Travelers

Chapter 8 - The Enemy

She had touched them, and their talents had returned. Luckily, she hadn't touched Vince, so he hadn't regained the corruption that came with his powers. Elanor had arrived and given the letter to Jacob, then left. This puzzled Jacob, because it was almost as if she didn't want to have a face to face interaction with her father. This troubled Jacob, because he knew enough about Sam to know he had loved Elanor greatly and wouldn't do anything to hurt her intentionally. He was glad that he had his knowledge of how they had arrived and his recollection of the Lord of the Rings books. He had always loved them, and he had practically wanted to be Aragorn since he was seven. Now he was living side by side with his heroes and his role models.

Walking through the halls, he found the room where Defréndel was staying and said to him through the door, "May I come in, Friend? I seek council on a matter." The door opened, and the Elf's smiling face appeared.

"Oh! Come in friend, come in," he said to Jacob. Jacob entered and began speaking with him. He told him of the problems with Ryan and his suspicion of Vince. He admitted that what he had done probably wasn't right, and that he regretted it. Defréndel sat for almost two hours, simply discussing the possible effects of his actions, and counseling him in the matters of the heart. Jacob felt like every time he talked with his friend, he became wiser simply through his words. Soon, Jacob was tired from all the knowledge he felt he was soaking in, and he left the room, saying goodbye to the elf and walking down the miniature halls. He entered his own room, threw himself into his bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

He saw something in his dream. He was running across an open field, and he wasn't looking back. He knew he was being chased, but he couldn't tell what he was running from. He felt his legs burning, so he began to slow down. He glanced behind himself, and there he saw Ryan, blade held high, and a party of orcs right behind him. The sight of the party gave him a second wind, and he took off sprinting for the hill in front of him. As he rounded the crest, what he saw horrified him. He saw in front of him The Shire, peaceful and oblivious to the horde behind him. Then he took one more step and fell. And landed on his back, eyes open, staring at the ceiling of the small room in Sam's hobbit hole.

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Cat had been in the hall when Jacob burst out of his door, bow strung and quiver loaded. As he ran down the hall, she followed closely. She slung her weapons onto her back as they went through the front door, and Mal joined them outside. She saw Jacob turn after he exited the round, green door, and he climbed up the side of hill, ready for a fight. The two girls followed behind him, readying themselves. Vince had noticed the commotion but didn't run to help.

"What's wrong, Jacob?" Cat asked when they reached the top of the hill, but then she saw them. There was a group of orcs huddled around a campfire a long way back, and Ryan was sitting right in the middle of them. They all crouched low, barely looking over the hill, deciding what to do. They must be here for them, but they couldn't leave until they found Elanor again. Cat looked over the ridge another time, but this time she noticed something odd. She noticed a faint shade of blonde hair, moving slowly toward the group.

"We have to help her, she doesn't see what she's walking into." Jacob said right next to her. He had come to the same conclusion she had. The shape was Elanor, trying to either attack or sabotage the group of orcs. They all turned to each other and nodded. They slowly crept over the hill, readying their weapons once again. Jacob knocked an arrow when they were within earshot and then shouted to the orcs.

"Surrender! We are elite warriors, and we have you surrounded! Ryan, why didn't you stay away like I told you to?" He called to the party. The orcs simply looked up and laughed. At him.

"Surrounded! There's three of ya. Are you dim, ya pinkskin?" One of the orcs called out. Only a second later, the orc had three feathers protruding from the space between his eyes. Ryan yelled for them to charge as he stood, and the orcs found themselves being attacked from behind. Elanor had taken the opportunity to slay five of the horrid creatures, and now they were beginning to notice her. More arrows sprouted from the orcs as they moved to attack, and Mal and Cat got ready to defend Jacob as he fired away. For some reason, the orcs seemed to be falling three times faster than Jacob was firing, so Cat simply took one glance behind her.

There was Aragorn and Defréndel firing away as well, and Mendon charging to join the fray. Soon, the orcs were realizing that the only one they had a chance of even scratching was the girl within their camp, so they all turned one after another toward the camp. The three friends took the opportunity to push their attack and rescue Elanor. They mowed down orc after orc, but they no longer had any advantage when they reached the camp. They were now the ones surrounded, but they were with the one they needed.

Jacob turned and said to them, "You guys get out of here. Strider and I will handle this." They fought their way to the edge of the hoard as it seemed to grow, and then Cat threw her sword to Jacob as he slung his bow over his shoulder. All of them but Jacob and Aragorn moved back over the hill returning to the small home. They fought in perfect harmony, and they held back the orcs, both fighting to save the other, neither expecting to win, as they were slowly assaulted by orc after orc. They were fighting a losing battle.

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Mal helped Elanor into the hobbit hole, as she seemed to be limping. Elanor sat on the bed in the first bedroom, then shifted until she was laying down. Mal asked Defréndel if he might be able to help her. The elf nodded and entered the room and began talking to her. Mal walked through the house, taking charge as she did in most situations. Handing her spare sword to Cat, she went to Vince and asked if he could help her. He continued to not do anything, so she decided that she might have a plan. She called to Mendon and Cat tell them her plan.

Her plan would require them to play a role well, even though that was more Jacob's specialty, as Vince so helpfully pointed out. She figured first she and Mendon would go and reinforce their friends above them. Then their secret weapon would come out. So, they started out to help them, but from the bedroom they heard Elanor say something.

"Don't help them. They stand a greater success as only two of them. If you go out there in order to fight, at least one of you might die. If there is only those two, they stand a chance to survive. They might even win," She said in a faint voice. Defréndel glanced at them, seeming to say with his eyes that he agreed. There was only one option left. They would have to go straight to acting.

"Alright," Vince said, "I'll do it. It's our only option now." He went to get ready, then came back soon. They had their plan ready, but Vince wasn't sure he could pull it off. Mal hadn't even seen him act before, so she wasn't certain he was even capable of holding for a few minutes. He approached the door, opened it, and felt a hand brush his leg. He turned and saw that Elanor had stood and hobbled over to him and made contact. He had touched Elanor. He was going to have his talent back, and maybe his personality.

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He felt dizzy at first, but then a rush of rage and adrenaline hit him like a wave crashing against the shore. He stood up straight and looked behind him. He smiled to the others and they knew he was still himself. He took a step outside, then climbed over the hill. When he reached the top, he shouted across the plain toward the orcs.

"You would strike my allies!" he boomed, his voice reverberated and echoed, despite the fact that nothing around them would cause any form of echo. He walked slowly, staring down right at Ryan. Their stares seemed to be equally intense, and they almost seemed to light the air ablaze with the tension. Vince pushed orcs out of his way as he slowly approached Ryan. When he came within range, Ryan swung his knife at him, but Vince grabbed his arm and slammed his elbow into Ryan's face. Ryan stumbled backward from the sudden blow. Vince drew one of his daggers and pointed it straight at Ryan.

Laughing, Ryan blew a shrill whistle, then he taunted Vince, "Now meet my secret weapon!" Bursting from a nearby bush, a troll charged at Vince. It was an Olog-Hai, a race of trolls that are immune to sunlight, unlike regular cave trolls, which turn to stone when the sun strikes them. Vince drew his second dagger and slid between its legs. Jacob pulled his bow off his shoulders and fired two arrows, striking the troll's eyes. It stumbled, blinded, and swung wildly searching for its foe.

Vince ran towards its back and scaled it like it was a simple ramp. He drove his daggers into the troll's shoulders now, and he steered the troll toward the orcs as he swung, smashing orc after orc. Soon the camp was littered with corpses and Ryan stood alone. Finally, Vince drew one of his daggers out and plunged it into the back of the troll's head. It slowed down and finally stumbled and fell to its knees. It then toppled to the ground, shaking the earth like miniature earthquake. Vince rolled off of it and put his daggers to Ryan's throat, ready to kill. Then, he slowly lowered them, but then Ryan toppled forward into the dirt, unconscious. Jacob had struck him from behind with the pommel of his sword. The three of them walked away from the camp, leaving the orcs for the wild animals and Ryan to feel the bite of their mercy.