Death Is A Lie

Lithariel

When morning comes, it arrives with a thick, bitter mist. I roll onto my side and sigh. I've been awake since the crack of dawn, unable to sleep any more.

"Talion?" I whisper, unable to see far with the fog. "Where are you?"

"I'm here." I hear him speak softly and lift the flap in the tent to try and see him.

"We should go. This fog will clear with the sun." As I climb out, I can feel him watching me closely.

"What do you want? Don't say nothing, I can feel you watching me." I scatter the ashes of the fire and pack up the tent when suddenly a hand appears on my shoulder. I glance at it and muffle a gasp. It is pale and yet dark. Then my vision clears and I see Talion in the mist. "What the-" his other hand covers my mouth and he shakes his head.

"Ghouls. Stay quiet." I hear him move away, then the furious shriek of a night crawler being disturbed in a feeding. Then a slash of silver and a howl of pain from one of them. Then Talion is beside me again, helping me to pack up. "We must hurry! The ghouls will be back, with more of them." Then there is a snarl of a caragor. This day couldn't get worse.

"I'll take care of the caragor, you take the ghouls." I say, drawing my sword.

"You can't! Only I can see in this mess!" I turn and glare fiercely at him, a look that has made more than one Uruk stumble and run.

"Try and stop me." Then I launch myself into the mist. Talion is right, I can't see in this fog. I can hear, however, and in the otherwise quiet mist there is a lot of sound. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Directly behind me, I hear ghouls shrieking and crying. To my sides silence looms. Faintly I hear Talion shout my name before I hear it. A rough breath in front of me, a shake of fur to my left, paw steps to my right. I realize the caragor is circling me.

I launch myself at the direction just ahead of where the next sound, a rustle, appears. My sword cuts into fur and muscle, and I hear a loud howl of pain. A paw full of sharp claws rakes my side, and a mouth full of sharp teeth on a head with glittering black eyes greets me. I've dealt with caragor before. Never tried to ride one though. Talk of the Gravewalker riding them flits through my mind. If he can do it, so can I. I leap up away from the jaws and hit the flank, holding on desperately. I manage to pull myself up just before the caragor slams against a rock. Gasping I get into position. The caragor bucks and leaps, and it's only my agility of a warrior that keeps me on its back.

"Hiyah!" I shout and tug on the fur behind its ears, where it is most sensitive. It stops and snarls, so I kick my foot into its wound. "Behave." I snarl. I keep it stationary until the shrieks of ghouls fade and Talion is suddenly on the back of the beast as well, in front of me. He reaches his arm down to the beast and tames it with lightning speed, burning his hand into its face. Then he takes the fur and guides it, running up and down hills, far far away from the ghoul nest. We finally stop, and catch our breath.

"Well that was fun." I say.