Easterling Ambush
Chapter 1
Talk Around Rabbits
{This story takes place around 17 of the Fourth Age and is pure speculation as to what King Elessar would do about the Easterlings if they were to attempt to attack Gondor. All of the places and people are of his work, except for the characters I made up, which were based off his and entirely fictional.}
The wind holwed through the dense oak forest. The canopy shielded them from the sun, which would have pounded down upon them had it been otherwise.
"It's dark", he mumbled, half asleep. He looked up at the canopy, he had just woken up. His name was Faenil, Captain in the Rangers of Gondor. They were currently in the Forest of Ithilien, east of Minas Tirith. The Barracks and Training Grounds were just west of where they were now. It stood upon the banks of the River Anduin, next to the City of Osgiliath, the City of All the Stars.
He was currently tracking a band of Easterlings with a recruit he was asked to train by the Commander of his division. He walked into the tent and tugged at the soldier. "Wake up,
wake up Hegordae." Hegordae shifted, but did not wake. He walked over to a creek, filled up his bucket, and returned to the camp grinning. He entered the tent again, and poured
the bucket on Hegordae. "Wake up you bum", he said laughing as he threw the bucket outside the tent.
"What, what do you want?" Hegordae asked as he was woken abrupltly by the cold water. Faenil pulled a leaf off Hegordae's wet face. "You address me as sir, Hegordae, I thought we had established that by now", Faenil retorted as he walked out of the tent. He called from outside, "I'm preparing the fire, get the meat out of the pack if you please Master Hegordae."
"Fine oh fine", he mumbled as he awoke from under his blankets and took down the small, pitched tent. It was cold outside and the fire helped greatly, cooking last night's catch of rabbits just fine as they gathered around it.
"Where d'you reckon the Easterlings are Sir", he asked with a bit of sarcasm in the question. Faenil replied in a simple tone, "You would make me laugh Hegordae, if it were not for the fact you take nothing seriously." Faenil shifted and leaned over the fire, turning the rabbits around. "Oh stop being such a prat Sir." Faenil sat back down and looked at him with a simple smile and said in a serious voice, "I am not a prat, Master Hegordae", his tone changed as he poked one rabbit with a stick and shrugged, "I am merely following orders to train you." Hegordae leaned back on his log that he was sitting on, "Well you are a half-decent trainer, I'll give you that Sir."
"Enough with the Sir stuff already, say it in a simple manner or I'll leave you behind to the wolves", he said in an irritated tone, adjusting the meat some more. Hegordae mumbled something that sounded to Faenil like, "Wouldn't want that to happen", in a sarcastic tone. "Ya know, I heard that", Faenil said in a louder voice as he plucked the rabbits off the spit and handed one fully cooked to Hegordae, "Eat up." Hegordae looked at the rabbit with an almost frightened look on his face. "Oh don't worry, I didn't poison it", Faenil said as he sat back down with his rabbit, looking over at Hegordae, "At least not this time."
Faenil took a chunk or rabbit in his mouth and spoke, "Today I hope to make some progress on them, find out how many there are, and see if we can link up with the main ranger body to the north. From there", he said pulling out a map from his pack, "I hope to attack with full strength here." He tapped the map with his finger. It was pointing to a spot in the North Ithilien just east of Cair Andros. "Right in there is a clearing flanked on three sides by forests with its only opening to the south, where there is a small road. If we can get our body of rangers in the forest on the three sides, we can effectively destroy them", Faenil said all this with a mouth full of rabbit, and he was betting Hegordae was not even paying attention.
But Hegordae broke in, "What of the road?" He shifted on his log as he stared at the map with the rabbit in his right hand. Hegordae tapped the section where the road lay, "Even if we get them on all three sides, they can still get out of the clearing and down the road and into Osgiliath if they are considerably larger in numbers then we are."
Faenil thought for a moment then said, "But, we can close off the road with a simple detachment of oh say......about fifteen rangers." Hegordae broke in again, "But that will take away from the ambushing group, we may not have enough to destroy them if we leave a detachment to guard the road."
Faenil finished his rabbit and stood up, putting on his mail skirt and tunic with the White Tree emblazoned upon it, "Well, we will see when we get to them, and plus, I am the commanding officer." Hegordae just nodded and followed suit, putting the unpitched tent in his pack and putting on his mail and tunic, they both took their bows from off a tree and strapped on their swords. Faenil tapped his and they were off.