Journey’s End
Chapter 34
The Black Ships
I followed Aragorn to the shore of the river and stood at his side. The Black Ships were now approaching us, but it did not seem that any of the corsairs had spotted us.
“You may go no further.” Aragorn called out, his voice full of authority. The ship’s boson stood and looked at us curiously. “You will not enter Gondor.” Aragorn commanded calmly.
“Who are you to deny us passage?” The boson asked in a mocking tone and I scowled a little.
“Legolas, fire a warning shot past the boson’s ear.” Aragorn murmured as Legolas fitted an arrow into his bow.
“Mind your aim.” Gimli muttered as the elf took aim. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gimli knock Legolas’s bow as he released the arrow, off-putting his aim. The arrow sailed straight into a mercenary that stood behind the boson.
“You must be losing your touch Legolas…” I murmured with a smile.
“Oh!” Gimli gasped, putting his hand to his mouth over-dramatically. “That’s it, right, we warned you! Prepare to be boarded!” He called out.
There was a roar of laughter from the nearest ship.
“Boarded, by you and whose army?” Laughed a mercenary.
“This army.” Aragorn growled menacingly as the legions of the undead took form around us and rushed towards the fleet of ships. The hundreds of thousands of ghosts became a pale green blur as they overwhelmed the corsairs and I raised my eyebrows at their speed and efficiency. Maybe being a supernatural being had its advantages, but then again there was the whole ‘never rest in peace’ thing… I looked up to see the ships now empty. No mercenaries. No ghosts.
“Erm… How do we get to the ships?” I asked quietly. Aragorn turned to me and raised his eyebrow. “Oh…” I said softly, looking at the river, judging its depth, the current, and how far it was to the ships. Thankfully, luck seemed to be with us. “Well, let’s get on with it then…” I muttered with a smirk. I took a few steps back, and then took a running dive into the water.
It was cold, but not as cold as the lake back at the Misty Mountains! I surfaced with a gasp and began swimming quickly towards the nearest ship. I reached its side and found some ladder-like notches cut into the wood. I pulled myself up and flopped onto the deck and lay on my back, waiting for the others. I was proud of the fact that I’d always been able to swim faster than Aragorn. He always insisted the reason I could was that I was lighter. I heard his heavy boots hit the deck near my head moments later and I looked up at him with a grin as he looked down at me and water dripped from his hair onto me.
“I beat you.” I smirked.
“You’re lighter.”
I bit my lower lip and shook my head at his predictable answer as he pulled me to my feet. I looked over the edge to see Legolas dragging a rather unhappy-looking Gimli towards the boat. I reached down and helped pull them both up, just as the sails above us filled with wind.
“Do any of you know how to sail?” I asked as the ship moved forward. I looked back to see the rest of the fleet following.
“The army are sailing them.” Aragorn said softly. I nodded and walked up to the mast and leant against it.
“How far to Minas Tirith?” I called to Aragorn. He looked up at the sky.
“It will be a while; I suggest you get some sleep.”
