Chapter 1
Aragorn led Legolas and Gimli on for many miles, stopping occasionally to look for signs of the trail they followed. At one point Aragorn bent to the ground and listened. Running for miles on end with little rest was beginning to take its toll on the Ranger, and he could feel his eyelids starting to droop closed as he lay on the ground.
No, stop it. He rebuked himself. You can't fall asleep right now.
Then he heard it. The faint–but quick–vibration of marching feet. Wherever the orcs were headed they were going as quickly as they could.
"Their pace has quickened," he murmured to himself. "They must have caught our scent. Hurry!" he shouted back to the others.
As they followed the well-defined trail Aragorn bent to the ground. A gleam of silver had caught his eye. In his hand was one of the brooches the Elves of Lothlórien had given them.
"Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall," he said.
"They may yet be alive." Legolas stated hopefully.
As they ran on Aragorn heard a dull thump behind him. Though he could not see he could guess that Gimli was the cause of the noise. The dwarf was having a hard time keeping up.
Standing atop some scattered rock they looked out across the wide plains of Rohan. Legolas suddenly ran ahead.
"Legolas!" Aragorn called. "What do your elf eyes see?"
"The Uruks turn northwest," the Elf called back. "They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard!"
~o~o~
They had walked for many more miles ere they began to approach Fangorn forest. Aragorn heard again the sound of hooves, and Legolas and Gimli heard as well.
They sat upon the grass behind some boulders as the horsemen passed by. Barely had they passed by when Aragorn came out from behind the rocks and called to them.
"Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?"
The riders turned their horses and soon had Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli encircled in a thicket of spears.
A tall man, with a white horsetail crest in his helmet, rode forward and addressed them. "What business do an elf, a man, and a dwarf have in the Riddermark?
"Speak quickly!" he commanded when no one did.
Gimli, despite his uncomfort around the huge horses, spoke back. "Give me your name, horsemaster, and I shall give you mine."
That was the wrong thing to say, Aragorn thought as the man dismounted and approached. Aragorn placed a restraining hand on Gimli's shoulder.
"I would cut off your head, dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground."
Legolas threatened him, but Aragorn diffused the situation. He introduced himself and his companions–explaining their mission as he did.
Little hope was given for the Hobbits' survival, but still Aragorn hoped they would be alive.
A/N: You will notice I made Legolas say "The uruks turn northwest", not northeast. This is because if the Uruks turned northeast, they would have been taking the hobbits to Barad-dur, not to Isengard.