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Chapter 21
Lost And Found
The big Orc grabbed Aragorn by the back of his tunic and roughly lifted the Ranger off the ground so he could get a closer look at him. There was a cut above the man's left temple, which was still bleeding as well as a massive bruise at the bottom of his chin. The Orc then noticed that the silver eyes were open and staring back at him though they were still somewhat dilated and glazed.
"Well, little human, you do live."
The Orc laughed then turned his head to another Orc standing behind him and made some comment that Aragorn could not understand. Both Orcs started to laugh even as the first Orc turned back to his prize, which was still dangling in front of him, feet not touching the ground.
"You may be of some use to us, little human, so for the time being I am going to let you live although you might want to wait awhile before you thank me. When we get back to our camp, we are going to ask you a few questions and if you answer the questions we ask, the way we want you to answer them, you will not be harmed - maybe!" Again the Orcs laughed.
Aragorn was then thrown roughly to the ground where he lay gasping for breath as his ribs complained loudly about the treatment they were receiving. When his hands were bound behind him and a rope was placed about his neck, the Orcs moved back down the hill leading their prisoner by the neck like a dog.
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Aragorn had no idea how far he had walked, how long he had walked, or even what direction he had walked in for time had started to run together as he repeatedly fell, then was lifted back to his feet each time by the rope around his neck. Sometimes after he would fall, he would be drug along the ground for a distance until he could regain his feet on his own and soon his neck was raw and bleeding from the friction of the rope. Finally, the Orc band reached their destination and, as Aragorn remarked to himself sarcastically, their destination appeared to be a cave.
"Why does it always have to be a cave?"
Once inside the large cavern, he was thrown roughly to the ground and while one particularly ugly Orc was hammering an iron ring into the wall above his head, Aragorn got a chance to get a good look at his captors.
"I think I'm in trouble." He thought dryly.
He counted the ten Orcs inside the cave and with at least two more of the ugly creatures standing guard outside, that meant 12 Orcs altogether and considering the condition he was in, he knew that it would be almost impossible for him to escape – in one piece, anyway.
Once the Orc had finished hammering the iron ring into the wall he jerked the young Ranger to a standing position then tied his hands to the ring. Once tied, Aragorn found that his feet barely touched the ground, a fact that increased his pain considerably as his rib cage was stretched beyond normal tolerances and breathing became more difficult as he was left alone for a time as the Orc band set up camp. The young ranger continued to watch his captors until the events of the day and the pain of his own injuries finally caught up with him and he finally began to doze.
He didn't know just how long he had been asleep but when he did awaken, it was not a pleasant experience. A big Orc, apparently the leader, had grabbed him roughly by the face, not heeding the bruises or the fact that the headache the human now had was threatening to drop him back into unconsciousness. Aragorn's stomach churned nauseatingly as his head was roughly turned from side to side, in time with "Big Ugly's" words.
"Wakey, wakey little human." When the big Orc finally saw the human open his eyes, he smiled and took a step closer to the injured man.
"Well there you are Mr. Ranger, sir. You have no idea just how happy I am that you decided to rejoin us. I thought maybe we could get to know each other a little bit then, when we asked you a couple of questions, you might be more 'inclined' to answer us. What do you think about that Mr. Ranger, sir?"
Aragorn stared at the sarcastic Orc standing in front of him and decided the nickname, "Big Ugly," really suited the beast perfectly. He had listened as the Orc had spoken to him and wondered just what rock the thing had crawled out from under. The creature wasn't speaking like Orcs normally spoke and this fact disturbed him because it meant a newer, more "intelligent" Orc now existed, if such was actually within the realm of possibility, an Orc that was a cut above the rest and potentially more dangerous.
Another, and if it was possible, uglier Orc appeared at Big Ugly's side.
"This is my friend Shaglir, little human. He is going to ask you a few questions. If you answer his questions truthfully, he will be very happy but if you don't answer his questions truthfully, he will be very sad and when Shaglir is sad, he gets mean and has a tendency to hurt and break things. Do you understand me little human?"
Aragorn locked eyes with the Orc standing in front of him but otherwise remained silent. Finally, losing his patience with the silent human, the Orc backhanded him, whipping Aragorn's head violently to one side and reopening the wound above his left temple. Turning on his heel and starting to walk away, the Orc motioned to Shaglir who was still standing nearby and said simply, "Have fun."
Shaglir walked up to Aragorn and looked him up and down, taking note of the rangers various injuries and running his hand down the man's bruised rib cage. He paused when he heard the human's hiss of pain then, smiling sadistically, and while still looking the man in the eye, the Orc quickly pressed inward with his thumb. There was a small, dull snap as the rib broke and even though he tried, Aragorn couldn't quite stifle a groan.
"Oh, did that hurt? I'm so sorry, I really don't know my own strength. I'll tell you what, I am willing to make you a deal. If you tell me three things that I want to know, I won't break any more of your ribs. Now how does that sound?"
Getting no response from the human, the Orc continued.
"I want to know these three things: where the horses are being kept, where the humans are being kept, and I want you to tell me everything you know about this rogue rider, the one they call the Black Rider. So, Ranger, tell me what I want to know."
Aragorn had decided to remain silent whether he knew the answers to any of Shaglir's questions or not, a fact not lost on the Orc standing in front of him. There was another dull snap as another rib was broken, but other than another small moan, the human still remained silent. Seeing that the current method of persuasion was proving to be ineffective, the one called Shaglir drew a dagger from his belt and Aragorn groaned because he knew what was coming and knew with certainty that he wasn't going to like it one little bit.
"Not feeling very talkative are we?" When the human didn't respond, the Orc continued. "Maybe this will help to change your mind."
Locking eyes with the man hanging in front of him, the Orc placed the blade of the dagger just below the man's collarbone and above his heart. He then applied just enough pressure so that the tip of the knife barely broke the skin and when the Ranger still showed no emotion, he applied a little more pressure and the blade sank a little deeper. The game went on for some time and though the man, hanging before the Orc paled more each time the blade was pushed deeper into his shoulder, he gave no other sign of his pain – nor did he answer the questions continuously being asked of him. Finally losing patience, Shaglir hit the dagger with the palm of his hand and drove it the rest of the way through the human's body.
Shaglir stalked off angrily and was soon conversing with Big Ugly about their next course of action while Aragorn tried to slow his breathing and heart rate, willing himself to relax as much as was possible. He was hoping the falcon had stayed around long enough to see what had happened after the avalanche and had gone back to Imladris for help. If he was lucky, his brothers might be trying to find both he and Legolas at that very moment. He was so deep in thought that he failed to see the approach of still another Orc.
TBC