Chapter Fifteen

Estel trained his hearing outward, trying to pick up the sounds that surrounded him. He was trying to detect a sound that may have been out of place. There was no wind, yet he could hear the unmistakable sound of the rustling of low bushes and small branches many meters away. He looked about, trying to see what made this soft sound. Suddenly, he could smell it.

Unfortunately, the horses smelled it too. Frightened by the presence of the troll, the horses became agitated, swishing their tales, side stepping nervously, and shaking their heads. The close quarters they were presently in, with the trees being very thick, did not help the panic felt by all. All the horses snorted in their distess.

Unable to contain its fear any longer, Legolas' horse bucked up on its hind legs. It was all Legolas could do to hang on. The horse whinnied in alarm, Legolas whispering soft encouraging words to try and calm it. Elrohir, who was riding at the back of the line, quickly dismounted and sent his horse off the way they had come. They needed to get the horses away from this place. In their panic, someone was going to get hurt. He jumped off the trail and made his way to Estel, who rode right in front of him.

Up at the front of the line, Legolas was just getting his horse under control when the troll made his appearance. At roughly four meters tall, the troll towered over the elves and man before it. It roared out a challenge as soon as it saw them. Legolas' mount had finally had enough, and reared back up on its hind legs, whinnying its total distress loudly. This time Legolas was ready, and allowed himself to fall from the horse, rolling as gracefuuly as possible in such a small space. He barely missed the hooves of his beast as it turned to flee back down the path. Luckily, the other horses had been let loose by their riders already. Legolas' companions stood in awe of the creature before them.

Again the troll roared. As Legolas had landed, he quickly drew an arrow and shot it toward the creature. It bounced off the tough skin and landed on the ground.

"Legolas, we cannot fight it here, we are too closed in. To the lake! It is more open there!" Elladan yelled. Legolas had never fought against a troll before. His fear kept him alert, adrenaline kept him sharp.

Legolas watched from the corner of his eye as his companions shifted through the trees. The lake's edge was only meters away. The troll needed no encouragement to follow. He had already taken care of one of these small pesky creatures. These would be no different. His brain worked too slow to feel any kind of threat.

When Legolas reached the lakes edge moments later he noted that the twins already had their bows drawn, and Tan was ready likewise, perched on a low branch. Estel stood with his sword drawn, though it would not do much good against a creature this size.

The troll swung its massive fists at the small creatures that darted in front of it. His paw-like hands instead knocked down several thick tree branches. One of these it bent and retrieved and then began to swing this around as well.

Legolas knew the troll would be only vulnerable in its eye or mouth, both small targets. One arrow had already bounced uselessly off its hide, so he would have to aim for where its weaknesses were. He would have to get very close in order to hit so small a moving target. Dodging a swing of the branch, he aimed at an eye and let an arrow fly. It embedded deeply causing the creature to howl in pain and anger. Partially blinded, the troll swung its body from side to side knocking down everything in its reach. It was taking steps forward, slowly driving Legolas, who walked backwards in front of it, unaware to the ice on the lake.

One softly booted foot touched ice, and Legolas felt it slip out from under him. Looking down, he quickly righted himself, but he also became momentarily distracted. Elladan had launched his own arrow at that moment, and now the troll was totally blinded. Again it howled its misery. The troll continued to swing the massive tree branch, and because he was momentarily distracted as he slid on the ice, Legolas did not see it as it headed straight for him.

The branch caught Legolas full on the side, from his head right down to his hip. Flashes of immediate pain hit him as he felt his body flying slowly through the air. He heard his name being shouted by several voices, but could not comprehend the direction from which the sounds came. His bow flew from his hands on impact. All thought, except the pain he felt, was driven from his mind.

He landed hard, a several meters from where he had been standing. The ice beneath him cracked but did not break upon impact. His friends stared in alarm at the sight of the elf flying through the air. Tan jumped down from his branch, launching an arrow at nearly point blank range. It embedded lightly into the trolls back, but the troll hardly felt it. The troll had reached up and tried to knock the arrows in its eyes away.

Everything was happening so fast. The troll stepped out onto the ice, not aware any longer of where it was going. Estel stood on the shore, shocked, as he watched the troll stumbling out onto the ice. As thick as the ice was, there was no way it would hold the weight of the troll. The ice would crack and give way, and with it, his friend.

Legolas was barely conscious. His side and head felt like they were on fire. Through foggy vision, he saw the troll approaching. He tried to get his arms underneath and push himself up but he did not have the strength to rise, and watch helplessly as the ice beneath the troll cracked. The crack ran in all directions, one directly towards where he lay, chunks of ice coming apart from the whole. Estel stepped out onto the ice as he had intended to skirt around the crack to reach his friend, but was held back by Elrohi,r who grabbed the back of his coat.

"Wait."

Estel spun around. "We cannot, he will fall in. He is injured." He tried to pull away from the elves grip. He turned when he heard another crack issuing from the ice.

Wrenching free, he stepped out onto the ice. Carefully sliding his feet along, he skirted around the troll and headed out toward the middle of the lake. If he could coax it out far enough, maybe it would break through and sink.

Estel drew his sword, and approached the troll. Getting as close as he dared, he struck the troll with it to get its attention. Though it could not see, it felt the sword and turned to stumble in the direction of this new attack. The troll was still swinging the branch through the air and Estel had to duck once to avoid it. Then he backed away and was no longer close enough, but the troll still headed away from shore, following the man and roaring loudly. This is exactly what Estel wanted.

"No, Estel, do not go out further, it is too dangerous!" shouted Elladan.

The troll turned back in the direction of this new voice.

"Elladan, you must be quiet. Get to Legolas, get him off the ice," he replied, and turning his attention back to the troll he shouted, "Hey, pea brain, here, come here, that's right, follow my voice!"

The troll, growing weary of the confused signals it was getting, roared loudly, shook it's head, and turned to follow Estel once again. It was frustrated and in pain and was getting very angry. Estel was carefully backing away, keeping his eyes and concentration upon the troll; he had to keep his feet from slipping out from under him. His memory flashed back to the last time he was at this lake, he did not wish to end up back in the freezing, cold water.

Elrohir had reached Legolas where he lay on the ice. Legolas was barely conscious, he lay on his side, his head resting upon his left arm, which was flung over his head. His right arm lay limply against his side. Blood from a wound on his head and blood that ran down his arm and out from under his leather gauntlet stained the white ice red next to him. His eyes were closed tightly as pain flared through his body and he curled inward.

When Elrohir reached him, he gently turned him over onto his back. Vivid blue eyes opened slightly and stared up into the gray, clouded sky. Hearing a noise behind him, Elrohir turned and saw Tan starting to approach.

"Stay back, I do not think the ice can withstand our combined weight."

Tan froze in his tracks. He wanted to help, but knew both Estel and Legolas were beyond his reach for the moment. He watched as Elrohir slowly slid Legolas toward shore. Tan backed away completely. He removed his cloak and spread it onto the ground. When they were closer to shore, Elrohir carefully lifted Legolas and carried him the rest of the way. Legolas' clothing was wet and cold from the slick ice. He reached Tan and placed Legolas on the cloak. Elladan came to his side.

"I will see to his wound, go to Estel, he will need your help, my agile brother!"

Elrohir and Tan turned away and dashed to the edge of the lake once again. Estel was now at least eight meters from shore. Tan was stunned that the ice had not given way under the troll yet, the ice must be thicker here for this part of the lake lay in shadow most of the day. He could see the growing frustration of both the man and the troll. The man was waiting for the troll to break through the ice, and the troll was angry, in pain, and frustrated over his own lack of ability to reach his prey. Estel kept shouting at it, dodging under the swinging tree branch to slap at it with his sword, making sure it would continue to follow him.

An idea sprang to his mind and Estel reached down and pulled the long dagger from his boot. When the troll finally opened its mouth to roar out its frustration, Estel was ready. He sent the dagger flying toward the gaping mouth above him. The force of the throw caused the knife to bury itself to the hilt into the roof of the troll's mouth. Blind and confused, the troll stopped, and tried to grab the knife with clumsy fingers. It stood, the man looking up intently at it, and swayed slightly before it fell over with a sickening crash.

The ice below the troll broke upon impact, sending out cracks in a spider web pattern in all directions. Estel felt the ice split between his feet, and for a split second felt his heart stop. The ice gave way beneath him and he was plunged into the frigid water. Here it was over his head, and there was nothing to grab onto. He felt his head go completely under, before he sputtered to the surface. He immediately felt his teeth begin to chatter, as he tried to tread water and keep afloat. His clothing was heavy and weighed him down, and he went under once again. He could hear his name being called out from the direction of the bank, and he turned to face this direction.

He came up hands first, reaching and grasping for purchase. Suddenly, he felt his hand brush against something solid and cold; the edge of the ice. He tried to grab on, but his hand slipped away. On the bank, Tan and Elrohir watched in horror as he slipped under the surface again. Tan cautiously stepped out onto the ice, intent on rescuing his friend.

"Lay flat, spread your weight out, even cracked, the ice may hold us that way," Elrohir suggested as he followed Tan.

Both elves stretched out and inched their way along toward Estel, listening to the sounds of the ice groaning under them. On the bank, Ellandan stood over the prone form of Legolas, intently watching his brothers and Tan. He sent a prayer to the Valar to help them.

The two elves finally reached the man. Estel could barely keep his head above water. He had been submerged for at least two minutes and his body temperature was dangerously low. He could no longer feel the coldness of the water as his arms and legs became numb. His mind was confused as hypothermia set in. He was about to go under yet again when he felt something grab him by the sleeve of his heavy, waterlogged coat. He turned silver eyes to stare into the green ones of his brother. Elrohir pulled hard, and Estel could feel his body being dragged over the edge of the broken ice. The edge crumbled in several places, but then Tan grabbed his other sleeve, and together they pulled Estel completely out.

The three lay on the ice momentarily catching their breath. Estel could feel his clothing and hair beginning to freeze in the frigid air.

A loud crack underneath them sent them scurrying to the edge, dragging Estel behind them. When they reached the bank, they looked back. The troll was no longer in sight. It had sunk to the bottom of the lake.