Beast said as he grabbed Pippin's cheeks , lifting his face up "Squeal! No one's gonna save you now !" The Orc Leader said as he raised his sword to the Hobbit's face when suddenly, a spear pierced the Orc's back which caused him to cry out in pain before falling to the ground.
This caught Merry's and Pippin's attention as they looked backward/forward just as the group of Uruks and Orcs heard the sounds of hooves approaching. And then, appearing from the darkness, Men on Horses charged them which caused Saruman's lackeys to run away in fear just as one of the Riders threw his spear right into the back of one of the Uruks.
Some of the Beasts were trampled by the Horses while others were killed by the Men's weapons " Pippin !" Merry called out as from both sides , Uruks and Orcs find themselves attacked and slaughtered by soldiers on horseback , cutting away their forces with swords, throwing spears, axes, arrows… Pippin looked around in fright in the confusion of battle before suddenly turning over his back. Then he looked up at a rearing horse which caused him to cry out in terror just as the horse's hooves stomped back on the ground straight to him.
(To be continued…)