Chapter 5 : Tested
Landon was pleased with his two new recruits. Dírhael was hasty, but an excellent tracker. Erumeldir doubted himself but proved to be a superb archer. Tonight he would test their night skills, but for now he would let them finish their dinner.
"What do you think of this patrol, brother?" Erumeldir asked.
"Alright so far," Dírhael crunched. "Not the excitement that I expected."
"Dírhael, whatever will I do with you? I did not really want any action. Although I am disappointed we do not get to meet the hobbits."
"Landon says it is protocol," he smacked. "I guess one must go abroad to have some adventure."
Erumeldir chuckled. "Oh, cheer up! We will get sent somewhere far off before we know it! I should rather like to visit Mirkwood..."
"Mirkwood?! If you plan to hunt spiders I will go with you. But if you are going to wander the Woodland Realm asking questions and reading books, do not invite me."
Guffawing, he choked out, " I want to do both! Why can you not learn to love books? Come on, does not the name Mirkwood intrigue you?"
"Yes. I think of lots of wonderful spiders to kill," Dírhael crunched.
"You two!" Landon shouted. "Over here."
"Oh no! Dírhael, you got us into trouble again!" Erumeldir stuck out his tongue as they hurried to their leader.
"Come with me," Landon ordered. He led them away from the camp, twisting through the trees. Five miles later Landon stopped. "See that tree 200 yards away?"
"Yes..." Erumeldir hoped this meant what he thought it did!
"No, that one," Landon redirected his finger to point to a further tree. The light had faded and the tree was a dim blob.
"Yes, it has the large, twisted branches, like two trees have grown together. Do you want us to demonstrate our archery skills?" Erumeldir beamed.
"Yes. Hit the knot on the upper left twig hiding behind the curved branch."
Erumeldir whipped out his bow, aimed, and the shaft flew straight and true into the knot. "Top that!" he taunted his twin.
Dírhael shot and hit the knot.
"Too slow, both of you," Landon criticized.
Disappointed, Erumeldir attempted a quicker shot and still managed to hit the knot, although not exactly where he meant.
"Now hit the tree that's behind you 300 paces." Full night had set in.
Turning, Erumeldir shot off yet another arrow and hit the mark straight on, although the dark played with his eyes and made him unsure of his target.
Dírhael barely made his mark. It was hard to see.
"15 paces right! 40 yards north! Faster!" Landon barked
Spinning on his heels, Erumeldir again located and shot the target with ease, although his hands shook a bit. Would he satisfy Landon? This was a lot harder than he had expected.
"Enough. Follow me." He led them further into the woods. Two saplings six feet high and six inches diameter stood in the way.
"Swords only. Cut them down," Landon ordered.
While Erumeldir was confident in his archery skills, he felt his swordsmanship was a bit lacking. However, he whipped out his trusty blade (which had yet to be named; he was waiting until it saw its first battle) and sliced at the tree, chopping it down with three strokes.
Dírhael was better with his sword. He diced the tree with an overhand then a backstroke. It was near midnight and the young man turned to his instructor. Who wasn't there. "Erumeldir, where is Landon?"
"How should I know? I thought he was here just a second ago. Landon?" he called hesitantly. Was this yet another test?
"Uh, Erumeldir…do you know where we are?"
"No...Do you?" Worried, he glanced about, but couldn't make out anything recognizable in the rapidly falling night.
"Yes…far away from camp," Dírhael sighed. He bent to the ground trying to find Landon's footprints, but he searched in vain.
"I probably should not tell you this now, but Father's teaching on how to find our way back if we ever get lost in the woods...I never paid much attention. Any ideas?"
"Yes." Dírhael traced a footprint…his brother's footprint from the looks of it. "I can trace our path back to camp, thanks to your stomping."
"Hey now! You make a whole lot more noise that I do! Just hurry up and get on with it. We are in enough trouble already."
"Least I don't leave much of a mark," Dírhael snorted. "Follow me."
Mentally scolding himself for not paying better attention to his father, Erumeldir followed his twin. He decided to keep quiet, knowing they would argue the entire way back if someone didn't give in. On the way, he tried to copy his brother's movements in hope of some on-the-job training.
Dírhael was surprised that his brother didn't respond but continued down the trail. He found where they had practiced archery and figured they were about 6 miles from camp. Finally, he made it back to the encampment, just as the sun peeked over the horizon. Snickers and turned heads met them as they trudged to their campfire, whose warm flames had been doused with water.
Landon sat quietly, eating his breakfast near his own fire that he shared with some of the upper officers. "You're late," he stated without looking up.
"I am sorry, Landon, sir," Erumeldir gulped. Then he moaned, "We will never be good Rangers!"
"Your archery skills are admirable, though Dírhael, you need to work on speed. Swordsmanship is excellent. Tracking is fine; Erumeldir, you need to work on that," Landon commented.
"I know, sir." He noticed Dírhael smirking and glared at him. "Well, what are our duties today?"
"Dírhael, I want you with the scouts. Erumeldir, you are with the archers."
"Yes sir!" Erumeldir headed off in the direction Landon pointed after playfully punching his brother's arm. Being separated from him would be a strange experience. However, he understood that their skills were different and thus required them to be with their respective groups.