SPOILERS: There may be some from the LOTR trilogy.
AUTHOR'S NOTE AND DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Tolkien characters. The Dozan characters in this story are original, as well as the cities of Doza and Tersaf. I have very limited knowledge regarding Middle Earth geography, and I would greatly appreciate feedback regarding this matter. This fiction is my first attempt in writing Tolkien fanfiction.
FEEDBACK: Greatly appreciated! You can leave it at the review section or sent it directly to me via email: sidlestokes@yahoo.com
THE LAST ISTARI
By Mooose
Chapter 3
It was decided during breakfast that Aragorn would go to Tersaf with Legolas and Akiral. Aragorn had actually originally planned to go with all three Dozans, but Rolo insisted that he and Katana head back to Doza.
"We already have been away too long, my lord," Rolo explained. "Akiral can go with you, him we can spare, but Katana and I must head back and help Ormulla."
"Very well," Aragorn agreed. "I will have food and water prepared for your journey back. Please tell Ormulla that although it saddens me that it should take a catastrophe such as this one for us to meet again, I will be looking forward to seeing him again. I will do my best to put this scourge under control in Tersaf as fast as I can, so that I could go and attend to your crisis."
"Thank you very much, my Lord," Rolo said with a sincere grateful smile.
"Let us finish breakfast then, so we could be on our way," Aragorn said. Turning to Faramir, he said, "I leave Gondor in your hands, Steward, until I return from this journey."
"Aye, my Lord, I will look after her with my life," Faramir promised.
"So everything is settled then," the king remarked with finality. The rest of their meal was eaten with haste, and without much conversation, for although no one admitted it, each felt an inexplicable sense of impending doom.
* * *
Katana and Rolo journeyed for most of the morning in silence. Their steeds trotted briskly through the lush forest south of the City of Kings. Katana, who followed Rolo, occasionally peers over her shoulder, not quite being able to shake off the feeling that they were being followed. She felt that after they were perhaps a good distance from the edge of the woods.
For the nth time, she fleetingly looked back, but again, she saw nothing suspicious. Rolo, although ahead of her, was aware of this behavior.
"For goodness' sake, Katana, you're going to strain your neck with your constant looks back," Rolo finally spoke up after Katana looked behind her once again.
"Rolo, I can't quite feel at ease in these woods," Katana admitted. "I think we are being followed."
"Nonsense, who would do such thing?" Rolo dismissed her fears. "Orcs find this place revolting enough to stay away from it, and trolls certainly would not survive in this environment."
"What about bandits?"
"Katana, ever since King Elessar has ascended the throne, he deployed Rangers throughout this country to put fears such as yours to rest," Rolo replied. "I –"
Rolo's sentence was cut short when his horse suddenly reared. From out of nowhere, a burly man stepped into the path of the two travelers.
"I told you we were being followed," Katana hissed. Rolo struggled to keep his horse under control, and Katana had halted her mount and was looking at the man blocking their way.
"You should have listened to her," the man told Rolo. He let out a low whistle, and immediately, Rolo's horse calmed down.
"That was not funny, Mahtan," Rolo huffed, his normally impassive face red.
"I think it was quite funny," Mahtan grinned, his twinkling eyes meeting Katana's. Katana laughed, relieved that it was Mahtan who was tailing them.
Rolo looked at them, not quite liking that he was the cause of their amusement, but glad at the same time to see Mahtan. He gave the younger man a tight smile, and asked, "Why the change of heart, Mahtan? You made it quite clear before we separated that you will not set a foot on Gondor."
Mahtan shrugged. "I know these woods better than any of you, so I took it upon myself to see that you go through it unharmed," he explained. His eyes darkened. "Where is Akiral, by the way?"
"He went with the King to Tersaf," Katana replied. "It seems that that city's being hounded by the same illness as ours."
"Tersaf?" Mahtan raised his eyebrows. "That city is north of Gondor, almost opposite where Doza is. Who reported that?"
"The Steward of Gondor," Rolo answered. "He said he was informed by a ranger."
"Faramir," Mahtan said with a small smile of fondness. "How is he?"
"We hardly interacted with him," Katana confessed. "I –"
"Which is good," Rolo interjected, giving Katana an admonishing look. "Katana was not as cautious as she assured us she would be."
"Mahtan, I had not expected the likeness to be so strong!" Katana exclaimed.
"What exactly did you say?"
"Nothing," Katana admitted.
"But she the way she looked at him," Rolo recounted. He proceeded to tell Mahtan of their initial meeting with the king and the captain.
"I wouldn't worry about that," Mahtan said after Rolo finished speaking. He smirked at Katana. "He often gets that sort of reaction from females."
Katana felt her face turning red. "But I was just surprised!"
"I know, I was just teasing you," Mahtan grinned. "Still, I know for a fact that women find Faramir quite charming, although his brother's definitely the more charming one."
Katana rolled her eyes. "I was just surprised, Mahtan, not charmed or enamored by him."
Rolo suddenly raised a hand. "Listen."
Mahtan and Katana stopped their banter and listened. The forest had gone eerily quiet. "We'd better get going," Mahtan said softly, swiftly pulling himself up on Katana's horse. They had barely gone a meter forward when an arrow hit Rolo's mount's flank, causing the horse and its rider to fall down. Mahtan quickly jumped down to his fallen comrade, who was pinned to the ground by the heavy body of the animal that carried him. "Katana, go on, we'll deal with this!" Mahtan ordered, pushing the injured horse off Rolo. As the animal budged, Rolo slid away.
Katana cried out as an arrow whizzed dangerously close, slicing through her clothes and skin. She hardly felt the blood start to ooze from the wound as she tried to turn her horse around to get back to her companions. Her stubborn mount would not obey, but just then, three men blocked their way. Only then did her horse whirled around, and she saw Mahtan and Rolo engaged in combat against four men.
"Mahtan, look out!" Katana shouted as her horse thundered towards her friends. Mahtan reacted swiftly, fatally jabbing the man he was fighting and managing to get out of the way of the spooked horse. He then blocked a blow from one of the ambushers and fought him off. Rolo was successfully defending his ground, and together they fought back to back. The three men that blocked Katana's way were now upon them, and making the odds unfavorable for the two Dozans. As he fought, Mahtan managed to glance fleetingly to Katana's direction, just in time to see a red feathered dart hit her between the shoulder blades. Katana slumped forward, and her horse carried her away. Mahtan was then forced to focus back on his opponents, one of which he managed to knock out. Not long after that, he and Rolo were the only ones standing. Then, just as they were about to face each other, Mahtan felt a sharp pain on his thigh. He looked down and saw a red feathered dart embedded on his leg before darkness claimed him.