Herendil descended the smooth staircase of the royal talan and thought whilst his feet carried him down. He was contemplating which of the Rangers he should take for the raid. He also had to ponder on what he was going to do if the Orcs constructed boats and actually did invade the Golden Wood. His stream of consciousness was interrupted when his feet connected with the ground.

He became more aware of his surroundings and opened his ears to the sounds of the forest. There was the natural sound of the rivers of Lothlorien, the Nimrodel and the Celebrant. There was the slight hint of a wind blowing through the tall mallorn trees, coming from the East. Herendil took a deep breath and, on the wind, he could taste a slight foul smell. A smell of burning. Herendil shuddered, and headed towards the headquarters and training grounds of the Lothlorien Guard.

The Guard comprised numerous different branches of Elves. There were the Rangers, who were the border-watchers, with exceptional skill at moving silently and accuracy. There was the Caras Galadhon Guard, who guarded the gates and restricted places of Caras Galadhon. There was also a group called, quite simply, the Arm of Lothlorien. This was the main military force of the Golden Wood. If Lothlorien ever went to war, this would be the force sent away.

Herendil was nearing the talan of the Lothlorien Guard when the sounds of clashing swords became evident. He smiled as he thought of the rigorous hours of training one was required to do in the Guard. He walked on and other sounds could be heard. A faint sound of impacting arrows reached Herendil's ears. He thought, "That would be the Rangers'. He descended a short staircase and came out in the courtyard. From this courtyard one could choose which part of the Lothlorien Guard to go to.

Herendil looked at the 3 doors that lead away from the courtyard. The centre one had the banner of Lothlorien hanging over. On the door was a golden mallorn tree flanked by a bow and a sword. It was obvious, especially so to Herendil, that this door lead to the Arm of Lothlorien, their offices and their training grounds. The right-hand door was emblazoned with dual swords. They were carved elegantly into the wood and there were miniature sparks flashing from the two blades. The left-hand door was the one Herendil was interested in. It had a large bow carved into the wood with all of the filigree design that one found on the real bows. There was also a quiver, which had only the fletching of the arrows showing.

Herendil strode towards this door, reached out for the handle and turned it. He pushed the door inwards, strode in and then closed it. He had just walked into the foyer of the Rangers. To the left was the office of the Rangers. This was where the names of all Rangers and other various details involving experience and skill. Herendil strode towards the office and as he did, he got a momentary glimpse of the training grounds. There were about 5 Rangers all lined up, with one Captain standing behind them. The Rangers had their arrows nocked to the string and were preparing to pull back. "Aim!" split the silence, which was then followed quickly by a "Release!" command. All 5 Rangers let go simultaneously and 5 arrows quickly embedded themselves in the targets at the end of the training ground. All of them had hit the rocks off the set of short poles they had been placed upon.

It startled Herendil to realise how accurate they were and how effective they would be at disposing of some of the Orc filth on their borders. He continued on as he heard the order, "Nock!" He came across the Elves who worked in the office. Everyone knew that, even though these Elves worked in the office, they were still as proficient with the weapon of the group as most others. Everyone was made to take a shift in the office to give people time to practice and hone their skills rather than being cooped up for too long.

He walked up to the Elf who was seated at the large table, which dominated the centre of the office. The two other Elves, who were standing around the walls filing away various sheets, bowed to Herendil. The Elf, who was seated, rose and bowed. Herendil knew all three of these Elves. The two standing up were Anariel and Herisilmë. They were both female and almost equally matched in skill with the bow. They would occasionally have a competition and the winner would always win by the narrowest of margins. The Elf sitting down was called Malostir. He was one of the oldest Elves in Middle-Earth, having seen Valinor and the Light of the Two Trees.

Herendil greeted them with, "Mae govannen" and gestured for them to continue with their jobs. He sat next to Malostir and asked quietly, "The Lord and Lady have asked for me to take the most accurate Rangers for a quick expedition across the river. There is a large force of Orcs just across the Anduin. I was hoping to be able to cause some problems in their camp."

Malostir stopped writing on the scroll and looked at Herendil. "Ah, so you want the best of the best. When are you leaving?"

Herendil said, " As soon as they are ready to leave. Preferably soon. As we both know, Orcs don't do that well in the sunlight."

"Of course. Well, you'll need Anariel and Herisilmë for starters. They are probably the most accurate Rangers we've ever had. And they'll be good at making sure everyone understands your orders and tactics." Malostir said, gesturing towards the two ladies still filing away scrolls.

Herendil glanced at them and said, with a sigh, "If I must. You are sure that they're not going to chat away whilst we're stalking?"

Malostir chuckled as he remembered back to when he taught Herendil. Herendil was in the same class as Anariel and Herisilmë. Whilst he tried his hardest to concentrate on the lesson, Anariel and Herisilmë became good friends and always talked. Oh, they were good, but they were rarely quiet. "Well, I can't ENTIRELY guarantee that. But, they have quieted down a bit."

"Ok then." Herendil said. "Who else do you have that's of a decent calibre?"

Malostir thought on that. "Well, there is Palarran. He is another excellent shot. The only other person I can think of apart from those three would have to be Salmar. He may not be the most accurate but he certainly kills quickly if he is. He is the fastest in terms of firing arrows."

Herendil was pondering how best to plan this attack. He got to his feet and bowed to Malostir. "Thank you very much for your help." He turned to Anariel and Herisilmë and bowed to them as well. "Ladies, Malostir will inform you about the plan." He turned back to Malostir and said, "If you could, get them to assemble by the Harbour Courtyard preferably within two hours."

Herendil spun around, his red cloak flowing behind as he walked out of the Rangers offices. Anariel and Herisilmë started chattering away interestedly while Malostir sighed. He knew he would have to wait at least 10 minutes before the ladies would remember that Malostir had to tell them exactly what they were doing. He wrote two messages down whilst the ladies were still chatting, called in a young Ranger, who was on Messenger Duties. He told the boy to take these messages to the Housing quarters. "Number 67 and 83. Don't forget."