Chapter 10
Mithlhach opened her bag and rummaged through it as she walked. She was pleased to see that the dwarven axe was in the bag though it would have to stay hidden. Finally she found what she was looking for, a mask given to her by a ranger of Ithilien when she had once journeyed south. The mask would conceal a great deal of her face but her black sword was still a problem.
She hoped Melfalas and Ohtar had left with Amrothos but as she approached the camp she discovered to her annoyance that not only was Melfalas still there but he seemed to be in charge.
Drawing the large elven cloak about her and pulling her hood to shadow her face she approached Melfalas with her back to the fire so that all he saw of her was her eyes glittering from behind the mask. For even the lower part of her face, left unconcealed by the mask, was not visible in the darkness.
"Do you lead these men?" she asked, altering her voice.
"I do indeed," he replied, "And who might you be?"
She paused for a brief moment.
"A ranger of these parts by the name of Mithlhach. You must rouse your men. There are orcs nigh and they plan an attack on your camp."
"Orcs here?"
"Uruk-hai from Isengard. They are hidden at what remains of Dol Guldur but they will be upon you soon, make haste and be silent. They must not know that you have been warned."
Spurred by the urgent tone of her voice, Melfalas awakened the men and all but Nevsoron and Belegore, who guarded Ohtar, stood before him in ranks, hastily gathering their armour.
"There can't be much more than a dozen men here," said Mithlhach in dismay.
"There are seventeen," said Melfalas, "Why, how many orcs are there?"
"Three dozen at least and taller than other orcs."
It was on the tip of her tongue to add "and hungry for meat" but Melfalas looked too alarmed already.
"If you plan wisely their defeat will come easily," she reassured him, "And you have all the help I can give you. They plan to surround you. Maybe it would be best if there was no one here to surround."
Melfalas looked towards the trees nearby. Dol Guldur was to the west of them so the orcs would not pass any of the trees to the east. The knights could hide among the eastern trees with their horses and wait for the orcs to surround the camp before advancing on them from the shadows. For when a fire burned at the centre of the camp those outside the circle of light were not very visible, explained Melfalas.
"The moonlight may betray us," he said.
He looked up at the sky and saw to his surprise that a strong wind was starting and dark clouds passed by the moon.
"Praise the Valar," said Mithlhach, "Now continue, what do you plan."
Melfalas turned to his men and ordered the archers to step forward. There were only seven but he decided they would have to suffice. They would be the first to attack from the centre of the forest as soon as all the orcs were gathered at the camp. The rest of the men were split into two groups of ten. One group would be to the far east on horses, ready to attack the orcs from the east while the other would stay as close to the orcs path as possible and follow them out of the forest from a safe distance. This group would march swiftly north towards Dol Guldur and wait for the orcs to pass out of the woods. The only problem was keeping the orcs from turning east and starting the battle too soon.
"Leave that to me," said Mithlhach, "They shan't turn east."
Mithlhach ran into the forest while the knights took their places. She saw Belegore and Nevsoron carry Ohtar deep into the forest towards the east, safely out of harm's way. It seemed there was no time for revenge.
When the archers entered the forest they saw Mithlhach getting ready her own small bow and arrow. Suddenly they saw something glimmering in-between the trees like a shiny veil between them and the path they wanted the Uruk-hai to take. Soon, the western group of knights came with helms upon their heads, shields on their arms and swords or spears in their hands. They too saw the veil and stopped in fear.
"Giant spider webs?" said Himathrad, "Must we deal with spider beasts as well as Uruk-hai?"
"No," said Mithlhach, "The webs may be large but the spiders who spun them are quite small and harmless. The Uruk-hai will think as you did and my hope is that they won't turn east for fear of the spiders. Now hurry and be silent."
She walked with them as they wound their horses carefully through the woods. When she thought they had come far enough she told them to stop but went on herself. Soon she could hear Uruk-hai stamping towards her and quickly climbed into a tree. From above she saw them pass by and heard them remark of the webs. As she had thought, they did not dare go near them. A few orcs straggled behind and she shot them swiftly. The others did not notice so she followed them, shooting those who lagged behind, hoping to reduce their numbers at least by a few. But she did not shoot too many for fear they would realise their loss and turn back. She had missed many times and her arrows lay on the path behind the orcs. If they turned back they'd find her arrows and may try to find her. Worse still, they would be more on there guard and may discover the trap set for them. They were almost past the hidden knights when she saw an orc turn to see where his companion had gone. He was lying dead some way behind.
"Oy Skaitakh. Look!" he snarled, "What do you think happened to him?"
"Spiders?" said Mithlhach gruffly, trying to mimic the orc.
"Yeah, that'd be it," said Shaitakh, thinking that the other orc had spoken, "Spiders."
"The sooner we get out of these woods the better."
"Hurry then," said Shaitakh and Mithlhach was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
She dropped out of the tree and collected her arrows before hurrying south.
The orcs led by Púshtakh crept out from under the shadows and made their way to the camp. They saw no men about and assumed they were all in their tents.
"Fools," said Skaitakh, "They think they are safe and keep no watch."
"We'll show them," muttered Gutklâsh.
*******
When Mithlhach left him, Lindil turned north angrily and sped through the forest. Now he understood why elves did not concern themselves in the lives of mortals. She knew how foolish she was being yet she ignored his friendly counsel.
"Lindil!"
He heard a pleasant voice hail him and saw an elf walk towards him with a smile.
"It is a surprise to see you again though not an unpleasant one. How come you to be still wandering our wood? Has the maiden found her people?"
Lindil said nothing and sat down on a fallen branch. The elf sat down beside him.
"I see you have a lot to say," said the elf, "If you could only bring yourself to utter a word."
"There are far too many words in my mind to utter, dear Brethildur."
"Then first answer my questions."
So Lindil proceeded to do so though he hid much from Brethildur. He told all that had happened but with no mention of the ring or what Mithlhach had told him. Brethildur was no fool and knew that Lindil was not telling him all but he let him keep his secrets and did not question him too closely regarding the events. When Lindil spoke of the Uruk-hai Brethildur leapt to his feet.
"Then what are we doing here?" he said, "We should also be slaying those foul creatures. Come, first we shall find some of my brethren to join us, but we must do so quickly."
"My wisdom has perhaps escaped me for the moment for that thought should have earlier occurred to me," replied Lindil.
*******
When Mithlhach finally reached where the archers were they were already shooting at the orcs and she saw Ohtar leading a line of knights around the orcs from the east. The moon had been shrouded in clouds before but now it shone down on the scene before her.
When the orcs tried to beat a retreat another line of knights rode out of the forest blocking their way and killing them with spears. The archers kept up their attack and she realised she would be of better use on the battlefield than with the archers for her aim was lacking. So she handed all her arrows to the archers standing with her and ran to the battlefield. A few knights had got off their horses and were fighting on the ground. Mithlhach joined them and let her black sword loose. Now she fought freely and without the restraint she had felt when fighting Ohtar. He was not an orc though he behaved like one and she could not bring herself to fight him as she was fighting now, swiftly slashing through orc after orc. She feared that Melfalas would see her sword and recognise her fighting but she had not time even to see where he was and hoped he too was so busy fighting that he could not look towards her.
She had to hold her sword high for the fell beasts towered above her in their gross ugliness. She twisted herself out of the way of foul blades and deftly cut off the arms holding them before stabbing the creatures through. To her horror the Uruk-hai seemed not to notice the loss of their limbs let alone feel any pain from it. Mithlhach decided to be swifter in running them through rather than defending herself and found that she was killing far more than before. The Uruk-hai around her lessened and she was able to cast a swift glance over those fighting near her. She found that Melfalas was fighting quite far from her and was too engrossed in the battle to look at anyone but those he fought. The archers had done a good job but there were still many orcs to fight and they did not seem to get weary.
*******
Brethildur found, after some time, a group of his brethren but when the matter was explained to them they at first thought it was a jest. When they were finally convinced that it was the truth they had to be convinced that they were needed. They would be travelling west soon and were weary of battle. Lindil continued, impatiently, persuading them to join him.
Finally, most of them took up arms and followed Lindil back to the camp. Lindil and Brethildur had travelled far to find the other elves and though they were swift, Lindil feared that they would not get back in time.
*******
Mithlhach saw Melfalas heading her way so she wiped her sword on her cloak, put it back in its sheath and took out her dagger to fight with in its stead. There were not many orcs near her and as Melfalas came towards her he killed the few who remained before dismounting and leading his horse with him. Mithlhach gathered her cloak about her as he drew close and waited.
"You fight well, young ranger," he said.
"Thank you."
"I could not help noticing your remarkable sword. From whence did it come?"
"I found it in the forest a few days ago."
"Indeed," he replied.
"Yes. Now you seem to have the battle well in hand so I had best be on my way," she turned around and started to walk away, "Farewell."
"Wait!"
Mithlhach's heart stopped and she turned around.
"It seems you have a long journey ahead of you," he said, "Take my horse."
"Do you not need it?"
"Your need outweighs mine."
"How can you know that?"
Melfalas looked about them unobtrusively. Since the remaining orcs were not nigh he saw that the other knights were busy fighting them off at some distance; yet a few men still lingered nearby. He came towards Mithlhach and lowered his head close to hers. Instinctively her hand went to the hilt of her sword.
"Be silent," he whispered, "Do not speak to anyone. Just take the horse and leave as secretly as you appeared."
As he moved away he felt her piercing gaze upon him.
"Yes," he said, "Look at me. Know that I mean you no harm."
His horse had wandered off as he stood with Mithlhach. He made a clicking sound with his tongue and his horse came back and stood beside him, tossing its head. He took the reigns and placed them in Mithlhach's hands. She looked at them and back at his face in the moonlight. She tried to thank him but the words caught in her throat so instead she clasped his hand. He was surprised by this gesture but before he could decide whether or not he approved of it she had let go. When she removed the mask from her face he thought he saw a tear glistening on her cheek though in the darkness he could not be sure. Mithlhach could not stop the smile forming on her lips. Her heart felt at peace, for at last one of her own people accepted her and she knew her journey home would not be one ending in the shattering of her hopes.
"You are a good friend to him," she whispered.
"I could be no less," he said and she saw him smile for the first time, "Fare thee well."
"Farewell, Melfalas."
So saying she moved towards the horse but it moved away from her and when she reached a hand to soothe it the horse jerked away pulling the reigns from her hands. She looked at Melfalas with the smile gone from her lips and a flickering hurt in her eyes. Acceptance seemed nigh impossible now. Even a horse of her lands rejected her.
"I was never very good with horses," she lied.
"She is not very good with strangers," he replied but she thought she saw a faint suspicion in his eyes and her own eyes hardened.
It seemed like a sign that however close she got to anyone she would not be wholly trusted. Without a word Mithlhach turned around and headed for the trees. She quickly slipped into the shadows and was gone.
*******
Lindil and the other elves finally came into the open and saw a great smoke rising in the air. A fire burned strongly at the centre of the camp and about it blood and entrails were strewn about. Lindil 's horror-filled eyes scanned over the dead bodies looking for a sign of Mithlhach.
"We have come too late," said Brethildur.
