Chapter Five
They had left the village of Bree at dawn, Strider leading the four young fighters as he walked ahead with his steed trotting beside him.
"Where are you taking us?" Shingo demanded, following behind the Ranger.
Strider's answer was simple "Into the Wild."
"How do we know Strider, Ranger or whatever they call him, is a friend of Chizuru Kagura?" Chris whispered to Shingo as they delved deeper into lands which they had never seen before.
Shingo didn't take his gaze from the Ranger as he quietly replied "We have no choice but to trust him, Chris."
"But where is he leading us?" Kensou asked as he brought up the rear of the small group, holding the reins of a pony the Ranger told them to use for carrying some of their belongings. He hadn't realised how loudly he had mused unbtil Strider spoke again.
"I'm taking you to Rivendale, Master Kensou."
"Did you hear that?" Bao said, his voice still as cheerful as ever. "Rivendale. We're going to see the Elves!"
It was coming towards late morning now and Strider had stopped for a moment to work out the best way to Rivendale when he heard some commotion and turned around to see the four young fighters unpacking food and pans from the pony. Kensou was already trying to gather some wood for a small fire.
"We do not stop untill nightfall." Strider told them, pulling a bit of a disgusted face at their pathetic attempts to start a fire.
"What about breakfast?" Kensou inquired. Surely even the Ranger had to eat something.
"You've already had it." came the reply.
"We've had one, yes," Kensou shrugged. "What about second breakfast?"
This time, the Ranger did not reply. Instead, he turned on his heels, muttering something under his breath as he walked onwards.
"I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Kensou." Bao tried hard not to laugh, as well as Shingo and Chris, who were packing the food back into their packs.
"What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper?" Kensou whined. "He knows about them. Doesn't he?"
Chris started after the Ranger. "I wouldn't count on it, Kensou."
At that, something was thrown out of the greenery ahead of them and Chris caught it in his hand.
The object turned out to be an apple and Chris handed it to Kensou before proceeding to walk after Strider.
Kensou stared at the apple in his hand, a child-like pout formimg on his lips before.
"Itai!"
.he was hit right on the head by another apple that was thrown from the same location.
Elsewhere, K9999 glanced at the palantir in front of him.
"The power of Isengard is at your command, Orochi, Lord of Middle- Earth," K9999 hissed gleefully as the eye of Orochi appeared within the crystalline orb.
The blue flames liked at the edges around the terrible eye and it focused on K9999, making him feel slightly unnerved. Then he heard the voice of Orochi echo around him, the sound of it deep and deadly.
Build me an army worthy of Mordor, the Mountain of Doom.
K9999 turned around and, as if on cue, three strange lizard-like creations of N.E.S.T.S. laboratories which had been named Orcs, entered the room.
"What orders from Mordor, my lord?" asked one of the Orcs. "What does the great Eye command?"
K9999 looked at the sleazy N.E.S.T.S. creation. "We have work to do."
Consciousness returned slowly and painfully to Chizuru Kagura.
She could feel a cold breeze and the sound of the wind whip around her as she finally managed to open her eyes. Forcing herself to stand, she realised that she was standing on some kind of circular platform.
Drops of icy rain fell from the skies, seeming to make her groggy mind focus more.
Where was she?
Frowning and holding her head, she edged cautiously towards the edge of the platform, peering over it. What she saw made her drop to her knees and scramble backwards to the center of the circular platform.
She was on the very top of the huge tower.
And it was an extremely long way down.
The Orcs had been at work all day.
K9999 grinned as he looked around, inspecting their progress as he walked around the woodland area surrounding the base of the tower.
Trees were being felled all around him.
One of the chief Orcs approached him.
"The Trees are strong, my lord," it reported. "Their roots grow deep."
K9999 looked at the chief Orc. He didn't care about the trees. He didn't care about how deeply they dug their roots into the ground. He only wanted to complete this new task.
"Tear it all down," he finally said to the chief Orc. "Let nothing get in your way."
"This was the great watchtower of Amon Sûl."
Strider gazed around at the small stone fort that they were standing within. It was in ruins. Then, he shifted his gaze from the dark skies and back to the four young fighters and announced "We shall rest here for tonight."
Almost immediately, the four Hobbits collapsed into heap against the walls. None of them had been travelling for so long with minimal breaks. They were all extremely worn-out.
Before any of them could get cozy, Strider dropped a heavy rolled up weapons carrying case in front of them and began to unveil the arsenal stored within it.
"These are for you," Strider took four swords out, tossing one to each of the boys. "Keep them close," he stood up and started to head off. "I'm going to have a look around. Stay here."
With that, he was gone, leaving the four young Hobbits to marvel at their new weapons.
Later that night, Shingo was awoken by the sound of his friends and a small cracking sound.
"My tomato's burst."
"Can I have some bacon?"
"Want a tomato, Kensou?"
Suddenly, Shingo realised that the cracking sound was actually the sound of a campfire and he immediately leapt to his feet, looking at the three boys.
"What are you doing??" he asked incredulously.
"Tomatoes, sausages and nice crispy bacon," Bao replied, unnaturally cheerful for the time of the night. "Nothing like a good midnight snack!"
"We saved some for you, Shingo." Kensou said, offering Shingo a plate of food as he approached them, but Shingo didn't care for the food.
"Put the fire out!" Shingo yelled at them, kicking the sandy ground on the fire to smother the flames.
The other three boys were just about to retort to Shingo's actions when they suddenly heard a shrill scream that pierced the air and darkness around them.
Afraid of what was coming, Shingo ran to the broken edge of the watchtower and looked down, vaguely aware of Chris, Bao and Kensou standing beside him.
Below them, five of the Nazgûl were emerging on foot out of the dense fog that was starting to cloud the ground. All of them were moving towards the watchtower.
"Go!"
In a flash, Shingo drew his sword and pushing his friends away from the edge of the watchtower, noticing that they too were unsheathing their own swords as they ran up the broken stairs to the top of the ruined structure.
Once at the top, the four of them stood back to back, continuously turning in a tight circle, trying to anticipate where the Nazgûl woud strike from.
Shingo saw the first one emerge out of the shadows. The shrouded warrior stood there for a moment, his gauntletted hand gripping the hilt of his sword, drawing it and holding it in front of him.
The other four Ringwraiths soon followed the first one, all appearing from the darkness and advancing on the four boys, aiming their deadly swords at them.
"Get back!" Kensou suddenly lunged at one of the Ringwraiths with his sword, only to be overpowered and thrown into a heap on the other side of the watchtower.
Seeing this, Chris and Bao quickly stepped in front of Shingo in an act of protection, shielding him from the Ringwraiths. Their efforts were also in vain as two of the Nazgûl pulled the two boys away from where they stood, leaving Shingo to fend for himself.
Terrified, Shingo immediately forgot his combat training and dropped the sword, stumbling backwards, tripping over s piece of rubble and falling to the ground, where he desperately tried to think of something.
The ring.
Shingo quickly reached into his pocket for the ring and one of the Ringwraiths suddenly turned and advanced towards Shingo, drawing his blade.
Shingo backed up in fear, soon finding his back against a wall. He coiuld see the rest of the Ringwraiths following close behind the first one, who was already preparing to drive his sword into him. With that, Shingo shoved the ring onto his finger, disappearing once more from sight.
Shingo found himself back in the Void.
This time, instead of seeing shadows in place of people, when he gazed up at the Ringwraithes, he could see them as white figures. They were no longer covered in black shrouds, but were now like soulless humans.
Shingo, having been taught by Kusanagis, knew about the Yagami Clan enough to see a resemblance in the eyeless and slightly shrivelling beings that stood before him.
Then, as the first stretched out it's emaciated hand towards him, Shingo could feel the ring on his finger pulling his hand towards the Ringwraith's own, the ring itself appearing to have a mind of its own.
Grunting with effort, Shingo finally managed to pull his hand back, the Ringwraith also pulling back in suprise of Shingo's sudden burst of strength and will. The surprise, however was short-lived as he lifted his sword again and speared the blade into Shingo's shoulder, making hism scream in almost unbearable agony. And then suddenly the blade was gone and a shadow filled the space between the Ringwraiths and Shingo, giving Shingo a change to release the ring from his finger and look up just in time to see Strider charge in to fend off the Nazgûl as Kensou rushed to his side.
Strider proved to be an excellent swordsman, leaping in to engage in battle with his sword in hand, driving the Ringwraiths away from the wounded Shingo. He ducked a swing from the nearest Ringwraith before producing a golden-orange flame in his right hand and setting the Nazgûl's black shrouds alight and sending it stumbling into another Ringwraith where the flames transferred onto the second one's shrouds. Then, he sent the other two retreating after the first two with his swordfighting skills, leaving the path clear for Chris and Bao to run towards Kensou and Shingo.
His back turned, the Ranger almost missed the last of the Nazgûl heading in the direction of the four boys.
Almost.
Strider spun around, throwing an arc of flames at the last Ringwraith, setting it's black shrouds on fire and seeing to it that he retreated with the others before he could hear urgent toned voice.
"Strider!!"
Upon hearing Kensou's voice, he turned and headed back to the group of boys.
Shingo was laying on the floor, writhing and gasping in pain.
Kensou looked up at the Ranger. "Help him, Strider."
The Ranger picked up the weapon used against Shingo from where it lay on the floor. After a moment of examining it, he confirmed the idednity of the dagger before the blade of it suddenly disintegrated into ashes.
"He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade," he picked up Shingo with haste and care at the same time. "This is beyond my skill to heal. He needs Elvish medicine. Let's go. Hurry!"
"We're six days from Rivendale!" Kensou wailed in dismay as he struggled to keep up with the Ranger as they headed off once again. "He'll never make it!"
Strider didn't reply Kensou as he carried a barely conscious Shingo over his shoulder. Instead, all he whispered was "Hold on, Shingo. Hold on."
They had left the village of Bree at dawn, Strider leading the four young fighters as he walked ahead with his steed trotting beside him.
"Where are you taking us?" Shingo demanded, following behind the Ranger.
Strider's answer was simple "Into the Wild."
"How do we know Strider, Ranger or whatever they call him, is a friend of Chizuru Kagura?" Chris whispered to Shingo as they delved deeper into lands which they had never seen before.
Shingo didn't take his gaze from the Ranger as he quietly replied "We have no choice but to trust him, Chris."
"But where is he leading us?" Kensou asked as he brought up the rear of the small group, holding the reins of a pony the Ranger told them to use for carrying some of their belongings. He hadn't realised how loudly he had mused unbtil Strider spoke again.
"I'm taking you to Rivendale, Master Kensou."
"Did you hear that?" Bao said, his voice still as cheerful as ever. "Rivendale. We're going to see the Elves!"
It was coming towards late morning now and Strider had stopped for a moment to work out the best way to Rivendale when he heard some commotion and turned around to see the four young fighters unpacking food and pans from the pony. Kensou was already trying to gather some wood for a small fire.
"We do not stop untill nightfall." Strider told them, pulling a bit of a disgusted face at their pathetic attempts to start a fire.
"What about breakfast?" Kensou inquired. Surely even the Ranger had to eat something.
"You've already had it." came the reply.
"We've had one, yes," Kensou shrugged. "What about second breakfast?"
This time, the Ranger did not reply. Instead, he turned on his heels, muttering something under his breath as he walked onwards.
"I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Kensou." Bao tried hard not to laugh, as well as Shingo and Chris, who were packing the food back into their packs.
"What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper?" Kensou whined. "He knows about them. Doesn't he?"
Chris started after the Ranger. "I wouldn't count on it, Kensou."
At that, something was thrown out of the greenery ahead of them and Chris caught it in his hand.
The object turned out to be an apple and Chris handed it to Kensou before proceeding to walk after Strider.
Kensou stared at the apple in his hand, a child-like pout formimg on his lips before.
"Itai!"
.he was hit right on the head by another apple that was thrown from the same location.
Elsewhere, K9999 glanced at the palantir in front of him.
"The power of Isengard is at your command, Orochi, Lord of Middle- Earth," K9999 hissed gleefully as the eye of Orochi appeared within the crystalline orb.
The blue flames liked at the edges around the terrible eye and it focused on K9999, making him feel slightly unnerved. Then he heard the voice of Orochi echo around him, the sound of it deep and deadly.
Build me an army worthy of Mordor, the Mountain of Doom.
K9999 turned around and, as if on cue, three strange lizard-like creations of N.E.S.T.S. laboratories which had been named Orcs, entered the room.
"What orders from Mordor, my lord?" asked one of the Orcs. "What does the great Eye command?"
K9999 looked at the sleazy N.E.S.T.S. creation. "We have work to do."
Consciousness returned slowly and painfully to Chizuru Kagura.
She could feel a cold breeze and the sound of the wind whip around her as she finally managed to open her eyes. Forcing herself to stand, she realised that she was standing on some kind of circular platform.
Drops of icy rain fell from the skies, seeming to make her groggy mind focus more.
Where was she?
Frowning and holding her head, she edged cautiously towards the edge of the platform, peering over it. What she saw made her drop to her knees and scramble backwards to the center of the circular platform.
She was on the very top of the huge tower.
And it was an extremely long way down.
The Orcs had been at work all day.
K9999 grinned as he looked around, inspecting their progress as he walked around the woodland area surrounding the base of the tower.
Trees were being felled all around him.
One of the chief Orcs approached him.
"The Trees are strong, my lord," it reported. "Their roots grow deep."
K9999 looked at the chief Orc. He didn't care about the trees. He didn't care about how deeply they dug their roots into the ground. He only wanted to complete this new task.
"Tear it all down," he finally said to the chief Orc. "Let nothing get in your way."
"This was the great watchtower of Amon Sûl."
Strider gazed around at the small stone fort that they were standing within. It was in ruins. Then, he shifted his gaze from the dark skies and back to the four young fighters and announced "We shall rest here for tonight."
Almost immediately, the four Hobbits collapsed into heap against the walls. None of them had been travelling for so long with minimal breaks. They were all extremely worn-out.
Before any of them could get cozy, Strider dropped a heavy rolled up weapons carrying case in front of them and began to unveil the arsenal stored within it.
"These are for you," Strider took four swords out, tossing one to each of the boys. "Keep them close," he stood up and started to head off. "I'm going to have a look around. Stay here."
With that, he was gone, leaving the four young Hobbits to marvel at their new weapons.
Later that night, Shingo was awoken by the sound of his friends and a small cracking sound.
"My tomato's burst."
"Can I have some bacon?"
"Want a tomato, Kensou?"
Suddenly, Shingo realised that the cracking sound was actually the sound of a campfire and he immediately leapt to his feet, looking at the three boys.
"What are you doing??" he asked incredulously.
"Tomatoes, sausages and nice crispy bacon," Bao replied, unnaturally cheerful for the time of the night. "Nothing like a good midnight snack!"
"We saved some for you, Shingo." Kensou said, offering Shingo a plate of food as he approached them, but Shingo didn't care for the food.
"Put the fire out!" Shingo yelled at them, kicking the sandy ground on the fire to smother the flames.
The other three boys were just about to retort to Shingo's actions when they suddenly heard a shrill scream that pierced the air and darkness around them.
Afraid of what was coming, Shingo ran to the broken edge of the watchtower and looked down, vaguely aware of Chris, Bao and Kensou standing beside him.
Below them, five of the Nazgûl were emerging on foot out of the dense fog that was starting to cloud the ground. All of them were moving towards the watchtower.
"Go!"
In a flash, Shingo drew his sword and pushing his friends away from the edge of the watchtower, noticing that they too were unsheathing their own swords as they ran up the broken stairs to the top of the ruined structure.
Once at the top, the four of them stood back to back, continuously turning in a tight circle, trying to anticipate where the Nazgûl woud strike from.
Shingo saw the first one emerge out of the shadows. The shrouded warrior stood there for a moment, his gauntletted hand gripping the hilt of his sword, drawing it and holding it in front of him.
The other four Ringwraiths soon followed the first one, all appearing from the darkness and advancing on the four boys, aiming their deadly swords at them.
"Get back!" Kensou suddenly lunged at one of the Ringwraiths with his sword, only to be overpowered and thrown into a heap on the other side of the watchtower.
Seeing this, Chris and Bao quickly stepped in front of Shingo in an act of protection, shielding him from the Ringwraiths. Their efforts were also in vain as two of the Nazgûl pulled the two boys away from where they stood, leaving Shingo to fend for himself.
Terrified, Shingo immediately forgot his combat training and dropped the sword, stumbling backwards, tripping over s piece of rubble and falling to the ground, where he desperately tried to think of something.
The ring.
Shingo quickly reached into his pocket for the ring and one of the Ringwraiths suddenly turned and advanced towards Shingo, drawing his blade.
Shingo backed up in fear, soon finding his back against a wall. He coiuld see the rest of the Ringwraiths following close behind the first one, who was already preparing to drive his sword into him. With that, Shingo shoved the ring onto his finger, disappearing once more from sight.
Shingo found himself back in the Void.
This time, instead of seeing shadows in place of people, when he gazed up at the Ringwraithes, he could see them as white figures. They were no longer covered in black shrouds, but were now like soulless humans.
Shingo, having been taught by Kusanagis, knew about the Yagami Clan enough to see a resemblance in the eyeless and slightly shrivelling beings that stood before him.
Then, as the first stretched out it's emaciated hand towards him, Shingo could feel the ring on his finger pulling his hand towards the Ringwraith's own, the ring itself appearing to have a mind of its own.
Grunting with effort, Shingo finally managed to pull his hand back, the Ringwraith also pulling back in suprise of Shingo's sudden burst of strength and will. The surprise, however was short-lived as he lifted his sword again and speared the blade into Shingo's shoulder, making hism scream in almost unbearable agony. And then suddenly the blade was gone and a shadow filled the space between the Ringwraiths and Shingo, giving Shingo a change to release the ring from his finger and look up just in time to see Strider charge in to fend off the Nazgûl as Kensou rushed to his side.
Strider proved to be an excellent swordsman, leaping in to engage in battle with his sword in hand, driving the Ringwraiths away from the wounded Shingo. He ducked a swing from the nearest Ringwraith before producing a golden-orange flame in his right hand and setting the Nazgûl's black shrouds alight and sending it stumbling into another Ringwraith where the flames transferred onto the second one's shrouds. Then, he sent the other two retreating after the first two with his swordfighting skills, leaving the path clear for Chris and Bao to run towards Kensou and Shingo.
His back turned, the Ranger almost missed the last of the Nazgûl heading in the direction of the four boys.
Almost.
Strider spun around, throwing an arc of flames at the last Ringwraith, setting it's black shrouds on fire and seeing to it that he retreated with the others before he could hear urgent toned voice.
"Strider!!"
Upon hearing Kensou's voice, he turned and headed back to the group of boys.
Shingo was laying on the floor, writhing and gasping in pain.
Kensou looked up at the Ranger. "Help him, Strider."
The Ranger picked up the weapon used against Shingo from where it lay on the floor. After a moment of examining it, he confirmed the idednity of the dagger before the blade of it suddenly disintegrated into ashes.
"He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade," he picked up Shingo with haste and care at the same time. "This is beyond my skill to heal. He needs Elvish medicine. Let's go. Hurry!"
"We're six days from Rivendale!" Kensou wailed in dismay as he struggled to keep up with the Ranger as they headed off once again. "He'll never make it!"
Strider didn't reply Kensou as he carried a barely conscious Shingo over his shoulder. Instead, all he whispered was "Hold on, Shingo. Hold on."