"Is he... taking a nap?" Titus asked as he stared at Aragorn, who had his ear pressed on the ground.
"I... actually don't know." Rin replied as she raised an eyebrow at the Ranger's actions.
Aragorn's eyes snapped open "Their pace has quickened. They must have caught our scent." He turned to the Fellowship "Hurry!"
Aragorn ran off, followed by Aéd, Legolas, Rin and Titus. Titus passed by Gimli and laughed.
Gimli grumbled at that "Three day's and night's pursuit... no food, no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell."
Boromir ran beside Gimli and gave him a pat on the back with a smirk before rejoining the others.
The seven ran as fast as their feet can carry them. They've reached a valley and Aragorn stopped to pick up something from the ground.
It was one of the hobbit's brooch.
"Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall." He remarked as he stared at the object in his hands.
"They could still be alive!" Titus exclaimed.
"Less than a day ahead of us." He turned to the rest "Come!"
Everyone followed Aragorn but Gimli stumbles and rolls on the ground.
"Come, Gimli. We are gaining on them!" Legolas yelled to the dwarf.
"I'm wasted on cross-country. We dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances."
The Fellowship stopped atop of a hill and looked at the plains in front of them.
"Rohan, Home of the Horse-lords." Aragorn stated.
"Friends of Gondor. They may help us with our search for the hobbits." Boromir said to the rest of the group.
"There's something strange is at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures, sets it will against us." Aragorn turned to Legolas and asked "Legolas, what do your elf eyes see?"
Legolas seemed to stare at something from a distance "The Uruks turn Northeast. They are taking the hobbits to Isengard!"
"Saruman." Aragorn concluded.
Titus shook his head "Great. Now we have to deal with a damn wizard." He muttered.
"Let's just go already." Rin grumbled. Not looking forward on fighting someone who can bring down mountains on people and what not.
~Line Break~
"Keep breathing, that's the key! Breathe! Hoo!" Gimli panted out as he tries to keep pace with the others.
Titus' laugh could be heard over their running.
~Line Break~
Legolas stopped and looked at the sky "A red sun rises. Blood has been spilt this night."
"Quiet. Ya hear that?" Aéd asked.
Everyone stopped and listened. They heard the sound of hooves in the distance.
"Hide!" Titus said as he his behind a large rock. The rest followed his example and hid as well.
The sounds grew louder and soon, a large cavalry rode past them. They're banners held the image of a stylized white horse.
As they pass, Aragorn stepped out of cover and the rest followed. He called for their attention.
"Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?"
The cavalry turned around and surrounded the Fellowship. Their spears lowered and pointed at them.
Someone rode closer and asked "What business do four Men, a Woman, an Elf and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark?"
None of them answered.
"Speak quickly!"
Boromir was the first to speak.
"Captain Boromir, Son of Denethor. The Steward of Gondor." He motioned to the others "These are my companions. We were hunting for a pack of Uruks that held our friends."
The man who asked signalled for his men to withdraw their spears. He got off his horse and took off his helmet, revealing a man with long, blonde hair. He bowed and said "I apologize Captain Boromir. I did not recognize you." He turned to the others "I apologize for the actions of my men and I. I am Éomer, Third Marshal of the Riddermark."
The Fellowship nodded and Boromir introduced them.
"This is Aragorn, Son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, Son of Gloin and Legolas of the Woodland Realm."
Aéd was the next to introduce himself.
"I am Aéd, Highlander of Clan MacGillivray." Aéd started. The seven feet tall, Highlander stood stoic as ever as he looked down at the Third Marshal.
"Titus Valerius Felix, of House Valeria. A Centurion of the Iron Legion." Titus introduced himself, radiating an air of confidence.
"Rin Tanaka, Aramusha. Dawn Empire." Rin said as she chewed on the straw between her teeth.
"How does Théoden-King fair, Lord Éomer?"
Éomer donned a dark look.
"Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe." He lowered his head as his fist clenched "Not even his own kin."
He raised his head and looked at Boromir "Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over this land. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished." He then looked at Aragorn "The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked." He looked at the others with a critical look "And everywhere his spies slip past our nets."
"We are no spies. We track a band of Uruk-hai westward across the plains. They have taken two of our friends captive." Aragorn intervened.
Éomer turned to him "The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night."
"But there were two hobbits, did you see two hobbits with them?" Titus asked frantically.
Éomer looked down "We left none alive." He pointed to a smoke in the distance "We piled the carcasses and burned them."
"Dead?" Gimli asked. His voice broken.
"I'm sorry."
Legolas put a hand on Gimli's shoulder. Rin slowly inched herself closer to Titus and subtly held his hand. Titus squeezed her hand as he refused to accept their deaths. Aéd closed his eyes and cursed himself for not getting to them sooner. Boromir thought the exact same thing and looked down in despair. Aragorn refused to believe it.
Éomer whistled and five horses approached them "May these horses bear you better fortune than their former masters."
He mounted his horse and put on his helmet "Look for your friends, but do not trust the hope. It has forsaken these lands. We ride north!"
The Fellowship watch as the riders leave.
Titus looked at them and shook his head "Damn all that man says. I refuse to accept it!" He mounted his horse with Rin.
"He's right. I refuse." Aragorn stated.
So the Fellowship ride across the field and towards the smoke.
They slowed and dismounted before walking to the corpse pile. Titus saw an Uruk's head on a spear and sneered in disgust.
Gimli started to go through the pile of corpses and pulled out a charred piece of leather. He showed it to the rest.
"It's one of their wee belts."
Legolas closed his eyes and lowered his head "Hiro hyn hîdh ab wanath."
Aéd buried his Claymore upright and dropped to his knees "An lorg thu sìth, clann bheag."
Aragorn kicked a helmet and yelled at the top of his lungs before falling to his knees in defeat.
"Sayônara." Rin muttered under her breath. There was no way the hobbits made it out of this one.
Boromir fell to his knees and placed his head on his hands.
Aragorn was looking at the ground when he noticed something. His training as a Ranger kicked in and he began muttering.
"A hobbit lay here, and the other." He said as he looked at the tracks.
Titus shook his head "You don't have to tell us how they died, Aragorn."
The Ranger ignored him and his work "They crawled."
This peaked Aéd's interest as he rose from the ground and grabbed his Claymore. He was followed by the others.
"Their hands were bound."
Moving further, he found a piece of rope that was cut.
"Their bonds were cut."
He rose and followed the tracks.
"The tracks lead away from the battle! Into…" He stopped as he stared at the dark forest in front of them "Fangorn Forest."
"Fangorn!" Gimli gasped "What madness drove them here?"
Aéd walked past them, his Claymore resting on his shoulder.
"Doesn't matter. If they are in there, I will find them."
The others nodded at each other before following the Highlander.