Disclaimer: I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.
Chapter 3 – Unknown Events & Creatures
Captain America winced as he regained consciousness. His immediate reaction was that he must be face down as he felt the pressure of a surface along his body. He opened his eyes but quickly closed them, as the only thing he saw was a blinding white brightness. As the light began to fade, he slowly re-opened his eyes and tried to make sense of his surroundings.
Rogers pushed himself into a crawling stance and saw he was on a patch of dry grass. As the light further faded, he saw this was all part of a wild plain. As well as the dry grass, the surface was dotted with small and large rocks. The terrain itself seemed mostly flat but he could make out the shapes of what appeared to be low lying hills and boulders dotting the landscape. A gentle breeze caressed his left cheek to confirm he was indeed somewhere outdoors. The climate in this place was mild but still comfortable
The remaining brightness faded from his vision. Aside from feeling a little groggy, he didn't feel any injuries. He stood up and tried to get his bearings. There was a blue sky dotted with the occasional cloud. When he saw the Sun, he let out an audible gasp. The Sun had just risen over a mountain range several miles to his right. Assuming that the, this, Sun rose in the East, Rogers saw a mountain range stretching to the northern and southern horizons as far as his eyes could see.
Well, he mused. Wherever I am, I think I can safely bet it's not New Mexico.
A man's cough made Rogers realise he was not alone. Banner was standing, brushing off the dry grass and dirt that was stuck to his jeans and purple t-shirt. Rogers walked over to his fellow Avenger.
"Bruce," Rogers asked his he put his hand on Banner's shoulder as a sign of concern. "You ok?"
Banner put his fingers to his neck. After he felt a pulse he wryly replied, "Still alive at least." He then returned Rogers's concern. "You hurt at all?"
Rogers shook his head but quickly realised that another Avenger had followed Banner through the vortex.
"Thor!" he quietly exclaimed to Banner.
A loud groan to the south quickly revealed to them Thor's location. The Asgardian began to rouse himself off the flat of his back with his head lifting off the ground. Mjolnir, however, remained tightly in his grasp. Banner and Rogers walked a couple of steps and helped their friend up.
"Thank you, my friends," Thor wheezed as he slowly stood to his full 6' 3" height. "What happened to us?"
Both Thor and Rogers turned their attention to the scientist in their group.
"To be honest," Banner sheepishly began, "I don't know what that vortex was. The Bifrost must've set off the Chitauri bomb somehow."
Thor had a troubling thought. "You don't think the vortex was a prelude to an explosion?"
"I heard Stark telling Jarvis to kill it," Rogers cautiously discounted the possibility. "The bomb was powering down just as I got pulled in."
As one of the switch's inventors, Banner inwardly gave a huge sign of relief. It was went saying he was acutely sensitive to failed experiments. His conscience still struggled to carry the weight of the Other Guy. The weight of an explosion that destroyed most of North America was another matter entirely. Banner returned his focus to the problem at hand.
"Has the Bifrost done anything like that before?" he asked Thor.
"Nay," the God of Thunder said. "Not in my lifetime. And nowhere in the annals of Asgard either."
With that line of inquiry exhausted, the trio turned and looked at the mountain range to their east.
"I know I've a lot of travel to catch up on," Rogers dryly commented. "But I can't recall seeing any place on Earth looking like this."
"And yet," Thor added, "out of all the Nine Realms, this place resembles Midgard the most".
Banner quietly cursed himself for not doing the obvious. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his mobile. The phone was completely unresponsive.
"Well, I know my phone was charged this morning," a puzzled Banner observed. "But as of right now, its battery's dead".
The concept of calling for help inspired Thor. He moved a few steps away from Rogers and Banner before looking skywards.
"Heimdall!" Thor shouted to Asgard's Gatekeeper. "Open the Bifrost! Heimdall!"
Both Banner and Rogers frowned at Thor puzzled by his behaviour. Had their fellow Avenger suddenly gone mad to be shouting at the sky? Thor returned his gaze to them seemingly oblivious to their puzzled looks.
"It would appear we are cut off from Asgard as well." Thor grimly stated.
Oh that's what it was, both Rogers and Banner thought. Considering their situation, the former decided to follow his military training.
"Thor, can do a quick recon of the area?" Rogers requested of him.
Thor nodded. He began rhythmically twirlling Mjolnir in order to use its powers of flight. Once he felt he had sufficient momentum Thor lifted his Mjolnir skywards and – nothing. Thor was momentarily stunned at this, as were his two companions. Thor repeated his action and again had the same result.
"What is it, Thor?" Banner asked.
"I…I am...not sure," Thor's words stumbled out due to the shock at what had just transpired.
Wanting to test Mjolnir, Thor aimed it at a small boulder a few yards away. Thor knew that he could turn Mjolnir into an unstoppable projectile that moved that broke the massed ranks of his enemies. Thor exercised a solid throw and released Mjolnir. The legendary hammer moved at a speed that Rogers inwardly compared to a "hammer" released by an athlete competing in the hammer throw event. An impressive speed but mediocre compared to what Thor was capable of.
Mjolnir hit the boulder and split it open. But the impact made Mjolnir tumble from its trajectory before unceremoniously bumping along the ground. The hammer eventually came to a stop some thirty feet from Thor's position. Slightly worried, again, Thor held out his arm seeing if his power of summoning Mjolnir still worked. He gave an audible sigh of relief when the legendary hammer flew back into his hand.
"Well," Banner wryly commented, "one out of three isn't too bad."
Thor gave a rueful grimace. "It would appear that I may not be as much aid as I initially thought. If I am to scout the area, it will be so on foot".
Rogers scanned the horizons around them and pointed his finger when he noticed something to the north.
"Look!" he directed the other Avengers.
Rogers, Banner and Thor all observed a thin trail of smoke rose up from the northern horizon.
"I know the others will be trying to figure out how to get us back," Rogers argued. "But we could also be in an unknown and hostile land. If it is, we can't just wait around here."
"The smoke could be just from a natural fire," ventured Banner.
"True," Thor agreed. "But it could also be a camp or settlement that could give us some answers. I am with you, Captain America. I believe it should be investigated.
Banner shrugged his shoulders in agreement. Just in case anyone from SHIELD or any other Avenger came through the vortex, Rogers decided to give them a clue as to the direction that he, Thor and Banner were heading.
Rogers walked over to a heavy looking rock on the ground just ahead of him. He pulled out a pocketknife that he carried in one of his belt pouches and scratched an 'A' and an arrow pointing north on the rock's surface.
Once he completed this, the three Avengers started walking towards their first destination in this strange world.
Much further to the north a group of nine companions of varying heights and their baggage pony walked south at a steady pace. The group was comprised of a number of representatives of the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth. Walking at the head of the company was the Grey Wizard known by many names, but perhaps most commonly as 'Gandalf'.
Gandalf held his well-known wooden staff in his knolled right hand and pondered recent events. He and his eight companions set out from the hidden Elven refuge of Rivendell just under a month ago on their journey. A Council of the Free-Peoples had convened in Rivendell and had tasked the nine companions with arguably the most important quest in the history of Middle-Earth. He and his companions were heading to the distant land of Mordor, the realm of the Dark Lord, Sauron. It was only in Mordor that the One Ring, Sauron's greatest weapon, could be destroyed.
The One Ring was currently in the possession of one of his companions. If Sauron were to reclaim the Ring, the Free-Peoples would be powerless to stand against him. All Middle-Earth would be plunged into darkness with Sauron's reign lasting even until the world's end. Elrond, the Master of Rivendell, had dubbed the companions the "Fellowship of the Ring" in recognition of their task.
Gandalf was comforted that the other members of the Fellowship were noble representatives of all the Free-Peoples. Aragorn the Ranger and Boromir of Gondor represented the race of Men; Legolas Greenleaf for the Elves; and Gimli, Son of Gloin for the Dwarves. But Gandalf's thoughts often centred on the remaining four members that made their race have the highest representation in the Fellowship. Representing the short in stature, big hearted, peace loving race of Hobbits were Samwise 'Sam' Gamgee, Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck, Peregrin 'Pippin' Took (Gandalf had a quiet grumble at this name) and most importantly, Frodo Baggins.
It was Frodo who was the bearer of the One Ring. Frodo had received the Ring as a 'gift' from his Uncle Bilbo who had found it on his travels many decades ago. Both Bilbo and Frodo were unaware of the significance of what they held in their keeping until Gandalf discovered it was indeed the Ring that Sauron sought to claim above all else.
Even if the rest of my Order has strayed from our original purpose I shall not, Gandalf thought. If only to relieve Frodo of a burden that he and Bilbo should have never had to bear.
In order to avoid the attention of Saruman, the traitor White Wizard, the Fellowship had tried to cross the mountain range known as the 'Misty Mountains', which could be seen to the east of them, over the Pass of Caradhas. As the Fellowship climbed its icy heights, it was forced to retreat due to an unnatural blizzard that Saruman had conjured. To continue its journey, the Fellowship was now heading towards another 'pass' that Gandalf had originally hoped they would avoid. He remembered Saruman's mental communication to him on Caradhas; taunting him about the dangers he was leading the Fellowship into. What troubled him was that Saruman's taunts were solidly based on fact.
Gandalf was interrupted in his thoughts by noticing a bright white light that flashed for a few moments to the distant south. The rest of the Fellowship noticed the flash and suddenly stopped at the sight. After their shock had subsided, the remaining eight Fellowship members moved themselves to stand either side of Gandalf.
"Durin's Beard, what was that?" Gimli asked to no one particular in the Fellowship.
"I am not sure," Gandalf replied in a puzzled tone. "It could not have been lightning as the skies are to the south are clear".
"Maybe it's another trick of Saruman's," Boromir thought aloud.
"Possibly," Gandalf admitted. "But I do not think Saruman would engage in such a blatant display of power. If he wanted to harm us, he'd directly unleash it upon us as he did on the mountainside".
Legolas did not take his eyes off the southern horizon and spoke in a prophetic manner. "Something has come to Middle-Earth. Something of great and unknown power, for good or ill I know not. But I sense it approaching us".
Legolas' words cast a pall of creeping dread over the majority of the Fellowship. Aragorn noticed Gimli rolling his eyes and about to release an insult that would be added to the many that made up the renowned rivalry between Elves and Dwarves. Gimli was prevented doing this by an interruption from the Ring-bearer.
"Gandalf, look!" Frodo pointed to the south "Can you see the rising smoke ahead of us?"
The rest of the Fellowship looked to where Frodo was pointing and they all noticed the thin trail of white smoke to the south that was closer in distance to them than where the bright flash occurred.
"Such a trail of smoke isn't from a natural blaze," Aragorn commented from long experience. "I would suggest it is from a camp site".
"Maybe they know what happened," Merry ventured.
Inwardly Boromir smiled at the innocence contained within the Hobbit's remark before speaking. "It's not just the Free-Peoples that set up camp in this part of the world, Master Merry".
Gandalf hummed his consent. "I agree that the source of that smoke bears investigation. But Boromir raises a good point. We should be especially cautious. That smoke lies directly on our destination's path."
"I would recommend Legolas takes front," Aragorn suggested. "The senses of the Elves are keener than any."
Aragorn looked at Gimli in quiet challenge to see if he would dispute his observation. Gimli narrowed his eyes but made no comment.
After accepting Aragorn's suggestion, the Fellowship proceeded towards the source of the smoke with caution.
The three Avengers continued their journey northward. By the sun's position in the sky, Rogers guessed that it was about late morning. A rumble from Banner's stomach amused the three of them.
"For your sake, my friend," Thor jovially commented, "I hope the source of that smoke provides food as well as information."
They were coming closer to the source of the smoke. The Avengers also heard a quiet gaggle of chatter whose words they could not make out. The only thing separating them from the source was a close crop of boulders. The boulders varied in shape and size, the lowest coming up to their ankles with the tallest just brushing Thor's head. Rogers cautiously lead Banner and Thor into the boulders. Until proven otherwise, a hostile force could be in waiting. The trio discreetly spied from among the boulders and drew in a breath at what they saw.
There was a flat area of dry grass some eighty feet in diameter. The area was dotted with ugly, tattered tarpaulins made of a coarse grey cloth. The source of the smoke was revealed to be a large campfire in the middle of the camp. But what surprised the Avengers was the camp's inhabitants. Humanoid creatures that had green, black or grey skins of varying degrees sat around the camp in small groups. Their language seemed an inane babble and their mouths contained crooked, sharp teeth. The creatures looked to be slightly shorter than the average man and they all appeared to be wearing an ugly style of iron plated armour with many also wearing helmets of the same material. They were also armed with a variety of swords, axes, spears, clubs and bows. To Rogers mind, he wondered if he had be sent to an alternate Earth where the Middle Ages had been overrun by an ugly evolutionary offshoot of Man. Thor interrupted his thoughts.
"I take back my earlier observations," he began. "In all my years, I can't recall Midgard being home such to creatures."
"They make the Chitauri look like supermodels don't they?" Banner wryly observed.
Rogers responded with a half-grin until his nose picked up the smell of what seemed like burnt flesh. On closer observation, he noticed that a number of these creatures were eating blackened meat off long skewers. He observed two of these creatures reaching for such a skewer that lay in a black pan in front of them. The two appeared to have a disagreement over whose skewer it was. One of the creatures gave the other one a forceful shove resulting in both having a full on brawl. Their fellow creatures cackled at this display with a number urging the pair to continue their violence as if it were a form of entertainment.
"Well", Rogers wryly surmised to his friends, "I've a hunch these things aren't the friendly and helpful type."
"So what do we do now?" Banner asked.
Rogers assessed the situation. He guessed that there were about hundred of the creatures after factoring some might be under the number of tarpaulins in their camp. To both the east and west of the camp, the crop of boulders continued until they thinned out on the sides of a small hill to the camp's north. The creatures might be heavily armed, but their position showed they had a lot to learn about basic military precepts. Captain America and his famed 'Howling Commandos' could execute a deadly ambush from the surrounding cover that would have killed most of them in minutes. But while these creatures did not look friendly, at this stage they were not his enemies either. Avoidance appeared to be the best option. Looking to Thor and Banner he spoke quietly but firmly.
"I'll scout the boulders east to find a path around these guys. Thor, do the same along the west. Bruce, stay here in case any of our friends show up."
After they had both gave a nod of agreement, Banner and Thor helped Rogers carry out his plan.
Banner anxiously waited for his friends to return from their scouting trip. He did not feel slighted when Rogers asked him to stay behind. Possessing the Other Guy meant he wasn't helpless. Nonetheless, he had no training in conducting a military reconnaissance. Whatever the Other Guy's virtues, moving silently to avoid detection was not one of them.
Banner continued to crouch behind a boulder and observe the creatures they had found. He noticed that that they appeared to be uncomfortable when in direct sunlight. That would explain why the majority of them either kept wearing their helmets or fought among themselves to secure a shaded spot under the dozen tarpaulins set up in their camp. He wondered how they would fare in battle if they faced the Hulk. He remembered that some of Thor's powered had been disabled. Thor seemed to have some of his powers disabled, Banner began to uncomfortably speculate.
What if I've been affected too? Banner uncomfortably speculated. Does it mean the Other Guy could be hurt or even ki-
Banner received an answer of a brutal sort with the immediate burst of pain he felt to the right side of his head. He staggered to stand up but fell to the ground when he felt a sharp blow to the back of his knees. After falling flat on his face, Banner then rolled over to see two of the creatures looking over him. One was green skinned with pointed ears that reminded Banner of Yoda's. It held a heaving looking club in its hand that Banner guessed was the source of the pain he was experiencing. The other creature had blotchy, black skin with its eyes peering through a visor attached to the helmet it wore. This creature pointed a spear towards Banner's face. Despite the throbbing in his skull, Banner's immediate thought was why the Other Guy hadn't been provoked?
The green-skinned creature spoke to Banner first. "Well, well. What do we 'ave here?" The creature squealed in the worst British cockney accent that Banner had heard in his life. "Think yer can spy on us Orcs unnoticed because it's daylight, Man"?
What are Orcs? Banner thought. Is that what these ugly things call themselves?
"If its Orcs yer wanna see, we'll introduce ya to all the lads!" the Orc said with sarcastic courtesy.
It grabbed Banner's right arm roughly while its companion grabbed his left. Restraining him in this manner, the two orcs roughly pulled Banner out from the crop of boulders and into the camp. Banner tried not to gag after he smelt the pair's appalling odour. As they escorted him through their camp, the other orcs sneered at Banner with their sharp teeth, enjoying the pain and discomfort he appeared to be in. The orcs escorting Banner halted at a tarpaulin in the northern part of the camp where they were joined by about ten of their comrades.
Where are you? Banner silently asked the Other Guy despite willing him to appear.
"Hey, boss!" The club-carrying Orc proclaimed to the tarpaulin's sole inhabitant. "Look what we 'ave here!"
A large Orc wearing plate armour that was dull grey in colour stood up from the stool he was sitting on. He stepped towards to the group gathered outside his tarpaulin. Banner guessed by its look and demeanour that it was these creatures' commanding officer. The 'Commander' was a good deal taller than its orc brethren, being of the same height as Captain America. His brown coloured skin reminded Banner of that seen on immolated human corpses. The Commander ran his yellow pupil eyes over Banner.
"Where did ya' find 'im?" the Commander gruffly asked his subordinate.
To Banner, the Commander's voice was a lot deeper than the British cockney that seemed to be the orcs' normal accent.
"He was 'iding behind the rocks to the souf of us," the Orc replied.
The Commander walked to be about a foot away from Banner's face. He drew a hooked dagger with numerous scratches and notches along its black blade. The Commander pointed the dagger under Banner's nose. Banner tried rousing the Hulk with a command that Rogers gave him before entering battle against the Chitauri.
Now would be a good time for you to get angry.
The Other Guy still gave no response.
"What's yer name? Who are you spyin' for?" the Commander coolly queried Banner.
"My name's Bruce Banner and I am not spying for anyone," Banner calmly answered in spite of the pain from his injuries.
After appearing to consider Banner's reply for a second or two, the Commander replied, "You 'ave a funny name, Man. As for you sayin' yer not spying..."
In a quick motion the Commander slashed his dagger across Banner's left cheek causing him to scream in pain.
"My boys caught you hidin' behind rocks looking at us!" the Commander shouted at him. "Whatever you were doin', I'm pretty sure yer weren't preparing us lunch!"
The orcs gathered around Banner laughed evilly and coarsely at their Commander's cruel wit. One of them, who Banner couldn't see, added, "Maybe he could be our lunch"! A number of the orcs spoke "yeah" in agreement. They were quickly silenced by a single glare from the Commander.
"All you maggots hold yer tongues before I eat 'em for my lunch," he coolly threatened them.
Banner was getting more than worried that the Other Guy had not made an appearance despite all the orcs' provocation. While the Commander was berating his troops, Banner tried to analyse the situation as blood streamed down his face onto to his clothes. Surely Rogers and Thor would have heard all the commotion in the camp resulting from his capture? Were they waiting for the right moment to attack to aid him? In the Hulk's seeming absence, Banner thought it best to buy some time.
"Look," he said to the Commander, "I don't even know where I am. What country is-"
The Commander cut off the rest of Banner's question with a powerful punch to his stomach with his left gauntlet. Banner sunk to his knees at the pain of the blow as well as wincing due the orcs restraining him twisting his arms even harder.
"Speak when spoken to worm!" the Commander barked at Banner causing the attending orcs to sadistically snicker at Banner's plight.
As he struggled to gather a breath, Banner finally felt the 'Other Guy' rousing within him. Glaring at the Commander, Banner released a deep, blood-chilling snarl. The snarl suddenly halted the attending orcs laughter. A number of them exchanged nervous glances at hearing the sound. If the Commander shared their concerns, he did not show it.
"A man who can growl like a troll," the Commander sarcastically compared Banner's display. "Let's see if you can also scream like one when I cut yer eye out".
A number of thoughts rushed through Banner's head. One being, I'm sure 'Trolls' doesn't mean those on the internet.
In a panic, Banner inwardly begged the Other Guy to emerge as the Commander's dagger moved towards his left eye. Banner then felt a hot liquid spray over him.
[RD: Just because I brought the Avengers to Middle-earth didn't mean I was going to make it easy for them. The vortex represents an important element of story telling in IMHO. The protagonists need a challenge to overcome for a story to be interesting. By the same token, I wouldn't have included Thor and Hulk in this story without intending to unleash their awesome power at some stage.
The entomology of the word 'boss' dates it back to the 19th Century. But given Gorbag used the word in the book, I thought orcs could also use it here.]