Fergus drew out an old map from the satchel tethered to the saddle of his horse. It'd been a few days since he and his daughter Merida left their home in Dunland. They were now surrounded by mountains and rocky ruins. Merida sat under the shade of one of the few trees that were there, carving another design into her favorite bow as her father stared at the map before him.

"If this old piece of parchment is correct, then we should be standing right in front of the Mines of Moria."

"And that means that we should be heading north to Rivendell?"

"That sound right. Wait - how did you know that?"

"Well, all of those geography lessons my mother made me slog through have to count for something!"

Merida looked at the doors to the mines. They'd been ripped out of their place, the entrance now barricaded by boulders.

"What happened here?"

"Nothing good," answered Fergus. "We shouldn't disturb the water there, either. There's a foul beast lurking under those murky depths that I don't fancy waking up. They call it the Watcher in the Water."

He turned towards his daughter.

"Get your things ready, Merida. We'd better leave."

She immediately complied, putting away her knife and reloading Angus. Fergus did the same. Both were ready to ride out when Merida heard something in the distance.

Something sinister. Something that sent chills down her spine. Something that she could have sworn made her bright red hair stand on her head.

It was the sound of footsteps mingled with the distinctive grunts of the most despised creatures in Middle Earth.

They both scanned their surroundings. A scowl soon appeared on Fergus' face.

"DAMN IT! It's an orc ambush! Run, Merida! RUN!"

"YA!"

Merida tugged on Angus' reins. It was only seconds later that she and Fergus were both riding at breakneck speed as a group of orcs pursued them.

Merida quickly drew out her bow and arrows and fired one at an orc to her left. Despite the urgency of the situation she was in, she couldn't help sneaking a brief triumphant smile as she saw him fall off his warg and roll to the ground like a mad tumbleweed. She drew out another arrow and aimed for the frothy mouthed warg, dispatching it in an instant.

Suddenly, the sharp neighing of horses pierced the air as Angus unexpectedly reared. Merida looked around and saw that her father's horse had been shot down by an Orcish arrow.

Fergus was back on his feet in less than a minute, quickly dispatching a group of orc attackers one by one. He deftly snapped the neck of the first. He took a second and broke it in two over his bent knee like a dry twig. He grabbed his sword, ran through a third, and beheaded a fourth. Suddenly, a fifth appeared astride a large warg. The warg lunged at him, sinking its fangs into his forearm. Merida gasped and glared at the beast before reaching into her quiver again. It crumpled to the ground as her arrow hit it right between the eyes.

Her father was able to tear the dead warg's jaws off his arm before rising to his feet and throwing its Orc rider into the hellish pond before the broken doors of Moria.

He then ran to Merida and leapt on top of Angus. Merida shouted another "YA!"

The next thing they knew, they were once again riding at breakneck speed as the Watcher in the Water raised its tentacles and devoured the remaining beasts.

….

"Argh!"

Fergus clutched his arm as Merida tugged on Angus' reins, making the horse come to a halt.

"What are you stopping for? Keep going!"

"Da, you're hurt!"

"I've dealt with worse wounds, lass. The faster you go, the sooner we'll get to Rivendell."

"How much further is it?"

"About forty miles north."

Merida got off Angus and fetched her cloak.

"Forty miles? Da, no one can make it forty miles bleeding like that!"

She took out her knife and began shredding it into strips before grabbing a water canteen.

"This might hurt."

"Just do it. We need to get going as soon as possible."

He winced as she poured water on the wound. She used the remnants of her cloak to clean it, and then wrapped his arm in the makeshift bandages.

A strange horn blared in the distance before she could tie the last knot. Her eyes widened as her senses suddenly heightened. In the distance, she could see what looked like a group of men on horseback riding in their direction. Merida hastily tied the last knot on the bandages, mounted Angus, and seized the reins. However, they began to gain on her as soon as she took off. The horn blew again, this time even louder. After several minutes of pursuit, the men had them both surrounded.

Now that Merida was able to see them more closely, she noticed that their armor was far more elegant than what she'd typically see on someone from the clans of Dunland. Her eyebrows knitted as she noted the long straight hair that hung down their backs from beneath their helmets. Finally, she saw their pointed ears - and knew that these were not human men.

Suddenly, they halted. One of the elves got off his horse and approached them.

"What business does a man from Dunland have near the mines of Moria?"

"We're headed for Rivendell," Merida responded. "My father and I heard that Lord Elrond was holding a council there."

"A council?"

"Aye."

"Tell me - Why should we trust someone from Dunland while your people raid the villages of Rohan and the enemy's spies have made your land their bastion?"

"We're going to Rivendell to find out what's going on out there," Fergus responded, still clutching his arm. "So we can take down those rabble-rousers and drive their bastard leaders from our lands!"

"And…" he continued, "I'm their King."

The elf paused, scanning the two of them intently. He soon noticed a trace of blood on the large hand that grasped the king's arm.

"Your wound - how did you get it?"

"We were ambushed by Orcs," Merida answered. "Please - can you help us?"

"Your father won't last long unaided. Come with us."