Cursed

II

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Since Gandalf had visited me a few days ago, nothing new had changed. His accusation had meant my plans to travel were at a standstill. I had to admit, I was quite afraid. If it really was the One Ring, who would take it to Mordor? Who would destroy it? Though I travelled a lot, I had never stepped foot into Mordor, scared and wary of the darkness that shrouded the country. After all, they were the ones who destroyed my kingdom. Although I was not yet born, their actions had devastating consequences, especially for my people, and me.

I was beginning to think Gandalf would never message me ; never let me know of the mystery. I knew that whatever was happening, it would result in war. The last big war that occurred was back in TA 2941, when the dwarfs reclaimed their home in Erebor. I hadn't fought in that battle, since I didn't belong to any side. I was also living in Gondor at that time, and to be honest, hadn't heard that there was even a war going on, since no one knew I existed. Well, Gandalf did, but decided to alert me about the battle after it had ended. Such a good friend. I had heard the dwarves had moved back into their home, and 'the company', I had found out, had split, with the dwarves leaving to rebuild and rule their own kingdoms.

Thinking back on it, that must have been around the time the ring was found - 60 years ago, Gandalf told me. I still didn't know how that hobbit found it, but the events might have linked with each other.

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I was currently out, practicing with my bow and arrow. Tree Beard had told me not to shoot the trees within Fangorn, so instead, I had created small dummies, using broken branches and dried grass from the ground. They weren't perfect, but they did their job. The trees around where I had settled weren't Ents, instead they were just trees, though they did utter a groan once in a while. I considered myself a decent archer and swordsman, though I hoped I would never need to use these skills. I had began practicing more since Gandalf had visited, worried that he would need my assistance with fighting orcs and battling evil.

It was a misty day in the forest, a grey fog covered the bottom metre of ground, preventing me from seeing anything below my waist. Small beings, like dwarfs, would have trouble navigating the forest in this weather. I began lining up my shots, and soon began hitting my marks. I could definitely say that my archery skills had improved over the last few years. When I began travelling many, many years ago, I hadn't a clue on how to even wield a sword.

After a few hours of training, I decided to take a break, choosing to sit down at the base of one of the larger trees. I brought my leather flask with me, taking a swig from the bottle. It was refreshing to say the least.

After wiping away the small sweat beads from my forehead, I stood back up again, deciding to practice my sword skills. Though I was disrupted by a moth constantly flapping around my face. At first, I thought it was drawn to the sweat on my body, or perhaps the heat I gave off. But after a few seconds, the little guy perched on my shoulder and began humming. It was talking to me.

"Gandalf, Rivendell, 3 days, Ring."

I watched the moth fly off and I then hurriedly ran through the forest, weaving through the trees to get back to my settlement. When I arrived, I stuffed anything I could into a bag. I didn't know if this message was delivered late or not, knowing Gandalf, it probably wasn't. I managed to throw in bandages, a few potions I had mastered, and a few weapons - small daggers and extra arrows. I didn't forget to include some food. Since dry foods last longer, I packed them. My journey would, hopefully, only be 3 days, so I packed light ; lighter than usual.

I didn't have a horse, so travel would be slow, until I found one. I know that not all soldier that pass these lands survive the darkness of them, and that means their horses have no riders. I hoped there would be one around, for it would make avoiding danger a lot easier, and travel a lot quicker.

Before leaving, I had left a little note, scribbled and stuck to one of the trees. It was for Tree Beard. Although he didn't usually worry for me, I had to let him know that I would not be back for a while, maybe even never. He would have to do all the protecting of the forest now, which I'm sure he'd have no problem with. I pulled up my cloak and threw over the hood.

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With one last look back in the forest, I headed on my journey. I would be travelling north, just past Lórien, where the Lady of Light resided. I had heard of her before, since I used to live near to her in Lindon, many years ago. I knew of the power she had. No one ever entered her forest, and lived long enough to tell the tale. Thats what I heard anyway, though I found it quite hard to believe.

My journey, should hopefully, be easy. And luckier for me, I spotted a lonely horse roaming the grassy terrain ahead of me. It had no saddle, so I presumed it was let loose- probably from a Rohan rider. It was a beautiful h/c (horse colour) stallion. As a approached him, he galloped over slowly and lowered his neck so I could reach and stroke his neck. His nose nuzzled my neck and I could feel the cold air blowing my hair. He was beautiful, and now, he was mine. I decided to name him h/n (horse name). My journey would be a lot faster now.

I watched as h/n lowered down to his legs, enough that I could comfortably mount his back. I didn't have a spare saddle, so I had to use his mane to keep me steady. Fortunately, we had no problems, as of yet.

I had decided to head to Limlight, a small tributary that connected to Anduin, the Great River. From there, I would head north, following the river past Lórien and up to High Pass, an ancient path once occupied by orcs and goblins. I would go to Rivendell from there. I just hoped I would not meet any enemies on the way, let alone anyone for that matter.

I decided against using a different name. It wasn't really necessary, since no one had heard of me in years. Most probably presumed I was dead. Though, I would just stick to being a mortal, which I, biologically, already was. I hoped nobody would question what race I was. I'm sure Gandalf had already told Lord Elrond of my arrival. I had met him once, briefly. Though I never told him much about myself.

I wanted to believe I was the only one Gandalf had called for help, though I knew I would be very wrong.

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