Ambush (Lady Kaya)

[aranion]

There were few times Aranion would find himself without his horse. There were even fewer that he found himself not wearing his shining armour. The hills of Emyn Muil were a place that demanded all those that crossed it to travel light, for there was not going to be a return journey should someone travel with too much equipment. Many times did rocks from the hills collapse and bring death to those who were over weight, and Aranion had no intention of dying like that just yet. There was only one death that he would take gladly, the honourable one, in the midst of the battlefield lying next to his brothers of sword after cutting down countless enemies, the banner of Gondor flying high above his head.

He was dressed in a typical ranger of Gondor outfit as he ran across the labyrinth of the hills of Emyn Muil, a quiver with twenty arrows and his bow behind his back, a green cloak covering his black clothes with the silver sigil of Gondor in the chest as well as his belt and Oathkeeper, his sword. Black leather boots would occassionally hit a rock and make a tiny sound, even though Aranion was careful as he didn't want to alert whatever creatures roamed this path of his presence.

There was no group of Gondor knight behind him, none accompanying him on this quest for information. Several orcs had been spotted by Gondor's scouts passing the hills of Emyn Muil a few days past, and the mission had been issued to him and his men. Deciding that it would be best to take this mission by himself in order to not endanger the lives of his men as well as finding some way to clear his head, Aranion had made his way out of Minas Tirith with his faithful steed Illyara. Reaching a village close to Cair Andros, he had left the horse there and went on from there on foot. The road had been quite dangerous, not so much considering the fact that he had encountered no threat, but because the weather had been cold and rainy. The rain had made him slower and had forced him to reach Emyn Muil one day after the one he had originally planned.

Regardless, the tracks he followed from orcs had led him to the highest hill, where he stopped and crouched, as he witness a small orc camp. Taking out his bow and readying an arrow, he fired and hit an orc straight on the head. The confusion in the orc camp gave him enough time to fire another one to the head of another orc. Throwing his bow away and drawing Oathkeeper, Aranion killed two orcs with one blow before he cut off the leg of the last one which was trying to escape. Making his way to the body of the screaming Orc, he made eye contact with orc and spoke menacingly.

What are you doing here? Who is commanding you?

The orc laughed and pointed at the hills below where another band of twenty orcs was making its way towards them, before he drew his last breath. Rising to his feet, Aranion brought the Oathkeeper in front of his face. Perhaps this was going to be the honourable death he had always dreamt of. Jumping down in front of the orcs and cutting the head off of one almost instantly, he yelled.

For Gondor!

[Lady Kaya]

Earthen eyes squinted against the relentless rain, trying to find footing of where she had wandered to. In all honesty, Kaya wasn’t one for a keen sense of direction, despite her being an elf and a traveler of Middle-earth. Of course, it didn’t help that she really had no set destination in mind. Her target was the threatening evil of her world. Wherever they were, it was her sole purpose to find and destroy them. In either case, her travels through the Brown Lands suggested she was going south as she didn’t reach the Great River barrier to inform her otherwise. Unfortunately, that meant she could also be traveling east, but as the hills of Emyn Muil came into view, she knew her initial thoughts had been correct.

Reaching this landmark, she knew she wasn’t far from Gondor. Which meant she wasn’t far from a peaceful night’s sleep in a warm Inn somewhere. Being a lone traveler had its consequences. It meant you had to be on guard at all hours – even when you were supposed to be resting. Which left Kaya utterly exhausted. But still, she pushed on. With the sharp rocks of the hills, she had no time to be distracted by the aches and pains of her body.

She had traveled another day before a male voice could be heard echoing in the near distance. Her eyebrows furrowed in a bit of confusion before realizing that it could be an enemy. Staying hidden, she moved silently towards the source of the sound.

Upon her arrival, she caught the sight of a man who appeared to be in ranger’s clothing slicing the leg off of what she could only distinguish as an orc. It made a god awful noise before her attention was brought elsewhere by a battle cry like she’d only imagined in the legends. Her eyes followed his trail of sight to the hoard of orcs heading his way.

With eyes widened, she didn’t hesitate for a moment to grab her bow and draw an arrow. She remained hidden just until they were in view then she emerged, releasing the arrow and catching an orc straight between the eyes. This caused confusion as it seemed to be coming from another direction than their enemy. Thankfully, it worked like a charm and caused some of them to begin to charge towards her.

Focusing on keeping her breathing calm and even, she was able to shoot another three before they were too close for long-range weapons. Dropping her bow and quiver, she withdrew her sword and waited for their arrival. Six on one. It didn’t seem like the worst odds in the world. It kept a ray of hope shimmering through the elven warrior as she pierced the closest one’s heart near instantly. Eyes peered across the rainy battlefield for a moment at her ally, before slashing and wounding another.

[aranion]

Somehow whenever he found himself in a battle, the world seemed to go quiet around him. There was nothing that could draw his attention rather than his enemies, and even their battle cries fell on deaf ears. He had been trained never to lose hope, never to back down from a fight no matter who he was fighting against. Against all odds and enemies he would prevail, much like Gondor and the world of men had done all those years ago when they fought against the vast armies of Sauron in the slopes of Mount Doom. He wouldn't fail his men, nor would he fail his sister or the realm of Gondor. He would return to Minas Tirith alive, and no matter how many orcs would come, he would slay them all one by one.

As he killed the first orc, he noticed an arrow making its way towards the orcs and hit its target straight between the eyes. The shot had confused the orcs as much as it had drawn Aranion's attention. Was that a woman? Nine orcs broke away from the group and started closing in her direction, leaving another nine against him. Nine against one, he could live with those odds. Frankly, he had faced even worse ones, and he had prevailed. He didn't have the time to deal with the other nine orcs that were going after the mysterious woman with the bow, even though he knew in his heart that if they had any chance of survival, they would have to work together. He would need to dispatch these nine orcs that were going against him much faster now if he wanted to help her.

Come forth and meet your doom, creatures of the dark! he yelled, as the rain hit his shoulders and the ground. One of the orcs charged against him only to lose its balance and fall to the ground. Mindless orcs, they knew nothing of how to fight on a wet ground. Another two charged against him, this time more carefully, and their blades were met with his. Kicking the one on his left right between the legs, he was able to focus on the other one as it fell on the ground. Parrying the jab of the orc's blade, Aranion sliced the orc around the stomach, the black blood painting his blade. Cutting the head off of the other one as it tried to get up, Aranion started to charge against the others.

For Gondor!

An orc jumped up on him, but found itself flying on the air, as Aranion crouched and pushed it upwards. Slicing the leg of the orc closest to him, he pushed forward, his sword cutting through orcs as if it was a knife and they were made of butter. Another orc fell to his blade, as the orc that had been pushed off of him charged him from behind. Turning around viciously, another stomach was sliced open. The rest of the orcs that had gone against him started to retreat in panic, and only their leader remained.

Where are you going, you filthy little maggots? Get back here, you scum, or I'll have your guts for breakfast!

It didn't work. The orcs were retreating, and Aranion raised Oathkeeper high, as the leader turned towards him wielding a black morningstar. Be gone from these lands! This is Oathkeeper, the blade that has brought your ranks much heartache. Begone and tell your master this! The realm of Gondor is not to be easily underestimated, nor are the hearts of men!

The leader yelled and started to strike. Each time he stroke, his morningstar was met with the silver blade of Oathkeeper and in return the blade sliced any open part of orc flesh it found. The orc leader was much slower than him, not trained and angry. He soon fell to his blade, but not before he had delivered a strike to Aranion's back. From the pain he felt, he could tell that the old wound had opened again. He would have to hunt down the remaining orcs tomorrow.

Which reminded him of the woman. He turned around suddenly, hoping to see her there. He wouldn't dare imagine that she was dead because he hadn't been fast enough to protect her.