Out of Mirkwood
Scribbles-on-Parchment
August 24, 2019
Chapter 7 – Spiders
The next morning in Mirkwood…
"Tell me again why I let you talk me into doing this," Estel groaned trying to keep up with the fast pace of the Noldo in front of him.
Elrohir looked back and chuckled as he watched his brother all but flounder through the thick undergrowth. He slowed his pace, allowing the human to catch up.
"Stop complaining toron. You wanted to come with me. What changed your mind all of a sudden?"
Estel glared at the dark-haired ellon, "I was not expecting this to take all day or that it would require me to wade through the forest."
"Well now you know why it is called Mirkwood!" Elrohir laughed lightly, "Did you really expect it to be simply a casual walk through the woods?"
"No,but I was also not anticipating that a quick hunt would result in having to walk this far. I should have just stayed back at camp with Elladan and the horses."
"Relax. The sun has only just risen and it's not like it will take us the rest of the day to catch breakfast. Have faith in my hunting abilities, toron."
The brothers walked several more paces in silence till the edan moaned,
"I hate this forest. Why did we have to come in here in the first place?"
Elrohir rolled his eyes, "Because you wanted a place to camp that was out of the rain. Remember? And besides we camped at the edge of it, not somewhere in the middle."
Estel glowered. They had been riding across the plains of Rohan for almost two days in the pouring rain. Last night the dark trees of Mirkwood had looked like a warm and sheltered campsite, however, now that it was day they looked evil and diseased.
"Let's just find something to eat and get out of here. I don't like it. I now know why ada hates this forest so much."
"Ada hates Mirkwood because of what happened many years before I even reached my majority. He still blames himself for the destruction of the Greenwood, but I think that he just needs to let it go and move on. He hates this place because it reminds him of what it used to and could have been," He paused and turned so he could look the young human in the eye, "However, everyone else hates this place because it is overrun by darkness. Evil things are said to linger here."
Estel glared at the Noldo, "I don't need to be reminded, Elrohir."
The ellon's eyes glinted before he spun back around and began to pick his way through the underbrush again. They continued onward for several more grueling minutes until the young man was ready to give up and head back to their camp.
"I don't think we are going to find anything to…" Estel broke off as he suddenly found himself running straight into Elrohir's back.
He had failed to notice that the Noldo had halted directly in front of him. The human staggered back a step just managing to save himself from falling over. He quickly pulled out his bow, thinking that Elrohir had finally spotted breakfast. There was the sound of something brushing against leaves and he quickly brushed past his brother and aimed at the thick gathering of trees that stood in front of them. He expected to find a rabbit to come bounding toward them, yet nothing seemed to move.
The edan threw a confused look at the eldar who had drawn his bow and was aiming upwards at the thick branches above them. The loud rustle of leaves came again, but this time it sounded much louder than anything that could be made by a rabbit or bird. And why in Eru's name was Elrohir aiming at the trees above them?
Estel did not have time to ponder this, however, because the Noldo suddenly fired his arrow straight into the dense leaves above them. A second later an enraged screech split the air. Erohir gave a shout of alarm as a huge, dark mass dropped from the tree and landed between the two brothers.
The young human had heard stories of the monstrous spiders of Mirkwood that were said to kill all who ventured too far into the forest, but he never dreamed they actually existed. However, he was now staring one in the face.
The arachnid wasted no time to find its footing in the undergrowth and begin its attack, Erlohir's arrow not seeming to have wounded it in any way. As soon as its spindly legs found traction, the creature lunged forward at the startled human. Estel just managed to scramble out of the way of the charging beast before firing his arrow blindly at it. He had no idea how to fight a giant spider.
The projectile hit one of the creature's legs, before bouncing harmlessly off of the hard exoskeleton without leaving so much as a scratch.
"Toron," he heard his brother call to him as the edan fitted another arrow to the string, "Try and shoot it in the eyes. The skin on it's legs and hide is too tough for our arrows."
Estel wished he had the time to glare at Elrohir but decided to save it for later. The ellon was already busy enough firing arrows at another spider several paces away.
Wait. Another spider? The young human cursed loudly as he saw that another black body had joined the fray. Why could there never just be one? He spun back to face the monster that had attacked him and froze as he found the beast only a couple of paces away from him.
The arachnid let out a low hiss as its eyes rested on the young human's weapon. It seemed to know what the instrument was capable of.
As the spider stared hungrily at him, Estel wasted no time to quickly fire another of his arrows at the beast's head. However, the sharp projectile missed and flew over the creature's head. Estel cursed; he should have taken the time to aim. He could only hope that Elrohir had not seen his mistake or he was sure he would never hear the end of it.
Before he had time to pull another arrow from his quiver, the spider decided it was done waiting and lunged at him again. Estel didn't react quick enough and the dark bulk of the beast knocked him onto his back sending his hunting bow flying out of reach. The young human was left gasping for air as the spider stood over him.
With no bow and a hungry spider almost on top of him, the young human frantically reached for the dagger at his waist. He wrestled it free from its sheath as the creature's weight began to press down on him. As the spider lowered its ugly head to deliver a deadly bite, Estel pulled his arm free and drove the knife into the side of the beast's head. It gave an ear-splitting scream before collapsing onto the edan, dead.
The man grunted in pain as the full weight of the spider came crashing down on top of him. He lay still for a moment before he heard the sound of quiet laughter. Estel glanced up and saw Elrohir looking down at him. The ellon smiled.
"Well that was dramatic."
Once his brother had helped free him from under the crushing weight of the evil creature, did Estel take the opportunity to glare at the Noldo.
"So the thought never entered your thick skull to come and help me?"
Elrohir yanked his arrow out of the spider he had killed.
"You did not appear to need any help and besides I got over to you just as you killed it anyway."
The young human shook his head. At least the eldar had not seen him miss his shot.
"Oh and by the way toron, you might want to work on your aim. It seemed it bit off today," Elrohir grinned as his younger brother turned red with both anger and embarrassment, before turning more serious, "Now go find your bow for I want to get out of here before anything else arrives to attack us."
Estel grumbled, but as he bent down to pick up his bow he hesitated. There, laying in the dead leaves next to his weapon, was an arrow. It was not his.
The human picked the projectile up marveling at the fine craftsmanship of it. The shaft was made from oak, straight, and smooth and the fletching was of an elegant green and gold color. The sharp metal tip also had an intricate design of a leaf carved into it.
"Elrohir," He said, calling his brother over to him, "Have you ever seen any arrow like this?"
"It is a marvelous arrow," Elrohir said looking the weapon over for the umpteenth time, "It must have been made by someone with much skill. An elf perhaps? Yet I have not seen a design such as this before."
Estel watched as a frown formed on the Nodlo's fair face.
"It couldn't have been here long, for it is in pristine condition," Elrohir continued, "Which way did it look like it came from?"
Estel pointed in the general direction it would have had to have been fired.
"I thought you said that you wanted to leave," he grumbled as Elrohir began to search through the thick undergrowth, "What are you hoping to find? The owner?"
"Perhaps. Then maybe you can take some tips from him or her about how to improve your aim."
Estel ran his hands through his hair. This was not going away anytime soon.
"Can we just go already? I hate this bloody forest."
"So you've said before. Be patient. We will go in just one moment. It looks like the forest opens just a bit and I want to check it out before we leave."
"For what purpose?"
Elrohir sighed, "I don't know. Maybe there are more arrows there or clues about who the owner is or it may just be an empty clearing. Either way I am going."
The young human was left with no choice but to reluctantly follow his brother.
"If you get us both killed then I shall strangle you while you sleep."
"Agreed," the brown-haired elf laughed slightly, leading the way through the brush.
The opening was in fact a small clearing in the trees. Estel pushed past the Noldo as they stumbled into it, happy for any relief from the oppressing undergrowth. However, as soon as he set foot in the clearing he froze. A huge spider was laying just a couple paces away, obviously dead. Sticking out of its head was the same kind of green and gold fletched arrow as he had found before.
"Well, at least we know that we are not the only ones with horrible luck," the edan said, glancing back at his brother.
But Elrohir was not looking at the spider; instead he was staring off to the side of the clearing. Estel followed his gaze and gasped as he saw a crumpled figure on the forest floor.
Elvish Translations:
toron – brother (Noldorin)
ada - dad