The Return of Ringil[COMPLETED]

Chapter X

Celeblasdes's point of view.

Following the river, evil lurked in the trees following us almost faster than we could paddle, a little more than a day behind us, the very distant sound of thundering feet made me snap my head to the side looking with my elf eyes to see what it was, glaring at the running bodies of muscles, leather and black armor of the orcs "Aragorn, nad no ennas!" (Aragorn, something's out there!), Aragorn nodded while I kept my gaze locked, not wanting to worry and frighten the hobbits, he answered back in elvish.

"Man cenich?" (What do you see?) Legolas having heard and sensed the same thing looked at me and nodded for me to tell him, "Glamhoth ulunn!" (Orc Monster!) I hissed out. Frowning his eyes trailed the trees trying to see what Legolas and I could but couldn't. "Sutan?" (How long?). He asked, with his hand still on his ore Legolas gestured 'one' and I repeated it, "Mîn arad." (One day.) sighing softly we pushed on.

***

Stopping for the night, I pulled on a dark grey cloak to hide all the white and silver. It was a nice shade and all but at night I was a walking beacon. Sitting with the sleeping hobbits and Gimli. Legolas kept watch of the forest while Boromir and Aragorn stood by a large bolder peeking out at the water, from where I sat I could see the creature Gollum, he tried to hide behind a medium log, but I knew he was there, as did Aragorn, Legolas and subconsciously so did Frodo. I knew he was there since Moria.

It wasn't hard to tell that he was watching us, his sharp eyes were always on us and it had become a sixth sense to feel him there in the shadows watching. Aragorn and I had hoped we'd lose him on the waters but he was too clever a waterman. Picking up a small flat stone I skipped it across the water and scared him off he dove under the water and came up forty feet north-East. As north was to our left, and south to our right and west was at our backs. We needed to go south-east to get to Mordor. And evidently away from the pack of orcs hunting us.

***

Up as early as well rested could get. We were back out on the waters and paddling at a quick and hastened pace, trying to get ahead of the pack hunting us, or if we are lucky they will out run us and turn off somewhere and we will just continue on our way without having to engage the pack. Boromir looked very hostile the next morning, looking like he didn't get a wink of sleep. While the four hobbits and Gimli slept enough for the rest of us, even now Merry and Pippin were dozing off in Boromir's boat.

Sam; from what I saw, when he was getting into Legolas's boat this morning, tossed many worried looks towards Frodo, who seemed to ignore them as he sat in the front of mine and Aragorn's boat. Holding in a sigh of exhaustion, I focused on paddling, till Aragorn nudged me, "Celeb, Frodo, look. The Argonath." looking up, I smiled at the two kings of old, and their out stretched left hands. "Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old, my kin." Looking at him, he sat straighter, and held his head high.

Behind me no longer sat Strider the Ranger from the North but Aragorn son of Arathorn, Isildur's heir, the next King of Gondor. I couldn't help but smile with pride as he was beginning to accept his role, something nobody believed he would do, especially with his fear of becoming Isildur. But I always had faith, twisting in my seat, I set my hand on his shoulder and gave him a sweet kiss on the chin, grazing the corner of his lips, before turning back and paddling again. Pulling into the shores across from the forest going towards Emyn Muil and the dead marshes. We would camp there and then cross the lake at nightfall.

As Aragorn told the others I helped Legolas unload and then help Gimli out of his boat. The heavy dwarf was all numb from sitting in the boat for hours on end. Not that any of us complained except when nature called. "Hide the boats and then continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the North." he finished while setting his things down next to mine. Gimli whom now sat by Pippin, spoke up. "Oh, yes? just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil, an impassible, labyrinth of razor-sharp rocks and then after that, it gets better!" he exclaimed sarcastically.