Here's the next chapter! Off into the mountains they go; will their journey be smooth-sailing, or full of danger? Enjoy!
I'm off to Alaska for a couple of weeks, so not sure how regular the updates will be. I'll try and get at least two more chapters through 29 July, but we'll see!
Chapter 93It was hard going; yes, the path was easy to follow, but it was a steep climb for the horses. We took more breaks than I was comfortable with, but I knew if we pushed the horses on too much, one of them could break a leg and then we'd be in even bigger trouble. Still, this route would save us several days of travel, and give us the element of surprise against any enemies at the supposed barricade.
Candaith dismounted from behind me, but when I went to do the same, he deftly grabbed my waist and set me down next to him with a cheeky grin. "You know, I could have dismounted on my own." I said drily, raising an eyebrow.
"You look tired, meleth nin," he replied, with a mischievous smile on his face. "I simply wanted to help my fair lady to the ground."
I rolled my eyes but couldn't help a smile of my own, "How gallant of you, my lord." He was rubbing small circles on my hips with his thumbs, and it was quite distracting. He smirked, clearly noting his ability to affect me with even something as simple as that.
As much as I wished to continue this light-hearted conversation, I was in charge and knew the others were waiting for my direction. I sighed and took Candaith's hands in mine, squeezing them briefly before letting go and digging into my pack for some lembas. We were running low on them, as it had been quite some time since we purchased some in Eregion, but we had plenty of cram and dried meat and fruit. Plus, I was aware Tur Morva had a market due to Ergothorn's mention of it, and knew we could restock our supplies there, although no lembas would be available. Despite their pleasant taste, I was getting sick of them.
I looked up at the sky and noticed it darkening; it would be a good time to make camp. We had found an overhang of sorts, which would fit all of us underneath. The horses would be a little exposed, but two people would be on watch at once to keep a sharp eye out for any enemies. I felt pretty confident in our safety, but it was always prudent to be prepared for any eventuality. Directing the others, we settled down for the night fairly quickly. Lothrandir got a nice fire going, which helped with the chill in the air. As an Elf, I didn't feel it as much as the Men, but a little extra warmth was always appreciated. It also helped that Candaith had situated himself next to me and put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close.
"What do you suppose we will find when we get to the barricade?" Lothrandir asked. "I wonder how many enemies are stationed there, and their composition."
I furrowed my brow, thinking. It was a good question; would we be facing other Dunlendings, or just Uruk-Hai and orcs? Or would something more ominous be guarding the road? Before I could chip in my two coppers, Golodir chimed in quietly, "I suspect it will be Saruman's filth; I have a feeling even Dunlendings on Saruman's side would not wish to participate in the starvation of their people, even if they are on different sides of the conflict."
"I agree," Nona interjected. "I know I would not do such a thing." She seemed very sure of this, but I felt less so. Even if they did not wish to inhibit the Falcon clan, what if Saruman threatened his Dunlending fighters in a way to force them to comply? Or offered rewards so marvelous that they could not find it in themselves to refuse? Not that the wizard would ever deliver on such things; he was manipulative and only cared about his own wants and needs. I hoped she was right; it would be difficult for Nona to fight against her people, even if they were on the wrong side.
"We will have a better sense of what we are facing once we reach higher ground overlooking the road," I said. "Then we can make a plan."
"What will we do if the fighting force is greater than we can successfully counter?" Lothrandir mused.
I sighed, and furrowed my brow in thought. "Perhaps we can shoot a number of them from above with our arrows, before they can even meet us face-to-face in battle," I said slowly. "Taking out their archers first, before they can volley any arrows at us." I quick scanned our group and noticed everyone brought a bow with them, which would certainly help. Lothrandir had the least skill in archery among us, but was still decent enough to kill or at least injure some enemies from above. "Halbarad insisted that if the enemy force was too great for our small group, we should return to our previous camp and rendezvous near Galtrev." I hoped we could avoid doing so, but after the perilous situation we had been in at the summit of Zudrugund, I would not take such a chance again.
"A solid plan," Elrohir replied with a smile. "How far do you think we are from a good vantage point?"
I shrugged, "I have never traversed this land, but at our current pace, we should be able to reach where I believe would be a good spot to begin our assault in a few days, as long as the weather holds." I eyed the now clear skies; we were not too high in the mountains, but the weather could turn quickly.
"Well, we best get some rest while we can," Golodir murmured. "I will take first watch; Elladan, would you join me? It would be wise to have a keener set of eyes than my own." He chuckled quietly, and it made me smile.
"Of course," Elladan replied, and they picked two locations to stand guard. Despite his age, I had seen Golodir in battle, and it did not slow him down. I mused he seemed more relaxed, now that we were completing a task. He chafed at not being of use, despite our assurances to the contrary. I knew his failure to protect his daughter Lorniel from death, all those months ago, still weighed on him heavily.
I would never say it to him, but it was Lorniel who made the foolish decision to go off and fight Mordirith and rescue her father, and he should not blame himself for her actions. They called him the "False King", as Mordirith had claimed lordship over all of Angmar after the departure of the Witch King. He was powerful, and the Angmarim followed him without question. Why he had taken Golodir captive, we did not know, but Lorniel was desperate to rescue him, no matter the cost.
I had reluctantly gone with her, as Lorniel would not listen to reason; she was going whether I came or not. Things went poorly from the start; there were many foes on the way to the area of Carn Dum where Mordirith was thought to be located. We barely survived against the orcs and evil Angmarim, and I had wished we had brought a larger force with us.
When we finally reached the gates, we went to search for Mordirith; Lorniel had gone one direction, and I the other. I managed to rescue Golodir from a distracted pair of orcs, and arrived just as Mordirith clubbed Lorniel across the face with his massive spiked mace, killing her before she hit the ground. The courageous and strong daughter of the Dunedain stood no chance against the wrath of such a powerful foe. Instead of facing us in battle, Mordirith let us go; he found pleasure in Golodir's despair, and cared little for me; he did not see me as a threat.
Although he hadn't known it yet, Mordirith would rue the day he made that choice.
"Gwin?" I heard Candaith say, as if from a distance. I shook my head, as if doing so would dispel the memories which had settled at the forefront of my thoughts. "You seem far away."
I turned to face him and noted his worried expression. "I was. Just thinking about the past." When I did not elaborate, I saw a hint of frustration in the tightening of the skin around his eyes, although he likely had not wanted me to see it. I knew he wished I would share these things with him, but the thought of it was overwhelming, and the timing never seemed right.
We were always in the middle of some journey or conflict. I wished we could spend a few days alone, where we could speak of our pasts and learn more about each other. Or rather, he could gain more clarity about me; there was so much I kept locked inside, and I had always been that way. Even Elladan and Elrohir knew only a portion of what I had experienced, especially after I left Celondim. It was so difficult to speak of such things, and I hoped Candaith would understand.
I tentatively took his hand and interlaced our fingers. "I know what you would have me say, and I am sorry I have not been very forthcoming. I promise I will tell you of these things, when we have a better opportunity," I said softly, looking hopefully into his eyes.
He sighed, but gave me a small smile. "I understand. I just wish I could help you when you fall into these melancholic moods."
I returned his smile, "You already do; having you by my side is enough." It wasn't quite enough, but he seemed to believe me and kissed me lightly. I put my head on his shoulder, and let myself relax. We were safe, and I appreciated the slight reprieve in the action.
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When I woke from reverie, Candaith wasn't lying next to me. I was confused at first, but then remembered he was assigned last watch. I had volunteered, of course, but was gently refused, and I secretly appreciated the chance to get some rest.
My hopes for fair weather were dashed as I heard the soft pitter patter of rain on the tent. Luckily it was only lightly falling. However, it would make the trail a little slippery for the horses, so we would need to be careful.
Sure enough, it was slow going, even more so than the previous day. At some points we needed to dismount to help guide the horses safely over the path. I could tell Nona was getting antsy; I knew she wanted to save the people of the Falcon clan from starvation and death, as did the rest of us, and every day without aid was another day of suffering. It made me feel anxious, and I appreciated the occasional wave of comfort Candaith sent my way. It felt warm, like a campfire when it is cold outside. Of course, having his strong arms around my waist helped as well, as it was a reminder of his physical presence. I had craved it so desperately when he was missing, and I vowed to never take it for granted again.
"Can I see the map?" Elrohir asked, and I carefully handed it to him. We were currently walking beside the horses, and I was amused when he ducked underneath his in order to keep the map dry. "According to Ergothorn's color scheme, it looks like our elevation will climb significantly over the next day of travel, before leveling off as we get closer to the eastern edge of the mountain range."
"This will be good for our positioning," Elladan replied confidently.
"We will have to find a good opening…" Lothrandir said hesitantly. He was right; even if we were above them, we needed the right angle to shoot them. If they were not exactly where we expected them to be, our strategy may not be possible.
"We will," I insisted, hoping I sounded confident. The map did not show any sort of line of trees in the way, and we could leave the horses behind for a little while if we needed to physically climb up to a higher point. "Shall we continue?" The others had kept going at my insistence, and we hastened to catch up.
The movement out of the corner of my eye was the only warning before a number of great worms came crawling over the rock wall above us. We kept our horses in check with great difficulty before engaging the worms in battle. Luckily these ones were not covered in ice, and were much easier to kill.
"Go for the eyes or the underbelly!" I shouted over the din of the fighting. They could be killed anywhere, if you stabbed them enough, but it would take much less time if hit in these two areas. "Their bite is poisonous!"
These ones were large but slow, similar to the one I fought in Enedwaith while I had been collecting the ingredients for Nar's potion. I rolled out of the way as one attempted to tear my arm off, and smoothy stabbed forward with my knives, getting it right in its left eye. Knowing it would bleed out quickly, I moved on to the next. Elrohir had shoved his sword into a worm's mouth, but it clamped its sharp teeth over it and Elrohir was struggling to pull it back out. Before I could do anything, Elladan was there. My eyes widened in surprise as his sword shone with a brilliant light before bringing it down over the worm's back, cutting it in half like it was butter. With his sword free, Elrohir nodded to his brother in thanks and decapitated the one attempting to sneak up on me. "Pay attention!" he shouted, and I realized I had stopped fighting in order to watch Elladan's actions.
I heard a yell of pain just before I felt like my arm was on fire. It wasn't, but Candaith's was. I cursed, now noting they were the type of worms which turned into fire drakes. Candaith quickly fell to the ground and rolled, putting out the flames on his shirt. However, I knew it wasn't a mild burn, as my arm smarted quite a bit. Focusing hard, I attempted to figure out a way to prevent myself from feeling the pain of his injuries. It would not do to be in the middle of fighting and be incapacitated by Candaith's wounds. However, the battle was still ongoing, and I didn't have the ability to put much attention on the task, so I unfortunately had to set it aside for now and stood in front of Candaith to guard him. He had staggered to his feet, but swayed with his sword in his other hand. "Stay behind me, meleth nin" I said, and he thankfully obeyed.
Luckily, the fighting ended shortly after. No one else was injured, and I was happy to note there were no bites to treat. Poison was a tricky thing, and although we had potions to help, it wasn't always a guarantee.
Elrohir made his way over to Candaith to examine his arm. "Ouch, it looks quite painful," he said sympathetically.
"It is," Candaith and I replied simultaneously. We both looked at each other and Candaith smirked. "We are turning into your brothers now, I see?" he said, sounding amused, but he hissed as Elrohir carefully removed the fabric sticking to the burned skin. I took Candaith's other hand in mine and tried not to wince as he squeezed it hard.
Eventually the burn was exposed, and Elrohir efficiently slathered it in athelas salve and wrapped it with clean linen. "It will help both with healing and pain."
Candaith nodded, "Ah yes, I can feel the cooling sensation." He smiled. "Hannon le, muindor nin."
At this, Elrohir grinned. "Muindor nin indeed!" It made me feel warm inside to hear the endearment; they were brother in-laws now, even if Elladan and Elrohir were not related to me by blood. They were my family in every other way, and I was lucky to have them in my life.
We gathered our things and were on our way again. Curious, I wandered over to Elladan. "Tell me more about your sword," I said, motioning to it.
Elladan shrugged, "When it was forged in Imladris, I was told it had a legendary power stored within. Up until…up until the Forsaken Road," he paused to swallow a lump in his throat. I squeezed his shoulder in empathy, and he nodded and continued, "I did not know what the blacksmith meant until the light appeared on the blade. Now I have found a way to control it; the sword has a 'voice' of its own, you could say."
"Does Elrohir not have a sword with the same likeness?" I asked.
"I do not, sadly," Elrohir replied, having made his way over to us. "While it was forged at home, there was no special power involved."
Elladan smirked, "Clearly, the blacksmiths love me more than you, muindor." He danced his horse out of the way as Elrohir went to shove him off, and their laughter made my heart lighter.
Whew, they squeaked by that fight with little more than some burns. Will they be so lucky the rest of the journey? Thanks for reading, and leave a review!