It had been several hours now, and there was no sign of any other hikers, or signposts, or a phone signal. There appeared to be no sheep, or any other landmarks found on the map. There were more trees, the landscape was less green and more scrubland. It even felt chillier.

Shobha stopped and pulled on her cargo jacket again, and took a sip of water from her bottle. The thought of going on a gentle hike seemed such a bad idea now.

It would be dusk in a few hours, and she didn't have any camping gear for overnight, and had nothing but a sandwich and cereal bar left. Tears started to trickle down her cheeks. Pride be damned, she should have taken her parents with her this weekend like they suggested. Her mother had grown to love Mike and had been just as heartbroken, but her father had been matter-of-fact about the whole break-up.

The last few months had seen her spend almost every working hour in the hospital. A few colleagues had asked about wedding plans, but soon the nurses she worked with had treated her as though her fiancé had died. She wore an air of neutrality about it. After all, being a junior female surgeon was hard enough. She didn't need any of her consultant seniors telling her to get her head back in the game. It appeared to have worked on most of them, except for those closest to her who noticed the subtle change in her. It had been exhausting, keeping up appearances. After the first two months it had improved a little. She passed her qualifying exams; the house they had bought together for after the wedding had been sold and the money divided; Shobha had even gone on a few dates. Of course, discovering Mike's one-night stands had helped. And seeking a trusted colleague to make sure she hadn't contracted any sexually transmitted diseases had finally helped her fall out of love with him. But this week had been painful. Returning the ring was the right thing to do, but this would have been the weekend they were to get married.

"Where the bloody hell am I?!" She slumped against a nearby tree, and clutching her knees to her chest she let the tears fall freely.

She was covered in grass, mud and had multiple grazes to her hands and face.

"Ok pull yourself together – I need to clean my hands; and work out what to do if I am stranded overnight". She wiped her tears away and shut her eyes for a moment.

Then she heard it – it was faint but it was a lifeline: The sound of distant clanging and chatter. Desperate, tired and almost completely out of water, she pulled on her jacket hood, forced herself back on her feet and started to follow the noise.

As she got closer she started to get worried. They sounded like a group of men, and they were speaking a mixture of what sounded like English and a completely foreign language: It was certainly not Welsh, which she was familiar with since Mike was fluent.

Crouching behind a tree, Shobha stopped to think.

What if they are backwoodsmen, and decide to rape, kill or eat her like in one of those movies?

-Don't be so silly Shobha!

What are they doing out here as a group…? Maybe they are hikers or campers… or weirwolves!

She listened carefully again. And contemplated turning away. She was still a lone female traveller. But the fatigue, lack of food and water, together with not a single signpost, or other human and the looming dusk didn't help.

There was only one choice, she would have to move in closer and check whether they looked normal or not, and then decide to approach them. Otherwise if they left she would be at the mercy of her surroundings.

Taking a deep breath and approaching closer, she could see a bit better from behind another tree: There were four men. They were built stocky and couldn't have been much taller than Shobha's height or five foot two inches. They wore their hair long but well groomed, and appeared to be dressed like the Hun, carrying quite a few swords, axes and other weapons – that looked REAL!

Maybe not… back away quietly…

"Stop right there" a deep voice came from behind. She froze and slowly raised her hands with open palms as if to say I surrender. "Walk forward - slowly".

Shobha was directed towards the group in the clearing, being prodded gently in the back by something quite sharp, and didn't dare turn to see.

As they walked towards the group in the clearing, they all stopped talking one by one, remaining focussed on Shobha and her captor.

There was a menacing looking bald one with tattoos on his face, who was holding two axes in each hand, which he appeared to be lowering. Next to him stood a taller one with black hair streaked with grey, staring intensely with blue eyes. Next to him stood a younger looking man with shoulder length brown hair, who appeared bemused.

Just then her captor pulled the hood of her jacket down, and there was a gasp from them all.

"You're a woman!" The dark haired man in the centre spoke. "What are you doing here on your own?"

"Please" Shobha repeated. "I'm lost – I can't find where I am parked!"

"She's probably an Easterling spy!" The bald one spoke next.

"Please- I am not an Easterling – or a spy… I am unarmed!" Shobha continued with her hands still raised. " I fell while hiking and have lost my way back. I have been walking all day…Ow!" Although her captor had removed the weapon pointed to her back, he nudged her forward, using his pointed finger, which she didn't expect.

"And no one accompanied you… your husband, brother or father?" Finally her captor moved around to face her as he spoke allowing her to take a look at him. Unlike the rest of them, he had shoulder length blonde hair with a few small braids, and equally decorated beard and moustache. His clothing was similar to the rest, except he wore a very light smirk on his face.

Ok these people are worrying me now

"Um what…? Please help me find my bearings on my map and I will be on my way" she fished out her folded map from her pocket and compass and offered it to the dark haired one who was eyeing her with curiosity. He had taken a step forward, keeping his intense gaze locked on her.

"Where are you from?" He asked in his deep voice.

"London…"

"Where is that…? East of Rhûn?" He reluctantly took the map. "How have you travelled this far on your own unarmed.." He signalled something to the bald one who immediately stepped behind her and started checking over her backpack.

"Oh.. ok…" Shobha thought she was certainly going to be robbed now. Luckily her phone and wallet were in the hidden cargo pocket of her jacket. She unbuckled and removed her backpack.

"This is not a map of Arda" their dark haired leader stared at the map. His face was an unreadable mask.

The other one had done searching her backpack and set it down on the ground behind her.

"Aye lass, you'll not be going anywhere packed like that" the bald one stepped back around. He was still wearing a menacing scowl, but there was a hint of softening. "There are still stray orc packs and goblins that wonder through these parts, coming from the Misty Mountains." He signed something back at the dark haired one.

Arda… Misty Mountains… Orcs! What the

She stumbled backwards, tripped over her backpack behind her and fell backwards, her vision blurring into darkness as she did…