The Last Othellan

Rohan

Aragorn pressed himself gently to the rock, his ear to the ground. "Their pace has quickened. They must have caught our scent" he announced. "Hurry!"

He sprung from the ground and sprinted away, me close on his tale. "Come on, Gimli!" Legolas encouraged from a short distance behind.

"Three days and nights pursuit. No food, no rest and no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell" Gimli grumbled exhaustedly from behind the three of us. This wasn't technically true – we had stopped for a few hours most nights, and most of us had rested somewhat.

My hair had long since come out of its plaits, and it streamed behind me as I ran like a long black ribbon. My breathing was less than composed, and I suspected I looked the worse for wear. My head, which was taking the extra exercise hard, constantly smarted. However, I was more motivated to run than even I had been three days ago. Drawing closer to Merry and Pippin filled me with an unquenchable determination.

Suddenly, I had a strange sensation in my head. I stumbled and put my hand to my temple. It was as if someone was attempting to reach me, inside my own mind. All at once, I understood who. All I could see for a small moment was black, the faint outline of something glinting threateningly on the ground below. Even through my leather boots, I could feel sharp rocks against my feet. The air smelt putrid.

With a massive effort, I pulled myself out of Saerwen's reach and kept on running, concentrating not on the uncomfortable feeling in my head, but on Merry and Pippin, who were somewhere in front.

Predictably, my struggle hadn't gone unnoticed. Legolas ran up beside me, his voice a whisper. "Are you alright?"

"It's her" I muttered back "I haven't had a nightmare since the river, but she is trying to reach me while awake. I can push her out, though"

Legolas nodded. "Tell me if it happens again"

"I will", I promised. We sped up, catching up with Aragorn while Gimli panted and puffed far behind.

Aragorn slowed to a walk suddenly, and took out some water, taking a giant swig. Following his lead, we all slowed down too and, as Gimli caught up, I saw Legolas' tired eyes up close. My brows contracted slightly in concern. He had insisted on watching for the last two nights, and hadn't slept for days.

I wondered over to him as we slowed to a walking pace. There would be no point running so far if we did not have strength at the end to fight, so we needed to slow. 

 "Perhaps I should take tonight's watch" I suggested. Legolas looked confused for a moment, but I continued. "You haven't slept for days Legolas. You're not moving anywhere tomorrow without a rest" 

"I'll be fine" Legolas smiled, but I raised my eyebrows. 

"I'm taking the watch". I could see he was about to argue, but at that moment Aragorn, already twenty paces ahead of us, had stopped. In front of him was a rocky outcrop, miles in either direction and six feet high at the least. 

We reached him, Gimli only a few steps behind for once, and I pressed my lips together. Legolas reached the height of the rock, and Aragorn was a few inches taller than it. Gimli and myself, however, were smaller. It stood a few inches higher than me, and a few feet higher than him. 

Aragorn thought for a second, then seemed to decide something. "Legolas and I will jump up first. Aúthiel, you can help us get Gimli up, then we will pull you up last". We all nodded in acceptance of this plan, Gimli muttering grumpily under his breath about long legs. 

Once Legolas and Aragorn were on top of the rock, Gimli turned to me, red cheeked. "Sure you don't want to go first, lass?" In answer, I grabbed him and hauled him within reach of the man and elf, who, with a stream of what I could only assume were dwarvish curses, managed to roll him onto the rock.