Disclaimer: Full disclaimer on first page.
Sorry for the long delay, but with school and all I have been busy, as well as catching a cold during one of my school rehearsals. Hope you enjoy! ~_~
Chapter twelve
Aragorn and Teysrol pushed through the mountains, trying desperately to lose the orcs that were on their trail. Being careful not to fall down a deep chasm that was near by; Aragorn sighed deeply. He looked at the knife he had borrowed from Legolas. How he wished he had his sword!
Teysrol growled low in his throat. They were being watched, he could sense it. He glanced about, trying to find out where their watchers were hiding. No use on it though. Whoever was watching them was hiding well, not even the Elf's keen sight or hearing could detect them.
Aragorn looked over at his companion, trying to discover the cause for the Elf's agitation. Teysrol had told him they were being watched, but that could not be the only thing wrong. But Teysrol was not talking.
~*~*~*
Tivadar was positively gleeful. Here was that traitor Teysrol and the ranger, in a perfect ambush set. He had plans for the ranger, and Teysrol will have to be dealt with. Not permanently, for Tivadar had some ideas for him. But taken out of the way for a while.
And the perfect moment was soon at hand. Raising the sword he had taken from the ranger, Tivadar held it up as a signal. Hidden in the slopes as he was were Quindiniar soldiers and they tensed at the signal.
Tivadar let the sword fall, and the men surged forwards to attack. Their orders were clear: take the Elf captive, knock the ranger into the chasm. The fall would probably keep him out for a while, but would not kill him.
The other four will run into his little surprise, and should deal with them quite nicely.
~*~*~*
Legolas was walking near Elladan when suddenly a loud shout filled the air. Confused, the Elves looked up to see a group of men charging at them from the shadowed side of one of the tall mountains.
Immediately the Elves drew their blades and prepared to fight. The men drew near, and Elladan was the first for them to target. He ducked a blade aimed at his head and countered with his own sweeping strike.
Legolas was faring as well as can be with his single knife, and Elrohir ran up to help Elladan, adding his sword.
Legolas whirled away from one man bearing an axe, and slashed the arm of a man who was aiming a spear at Elladan's back. Sirithiliel, holding her own with her twin swords, let out a piercing whistle as she battled.
The effect was instantaneous. Two large wolves leaped into the fray, taking down one burly man and his friend who were combining their strengths to attack Legolas. Savage snarls were added to the clash of metal weapons and the shrieks and screams of the men.
The Elves dispatched the men with ease. There were only about a score of them, and three gave up and ran as soon as they realized this was a losing battle.
They took off, and Sirithiliel pointed after them, calling out in that strange form of Elvish. Immediately the two wolves leaped after the men, bounding over the ground easily and swiftly catching up to the men, pursuing them around a bend and they were lost from sight.
"Why did you do that? They were fleeing!" Elladan said angrily. Sirithiliel turned and glared at him. She stalked up to him and locked eyes with the Rivendell Elf.
"Why? Did you not recognize them? They wore the armor of that foul Quindiniar City and were obviously a decoy for us. Tivadar is leading them, and they were never meant to beat us. Three fled and they will die, for if they get to Tivadar he will kill them anyways or send them out against us again. It truly is no loss." She explained, anger brimming under her words. She turned to face her returning wolves. What truly bothered her was the fact that she had two wolves with her, Anborn and Tamulis. Teysrol's Amras was no where to be found.
~*~*~*
Teysrol cried out in fear as the men completely overwhelmed them. They didn't even have a chance to draw their blades before the men were upon them, struggling to disarm the two.
Aragorn ducked below one man's fist, and whipped his swords out. The men responded with their own drawn blades, and Aragorn was pushed back until his heels hung over the chasm.
Fighting furiously, the ranger tried to battle himself away from the edge, but it was in vain as ever increasing numbers of men charged him. He lost sight of the Elf, and couldn't worry about him right now.
Aragorn saw him suddenly again being backed towards the mountain, and tried to fight over to him. He had managed to draw the Elven knife, but that was the extent he could do for the moment.
Lashing out with his blade, Teysrol was unprepared when one of the men grabbed his wrist and pulled him forwards. Unable to stop, the Elf felt the sword ripped from his hand as a fist slammed into the side of his head, effectively knocking him senseless. His second sword was taken from his loose fingers.
Aragorn heard the triumphant shouts from the men, and knew that the Elf was either dead or captured. He turned to slash another man, only to find his legs kicked out from under him by one of the fallen humans he had knocked down earlier.
With a sharp intake of breath as he felt empty air below him, Aragorn kept a death grip on his sword as he tumbled away into the chasm.
~*~*~*
Legolas worried. Something was the matter. There was an ill feeling in the air as he walked beside his companions. Sirithiliel was worried as well, she would send her wolves racing off if she thought she heard something. And more than once they had killed a human who was watching their progress, and who was dressed in the armor of Quindiniar. How Legolas wished he could forget that horrible city. With a sigh, Legolas hoped that Aragorn was fine.
~*~*~*
Aragorn fell, hitting sharp rocks that jutted from the side of the chasm. He stifled cries of pain, and he tumbled farther down into the dark.
He did not know how far he fell, but when he finally hit the bottom he did know that his body hurt. Fiery agony ran through his veins, and he moaned as he lay there.
He may have blacked out, because the next moment he opened his eyes the darkness around him seemed blacker. He slowly accessed his injuries.
Fractured wrist, two or three broken ribs, his shoulder may be dislocated, and numerous scrapes and cuts.
Staggering to his feet, he leaned heavily against the cliff side, the cold stone cooling his burning back. He must have hit something on the way down, because his back felt like it was on fire.
Stifling a moan, he forced himself to stand perfectly still and tried to bandage his wounds with strips torn from his cloak.
~*~*~*
Legolas cursed silently. They stood at the edge of the mountains, and they had expected to see the large expanse of rolling plains that covered the land between Rivendell and the rest of the Western lands from the mountain range.
But instead they saw a fog screened bog, with desolate trees rising up in it, creeping vines strung between and the odd patch of rushes springing up.
"A marsh? How in the world can a marsh thrive on the edge of a mountain pass? Its all rock!" Elrohir said in stunned disbelief.
"I don't know, but judging from the sun we are too far west of Rivendell. We need to go through the swamp to get there quickly." Elladan said. Behind him the three other Elves shifted uncertainly. There was a bad feeling of dread about this swamp, and they did not like it one bit.
Elladan took a deep breath of what he felt was the last breath of clear air he'll get anytime soon and plunged into the misty swamp, his form quickly turning into a ghostly, pale wraith like form. With a sigh the others followed.
~*~*~*
Aragorn hissed in pain as he climbed over another large rock, holding a hand to his painful ribs.
The chasm was not deep, but it was deep enough to keep the ranger confined into the dark bowels of the gorge. The sides were steep enough to stop any hopes of climbing, and only a little light was available. Which left the ranger unable to see the sun and tell which direction he was headed or what time of day it was, since the sides of the chasm arched up and over at the top and in some areas even touched.
Heaving another groan, he shuffled forwards, but froze suddenly as a hissing reached his ears and a large form was visible in the dim light. Aragorn could see the dim outline of it as it moved farther into the light.
It was possibly the oddest and foulest creature Aragorn had ever seen. It had a serpentine body, with large ragged wings and a snake like head. It vaguely resembled a dragon, but he knew it was not. Unsure of what it was, he knew it was dangerous. Large talons on its fore and hind legs scraped the ground, a long tail sweeping the rocks behind it. It thrust its head forwards, hissing menacingly.
With a shriek, it leaped forwards.
~*~*~*
Elladan hoped the trek could be finished in one day. It was now early morning, and they were determined to get out of these marshes by nightfall. So they marched steadily, at times rapidly, in single file. Sirithiliel, having better vision in the dark, led, picking the safest looking path, and behind her came Elrohir and then Legolas, Elladan bringing up the rear.
They stopped only three times, and then quickly resumed their march. The day wore quickly away, and soon the stars appeared in the darkening sky. And still the marsh spread out before and all around them.
And to make matters worse, a heavy fog was drifting in, getting thicker by the moment. Soon even Elven eyes were having trouble penetrating the gloom. The fog seemed to cling to them, and it thickened to the point where the Elves could only see a few feet in any direction, the figure in front of them appearing as a dim shadow.
The pace slowed to a crawl, and the four remained close to each other to avoid separation. By this time, the day was so far-gone that not even the slightest hint of a path was visible in the fog-ridden marsh.
Elladan took up the lead, since Sirithiliel was hesitating and nervous about where to go. He led them through ankle deep, sludgy water that chilled the flesh and caused the Elves to shudder at its repulsive touch.
Elladan wandered into the bog without realizing it at first. He was walking on and suddenly he was knee deep in the nasty marsh water, the clutching mud beneath causing him in his surprise to slip and nearly fall under, and only his quick warning stopped the others in time.
Hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him from the water, coming free of the water and mud with a sucking sound. They stared at the quiet surface of the bog, watching the sullen, dark surface.
The water above hid the deep mud below, which lacked the rapid suction of quicksand but accomplished the same result at a slower pace. Anything or anyone caught in it without help would die a slow horrible death of suffocation. For untold ages its quiet surface had probably lured creatures and possibly people to their deaths.
"We should have avoided this swamp!" Elrohir said, fear coloring his voice.
Elladan shook his head. "We were too far out to the west. The quickest way to get on the right track was through here." Though it was true, he regretted his decision to enter this horrid bog.
'What could I have been thinking?' He mused silently to himself. Shaking his head to clear the thought, he proceeded to try and find a way past the deep bog.
"Elladan...." He heard dimly behind him, and absently recognized the voice as Legolas's. Turning, he looked back, barely detecting the other's form in the thick fog.
"Yes?" He called, and Sirithiliel immediately held up a hand to silence him, frowning in concentration as she focused intently on something she had heard. Cocking her head to the side, she listened attentively.
Elladan was about to ask what the matter was when the calm surface of the bog erupted suddenly, and long snakelike arms shot out to wrap around the slender bodies of the four Elven intruders.
I made it to 100 reviews! Thanks to you all for helping me there! ~_~
Leggylover03: That is only a small amount of the Aragorn pain. The next chapter contains a lot when he fights that creature.
Alida Fruit: You're my lucky 100. Thank you a bunch! We were chatting at the time, so I forgive you about the short review, LOL.
Palantir: Updated every chapter you missed plus that extra one? *Blushes * Thank you!
Oh, and the creature attacking Elladan and them in the marsh is a descendant of the Watcher by Moria, or something of the kind.
Sorry for the long delay, but with school and all I have been busy, as well as catching a cold during one of my school rehearsals. Hope you enjoy! ~_~
Chapter twelve
Aragorn and Teysrol pushed through the mountains, trying desperately to lose the orcs that were on their trail. Being careful not to fall down a deep chasm that was near by; Aragorn sighed deeply. He looked at the knife he had borrowed from Legolas. How he wished he had his sword!
Teysrol growled low in his throat. They were being watched, he could sense it. He glanced about, trying to find out where their watchers were hiding. No use on it though. Whoever was watching them was hiding well, not even the Elf's keen sight or hearing could detect them.
Aragorn looked over at his companion, trying to discover the cause for the Elf's agitation. Teysrol had told him they were being watched, but that could not be the only thing wrong. But Teysrol was not talking.
~*~*~*
Tivadar was positively gleeful. Here was that traitor Teysrol and the ranger, in a perfect ambush set. He had plans for the ranger, and Teysrol will have to be dealt with. Not permanently, for Tivadar had some ideas for him. But taken out of the way for a while.
And the perfect moment was soon at hand. Raising the sword he had taken from the ranger, Tivadar held it up as a signal. Hidden in the slopes as he was were Quindiniar soldiers and they tensed at the signal.
Tivadar let the sword fall, and the men surged forwards to attack. Their orders were clear: take the Elf captive, knock the ranger into the chasm. The fall would probably keep him out for a while, but would not kill him.
The other four will run into his little surprise, and should deal with them quite nicely.
~*~*~*
Legolas was walking near Elladan when suddenly a loud shout filled the air. Confused, the Elves looked up to see a group of men charging at them from the shadowed side of one of the tall mountains.
Immediately the Elves drew their blades and prepared to fight. The men drew near, and Elladan was the first for them to target. He ducked a blade aimed at his head and countered with his own sweeping strike.
Legolas was faring as well as can be with his single knife, and Elrohir ran up to help Elladan, adding his sword.
Legolas whirled away from one man bearing an axe, and slashed the arm of a man who was aiming a spear at Elladan's back. Sirithiliel, holding her own with her twin swords, let out a piercing whistle as she battled.
The effect was instantaneous. Two large wolves leaped into the fray, taking down one burly man and his friend who were combining their strengths to attack Legolas. Savage snarls were added to the clash of metal weapons and the shrieks and screams of the men.
The Elves dispatched the men with ease. There were only about a score of them, and three gave up and ran as soon as they realized this was a losing battle.
They took off, and Sirithiliel pointed after them, calling out in that strange form of Elvish. Immediately the two wolves leaped after the men, bounding over the ground easily and swiftly catching up to the men, pursuing them around a bend and they were lost from sight.
"Why did you do that? They were fleeing!" Elladan said angrily. Sirithiliel turned and glared at him. She stalked up to him and locked eyes with the Rivendell Elf.
"Why? Did you not recognize them? They wore the armor of that foul Quindiniar City and were obviously a decoy for us. Tivadar is leading them, and they were never meant to beat us. Three fled and they will die, for if they get to Tivadar he will kill them anyways or send them out against us again. It truly is no loss." She explained, anger brimming under her words. She turned to face her returning wolves. What truly bothered her was the fact that she had two wolves with her, Anborn and Tamulis. Teysrol's Amras was no where to be found.
~*~*~*
Teysrol cried out in fear as the men completely overwhelmed them. They didn't even have a chance to draw their blades before the men were upon them, struggling to disarm the two.
Aragorn ducked below one man's fist, and whipped his swords out. The men responded with their own drawn blades, and Aragorn was pushed back until his heels hung over the chasm.
Fighting furiously, the ranger tried to battle himself away from the edge, but it was in vain as ever increasing numbers of men charged him. He lost sight of the Elf, and couldn't worry about him right now.
Aragorn saw him suddenly again being backed towards the mountain, and tried to fight over to him. He had managed to draw the Elven knife, but that was the extent he could do for the moment.
Lashing out with his blade, Teysrol was unprepared when one of the men grabbed his wrist and pulled him forwards. Unable to stop, the Elf felt the sword ripped from his hand as a fist slammed into the side of his head, effectively knocking him senseless. His second sword was taken from his loose fingers.
Aragorn heard the triumphant shouts from the men, and knew that the Elf was either dead or captured. He turned to slash another man, only to find his legs kicked out from under him by one of the fallen humans he had knocked down earlier.
With a sharp intake of breath as he felt empty air below him, Aragorn kept a death grip on his sword as he tumbled away into the chasm.
~*~*~*
Legolas worried. Something was the matter. There was an ill feeling in the air as he walked beside his companions. Sirithiliel was worried as well, she would send her wolves racing off if she thought she heard something. And more than once they had killed a human who was watching their progress, and who was dressed in the armor of Quindiniar. How Legolas wished he could forget that horrible city. With a sigh, Legolas hoped that Aragorn was fine.
~*~*~*
Aragorn fell, hitting sharp rocks that jutted from the side of the chasm. He stifled cries of pain, and he tumbled farther down into the dark.
He did not know how far he fell, but when he finally hit the bottom he did know that his body hurt. Fiery agony ran through his veins, and he moaned as he lay there.
He may have blacked out, because the next moment he opened his eyes the darkness around him seemed blacker. He slowly accessed his injuries.
Fractured wrist, two or three broken ribs, his shoulder may be dislocated, and numerous scrapes and cuts.
Staggering to his feet, he leaned heavily against the cliff side, the cold stone cooling his burning back. He must have hit something on the way down, because his back felt like it was on fire.
Stifling a moan, he forced himself to stand perfectly still and tried to bandage his wounds with strips torn from his cloak.
~*~*~*
Legolas cursed silently. They stood at the edge of the mountains, and they had expected to see the large expanse of rolling plains that covered the land between Rivendell and the rest of the Western lands from the mountain range.
But instead they saw a fog screened bog, with desolate trees rising up in it, creeping vines strung between and the odd patch of rushes springing up.
"A marsh? How in the world can a marsh thrive on the edge of a mountain pass? Its all rock!" Elrohir said in stunned disbelief.
"I don't know, but judging from the sun we are too far west of Rivendell. We need to go through the swamp to get there quickly." Elladan said. Behind him the three other Elves shifted uncertainly. There was a bad feeling of dread about this swamp, and they did not like it one bit.
Elladan took a deep breath of what he felt was the last breath of clear air he'll get anytime soon and plunged into the misty swamp, his form quickly turning into a ghostly, pale wraith like form. With a sigh the others followed.
~*~*~*
Aragorn hissed in pain as he climbed over another large rock, holding a hand to his painful ribs.
The chasm was not deep, but it was deep enough to keep the ranger confined into the dark bowels of the gorge. The sides were steep enough to stop any hopes of climbing, and only a little light was available. Which left the ranger unable to see the sun and tell which direction he was headed or what time of day it was, since the sides of the chasm arched up and over at the top and in some areas even touched.
Heaving another groan, he shuffled forwards, but froze suddenly as a hissing reached his ears and a large form was visible in the dim light. Aragorn could see the dim outline of it as it moved farther into the light.
It was possibly the oddest and foulest creature Aragorn had ever seen. It had a serpentine body, with large ragged wings and a snake like head. It vaguely resembled a dragon, but he knew it was not. Unsure of what it was, he knew it was dangerous. Large talons on its fore and hind legs scraped the ground, a long tail sweeping the rocks behind it. It thrust its head forwards, hissing menacingly.
With a shriek, it leaped forwards.
~*~*~*
Elladan hoped the trek could be finished in one day. It was now early morning, and they were determined to get out of these marshes by nightfall. So they marched steadily, at times rapidly, in single file. Sirithiliel, having better vision in the dark, led, picking the safest looking path, and behind her came Elrohir and then Legolas, Elladan bringing up the rear.
They stopped only three times, and then quickly resumed their march. The day wore quickly away, and soon the stars appeared in the darkening sky. And still the marsh spread out before and all around them.
And to make matters worse, a heavy fog was drifting in, getting thicker by the moment. Soon even Elven eyes were having trouble penetrating the gloom. The fog seemed to cling to them, and it thickened to the point where the Elves could only see a few feet in any direction, the figure in front of them appearing as a dim shadow.
The pace slowed to a crawl, and the four remained close to each other to avoid separation. By this time, the day was so far-gone that not even the slightest hint of a path was visible in the fog-ridden marsh.
Elladan took up the lead, since Sirithiliel was hesitating and nervous about where to go. He led them through ankle deep, sludgy water that chilled the flesh and caused the Elves to shudder at its repulsive touch.
Elladan wandered into the bog without realizing it at first. He was walking on and suddenly he was knee deep in the nasty marsh water, the clutching mud beneath causing him in his surprise to slip and nearly fall under, and only his quick warning stopped the others in time.
Hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him from the water, coming free of the water and mud with a sucking sound. They stared at the quiet surface of the bog, watching the sullen, dark surface.
The water above hid the deep mud below, which lacked the rapid suction of quicksand but accomplished the same result at a slower pace. Anything or anyone caught in it without help would die a slow horrible death of suffocation. For untold ages its quiet surface had probably lured creatures and possibly people to their deaths.
"We should have avoided this swamp!" Elrohir said, fear coloring his voice.
Elladan shook his head. "We were too far out to the west. The quickest way to get on the right track was through here." Though it was true, he regretted his decision to enter this horrid bog.
'What could I have been thinking?' He mused silently to himself. Shaking his head to clear the thought, he proceeded to try and find a way past the deep bog.
"Elladan...." He heard dimly behind him, and absently recognized the voice as Legolas's. Turning, he looked back, barely detecting the other's form in the thick fog.
"Yes?" He called, and Sirithiliel immediately held up a hand to silence him, frowning in concentration as she focused intently on something she had heard. Cocking her head to the side, she listened attentively.
Elladan was about to ask what the matter was when the calm surface of the bog erupted suddenly, and long snakelike arms shot out to wrap around the slender bodies of the four Elven intruders.
I made it to 100 reviews! Thanks to you all for helping me there! ~_~
Leggylover03: That is only a small amount of the Aragorn pain. The next chapter contains a lot when he fights that creature.
Alida Fruit: You're my lucky 100. Thank you a bunch! We were chatting at the time, so I forgive you about the short review, LOL.
Palantir: Updated every chapter you missed plus that extra one? *Blushes * Thank you!
Oh, and the creature attacking Elladan and them in the marsh is a descendant of the Watcher by Moria, or something of the kind.