~ The elves exercise and Wynne is impressed. But she doesn't look forward to another orc fight. ~
11. Tracking Warg Riders
They followed the warg-riders until late in the evening. In Wynne's eyes the ground showed no evidence at all of anyone passing and she had no idea how the elves could see the tracks, but apparently the elves' heightened senses helped them discern the slightest sign.
The trail first went further east, then south, then back west, forming a loop which would in time take them back to the Anduin again. Thranduil said these orcs must be a daring lot to come so close to the Rohan border patrols, or perhaps they were desperate.
When night fell they stopped to make camp, not wanting to risk coming upon the orcs before dawn. That would only serve as an advantage to their prey, who typically were stronger and more dangerous in darkness. Their night vision was far superior to the elves', Legolas said.
Wynne offered to prepare the evening meal and Legolas started to dig a pit for the cookfire.
"The rest of us should use the meantime to exercise," Thranduil decided.
"Good idea; we must not let our muscles get soft and weak from disuse." Galion flexed his impressive biceps.
Wynne watched him admiringly. "They don't look soft at all."
"Show-off," Legolas muttered from the fireplace.
The others went some way outside camp and were soon busy slicing the air with their swords and daggers, going through sword routines on nimble feet. It almost looked like they were dancing.
Her cooking temporarily forgotten, Wynne looked on. "Won't they spar with each other?"
"Not with sharp blades, no." Legolas put his small spade down and wiped his hands clean on the grass. "It would blunt the swords needlessly. Back home we practice with wooden replicas."
"Interesting. But here I'm forgetting my chores... this meal won't cook itself." She tore her eyes away.
"And I must make you a fire."
Legolas went over to the pack horses to fetch wood while Wynne hauled out smoked meat, hardtack crackers and a bag of dried peas, deciding she would make a filling soup.
"This was the last of the firewood." Legolas had returned with an arms load. "Tomorrow we shall have to resort to cold fare again. Back to good old lembas."
"Will you ever tire of that lembas joke? It wasn't even funny the first time."
"How come you smile, then?" His own grin turned into a grimace when he tried to strike a spark with the fire steel.
"Are you hurting?" Wynne noticed a reddish stain on his bandaged hand where an orc had bitten him the other day.
"I am fine."
"Let me see."
He reluctantly put his big hand in hers and let her uncover the wound. A putrid odor radiated from the bite and the fleshy part of his thumb was red and swollen.
"I know it looks bad but I am sure it will heal soon," he said. "I treat it with ground athelas each morning."
"Athelas... is that the herb I saw in your equipment?"
"Aye. Also called kingsfoil. It quickens the healing."
"I must remember that and get some. In Rohan we mostly use fire water on wounds. Have you tried it on yours?"
"The liquor you shared the other day? Nay. Does it help?"
"It works wonders. Let me help you." Wynne brought the spirits from the pack horse. Soaking a rag, she carefully washed the injury.
Sweat broke out on Legolas' forehead but he stoically remained silent.
"I'm sorry. Almost done now." She wrapped a clean cloth over his hand and tied it securely.
"Thank you." He put his good hand on hers and gave it a light squeeze.
The touch made her chest flutter and she realized how close they sat; she could see the individual wool threads of his green tunic.
When he removed his hand after an instant too long, she wished he had not.
"I should go light the fire."
"And the dinner is long overdue." She heard how breathless she sounded.
oOo
They left very early the next morning; Thranduil was eager to catch up on their prey, and not long afterwards they found the remains of another camp.
"We are closing in on them." Bronedir had dismounted. "These are warg droppings, still fresh. They must have camped here yesterday, probably around mid day."
That of course made the elves even more eager for speed and Wynne reluctantly nudged Vatna to maintain a ground covering canter. The horses were strong and in good condition, but it would be cruel to force them to keep up that pace for long.
Thranduil was pleased. "This is splendid. Thanks to your mearas we can move faster than warg-riders!" He beamed at her.
Wynne returned his smile though he was stating the obvious, really; no other horse breed could beat a meara in a running competition. But getting any form of praise from Thranduil was rare, and the fact that he knew to appreciate her horses' part in the quest made her own position safer too. He wouldn't so easily kick her out now.
It was almost noon when Thranduil finally made a motion for them to halt. "There is something near the horizon. It might be them." He shaded his eyes with a hand.
"I see them," said Legolas. "They sleep on the ground. Orcs and wargs together."
"I see nothing," grumbled Wynne, hiding her nervousness with mock annoyance.
Nodir felt the air with a finger. "The wind is south-western. We should come upon them from the north to hide our scent."
They made a wide circle around the enemies, and dismounted when Wynne's eyes still only perceived them as dark dots in the distance.
"We leave the horses here; we move more silently on foot and cannot fight on horseback anyway. At least not without saddles." Thranduil turned to her. "Will you stay with them?"
"Sure," she agreed, having absolutely no wish to see orcs close up again.
"See you soon." Legolas grinned, eyes bright and excited. Then he and the others were gone, sneaking through the high grass until Wynne could neither see, nor hear them.
She sat down, waiting anxiously with the horses grazing around her. She had seldom felt so useless. What if they failed, and were hurt, or even killed? The thought of being all alone out here scared her, but the thought of losing any of her friends was even more terrifying.
She recalled Legolas' bright eyes just now and shuddered. He must not die!
It struck her that in almost no time she had gone from finding the elf annoying to actually liking him, bad humor and all. Had Mother demanded she made her pick of a husband right now she knew who she would have chosen.
A cry in the distance made Wynne jump in fright, and then it was joined by growls and other battle sounds. It had begun!
She strained her eyes to see better. The orcs were milling about and recoiling from arrow hits, and she heard high pitched yelps from the huge, doglike wargs. A few of the beasts scattered and fled, others held their ground, trying to defend their masters.
The confusion lasted only a moment. Soon the orcs charged against their attackers, some on wargback, others on foot. There were a lot of them, at least twice as many as the elves, maybe more.
Numbers were in the enemy's favor. Was a surprise attack enough to outdo that advantage?
They met with a clash of steel, a little too close to where Wynne was waiting for her comfort. She could see them clearly now, the ugly faces of the orcs and the agile elves making the fight look like a dance.
Her heart thrumming, Wynne dared not look away. She clenched her jaw so hard it hurt.
It looked like the elves managed well so far, but it would only take one tiny mistake, one wrong step or a moment's inattention, for something dreadful to happen.
A movement in the corner of her eye finally drew her attention from the battle scene and she gulped when she saw what it was. One of the wargs who had run off was now approaching the horses with a hungry glint in its yellow eyes. Thick drool dripped from its huge maw.
She didn't think. Instinctively she surged to her feet and ran toward the beast, waving her arms and yelling at it as if it were a cougar threatening the herd back home.
Surprisingly, that strategy worked on wargs as well. The ragged creature started to back away, eyening her cautiously, and that bought time enough for the horses to be able to flee.
The warg let out a bark-like sound and followed in their trail.
Wynne looked after it, not really worried anymore. She knew it had no chance to catch up with the mearas as long as they were running.
Wiping her sweaty forehead, she breathed out in relief. That was a close call!
She was just about to turn her gaze back to the fight when a gnarled hand covered her mouth, effectively silencing her shocked scream.
A/N:
Oops. Just as Wynne and Legolas started to bond, too...