Hi guys! Sorry this one took so long, but I was helping my sister move into a new apartment and I bought a few new books that I couldn't put down. I'm not really sure when the next chapter will be up, I start back to work this week. I have an update list if you want to be added, just email me or leave it in a review. Those who have left their address and are not receiving the updates it's because I'm getting weird messages about your accounts. If you have another leave it for me to try and use.
LOTR notes:
Eldar - Elves
Review Responses:
buffyfan363, Ezmerelda, harmoni9, John, Kyra2, thank you guys so much for your reviews, they're great!
Lynsi, I don't have a particular song in mind yet for Legolas to teach Ginny, but I'm willing to hear suggestions. I only know a few songs so any help is welcome.
PreCarIouSpErsOnaTa, I know Elbereth is a Vala, but I'm having them use it like the Potter verse uses Merlin and Christians use god. I've read quite a few strict LOTR fics that use it that way which is were I got it from. Tolkien was something of a prude and never seemed to include them swearing about anything. I find it hard to believe that they would never swear, so that's where I got it from. I guess I should have explained it more carefully for those who don't really know who she is. But thanks for the site, I love having additional resources, never know when that ever elusive tidbit is located at. :) Oh, and thanks for letting me know you're enjoying the fic.
A/N: I know things aren't changing a lot yet for LOTR, but once Buffy and co. settle in and get a feel for things then they will start interjecting their opinions. Just be patient for a little while.
A/N2: Thanks to Kiara from Twisting The Hellmouth for helping out with the title for Chapter Fourteen - Keeping Up Hope so a huge thanks to her!
Chapter Fifteen
Riders of Rohan
Dawn wearily sighed as she watched Aragorn press his ear to the ground. Legolas stood next to him and he seemed to be studying something off in the distance. She hoped he would have good news when he stood back up.
"Riders!" Cried Aragorn, springing to his feet. "Many riders on swift steeds are coming toward us."
"Yes," Legolas confirmed. "There are one hundred and five. Yellow is their hair, and bright are their spears."
"Where?" Harry asked as he moved to stand next to the elf. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find the riders they spoke of. "I don't see them."
"There," said the elf, pointing. "They are little more than five leagues distant."
"How can you see that clearly so far away?"
"The eyes of the Eldar are keen. We can actually see farther than that," the elf replied modestly.
"Well I'm impressed," Harry said.
"Five leagues or one we cannot escape them in this bare land. Shall we wait for them here or go on our way?" Gimli asked.
"We will wait. These horsemen are riding back down the orc-trail. We may get news from them," Aragorn decided.
"Thank Merlin," Ginny said as she plopped to the ground. "I think my feet are about to fall off."
"I, too, am weary, but we should not rest here, we would be too easy a mark atop this hill. Let us travel a little ways down."
Ginny groaned but stood up. The company walked a short ways before taking a break.
"Who are these people?" Draco asked after a while.
"The Rohirrim are proud and willful, but they are true-hearted. They have long been the friends of Gondor."
"But Gandalf spoke of a rumor that they pay tribute to Mordor," Gimli pointed out.
"I believe it no more than Boromir did," Aragorn said. "I've spent time among them. They have no love of orcs."
"We shall soon learn the truth," Legolas said. "Already they approach."
Before long all of them could hear the approaching horses and they began to ride by. The riders paid little heed to the travelers sitting in the grass. When almost all had passed, Aragorn stood and called in a loud voice, "Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?"
As one, the riders turned and encircled them. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli tried to steer the three girls behind them. Buffy and Dawn rolled their eyes at the unnecessary gesture.
"Knew I should have done that demonstration back at Caras Galahad," Buffy muttered.
"Galadhon," Dawn corrected absently.
When the horsemen stopped, they all pointed their spears at the strangers. "Who are you and what are you doing in this land?" The apparent leader asked.
"I am called Strider," Aragorn replied, using his ranger name. "We've come from the east hunting orc."
The man dismounted and approached. "That is no name for a man. Have you sprung out of the grass? How did you escape our sight? Are you elvish folk?"
"No, only Legolas from Mirkwood is an elf. Our cloaks were gifts from the Lady of Lothlórien."
"The witch!"
Gimli growled while Buffy and Dawn tensed. "Give me your name horse-master, and I will give you mine and more besides," Gimli said, gripping his ax.
"I am Éomer son of Éomund, Third Marshal of Riddermark. And I would cut off your head, dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground."
Legolas had an arrow notched and aimed in less than a blink of the eye. "You would die before your stroke fell!"
"O good lord, here we go," Dawn said. "Stupid elf. Always thinking with his bow and arrow. Would you put that down, it's not going to solve anything."
Éomer turned his attention to Dawn when Legolas lowered his weapon. "You hunt orc with three females? That doesn't seem wise."
"We can take care of ourselves," Buffy said, her eyes flashing.
"Who are the rest of your company, and I would have you right name, Strider."
"First, do you serve Mordor?" Aragorn asked.
"My company and I are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. Now come! Who are you? Whom do you serve?"
"I serve no man." Then he suddenly withdrew Andúril and it shined brightly in the sun. "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn and am called Elessar the Elfstone, Dúnadan, the heir of Isildur, Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the sword that was Broken and is forged again! Will you aid me or thwart me? Choose swiftly!"
"Damn," Spike muttered, as Aragorn seemed to grow before his eyes. He could see the potential for a great king shining around the normally quiet man.
"So how many names does he have?" Draco asked Dawn.
"Too many to count, I think," was her whispered reply.
"These are indeed strange days. Dreams and legends seem to spring to life out of the grass," Éomer said in awe. "Tell me, lord, what brings you here?"
"We track a party of Uruk-hai. They have taken two of our friends captive."
"Hunt no further, we have slaughtered them."
"But there were two hobbits. Did you see two hobbits?" Gimli intensely asked.
"They would be small - only children to your eyes," Aragorn explained when he noted Éomer's confused look.
"Time is pressing!" Called out one of the riders.
"Leave us for a while. Assemble the éored farther on the path," Éomer commanded. When they were alone he turned back to the company. "I'm sorry, but we left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them as is our custom. Will you please introduce the rest of your company and speak more fully of your errand?"
"This is Lady Buffy and her sister Lady Dawn. This is Lady Ginny." The girls waved and smiled. "And Masters Draco, Spike, and Harry. Our errand must remain in secrecy. How fares King Théoden?"
"Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king so he no longer recognizes friend from foe. Not even his own kin."
"That can't be good," Draco sighed.
"The white wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked."
"We shall be wary as we continue on."
"Allow me to aid you in your endeavor. Hasufel, Arod, Herubrand, Léofa, Baldor!" Five horses were lead over to them. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Look for your friends, but do not trust to hope, it has forsaken these lands. Lord Aragorn may we one day be joined together in battle."
"A time that will soon be upon us I am afraid."
"Until then, farewell." Then Éomer returned to his horse and the men rode away.
"Well that was nice of him," Ginny said as she looked at the closest horse with some trepidation.
"We must hurry," Aragorn said as he quickly mounted Hasufel.
"Gimli, you can ride with me," Legolas said as he leaped lightly up on Arod. Then he helped the dwarf up.
Spike and Draco soon followed with little difficulty. "It's been awhile," Spike said as he bent forward to adjust his stirrups.
"I didn't know you could ride," Buffy said as she waited for him to finish.
"Had to. Part of the Malfoy training. It was one of the - wait, no. It was the only thing I did well that my father was proud of."
Dawn was eyeing Draco as he sat atop Léofa. Clad in his elven garb and the ease he exuded, she could quickly discern that he, too, was a competent horseman. "You look hot up there."
"Ahhhh!" Buffy cried from behind Spike. "I don't need to hear those words coming out of my sister's mouth."
"Whatever," Dawn said lightly as she climbed up behind Draco.
Ginny looked at Harry. "Please tell me you know how to ride."
He turned to look at her with wide eyes. "I hoped you knew."
"Actually, I'm a little afraid of them," she confessed.
"Oh, that's a problem."
"Ya think," she said with a glare.
"Is there a problem?" Aragorn asked, as he rode over to them.
"Um, neither of us can ride and Ginny is afraid of horses," Harry supplied with a nervous smile.
Aragorn frowned and then reached down to Ginny. "You may ride with me Lady Ginny until Harry becomes competent."
She looked nervously at the horse.
"He will not harm you, but we must not tarry any longer."
Taking a deep calming breath, she reached out and let the ranger help her up. She looked over to see Harry awkwardly climb the horse.
Spike rode up next to the young wizard. "Don't doubt your commands, the horse will sense it and become confused and may not do what you want it to. Stand in your stirrups."
Harry looked at him questioningly, but did as he was asked. Spike nodded and said, "Good, they're the right length. You can sit again. Keep a good hold on the reins. Grip the horse slightly with your knees and use that to steady yourself. Everything else we'll fix as we go."
"Are we ready?" Aragorn asked.
"As I'll ever be," Harry said uneasily.
"Then let us be off."
Ginny squeaked and gripped Aragorn tightly as Hasufel took off in a gallop.
scenebreak
"What's all this stuff for?" Ron asked as he looked at the various objects laid out on the table in front of him.
"We've talked it over with Wesley and we think we may have found a way to locate Frodo and Sam," Willow said as Tara laid a map of the British Isles in the center of the table.
"How?" Ron asked excitedly. "I'm all for getting the others back here as soon as possible."
"It's a locator spell," Tara said as she sat down.
"I thought you had to have something that belonged to the person you were looking for."
"You do, but this one is different. We're going to do a generalized search so all we need is a map and a specially mixed powder," Willow explained.
"What do I do with this?" He asked as he took the jar of powder that Tara handed him.
"We concentrate our magic on finding other dimensional objects and we throw a handful of the powder over the map. Then, wherever they are, a dot will glow on the map," she answered.
"Are we ready?" Willow asked.
Ron nodded and began pulling on his magicks. His skin tingled as he felt the air around him come alive. He centered his thoughts on otherworldly objects and threw the powder when Willow said to.
Three pairs of eyes watched the map closely as little lights began glowing all over it.
"Merlin," Ron said softly. "There must be a hundred of them."
"What if we tried looking for other dimensional beings?" Tara asked as they let the spell end.
"It's worth a try," Willow said with a shrug.
They cast the spell again and this time there were so many lights that their faces glowed.
"How did they all get here? I mean there's hundreds of them. How did we not know about this?" Ron asked as the lights faded.
"Many of them can move through dimensions - like Anya. Others could have been here for hundreds of years coming through random portals or seeking asylum. You just never know," Willow said.
"Now what?" Tara asked.
"We can scan for both objects and beings together since Frodo has the ring," Ron suggested.
The map lit up for a third time as the powder settled once more. Willow sighed as she looked at the fifty dots. "We're going to have to check each one of those out in order to be sure."
"This is going to take forever," Ron said as he slumped down in his chair.
scenebreak
The sun was just beginning to set when they finally arrived at the smoking remains of the dead Uruk-hai. Aragorn helped Ginny down before dismounting and handing her the reins. She grimaced but held them and stood quietly next to Hasufel.
Harry groaned as he slid off Baldor, his horse, and collapsed on the ground. "I thought riding horses was supposed to be easier. My legs hurt more now than before."
"Nobody said it was easier, Potter, only faster."
"And my bum hurts," Harry complained from the ground.
"Will you just stuff it? I'd like to know what happened to Merry and Pippin," Draco snapped as he watched Aragorn search the area.
"Let us camp over there beneath the trees. I do not wish to examine the battlefield any further in the failing light. Mayhap the morning sun shall shed new light," Aragorn told them when he came back.
"Can we light a fire? It's a little chilly out," Dawn said as she rubbed her arms in effort to warm them up.
Aragorn frowned slightly as he looked at the forest stretching out behind them. "We are on the very edge of Fangorn and it is perilous to touch the trees of that wood, it is said."
"What if we just picked up branches off the ground?" Buffy asked.
"Why would the trees care?" Ginny asked curiously at the same time.
"The forest may be alive," Legolas said softly. "Long ago the Onodrim, or what men called Ents, dwelled there. We sing of them from time to time at home."
"As long as the wood for the fire is already dead, I do not believe there will be trouble. But take care to not set a blade against the trees. We may need to travel through the forest ourselves if the hobbits entered them," Aragorn cautioned wearily.
scenebreak
Gimli and Buffy were keeping the first watch when he took the opportunity to ask, "Do you still have hope that they are alive."
"I think so, yes. Saruman wanted them alive so the nasties couldn't have killed them. Those horse guys didn't see them so I think they escaped," Buffy said confidently.
"Where do you get this boundless hope?"
She sighed and softly answered. "If I didn't carry hope that we will win, that I can make a difference, then why bother? I could just sit at home and do nothing to help. But my calling drives me forward to fight, to help. If I lost hope then I'd lose a part of myself and that's dangerous ground for a slayer. When she loses hope, a death wish sets in and the end usually comes shortly after that."
"Profound," he said after a moment.
"Yeah. Not sure where that came from." She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and she turned to look. "Who's that?" She asked loudly.
Just on the edge of the firelight stood an old man wrapped in a great cloak with a large brimmed hat pulled over his eyes.
The other company members woke and sat up at Buffy's cry. The man never moved, just stood and watched.
"Well father, what can we do for you?" Aragorn asked and the man suddenly disappeared as if he had never been there at all.
"We all saw that, right?" Spike asked as he looked around for signs of the man.
"It was Saruman. Remember the words of Éomer - he walks about like an old man, hooded and cloaked," Gimli said in a voice tense with emotion.
"But this guy wore a hat," Dawn pointed out.
"In any event, there is nothing we can do now. I'll take the next watch," Aragorn said. "I have some things to think about."
The others, while still spooked, settled back down and quickly fell back asleep.