The Littlest Warrior

Two weeks later…

The sleepy settlement of South Gundabad was just quieting for the night. The small village that consisted of five families was situated north of the Gladden Fields and just east of the Misty Mountains. Five women began preparing their evening meals as an assortment of mischievous children played outside their doors. Five husbands ended their day in the fields, and turned their teams of horses and oxen towards their various barns and paddocks. Numerous smaller farm animals were herded into their enclosures for the night by the older children, as the little ones chased the chickens around the barnyard, and in the trees one set of gold-flecked eyes sat watching.

As the night drew on, the music of a fiddle could be heard coming from one of the homes, while the sweet scent of apple pie wafted on the air from a second. The wailing of an exceptionally spoiled baby was heard coming from the third, while the agitated voice of a farmer with too much drink could be heard from another. Lastly, the sounds of children laughing as they entertained themselves in front of the hearth with a game of tiddly-winks was heard from the fifth shanty, and in the trees a pair of acutely tuned ears listened.

As the moon climbed higher into the night sky five families began to turn in for the evening. Five mothers bid their children goodnight and five fathers extinguished the lamps and settled themselves under well-worn blankets, and under the cover of darkness, evil left the trees and drew closer to its prey.
~~~

The journey from Lórien had been grueling; it was necessary to keep Andras heavily sedated and it was slow going for they did not wish to do anything that would jostle the young elf too much. The company of elves was quiet, each lost in his own thoughts; they hoped the trip would be uneventful; the last thing they needed with Andras in such a delicate condition was to have to defend themselves against an enemy. Haldir rode point, and as always was ever vigilant; his brothers Orophin and Rúmil flanked the riders as Ingorn drove the cart that carried Andras. Elwaith sat in the cart beside the lad tending him as best he could, while Timagol and Malrin brought up the rear. Seven strong and determined elves; determined to get Andras safely to Imladris and deliver him into the capable hands of Lord Elrond, and they would allow nothing and no one to get in their way. The oath they swore was still fresh in their minds as the early morning light revealed the sleepy settlement to their keen eyesight.

Haldir raised his fist in the air, silently bringing the party to a halt. Motioning the others to gather round the cart he informed them of what he saw before them.

“There is a small settlement ahead, we are running low on water; it is my thought that we might be able to replenish our supplies here…provided that the humans are willing.”

Elwaith spoke up agreeing with Haldir’s assessment saying, “We must secure more water, it is still a long way to the Anduin tributary, and we have used a lot of water keeping Andras’ arm hydrated. We also need more water for his medicines…”

“And for the horses,” Ingorn added, “the animals cannot go much longer without drink.” “We will have to obtain as much as we can before we head into the mountains, water there will truly be scarce.”

Again Haldir spoke. “It is decided then…we will first scout the village, see if we can determine whether the settlers are friendly to our kind or if we should keep moving . Orophin, Rúmil and I will see what we can find, the rest of you stay here out of sight. If there is any trouble stay hidden; we will lead them away from you.”

Malrin made to speak but Haldir cut him off, “I know what you would say gwador, do not worry for our safety, we can take care of ourselves. There cannot be that many of them to begin with for there are only five huts. If we encounter any trouble we will lead them away from the rest of you, if necessary we will eliminate them…hopefully it will not come to that, with luck we will retrieve the water and be on our way without incident. In any event we will retrieve the water, we have no other option.”

With hand signals practiced over hundreds of years of service in the Golden Wood, he soundlessly sent his brothers on foot to the left and right circling the village, as he dismounted and stealthily approached through the field that sat directly in front of them.

As the three elves approached the huts they could see no movement. Haldir noted that although it was well past sunrise there was no smoke coming from any of the chimneys, smoke that would indicate that a family might be up breaking their fast and preparing for the day. He also noticed that the animals, particularly the cows, were still in their enclosure; they had not been turned out into the fields to graze, and more importantly the animals were ‘lowing’, indicating the need to be milked. As Rúmil circled the furthest building he could see that the goats and hogs were still confined, and separated from their feeding troughs. He knew that no farmer worth his salt would leave his animals in this state, not if he was able to prevent it, and it immediately put him on alert… something was wrong here, very wrong.

Orophin too could sense something amiss. He unslung his bow preparing to defend himself as he inched closer to the nearest building. Easing up to the side of the house he listened carefully, trying to hear any noises, conversation or activity from inside; he heard none. Daring closer observation, Orophin took a quick peek into a window at the back of the house; a window that gave a view of a bedroom, and what he saw shocked and terrified him.

There lying on the bed were bodies that looked to be that of two children, but it was hard to tell what they were, as the bodies were so emaciated it was difficult to determine if they were even real. Sprawled on the floor near the door lay another, from the clothing it must have been a woman, shriveled and wrinkled, skin blackened as though dipped in dye, hair bone white, the face shrunken and withered beyond recognition.

Orophin pulled back from the window in shock, adrenaline coursing through his veins, his heart racing; quickly he looked around, eyes searching the nearby tall grass for any signs of the enemy. Hearing a sound to his right he quickly turned bringing his bow to bear, only to look into the frightened eyes of his brother Rúmil.

“Orophin! Come quickly, bodies…there are bodies everywhere, come…hurry!”

Following his brother to the front of the house they found Haldir exiting the shanty next door. The Galadhel slowly backed out of the door, eyes glued on the sight he still could not believe. So shocked was he that he didn’t even turn as he spoke. In a voice just above a whisper he gave his orders.

“Take the water skins to the well and fill them…do not tarry. Get as much water as you can as quickly as you can – turn the animals out as you go…we must be away from this place, there is evil here the like of which I have not seen since the dawning of Mordor. Hurry! Go!”

His brothers turned and ran with all haste towards the well, as they ran Haldir re-entered the house. Finding an apron hanging across the back of a chair he grabbed it and wrapped it around a piece of tinder from the wood box. Using the makeshift torch, he stirred the dying embers in the fireplace until they began to kindle, igniting the apron. Grabbing an oil lamp he doused the room with oil and set it afire. Moving then to the other houses he set them ablaze one by one and quickly ran from the clearing. Finally reaching their friends they waved off the astonished looks as Haldir ordered them to move out.

“There will be time for answers later; let us make haste, I do not wish to be found here by anyone who sees the smoke.”

As they began to ride away Rúmil turned to his brother and asked, “Haldir? How many were there?”

“Seventeen…I counted ten and seven before I could look no more.”

“Haldir? They were all like Andras were they not?”

“Yes Rúmil, they were.” Looking back over his shoulder at the now fully engulfed village Haldir continued, “That is what he would have become had Malrin not reached him when he did.” He turned then, facing forward and reined his horse towards the mountains.

“Do not look back Rúmil; do not let the evil sit in your eyes or in your heart. Prepare yourself brother; we are at war, and the enemy is not taking prisoners.”