Anadryt had had no more choice but to leave. The order was clear and Éofor had started to gather the men. He had had less than ten minutes to find Rhianonn and tell her he was leaving Harwick to an encampment on the East Wall. He had ran from the stables to the barracks but she was not there. He had looked out of the window to see his Éored leaving through the south gate. Without thinking, he had taken the Captain's quill and had left her a quick message on her bed. Running, he had left the barracks and had made his way through the mudded streets to the stables, were his steed Barli had been waiting, nervous because of the thunders that came with each lightning. He had rode to the south gate and had joined his Company, not knowing that destiny awaited him in the south.
Rain drops started to fall. Two days had passed since Anadryt had left Harwick and arrived at Mansig's encampment, and the sky was still grey. That morning a hundred and twenty men would scout the west shore of Nen Hithoel and would ride towards Amon Hen, for the orders were to reinforce the outpost there. The scout that had departed the previous morning had never returned... but his horse had. The camp was silent, even with a hundred and twenty men getting ready to leave. The morale was low and the sense of danger high.
Anadryt was one of this men, but he was calm and in a rather good mood. The fact that Rhia had visited him last night was a decisive factor for this. He sharpened his sword like every morning and fed his horse, who neighed happily seeing him once again. He was going to join his friend at the fire when the horn sounded, announcing it was time to depart. One hundred and twenty men mounted their horses and left the camp under a misty rain.
The first hour of the journey was silent. Men were sleepy, wet and worried for what they might find. Most of them had never been in a real fight and only a few had actually killed an orc. The scout disappearance was the topic of those few who were talking. Most assumed he had been taken down by an orc arrow and that his horse had escape when his rider fell. A few less said that the scout had decided to escape when he saw the numbers of the orcs.
A few miles later the mood had slightly improved. It was noon and the drizzle was coming to an end. Some men at the back of the column were singing and a few laughs could be hear here and there. The Captain was now more relaxed having sent scouts surrounding the Éored movement, and receiving a clear signal from all directions. Anadryt was riding next to Braga, Lieutenant of the Company and now friend of him.
Three hundred meters ahead a vanguard scout saw something strange next to a tree. He rode with precaution seeing what appeared to be a large wooden board. When he got close he realized it were two large wooden rails with many steps in between... it was a stair. The moment he looked up was his last one, as an arrow pierced through his eye, ending his life immediately. A big figure lifted the body and threw it into the lake at the same time that the stair climbed up to the tree. The horse ran away, in the opposite direction of the Rohirrim...
"No, no, no, like this" Anadryt took from him the pipe and smoked, showing him and everyone around how a ring of smoke was made. Braga laughed entertained and the other men asked for the pipe to try for themselves. Grimald hold it and he inhaled. In that same moment the Captain noticed a small stain of fresh blood next to a tree. "TO ARMS!!!!!" But Grimald never exhaled. An arrow had pierced his lungs. Many arrows flew from the trees and many men fall, but the Riders instinctively raised their shields to protect themselves. The Captain ordered to ride forward, for they were in no position to fight orcs above the trees. But the orcs expected this and when the riders started to advance they jumped in the middle of the column separating them in two bodies, using the stairs to stop the horses from charging. Orcs started to fall from the trees on top of the riders crushing them under their foot and slicing the horses heads as they fall.
When the Officers noticed the orc maneuver to divide and the carnage that was taking place them they turned back with their vanguard body and charge, yelling the name of Éomer, their Marshall. This was the first cavalry charge of Anadryt and of many of the men there. He had fifteen seconds to think his move as he started to charge with a yell and raised his sword to encourage himself and others. He aimed the ugliest, biggest orc and let Barli ran him over while he slashed left and right.
But Barli had seen all he had to see and not matter how much he had been trained, this was his first combat and the smell of blood was too much for the steed. The horse turn around and ran, leaving Anadryt not choice but to jump off the horse to help his brothers in arms.
The moment he jumped he realized his mistake. He was already too far from his men to fight next to them, and too close to the battle to have escaped the orcs. Soon, four orcs surrounded him. Bodies were everywhere and made his stepping more dangerous. He didn't wait for them to make the first move. He rapidly stunned one of the orcs using a flare and pushed one back with his staff using all his strength and throwing him backwards. The other two attacked him at the same time, he evaded one atacck jumping backwards and parried the other, quickly moving his blade upwards and slicing his throat. The other orc jump upon him while he did this and stabbed him in the side with his short sword. Anadry's mail stopped the blade from penetrating deeper but the wound was made and blood started to come out. He tried to get the orc away from him but the orc insisted trying to stabbed him deeper. Anadryt managed to trip him up and buried his sword on his skull, at the same time that he felt a terrible pain on his leg, realizing that the third orc was back on his feet and that the spear he was holding in his grotesque hands had pierced his leg. Anadryt roared furiously and with a single movement chopped the orcs hands, leaving him screaming on the floor. He then kneel on the floor, unable to lift up, holding a hand against the wound on his side, knowing he would pass out in any moment.
The world started to get black and he saw the stunned orc moving towards him, with a disgusting smile on his rotten face. The orc lifted his axe, ready to finish the job... when a raven attacked him, aiming directly to his eyes with his beak and claws. Anadryt crawled under a tree and tried to scream for help. Instead he closed his eyes and saw a village festival, the lands of Enedwaith, the Prancing Pony, a large house at Bree, a baby, and two blue eyes staring at him...
