Scouting Ahead, Part 6: The Road to Rivendell

[ArPharazon]

Calion:

Riding along the path, Calion too noticed the shadowy feeling. Whatever was going on here was near, because it was quickly growing stronger as they moved. He had a sense of foreboding clouding his mind.

He had spent the night taking rest and letting his wound heal, while going over some details in his head, and wondering what had happened to his brother. He had felt that a reunion would not be long waiting, but under what circumstances he could not yet see. Now his wound, by time, care and simply being Elven, was barely noticeable, and Calion was on high alert and ready to confront anything barring their path. But still he was worried.

---

Calaron:

Two nights had passed since the events at Thranduil's Halls. Not long before the second nightfall, Calaron had arrived at the spot by the road by the means of a large wolf, bred in the service of the Orcs and their allies, and ready to bring its old master, now residing within an Elf, anywhere he wanted to go. The presence was getting stronger now, having dealt a great blow to Calaron's resistance at the Halls, and would be exerting full control were it not for the rain, seemingly washing its influence out of the very air, and dampening the effects. But it was confident that what remained of the Elf's spirit would not be able to fight back in any significant matter.

He had chosen this particular spot to make an easy ambush. The path was narrow and would hinder any attempt to flee by horse, the trees and shrubbery were close up to the road and would hide him from sight, and its large distance from the Halls made the incoming party's delays by night more likely, giving Calaron all the time he needed to set up his plan and gathering the forces to execute it. Now he had picked a particularly thick tree 2 lines away from the path, to wait for his target.

Nocking an arrow to his bow, he glanced back. Calaron had gathered a small force during his journey and since his arrival here. He had sent out messengers to contact Orcish parties in the northwestern parts of the forest, and summoned wild beasts under his command through the shadow he now radiated strongly, notably spiders out for Elven blood. What he had amassed now seemed like a small army, good enough to prevent any small Elven company from reaching the western gates of Mirkwood.

But Calaron still sat uneasy, knowing there were factors hindering him. He had chosen to waylay this particular group for 2 reasons, one to cripple his victim even further by the death of the brother Calion, and the other one to see what this high elf of Rivendell was planning. He guessed from the knowledge of the host-body that there was a secret mission behind it all, and was determined to find out its details. Unfortunately, this meant that the Noldo had to be taken alive if possible, which would prove difficult. Another factor was the rain. It kept on going and going, weakening his influence over the spiders, and more importantly, the Elf. To avoid this becoming a problem, he resolved to remain in the back and lead his troops from behind, fighting with the bow instead.

A host of spiders crowded the treeline and the sound of at least two dozen Orcs muttering rose up from further back. Silent ambushes were not their style, and they were unhappy, but loyal to the sorcerer, a feared lieutenant of the Northern forces. When all was ready and Calaron motioned to them a signal, they hushed and listened. A soft smile broke on the Elf's face as he hid in the tree. There was the sound of hooves on the path to the East.

---

Calion:

As the path narrowed, Calion rode to the front of the party. The shadow was very strong here, and the sound of birds had vanished. It would have been unusually quiet, were it not for the sounds of chittering suddenly looming up from the northern bushes. He slowed down Quessëlómë and kept his eye on the treeline. A sudden rustle of the leaves put one word in his head. Immediately halting his horse, he drew a weapon and warned: "Ambush!" a moment before the arrow crossed the path 2 feet before the nose of the foremost horse, striking a tree on the other side and shaking for a fraction of a second. It was Elven. It was Calaron's.

[Eonwë]

Auros:

Upon Fainan's report, Auros nodded. He'd had a growing uneasiness, but had tried to ignore it, hoping it to be nothing more than the darkness which sat upon Mirkwood. Sulenar had tensed, preparing to dash through the forest if given the command.

The troop had not gone far when the forest went suddenly quiet, and for a moment Auros had the sensation that he was standing in the eye of a storm. The Noldo drew his sword almost in time with Calion. "Arm yourselves!" he shouted to the others.

Chittering sounds came from the trees above, and a clamour came from the surrounding forest. In the single moment of peace before the attack, Auros weighed his options: to fight or to flee. It is folly to fight on ground the enemy has chosen.

[arienv]

Frali:

Frali was not happy to be on the road again, but dutifully rode as good as he could in the elven company, ever feeling out of place and in the way, especially since he could not really follow the conversation between Auros and the lovely lady Fainan.

But , jusdging from the tone of their voices both elves seemed to be concerned about something. Furthermore the gloom that was created by the weather seemed to be growing within his normally cheery personality Frali had not even tried to make conversation with either Fainan or Meren.

Growing finally suspicious about the whole affair, Frali was just about to make a comment to Meren about his concern when his pony started to whinnie nervously and pranced the dwarf had to rein him in and patted his neck, trying to calm him.

At that point the young warrior's finely honed instincts as a fighter took over and inconspiciously slid the orc sword to an easy reachable place and made sure the straps holding his throwing axes in place were lose and his trusted axe quick to grab.

When the shout "Ambush!" came Frali was more than ready for it, but instead of the host of orcs he expected all he saw was an arrow which made him laugh, but the feeling of uneasiness had even increased so the young warrior stayed alert, murmuring nonsense to his pony and calming it further.

[Varda]

Fainan:

With a grim shout, Fainan cried, "Ride now, as fast as you can along the road. We must string them out."

As she started forward, Fainan slapped Sulenar's rump loudly causing him to dart ahead, for she feared that Auros would be too proud to run from a fight. "This will be a running battle, my friends! Be ready!"

Most worrisome was Frali's pony for it would lack speed, yet it was a fine mudder and that might make the difference. She gave it, too, a loud slap. That plus Hithceleb's plunging ahead made all the horses move whether their riders had been considering it or not. For a final touch, she had also given a mental "charge forward" to the horses. It was a grand rush!

[Shelob]

Estarion:

Estarion had been silent since the ordeal at the enchanted river. His actions, even though not under his control worried him greatly. All through the ride to the encampment he had been deep in thought, and only nodded absently to the other party already in the camp.
Much unlike him, he had stayed quiet throughout the night, and only curtly thanked the Lady Fainan when she handed him the bowl of stew.

The following day was not much different, albeit for a sense of dread growing in the back of his mind. His actions, partly caused by his careless abandon of all sense, brought him back just in time to hear Fainan's voice warning about an imminent danger.
Quickly putting everything else out of his mind for the time being, he assessed the situation. Knowing that the Dwarf's pony, though stern and tough would not be able to keep up with a mad dash through any possible ambush that might await them, he made the only decision that seemed sensible to him.

While in thought, he had slowly drifted towards the back, and now laid himself low and whispered into his horse's ear. "Turnëran (ooc: name may be edited later) (a name he had silently given the horse), I know I have not been a great rider, and you have always been in control and you've always wandered your own path, now hear this command: follow the Lady Fainan now and until her doom!"

With that Estarion slipped off Turnëran and slipped quietly up the trees. It would be a lot slower going than on a galloping horse, but he figured that at least he could buy the party the time they needed by making forays onto the ground and harassing the enemies. Spiders might be able to attack him in the trees, but their going would be slowed as much as his, for the boughs were a mess of tangles, making visibility a lot harder for Orcish crossbows as well.

[ArPharazon]

Calion:

Agreeing with his companions about the chosen action, Calion spurred his horse forwards in flight. Readying the weapon he palmed in his hand, a long knife that was not much more than an extended dagger, he grabbed at the arrow in the tree with his other hand during the ride.

It had been shot into the tree with great power, indicating an Elven bow, and was hard to remove with a tug. Instead, he twisted and broke the arrow as he passed it, and placed the back-end with fletching in a pocket after quickly examining it in about half a second, before reaching for the reins with his now free hand. It was Calaron's marking, there could be no doubt. Whoever was leading this ambush would know more about his brother, and Calion had half a mind to turn into the trees and seek out the shooter. But the mission came first, and he would have to flee for the good of it. If nothing else, he would be able to return one day after his assignment's end and examine the clues left behind in the area.

For now, he rode forward with his companions, preparing for combat. He winced as he noticed Estarion's disappearance from his mount and into the trees. Whatever the Avar was up to, isolating himself in battle could turn out badly for him.

---

Calaron:

Whether it was the sudden halt by Calion, or the wind swaying the arrow's course, or some attempt of resistance against the occupying sorcerer, didn't matter. The arrow had missed, and he cursed the missed opportunity. What remained of the Elf's spirit hadn't given up quite yet, and controlling the Elf's trained skills, like aiming an arrow, seemed harder than the sorcerer had hoped. As he took another arrow to his bow, he monitored the party's actions. Most of them raced further along the path, which was unfortunate, but predictable. The orcs and spiders would be on their trail, and the hastily constructed barricade would slow them down, at least.

Calaron's eye had, however, fallen on one of the Elves, who had dismounted and slipped into the trees, nearly vanishing from sight. It didn't look like a Silvan, but appeared to be one of the Avari, the very same one brought to the Halls by his brother's party, not many days ago. Spying a good opportunity to isolate one of Auros' companions, and perhaps learning the information he desired without having to take down the entire armed escort, Calaron motioned to some mounted Orcs with crossbows who were standing by on the ground, to follow him as best as they could.

Calaron's body was agile and trained for scouting and travelling quickly among the trees, and he had developed eyesight keener than even most other Silvans. Using the knowledge from having studied this patch of trees hours before, he sped off after the tree-hopping Avar. It did not take long before he had intercepted his going, for Estarion had a greater distance to travel than Calaron, and he confronted him on nearing branches, with just a few yards distance between them. Trying to keep up with the swift Avar pace by pace, he drew a fine Silvan sword and swung it in his general direction.

"I strongly suggest you halt, Elf! There is information we would acquire from you. It would be a waste to hunt you to your death in these trees before your time."

[Shelob]

Estarion:

As Estarion made his way across the branches, north and westward, he was intercepted by an Elf, speaking to him in a tone that left no question as to who this was. This was one of the nobles Estarion had been introduced to in the Halls of Thranduil. He could not recall the name, but he did remember that he was akin to Calion.
However, with the sword rustling past, severing several smaller branches, and the menace with which the Elf spoke, it was all too clear to Estarion that he was in allegiance with the Dark Lord.

Estarion suddenly veered to his right, to where the Elf was keeping pace with him, and with a few quick strokes, cleared a path higher up into the trees and disappeared in the higher canopy. This simply was not the time, nor the place for a spar, so he revised his plans accordingly.
Immediately after slipping up, he made another right turn back to where he came.

[Eonwë]

Auros:

The party raced through the woods down the path, seeking to outrun their foes. I have no time for a fight. My mission is more important. He kept telling himself this as long as he could, but eventually, his pride began to master him. Sulenar began to slow, forcing the rest of the group to follow suit. For only a moment he sat upon his horse, looking down the path ahead. Then he bowed his head for a moment, whispering something in his native tongue, and swung Sulenar around. Determination burned anew in his eyes.

"I will run no further! That I do not return will tell all of my mission that needs told!" It was then that he noticed Estarion's horse was riderless. Their pursuers were not far behind. "We must see the enemy as they approach, and give time for our wayward companion to rejoin us. Is there not a clearing nearby? Let us make use of it!"

Riding a little further, the party came into a clearing like unto those the Elves of Mirkwood gather for feasts. Still the memory of such a feast could be felt. Leaping from Sulenar, he cast his cloak across the horse, showing that he wore no armor. Drawing his sword, he shouted "Come, dark beasts of Mirkwood! I will run no further! Face me here, or flee into the darkness from which you are spawned! Come, cowards! If you dare not meet my challenge, trouble me no more!"

[Varda]

Fainan:

Fainan gritted her teeth. Running and leaving a party member behind was hard, but Estarion had chosen his path. Her job was to make sure that Auros with his head full of intel for Elrond made it back to the Lord of Rivendell. She almost laughed when that same head full of information decided to slow down, unable to run for long despite that being the best way to foil the ambush. Perhaps Elrond should have sent regular scouts for this work instead of lordly folk, but one never wants to waste an able-bodied volunteer.

"We need to keep moving," she warned, knowing his ears were closed to all but pounding blood, yet required by duty to try. Yet he slowed further and stopped, speaking very softly and, oh sweet Orome the Hunter, turned. Send a message of his death to Rivendell? Arghhh. She'd see every orc and spider pinned to the trees with arrows first.

She saw his glance at the riderless horse and wondered if that had been chewing at him too, making him need to fight. Apparently so, since he wanted to give Estarion time to rejoin them. For the first time she truly regretted that the Avar had come but perhaps once he'd seen how his splitting the party had endangered them all, he would learn. He may have been running on his own for so long that he didn't know how to operate with a group.

A feast clearing? Maybe Auros had not allowed the red mist to completely obscure his mind. The feast areas weren't actually clearings, but taking advantage of naturally open areas. They were an act of defiance to the dark that attempted to take over their home, lifting it from those areas and acting on both spiders and orcs as if they had found a bit of daylight. "Aye, Lord Auros. This way!"

They made their stand in the clearing. To her dismay, Auros did not wear the famous mail or armor of the Noldor. At least it made him less of a burden to his horse, which he was not on presently.

She suggested to Estarion's horse to be ready to kick anything that came too close to Auros, especially from the back. Hand to hand was not her best ability, so she remained mounted. Readying her bow, she held Hithceleb to one side against thick underbrush, asking her to help keep track of the enemy and be ready to fight. Fainan would need to pick off spiders from above and around, while the horses and swordsmen handled orcs.

"That table-log might offer some cover, and may it trip them rather than us." After that one, probably unneeded comment, she remained quiet, listening and feeling, then pointed when she finally heard something approaching, and trained her bow in that direction. She would not pull to a full draw until she saw her target.

[arienv]

Frali:

The young dwarf did the best not to fall of his pony as he gave all to keep up with the elven horses, and just as he thought he was not able to hold on any longer Lord Auros decided to give their pursuers some steel to taste. That was more to his liking !

So when the Noldo dismounted gracefully, Frali did the same much less so , half falling to his knees but quickly he had drawn axe and shield in the same instance as he steadied himself. A dangeorous spark lightened up his eyes as he took position beside Lord Auros. As warrior he would not hide behind trees and scrubbery but show his companions that he was worth his bread and to be feared by orcs and spiders!

[ArPharazon]

Calaron:

He would not have expected the Avar to surrender so easily, but couldn't help uttering a small curse of annoyance as the Elf cut his way to a higher level within the canopy and disappeared right above him. Calaron swiftly struck in the direction Estarion had disappeared to with his sword, not seeing whether he would hit anything for the cover of the canopy. Unsurprisingly, he didn't.

Swiftly he jumped up to the higher level. The Avar was not in front of him, but instead Calaron's ears easily picked up the rustles behind him, stealthy though they were. His prey had turned back to confuse him. He gritted his teeth and focused. "He will not lose me easily", Calaron mumbled, while turning and following the traces Estarion had left. "Come back here, Avar!" he shouted. "I simply wish to exchange information, and we can all go unharmed!" His voice was stiffled by the canopy and the leaves rustled all around him in echo. But it gave him an idea. After all, he still had his expertise in sorcery, though now in a different body.

Slowly drawing the bow from behind him, he stood still on a branch for some seconds. An incantation left his mouth, and he exerted the dark powers he still possessed in this form. A shadow fell among the trees, though that could not easily be noticed from within the canopy. The orcs below, chasing the rumors above them and following the will of their master, wavered. A deep and total silence fell within the forest as the animals ceased their chittering and the leaves stopped rustling in the wind. While putting an arrow to his bow at a calm speed, Calaron listened and thought. He felt the presence of all living creatures in the neighbourhood. Birds. Squirrels. Spiders. Orcs. Wolves. And ahead of him, not too far away, the mind of an Elf, blocking his thoughts, accompanied by a faint rustling of the branches within a sea of silence and fear.

Maintaining the aura of shadow and silence around him with some effort, he focused his thoughts on the elf and withdrew them from elsewhere, releasing the spiders and orcs from their fear, who slowly and quietly began to move again. Deftly moving across the trees, masking his own sounds almost completely with his abilities, Calaron tracked the Avar through the canopy, sensing him almost as clear as he could see a bear in an open field, and released the arrow, aimed at the Elf's legs. The arrow would have struck true were it not for a branch blocking the way, not a foot behind the Elf. Estarion would be startled now, and Calaron prepared for a further chase, though the effort of keeping the shadow up would likely slow him down. While continuing to move after his prey, he notched another arrow.

[Shelob]

As Estarion rushed through the canopy, a strange and eerie silence settled around him, branches and leaves no longer yielding sound, except for the few that he had to move to push forward, making his whereabouts easy to guess.
Suddenly, he became aware of the muted sound of an arrow whistling, and no sooner than he became aware of this sound, a soft thunk, not even a foot behind him revealed the arrow would have shot true, if not for a tree's branch. It was not clear to Estarion that he had underestimated this Elf's abilities. Focusing now on the softened footsteps that followed him, which was easier now, even with the unnatural silence, since all other sounds had died, even the Orcs' harsh cries.
Estarion now knew that he needed to change his attitude in this battle, otherwise he would not live through it. The Orcs and spiders he meant to draw away would not be free to creep upon him without him noticing until they were but a few feet from him. Running was also no longer an option, this Elf would be able to track him, no matter how silent he was, and becoming even more silent would slow him down in such a manner that it would be easy to overtake him.

Suddenly a thought struck him, and he acted upon it in an instant. He cut his way to the lowest branches and dropped down onto them, making just enough sound to make seem he dropped out of the trees altogether, but instead retreating behind the treetrunk close to him with all the stealth and silence he could muster.

[Eonwë]

Auros:

Slowly, and almost warily, the first signs of the enemy appeared in the clearing: a handful of orcs eyeing the tops of the trees as they emerged. Auros raised his hand, signalling the others to hold their fire. Another orc emerged from the trees, larger than the others. An aura of determination and defiance exuded from Auros as he stood seemingly at ease in the center of the clearing, swordpoint resting lightly upon the ground. A fire burned in his eyes that unnerved the orcs who dared look into them. From his mouth came a voice, clear and commanding, such that none who heard it dared question the resolve and the intent therein.

"You trespass in the Greenwood, realm of Thranduil, King of the Woodland Elves. If you would not hold your lives forfeit, you will flee and harry no more those who travel under its boughs with his good graces."

He remained poised, but already his mind was calculating the odds as more orcs came into the clearing. His eyes passed over the entirety of the host. Where is the leader?

The confidence of the orcs grew as their numbers increased, and now that it seemed they were all there, a large orc spoke up. "We go where we please! We do as we please! Who are you to tell us where to go?!"

Unwavering, Auros replied, "So your master has not taught you manners. Return to him, lest I do the teaching in his stead!"

The large orc laughed. "Come! We will take you to our master! Screaming, we will take you to our master!"

Auros did not move, a statue of dignity and defiance, evidently unfazed by the orcs' words, if only for the greater fire in his eyes. "Come then! Your lives are forfeit! Let us see what they have purchased!" The orcs wavered for only a moment before the larger ones lashed them onwards. Auros gave one simple command in the Sindarin tongue: "Let fly."

[Varda]

Fainan:

Fainan's teeth bared in what might have been interpreted as a grin. "Let fly!" Auros had said. She completed drawing back her nocked bow, having picked her targets from the vantage of horseback while Auros spoke. He had manuevered them with his speech into wonderfully clear positions! The orcs moved slowly in this elf-hallowed ground, trying to look strong. Earlier, she had set up her previously folded leg quiver and had opened a bag of arrows into it, ready to go. Her normal back quiver also held a full load. She hoped she wouldn't run out of orcs and spiders before burying every arrowhead.

Her first aims were into the orcs that would be most likely to back up any orc nearest to attacking Auros. Second, she checked for spiders that might drop from above or leap from the side. With a laugh, she brought her knees into Hithceleb's sides and watched orcs scatter in dismay from hooves and teeth, and held her balance as she signalled a kick with back hooves, then a flying front and back kick to disorganize the grouping around the edges. As the bucking motion stopped, she sent more arrows into the confusion the mare had so gleefully spread.

Fainan looked around quickly to see if her companions needed aid, ready to speed arrows to their help before starting into the next knot of orcs invading her home.

[Indis]

Meren:

She had never been in a battle--a real battle, not a skirmish with the occasional orc or spider. Though she wasn't eager to fight, she was far from unprepared. As the orcs emerged from the woods into the clearing, she reached into a bag at her belt and pulled out a pouch crafted of leaves. She attached it to a small arrow, and nocked the missile.

Although she had no worries about the effects of her weapon on her fellow elves, she realized that Frali might be vulnerable. Turning to him she whispered, "Stay out of this fight at first. I know you don't like to do that, but you'll soon see why. After the cloud clears, you can go in and whack to your heart's content."

When there was a small crowd of foe in the clearing, she let loose at a mass of metal armor. The leaf pouch broke--as she had intended--and a cloud of fungus spores rose around the orcs. To Meren's satisfaction, the enemy's forces erupted into coughing and sneezing; their eyes were streaming. Some of the spiders were on their backs, legs curling in death. With the spores added to the chaos Hithceleb was creating, the orcs' attention was anywhere but on fighting the elves that awaited them.

Smiling at the success of her device, Meren took up more conventional arrows and chose her targets. After a grateful glance at Fainan for the archery training the latter had provided her, she raised her bow and nocked the first arrow.