The Fairy of Middle Earth

Chapter 129: In the Company of Kin Slayers

That day had a strange feel to it. Elthian could not quite put his finger on it. The weather was not particularly bad. It was a partly cloudy day. Warmer than it had been in previous days. New spring grasses and flowers had begun to bloom in the open patches of the forest they traveled through.

There were new buds and small leaves adorning the trees and she sat upon the horn of his saddle enjoying the fresh warm breeze and sunlight when it fell upon her. He began to notice the fauna of the land coming closer to them. They drawn to her and curious to see her. Though they did their best to stay at a safe distance.

"I am going to scout ahead." Narl announced and rode ahead.

"I wish I could fly." She sighed.

"You can not Melamin. You know that." Elthian spoke softly.

Her response was another sigh. Minol rode up beside them and looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Little Flower," He said with a smile. "In a short time you will be able to fly so much you will tire of it."

"I will never tire of it." She said with a frown.

Soon Narl came back at full gallop. "Orc heading our way. Not my kind either."

Elthian scooped her up and looked her in the eye. "No matter what do not go big. You find a place to hide and stay there. They can not see you. We do not know what manner of spies are with them."

She gave him a nod and with a flutter of her wings she darted into the thickest part of the trees. He untied the cart horses lead from his saddle and dismounted. Their horses under the command of Loratha now. The meara would do his best to keep his herd safe.

Elthian joined Finnola, Narl and Minol. They found hiding places behind large boulders and trees. They listened to the approach of the orc. Their scent beginning to fill the air. Narl had them in sight and with hand signals he told them how many he saw. There was 12 of them he could see and they were spread out.

Surprise would be their advantage. They prepared to attack but then they could feel the quivering of the ground. All of their eyes went wide. Narl took another look and just by his reaction they knew there was something large with them.

Juniper was desperately looking for a hidey hole. It was the chipmunks that lead her to their den high in a evergreen. She closed her eyes and felt the earth through the trees deep roots. She could feel the quivering and hear the song of the forest changing.

Minol who was closest to Elthian sighed and whispered. "I will take on the beast. You just make sure to kill every one of those filthy orc." With that he was gone. It was as if he just vanished right before Elthian's eyes. He had no time to think about it now. The orc were very close.

They heard a roar then then yells of the orc. When they burst from their hiding places to attack and they were greeted by the sight of Minol doing battle with one of the huge foul creations of the dark lord. Quickly the orcs attention was on them and they were in the thick of the battle.

Minol's battle began to move away into the forest. The large beast breaking through the trees and taking large powerful swipes at Minol with its large claws. The beast was at least 15 feet tall perhaps more. It was so hideous Minol could not really make out what it was created from.

Minol never carried a weapon. Though he was often seen using one he could grab from near by. He generally could dispatch a foe with his bare hands but every blow he made did not seem to even make a mark on this beast. He went to the forest floor and lifted a large fallen branch from the litter of the forest and with a few words the branch turned into a lance.

Once more he took to the air and now the blows he made left large gashes on the beasts flesh. The closer they got to the horses the more spooked they became. Loratha kept them together and moved them away but the cart horses was so filled with terror when the beast fell and shook the ground that it darted off away from the group and disappeared into the trees.