The War of Light and Shadow
By Freddie23
OIOIOIOI
Disclaimer: I own nothing Tolkien created.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I do try to answer them if they are signed but even if not I appreciate them immensely.
Enjoy the chapter.
OIOIOIOIOIOI
Chapter 17 – The Master Knows
Beneath their feet, the thick mud, churned up by the recent heavy rains, squelched uncomfortably and a couple of times, Legolas, his Elven heritage making him that much more sure-footed than his Human charge, had to reach out to keep the young man walking at his side from slipping over.
For two days now they had been travelling almost non-stop. Although Aragorn, his condition greatly improved after he'd been allowed some time to rest, had been eager to go after the Orc patrol that five days ago had gotten the better of them, Legolas had been insistent that he should not push himself too soon by doing anything so fool-hardy. Aragorn's wound had fortunately been minor and showed no sign of infection – always Legolas' biggest fear – but Legolas did not want to make it any worse by pushing him too hard. With the boy's health, he was taking no chances.
Having no other choice but to follow Legolas, Aragorn had agreed with the Elf's decision and they had been careful to avoid any kind of potentially damaging confrontation as they travelled.
"You know," Aragorn said as he carefully stepped over an elevated tree root while trying to avoid a deep puddle of mud on the other side of the path, "seeing as we're not hunting Orcs anymore…"
"Just for a while until you're back on top form," Legolas interrupted, glancing back.
Shooting the Elf a pointedly annoyed look, Aragorn continued, "I think we should move on."
"Leave the forest? I was thinking the very same thing."
"Really? I'm right for once," Aragorn smiled, steadying himself by laying his hand on a black tree trunk when the ground slipped beneath his feet.
Legolas' hand shot out to take his elbow for support just in case he couldn't regain his footing. "Don't get used to it. I'm sure it's just a fleeting moment."
Ignoring the quip, Aragorn continued onwards, mumbling, "Finally we can get out of this miserable place."
The Elf chuckled to himself. "Finally the end to your complaining is within sight."
"I heard that."
"I know you did."
"You would be miserable too if you couldn't stand up straight or even…"
Aragorn was cut off when he quite literally crashed right into the back of the solid Elf, who had stopped dead on the path in front of him.
"What are you doing?" Aragorn asked in surprise, stepping back and putting his hands on Legolas' tense shoulders to gain his attention. Only then did he realise that this was actually quite an odd way for Legolas to have stopped suddenly and he deduced that Legolas was in fact listening for something. Suddenly brought to attention himself, Aragorn looked around, searching for something unusual in their wooded surroundings. Of course, to him everything seemed as it should be. Stepping carefully over to Legolas' side and seeing a familiar mixture of confusion and concentration etched on his face, Aragorn asked in a whisper, "What is wrong?"
In a quiet voice to match the man's, Legolas answered, "Orcs, I think."
"Close?" Aragorn asked, his eyes immediately darting around the forest.
A frown creased Legolas' brow. "I am not certain."
This confused Aragorn. Legolas was very rarely uncertain when it came to such things. He had enough experience at being around Orcs and the patrols of Shadow to be able to tell how close they were and roughly estimate their numbers. That he wasn't sure worried Aragorn a little.
"Legolas?"
Suddenly comprehension dawned and disquiet replaced concentration on Legolas' face. He turned away from Aragorn and went to move off the trail, saying, "Uruk-hai. We must leave this place immediately."
Even though he followed the Elf off the trail, arms outstretched to his sides in order to keep his precarious balance, Aragorn asked urgently, "Are they close?"
"Yes, too close for comfort."
Aragorn was no longer in the least bit surprised at Legolas' panic and sudden need to put as much distance as possible between them and the fearsome Uruk-hai. The creatures were far more dangerous than any mindless Orcs they may have come across in the past. A sick blend of Orc and Goblin, the Uruks were larger, more wily and far more physically powerful than their smaller, less imposing counterparts and they held no fear of any other living thing on Middle Earth.
Over the years, Legolas and Aragorn had only ever seen one patrol of Uruk-hai and even then it was from a safe distance. Never had they engaged in battle with them – although Legolas had mentioned once that they had been present at the downfall of Mirkwood so Aragorn had to assume that at some point the Elf had fought the creatures and had obviously come out of the experience alive.
However, even if Aragorn had been on top form and uninjured, neither traveller would not have picked a fight with the huge beasts. So they did the only thing any sensible person would: they ran.
Legolas tried his best to lead them in a direction that took them safely away from the sound of pounding feet. They stalked as quietly as possible through the trees, now keeping off the main trail they had stuck to so far. It was taking them back once more into the dead forest but right then it was much more important that they avoid the Uruk-hai than get out from amongst the rotting trees that Aragorn despised so much.
"Are you alright?" Legolas called back, already out of breath from running.
Gasping for air himself, Aragorn answered, "Just great."
Worried about the young man running so hard in his injured state, Legolas suggested in a hasty whisper that they find a place to hide, hoping that the Uruks hadn't already caught their scents, and Aragorn eagerly agreed. Engaging was definitely a bad idea in his state.
Unfortunately, Legolas' ideal plan was not to be. A moment later, as they ran steadily through the slippery moss-covered tree roots searching for somewhere to hide away in the hope the Uruks would simply pass by them, a small black arrow thudded into one of the dead tree trunks at their side. Legolas startled, his head snapping around to search out the shooter. A solitary Uruk was standing notching another arrow to his short bow on a small mound, seemingly in no hurry, as if it knew that the two beings it was pursuing posed it no challenge or threat. The typical arrogance of the monsters of Mordor angered Legolas but although his anger was not misplaced in this case, Legolas knew fully well that he could not justify wasting precious arrows on one solitary Uruk.
"Go!" Legolas urged instead, pushing the boy forward.
As he ran, Legolas pulled his knives from his backpack. If he had to fight these terrible creatures then he would regardless of the risk to himself.
"That way," the Elf told the young man in a breathless whisper, nudging him towards a flat, empty space in the forest. If the Uruk-hai were going to attack and if they were forced to fight then Legolas was determined that it was going to be on his terms and not theirs. Any small advantage he must use if they had any chance of emerging victorious.
Coming to a skidding halt in the centre of the clearing, Legolas was already pulling from the bags weapons for Aragorn as the boy bent forwards, hands braced on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
"Here." Legolas shoved their spare knife into Aragorn's hand and the boy straightened up.
"We're going to fight them?" Aragorn asked incredulously, looking down at the knife in surprise.
"They're not like Orcs, they're armoured all over. Look for weaknesses in their armour, usually around the neck, the joints."
"You're really serious, aren't you?"
"Just fight as I have taught you. And stay close to me." When he noticed the apprehension in Aragorn's expressive grey eyes, Legolas laid his hand on the young man's shoulder and faked a soothing smile for his benefit. "We will be fine. We have faced worse odds."
"Maybe you have," Aragorn muttered, turning his worried gaze towards the trees, where now even he could hear the heavy sound of metal-plated pounding feet against the wet earth heading towards them.
Legolas did not especially want to recall those final days of his homeland but he did now try to remember how the warriors of Mirkwood had succeeded in killing the vicious Uruk-hai. Before being completely overwhelmed, the Elves had taken out their fair share of the creatures of Evil.
The sounds of the cumbersome creatures approach became louder and both Man and Elf took up a battle stance.
It wasn't much longer before the monsters emerged through the remnants of the dying trees. If Aragorn had been nervous about the confrontation before, then as the Uruks halted on the edges of the clearing, apparently sizing up their prey, he knew he must have looked positively terrified. Even though the two companions stood firm and tall in the face of the enemy, there were significantly more Uruks – Aragorn counted eleven in total.
As Aragorn shifted uneasily on his feet, wondering what was stopping the beasts from rushing forward and immediately attacking them – the wait was far worse – the Uruk-hai unexpectedly began to laugh.
When Aragorn looked to Legolas for an explanation as to this bizarre behaviour, he saw a frown marring the Elf's face. This obvious uncertainty in his guardian did not exactly fill Aragorn with confidence. The only consolation he had was that Legolas did not look ready to run away, as he himself was itching to do, shifting anxiously on his feet. The Elf stared unflinchingly at the line of Uruk-hai laughing at them. So, like his ancient mentor, Aragorn stood firm.
After a moment, one of the Uruks stepped forward. Whilst Aragorn took an involuntary step backwards, Legolas merely gripped his weapons, a white-handled knife in each hand, tighter, prepared for the inevitable attack.
"Hold your ground," Legolas told his young ward through the corner of his mouth.
Laughing rowdily, the Uruk who appeared to have designated himself the leader called out mockingly, "Yeah, Human, don't be scared of us." His companions found this taunt particularly funny. "And this…" The Uruk stepped closer still, staring with deep yellow eyes into Legolas' hard blue ones. "An Elf," the monster sneered, sniffing the air in disgust at the smell the creature of Light exuded. "Thought we'd wiped your kind clean off the earth."
Anger flared in Legolas' chest at the growled words but he said nothing, simply gripped his knife tighter in his hand. The creature, smarter than any Orc, was baiting him and he wasn't going to bite.
Whilst Legolas faced off with the huge monster, Aragorn kept his eyes on the other Uruks, fearing that they might use Legolas' apparent distraction to make their move against their prey. This was the first time he had ever seen the Uruk-hai up close, so he took the rare opportunity to note their forms – a useful thing considering that he would undoubtedly be fighting them in mere moments.
They were far bigger than any other creature of Mordor Aragorn had ever seen, standing at least a foot taller than Legolas. Bulky black bodies were sheathed in thick, heavy armour, dented after years of use in countless battles. Long, almost tusk-like sharp teeth protruded from their lips, stained and blackened. Luminous yellow eyes shone madly as they peered out beneath the thick metal helmets they wore, greedy for the fresh blood their noses caught scent of.
Whilst their leader stood staring Legolas down, the other Uruks remained agitated – ironically, very much like Aragorn himself. They seemed to be itching to start the fighting, it was what they had been bred for, after all. Growling deep in their throats, they made for menacing opponents.
"Legolas?" Aragorn asked in a low whisper, flicking his gaze momentarily towards the Elf.
The sound of the man's voice seemed to rouse Legolas from his thoughts and he glanced at the increasingly nervous boy at his side.
When Legolas turned defiantly back to the Uruk, the creature sneered at him in pleasure. "I smell fear. You reek of it."
Aragorn could not truthfully disagree with this statement but Legolas seemed to take exception, as he took a step closer, apparently not intimidated by the size difference that became more obvious this close to the creature.
Staring directly into shining yellow eyes, Legolas ground out, "I do not fear you."
Throwing its head back, the Uruk laughed loudly and soon uproarious laughter from all the creatures filled the forest, echoing around the withered trees. Aragorn winced at the noise but not so much as a flicker of emotion passed over Legolas' features.
"Is that so?" the Uruk growled fiercely once it had looked back down at the Elf. "I'm going to enjoy killing you. I haven't tasted sweet Elf-flesh in years."
That calm that had held Legolas back until now was cracked at the threat and anger shone blatantly in his eyes, which only served to amuse the leader of the creature to no end.
"Look at that, boys, the Elf's getting mad," the Uruk called back to its fellow soldiers, taunting the Elf before it. When the monster looked back to Legolas, its foul mouth open to bark out more insults, it was met by the sight – the last sight its brain would ever process – of furious silver and a deathly look of sheer rage.
Legolas' sharp blade sliced cleanly through thick, leathery flesh. The stunned silence was broken only by the heavy thud of the Uruk's head hitting the ground at its feet seconds before its body followed suit. Stunned, the other creatures could only stare in disbelief – their esteemed leader had just been outwitted by an Elf, lowest of all the low creatures that continued to walk the earth. Aragorn also gaped in horror and amazement at the disembodied head. Legolas had just killed an Uruk, one of the most fearsome of Sauron's minions, with seemingly minimal effort.
As all others in the clearing stared openly at the sheer audacity of the Elf, Legolas kept his eyes fixed on the line of Uruk-hai, his twin knives held securely in his hands ready for anything. Legolas had rarely felt such lust for death, not since he had rescued Aragorn from the cannibalistic humans bent on torturing their captive. Battle for him was ever a necessity, never a desire. But now that craving to be rid of the abominations, descended in the distant past from his own race after being twisted and mutilated, became overwhelming and he longed for a fight, to shed the tainted black blood of his enemies.
It did not take longer than a minute for the Uruks to recover themselves and for Legolas' wish for a fight to be fulfilled. Deep growls filled the air and the Uruk-hai, incensed by the slaughter of their leader, lunged forwards, weapons raised, blood-lust burning in their eyes.
"Don't be afraid," Legolas said softly to the quaking Aragorn before he too raised his weapons and met the creatures as they charged.
But Aragorn was afraid. It was inevitable that he should be. Despite all his experience and all the knowledge he had gained from his vastly experienced Elven tutor, he feared fighting this new, more powerful foe. He'd never seen a more fearsome creature created by the Dark Lord of Mordor. It was a taste of what kinds of horrors the Darkness was capable of creating – and no doubt there was far worse out there in the dark depths of Mordor that Legolas had never spoken to him of. Maybe the Elf himself didn't know all that the Shadow was capable of, or maybe he just feared scaring his young charge with the truth.
Having no other choice, however, Aragorn followed Legolas into the fight.
The Uruk-hai were completely different to the lesser Orcs Aragorn had grown used to fighting over the years. Stronger and bigger, they were far more difficult to kill. Although not as agile as goblins, nor as numerous as the Orcs, they had sheer brute force on their side and used it to their advantage, slamming hard into the two companions.
Legolas fought with crudeness equal to his adversaries, for once favouring a more direct approach as opposed to his normal precise, flourished movements. He slashed and hacked as the huge beasts swarmed around him and his young charge. Soon, both Man and Elf and the ground beneath their feet was coated in thick black blood as the creatures were one by one cut down, for although they had more strength, the two travellers were by far more wily and intelligent.
Eleven beasts fast became five thanks to the swift, strong strikes rained down on them but by that time Aragorn was beginning to tire. His knife wound, which had caused him almost no trouble at all when simply walking about, burned at the stretching and exertion of frantic battle. Caught up in the frenzy of the fight, Legolas did not feel the same kind of weariness; he was bolstered by adrenaline and his fighting was made all the better for it. Unfortunately, his lack of attention to anything but the massive black Uruk-hai all around him meant that he was not concentrating fully on the young man at his side so he failed to notice when Aragorn started flagging.
Although the young man had himself dispatched several Uruks, his limbs were beginning to feel heavy and his wound started to hurt even more. The creatures quickly sensed his weakness and began to abandon the intimidating Elf for the less powerful and more inexperienced human.
It was only when Legolas realised that, after running his knife across the throat of another Uruk he had been trying to bring down for a while now more or less decapitating the filthy slave of Sauron, he was only fighting one of the creatures. He looked around the clearing in surprise. To his left, Aragorn was being pushed back towards the devastated tree-line by the three remaining Uruk-hai. They were purposefully manoeuvring him back into the forest to regain their advantage and separate him from his Elven companion for an easier kill.
Legolas muttered an Elvish curse to himself in between parrying blows from the crudely rendered weapon of the tall beast. He had to get rid of this last persistent creature that pestered him so that he could go and help Aragorn.
Switching effortlessly from defence to offense, Legolas delivered a couple of hard blows to the Uruk attacking him but it was not easy to penetrate the thick metal armour of the creatures. Finding the weaknesses in the metal was a long process made all the harder by the sheer fury the Uruks continued to attack with.
Whilst Legolas was trying with increased urgency to dispatch his annoyingly persistent Uruk, Aragorn was all too aware that he was being purposefully removed from his guardian. He tried his best to prevent it, but he was out-numbered three-to-one and the Uruks had strength on their side, whereas he was tiring further with every bone-rattling strike.
Kicking the Uruk he was now fighting hard in the armoured abdomen, Legolas finally managed to gain the advantage and plunged his blood-slickened knives into the creature with so much force that both ran right through the armour, the thick, leathery hide, hideously deformed body and ended up protruding sickeningly from the Uruk's back.
Legolas did not linger to watch the life trickle from the beast, but rather withdrew his deadly weapons from the twitching Uruk and was immediately rushing toward his young, struggling charge.
Grabbing at thick Uruk armour from behind, Legolas dragged one of the attackers clear away from Aragorn. Tripping over its own big, clumsy feet, the Uruk barely had time to realise that it had been hauled away from the hotly contested prize, before a thick fountain of dark blood gushed from its slashed throat.
By now the clouds had grown darker in the heavy sky, casting even more of a foreboding shadow over the slaughter. This change in atmosphere, perhaps a result of the odds so rapidly becoming more even – it was now two against two – pushed the remaining servants of the Shadow to redouble their efforts.
When one of the two remaining Uruk-hai finally managed to get the upper hand over Aragorn the other peeled away from him to halt the Elf's approach.
Forced back hard against the rough trunk of a long-dead tree, Aragorn felt the Uruk grab his fighting arm and before he knew it, his wrist was slammed against the wood and the automatic response of dropping his weapon rendered him entirely defenceless.
A cruel grin split the leathery, heavily war-painted face of the Uruk. "Alone I have you at last."
The feeble struggle Aragorn put up proved predictably futile. He was too weary to make any real impact upon the far stronger creature. Looking past the Uruk for his saviour, Aragorn realised with a jolt of fear that he was all alone in this. Legolas was entangled in his own fight and couldn't help him right then.
"My master will be so pleased to see you…and kill you, Heir of Gondor."
For Legolas, listening to the growled words even as he fought, time seemed to come to a halt. Nothing else in the whole of Arda existed for a long moment. 'Heir'. The Uruks knew who Aragorn was. He didn't know how, but they knew.
An unexpected blow from the side jolted Legolas from his horrified panic and he raised his knives in defence just in time to deflect the weapon aimed at him.
Aragorn's own eyes widened at the Uruk's words and the creature registered his surprise. "A fine prize."
Then, to Aragorn's immense shock, the Uruk dropped the rusty sword it had been holding to the ground almost in pleasure and instead raised both clawed hands and wrapped them tightly around Aragorn's neck, pushing down so his air supply was brutally cut off.
Struggling was useless and he was entirely powerless to stop it as the life was slowly squeezed out of him.
Legolas saw what was happening and his desperation to reach Aragorn increased tenfold. If only he could dispose of this one Uruk preventing his intervention. Seeing Aragorn dying right before his eyes made adrenaline once more surge through his body and gave him the renewed strength to gain the upper hand over the Uruk attacking him with such savage ferocity. Obviously, it was trying very hard to keep Legolas occupied and away from Aragorn and its companion.
Aragorn was by now beginning to sag against the trunk he was pinned against. With his heart pounding increasingly hard in his chest, Legolas rammed the Uruk he was fighting in the face with the end of his knife handle, knocking the beast back away from him a couple of paces. Knowing fully well that time was running out for his young friend, Legolas abandoned the beast he was fighting and decided it best to take the risk and simply go help his charge, so he turned and went to dash towards the Uruk still choking the life from Aragorn.
He did not reach the man though. The bulk of the Uruk he'd foolishly left standing slammed into him from behind and both hit the ground hard. With the breath knocked from his lungs, Legolas nevertheless tried to kick off the bulky weight that pinned him down. He managed to push the heavy monster away from himself a little and awkwardly twist around so that they were now laid face to face. Only then did Legolas realise that his knives had been knocked from his hands. He was defenceless, just like his ward.
Kicking again, more viciously this time, at the snarling Uruk, Legolas pushed it off him and rolled to the side, managing to get onto his knees before it regained its own balance.
When the creature, blind with the sheer rage of battle, dived for him, Legolas threw a punch, catching the side of its leathery face. Legolas could have sworn he heard the bones in his hand crack upon the impact, although he curiously felt no pain as he leapt to his feet and wrapped one arm around the neck of the Uruk, twisting and breaking the thick, strong neck so the creature fell limply at his feet dead.
Having finally dispensed with the tenacious Uruk, Legolas ran over to Aragorn. Before he could get close enough to help though, the heavy creature with its claw-like fingers throttling the young human, sensed his approach and temporarily abandoned his attempts to kill the Man. It dodged the Elf's blow, aimed at its head, and ran.
After being released, Aragorn collapsed in a heap to the ground, coughing and spluttering for air.
Legolas crouched before him, concerned. "Look at me," he demanded in panic. "Breathe," he then encouraged, holding Aragorn up.
It took a long time – or at least it felt a long time to the worried Legolas – for Aragorn to heave in a deep breath, which was then followed by a bout of painful wheezing and coughing.
"Good," Legolas smiled in relief, catching Aragorn's hand as it groped for him amidst the harsh coughs wracking his thin frame. "Good. You're going to be fine now." He reached up to loosen the collar of Aragorn's shirt, taking note of the deep red marks, which would quickly transform into bruises, left behind by the Uruk's strong hands. Anger burned in Legolas' chest, much as it had done when he had killed that sadistic Human who had trapped Aragorn in his snare and attempted to violate him.
However, there was a bigger problem that suddenly occurred to Legolas and his eyes widened in fear. That Uruk knew all about Aragorn and it had escaped with its life, free to report back whatever it chose to its master.
"Stay here. Do not move," Legolas commanded, detaching his hand from Aragorn's and leaping up from the ground.
Aragorn wanted to demand to know what the Elf was doing, where he was going, why he was leaving him all alone, but when he tried to talk his throat tightened up further and he ended up bent over in the midst of a coughing fit. He could only watch as Legolas ran from his side, snatching up his white-handled knives from where they'd fallen in the mud as he went, and then disappear off into the naked trees. If only Aragorn had been able to chase after him, but he had no choice but to remain on his knees, gasping desperately for each breath.
Legolas ran as fast as his aching legs could carry him after the fleeing Uruk. Thankfully, the heavy creature made enough of a trail in the slippery mud that it was not at all difficult for Legolas to track its direction.
For such a heavy, cumbersome creature, the Uruk had made extraordinary progress through the wood.
"Come on, where are you?" Legolas muttered to himself as he pursued the fleeing creature.
With his body wearied from the battle, Legolas longed to pause for breath and to ease the burning sensation that was working its way through his all his tired limbs but all he could think about was getting at that Uruk, preventing it from returning to its master, whoever that may have been, and speaking of Aragorn. Perhaps the creature had been lying, provoking them in the heat of battle. But Legolas was not going to take that kind of risk when it came to Aragorn's life. He was going to hunt the bolting Uruk down and kill it no matter what it took.
As he raced through the maze of stripped tree trunks, Legolas realised it was growing darker. Night was beginning to fall. He had no idea where the rest of the day had gone but he knew he had to find the Uruk before it became completely impossible to track in the dark.
He needn't have worried though because a couple of minutes later his sharp hearing caught the sound of fast pounding footsteps ahead of him.
When he was close enough to the bulky beast, Legolas decided that tackling it to the ground to disable it was the best way to go, so he abandoned the usual grace of the Elves and slammed into the shocked Uruk with such force that both ended up sprawled on the muddy ground.
But the Uruk was not going down without a fight. It squirmed and fought against Legolas' all too slight weight. Having already tired himself, Legolas found it difficult to control the struggling creature beneath him. He desperately grabbed his knife from where it had fallen from his hand upon impact with the monster.
The slight distraction was all the opportunity the Uruk needed and it threw Legolas off itself, once more gaining the advantage over the Elf. Legolas fell hard on his side but his hand tightened around his sword even as he winced at the impact. Hands that had been previously wrapped around Aragorn's throat now firmly held Legolas down, rolling him onto his back and a clenched fist was raised only to then be slammed into Legolas' face. Legolas did not recoil but rather brought his knife up to hit the Uruk's thick neck with the white handle, a distraction and nothing more.
After a further struggle, Legolas once more gained the advantage for himself. He pinned the Uruk down on the ground, blade pressed to the exposed throat.
Every instinct in his body screamed at him to kill this abomination but Legolas held himself back, breathing heavily. He had to find out exactly what the creature knew about Aragorn. So, taking a deep breath to cool his pounding anger, Legolas asked, "Who is your master?"
The Uruk just laughed at the question, snarling deeply in the face of the Elf.
"Tell me and I will ease your passing, don't and I'll make you long for death to come."
"Ha!" the dark monster cackled, eyes staring into Legolas' face unflinchingly. "I do not fear any pain you could inflict, Elf."
"Who is your master?"
Laughing again in defiance, the Uruk replied, "He will never be anything."
Legolas shoved the Uruk back into the ground, pressing the blade closer to the throat of the foul creature as a threat. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"He will die, Prince, and you will be there to witness it."
Frowning in concern, Legolas demanded, "How do you know who I am?"
Now it was obvious that the Uruk was going to give the Elf nothing more and, upon realising that it was of no further use, Legolas slit the monster's throat cleanly, hoping that before it drew its final gurgling breath, coughing up thick black blood, the evil creation of Shadow felt at least some fear and pain. That thought sent a thrill of joy through Legolas' heart, although new worry now nagged at him constantly.
Then Legolas remembered Aragorn. The boy was all alone and it was almost pitch black by now. Quickly, Legolas searched the Uruk for anything useful but it was a pointless effort; the thing carried nothing but its rusted weapon and a flask of putrid-smelling, congealed brown liquid that made the Elf gag the vile smell was so intense.
Deciding that it was best to leave the body to simply rot away like the monster deserved, Legolas climbed to his feet and went to walk away. However, something on the body caught his eye, something he had not noticed before. A smudge of white war paint over the Uruk's face in a pattern Legolas did not recognise came into focus and Legolas crouched back down beside the corpse. With delicate fingers he traced the shape: a faded white hand.
It seemed an odd thing to paint onto one's face, something as innocuous as a hand. There was nothing threatening about a simple hand print although Legolas was certainly confused by it. He'd never seen the mark before, not on any of the allies of the Shadow nor anywhere else before the Free Lands had fallen. But the symbol clearly held some significance to the Uruk-hai if they took the time to paint it on their faces and armour before battle.
Legolas did not know why but he found himself troubled by this new discovery.
For now though, Aragorn was more important to him than getting to the root of this particular mystery, so he left the body and retraced his steps through the woods back to where he'd left his young charge. With the adrenaline of slaughtering the troublesome Uruk wearing off, Legolas found his aching legs starting to grow weaker, causing him to trip several times over, the forest floor still slippery from the recent rains and the darkness did nothing to ease his way.
It took longer than he would have liked to reach the clearing where he'd left Aragorn a little while ago. But thankfully, the young man had listened to his instructions and remained in the same position Legolas had left him in.
Skidding to a halt before the boy, breathing hard, Legolas looked down.
"Did you…?" Aragorn asked fearfully.
Legolas nodded, his worried eyes sweeping over Aragorn. "Yes. It's dead."
An odd look of emotional indecision flitted over Aragorn's face at this news. Mainly he felt relief. The thought that the forces of Shadow were already aligning against them scared him. "Good," he rasped shakily.
"Are you injured?" the Elf questioned gently, ignoring Aragorn's relief as he peered through the darkness to see the young Human.
"No, I don't think so."
Gentle fingers came up to Aragorn's neck, probing the tender flesh. Even though he winced at the feather-soft touch, Aragorn raised his own hand and removed Legolas' fingers from his still sore throat.
"I'll be fine."
Rocking back on his heels, Legolas nodded again even though his face continued to hold a look of concern for his young companion. "Alright. We should get out of here now." Legolas stood up, glancing around the clearing despite the fact that it was too dark now to see much of anything. He could hear no sound at all but the far away rumbling of the land of Shadow that remained ever-present in the background of the dying world.
After satisfying himself as best he could that no further danger lingered in the vicinity, Legolas turned back to find Aragorn still sat on the ground, also looking fearfully about the place.
"Come on." Legolas held out his hand for the young man to take then pulled Aragorn to his feet as well.
Clearly the young man was still anxious. He had never been so close to defeat in battle before, had never stared death in the face quite so closely. It was no surprise to Legolas that the man was rattled. But this was not the place to dwell on such things. Even though the clearing was at present devoid of anymore life, Legolas knew that a site of such carnage would soon attract scavengers and he did not want to still be there when they arrived. Living prey was always more appetising than carrion.
As Legolas walked away though, Aragorn did not immediately follow, making the Elf pause. He could see that the young man was still shaken but he decided it would be best not to allow him to wallow in his fear. They needed to keep moving forwards.
So Legolas laid his hands on Aragorn's shoulders and squeezed firmly. "Aragorn, we have to leave now."
Almost hesitantly, Aragorn's eyes met Legolas' in the dark and he actually found some small measure of comfort there. No trace of fear or worry showed on the Elf's face. Although his own stomach churned painfully at the thought of what now lay ahead in his future, Aragorn was convinced that everything would be well in the end. The one creature that could have spilled the secret was dead, killed by the Elf. If Legolas was not worried then surely Aragorn had no cause to be either.
Straightening up and squaring his shoulders in determination, Aragorn said, "Alright. Let's go then."
Legolas could not help but smile softly at the man's resoluteness. He patted Aragorn's shoulder in a small act of comfort then turned to lead him away.
To Be Continued…