There was no freshness in this morning. The air did not carry the sweetness of growing things, awakening again to the sun. No, it was just barren; barren and dry. A foul layer of dust covered the ground, the buildings, and everything, almost overnight, it seemed. But this was not even the light, and gentle dust the clouded courtyard in front of the Pony in Bree. It was not even that rich brown dust that could be found outside the Old Forest. This was black, and choking, and filled the air with an evil smell. And it flew from the feet of Leothross, his steed, and the faithful beast Throssian that trailed behind them as they picked their way through the village back to where the others already gathered.
All were packed, and anxious to keep moving that morning. Eruthaiwen and Acurith stood silently, both anxious. Eruthaiwen fidgeted with a locket. It seemed a pretty a thing to take on a journey like this, Leothross thought briefly. Then, Zargodon greeted him, “I hope you know the way.”
He nodded uncertainly, “I suppose. There is a lot of unknown from here out for me.”
“I would imagine so”
“These Hill-men speak of another encampment to the north that might not be hostile. I figured we could head for it.” He looked to Acurith for confirmation, as she seemed to have the most knowledge of the place, “What do you think?”
She nodded, “Aye. Fail-a-Khro. A seemingly friendly tribe. I don’t think we should have anything to worry about from them.”
Zargodon glanced over at Acurith, “You know this village then? The further into the North we travel from here, you know, the more danger we will encounter. The orcs have scouts all along the roads here, and if they see a group such as this, they would want to investigate.”
Acurith arched an eyebrow, “These Hill-men are far more skilled in battle than you’d think. I doubt orcs could be too much of a threat to them, unless in great numbers.”
Leothross took comfort in that fact, “Good. Though of course we will still have to be careful.” Eruthaiwen nodded, “And let us hope the road is clear.”
Zargodon asked, with a touch of sarcasm, “And you do not think here in Angmar there is great numbers?”
Acurith sighed, “Elf, orcs are highly overestimated. They fall easily to a brave band of warriors.”
“You speak so bravely, Acurith; yet have you faced them in their true might? They are foul mindless beasts, but that is precisely the danger we must take caution against.”
“Sure, they are brave when facing defenseless folk, bu they think twice about attacking skilled warriors. Besides, most of them are gathered up in Carn Dum and Urugarth. Those left to guard the roads are the weakest, those who proved unworthy to even serve in the army.”
“And? You think there would not be enough to overwhelm the village that does so obnoxiously find themselves in their lands?”
Acurith began to get angry, and her voice rose, “Elf, do not speak of things you have no knowledge of. I have spent years hunting in these lands. The orcs outside the greatest fortresses are nothing but maggots to squash under my boots. Do not question my judgment in this!”
Zargodon, inhaled slowly and regarded her carefully for a moment. Finally he seems to resign the point, “You clearly know this place better than the rest of us. I am sorry. Your knowledge is well founded and appreciated. All that I am afraid of is us running, blinded by our surety, into something that we, nor even you, did not expect.”
Leothross watched the whole conversation with only slight interest in the words. Rather he studied the face of this woman who seemed to know so much about this land. She was a gift from the Valar to this expedition, to be sure. “Acurith, you do clearly know this place better than the rest of us. And, I am not feeling up to it today. Could you guide us to Fail-a-Khro?” His voice betrayed the weariness that he would only partially admit.
She agreed, and the company set out once more. Leothross did not even spare the little village a parting glance. Too much lay ahead to be looking back now.
“Well, here we are. Fail-a-Khro,” Acurith announced, as she looked cautiously around. If Aughaire was a village, Fail-a-Khro was little more than campsite. A few hill-men could be seen busied with their work. The only respite it really brought to the company was that no longer did wargs seem to peer threateningly from the dead skeletons of trees which covered the landscape. What must have this land been like before its poisoning by the Iron Crown?
“Well, where to from here?” Acurith prompted. It had not been much of journey, taking an hour or two perhaps to cover the distance from Aughaire.
Leothross looked around with a bit of disappointment, “Hmm, it hardly seems a village.”
“Indeed. It is more of a watch camp than a settlement. It guards the entrance to Malenhad.”
Zargodon turned his old and weathered steed to face them. It neighed and pawed the earth uneasily, despite his efforts to calm it. “How far have you been into these lands, Acurith?”
“Would you believe me if I told you I infiltrated the very garrisons of Carn Dum?” She smirked.
Eruthaiwen looked shocked, “You could get that far?”
“Haven’t I told you that disguise is a gift from the gods?”
Leothross shook his head in disbelief, “Disguised? Still, is that even possible? To hide from a wraith?”
“I killed a patrolling officer and took his armor. Foolish ox shouldn’t have travelled alone. There are hidden entrances to Carn Dum, not just the main gate. And the Black Speech helped me quite a lot in keeping appearances.”
Zargodon remarked, seeming to cover his thoughts with a careless tone, “A lady of many talents, it seems. Especially finding ourselves here in Angmar, it is truly a boon to have you with us.”
Leothross continued to shakes his head, but the look of disbelief replaced with awe, “It seems we did not have much need to use this as a scouting mission. You already know it well enough. Is there any encampments we should spy on, to see if anything has changed?”
“Yes. There is another camp, hidden in Malenhad.”
“Malenhad? I saw the name on my map I think. What is that place?”
“A volcanic marshland filled with craters and hot water. Oh, and of course… the dreadful Watching Stones.” The last words were spoken with less certainty than was typical of her.
“The watching stones? I don’t think I have heard of them.”
“I think I read something about them,” Eruthaiwen offered, “statues of terrible creatures that induce fear in whomever approaches them, sapping one’s spirit even to the point of death.”
Acurith confirmed it, “They are the great warding statues imbued with fell spirits of Morgoth. Those who do not possess a particularly strong spirit or whose loyalty does not lay with the Dark Lord cannot pass them.”
Leothross shuddered, “Ah, right. I think I remember Eruthaiwen mentioning them back in Bree, now. That does not seem like something we need to see.”
Meanwhile, Mariym, who had lost interest in the conversation, had wandered around the village and studied the view from a little hill that shielded the camp. Leothross had followed her with eyes, a bit anxiously. “What do you see, Mariym?” He finally called out.
“Oh! It seems mostly clear to me.”
It did not take them long to reach the outskirts of Malenhad. The sight of the volcanic waste brought the party to gradual stop. Each gazed out on the pools of bubbling hot springs, and steaming volcanic vents.
Acurith announced as they reached the place, “This is Malenhad.”
Zargodon, who had nonchalantly loosed an arrow to kill a wandering bog-lurker, glanced back to her, “Malenhad… What does it mean?”
“You tell me, Elf. This place was named thus by your kind. The refuge is a little further, in the northwest corner.”
Eruthaiwen replied, “The names means ‘yellow heap’, which would describe this place well.”
Meanwhile, Leothross began wandering out into the waste, making his way slowly toward a group of structures in the distance. The others began to follow him, and he pointed it out, “There. What is that?”
Eruthaiwen peered toward them, “They appear to be dwellings of some sort… and are filled with goblins.”
Acurith hummed with anticipation, “Yes, goblins. Easy kill.”
“Do you think it is wise to investigate?” Zargodon questioned.
Mariym attempted to lead her horse quicker, though the steed was much less eager. “Yes! Let’s investigate!”
“I could use some exercise,” Acurith grinned, and Leothross relented, “Well, if it’s an easy kill, then, why not?”
Zargodon returned, “I think it foolish to go running into the maw of the beast if we could rather avoid it.”
“Yes, yes it is foolish. But if there isn’t any real danger.”
Eruthaiwen turned to look at Leothross, “Do you think it influential to your past? If not, I agree with Seargildin.”
He could only answer with a shrug.
Zargodon sighed and notched an arrow on his bowstring, “It does pose you some question and if it might help for what you seek, then let us go.”
The others followed his lead in readying their weapons. Leothross slung his staff from his back – it had not been much use on the horseback rides to here, and drew a sword that hung at his side. As he did so, he couldn’t help but wish that he knew how to use it better. It felt heavy and awkward compared to his staff. It was much too late for such thoughts, however. Soon they were upon the structures. Zargodon and Mariym handled them well, loosing many arrows among the goblins. The few that survived to reach the group were mostly cut down by Acurith. Leothross hung back a little, only stepping forward to throw his staff into the fight when there was a spare goblin to be swinging at. Even Throssian took a swing at them.
A few minutes of this and the group had effectively cleared the structures they had studied from a distance. Still, Leothross could not seem to keep his eyes off them. They somehow seemed different to him. “Do these not seem odd to you?” He asked no one in particular.
Zargodon studied him, and the buildings curiously for a moment. “Acurith, these are Angmarim structures, are they not?”
She shook her head, “Nope, goblin made. Only a few Angmarim influences. What is so odd about them? It is typical goblin architecture so to speak.”
“Yeah, no…” Leothross murmured, “Yes, I guess it is. Sorry.”
Suddenly a group of goblins surprised them. One tossed a container of flaming tar that came dangerously close to the party, another swung his club wildly into the company. They reacted quickly. Zargodon began effectively loosing arrows, targeting any that had ranged weapons, especially anything flaming. Acurith slashed through many with her sword, and even Leothross cut several down. Again, they managed to slaughter the goblins.
Eruthaiwen took a glancing blow to the chest, and took a moment to get up. “Is everyone indeed alright?”
Acurith smirked, “sneaky buggers are they not?”
Leothross looked around at the company, worried about the blow to Eruthaiwen. “Are you ok? We should move out, before too many more surprise us.”
“Shall we go to the camp I mentioned, then?” Acurith asked.
“Yes, we should. Mariym? Are you alright? We need to go.”
Mariym was fine, and even energized by the skirmish. But they could waste no more time. Already, it seemed they had stayed too long.
They hurried along until they came to the encampment that Acurith had mentioned. Leothross did not even glance around this time. He dismounted, and with a shaking hand dropped the reins. He immediately looked for Mariym. “You are ok? That was stupid, what was I thinking…”
Mariym however showed no sign of anxiety, instead she asked with some surprise, “Am I ok? I’m better now that I was before I killed goblins!” She grinned. Leothross sighed and closed his eyes, it was a relief. “Oh? Ok. But, did you see what happened to Eruthaiwen? It doesn’t seem serious, but it could have been. And then what. … and what if it had been you…” His voice faded out after he mentioned Eruthaiwen, simply because Mariym was no longer listening. Instead, she had immediately turned to look for the injury. “What happened?”
Eruthaiwen had been inconspicuously examining and treating the blow, but it seemed to be just a bruise. “Hm? Oh, nothing serious,” she reassured Mariym, “I was surprised. A goblin came at us from the side. Thankfully, I was not its main target and only received a blow in passing. You however, were fighting them up close, are you well and whole?” Mariym was pleasantly surprised to see that it was nothing serious, and answered with a shrug, “Yep! I am fine.”
Finally, they could rest. The party camped up on a rise that led up the side of the mountain. The perspective on the valley below them gave a feeling of security. Leothross sat near the ledge and watched, while the others were preparing their beds. Everyone seemed exhausted, well, everyone perhaps Mariym, that is. Leothross almost smiled at the thought. The girl seemed to have boundless energy. The pleasant thoughts flowed quickly away, replaced by those of what tomorrow would bring.
Where were they going? Earlier today – had it really been today? – He had told Acurith that he had no desire to see the Watching Stones. Yet their path seemed to be drawing them inexorably to them. Here they were, camping nearly within the sight of them. And apparently within the sound of them.
He thought of what Acurith had said about them. “The vast amount of time I spent in these lands has left a mark on me. The Watching Stones seem to be aware of our presence here, for I can hear their fell voices in my mind.” Suddenly things had become clearer – not that he wanted them to, not in this way. But the constant pressure in his mind, the questioning. Could this explain – he pushed these thoughts from his head by force, and began to scan the landscape vigilantly. Such thinking only made it all worse.
The night grew blacker and blacker, until he could barely make out the valley below him. He glanced to the sky, half expecting to see the expanse of stars stretched out as he would if he were home. Instead, he saw only darkness. Except for one thing. A faint red glow crept over the cruel mountain tops to the north, and glowered beneath the canopy of darkness. Not for the last time did he ask himself ruefully, What did I get us all into?
