Aragorn still feared for the hobbit's safety, now having seen what this creature was capable of. The way it had tossed that wraith as if it were a weightless rag doll was downright scary. Such strength, it was as if one of the many statues surrounding the tower had come alive! That's why he had a sword pointed at the Chief's back. "What in Arda are you?" He demanded menacingly, almost at a whisper.
"STRIDER!" Sam screamed suddenly at him. Frodo was badly hurt. Chief knew that this man, the child's apparent protector, would want to help him. This was the leverage he needed to get himself out of this peacefully.
"My name does not matter..." He began to explain. "But I am a human, just like you. I mean no harm, I only meant to help the little ones. I suggest you move the blade away and let me stand."
Aragorn was stunned. This thing claimed to be human! Why should he trust him? It was interesting. Now that the being had spoken, in that calm and gritty voice, and kneeling the way he was, it no longer seemed threatening. Was this just a trick? As another cry of pain escaped the young hobbit, his humanity got the better of him. If the warrior were a servant of evil, unless lying, he would have known the difference between a Hobbit and a human. Or, was this just another trick? Aragorn winced in defeat, he HAD to help Frodo.
"If you do anything at all, to give me reason why I should not trust you. I will kill you." He told the warrior. Chief did not respond at first, not a flinch, nothing. The calmness of the warrior told Aragorn that it did not fear him at all.
"I understand" Chief replied. Aragorn finally seemed to be satisfied. He slowly moved the blade away. Chief rose, matching the speed of the strangers' sword arm. Fully stood, John turned to face the hardened ranger. He understood the hostility. He was only protecting these kids. He nodded at him in acknowledgement, Aragorn nodded back.
The giant was intimidating, but Aragorn was more intrigued then he was fearful of him. If it hadn't been for his strange armour, which looked almost natural, he could have believed that this thing was human. He might have believed that the warrior was an elf, for as remarkable as the suit was, it wasn't a million leagues away from high elf battle dress in its appearance. He also did not feel dwarfed by the warrior. Aragorn himself was 6'6'' so Chief wasn't amazingly taller. Some kings of old had been taller. It was the golden visor that he marvelled at. He had never seen anything like it, like the most polished gold, or the most flawless of stained glass.
Finally sheathing his sword he rushed over to Frodo. His instincts were telling him there was no danger in the being behind him. Chief also wanted to aid the wounded boy, but needed to gain this man's trust first. Trust was not something earned easily, but the fact that this warrior had sheathed his weapon was a good sign.
"What should I call you?" Chief asked, as the stranger rushed over to help the wounded child. Aragorn didn't answer, he was examining the dagger that the wraith had been holding. As he began to turn it over in examination, his face went deathly pale.
"He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade." He said bitterly, just as the weapon began to disintegrate in his hands. It was a detail that Chef didn't fail to notice. Strange! Frodo began to cry out all the louder, his condition growing progressively worse. Chief knew that the adrenaline that would have been flooding through the kid's system would be wearing off. With these pain numbing chemicals gone, he would start to feel the true agony of the wound.
"What's the lad's name?" He asked the stranger, who still hadn't given his. Aragorn ignored him once again. Chief didn't mind, dealing with the child he obviously had higher priorities then answering his questions.
"His name is Frodo." Aragorn finally replied. "But he is no child, he is of a race called hobbits. He is an adult, just like the others...You may call me Strider." Chief knew it wasn't his real name. Then again, how often did he give his own?
"Hobbits? Interesting. You can call me Master Chief" Aragorn gave him a quizzical look, but he brushed the strangeness of the answer off. He hadn't given 'Chief' his real name after all.
Sam was concerned with Frodo, but Merry and Pippin couldn't bring their eyes away from the colossal being standing before them. "What are you?" asked merry, "Where did you come from?" as did Pippin. Chief was working of something to say when Cortana piped up.
"Their friend is in a bad way and needs help ASAP. There's no point answering Chief. I doubt that they will understand the answers." She was right, Frodo came first.
"Such things can wait. We need to get Frodo away from this place. Somewhere safe-" "-Why Should we trust you?!" Sam bellowed at the Chief. Red faced and desperate because of his worry for Frodo. He wanted to protect his friend.
John knew how to resolve this quickly, but he wasn't keen. He was sure it would stop any further questions, and prove where his loyalties lay. Just this once. He shocked everyone with his next move, even Cortana. John did something that he just never did. He took his helmet off.
Frodo was in too much pain to notice, but everyone else, Sam, Merry, Pip, even Aragorn stared at him with surprise. He was indeed human! With blue piercing eyes, a strong brow line, and unearthly pale skin, as if his flesh hadn't seen the light of the sun for many, many years. He commanded such majesty, and there was something of an angelic quality about him. Was he a Miar, one of the Valar race?
This reaction was one of the many reasons why John never took his helmet off. It took away his dignity. His point made, he quickly put his helmet back on, the gentle hiss of his armour seal re-forming reassuring him greatly. Aragorn was the first to respond.
"Master Chief is right, we need to get Frodo away from here." He had no choice but to trust him. He needed every help he could get at this moment. "This wound goes beyond my skill to heal, I cannot stop the blades' poison!" He announced, worrying the hobbits further.
The blade was poisoned? That was a huge complication. Chief didn't know how to stop it either, but they also needed to stop the bleeding. This was straightforward, but he had a dilemma. Bio foam would suffice, but Frodo wasn't human. He didn't know how the chemicals would react with his biology. He wouldn't risk it, he needed an alternative. A low tech solution would suffice.
"I know how to seal the wound. Give me a moment." He sprant down to where their camp had been. He then took one of the Hobbits blankets. He could tell they were of suitable material, strong and watertight. He rushed back up to treat Frodo. Hoping that the cloth was clean enough, he started to rip a section off. Using strong but dexterous hands, quickly improvising a makeshift compress and external bandages. Aragorn watched the Spartan work with much interest.
In under a minute, his hands trained by hundreds of hours of practice, John had completely covered up the wound at the abdomen with an ideal quantity of well fitted dressing. "Well, that was pretty fast!" One of the Hobbits remarked, feeling a little more relieved by this act of charity. Aragorn went to pick him up, but Chief stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Aragorn recoiled slightly at this. How could he not?
"I can carry him, if you would let me." The warrior announced. Aragorn still wasn't sure if he trusted him. But with his size and his build, and being able to wear that armour of his, the man would certainly have an easier job of it.
"Ok, thank you. Be careful with him!" The Hobbits weren't too keen about the idea either, but bit their tongues, too scared to challenge him. As a Spartan, John's duty was to humanity. These Hobbits were human in his eyes. They needed his help, he would not leave them.
"I will do what I can for Frodo. And I will get you all to safety." He replied. Everyone was in awe of his selflessness. With that, the group climbed down the steps of Amon Sul, and went off through the undergrowth. The Hobbits had themselves a powerful new ally.
A little while later, Cortana was speaking secretly with Chief. And it was obvious that she was struggling with this strange new environment. "So, that's what they call those creatures round here. Wraiths...wraiths, hobbits, and if I heard Strider correctly, elves will be next! What will it be after that? Dwarfs? Wizards? Dark Lords?"
It was totally absurd! Chief knew something didn't add up about this world. He didn't know what. However, right now four little Hobbits, and their companion Strider, needed his help. The four men were scurrying after him, and Strider was by Chief's side, leading the way. John had not met many people like this man. He was strong, brave and selfless. He had great dignity and calm, and was more stoic than some ODST's he had encountered. But more than that, he also commanded an aura of great wisdom about him. Something noble.
"I don't understand you Chief!" He had said. "Very few men wish to remain by someone's side after encountering the Nazgul. How is it that you stand so unflinchingly into the face of doom, with no other reasons than those of charity?" Perhaps he was Valar! Aragorn knew something was happening here that he didn't understand. For him, the reasons for this were unfathomable. But from Chief's perspective, it was very straightforward.
"It is my duty to protect humanity. Whatever the cost. I have been trained to do this for nearly all my life." Aragorn had never heard such things from anyone. Who on Arda was this man? He was fascinating!
"Where do you come from? Who taught you to be the man you are?" He asked.
John was unsure about that question. "I am...not from around here" He began to say, but Cortana quickly interrupted him once more. "Chief it might be a good idea to start thinking of some white lies to tell them. Don't bombard them with answers that they will not understand!" Chief took the advice, performing an early conversational U-Turn.
"I represent an elite fighting force within my people, a land of...United Nations. We call ourselves Spartans. We are given the best training and equipment that humanity can provide." This puzzled Strider a little.
"I can see easily how your armour and combat skills are so remarkable. But what of weapons? All you are armed with is a large knife and a few stones!" Chief couldn't help but smile under his helmet.
"I imagine that my knife is a lot stronger than anything you're used to Strider. It's made from steel, and another metal called titanium. It's stronger and lighter than anything made from iron or steel alone." Strider had never heard of titanium. Was this what the warrior called mithril? Or some other undiscovered metal? He said he came from an elite band of warriors. Were there more of these Spartans? Were they like him?
"Also" Chief continued, "The 'stones' you see are not crude projectiles. They are filled with an...unstable chemical mix that detonates at the pull of a lever. When they explode they send out shrapnel. Shards of razor sharp metal, hundreds of such fragments at great speed across a wide area. They are thrown into the centre of enemy formations, sending them sprawling for cover. For enemies who don't know about the weapons power, the results can be very...gory."
Aragorn stared curiously at the small metal orbs around Chief's waist. Could something so small really cause so much destruction? The principle behind the weapon seemed sound, but that was as far as his knowledge went.
"Are there more people like you? Other Spartans?" The smallest of the Hobbits asked him innocently, and very nervously for that matter. Chief sighed a little, as if missing his old teammates. "There used to be. Most of them are dead...what is your name?" He asked, moving off a difficult topic.
"I'm Pippin" He answered, then punched the tallest of the hobbits. "This is my best friend, Merry!" Who then nodded at Chief, then quickly averted his gaze. "The last two are Samwise Gamgee..."
"...hello Mr Chief!" Sam greeted, the formality of the hobbit making both Cortana and Aragorn smile. "And the poor hobbit on your shoulders is called-" "-Frodo" Chief finished.
The ranger nodded solemnly. "Yes. Frodo Baggins" Aragorn replied, entering the conversation again. "And we need to get him to the elves as soon as possible."
There were a few tears in the eyes of Sam, who seemed to be hurt the most at the suffering of his friend. "But its six days from Rivendell on foot Strider. Poor Frodo will never make it!"
Frodo suddenly came round a little, shouting out deliriously. "Ga-gandalf!"
"Come on Frodo! Don't give in! Fight it!" Aragorn said encouragingly.
"GANDALF!" He wailed again. Chief was sure the poor hobbit couldn't hear anyone. He was too far gone.
"Strider, he's going to die in the next few hours if we can't help him right now. The poison, is there anything we can do to stop its spread?"
Cortana was listening to all of this. Powerless to help, her heart was heavy. "If only I had access to UNSC medical equipment, the brave little fellow!" Her voice was low and drawn, she was feeling badly for him. Empathy! Pure empathy.
Aragorn knew too that Frodo didn't have long. "Chief! Can you let Frodo down? Rest him down somewhere in this clearing, somewhere safe." Chief did as he was told. Strider had an aura of leadership about him, he could sense it. Decades of experience was telling Chief that he could trust the man's judgement. He placed Frodo down in a pile of ferns, and sat next to him.
Frodo was now in the safest place possible, under the protection of a Spartan. As he guarded the clearing, Chief began to analyse his surroundings. There were strange statues all around them, four of them. They weren't based on humans, and they reminded Chief a little of brutes. "Look Mr Frodo! Its Bilbo's trolls!" Sam said eagerly as he recognised the statues, trying to lift his friends spirits.
"Trolls?!" Cortana groaned, "Oh I give up!" Chief shared the feeling!
Frodo started to groan again. His voice was strained and sounded almost unearthly. His stifled cries were deeply discomforting, and seemed to be affecting Sam the most out of all of them. "Mr Frodo? Strider he's going cold!" The ranger came rushing over, opening Frodo's eyes and placing a hand on his forehead. His eyes were white and milky, and the deep brown irises that had once been were gone completely. This was bad!
"The poison is taking hold. It won't be long until he passes into the netherworld, becoming a wraith like them!" This was a shocking revelation. Chief was stunned, could a simple toxin cause someone to turn into one of those...things? This was like nothing he had ever heard of. Was Strider bullshitting them? Some kind of sick joke? The most disturbing thing was though, that there had been no hint of lie in his eyes when he had said it.
A high pitched shriek shot through the quiet night air. The wraiths were back. "That sound can't have been more than one kilometre away chief." Cortana updated, "They're coming for us!" The others also knew how close they were.
"Strider. How do we stop the poison?" There was urgency in Chief's voice. They needed to act right now! Aragorn had one idea. He didn't know how to stop the poison completely. But perhaps...
"Sam. Quick! Do you know about the Athelas plant?" Sam didn't know.
"Athelas?" He replied, obviously confused. Aragorn rolled his eyes. Athelas was its elvish name!
"Kingsfoil Sam!" Sam nodded, "Aye Strider, it's a weed!"
"Good!" The ranger thought to himself. He wasn't completely clueless! "It may help to slow the spread of the poison, come with me." The two took off into the woods to find some, leaving Chief alone with the remaining hobbits.
As Merry and Pippin began to stare at him, Chief wasn't sure who the most uncomfortable man in the clearing was. Frodo, critically wounded, fighting a losing battle against a horrible poison. The other two, terrified about Spartans and Wraiths. Or himself. Because of all things, he had always been so reserved during social situations!