Chapter 19

Spiders

"Easy, Legolas!" Aragorn held up his hand to his friend to stop him from releasing his arrow.

"Pippin! What are you doing here?" Merry called to him when he ran over to his horse.

Pippin climbed down from his horse and just about fell on top of Merry since his horse was not a miniature horse. The horse was of a shorter stature that most horses at Gondor and the size compared to Pippin seemed huge for the small hobbit. It took everything Pippin had to stay on the horse as Aragorn pushed endlessly and rarely stopped to rest. After hearing what had happen to his guards at the boarders of the Shire, Aragorn and Pippin left immediately to find him. When the guards there told Aragorn that Merry traveled to Moria, Aragorn and Pippin pushed their horses endlessly to reach Moria, only to find out that they had just left for Mirkwood. Aragorn followed the tracks until he found them.

"Let me tell you it was not easy finding you and then you almost gave me a heart attack in the process." Pippin held his hand over his heart to slow the beating down some.

"Sorry about that Pip, but being in these strange lands and after all we have been through, you'd be on edge too." Merry could not take his eyes off of Pippin being so glad to have his cousin by his side. "You're a welcome sight to my eyes."

"Mine too, Merry. I'm just thankful to be off that saddle and my feet on the ground for a change. Aragorn barely stopped since we left Gondor to find you. My backside will never to be same again." Pippin rubbed his butt to take the numbness from it. Then he remembered his stomach; "Do you have anything to eat?"

Merry roared with laughter at his cousin's usual comment that he was so accustom too. Seeing Nibs, he called out, "Nibs, ride ahead and tell everyone to set up camp, we have welcomed visitors to feed."

Nibs got on his horse and rode out.

"Merry and Legolas, we cannot camp, just yet. There is a large group of orcs just over the hill a few miles away. They will be here soon. We traveled around the group and raced to find you. We must prepare to fight." Aragorn warned them.

Aragorn walked over to Pippin and ordered him, "Back on your horse, hobbit." He lifted Pippin in the air and placed him firmly on top of his horse, all the while chuckling to himself.

Pippin groaned in agony being placed on the horse again. "That is all this kingly ranger has said to me ever since we have left the Shire. Aragorn you torture me."

Gimli readied his ax as he brought up the rear of the group as they traveled down the path to meet with the others just ahead of them.

Just as Nibs began to tell the hobbits that Pippin has joined them; Legolas, Aragorn and the rest of the group came running towards them. Aragorn barked out orders to position the hobbits in this camp to ready their weapons and where they should stand.

"You two there, you take the lead here and you others just behind him." Aragorn ordered.

Wilcome and Estella taking out their swords began to take the position that Aragorn order of them, both looking at each other in shock.

"Belay that order, Merry shouted to his hobbits, Nibs take Wilcome's spot. Estella, I want you in the far back. Bowman take your arrows and join Legolas, Fredegar get a little further back from Nibs. Tom and Wilcome stay with Estella and watch her!" Merry taking over command from Aragorn, as he knew which hobbit could handle which position to fight in.

Legolas approached Tom, Wilcome and Estella, bending down on one knee. He whispered something into their ears and pointed in a direction and laid his hand flat against his other hand. Then made a circle with his finger. They all nodded and Legolas took his position.

Aragorn looked up at Merry in surprise and marveled at his abilities to lead his hobbits. Aragorn trusted Merry's judgement. Pippin had to look twice when Merry called out Estella's name, because she was dressed as a male hobbit in which Aragorn had mistakenly took her for.

Pippin turned to Merry after he looked over all the hobbits that he knew so well, "Did you have to take half the Shire with you, just to collect a couple of horses?" Pippin teased him.

"It is a good thing that I have brought them for what we are about to face." Merry began being very worried about his hobbits and especially Estella. He was so thankful that Aragorn was now with them.

Legolas and Bowman took the first position and Aragorn was right after him. Gimli was just across the other side of the path waiting to spring out with his ax. Merry and Pippin stood just a short distance away from Gimli. The other Hobbits brought up the rear behind Aragorn a few paces away from them.

Grubdush towered over his orcs as he stood in the middle of the large approaching group. He would stretch out his long, strong arm and slap an orc for not keeping up. The small orcs could barely keep up with the Uruk- hai warrior king. There short legs moved as fast as they could possibly travel.

Grubdush stopped in his tracks and began to smell the air. He had picked up the scent of men. He motioned for his orcs to spread out and kicked a few of the orcs ahead of him to go on with out him. Slowly Grubdush approached watching the boarders of the path with anticipation of an attack. He held his sword ready and shifted his eyes back and forth. The orcs hunched and moved forward crawling on the knuckles of their hand and the tips of their toes.

Legolas sent an arrow sailing in the air and hit Grubdush in his upper shoulder close to his neck. While Bowman fired arrows at the front lines of the orcs. Grubduah pulled the arrow from him as the black blood poured from the open wound. The orcs ran forward passing Grudush as he slowly followed them from behind. Legolas was forced to take out the orcs in the front line to separate them so Gimli was not over taken by so many, and Aragorn as well. He had hoped to kill the Urki-hai first, but the shot was missed as Grubdush turn just as the arrow sailed through the air.

The orcs split running into the protection of the trees and bush, trying to get behind the attackers. Aragorn leaped out onto the path and began striking the orcs with his sword in rapid procession of each slice of his blade.

The hobbits were ready to do what Legolas had told them when they saw a small group of orcs heading their way. Their hearts pounded in their chest as the fear seized them. Wilcome grabbed Tom and motioned to Estella to start running. All three hobbits took off as fast as they could to run at full hobbit speed that their little legs could carry them. The orcs followed them almost over taking them. Wilcome spotted the area that Legolas told him about and dropped down fast to the ground hiding themselves in the large leaves of the bush that grew there. The orcs ran pass them trying to pick-up their trail. They stopped and looked around, but could not see the hobbits anywhere. Without warning large spiders dropped from the high trees, biting their victims and carrying them up to the high branches of the trees. The hobbits did not know which they were afraid of more, the orcs or the spiders.

They got up and circled back to find more orc to follow them and repeated the same strategy that Legolas told them.

Gimli swung his ax as he held his position just behind the trees. They fell rapidly with each stroke he swung. The orcs that did get away from Gimli, Merry and Pippin stop them with their swords. They too brought down those orcs.

Nibs stood just behind Aragorn. Nibs also swung his sword, slicing and stabbing the orc's that got away from Aragorn's sword. Bowman watched Nib's back with his arrows and picked off the orcs to lessen the numbers so Nib was not over taken. Legolas did the same for Aragorn.

The Uruk-hai pushed his orcs away from Aragorn and raised his sword to strike him. Aragorn stop his sword from a fatal blow by blocking the sword with his own. Aragorn swung his sword in rapid motion making the Uruk-hai back up a few steps to defend himself. The Uruk-hai met Aragorn sword with brutal strength and brought his sword down on Aragorn cutting him barely across his upper arm. With his other arm, the Uruk-hai slapped Aragorn knocking him down to the ground, but Aragorn was prepared for the Uruk- hai's strike with his sword and blocked it. Aragorn swung his sword cutting into the right leg of the Uruk-hai.

Nibs began to back up as he became overwhelmed by the orcs that began to surround him. Even though the arrows flew in rapid procession, knocking down the orcs in a great number was not enough. The orc stabbed Nibs, while another one cut his hand off that held the sword. Nibs scream out in pain, and Wilcome saw his brother fall, ran and grabbed the sword that lay beside him. Taking his brothers sword and without thinking, began to hit the orcs with everything his had in him to save his brother. The force of the sword in Wilcome's hand cut deeply into the orcs that stood before him.

Estella and Tom jumped out in front of the orcs, just behind Wilcome waving their arms to get their attention and took off running. A good number of orcs followed them. Again, they ran into an opening of the old forest of Mirkwood, and seeing the thick, tall trees that housed the spiders in their branches. Estella lay down with Tom hiding in the thick bush of giant leaf plants. The orcs thinking the hobbits ran into the protection of the giant trees followed. The hobbits heard the screams of the orcs as they met the spiders that lived there. Estella heard a noise that moved the bushes just within steps in front of her and she froze in fear while she lay next to Tom on the ground.

Aragorn stood as the Uruk-hai back up from the open wound on his leg. Aragorn quickly stabbed him, pulling his sword and cutting the head off the king of the orcs, killing him.

The battle was soon over with as bodies of ocrs lay in scattered piles.

Merry ran from his position when he heard Bowman call out for help. Merry quickly searched the grounds for Estella, but could not find her. He was shocked seeing Nibs on the ground with a missing hand as Aragorn began working on him, trying to heal him.

"Estella!" Merry called out as he ran into the clearing just before the giant trees. Merry's panic was evident in his face as he continued to search for her and calling out her name. "Estella, where are you?"

"SSSH!" Came a whispered voice from the ground. Merry looked down and saw Estella and Tom hiding in the bush.

A large spider raised to its full height and hissed at Merry. Merry froze in shock and raised his sword to protect himself.

"Estella, Tom! Hurry and run." Merry kept his eyes on the giant spider trying hard to catch his breath so he could fight the spider.