Out of Mirkwood

Scribbles-on-Parchment

May 2, 2020

Chapter 39 – Capture

It had taken several hours for them to come to the top of the pass and several more for the steed to make his way down the steep sloping hills on the other side. While the young Sinda could see well in the darkness that surrounded them, it was clear that the horse's eyes did not have the same abilities as his own. Several times Legolas tried to flare his light to allow the beast to see the trail ahead, yet this only worked to cause Gwa-sadron to stamp his feet nervously.

The sky in front of the horse and rider had the faintest signs of a sunrise when the young elf suddenly sat bolt upright. Were his eyes playing tricks on him or was there a dark figure watching him from the opposite hilltop?

"Dartho."

The elfling whispered the soft command to Gwa-sadron causing the faithful steed to skid to a halt on the steep hillside. The ellon cursed his bad luck. If the terrain were more suitable then he could have been leagues away from this place by now. He did not want to think of what other foul creatures lay in wait for him out here in the open.

Gwa-sadron snorted in the cool pre-dawn air sensing his rider's discomfort. Legolas whispered a calming word to the horse before the painful truth of his predicament came to light. He had no weapons and had no hope of outrunning another rider. He could either head back a little of the way he had come and wait for daylight or try to make his way around this mysterious figure and pray that nothing more would come of it. But whatever decision he made would have to be done soon for the steed would not be able to hold his footing on the hillside for much longer.

Glorfindel crouched on top of the hill opposite the elven stranger and waited. It had taken this ellon a painfully long time to descend from the top of the pass, but that, at least, had allowed for him to get his men into position least this elf tried to flee.

As the silver-haired elf waited, hand on his sword, the rider leaned down to whisper to the horse who came to a sudden halt. The pale silver glow that outlined the ellon made it easy for the eldar to recognize the horse as Tamír's. His hand immediately tightened on the hilt of his blade. If this glowing being had hurt his friends in any way whatsoever then they would pay dearly for it.

"Commander…"

The soft elven voice drifted off the rest of, the sentence left unsaid.

"Do it now and do not let him time to escape for I fear that our presence has already been discovered."

The command was given in a hushed whisper as Glorfindel continued to stare intently at the elven rider who still remained on the back of his horse. Neither had moved a muscle and the Noldo commander did not want to see that change.

As the mysterious elf suddenly turned Tamír's horse to begin riding back up the pass, instantly the hillside above the rider lit up with torches as his men surrounded the stranger.

Both horse and rider shied away from the bright lights which caused the Noldo commander to smile grimly. His plan had worked perfectly. The eldar had fallen into an ever-tightening ring of elven soldiers. There would be no escape now.

As the bright light from torches temporarily blinded him, Legolas felt the steed move under him backing up from the line of light that had appeared in front of them. The young prince could feel the tremors of fright running through the horse's flank as the creature's hooves slid on the loose stone that covered the hillside.

Now more than ever did the elfling feel the obvious emptiness on his back of where his bow and quiver should be. He had no way to fight back and no desire to be caught by these strangers. His only choice would be to try and outrun them. Yet even then he would only have a fighting chance if the figures that were holding the torches were not on horses themselves.

Gwa-sadron snorted loudly as he fought to find his footing on the hill and Legolas leaned close to the steed's ear, whispering calming words in Sindarin. The last thing that he needed was for the horse to lose his footing. A tumbling fall down the steep slope would not do either of them any good.

"Daro!"

Legolas instantly straightened at the elvish word that rang out in the dark. He risked a glance behind him and his heart sank. In the flickering light of the torches and the lightning of the sky, the young prince could make out a tall figure in silver armor behind him. The eldar was mounted on a snow-white steed and had several elven soldiers standing beside him.

The elf cursed. How had he been so distracted that he had not noticed an army of elves encircling him? Had he truly become this disconnected from his surroundings?

He wished desperately that he were back in the trees of the Greenwood. They would have warned him long before the elves got anywhere close to him, however, it was too late now and he had a horrible feeling that whatever happened next would not end well for him.

There was an eerie silence that fell over the land for several moments as the young Sindarin prince and the silver armored elf glared furiously at one another. No one moved and it seemed as if even the wind itself had faded, holding its breath for what was about to happen.

Underneath him, Legolas could feel the powerful muscles of the horse tensing, ready to bolt. It was as if the horse sensed the nervousness of his rider and knew what had to be done.

"Yrch!"

The cry went up from behind the Sinda, who whipped his head around to look up the hill.

The atmosphere immediately changed. In an instant, all of the attention turned from the young prince to the hillside above them as the elven soldiers around him scrambled to get into position to counteract the surprise attack.

As the cry went up from his men stationed above the lone rider, Glorfindel felt his heart drop. Had they truly been so caught up in catching this stranger that they had not sensed evil approaching? It did not make any sense to him. How had they not noticed anything before?

The elves around him drew their swords as one and raced up the hillside and towards their comrades. The ellon on the horse was now only a moment away from being stuck between a line of Noldor warriors and the approaching yrch. The eldar felt his horse move restlessly under him as the creature felt the rising tension in the air.

The commander reached down to touch the hilt of his sword again, torn between racing to lead his men against the unknown attack and waiting to see if the elf would try to escape.

"Êgon!" Glorfindel called for his second in command as his horse took a step forward impatiently.

The Noldo elf was beside him in an instant. "Yes, hîr nín."

"You know Tamír's horse well and it trusts you. Do not let his rider make his escape for I have much to ask him."

The soldier's dark brown eyes hardened as he gave his friend a sharp nod. Tamír was his good friend and so also was the Silvan's horse. This stranger would pay if he did anything to hurt either one of them.

Êgon watched Glorfindel draw his blade and follow his men. He had no doubt that this rabble of yrch would be taken care of in no time. However, even though his blade itched for the taste of orch blood he had another problem to worry about.

As the Noldo watched by the pale light of the ever-lightening sky, he could make out the shape of the horse and rider who had made their way across the hillside as to avoid any interaction with anyone coming up the hill. If he were to guess right then he would say that it was only a matter of time before the stranger made a bolt for open land.

A sly smile began to play on Êgon's lips. For the ellon attempted to do this would not last long for he had a strong connection to the horse. maybe even stronger than Tamír did. Thus, he had power that would stop the elf in his tracks.

A harsh shout of an orch echoed across the hillsides and as if on cue the horse and rider took off running down the slope and towards their freedom.

And it would have worked had Êgon not let out a sharp whistle causing the faithful steed to come to a sudden halt almost sending his rider flying off of his back.

Legolas felt the adrenaline rushing through his veins as he nudged Gwa-sadron into a run. He knew that it was dangerous for them to travel down the slope at such a speed but he also knew that if he wanted to escape capture by either party then he needed to make a run for it. As it stood now, the journey back to the Greenwood seemed to be getting longer and longer as time went on.

However, as the horse's powerful muscles heaved into action a sharp whistle abruptly cut through the early dawn air. Immediately the steed came to a sudden stop and it was all the young Sinda could do to keep himself from not flying off of the horse's back and into the rocks and grass.

"Noro-hi!"

The prince leaned forward in an attempt to make Gwa-sadron move forward down the hill, but the horse simply dug his hooves into the dirt and rock, refusing to move. In desperation, the elfling looked around for anything that he could use to get the beast moving again. He could not have this happen now.

"Iaron! Minno!"

The call came from a Noldo soldier who was standing at the bottom of the hill glaring at him and as commanded the horse began to tread steadily down the hill towards the ellon who had called to him.

"Daro. You cannot go to that eldar mellon," the young Sinda dug his heels into the stead's flank willing him to stop, "He may be your friend but he is not mine. You must take me far away from this place. Iesten…"

Gwa-sadron came to a slow stop as he tossed him mane in displeasure. Whoever this Noldo was, he had a strong connection with the horse and Legolas could only hope that his soft Sindarin words had gotten through the creature somehow and he would win the faithful steed to his side.

The prince leaned onto the horse's neck and whispered soothing words all the while making his elven light radiate brighter in hopes that it would calm the beast.

Yet after only a brief moment, he was pulled back to the real world by a pained elven cry from behind him. His head shot up as an arrow from an orch bow sailed over his head, just missing his left arm; it was then that the sounds of the skirmish behind him reached his ears.

And it reached Gwa-sadron's too for the horse suddenly leaped forward with a powerful jump as another arrow flew past. A second later the steed hit the ground at the bottom of the hill with a teeth-rattling jolt.

The creature stumbled forward in an attempt to regain its balance causing the young rider on its back to lose his balance and fall to his side onto the hard rocks, knocking the wind out of himself. Sensing something was wrong, the horse came to a stop a little way in front of the Sinda and looked back at him.

Legolas began to scramble to his feet but stopped short as a sword blade was suddenly pressed into the side of his neck and an angry voice growled.

"You have many questions to answer young one."

Elvish Translations:

dartho – wait

gwa-sadron – forever the loyal one (another translation is: together with one who is loyal)

mellon – friend

daro – wait

yrch – orcs

hîr nín – my lord

orch - orc

noro-hi – go now

iaron – ancient one

minno - come

iesten – please or my wish