Joee: Here is an unbetaed chapter. Do your worst!
Dunadan Pirates: Um, thanks? Is it a good thing or a bad thing that the Mole-People are coming for me?
Kelly Kragen: Yes, more mischief, to be sure. The tangled web just gets tanglier. (My spell-checker doesn't like that last word, but I do. So there!)
Dragonfly: I'm sure Edwen Nana will eventually figure out what happened to the food. In the long run, nothing can stop her. I'm seriously considering working up a situation in which she gets to whack an Orc with a frying plan, kind of like Sam in Moria. No, wait! I have a better idea. She drowns one in a bathing cauldron!
Chapter 35: Ambush
Backtracking along the trail laid down by the twins' horses, Legolas and the others had ridden for several hours when Elladan and Elrohir's horses suddenly grew skittish and refused to go further. Legolas, too, sensed danger. He dismounted.
"From here we should proceed on foot. We will be the quieter."
Leaving the horses, they moved forward for another hour, and then Legolas raised his hand and signaled for them to stop.
"Our foes are near," he said softly. "I am going ahead to reconnoiter."
None gainsaid him. All knew that Legolas was far and away the best scout, and this was too serious a matter for displays of bravado. Legolas slipped away. An hour later, he returned.
"A company of Orcs marches this way. They follow the trail that we have been backtracking."
"How many?" asked Haldir.
"Two dozen, I should say," answered Legolas.
"At least six to one," said Rúmil. "Still, we have the advantage of surprise, and we will bring down several with our bows before we must engage them directly."
There was no question but that the Elves were going to attack the Orcs. Putting aside the possibility that the goblins had slain Elladan and Elrohir, they were much too close to Lothlórien for the Elves' peace of mind.
The four Elves slipped stealthily in the direction of the Orcs. When they reached their foes, the Elves split up, each going to one side of the band. When Legolas gave the agreed-upon birdcall, they unleashed a volley of arrows. In spite of Rúmil's confidence, from that point on the skirmish was, as Haldir later put it, 'interesting'. True, the Orcs briefly milled about in confusion, unsure of which way to charge. But when they swung into action, they did so with a murderous fury. Haldir and Rúmil were forced into hand-to-hand combat with four apiece, and Legolas had to contend with three. Orophin was faced only with two, but each was monstrous in both size and appearance.
"Stand still, yer worthless pointy ear," snarled one of the Orcs who sought Haldir's skin. The Elf decided that a strategic retreat was in order, and he ran around and around a thicket, the four Orcs in pursuit. As they ran, they pumped their arms up and down, inadvertently lowering their scimitars on the downswing as they did so. Haldir glanced over his shoulder as he ran. Suddenly he checked his flight, spun about, and decapitated the lead Orc, the creature's useless scimitar still clutched in its hand as the carcass toppled to the ground. The second Orc raised its weapon, but far too high, and Haldir drove his sword under the creature's guard, gutting him. The remaining two Orcs hesitated for a moment and then turned and fled. Switching to his bow, Haldir brought both down before either had taken twelve steps.
Rúmil had chosen to stand and fight, but he may have been regretting his choice by now. He had slain one Orc immediately, but the other three fought well together—veterans of several campaigns, perhaps—and denied him any openings. It was all he could do to parry their ferocious blows. Seeing his brother's peril, Haldir nocked his bow and felled one of his assailants. "That should even the odds, brother," he shouted. He knew Rúmil would be aggrieved if he brought down all three Orcs, so he wheeled about looking for Legolas and Orophin.
Legolas had dispatched two of his three opponents, but not without cost. Blood ran down the side of his face from a gash in his scalp. Haldir raised and lowered his bow several times, but the remaining Orc was on the far side of Legolas, and each time Haldir was on the verge of shooting, Legolas unwittingly dodged into the path of the arrow. Suddenly the Orc swung low, slashing Legolas' thigh, and the Elf stumbled and fell to the ground. The Orc raised his scimitar to finish him off, but now, having a clear shot, Haldir sent an arrow through the Orc's neck. The creature collapsed onto Legolas, but Haldir abandoned his friend in that safe but uncomfortable position in order to ascertain Orophin's whereabouts. Orophin had slain one of his foes and was parrying the thrusts of the second with some difficulty, but Haldir saw that Rúmil, having dispatched his two remaining enemies, was hastening to his aid. He was free to return to Legolas, and now he leapt to his side.
"Legolas," he said urgently, "are you hurt badly?"
"I suffer most grievously from the stench," gasped Legolas. "Kindly roll this creature off me!"
Haldir obliged and then dragged Legolas to a tree trunk so he could lean back against it while his wounds were dressed. Haldir freely poured water into each gash, emptying both his own and Legolas' water bladder. It was necessary not only to prevent the wounds from becoming infected but also to guard against the poison with which Orcs so often anointed their weapons. Then he quickly examined each cut.
"Both are deep enough to require stitches, Legolas. For the head wound, I am afraid I shall have to shave off some of your hair if I am to do a thorough job of it."
"I do not mind, Haldir. You know I've lost my hair often enough. At least this time I have done so for a good cause."
"Let us hope your father thinks so."
"No, let us instead hope I find an excuse to remain away from the Great Hall until my hair grows back!"
Orophin and Rúmil had now joined them. Orophin sported a nasty bruise on the side of his face but was otherwise unhurt. He went to search out a stream at which to refill the water bladders, and Rúmil kindled a fire and then went in search of a thorn bush.
Haldir washed the blade of his knife and held it in the fire. Then he began to carefully shave Legolas' scalp. After coming back with the water, Orophin settled himself down with his cloak in his lap in order to tease a long thread out from it. Rúmil returned with a handful of thorns. Carefully examining each one, he chose the longest and thinnest, and with the point of his knife, he painstakingly drilled a tiny hole. He handed the makeshift needle to Orophin, who threaded it with the fiber from his cloak.
"Is it ready, Orophin?" asked Haldir, who had just finished shaving the necessary patch of scalp.
In reply, Orophin handed Haldir the threaded needle.
"Legolas, I have a bottle of wine in my saddlebag," said Rúmil. "Would you like it?"
"Rúmil, you scamp," smiled Legolas, wincing only a little. "Always prepared for any eventuality! But, no, I think not."
Legolas let his eyes glaze over, and Haldir swiftly and neatly stitched his head wound.
"There," he said when he was finished. "Even if it does scar, I do not think it will be noticeable. His hair will cover it."
"Until the next time he loses it," joked Orophin.
"Hah hah," said Haldir dryly. "Come. Help me with his leggings. I'd like to stitch his leg wound before he comes out of his trance."
Rúmil let out a whistle as the wound was fully exposed.
"He's a lucky Elf. A little to one side, and he would never have any elflings!"
"He has too many memories of your youthful behavior to want to have any elflings," gibed Orophin.
"So witty we are today," said Haldir a trifle acerbically. "Orophin, have you rethreaded the needle?"
Orophin promptly handed him the needle, and Haldir stitched the gash in Legolas' thigh as efficiently as he had stitched the head wound.
"I do believe," he said when he was finished, "that this cut, too, shall heal well, but if it leaves a scar, the leggings will cover it."
"Not always, I hope!" snickered Rúmil.
Haldir did not deign to notice the witticism.
"Help me pull his leggings back up," he ordered. "There. Now let him rest. We have much to do. We must search the bodies of our foes to see if we can find any sign that they have encountered Elladan and Elrohir. If any of the Orcs still live, do not slay them until they have been questioned!"
Leaving Legolas sleeping in the shade of the tree, Haldir, Rúmil, and Orophin methodically searched the bodies of their enemies. No trace was found of Elladan and Elrohir, and in the end only one Orc was found who still breathed. The Elves tried to question him, but he had little to say.
"Rotten pointy ears," he snarled over and over again. "Rotten pointy ears! Led us inna trap, they did. N'ambush, yes, that's wot. Pointy ears led us inta'n'ambush. Rotten pointy ears—urgle urgh arrgh."
The Orc's head fell back, mouth gaping open to reveal sharp yellow teeth.
"Well," shuddered Orophin, "that wasn't a very useful conversation."
"Oh, yes, it was," said Haldir, arising to his feet and gazing at his blood-clotted hands with distaste. "Now we know that our friends are alive. The Orcs were pursuing them, for that fellow said that the 'pointy ears' led them into an ambush. We certainly didn't lead them into an ambush, so it must have been the twins."
"Then why have we encountered the Orcs before encountering Elladan and Elrohir?" asked Rúmil, puzzled.
"The Orcs have missed their quarry, that is why. Either by accident or design, the Orcs have blundered past our friends. Design, I should expect. This explains why Elladan and Elrohir's horses have been separated from their riders and yet show no sign of having been in battle. I'll warrant that when we find the twins, they will tell us that they sent the horses on ahead to decoy the Orcs. Still, even though it is likely that Elladan and Elrohir are unharmed, we should not give over the search until we have found them. For one thing, they are unhorsed. Let us wash ourselves and then, as soon as Legolas is awake, let us ride forth."
Orophin looked at the body of the Orc.
"What of the slain?"
"There are only four of us," Rúmil pointed out, "and Legolas can hardly be expected to either delve or haul firewood. Besides, we have neither axes nor shovels. For now, we must perforce leave the Orcs where they have fallen."
Haldir looked troubled. 'Twas a grievous thing to profane Arda with the bodies of the slain, but it seemed that they had no other choice.
Haldir and his brothers washed themselves. Then Haldir waited at the side of Legolas while Rúmil and Orophin went back to bring up the horses. When they returned, Haldir awoke Legolas and helped him to stand. Speaking reverently in High-Elven, one by one the Elves addressed earth, air, tree, and water, apologizing for the desecration of Arda and promising to make amends at the earliest opportunity. Haldir assisted Legolas as he mounted his horse, and then, solemnly, the Elves renewed the search for their friends.
As they did so, the friends in question were plodding along with their burden of an injured Ranger. They carried him as gently as they could, diligently trying to avoid jostling him, but the ground was very uneven. It seemed to Estel, who walked alongside the litter, that Halbarad's face grew paler and more drawn with every step the Elves took, yet he did not cry out, instead biting down on his lip until at last he drew blood.
"Elladan, Elrohir," cried Estel urgently, "you must stop! Halbarad is in great pain!"
Elladan and Elrohir at once lowered the litter to the ground and knelt anxiously beside the Ranger. They had covered the Dúnadan with their cloaks and now Elladan drew them aside. At once they saw that blood had soaked through the cloth binding the splints to his leg.
"A sliver of bone must have worked its way through the flesh," said Elrohir soberly.
Carefully they unwrapped the leg and saw that what they feared was true. A jagged piece of bone protruded through the skin.
"I think it would be best if our father set this leg," said Elladan.
"Yes," agreed Elrohir, "but first we have got to get him to our father."
"Or bring father to him," suggested Elladan. "It would take us several days to carry him to Rivendell, and in any event it may not be safe to move him. But an unencumbered runner could make excellent time, and our father, once alerted, would ride swiftly to our aid."
"I will go," volunteered Estel.
Elladan opened his mouth to object, but Estel forestalled him.
"I am an excellent runner, as I proved when I fetched you and Elrohir back to Halbarad. Moreover, you and Elrohir have been carrying him for hours and are tired. I have only carried the packs, and they were not heavy, for none of us packed overmuch."
Halbarad spoke then, although his voice was stretched with pain.
"Estel is right. He will move swiftly. Immobilized as I am, and now in the open, I would be best served by you two if you would remain with weapons at the ready."
"I agree with Halbarad," said Elrohir. "We will remain to defend him; Estel will race for Rivendell."
"Is your water bladder full, Estel," asked Elladan.
"No."
"Take mine, then."
"Hannon le, gwador-nîn."
"Stay well," said Elrohir.
"And you."
With no further ceremony, Estel turned and began to run in the direction of Rivendell.