The Thieves of Tharbad by AliceNWonder000137  

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Pursuit Through the Snow

The tables have turned on the forces of Angmar and they are fleeing towards the northern border of Arthedain with the magical tomes, the men of Arthedain and Cardolan in hot pursuit.

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Outside the Library – 6:45 am

"We got to her just in time," commented Kaile, looking down at the unconscious Silmarien. The beautiful mage lay resting peacefully on a tarp as Kaile rubbed a pungent herb over her throat and nose. Valandil nodded, sitting beside her. He felt for the battered mage as this was not the first time she had endangered herself on his behalf. "Do the best that you can for her, Kaile. She saved me back when I was fighting that dwarf." He scratched his chin which had a couple days of black stubble on it.

The healer looked over to the tired soldier. "Valandil, I know now that you didn't mean to harm Firiel. I apologize for overreacting before. I'm truly sorry."

The knight smiled at her despite the situation. "Make no mention of it. We were all under a lot of stress. It's in the past now," he said, patting her on the shoulder.

Mercatur ran up to Valandil, grabbing him by the arm. "What are you waiting for, those rats are getting away! This is personal now." His face was full of excitement, a toothy smile between his thick, bushy beard.

The knight rose quickly and started to jog after the mercenary, who as already walking off at a swift pace. They had killed nearly all of the beast's orcs and most of the trolls. The enemy fled when Baranor and the rest showed up, an elf witch throwing up a wall of ice and then helping the limping dog beast get away.  About only ten orcs and a couple of trolls remained with that dog creature and the big Uruk, nearly all of them wounded.  The party held the advantage now.

Still kneeling at the mage's side, Kaile called out, "Come back safely," and then turned her attention back to the injured.

Just up ahead, Amrith the ranger knelt in the snow examining a number of tracks that headed east. Looking up at Baranor, he commented, "Two hours old at most."

The Captain of the Royal Guard nodded and then motioned the group in the direction of the tracks. Two royal guardsmen and the three healthy ohtari rhyn remained behind to protect Kaile and the wounded.

"Take the wagon and escape back to Fornost," Baranor commanded.  “We’ll rejoin you there.”  The knights helped to load wounded in the wagon and rehitched the horses.

Valandil looked back at the wagon and got a sense of déjà vu. "Hey, Mercatur, this look familiar to you?"

The mercenary chuckled. "Yup. Another damn wagon full of wounded, headed back to some city. Hey, but at least we're on the attack now, huh?"

"Yeah, and that new axe of yours was pretty deadly."

"That it was!" Mercatur said with a big nod.

With this, the captain led the remnants of the force to pursue the fleeing enemy.

Northeast of Annúminas – 7:30am

Strulug led the remains of his battered force eastward toward the rendezvous point. Less than 10 orcs remained in total. Two trolls guarded the rear of the column while Ulduin limped along in the middle, supported by Ulgarin. Ulduin was spent; his arcane power depleted and his body burnt by Silmarien's spell. Ulgarin's timely arrival had allowed him to escape. Her spell caused a flurry of snow to burst upward, screening their retreat. Now, they had to flee with the remaining tomes in their possession to meet up with reinforcements.

Ulgarin detested the dog beast, but he was a favorite of the Angȗlion, and she wouldn't leave him to the hated Dúnedain. At least she had a sense of loyalty. "Where are the reinforcements?" she asked, straining to carry Ulduin. "We were supposed to get twenty of the feared Black Rangers for escort. We may need to rely on the incoming storm if they don't show up."

Ulduin's breath came in deep wheezes, steam shooting from his snout. "We have to stay ahead of them,” he said, straining to speak.  “They'll rip us to pieces and take the tomes!  I'm in no shape to fight."

For two long days, they eluded the pursuit through the snow. Still, the enemy could not be seen. However, Amrith's skillful tracking had closed the gap. Ulduin staggered and tripped over a fallen branch. "I can't…I have to rest."

Ulgarin set him down to lean up against a tree. She was glad for the rest too.  Her body ached after two days of running.  She slumped down against the tree as well and then pointed to Strulug. "Have someone on watch. Those Dúnedain are not too far behind us. But they'll need rest too."

Strulug nodded and then barked orders to the orcs. She peeled off her torn veil. "This thing just gets in the way." She looked over to Ulduin. "You know, I should have just left you like you would have left me. You're a real…ehhhh. Sevig thȗ úan."

"What?"

"I said, you smell like a…oh nevermind.”

He chuckled painfully, more of a beastlike gurgle than a laugh. "Yeah…I uhhh. Yeah. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"It better not. We get until we catch our breath and then we get moving again. And fine, I'll make no mention of this…unless you do it again." She sighed heavily. "And you're heavy too. You better cut down on orcs to eat."

He chuckled again. "Ow. Dammit. I broke half my ribs back there. At least I got that pushuruk mage."

The elf wiped her face with a dirty rag. "Well, don't make this a habit." She held her hand out, palm up, to catch falling snowflakes. "Can you believe that I grew up near the beach? Sun, surf, wandering the palace, watching the sun rise over the Eastern Ocean. My mother was the Lady of the Prith-an-Iryst, the Tower of Rainbows, a cousin to Queen Dardarien of Helkanen."

"So, what happened? Why are you sitting, talking to a dog beast demon in the snow? You seem to have fallen pretty far," he said, poking at her.

"Well…she betrayed the queen on behalf of Komȗl, then the heir of Womaw. She was crushed to death in the gwaen-en-wiroithe, where they smash you, one stone at a time."

"Sounds pretty painful. I like it."

Ulgarin snorted with a faint grin. "So, of course, I pledged for the queen, who became Tanȗl's consort when Helkanen and Womaw allied. He was Komȗl's father. Long story, short, Dardarien was already in league with our master, the Necromancer. She seduced Komȗl and enticed him with immortality and a Ring of Power, and he became Khamȗl, the Easterling. I was told to subvert the Womaw and I founded the Belaen-an-Voryl, The Sunsdeath. Then, I was given to Khamȗl as a student and the next two thousand years is history."

"Well, we both have colorful backgrounds.  I’ll tell you mine some time.  All right. I'm able to walk again." He stood with a heavy grunt and winced, holding his side.

Strulug walked back to them through the snow. "Orcs are weary. They want to turn and fight. We will defeat the bright men."

Ulduin snarled, baring his fangs. "Like we did the last time? Strulug, get them in line now or I just may feast on one of them." He limped a few steps and Ulgarin moved to support him, but he waved her off. "No, I can walk."

"The Dúnedain are closing and it's only a matter of time before they will catch us,” Ulgarin explained.  “Even their mages are formidable. We have no hope against them."

He grunted sourly. "Don't you think I know that? Do you have something in mind that will actually help?"

The elf nodded slowly. "With such a small force, we would not survive, and the designs of the Witch-King will be defeated. This cannot happen. We need to turn to the southeast. There is an ally that I need to call upon." She looked up into the gray, overcast sky, which gave no clue as to direction in this wintery landscape. She held up her hand and zephyr of a wind blew around her. She pointed in a direction. "It's this way."

The Seer's Observatory – 3:39pm

An observatory upon a hill came into view through the swirling snowflakes and the sinking sun. It was a slender tower of translucent, white stone capped with a sectioned dome of steel. Its graceful lines were bewitching under the soft rays of the sun.  An unfinished dirt path led to the hill and up to the tower.

The elfin maid, Ulgarin, pointed to the orcs. "Follow us at a distance. I don't want you scaring our contact.  He’s…rather twitchy.  The ranger following us is a sorcerer, that one. We have not been able to lose him." The orcs waited behind some snow-covered hedges as she and Ulduin hauled the books, marched up to the tower and rapped on the door.

"Seer, open the door! We have come with the tomes for the Master," she called into the whipping winds.

The door opened, revealing a man and woman dressed in thick, dark robes, trimmed in silver and red. They were both in late middle age with graying hair. They ushered Ulgarin and Ulduin inside along with the tomes.

"Your servants must wait outside," the man instructed Ulgarin with an indignant air, "Ar Elon so commands it."

With a sour grunt, Ulgarin entered through the door and gestured to the orcs to wait. They followed into a curved hallway that led to a spiral staircase of marble that ran upwards from the granite floor.

"This way," beckoned the woman, leading Ulgarin and Ulduin down a hall to the right. They passed through a circular room with a dome. Mosaics covered the floor in an intricate pattern of local flora. The dome portrayed the stars shining through the pastel colors of dusk. The man opened another door and entered into a sitting room.

"Ar Elon, the visitors are here," the man said in a monotone voice.

"Good, show them in." A distinguished-looking man in scarlet robes motioned them into the room. He wore a jeweled circlet of gold and mithril that was crafted in an elaborate geometric shape. Without even looking at them, he waved Ulgarin in. "You have brought me the tomes no doubt," he stated haughtily to the two servants of the Witch King.

Ulgarin bristled, doing her best to control her irritation. Though he was her contact within Arthedain, his arrogance was nearly unbearable. "Let me remind you that we all work for the same master. I take no orders from you, seer."

The tainted seer sneered in return. "And let me remind you that it is very cold outside and you have a long way to journey home. I suggest you become more…cooperative."

Although weakened, Ulduin snarled, baring his fangs. "The Lord of Angmar would hear of this."

"Then you must tell him upon your return. Until then, you two look horrible," Al Elon said, his voice and demeanor changing suddenly to become charming and sympathetic. "Let me get you some refreshments and we can get down to business."

Ulgarin knew that the Dúnadan seer was a master at verbal manipulation, rarely coming out on the losing side of a conversation. For all of her long years and expertise at political maneuvering, she knew to be wary of this snake. She brushed her wavy brown hair back behind her ear and smiled back at him in return. For as much as she wanted to teach him a lesson in humility, she could not harm so valuable of a resource and the man was a formidable mage in his own right. For now, false courtesy would work just fine.

Outside in the snow

The ranger Amrith rubbed his broken nose painfully. It had been reset, but it still hurt and both his eyes were now black. "Do you see that observatory? They went in there. The tracks don't lie."

"Do we know what that observatory is?" questioned Baranor, mist surrounding his face.

Haedorial looked cautiously at the structure. "Good sir, I would hazard a guess to say it was a Royal Observatory," he said, "It certainly fits the record books that I have read."

"Why would they have gone into there? Is it abandoned?" asked Valandil, rubbing his hands for warmth. This development was certainly disturbing. What could an observatory possibly have other than warmth.

"Well, it doesn't matter… We have to get those tomes. Let's make a cautious approach to the door," said Baranor. Slowly, in a crouch, he began to move forward, motioning to the others to follow. As they moved ahead, Baranor scanned the snowy ground, Amrith at his side with bow drawn.

As they neared the structure, a sense of foreboding grew within the group. At the base of the tower, Haedorial's eyes grew as recognition filled them.

"This is a Dúnadan tower," he announced quietly.

Baranor narrowed his eyes. "…a traitor to the Kingdoms…and a powerful one at that."

Aerin Eldanar bared her teeth in anger. "My grandfather, Elenuil Eldanar lost our ancestral home because of treachery. This strikes home for me. If someone is a traitor here, there may be some violence."

Valandil chuckled at her sarcasm. "I bet there will be."

Amrith pointed down at some tracks. "We have the advantage of numbers for once. There are less than ten orcs, that one, big Uruk, the dog beast and the woman. That makes me nervous. I'm used to being outnumbered. Don't let your guard down.