The feeling of being hunted grew more overwhelming with each passing moment, until it was like a damp cloth stifling the air from my lungs. The sounds of our pursuers persisted, yet they still did not attack. Whether they were waiting for a more opportune moment or something else, I did not know. What I did know was that we had to evade them somehow.
Uirion continued to ride at my side, scanning the trees for any visual confirmation of our hunters. For the moment, at least, any antagonistic feelings he had were gone, and he was intent only on preventing an ambush from our mutual foe.
"We need to find open ground," He stated, his voice barely above a gruff whisper. "If they're not willing to attack us now, they won't likely reveal themselves then either."
An arrow whizzed by just inches from his head at that moment, eliciting a cry of surprise from several members of the party. Two more arrows followed, both narrowly missing us.
"Follow me!" I exclaimed, spurring my steed into a gallop. "Hyah!"
Riders burst from the treeline, lightly armored with faces concealed by scarlet cloths. Their horses were well-muscled with long supple legs, bred for long distance riding. I knew that my courser could easily outrun them for a short distance, but she would tire quickly. We needed to lose them quickly.
One of the riders had outdistanced the others, a lance in hand as he swiftly gained on us.
Thorondir spun around, noticing that the rider was nearly upon him. In one smooth motion he unstrapped his bow from his saddle, fitting an arrow to the string. The enemy rider barely had time to react before a white-feathered arrow transfixed his chest, unseating him from his steed.
The archer gave a triumphant shout as he reached for another arrow, daring the others to come closer.
They seemed leery to, instead riding just out of bowshot but continuing to pursue us.
"I have an idea!" Thorondir exclaimed, his breathing labored from effort.
"I'll take just about anything right now!" I replied, casting a furtive look back at our enemy.
"It's going to sound preposterous..." He began.
I rolled my eyes. "Just tell me! We don't have time!"
"We could ditch the horses when we lose sight of the enemy," He explained, his words choppy to the movement of his steed.
I let out a snort. "How?? Jumping from a galloping horse isn't exactly my idea of a good plan!"
A javelin whizzed by, barely missing us. I turned to see another rider gaining on us, but he was dressed differently than the other riders. The skin of some exotic striped beast hung from his shoulders, and his uncovered face was painted in an array of bright colors. His eyes were wide with an animalistic hunger, wild and unpredictable. He looked... inhuman somehow, like a wolf seeking to devour his prey. I felt a shiver run down my spine at the sight of him, and I urged my steed on to greater speed.
I noticed Uirion had advanced to the head of our group, his expression suddenly one of fear. What had caused his demeanor to change I did not know, but if he was afraid then something was surely amiss.
"Uirion!" I shouted over the thunder of hooves. "Did you hear Thorondir?"
He nodded grimly, pointing ahead to a river that we were quickly bearing down upon. "There!"
My eyes widened as I realized what he was proposing... But the image of the wild skin-clad rider made me almost immediately dismiss my qualms about the plan. I gave him a curt nod and pulled my feet from the stirrups, readying myself to leap.
The rider who had gained on us let out a wild scream, and to my dismay it came from almost directly behind me. I drew my sword and swung, my blade slicing through the air with an empty whir. My gaze followed it, watching as the strike narrowly missed the rider. He grinned fiercely, reaching for my arm and locking it in the grip of his massive hand in one swift motion. My heart leaped to my throat as I felt my balance faltering, and I wrapped my legs around the midsection of my horse tightly in a desperate bid to hold on.
A white-feathered arrow whizzed by, narrowly missing us both. He loosened his hold for a split second as he recoiled in surprise, giving me the opportunity I needed to break free. I jerked my arm forward with all of my strength, and the rider let out a grunt as I slipped free from his grasp. Unfortunately, I had overcompensated, and the motion sent me right off the opposite side of my horse.
I clawed at the reins as I fell, my hands shaking as the panic set in. Seconds passed like minutes as I listed over in slow-motion, waiting for the moment my unprotected head crashed against the hard ground below. But it never came.
Instead I felt the ice-cold water of the river engulf me, and my world was engulfed in a murky blue as the air left my lungs. Hooves kicked up the muck beside me, and I suddenly felt one make contact with the side of my head as an exploding pain filled my skull and my vision turned to black...
=========================================
I let out a painful gasp as air rushed into my lungs once more, but it caught in my throat and I gave a retching cough, pushing water from my lungs onto the rocky ground between my fingers. As I opened my eyes the rush of water filled my ears, and what had just taken place came back to me. How had I survived? And did anyone else make it?
I shakily pushed myself up onto my knees, blinking as the pain from the horse's kick thundered in my head. I let out a muffled groan as I slowly rose to my feet, taking in my surroundings with a measured eye.
Nothing looked even slightly familiar.
The forest was thinner here, interspersed with tall, white-barked trees bearing no leaves. It felt more primal, as if this part of the forest had remained untouched by man and orc alike. The ground was rockier, the underbrush struggling to poke out towards the waning sun.
I must've been washed downstream, I thought to myself. How far downstream, I did not know. And I likely wouldn't know unless I found some landmark from which to get my bearings.
As I started picking my way down the riverbank, I couldn't help but wonder where everyone else had gone. Hopefully they had evaded the riders...
The frightening image of the skin-clad rider entered my mind again, and I unsuccessfully attempted to push it away. Who was he? And why had Uirion seemed so terrified by him?
The questions came faster than answers ever could, and a growing feeling in my mind told me that the answers would come soon enough, whether I truly wanted them or not.
I began to head in what I assumed to be a northerly direction, though the sun was obscured by clouds so my navigation was approximate at best.
I traveled for nearly an hour with no interruptions, until eventually I found myself confronted by a strange abomination. The statue of a sitting figure, likely one of the great Kings of old, stood by the roadside, but in the place of its head was a rough-hewn stone, a leering grimace painted onto it in a blood-like color.
"Curse the orcs," I muttered under my breath at the sight. Only they could turn something beautiful into something so foul.
"I say we do one better than that," a familiar voice said from behind the statue. A second later Thorondir appeared, dragging the body of an orc behind him.
"Thorondir!" I exclaimed, my tone betraying my surprise. "Where are the others?"
"After losing you and the Haradrim we set up camp on this side of the river," he explained as he yanked his dagger from the orc's skull. "Uirion and I went out to patrol for enemies while the others gathered firewood. Come, I'll take you to them."
The site was only a short distance from the statue, well concealed under a small outcropping of rock that easily obscured the flames. Eradan rose to his feet, his eyes widening at the sight of me.
"Brother! We thought-" He began, but I cut him off.
"Where are we?" I asked. I hadn't meant to interrupt, but I needed to know what was going on if I was to salvage the mission.
Aerel, who had been sitting beside Eradan, looked up from the fire. "The northernmost reaches of Ithilien. The trees thin out about a mile from here."
That, at least, was good news. It seemed as though our mishap had brought us closer to our objective than I had expected. "And the horses?"
Thorondir shook his head, his dark blond locks moving to and fro. "Yours washed downstream with you. The rest... Well, with any luck they led the Haradrim halfway to the Black Gate by now."
I cursed under my breath. On the one hand, we had hopefully evaded the enemy. On the other, the trek to Cair Sirion from here was a full day at best. "We'll have to travel light then."
The slight rustle of leaves alerted us to the arrival of Uirion, who looked unusually weary. His bloodshot eyes landed upon the fire, then each of us in turn before he retreated to the darkest corner he could while still being close enough to feel the heat of the fire.
My curiosity got the better of me almost immediately. "That rider," I began, looking pointedly at the older man. "You know him, don't you?"
He gathered his cloak around himself and nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on the fire.
"How?"
A long moment of silence followed before he finally answered, his voice quiet and bereft of its usual gruff rasp. "Twenty years past I was part of an expedition," He started. "The daughter of a great lord of Pelargir had been kidnapped by Haradrim slavers, and she had been taken far into the depths of Mordor itself. Six of the best rangers in Gondor were gathered together to rescue her.
"We traveled for days, through parched deserts and forsaken valleys, through thick forests and insect-ridden bogs. I saw the Sea of Nurnen, a lone gem glittering in the wretched darkness of that land. That was where they had taken the girl; A small town nestled along its dark shores, bustling with all manner of evil beings.
"We could not take her back by force; Countless orcs patrolled the shores of that lake, and men from all corners of the East gathered there to trade in human souls. So we entered into the city in the guise of Corsairs. While there I met a woman. She was beautiful and kind unlike any in that cursed land. But she was pledged to another... Against her will, as was their wont. But pledged nonetheless.
"I told her who we truly were, and that I could give her a better life in Gondor. She wanted nothing more. But one evening, her betrothed saw me with her and attempted to take my life. I took his instead, and our cover was lost. His son had come too, a fully grown man from another marriage, and upon seeing me take his kin's life, he slit the throat of my beloved and swore that he would not rest until his father was truly avenged.
"The rider was that son."
I sat for a long moment, not fully comprehending all that he had told me.
"Did you and the others save the girl you were sent to rescue?" Aerel asked. From her tone I knew that she wanted to find some hopeful ending to this story. But Uirion's next words shattered that hope like a fragile glass.
"No. When our true nature was revealed, the slavers sounded the alarm. We tried to run..." He stopped, taking a deep breath. "Only I survived. Nobody in Gondor ever saw the girl again."
I couldn't help but notice a lone tear trail down his scarred face, and a knot formed in my own throat at the sight of such a stoic man being in such internal agony.
We all sat in silence, watching the fire as the grim truth of Uirion's tale set in. He must have still felt guilty for the deaths of his fellow rangers, as well as leaving the girl to her fate.
"When I returned, I was not hailed as a hero. I was exiled to Ithilien, to live my remaining days as a dishonored warrior."
Ohtar, who hadn't spoken until now, cleared his throat. "We all have our own demons to face. Your past doesn't define you now."
Uirion's lips turned slightly upward in the closest thing I had seen to a smile. "Says the bandit."
Ohtar snorted, trying to suppress a smile of his own. "Sod off."
I was relieved to see that Uirion was beginning to warm up to the others. If everyone could get along, the mission would be much more bearable.
"Thorondir and I will take first watch," I spoke up after it was clear that the conversation was over, nodding to the ranger. "The rest of you, get some rest. We'll be setting out about an hour before sunrise."
Ohtar let out a groan. "I don't know how the Tower Guard do things, but us rangers like to sleep in."
Eradan rolled his eyes dramatically as he stretched out on the ground. "Just go to sleep, you big oaf."
I settled in on top of the outcropping, gathering my cloak about myself like a blanket. It was going to be a long night...
===========================================================