We're starting off on a quest to find our favorite rangers! What sort of adventures will ensue? Read on!

Chapter 4

I located Radanir easily enough and found him to be bit of a jokester, but also a hard worker. We hit it off right away, and I knew we would be fast friends. Then I set off on the longer trek to meet up with Candaith.

Despite being consumed by the many, many things I had accomplished and the horrors I had encountered, Candaith had been on my mind occasionally during my travels. I wondered how he had recovered from his attack all those months ago, and if he was doing well. Had he been in other battles since we had parted? Was he even alive? Lord Elrond had not been sure that all the rangers he wanted to contact were actually still among the living; these were the ones Aragorn had requested to follow him before he left with the Fellowship. A knot of worry formed in my gut at the thought that perhaps Candaith would not be at his camp, or if the camp was even there.

I had ridden hard through the night across the main path and had turned Northwest towards Candaith's last known location when I could sense I was being watched. I slowed my horse casually as not to tip off whatever had me in its sights, silently drawing my knives. Quickly I leaped off my horse and behind a large boulder before I felt an arrow whiz inches from my ear. It was very foggy in the early morning, and I had trouble seeing more than a few feet in front of me. I controlled my breathing and listened hard; something was stalking me and was quite loud. It sounded perhaps like a very large orc, but I could not be certain without looking. I dared a quick glance around the other side of the rock and was rewarded with a very large club swiping at my head. Dodging out of the way I rolled across the ground to a nearby tree, putting my knives away and swiftly drawing my bow, which was my preferred weapon.

Two massive orcs were stalking me, one with a bow and the other with a sword and club. I knew I needed to first take out the archer, but was uncertain if I could kill the second orc before it reached me. Being an Elleth who grew up in Mirkwood, I knew how to climb a tree in seconds. Quickly I reached up to the branches and scaled the tree as high as I dared. This gave me a good vantage point and it was something the orcs had not anticipated. I fatally shot the archer and shot the melee orc but couldn't see if the shot was fatal due to how close it was to the tree.

Unfortunately, it was not as good of a shot as I thought and I felt the orc leap and grab my right foot. Surprised at the sudden movement, I crashed through the branches, falling on top of the orc who was bleeding profusely from his right shoulder. Rolling away, I drew my knives and clashed them against the sword the orc swung wildly. I was trying to create some distance from the orc but it was fast, considering its arrow wound, which put me into a defensive position.

What I didn't anticipate was a third orc.

It snuck behind me and swept my feet from under me. Falling flat on my back, I desperately brought my knives up to guard my face and kicked my feet up to knock the injured sword-wielding orc over. I heard it hit the ground with a grunt but I couldn't risk a look as the third orc was swinging an axe in my face, unfortunately uninjured and strong. I rolled to the right as it aimed for my head, jumped to my feet, and took off at a sprint. Clearly this was a coordinated ambush, and I was uncertain if there were more orcs nearby and if so, how many. Neither orc looked to have a bow so I had a decent chance of escaping. I whistled for my horse and was able to swing into the saddle it as she began to gallop.

Unsure of how far I needed to ride to lose their trail, I just kept moving in the general direction I needed to go, tracking further north and planning to circle back. I stopped behind an overhang and listened, patted my horse, and whispered words of thanks. Luckily all I could hear was the chirping of the birds as the new day began.

I dismounted and sat down heavily on the ground, staying under the overhang with my horse and took a few deep breaths, my heart racing. Fighting a few orcs was nothing compared to what I had done in the past, but it was so unexpected that I felt like a novice. I wanted to blame the thick fog but knew it was partly related to carelessness. I had hoped the situation would have improved since I left, but it seemed that orcs still roamed the area, which further increased my worry for Candaith.

After an hour passed, I slowly walked my horse from under the shelter of the overhang. The coast was clear and I cautiously set out. After searching for a short time, I slowly approached the area the camp was located. I was unable to see very far as it was still quite foggy, "Candaith? Are you there?" I called softly.

I saw a man come around the corner and felt instantly at ease.

Candaith looked shocked. "Gwinthilnel? What are you doing here?"

"Well hello to you too," I said sarcastically, not in the mood for joking. It was comforting to see him, alive and well, but my recent encounter with the orcs made me less amicable than I should have been.

His face fell but he quickly schooled his appearance. "I am simply surprised to see you. It has been long since I heard of your whereabouts."

I sighed, "It would take me many hours to tell you the tale of my travels, but I will simply say that I am here for a purpose."

"Besides visiting me?" he replied, his eyes twinkling

Despite my serious attitude I couldn't help the small smile that formed on my face, "Yes, besides visiting you, mellon nin." This resulted in a true smile on his face, which caused a funny feeling in my chest. It lit up his whole countenance, making him look youthful and handsome. Handsome? What on earth am I thinking? Focus on the task at hand!

I cleared my throat, trying to gain my composure and hoping I wasn't blushing. "Anyway, I was sent here on a mission from Lord Elrond of Rivendell. Lord Aragorn, your Chieftain, has summoned you to join him in all haste in Rohan. You are to be part of the Grey Company."

Candaith's face became grim. "This is dire news. I am loathed to leave this land, as there is still much to be done, but I must answer the call of my Chieftain, as is my duty."

I felt bad for imparting this news. "Aragorn would not have asked for help unless it was truly needed. You know how he hates to inconvenience others," I said with a rueful smile.

The ranger nodded, "Indeed, and his humble nature is one of the things I admire about him." He turned towards his tent. "I will gather my belongings and we will set out. That is, if we are travelling together?"

"You are welcome to join me," I replied. "I need to meet with Saeradan in Bree. I have already spoken to Radanir in the Trollshaws. Elladan and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond, are also abroad contacting other Dunedain. He sent a third Elf to find the rest. The plan is to meet in Rivendell and set off as one company, but it may take several weeks for all of you to get there." I broke eye contact, looking down at my hands. "You are of course free to travel to Rivendell at once, if you would prefer."

"No," he said quickly. "No, I think it would be wise to travel together. You never know what danger is out there." I decided to keep my earlier battle to myself; I had a sense that he would start to worry I was injured when I was perfectly fine. "What's that on your leg?"

I slowly looked down and noticed a tear on my left calf where a little blood was seeping. It was clearly a small cut but enough to be visible. It must have been from when the orc sunk his claws into my leg when it dragged me out of the tree. I covered it with my cloak. "It is nothing."

Candaith frowned, "It doesn't look like nothing. What happened? Were you accosted on the road?" He moved my cloak out of the way to assess the cut.

I shrugged him off, "It was just a slight altercation, nothing I could not handle." I could tell he didn't completely believe my explanation but he dropped the topic, turning back towards the tent to ready himself for the journey. I was relieved; I didn't want to bring up my poor fighting skills, although part of me wondered if he would see it that way. Shaking myself out of my musings, I waited patiently for Candaith. Once he both mounted up, we set off for Breeland.

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