Chapter 3
Orcs
The journey had taken its toll on Estel, but he was feeling just fine inside the refreshing change of scenery in Mirkwood forest. The trees stretched higher then Estel could've imagined and their roots coiled on the ground in spirals and weaving lines. The horses managed to keep from tripping over the mass of vines that sprawled from the tree branches and the ground itself that Estel couldn't imagine walking through.
'Be aware of Orcs in this part of the forest.' said Legolas quietly to the group them. 'We should be clear of their threat in two day's time.' Estel struggled to breathe quietly, but with the frightening rustle in the underbrush or broken twig of a hare or rodent darting away from the company he would take a sharp breath. The elves traveled in remote quiet. Some of them gazed up at the trees like the human since they had not seen the woodland before.
At one point, Legolas halted. Estel reined his horse and stretched his ears. Even with desperate concentration he couldn't hear the noise that made Legolas turn and stare behind them.
'Wait here.' he whispered so quietly that Estel almost didn't hear him. 'If you hear my word, run.' a strange tensity hovered over the group as Legolas dismounted and left towards the dark woods they had journeyed through. Estel took his steed's reins and watched in suspense as he disappeared behind the curtain of veins.
A sudden squeal and clash of metal broke the silence.
'Ta na neuma*!' cried Legolas. Estel's eyes widened in surprise as he burst from the vines, a blade in his right hand. 'Rima**! Rima!' Estel hesitated as the elves around him bolted on their horses. He gasped once more as an orc ruptured from the foliage and leapt on top of Legolas who swung around and blocked the blow of its dirty blade. Estel winced at the brutish face of the creature. It was black with filthy crooked teeth and boils on its long fingers.
'Estel!' cried an elf who slapped his steed's behind. 'Rima ten'ta***!' the horse lurched and Estel nearly toppled off. Behind him he could hear the battle cry of the grotesque orc. He risked a look over his shoulder. A low- hanging bough collided with his mid-section and his horse catapulted off underneath him. With a cry of pain he fell to the ground. The air left him as he made contact, performing a sickening bounce atop the roots and vines.
Legolas finally plunged the blade into the orc's neck. With a cry more like a hiss, the enemy let out a stingy last breath that made Legolas cough. Without retrieving his blade he ran in the direction of the horses.
'Legolas!' cried Estel as he neared. Legolas nearly tripped over the human's feet as he neared.
'Estel! Lle tyava quell****?' With a cough Estel nodded and Legolas helped him onto his feet. 'We must flee! Orcs are surrounding the area as we speak.' The stumbled slowly along the vines. The sounds of bloodthirsty orcs followed behind them and Estel forced himself to go faster. He noticed now that there was a cut on Legolas's hand and another on his neck.
'Do you need help?' he asked as they broke into a run.
'No more then you, my friend.' he answered. The noise around them was growing to an extreme ballet of racket. Their cries in their foul tongue almost made Estel's ears hurt.
'Wait!' said Legolas in a hushed way. 'Follow me.' As though it was a staircase he leapt up the tree trunk and scuttled out onto a branch. Gripping tightly with his left hand he reached down with his left and pulled Estel off the ground. When they were both in the tree Legolas held a finger to his lips, indicating silence. They waited. The clamor grew louder and Estel could see vines being slashed down in the shadows. Finally, several orcs burst from the forest, screaming like there was no tomorrow. An odor came with them like decaying flesh. Estel made no movement since he and Legolas didn't have any leaves to hide behind, just the sheet of vines that hung all around them.
The Orcs passed by below loudly, but slowly and they didn't even look up. Legolas waited until the last of the slashed vines stopped swaying back and fourth until he leapt down. Estel landed much less gracefully beside him and sighed.
'Are you hurt, Estel?' asked Legolas, facing him.
'I'm fine.' he said. 'Wait about you?' Legolas nodded and replied:
'I actually came out of that a lot less scathed then I thought I would.' Estel laughed. He looked around. Much of the foliage had been cut down, including the vines. The ground was trampled into a red silt.
'It seems that their only pleasure is to destroy things.' said Estel.
'It probably is.' said Legolas, looking beyond the damage towards where the orcs had disappeared. 'The others would've rounded off. Those orcs are pursuing blindly. As long as we don't run into the retreated group as we search for the company we should arrive their soon.' Estel nodded in agreement.
'When will we meet up with them?' he asked.
'We should this evening.' Legolas started off into the woods. 'Just hope that we don't run into any trouble.' Estel hoped.
The inside of the forest grew very hot as the day wore on. It felt as though the heat from the sun was being trapped under the leaves. The vines grew more dispersed as the clambered over the tangles of roots and rocks. They made their way up and down slopes and paused for a break at a murky stream. Legolas offered some water from a hidden flask instead of the brackish muck. Their course followed the trail left behind by the orcs, but Legolas would drift from it every now and again.
'Why do you keep going off the path like that?' Estel asked impatiently.
'Some of the horse tracks go off a little bit.' he replied calmly. 'The horses were in quite a panic.'
'How can you see horse tracks in this?' Estel motioned to the dirt he had been watching the whole time.
'You see the orc tracks, right?' asked the elf as he ducked under a branch still gazing at the ground.
'Who couldn't in this rubble?' replied Estel growing even more anxious. The heat left him thirsty and weak which resulted in an easily frustrated man.
'Imagine that the orc tracks aren't their. Imagine the dirt as the actual ground instead of a trail. What do you see?' Estel rolled his eyes and placed his hands on his hips. As Legolas continued on in the bush, he stared at the ground. Eventually his sight of the orc tracks changed and the hoof marks appeared as vivid as puddles. He eyed them swerving away from the orc path into the brush. He darted towards the tracks, see several orc ones following.
'Some of the band of orcs followed them.' he said quietly. 'They're being followed.' Legolas joined him and examined the tracks. Without explanation he sprinted away into the trees.
Aragorn followed but slowly fell behind. Something pricked at the back of his mind; something wrong, something incongruous. He knew this was part of the elf that was inside him. Elves had a strange sense to danger or enemies. He could feel the strange emotion that a battle produced. Fear and anger filled his mind and he felt suddenly infuriated. He punched at plants in the way and hissed at the roots that nearly made him trip.
He finally burst into a clearing. The scene there was the last thing he expected. The battle looked as though it had already ended. There was an elf on the ground, blood staining the grass around him and his chest immobile. The horses had run off but all the elves remained. Two were holding on up with a bloodied leg. The most frightening part was that the orcs still remained; every last one of them alive. They jabbed spears at the elves in startlingly large circles. There must've been twenty there against eleven injured elves. Estel immediately ducked behind a shrub that hid him from view. The anger and exhilaration was replaced with fear. He peeked through the bush and searched for Legolas. He saw him on his knees with his arms pulled back and an orkish spear pointed directly at his chest.
.
.
*, It is a trap!
**, Run!
***, Run for it!
****, Do you feel well?
Orcs
The journey had taken its toll on Estel, but he was feeling just fine inside the refreshing change of scenery in Mirkwood forest. The trees stretched higher then Estel could've imagined and their roots coiled on the ground in spirals and weaving lines. The horses managed to keep from tripping over the mass of vines that sprawled from the tree branches and the ground itself that Estel couldn't imagine walking through.
'Be aware of Orcs in this part of the forest.' said Legolas quietly to the group them. 'We should be clear of their threat in two day's time.' Estel struggled to breathe quietly, but with the frightening rustle in the underbrush or broken twig of a hare or rodent darting away from the company he would take a sharp breath. The elves traveled in remote quiet. Some of them gazed up at the trees like the human since they had not seen the woodland before.
At one point, Legolas halted. Estel reined his horse and stretched his ears. Even with desperate concentration he couldn't hear the noise that made Legolas turn and stare behind them.
'Wait here.' he whispered so quietly that Estel almost didn't hear him. 'If you hear my word, run.' a strange tensity hovered over the group as Legolas dismounted and left towards the dark woods they had journeyed through. Estel took his steed's reins and watched in suspense as he disappeared behind the curtain of veins.
A sudden squeal and clash of metal broke the silence.
'Ta na neuma*!' cried Legolas. Estel's eyes widened in surprise as he burst from the vines, a blade in his right hand. 'Rima**! Rima!' Estel hesitated as the elves around him bolted on their horses. He gasped once more as an orc ruptured from the foliage and leapt on top of Legolas who swung around and blocked the blow of its dirty blade. Estel winced at the brutish face of the creature. It was black with filthy crooked teeth and boils on its long fingers.
'Estel!' cried an elf who slapped his steed's behind. 'Rima ten'ta***!' the horse lurched and Estel nearly toppled off. Behind him he could hear the battle cry of the grotesque orc. He risked a look over his shoulder. A low- hanging bough collided with his mid-section and his horse catapulted off underneath him. With a cry of pain he fell to the ground. The air left him as he made contact, performing a sickening bounce atop the roots and vines.
Legolas finally plunged the blade into the orc's neck. With a cry more like a hiss, the enemy let out a stingy last breath that made Legolas cough. Without retrieving his blade he ran in the direction of the horses.
'Legolas!' cried Estel as he neared. Legolas nearly tripped over the human's feet as he neared.
'Estel! Lle tyava quell****?' With a cough Estel nodded and Legolas helped him onto his feet. 'We must flee! Orcs are surrounding the area as we speak.' The stumbled slowly along the vines. The sounds of bloodthirsty orcs followed behind them and Estel forced himself to go faster. He noticed now that there was a cut on Legolas's hand and another on his neck.
'Do you need help?' he asked as they broke into a run.
'No more then you, my friend.' he answered. The noise around them was growing to an extreme ballet of racket. Their cries in their foul tongue almost made Estel's ears hurt.
'Wait!' said Legolas in a hushed way. 'Follow me.' As though it was a staircase he leapt up the tree trunk and scuttled out onto a branch. Gripping tightly with his left hand he reached down with his left and pulled Estel off the ground. When they were both in the tree Legolas held a finger to his lips, indicating silence. They waited. The clamor grew louder and Estel could see vines being slashed down in the shadows. Finally, several orcs burst from the forest, screaming like there was no tomorrow. An odor came with them like decaying flesh. Estel made no movement since he and Legolas didn't have any leaves to hide behind, just the sheet of vines that hung all around them.
The Orcs passed by below loudly, but slowly and they didn't even look up. Legolas waited until the last of the slashed vines stopped swaying back and fourth until he leapt down. Estel landed much less gracefully beside him and sighed.
'Are you hurt, Estel?' asked Legolas, facing him.
'I'm fine.' he said. 'Wait about you?' Legolas nodded and replied:
'I actually came out of that a lot less scathed then I thought I would.' Estel laughed. He looked around. Much of the foliage had been cut down, including the vines. The ground was trampled into a red silt.
'It seems that their only pleasure is to destroy things.' said Estel.
'It probably is.' said Legolas, looking beyond the damage towards where the orcs had disappeared. 'The others would've rounded off. Those orcs are pursuing blindly. As long as we don't run into the retreated group as we search for the company we should arrive their soon.' Estel nodded in agreement.
'When will we meet up with them?' he asked.
'We should this evening.' Legolas started off into the woods. 'Just hope that we don't run into any trouble.' Estel hoped.
The inside of the forest grew very hot as the day wore on. It felt as though the heat from the sun was being trapped under the leaves. The vines grew more dispersed as the clambered over the tangles of roots and rocks. They made their way up and down slopes and paused for a break at a murky stream. Legolas offered some water from a hidden flask instead of the brackish muck. Their course followed the trail left behind by the orcs, but Legolas would drift from it every now and again.
'Why do you keep going off the path like that?' Estel asked impatiently.
'Some of the horse tracks go off a little bit.' he replied calmly. 'The horses were in quite a panic.'
'How can you see horse tracks in this?' Estel motioned to the dirt he had been watching the whole time.
'You see the orc tracks, right?' asked the elf as he ducked under a branch still gazing at the ground.
'Who couldn't in this rubble?' replied Estel growing even more anxious. The heat left him thirsty and weak which resulted in an easily frustrated man.
'Imagine that the orc tracks aren't their. Imagine the dirt as the actual ground instead of a trail. What do you see?' Estel rolled his eyes and placed his hands on his hips. As Legolas continued on in the bush, he stared at the ground. Eventually his sight of the orc tracks changed and the hoof marks appeared as vivid as puddles. He eyed them swerving away from the orc path into the brush. He darted towards the tracks, see several orc ones following.
'Some of the band of orcs followed them.' he said quietly. 'They're being followed.' Legolas joined him and examined the tracks. Without explanation he sprinted away into the trees.
Aragorn followed but slowly fell behind. Something pricked at the back of his mind; something wrong, something incongruous. He knew this was part of the elf that was inside him. Elves had a strange sense to danger or enemies. He could feel the strange emotion that a battle produced. Fear and anger filled his mind and he felt suddenly infuriated. He punched at plants in the way and hissed at the roots that nearly made him trip.
He finally burst into a clearing. The scene there was the last thing he expected. The battle looked as though it had already ended. There was an elf on the ground, blood staining the grass around him and his chest immobile. The horses had run off but all the elves remained. Two were holding on up with a bloodied leg. The most frightening part was that the orcs still remained; every last one of them alive. They jabbed spears at the elves in startlingly large circles. There must've been twenty there against eleven injured elves. Estel immediately ducked behind a shrub that hid him from view. The anger and exhilaration was replaced with fear. He peeked through the bush and searched for Legolas. He saw him on his knees with his arms pulled back and an orkish spear pointed directly at his chest.
.
.
*, It is a trap!
**, Run!
***, Run for it!
****, Do you feel well?