Author's Note: Thanks to Mitsukai, KinDoragon, and Tori for their reviews--
I really appreciate any comments I receive, so please keep them coming. ;)
Mandatory Disclaimer: JRR Tolkien created Middle Earth. Peter Jackson has succeeded (in my mind at least) in bringing Middle Earth to life. This story is written for amusement purposes only, so please don't sue.
Chapter 13: The Road Goes Ever On And On...
Alex POV. (still)
Everyone looked in puzzlement at Aragorn. Truth be told, a part of me was happy for the rest, even if it would only be a short one. My legs were growing tired, and I was beginning to feel like I'd been walking forever. 'And to think I'd been looking forward to a bit of adventure...' I thought dismally. 'All this trudging about the landscape isn't what I was expecting -- we'll probably be ready to collapse from exhaustion by the time we finally reach Sarah and these hobbits that Gimli, Aragorn, and Legolas are searching for...'
My legs collapsed under me as we waited for Aragorn to come back from searching the landscape for clues. Laying on the ground looking up at the clouds passing slowly overhead, I almost dozed off before Aragorn came into my vision and peered down at me with a chuckle. With some effort I sat up and he crouched down beside me, showing me what he had found. "A brooch..." I mumbled.
By now the rest of the troop had come to stand around us. "Not just any brooch," Legolas said. "It is from Lothlorien. It must be one of the brooches that the hobbits wore. I hope this does not mean they are dead."
Aragorn shook his head. "There is no sign of bloodshed. I saw a small footprint, probably Pippin's, leading away from the trail. I believe he left it as a sign to us that they were here and alive, at least when they stopped here they were. I just hope that he did not pay too harshly for his wanderings."
There was a sigh of relief from everyone. At least there was still hope, although from the looks that the others shared, I wondered how much hope there really was. For now, though, we are to continue our journey to find Sarah, Merry and Pippin, and hope for the best in the meantime. I just hope we're not too late...
Aragorn pocketed the brooch, and we continued to follow the obvious trail that the Orcs had left. I moved up towards Aragorn, who was once again in the lead of our little group. "Why do these Orcs leave such obvious signs that they've been here?" I asked him.
"Because they believe they have nothing to fear. Orcs are warriors, so they will raid and pillage wherever they can in the hopes of making life for their enemies all the more difficult. If it also gives us an easy trail to follow, then I say follow it..."
"But aren't you afraid that it might be a trap?" I asked. "That they might be hiding on the other side of that hill, ready to surround us and take us prisoner too?"
Aragorn smiled, his eyes twinkling. "I do not think we are that close to them. Legolas and Haldir both have very acute hearing, and if there is one thing that a group of Orcs cannot be, even if their lives depend on it, it's quiet... Do not worry, Alex, we will find your sister. If she has survived this far, and if she is as strong-willed as you are, I am sure we will find her safe. Her companions, Merry and Pippin, are very resourceful hobbits, and I am certain that as of last night, at least, they were alright."
"Does that mean that the brooch was only lost last night, then?" I asked, my heart feeling a little lighter.
"Yes." At Aragorn's words, I couldn't help myself. I jumped up and down on the spot and gave each of my companions a big hug. I knew I was going to regret it later, especially with the dirty look Gimli gave me.
Sarah's POV.
My legs were once again starting to feel wooden when we finally stopped for another rest. Ugluk and some of the other Orcs had spotted a group of men traveling on horseback -- I knew they must be the Rohirrim and my heart started to soar, knowing that we would soon be out of our precarious predicament. Unfortunately, they bound our legs before running off so we couldn't escape. 'Couldn't we have had some stupid captors that don't think of these sorts of things?' I thought to myself. 'It'd make things a lot simpler...'
To make matters worse for us, not all of the Orcs had gone with Ugluk -- there was still at least one by the name of Grishnakh to deal with, and he was moving towards us. He started to grope at the hobbits, presumably looking for the ring. I felt Pippin shiver beside me as Grishnakh's clawed hand moved slowly over his torso, checking for any hidden pockets that might be hiding the treasure.
"I don't think you'll find it that way. It is small, and could easily be missed even by your patting at my shirt like that," Pippin whispered, and Merry gave a nod.
"He's right you know... And it might be on me, for all you know," Merry said.
"I don't think so, halfling..." Grishnakh said as he turned to face Meriadoc. "You were not the one who tried running off..."
"You never know, it might have been a ruse," I spoke up. Merry and Pippin both eyed me suspiciously as the Orc now turned to look at me. "Indeed, Merry may have given it to me while Pippin ran off, just to keep you from finding it... Isn't that right, my precious? " By now, it was evident that Grishnakh didn't know what to think, and he let out a growl of frustration.
Pippin spoke up again. "Of course, we could always make things simpler for you... But what would you give us in return for my precious. Gollum, gollum..."
Grishnakh's eyes narrowed to slits -- he'd now heard two of us call the treasure 'my precious,' and was starting to become a little more wary. "What do you mean? What would I have to give you for it?" he whispered, bringing his rancid breath even closer and almost making me want to vomit right then and there. I swallowed hard, and tried to concentrate on our escape.
"You'd have to untie our legs," Merry stated.
Grishnakh laughed, and the cruelty and malice evident in that laugh made my blood run cold. "Why should I do that, halfling? I am sure I could eventually find this 'precious' of yours. We have some very... painful... tortures -- even Gollum could not hold his tongue for long. Once we get back to Orthanc, you will tell us all we need to know and more..."
"But why wait until we are back at Isengaard when you could have my precious now and be done with us? Also, this way you wouldn't have to share my precious with anyone else, you could keep it for yourself and even order Lurch around." I knew I was starting to babble, but hopefully my babbling was going to be enough to satisfy Grishnakh in allowing us to use our feet at least. He had a gleam in his eye, and I just hoped he was convinced by my argument. "Besides, even if you did untie our legs, do you really think we'd be able to get very far if we did run off? We're not used to traveling so far so fast, so we're tired, and it's not like we have our arms free..."
I guess I'd gone a bit too far, since Grishnakh leered evilly at me as he took out a dagger and pointed it at my throat. "Don't you think I could cut you all up into little tiny shreds right now? I could, and I would too, if I didn't have Saruman's faithful servant, Lurch, here to order me about. He thinks he's all high and mighty, Saruman's second in command, but he's a fool really, or else he'd never have left me here with you..." With that, he slung Merry and Pippin under one arm and me under the other. He was surprisingly strong, and I found myself fighting to take in a breath once he covered my mouth (and nose) with his large right hand. He snarled at my struggling, growling at me to be still, but he at least moved his hand slightly so I could breathe through my nose. He lurched forward into a run, resulting in the dim shapes of trees and bushes in the moonlight blending and blurring together before my eyes.
Luckily we didn't have far to go before he flung us to the ground and unsheathed his sword. Someone heard the soft ringing sound of the sword as it was unsheathed, and an arrow pierced his right hand, making him shriek as he dropped the sword. Grishnakh ran, having presumably forgotten about us for the moment, and was pierced by a spear before falling to the ground, dead.
The three of us lay there, faced down, too afraid to move. We went unnoticed by the Rohirrim riders, and were forgotten or presumed dead by any Orcs who lived through the night to tell the tale.
Once we felt we were safe, we worked our way into a sitting position. "Phew! That was a close one..." I said, feeling the need to relieve some of the tension that had arisen during our encounter with Grishnakh. Merry and Pippin merely nodded their agreement. They both looked exhausted from the ordeal, but I knew that, as hobbits, they'd soon be back to their normal selves.
"Now if only we could free ourselves..." Merry muttered.
"Not to worry, Merry. When I managed to escape earlier, I succeeded in untying the bonds around my arms -- these loops have just been for show... See?" And with that, Pippin managed to slip out of the rope that had been around his wrists. I couldn't help thinking he'd make a great escape artist.
Thinking first of his stomach (as all hobbits do, I expect), Pippin reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of lembas in leaf wrappings. He offered a couple of pieces to each of us, saying "It'll do us good to get some food into us before we move on." He and Merry both ate quickly, as if they hadn't eaten for days -- mind you, the average day for a hobbit does have six meals, so I guess they would be famished. I ate a little slower (although I was still really hungry), but I couldn't help wishing that my hands were untied like Pippin's -- it would make it much easier to eat.
After we finished our little meal, I felt I had to speak up. "Pippin, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but do you think you could untie us too?"
"Oh, of course," he said, giving an apologetic smile. He managed to crawl (using mainly his lower arms) over to Grishnakh's prone body and took out a knife to free his own legs before walking back towards Merry and I to untie us.
We then decided to crawl towards a nearby river to have a drink. I was really tempted to dive under the water (my hair was feeling sweaty and greasy by this point), but I opted not to, since the water was cold and Pippin suggested we should try and find some form of cover before morning's first light in case the Orcs came back and found us. And so it was that we wandered further into the forest.
Author's Note: The next chapter should be up shortly (provided I get some reviews to keep me writing). In the meantime, please let me know your opinion of this chapter by clicking the "submit your review" button below. Come on, you know you want to! ;)
Mandatory Disclaimer: JRR Tolkien created Middle Earth. Peter Jackson has succeeded (in my mind at least) in bringing Middle Earth to life. This story is written for amusement purposes only, so please don't sue.
Chapter 13: The Road Goes Ever On And On...
Alex POV. (still)
Everyone looked in puzzlement at Aragorn. Truth be told, a part of me was happy for the rest, even if it would only be a short one. My legs were growing tired, and I was beginning to feel like I'd been walking forever. 'And to think I'd been looking forward to a bit of adventure...' I thought dismally. 'All this trudging about the landscape isn't what I was expecting -- we'll probably be ready to collapse from exhaustion by the time we finally reach Sarah and these hobbits that Gimli, Aragorn, and Legolas are searching for...'
My legs collapsed under me as we waited for Aragorn to come back from searching the landscape for clues. Laying on the ground looking up at the clouds passing slowly overhead, I almost dozed off before Aragorn came into my vision and peered down at me with a chuckle. With some effort I sat up and he crouched down beside me, showing me what he had found. "A brooch..." I mumbled.
By now the rest of the troop had come to stand around us. "Not just any brooch," Legolas said. "It is from Lothlorien. It must be one of the brooches that the hobbits wore. I hope this does not mean they are dead."
Aragorn shook his head. "There is no sign of bloodshed. I saw a small footprint, probably Pippin's, leading away from the trail. I believe he left it as a sign to us that they were here and alive, at least when they stopped here they were. I just hope that he did not pay too harshly for his wanderings."
There was a sigh of relief from everyone. At least there was still hope, although from the looks that the others shared, I wondered how much hope there really was. For now, though, we are to continue our journey to find Sarah, Merry and Pippin, and hope for the best in the meantime. I just hope we're not too late...
Aragorn pocketed the brooch, and we continued to follow the obvious trail that the Orcs had left. I moved up towards Aragorn, who was once again in the lead of our little group. "Why do these Orcs leave such obvious signs that they've been here?" I asked him.
"Because they believe they have nothing to fear. Orcs are warriors, so they will raid and pillage wherever they can in the hopes of making life for their enemies all the more difficult. If it also gives us an easy trail to follow, then I say follow it..."
"But aren't you afraid that it might be a trap?" I asked. "That they might be hiding on the other side of that hill, ready to surround us and take us prisoner too?"
Aragorn smiled, his eyes twinkling. "I do not think we are that close to them. Legolas and Haldir both have very acute hearing, and if there is one thing that a group of Orcs cannot be, even if their lives depend on it, it's quiet... Do not worry, Alex, we will find your sister. If she has survived this far, and if she is as strong-willed as you are, I am sure we will find her safe. Her companions, Merry and Pippin, are very resourceful hobbits, and I am certain that as of last night, at least, they were alright."
"Does that mean that the brooch was only lost last night, then?" I asked, my heart feeling a little lighter.
"Yes." At Aragorn's words, I couldn't help myself. I jumped up and down on the spot and gave each of my companions a big hug. I knew I was going to regret it later, especially with the dirty look Gimli gave me.
Sarah's POV.
My legs were once again starting to feel wooden when we finally stopped for another rest. Ugluk and some of the other Orcs had spotted a group of men traveling on horseback -- I knew they must be the Rohirrim and my heart started to soar, knowing that we would soon be out of our precarious predicament. Unfortunately, they bound our legs before running off so we couldn't escape. 'Couldn't we have had some stupid captors that don't think of these sorts of things?' I thought to myself. 'It'd make things a lot simpler...'
To make matters worse for us, not all of the Orcs had gone with Ugluk -- there was still at least one by the name of Grishnakh to deal with, and he was moving towards us. He started to grope at the hobbits, presumably looking for the ring. I felt Pippin shiver beside me as Grishnakh's clawed hand moved slowly over his torso, checking for any hidden pockets that might be hiding the treasure.
"I don't think you'll find it that way. It is small, and could easily be missed even by your patting at my shirt like that," Pippin whispered, and Merry gave a nod.
"He's right you know... And it might be on me, for all you know," Merry said.
"I don't think so, halfling..." Grishnakh said as he turned to face Meriadoc. "You were not the one who tried running off..."
"You never know, it might have been a ruse," I spoke up. Merry and Pippin both eyed me suspiciously as the Orc now turned to look at me. "Indeed, Merry may have given it to me while Pippin ran off, just to keep you from finding it... Isn't that right, my precious? " By now, it was evident that Grishnakh didn't know what to think, and he let out a growl of frustration.
Pippin spoke up again. "Of course, we could always make things simpler for you... But what would you give us in return for my precious. Gollum, gollum..."
Grishnakh's eyes narrowed to slits -- he'd now heard two of us call the treasure 'my precious,' and was starting to become a little more wary. "What do you mean? What would I have to give you for it?" he whispered, bringing his rancid breath even closer and almost making me want to vomit right then and there. I swallowed hard, and tried to concentrate on our escape.
"You'd have to untie our legs," Merry stated.
Grishnakh laughed, and the cruelty and malice evident in that laugh made my blood run cold. "Why should I do that, halfling? I am sure I could eventually find this 'precious' of yours. We have some very... painful... tortures -- even Gollum could not hold his tongue for long. Once we get back to Orthanc, you will tell us all we need to know and more..."
"But why wait until we are back at Isengaard when you could have my precious now and be done with us? Also, this way you wouldn't have to share my precious with anyone else, you could keep it for yourself and even order Lurch around." I knew I was starting to babble, but hopefully my babbling was going to be enough to satisfy Grishnakh in allowing us to use our feet at least. He had a gleam in his eye, and I just hoped he was convinced by my argument. "Besides, even if you did untie our legs, do you really think we'd be able to get very far if we did run off? We're not used to traveling so far so fast, so we're tired, and it's not like we have our arms free..."
I guess I'd gone a bit too far, since Grishnakh leered evilly at me as he took out a dagger and pointed it at my throat. "Don't you think I could cut you all up into little tiny shreds right now? I could, and I would too, if I didn't have Saruman's faithful servant, Lurch, here to order me about. He thinks he's all high and mighty, Saruman's second in command, but he's a fool really, or else he'd never have left me here with you..." With that, he slung Merry and Pippin under one arm and me under the other. He was surprisingly strong, and I found myself fighting to take in a breath once he covered my mouth (and nose) with his large right hand. He snarled at my struggling, growling at me to be still, but he at least moved his hand slightly so I could breathe through my nose. He lurched forward into a run, resulting in the dim shapes of trees and bushes in the moonlight blending and blurring together before my eyes.
Luckily we didn't have far to go before he flung us to the ground and unsheathed his sword. Someone heard the soft ringing sound of the sword as it was unsheathed, and an arrow pierced his right hand, making him shriek as he dropped the sword. Grishnakh ran, having presumably forgotten about us for the moment, and was pierced by a spear before falling to the ground, dead.
The three of us lay there, faced down, too afraid to move. We went unnoticed by the Rohirrim riders, and were forgotten or presumed dead by any Orcs who lived through the night to tell the tale.
Once we felt we were safe, we worked our way into a sitting position. "Phew! That was a close one..." I said, feeling the need to relieve some of the tension that had arisen during our encounter with Grishnakh. Merry and Pippin merely nodded their agreement. They both looked exhausted from the ordeal, but I knew that, as hobbits, they'd soon be back to their normal selves.
"Now if only we could free ourselves..." Merry muttered.
"Not to worry, Merry. When I managed to escape earlier, I succeeded in untying the bonds around my arms -- these loops have just been for show... See?" And with that, Pippin managed to slip out of the rope that had been around his wrists. I couldn't help thinking he'd make a great escape artist.
Thinking first of his stomach (as all hobbits do, I expect), Pippin reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of lembas in leaf wrappings. He offered a couple of pieces to each of us, saying "It'll do us good to get some food into us before we move on." He and Merry both ate quickly, as if they hadn't eaten for days -- mind you, the average day for a hobbit does have six meals, so I guess they would be famished. I ate a little slower (although I was still really hungry), but I couldn't help wishing that my hands were untied like Pippin's -- it would make it much easier to eat.
After we finished our little meal, I felt I had to speak up. "Pippin, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but do you think you could untie us too?"
"Oh, of course," he said, giving an apologetic smile. He managed to crawl (using mainly his lower arms) over to Grishnakh's prone body and took out a knife to free his own legs before walking back towards Merry and I to untie us.
We then decided to crawl towards a nearby river to have a drink. I was really tempted to dive under the water (my hair was feeling sweaty and greasy by this point), but I opted not to, since the water was cold and Pippin suggested we should try and find some form of cover before morning's first light in case the Orcs came back and found us. And so it was that we wandered further into the forest.
Author's Note: The next chapter should be up shortly (provided I get some reviews to keep me writing). In the meantime, please let me know your opinion of this chapter by clicking the "submit your review" button below. Come on, you know you want to! ;)