Rhovanion, Withered Heath,
south-east border to the Kingdom of Dale,
Mid-Summer T.A. 3015
Down from the hillock saw the commander, Faïs-bar-Lamshadai, on the encampment that had been built up in a small forested basin.
Two-thousand men had gathered within tents, all of them troops from Rhûn or hired soldiers from the east, in which they had strongly paid attention that not a single warrior had come from beyond their borders in order to not diminish the morale of the soldiers. They had marched through Dale, crossing the borders to the north of the Erebor and turned then south to not risk any untimely discovery by the Elves, whom they aimed to assault from the north, supporting the orcish army that was stationed in Dol Guldur.
Faïs-bar-Lamshadai had as Tei-Sal, as supreme commander, already won more than just one battle in the name of his Lord Sauron against the men of Dale, and his great advantage lay in his deliberateness that he showed even in confused situation. With almost fifty years was the grey-haired man with the dark-brown skin and the thin mustache, certainly not counting anymore to the youngest, but his experience in combat was worth enough for the potentate of Rhûn to send him. And experience was very much needed for the army that set out against Mirkwood.
The commander knew that he submitted to an daring adventure. His information said clearly that he had to move through Dale over the quickest way and could not expect any aid upon the road.
That meant conversely that the army had to carry the supplies they needed with them, which had let grown their size and had slowed them too much for his taste.
Faïs-bar-Lamshadai hoped that the Elves had only few scouts and that the soldiers could built their invasion at least a bit on the moment of surprise, when they entered the realm of the knife-ears.
His task was it to claim the scattered and ruined fortifications along the northern border of the great forest to enable more soldiers to safely arrive at the battlefield.
What awaited the army however once they had crossed into the Elven-realm, no one knew. The commander raised his hand as protection from the sun on his forehead and looked up. Far, far to the slopes of the Lonely Mountain, a few miles away from the encampment drew four mighty birds their circles. Such huge beasts he had never seen before, but he was his first time so far west and so he did not wonder too much about the unusual. Sounds from the camp led his attention towards the tents. Quickly he mounted his horse and rode back, where he was being awaited by a flustered soldier.
»Tei-Sal, the Knife-ears have found us!« The man pointed along the path that led out of the valley towards the north. »There they are waiting for us.«
Lamshadai pushed his heels into the flanks of his horse and rushed over the narrow way, to where he could see several soldiers and officers. Hard he brought the steed to stand and jumped down on the ground.
»Report«, he called and made his way to the front. »How many are they? Do we have to expect an attack?«
Instantly the warriors made space for him and gave the look free on a single Elf, who sat comfortably in about two-hundred steps distance, the legs crossed beneath him. Next to him lay a large bow and a quiver with arrows, his body was covered in an many-jointed armor that appeared to be made of metal, wood and leather parts. Behind his back rose the hilts of two swords into the air. White-golden hair fell down his shoulders.
»That is all?« The commander relaxed slightly. »A single Elf. He does not look very threatening to me.«
»He appeared out of nowhere and sits there since the passing of a few moments, Tei-Sal. The guard saw him and has raised the alarm«, said one of the officers. »But he did nothing so far that would come as harm to us.«
»Light weapons, light armor«, summarized Lamshadai by the impression he had won. »He looks like a scout. With that our advantage of surprise is most likely gone, if he reports to his company.«
»Shall we take him as prisoner, Tei-Sal?«, asked the same officer. »Maybe we can bring into our knowledge what the Elves plan.«
The man shook his head. »We will wait. If he got such a calm, why should we not also? Double the guard, support the scouts on the hills. No one except this Elf will be let into the valley. And no one is let out. Observe him, but do not attack him.« Lamshadai turned to his horse and mounted it. »I am in the camp should something happen. If the Elf sits there still within half of an hour, catch him. I want him alive.«
The Elf with the white-golden hair had gathered a bit of brushwood and lit with the help of a flint stone a small flame.
»He got some nerves. He is going to roast something«, said one of the guards and scratched himself below the helmet. »Would I be facing so many foes, I would not even dare think on food.«
A strange rattling as if from sails in a strong wind could suddenly be heard. Four large shadows darted over the tips of the trees and the Tei-Sal raised his head. Perplexed his jaw came off.
That, what he had held first for birds, were bizarre constructs, not unlikely to the outlines of an eagle, under which figures hung in a sort of leather holder. And as he saw the color of their hair, he knew that it were Elves.
Determined they shot with their constructs out of leather, wood and vellum, like great sea-birds over the treetops towards the encampment.
»Give alarm!«, Lamshadai shouted, but he heard already the first surprised calls from the direction of the gathering point.
A fine spray was filling the air suddenly that spread even to the location of the Tei-Sal. The intense smell of petroleum, mixed with another biting odor.
The officer understood the plan of the enemy. »Shoot the Elf!«, he called. But none of his men carried ranged weapons with them.
Cursing the commander turned his horse, took a spear from a completely perplexed soldier and galloped towards the sitting figure. The Elf had gotten up by now and calmly laid an arrow on the tendon of his large, swung bow.
»Tei-Sal, come back!«, shouted one of the officers after him. »He will shoot you once you come into the reach of his weapon!«
Shortly held the elvish warrior the tip of the projectile into the fire to set it aflame, then he drew back the tendon and aimed seemingly at random into the sky.
Lamshadai pushed his heels like a madman into the flanks of his horse and lashed the beast to greater speed. With a bit of luck he could kill the Elf, before he would set his arrow free.
The distance became smaller and smaller and in the very last moment did his foe dive, with an elegant movement beneath the deadly tip of the lance away. While the Tei-Sal still tried to quickly turn his mount around, the elvish projectile had began its journey already, small sparks following it.
Lamshadai's horse lost its balance on the soft ground of the forest and fell. Hard did the commander of the rhûnic troops hit the ground and remained coughing on the soil. As he looked for the archer, the Elf was already gone and nowhere to be seen.
Arduous he got up, his left ribs were hurting. Like through a muffling veil he heard the screams of his men in the encampment, thick, dark clouds of steam darkened the sun. Then the first guards were at him.
»They have set our supplies aflame«, reported one of the men. »Almost our entire viands are burning. If we are lucky, we can at least rescue the tents, Tei-Sal.«
With a groan Lamshadai made his way to his horse and climbed carefully into the saddle to ride back. On such superiority of his enemies he had not been prepared. Not of these flying constructs and not of the enormous range of their bows.
At the camp ruled great chaos. Scared horses were running about and hindered the desperate attempts to douse the fire. At some spots the forest had caught fire, solitary tents smoldered already and the numerous supply wagons were burning brightly.
»They came like eagles, Tei-Sal!«, called an agitated officer from afar. »They flew over us and threw pouches with a stinking liquid on our carts. We could not do anything, they were too quick.«
Enraged did Lamshadai throw the useless spear away. »Save, what can be saved«, he ordered. »Secure the animals, then we will retreat to the east.«
Carefully he looked up, if these sailers would not return to throw their bags now on his soldiers.
But nothing like this happened. Obviously these Elves had only been interested to destroy their supplies.
»What a fine start«, he muttered. With that he had to delay the assault until they had gotten new supplies and tents.
For a moment saw the Tei-Sal a sea of flames in which all of his two-thousand men would have perished, would the Elves had been aiming for the tents. But the knife-ears had granted mercy to the Easterlings. Was that in the end supposed to be a warning?
His mind advised him to abort this campaign. With those strange flying constructs the enemy would most likely be able to begin an attack on every location, to which his soldiers would stand helplessly against.
But his loyalty to Rhûn demanded to enter the risk and to lead under circumstances all of his men into certain death.
With mixed feelings and a conflict within him as he seldom had experienced, he ordered the temporarily retreat to wait further to the east for the replenishments Rhûn would send. He suspected this not to have been the last surprise that these white-golden haired Elves had at the ready for the Easterlings on their way to Mirkwood. And Lamshadai found their ingenuity already utmost terrifying.
