I do not own Lord of the Rings nor do I make any money from this story. All rights apply.
Author's Note: The creatures that the Nazgûl ride are referred to as Winged Beasts in my book (A Tolkein Bestiary by David Day), the movie however, refers to them as Fell Beasts.
DARK WINGS
SEVEN
It was a quiet, long night as there was no sign of the creature. The sun's first light was just appearing when Aragorn came out from his hiding place, the others soon joining him.
"Either it died of its wounds or the Haradrim killed it," said Èomer.
"Unless it found another cave," said Aragorn. "But I do not think that is true."
"Another day of searching," sighed Èomer as he made to take down the ropes.
"Perhaps we should try further up the mountain, the snow is high this summer," suggested Gimli.
At that moment a cry filled the air. The cry of a beast and it was close.
Legolas scanned the sky.
"It is not in the air," he said.
"Quick," yelled Aragorn as he set off in the direction the cry came from followed by the others.
They ran down the side of the mountains as the sun crept over the horizon, casting a golden light over everything it touched. They ran for a while across the scrubby mountainside before they came across a group of six men fighting the Winged Beast. Aragorn recognised the Haradrim as they fought to control the creature. It had a few ropes attached to it as well as a net thrown over its head to confuse it but all the net did was make it angrier as it thrashed about violently. Aragorn paused a moment unsure of what to do, the men had not noticed them yet. He turned to Legolas.
"Can you get it from here?" he asked.
Legolas aimed his bow and waited for an opportunity to fire. Aragorn did not miss the chagrined expression on the Elf's face, it grated his nerves having to shot the beast so often and it still lived. One of the Haradrim, braver than most, ran forward and attempted to stab the creature with his spear. The spear caught the creature in its soft underbelly, it reared up in pain and Legolas fired an arrow through its eye. The creature screamed in final agony and fell dead on the ground. The men then became aware of them standing a few meters away, weapons drawn. There was an uneasy moment as both groups looked at each other, both anticipating an attack.
"Throw down your weapons," ordered Aragorn.
The Haradrim spoke among each other, it was plain they felt they had the advantage. They were six against four. They charged, the first three men received arrows at their feet before they had taken five steps. They stopped.
"Your weapons," said Aragorn, the men dropped them but did not lose their defiant stance.
They glared at Aragorn and Èomer as they made their way down to them, unhurried. Èomer noticed that they had horses tied to a tether behind a boulder; there were seventeen of them. He smiled, they may have killed four of his men but obviously his men had taken many of theirs before they fell.
"What are you doing here?" demanded Èomer.
The men said and did nothing.
"Speak," ordered Aragorn.
"We will speak only to the king of this land," snapped the foremost man.
"I stand before you so speak," demanded Èomer.
The men appeared shocked at this and looked at each other, frowning or shaking their heads. One appeared as if he would talk but he was silence by a look from the one who had spoken. Legolas took a step forward leisurely notching an arrow while he stared intently at the man who wanted to speak. The man shuffled from one foot to another uncomfortable with the Elf's unblinking stare.
"We chasing the beast," he said suddenly in bad Westron.
One of his companions growled something at him and he said something back. The first man crossed his arms and glared at Aragorn.
"The beast is yours," said Aragorn, not asking. The man nodded anyway.
"Where did you get it?" asked Èomer.
"We have it always, since…" he stopped as the first man slapped him across the shoulder with the back of his hand.
"Since the War," finished Èomer.
"Why is it here? Planning an attack on Rohan. Or Gondor," said Aragorn.
The man shook his head fiercely,
"No, no," the man started but got no further as the first man suddenly pulled a dagger from his boot and stabbed the man who had spoken in the chest at the same time Legolas fired and killed the stabber. The remaining Haradrim stood looking at the scene with indifferent expressions.
"Are you planning an attack?" asked Aragorn again.
They did not answer and continued to look around, deliberately ignoring the four of them.
"How many of you are here?" asked Èomer.
Again they did nothing.
"What should we do with them?" asked Gimli.
"Take them to Helm's Deep," said Èomer.
"Is that wise?" asked Aragorn in the language of the Horse Lords.
"I wish to find out why they are here and they seem to be unwilling to talk here on the mountain side," answered Èomer, speaking the same.
Aragorn nodded in agreement. The Haradrim looked slightly concerned as the exchange took place, as none knew what was being said. But then neither did Gimli or Legolas, who stood patiently to one side watching the Haradrim.
"To Helm's Deep," said Èomer in Westron.
It occurred to them suddenly, that they did not have any rope – it was all back at the cave. Putting them on their horses was not an option. Aragorn glanced Legolas, who nodded and started running back to the cave as fast as he could which was fast indeed. Aragorn heard Gimli mutter something about Elves and showing off but his mind was preoccupied at the moment. It was not long before Legolas returned with rope, which he gave to Aragorn. Who, along with Èomer, tied the prisoner's hands behind their backs. A length of rope joined the Haradrim together.
"Legolas, could you bring the horses," asked Aragorn to which Legolas nodded.
As Legolas got chose to the horse one of the Haradrim suddenly whistled. This caused most of the horses to rear and prance across the ground. Legolas glanced at the man who had whistled and raised his hand, whispered a few Elven words, the horses calmed themselves and much to the annoyance of the man, gathered around the Elf, nickering softly. Legolas turned to Aragorn,
"They will follow with us," he said, Aragorn nodded and motioned for the Haradrim to start walking. Èomer took the lead while Aragorn and Gimli guarded on the sides and Legolas followed with the horses.
It did not take them long to reach the cave, where their packs were. As it was still early morning, they decided to continue on down the mountainside and walk along the flat ground until they reached the makeshift camp. This would bring them within sight of Fangorn Forest, which brought back memories of running for Aragorn – running and worry. Those had been dark times; a day did not go by without him thinking of the trials they had all been through. And with every thought he thanked the Valar that the shadow had fallen. The journey down the mountain side was uneventful but as soon as they reached the flat land, the Haradrim started to slow down and drag their feet. They bunched together and trailed close to the horses. At first this amused Legolas for he knew that they would not be able to mount the horses tied together like they were, but their slow walking forced him and the others to slow as well and after an hour of the tedious pace he spoke up,
"If we continue at this pace we shall take days to reach the camp."
Aragorn had to agree but short of putting them on horses there was no way to speed them up and he told Legolas so in Elven, Legolas sighed and scanned the horizon. As Aragorn was about to turn back Legolas suddenly stopped, his gazed fixed in the distance.
"What do you see?" asked Aragorn, again in Elven, but continued to face the front.
He did not want to alert the Haradrim to anything that might be amiss. But this proved to be unnecessary for even as Legolas started to speak the closest prisoner looped the excess rope around the Elf's neck and pulled tight. Caught unawares, Legolas was pulled off his feet as the rope dug into his throat. As Legolas struggled against the man, he felt one of his Elven knives being pulled from its sheath on his back; he also became acutely aware that he could not breathe. Aragorn and Èomer sprang forward as soon as they realised what was happening but at the same time one of the prisoners started shouting and slapping the horses, causing them to panic and dance about. Gimli growled angrily as he tried to get past the prancing horses. The horses made an effective barrier between the two parties, as the man with the blade began to cut free his friends. Èomer grabbed the reins of the nearest horse and pulled it forward in hope that the other horses would follow it. The man with Legolas' Elven knife managed to free himself and another in the few moments of panic but he saw that the horses were dispersing so abandoning his efforts and Legolas' blade he jumped onto the nearest horse, his free friend joining him on another mount. Both mounted men rode for Aragorn and Èomer, forcing them to move away or be ridden down.
Legolas tried to get his fingers between the rope and his throat but desperation made the man's grip strong. Legolas, whose eyes were beginning to water, kicked the man in the shin as hard as could, which caused the man to hiss in pain and tighten his grip. Gimli ran forward to one of the horsemen and swung his axe at the horse's forelegs. This caused the horse to do a last minute jump, unseating the man, the Haradrim managed to roll as he landed and was up on his feet instantly. Without looking behind him he ran to another horse and after a few moments of difficulty he mounted and started off into the distance. The remaining horsemen saw what happened and turned to follow. This left the man holding onto Legolas and one other, who dived for the fallen blade thus dragging all three of them to the ground. Legolas was still trying to get a grip on the rope when again he was pulled off his feet. He felt the man's grip loosen as they hit the ground and twisting as fast as he could, managed to wrench himself free and into a standing position, drawing both breath and bow. He felt dizzy as he took aim at the retreating horsemen, which is why when the prisoner on the ground kicked his legs out from under him, he landed with a solid thump on the ground. His arrow went high into the air before landing far from the distant horsemen. Quickly he moved to his knees and fired again but, even though the arrow went in the right direction, it missed the horsemen. As he started to get up felt a gentle hand on his shoulder,
"Legolas."
He turned and saw Gimli standing behind him, realising that things were under control he lowered his head and drew deep breaths that sounded ragged even to his ears. Gimli must have noticed this as well because the Dwarf stepped in front of to him and reaching forward lifted Legolas' head to look at the rope burn around his neck. Legolas jerked out of Gimli's grip and stood, he was furious at been caught unawares; he had then fallen and missed his shot - twice. He turned to vent his anger on the reason for it but found that Aragorn stood between him and the Haradrim men. Without a word Aragorn handed his knife back to him, Legolas took it and looked over Aragorn's shoulder where Èomer stood watching the two remaining men. Aragorn knew that Legolas was angry and would not heed any healing advice so he repeated his earlier question,
"What did you see?"
Legolas stared at the two prisoners for a few more seconds before looking at Aragorn.
"Horsemen," he said softly, his throat and neck hurt more than he cared to admit. He could also heard the harshness of his voice as he spoke.
"They knew that their friends were coming," assumed Aragorn purposely passing Legolas his own water skin, which Legolas took but did not drink from.
"And were hoping to delay long enough for them to catch up with us," said Gimli. "By the way, Legolas- " the Dwarf stopped short at the sight of the glare turned in his direction, clearing his throat he started again. "As I was saying, I think you should put that knife away."
As much as Gimli wanted to tease Legolas, he felt that it would not help the Elf's mood, which was dangerous as it was. He would save it for later. Legolas did, however, put his knife away. Looking round he saw that the horses had all run from the commotion and were now grazing.
"We should move on," said Èomer pulling the prisoners to their feet.
"What of the horses?" asked Gimli.
"When we return to Helm's Deep, I will send some men to collect them. Right now we have a deadline."
It soon became apparent that they were not going to be back before the allotted time as one of the prisoners had a bad limp but refused to let Aragorn look at it.
"Do you think he's faking it?" asked Èomer studying the man's leg.
Aragorn thought about it but before he could answer Legolas said,
"No."
Èomer looked doubtful but did not what to contradict the Elf at that moment in time.
"I kicked him," explained Legolas seeing Èomer's face.
"When?" asked Gimli, running a mental picture of their brief combat though his mind.
"When he attempted to strangle me," said Legolas. Even though he spoke softly, his anger could still be heard.
"Mayhap he should have and saved us from your temper," resorted Gimli forgetting his earlier decision not to anger the Elf further. However, before Legolas could answer Aragorn spoke,
"We still have many miles to go."
He knew that speaking was something Legolas should leave for a few hours and from the glare he received Legolas knew what Aragorn was doing.
Once again they started their journey but slower than before. Èomer herded the prisoners in front of them. They all kept a look out for horsemen both from Rohan and Harad.
After a few minutes of walking, Aragorn swung his pack round; he began rummaging in it for a second then hauled out a little pot made of clay. He dropped back to where Legolas was walking behind them and handed the pot to him,
"For your throat," he said when Legolas did not take it. He also spoke in Elven.
Legolas looked at the pot that Aragorn held before him. With a sigh, he took it and opened it; common sense won over pride. Taking some of the gelatinous substance with his fingers, he carefully rubbed it across his throat. Even as he worked a cooling effect spread throughout his neck. Nodding his thanks he returned the pot and Aragorn's water skin.
"How is your throat?" asked Aragorn.
"It will be fine," answered Legolas quietly.
They walked in silence for a while; Aragorn noticed that Legolas had yet to take his eyes from the men in front of Èomer and Gimli.
"Are you going to stare them to death?" he asked light-heartedly.
A small smile played on Legolas' lips as he shook his head.
"There were twenty-five horsemen," he said softly.
"Twenty-five!" exclaimed Aragorn, slipping into Westron. Èomer turned to look at them questioningly. Aragorn lifted his hand to signal that he would tell him later and turned back to Legolas,
"Twenty-five?" he inquired in Elven again.
"At least," answered Legolas.
Aragorn sighed, what were they up against?
"I have been wondering about the Winged Beast," added Legolas.
"What of it?" asked Aragorn.
"Six men against a tied and wound creature," said Legolas.
"Do you think they had trained it?" asked Aragorn.
Legolas did not answer. Aragorn thought about it awhile,
"I can see them lying if they were caught but would they kill over a lie?"
"Some men would," answered Legolas.
"Do you think he told what he thought to be the truth?" asked Aragorn.
"I believe so and in order to keep appearances he was killed," answered Legolas.
"Would they know?" wondered Aragorn indicating the men in front.
"That is what I was thinking about. They knew that there were others here and where they would be," said Legolas.
"This appears to be bigger than first appearance," sighed Aragorn. "I must speak to Èomer," he added, picking up his pace so he could catch up with the King of Rohan.
Èomer looked up as Aragorn came up next to him.
"Have you discovered anything new?" asked Èomer.
"Yes," said Aragorn then switched to Rohirrim. "Legolas believes that the creature may have been trained."
Èomer thought about it for a minute,
"What makes him think so?"
"The fact that six men could not take down a wounded and tied creature as well as the fact that there are more Haradrim in Rohan," answered Aragorn.
Again Èomer was thoughtful.
"What are your feelings on the matter?" Èomer asked eventually.
"It has some merit but..." Aragorn did not finish.
"But the Elf may be jumping at shadows to ease a wounded pride," finished Èomer with a little humour.
Aragorn gave him a sharp look before suddenly laughing, which caused the company to look at him.
"That too," said Aragorn.
Èomer's smile faded,
"He may, however, have a point."
Aragorn had to agree, there were just too many coincidences and Harad and Gondor had been fighting for so long. Aragorn glanced back at the Elf, who was scanning the horizon. He wore a thoughtful frown and appeared to watching one area in particular. Aragorn wondered if the other Haradrim were still out on the rolling plains. Would they attempt to rescue the men Èomer had or leave them to whatever fate they believe would befall them? One had killed the other to keep the secret about the Winged Beast, this much he knew but did it mean that these prisoners knew something or where as ignorant as the first slain man? Aragorn did not know what to think – what were the Haradrim up to? What was their plan? Did they even have one? What if they were telling the truth and it was as Èomer had said, jumping at shadows?
Then again, twenty-five horsemen was a lot of men to ignore. Adding in the fractious relations between Gondor and Harad... Several peace talks had failed in the past but now the threat was not just to Gondor but Rohan as well. They walked in silence for the rest of the afternoon. That night an uneasy camp was set up and watches taken. Even though they broke camp early, their progress was slow with the wounded prisoner. It was late that afternoon when Legolas spotted horsemen making their way over to them, they were Rohirrim. They had brought extra horses but not enough for the prisoners as well so two of the guards doubled up and they made their way back to the base camp, where they spend the night. The following morning, Èomer send men to fetch the bodies of their fallen comrades, while he and the rest of the company started back to Helm's Deep with the prisoners. They left the dead beast where it had fallen.