Chapter 3

A young woman with unruly, brown, mousy hair jumped to her feet to try to get her bearings but the sudden movement made her dizzy and light headed and she just ended up lying back on the ground. After gathering herself for a couple of moments; she rose slowly to a sitting position, taking it slow because of her sudden weakness. She looked around her and all she could see before her were green rolling hills. She turned behind her to see a vast forest with trees that seemed that they could block out the sky. After resting a moment longer, she stood upright on a pair of wobbly feet. She tried to see if she could recognize where she was but with surroundings such as this she could be anywhere.

She walked slowly to the fringe of the forest that loomed ahead of her and sat with her back against the try, enjoying the cool shade that it provided and soon she feel into a deep, and dreamless sleep.

-o-

She woke with a start and looked around her in fright. The sky had grown dark and the air was filled with such a fowl that whenever the women breathed in a breath of it she felt as though she might throw-up.

From nearby she heard a sudden loud crash and she immediately got to her feet and ran to the source. She found herself near a clearing in a crescent shape that was made with trees. In the clearing there must have been hundreds of these fowl creatures. They were large dark things, and were cutting down some of the huge trees. The trees around her started to groan as though in protest of what was being done to the other trees.

'Well that explains the crash,' she thought to herself.

Then out of the darkness a group of riders on horses came roaring into the clearing. They rushed upon the creatures in a steady charge. The things didn't even have a chance to process that the riders were attacking them.

The riders went through the creatures and slaughtered them. None of them had a chance; they dropped like flies around the blades and arrows of the riders.

From out of the trees nearby she saw two small boys stumble through the maze of tree roots. She hid in the shadow of the trees frightened because of the situation (there was a battle going on and she didn't want to get entangled with the whole ordeal). Then a dark shadow passed right by her, it was one of those creatures from the clearing. Its stench was so bad she felt as though she might faint, it smelled like raw sewage, and all kinds of animal shit, and food left to hot in the boiling sun, all mixed together.

By the time she recovered they were gone. She would have gone after them if she had seen which direction the had gone in and if she had actually known where she was so she decided to stay right where she was.

Turning her attention back to the battle in the fields she discovered that all was left of those strange ugly monsters was a large smoking mound. Cautiously she crept toward the large mound, she saw a large spear and perched on top of it was a severed head of one of the monsters. Its black tongue sticking out, flesh blood spilling from the bottom of the neck.

At the horrid sight of the thing she leaned forward, threw up, and then passed out.

-O-

after what seemed like an eternity she could distantly feel someone shaking her.

"Hello? Wake up miss wake up..." asked a far off voice that was nothing more then a whisper to her ears.

Try as she might she could not pull herself out of the dark waters that surrounded her but then she herd a strong, calm voice call to her. Then a hand reached down through the dark waters and pulled her out.

"Are you alright?" asked one of the three men that were around her.

This was a strange group indeed, one man seemed to be normal but the other was short and had long hair and a long beard and look very much like a dwarf the last one was very pale and tall and looked the cleanest of all of them.

"I'm okay.. I guess" she answer shakily.

"What is your name young miss?" asked the same man again, he is tall, well built man with shoulder length, greasy, black hair and he looked completely exsosted

"I'm Hermione Granger" she said in a very matter-of- factly tone.

"Hello, I am Aragon son of Arathorn, this is Gimly son of Gloin and Legolas of the woodland realm" responded Aragon

"Hi..."