Chapter Five

Slightly after noon
On the road south of the Trading Field

For nigh on half a mile, Dream sped northward away from the rough man who jerked at her head. Calming, she began to slow and wonder where her human had gone. Uncertainly, she plodded on. She was familiar with the road, having traveled it often over the last year, and knew that if she continued north she would find someone who would offer her an apple or brush off the mud that now flecked her body.

Of present distraction however, was the succulent greenery along the side of the road. Normally, Dream was not allowed to nip at the plants, having work to do; but today had become confusing and here she was without her wagon to pull and no one to remind her of her good manners. Cautiously she nibbled on the broad leaves of a particularly enticing plant.

Gradually all thoughts beyond these tasty treats faded from her mind. The onset of a drizzling rain troubled her not at all as she munched her way from leaf to weed. Meandering northward, she left the road to graze in a narrow meadow and drink from a small rivulet created by the recent rains. Abruptly her progress was halted by a trailing driveline catching between two rocks. Repeated jerks of her head only served to wedge the rain-soaked leather more firmly.

Lathered and breathing hard, Dream gave up her fight to pull the driving line free. Snorting with frustration, the horse caught a scent she recognized. Here was a friend, someone who would free her from this trap. Whinnying loudly, Dream called out for help.

xxxxxx

"You hear that," Titch leaned his head to one side, listening above the whisper of rain in the thickets. The drizzle was swiftly intensifying to a genuine shower.

"Of course, I did. Anybody could of heard that," Nik replied pointing west. "It came from over that way."

"It were Sev's horse," Titch said emphatically.

Nik looked at his gnarled companion carefully. "How can you tell?"

Titch smiled widely displaying a row of sharp teeth. "We're friends. Me an' Dream. Ah knows it's 'er."

"What's she doing over there?"

Titch scratched his head. "No idea. But she ain't supposed to be there."

"You think there's something wrong?" Nik lifted his head and sniffed the air.

"Bound to be. Sev ain't sort to be late an' she's supposed to be at trading place already. Gubbitch's got that pile o' stones ready for 'er to take off. That's why 'e sent me off to find 'er." Titch wondered again at the fact that Sev seemed certain they could trade a pile of ordinary rocks for some of the things the orcs dearly desired but could not make or find on their own. "Let's go find out."

The two orcs pushed aside sodden bushes at the edge of the road and made their way through a narrow stand of trees. Mud squelched beneath their boots and the drizzling rain plastered their hair to their heads. The rain itself bothered them little. In fact, if asked, Titch would have admitted to preferring a gray overcast day to sunshine. However, the mud clung heavily to their boots and legs, and slowed their progress.

The trees thinned and the orcs found themselves on the edge of a small meadow. In the center, a brown mare stood tossing her head in greeting. Though alone, she wore a driving harness and bridle and her driving lines trailed upon the ground.

"See," Titch's wizened face beamed with delight. "Ah told tha it were Dream."

Nik studied the meadow carefully. "But where's Sevilodorf?"

"Dunno."

Titch loped across the meadow to greet Dream with tossings of his own head and firm pats along her back. Nik followed more slowly, sniffing the air and looking about suspiciously.

After spending the night engaged in the never-ending joyousness of riding Warg across the countryside, Nik had left his canine friend on the southern edge of the land that Russ the Beorning had marked off as his own. Though careful to never use the word 'master' as it upset Russ, Nik made his home with the Beorning and took his words as commandments. Recalling Russ had remarked not two days before that fresh fish would be a treat, Nik had determined that he would take some home with him and headed toward the river running from the mountains. Crossing the road he had met Titch heading south to the Burping Troll and decided to join him on his errand; there were several fine fishing holes near the Troll.

Now, Nik made an uneasy examination of the meadow as Titch pulled the wedged line from between the rocks and continued soothing the mare. There was no sign of the trader woman or her cart. Nik followed the tracks of the mare to where they first entered the meadow. Nowhere could he find prints of any human. What was the horse doing wandering alone?

Nik peered into the trees at the meadow's edge. Nothing was visibly wrong, but the sense of danger that caused the spot between his shoulder blades to itch did not dissipate.

As Titch, leading Dream, joined him, Nik asked, "So what now?"

Titch patted Dream reassuringly as the horse nuzzled his neck. "Follow trail back. Gubbitch sent me to find Sev, so ah got to try. Anyroad, got to take Dream home."

Nik nodded and led the way through the trees. The two orcs followed the wandering trail until it rejoined the road.

xxxxxx

Landis could not believe their luck. From their vantage point amongst the trees and bushes on the hillside he saw the woman's horse being led by two small ugly creatures.

"Those are orcs, or I'm a hobbit," he whispered. "What say you, Neal?"

The youth peered through the veil of rain and nodded grimly, "Poor specimens of the vile spawn, but definitely orcs."

A slight grim smile lifted the corners of Neal's mouth as he pulled a sling from his pocket, along with a handful of carefully selected stones. Though a poor man's weapon, a sling in skilled hands could shatter the skull of not only small game but also an enemy. It could certainly put an orc or two down for a good nap. Each such encounter helped ease Neal's guilt, wiping away a little more of the feeling of helplessness that had infested him when he had found his mother's ruined body. Animals such as these were not content just to kill. They were savage and cruel beyond all reckoning.

"Tie the horses, Neal," Landis ordered in a stern whisper. "Let's get as close as we can on foot. These will make better captives to lead us to the rest than that poor woman." Landis then spoke directly to the third man, whose bearded face was turned towards the orcs with single-minded purpose. "You hear me, Carrick? We want these alive. There's bigger prey out there. Failing all else, make sure at least one lives. If there's no other option, we can persuade the woman to talk if she otherwise has to witness the suffering of one of her pets."

Carrick nodded solemnly.

xxxxxx

Nik was feeling even edgier when several things happened at once. Dream jumped a small ditch running with water at the road's edge, a sharp stone hurtled through the air and struck Nik a jarring blow to his temple, then three men appeared out of the bushes and ran bounding towards them.

Through hazy vision Nik hissed, "Get on the horse, Titch. Go for help. NOW!"

Titch took orders as only an orc can. In an instant he was upon Dream. At a slap from Nik, the horse leapt into a gallop, ears flat, eyes flashing white, nostrils flaring. She recognized the scent of one of the men and also felt the clamp of fear gripping Titch. The largest of the strangers made a grab for her, but she swerved, rear hoofs driving into the wet ground, agile as a filly in her desperation. Then she galloped on, flinging up a storm of mud behind her.

As the horse fled Landis and Neal charged after the injured orc. Another stone flew from the youth's sling, meeting the target with more force than the first. Black blood streamed from two head wounds, but the small orc kept his feet and set off into a staggering run. Seeing no weapon Landis lunged to tackle the creature, but instead found himself sprawled in the mud, the breath shocked from his ribcage by an unexpected, powerful blow.

Carrick gave up on the rapidly disappearing horse and scrambled to help his two comrades. Neal let fly another stone, baffled why shots that would have felled a strong man made so little impact on this runt. A third wound opened in the middle of the orc's forehead and he staggered and fell to his knees. Gasping for air that would not come, Landis scrambled up and after Carrick who was closing on the prey - this orc would not escape.

With rain-thinned blood pouring into his eyes as he struggled to rise, Nik could hardly see his enemy. He was fighting for his life again, but this time it felt very different. Nik had never feared death, though there had been a time when he'd have welcomed it. But no longer, and not for some time now. Never before had he so many reasons to want to live. He had been bred as a killing machine, but now he knew of joy and the value of life. Things had been different since that first night outside the Troll when he had met Russ. The past few months flicked through his mind, the farm, the animals, Warg and the rest of his friends. Friends. It had not even been a concept to him before that night; now it seemed the most important thing of all. And now these, these, men were trying to take it all away. Let them try then, but Nik was not going to make it easy for them. He sank his teeth into the hand of a man who tried to wrestle him to the ground. He bit, kicked, punched and squirmed. As he struck out and the man fell away, a fourth stone hit and drove stars before Nik's eyes. Tears of rage and misery fell, mingling with the blood and rain. He awaited the clean pain of sword or arrow. Why did these men not just finish it? Why were they playing with him like cats with a mouse? A savage blow to the back of his head left the question unanswered and Nik lay still.

The three men stood over the prone body of the orc. "Uruk," Landis announced, still clutching his ribs. He hoped none were broken.

Carrick nodded in agreement as he wiped blood from his nose, unaware the rain had already washed it into his moustache and beard. By the morning he would have two very black eyes. "Aye, we better tie him very tight."

"Your hand is bleeding." Landis said.

Carrick looked down, to see blood seeping from a row of thin red cuts on his hand. "Yeah he bit me. That's another one I owe him. At least I still have my fingers."

Landis nodded. "Make sure you clean it up right just the same. No telling what kind of poisons he's got running out of his mouth."

"Poisons?" Carrick asked, paling slightly at the thought. "You think he's got poisons in him?"

"I don't know, but I'd check it out just the same. He's an orc isn't he?"

"I don't like any of this," Landis muttered, taking rope from his pocket. "The whole region seems unnatural. I felt it in Henneth Annûn, and the closer we came to Mordor, the stranger it seemed." Kneeling in the mud, he pulled the orc's hands behind its back, binding its wrists together tightly. "Now that I think about it, men and elves mixing with orcs is more than unnatural. There's sorcery at work here, mark my words. The peoples at that inn have been enchanted. We owe it to them to remove evil from their midst."

Neal passed his own bit of rope to Landis so that he could bind the creature's feet. Finally, Landis took a cloth from his pocket and made a gag for the Uruk's mouth. "I'm taking no chances. We'll hear no words from this thing."

xxxxxx

Early Afternoon
Road between Trading Field and Burping Troll

Titch hung on to Dream's neck as she galloped at break-neck speed, attempting to calm her with pats, strokes and soft words while not bouncing off her flying back. She finally slowed of her own inclination, until she shambled to a stop and drew deep breaths that caused Titch's short legs to rise and fall. He sat atop her as the rain steadied to a downpour, thinking as hard as he ever had. 'This ain't right. I should've never left Nik. 'e said to go for 'elp, but if ah go to Gubbitch now, it'll take at least an 'our to get back. I should've never left. Ah could 'ave 'elped 'im. What do ah do?' Titch had relied all his life on other people's orders. He'd never even needed to choose what to eat or wear. Frozen with indecision, the orc felt precious seconds ticking away, then a thought popped into his head, 'What if I were Nik. What would I do then?' The answer was suddenly obvious.

Titch urged Dream around, off the road, back the way they had come. As he neared the ambush site, he clambered off the horse and tethered her. "Wait quietly for me lass." His thick fingernails drew lines down the wet fur of the mare's neck. She gazed at him then lowered her head to nibble contentedly at the rain-soaked grass.

Titch crawled towards the place where the men had waylaid them. Peering from behind a bush, he saw a grey-bearded man binding the inert body of Nik while the other two attackers looked on. 'He's not dead,' Titch realized with a rush of relief. The uruk was being taken captive. 'If they're tying 'im up, they must want 'im alive for summat. But what? Should ah stay an' follow 'em, or should ah go get Gubbitch?' Once again, he could not decide. 'Ah'm no good to nobody. Only thing ah can do is go get somebody who is.' Though he didn't see it as such, Titch had made his decision. He crawled back to Dream, clambered up onto her and headed off at a brisk splattering trot towards the Trading Field.

A deep muddy path through the middle of the field was evidence that Gubbitch had paced up and down its length for a long time. He paused occasionally to look for signs of Sev arriving, or Titch returning, or better still, both. His emotions had changed from minor irritation to anger as they waited for the Trader in the pouring rain, then anxiety set in, so he had sent Titch out to look for her. Now Gubbitch was fighting off fear; the other orcs waiting with him kept their distance and hoped someone would show up before their leader exploded.

When Titch rode into the Trading Field, Gubbitch's stomach flipped over. The little orc was supposed to find Sev, not just Sev's horse. He ran across as Titch dismounted.

"Where's Sev?"

"Ah don't know," Titch confessed, then went on to explain what had happened. As he reached the end of the account, his bottom lip began to quiver. "Ah didn't know what to do so ah came back for 'elp."

Reality was worse than anything Gubbitch had been imagining, but now he could at least do something. "Tha did good, Titch. Tha did reet."

Then he shouted for his lads to gather round and began to give orders. Nesh was to take two other orcs and head north to warn Russ the Beorning that Nik had been kidnapped. Twenty-odd miles lay between them and Russ, so Gubbitch told them to stay off the road and out of sight as far as possible. The rest of them would head south to search the road for signs of the Trader.

xxxxxx

The cart was no longer well hidden. Hooknose spotted it first and called to Gubbitch.

"'ey, look! 'ere's 'er wagon but where's Sev?"

Grimly Gubbitch shook his head. "Keep thy eyes sharp, lads," he barked.

They searched it carefully, and the surrounding area, but the driving rain had washed away any evidence of what had happened. All they could tell was that horses had been here, but how many or where they went was unclear.

Titch roamed further afield and noticed the sign that Aerio had left, a low twig on a small tree, half-broken to point the way. He gleefully called to his leader who confirmed that it probably was a deliberate sign.

"Ain't an accident," said Gubbitch.

Someone, he dearly wished it to be Sev, was hoping to be followed, and Gubbitch intended to do just that. But first they hauled the cart back onto the road and hitched Dream to it. Hooknose and Lugbac climbed aboard.

"'urry all tha can," Gubbitch said. "But mind 'orse, she's knackered already."

He was hoping Sevilodorf was alive and well somewhere and he did not want to be beaten about the head with a pan if she found her horse the worse for wear. Meanwhile, Hooknose and Lugbac were big, ugly and well armed, but Gubbitch didn't think they would meet any trouble on the road to the Burping Troll. He was almost certain that all the trouble waited in the opposite direction.

xxxxxx

Early afternoon
Burping Troll

"She's gone where?"

Rain streamed from the eaves of the porch as Anardil caught himself from the impact of Bob's fist thumping his back. Behind him Elros chuckled at Bob's exuberant welcome.

"Trading with the orcs," Bob repeated cheerfully. "You remember Gubbitch and his 'lads' from Yule. Titch and his bright red tunic - now there was a sight!"

"Trading for what?" Anardil could feel water oozing into places that water should not ooze, and the thought of Sev somewhere out in this weather with - with those creatures nearly boggled his mind.

"Gem stones. Remember those shiny rocks they brought for everybody at Yule? Well, they've got a cave full of them, it seems, so Sevi's going to see what she can get for them. She talked to a lapidary in Henneth Annûn a few days ago, so I guess it's all set up."

"Set up -." He was going to sputter just any moment, and Anardil made himself take a breath. "Who is with her? Tell me she didn't go alone."

"Oh, no!" Bob looked at him as if he had suddenly turned bright green. "Hal would have our heads. Aerio went with her."

Breathe, Anardil. "Aerio. One elf went with her. To trade with orcs. One elf?"

Frowning, Bob said reasonably, "Dil, it's only Gubbitch and his lads. For pity's sake, they are in and out of here every week, and Celebsul plays cribbage with Gubbitch all the time. And it's not like she's going to their caves, they meet her at a clearing just up the road."

"Celebsul." The name conjured up the face of a silver-haired elf with ancient, smiling eyes and Anardil nodded slowly.

"She's traded with them many times before, Dil," Bob said, and dropped a reassuring hand on Anardil's shoulder. "They're some of her best customers for herbal remedies and they are over the moon if she can get some raisins or toffeed nuts for them. Guess they've got a bit of a sweet tooth. Say, let's go inside, it's miserable out here."

A warm gust of cooking smells greeted them and welcome heat wrapped around them, as Bob closed the door behind their two sodden travelers. In moments they were divested of sodden cloaks and assorted weaponry, by which time a squeal rang from the kitchen doorway:

"Elros! Anardil!" Erin the hobbit came bouncing into the common room with Meri right behind her. "Oh good heavens, you're both soaked! Get over by the fire this minute."

"And look at those shoes!" cried Meri. "Get those wet things off, before you both catch your death."

"Not to mention you're tracking the place up with mud."

"And dripping."

"And shivering too, I'll wager, if you'd only admit it."

"Hurry along now, shoo! My stars, how do you Big Folk get along?"

Elros and Bob took one look at Anardil's befuddled compliance, a tall grim Man being bullied across the room by two fussing little hobbit lasses, and they burst out laughing.

"Surrender now, Dil!" laughed Bob. "They have you surrounded and flanked."

"And you!" Meri spun with a fiercely pointed finger. "Bob, you march yourself right upstairs and get some dry socks and shirts for these poor gentlemen."

"Gentlemen!" Bob's eyes widened. "Elros goes away for a couple days and suddenly he's a gentleman? Hey!"

Erin planted both hands in the small of his back and shoved the tall Ranger bodily towards the stairs, leaving Elros and Anardil laughing behind them. Soon both men were warmly ensconced on a couch by the fire, with dry socks on their feet, dry shirts on their backs, warm throws snugged about their shoulders, and mugs of hot spiced wine in their hands. Even more than physical comfort, however, Anardil sought ease for his mind, and he listened now to the silver-haired elf reclining in the chair nearby.

"I am not even sure when Gubbitch first started coming in here," Celebsul said, as he watched the play of lamplight in his glass of wine. "He just appeared, one day, a grimy creature hunched by the fire and looking very much like he hoped he could stay warm for just a while." He lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. "So we let him. Over time he simply became a regular, and then he began bringing one or two of his comrades."

His grey eyes suddenly met Anardil's over the rim of his glass, keen as the stare of a hawk. "I think none of us could bear to know where he's from or what he has seen. To the Master that once drove them he was nothing but a beast of burden, a misshapen tool to break against stone and the darkness of His will. Now that the Nameless one is gone, it would seem Gubbitch and his few have found some spark of what they might have been, had the ages favored them differently."

"And you trust that?" Anardil matched him stare for stare. "You trust Sevi's life to that?"

"Yes," Celebsul said quietly. "Or I would not have let her get near them or they to her."

Anardil snorted. "You would not have let? Do you think you could persuade Sevi to anything, if her mind were set otherwise?"

Celebsul arched an eyebrow and let his silence be the answer. He had the advantage of centuries of stubbornness in his own right, if he needed to draw upon it.

With a sigh Anardil looked away. Since he had first met Celebsul in Pelargir, and in subsequent associations with him on their venture to Nurn and more recently at Yule, his instinct had been to like and trust this soft-spoken elf. Furthermore he knew that Sevi and Celebsul enjoyed a very quiet but abiding friendship, and it would do no honor to either to mistrust its wisdom.

Mustering a wry smile, he said, "All right, Master Celebsul. I will rest my mind about Sevi and your cribbage-playing rehabilitated orc."

Then the room suddenly filled with cheerful voices as Anoriath and Elanna came flying down the stairs - or rather Elanna flew, as Anoriath's advanced pregnancy made most movement of a frustratingly deliberate nature. Anardil stood for Elanna's hug as the girl cried, "Dilly, you're HERE!" and pretended not to notice Anoriath and Elros' exchange of smiles and soft handclasps. Then it was Anardil's turn to embrace the tall lady Ranger and he laughed at the awkwardness of bending to hug past her rounded belly.

"Good heavens, Ani, did you swallow a melon seed?"

Hands on his shoulders, she nonetheless gave him a hard look. "Do you want to live to see supper?"

Grimacing as if a blow were struck, Anardil chuckled merrily. "Elros, motherhood may make her beautiful but it also makes her mean!"

"Oh, you have no idea! Ah!" Elros ducked but not fast enough to avoid the cushion Anoriath hurled at him.

Laughter still in her eyes, Anoriath asked, "Is Sevi back yet?"

"Not yet," replied Bob off-handedly. "But I imagine the rain is slowing things a bit."

"Or it might hurry them up. But since the rest of us are sensibly indoors, who is up for a game of Tabbaccus?" Anoriath scooped a deck of cards off the mantle and faced them with a challenging smirk. "Well, gentlemen? Or are you afraid of a pregnant woman?"

There at last Anardil relaxed, for if Anoriath did not fear for Sev, she who knew better than most a woman's risk, then he would accept the strange way of things here.

"Deal me in, Ranger Anoriath," he said with a crooked grin. "I will meet you in any contest you name."

xxx

TBC ...