The Attack
Our journey towards Lorien turned out to be more difficult than expected, and this was mainly due to the weather: Fall had arrived faster than expected, and with it endless rainy days, which made our progress slow even on horseback. In addition, Legolas had discovered orc tracks during a break. They came from the Misty Mountains and had emerged from the increasingly dense curtain of rain in front of us after a few days.
Of course, it hadn't taken long for me to catch a cold. My nose was running and I could feel myself getting weaker. But with the exception of Fangorn Forest, which we avoided, there were no villages or homesteads here where we could have taken a break.
It was noon, lightning just twitched across the sky, and I shot an uneasy glance toward the mountains. With Fangorn to our left and the mountains looming behind, I didn't think we would get struck, but it wasn't impossible. After all, we were riding on a grassy plain.
The elf steered his horse beside me. "It is not far now, a day or two's ride, and we will have reached Lorien. There you will be taken care of." Legolas had been worried ever since the first signs of the cold had appeared on me. Although I was reassuring him, because normally such a thing would go away in a few days, I had seen the worry on his face whenever our eyes met.
Gimli also let himself fall back. His beard was dripping, which was why he had tied it up. He looked as disgruntled as I felt. "Here of all places, no shelter anywhere far or wide," he grumbled as the horses pressed on against the strong wind. "It's the mountains, clouds pile up in front of them and storms come, especially in the cold season."
The moment I opened my mouth to reply, the next flash of lightning twitched across the sky, followed by a deafening roar of thunder.
Damn.
That wasn't good, that really wasn't good at all.
As if the terrible weather wasn't enough, out of the corner of my eye I saw Legolas tense up. His elf senses were also affected by the steady rush of rain, the roar of the storm, and the thunder, but they still worked better than Gimli's and mine.
"Orcs!" In one fluid motion, he unhooked his bow from his back. "They have already spotted us."
"From where?" Gimli stopped his horse, and I did the same. We had discussed this case and agreed that we would not fight on the animals. I was too unexperienced for that.
"To the west, right on the edge of Fangorn Forest."
"Shit," I muttered. "This is just what we needed."
The elf gave me another worried look. "Remember what we practiced. You stay behind with me, Gimli will form the vanguard. If it will become necessary, I will fight on with my dagger. But you will not move an inch from the horses."
"All right." I nodded at him. The urgency in his voice made it clear to me that this was serious. Maybe even more serious than I had thought. Hopefully, everything would work out as we had discussed. Plans were there to be changed and fights unpredictable.
Involuntarily, I had to swallow. This would be my first real fight. And something in the pit of my stomach told me I wasn't as prepared for it as I would have preferred.
I couldn't see a thing through the thick rain. It dragged like cords, the sounds of the storm and the lightning raging right above us made me deaf and blind at the same time. It was more likely that I would trip over an orc than that I would hit one with my bow in that kind of weather.
Gimli was still standing next to us, he seemed to have decided for himself that it was better to wait. Legolas was already firing arrows into the rain - whether they hit or not, I couldn't tell.
And then, all at once, the figures emerged from the gray curtain that had separated them from us until now.
My body tensed and I reached for my bow, just as Legolas had done. Gimli's hands closed tighter around his axe. With my heart pounding wildly, I concentrated and shot the first arrow.
Missed.
The nervousness that I had believed to be well under control until just now, broke free. Gimli, next to me, rushed off as soon as the orcs had gotten close enough that he didn't have to run halfway across the field to reach them.
I took a deep breath. Drew the bow.
And shot.
Hit.
Unfortunately, the orc I had caught on the shoulder didn't seem particularly impressed with my shooting skills, because he just kept running. Gimli, however, struck him down with his axe before he could reach the elf and I.
If I had first thought that the orcs consisted of a group of perhaps five to ten creatures, I quickly discovered that I had been mistaken: there were more. Considerably more. Legolas noticed this as well. "They were hiding under the trees!"
Again I reached into my quiver, aimed, and fired.
This time my opponent collapsed to the ground. A feeling of triumph, coupled with the shock of having taken a life, flooded my body. But I had no time to think about it, for the elf shouted, "Watch out, Aspen!"
Just in time, I ducked away and moved to safety behind one of the nervously prancing horses. As quickly as I could, I tried to take in the new situation: Not only were the orcs substantially higher in numbers than I had thought, but they were also closing in on us. Legolas had been right: They seemed to have been hiding at the edges of Fangorn Forest, waiting for an opportunity to attack us.
The creature the elf had warned me about hissed as I dodged it a second time. It hadn't been planned that way, I realized. Close combat wasn't my strong suit, but I wouldn't be able to avoid it.
With one swift movement, I pulled out my two daggers, which Earun had taught me how to use. I silently thanked her as I dodged another attack from the orc. The horse no longer stood between us.
The orc made a lunge to strike me with his machete. I spun away and managed to catch him in the leg.
The creature made a pained sound and then leapt forward surprisingly quick. Although my hit had caused the orc to drop to his knees, his grip was as firm and relentless as a rock wall. He grabbed me by the lower leg, his fingers digging into my skin along with sharp nails, and pulled.
I groaned in pain, wriggled out of his grip, and with a well-aimed use of my dagger, sent him to the other side. Relief washed over me like a wave, but when I glanced over my shoulder, I quickly realized that there was no reason to feel save: the orc attack was huge, and the next enemy was already rushing in my direction.
Where was Legolas? And where Gimli? With the exception of my horse, I saw no familiar face, only the hissing and chattering of the orcs, who gathered ever closer around me like a ring, as if waiting for something. At my back I felt the wet fur of Aescrof, even though the horse and I did not like each other: He did not leave my side. He kept his ears pricked, as if he wanted to tell me to get up.
Tense, I let my gaze wander through the rain and over the heads of the orcs, which came closer and closer. Neither the elf nor Gimli were anywhere to be seen. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to climb onto Aescroft's back. With a little luck, I would manage to escape…
I made my decision within a split second: When the first orc lost patience and dashed in my direction, I mounted. Aescrof knew what to do. He didn't need me to show him where to run; the horse had more combat experience than I would ever have.
I clawed at his mane as Aescrof turned 180 degrees and then headed for a gap in the ring of orcs, the shadows of the trees of Fangorn Forest looming behind. The orcs realized too late what the horse was up to; the one that still stood in its way was trampled by Aescrof's hooves.
Then we plunged into the forest.
Almost immediately, every sound was swallowed: neither the rain nor the shrieks of the orcs reached my ears anymore. A quick glance back told me that we were not being followed. At least I hoped so.
Instead, Aescrof had led me into the Fangorn Forest with no intention of stopping. Quite the opposite: the animal pushed on and on, winding itself amazingly agile around tree trunks and climbing over knotty roots.
I had to swallow. Gimli's warning was still ringing in my ears: Fangorn was a dangerous place. Especially for someone like me.