Shadow of Angmar

Chapter 21

Faervel has seen many bloody battles in his lifetime. He was there when the Silvan elves left Lindor, following their king to the forest of Greenwood. He was there when Oropher decided the wood elves should join the Last Alliance against Sauron and most importantly when his king was murdered in cold blood. He was on the front lines, alongside warriors such as Lord Elrond and Glorfindel, and he saw the Dark Lord up close when he walked out. He saw his first commanders and he did catch glimpse of the Shadow of Angmar. They even fought at some point in the battle but she had a thick helmet and the only part of her face he could see was her pair of eyes: full of anger, black as if she had risen from Hell, particularly for the war. She was fast, her stamina was incredible, and she could fight for days and wouldn't need to patch her wounds. Just as quickly as she came, she left. She disappeared for thousands of years and then she surfaced in Greenwood.

He stood in the middle of a clearing if it could still be called that. Thick webs were glued against every tree trunk and he had killed three spiders that came from nowhere toward him. He knew the deeper he went into the forest, the more dangerous it would get. He knew they were gathering in the southern and eastern side of the forest, towards the fortress. That place should have been destroyed after the war but since it was considered empty, they decided to let it as it is. Nobody dared enter, nobody except Mistril. She felt drawn to it which in Faervel's opinion meant one thing: the fortress was no longer empty. Darkness attracts darkness and no matter who or what lies inside Dol Guldur, he was sure Mistril will return.

The rustling of leaves drew his attention immediately but he did not touch his sword. Brown hair approached him from behind a bush, his attire slightly torn and his youthful face dirtied.

"Spiders are not the only creatures rising in number. Orcs from all over Middle earth are coming here."

Tudor had seen Mistril up close when she entered and left the fortress. Back then it did not feel as tense as it did now. Back then, Faervel did not have to decide by himself what actions to take against peril.

"It won't be easy to go inside. As soon as I step on that stone bridge, I can't move forward or backward. It's so..." Tudor shivered at the ominous feeling. It happened only once but it was enough to give him nightmares for life. "I met your son on the way and he didn't look right. We should leave before we get influenced by this Necromancer."

"Is it really a Necromancer behind this sorcery? A human magician cannot have so much power over orcs." Faervel muttered to himself.

Tudor sighed and grabbed a hand through his messy hair. He swore he felt some dirt in it from the time he got pushed on the ground by a spider.

"We've been doing this for three days already. I don't know what type of information we can gather. Orcs come in packs, it's impossible for us to capture one when we are so few. Our time is limited during the night and we still have to patrol during the day. We won't be able to keep this a secret from the king, Faervel. You should tell him."

"It's only been three days since we started surveying the grounds around the fortress and you are complaining?" Faervel used his commander tone, making Tudor bow his head in shame. "We need to do this. It is our duty to protect Mirkwood."

"It's Mirkwood now..." Tudor sighed at the change of name. "It really became a cursed place."

It was not unusual for warriors to break under immense stress but Faervel was worried. If Tudor, who had fought for days in the war felt so drained from just running around Dol Guldur, then what could he expect from his son or other younger wood elves?

Thranduil could sense something was wrong, or at least odd with his commander. He spent the last days in meetings with the rest of his ministers. Ever since Erebor fell under the power of the greedy Smaug, Lake City has become less of what it used to be. Their products were of common quality and they had to turn towards other parts such as the land of Rohan for the better. Of course, that did not mean they would terminate their businesses, not when the people of Lake City depended on the gold from the wood elves.