Unexpectedly turned into a cat, Kat falls into Middle-earth with the mission to prevent a death. In a feline form she can only communicate with the elf Legolas - and that he is such an attractive specimen is certainly not helpful...
A humorous (but...
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"The figure stopped to cough long and hard, making a noise like a wall being hit repeatedly with a bag of rocks."
― Terry Pratchett, Going Postal
42. Gollum
The heavy footfalls, jingle of chainmail and jeering voices came steadily closer, approaching from two directions – both from the spider's lair and the road Sam had taken – trapping Kat between them.
Feeling helpless and torn, her eyes darted between the tunnel and the path. What should she do? It would be horribly wrong to abandon Frodo to the enemy, sick and perhaps dying – but she had no way to protect or remove him. As always, she was too small and weak to be of any use.
The orcs would arrive at any moment now; she had to decide. Stay or hide? Fight or run for it?
Hide. She had to hide, there was nothing else she could do. Feeling like a dreadful coward, she hurried over to the cliff wall, pressing herself flat against it and trusting her camouflage color to help her remain unseen.
It was a close call. She had just positioned herself, when a large group of heavily armored guards emerged from the tunnel, equipped with torches and lanterns, while at the same time an equally intimidating unit came down the path. When the two bands caught sight of each other, their leaders began to speak.
Kat tried to understand their harsh speech, but either they mixed in words from another language, or they spoke a strange dialect. She could only make out something vague about a spy coming this way.
Some of the guards began to spread out, looking like they were searching for something – the spy? Kat went limp with fear, expecting them to discover her at any second. She knew orcs had a great sense of smell, and good night vision too. And what would they do to Frodo once they found him?
A sudden movement some hundred meters up the road caught her attention: a small figure had rounded a corner on silent feet. It was Sam! Thank God, he had come back! Relief flooded through her; surely Sam could handle this much better than her. He had that fancy bottle of starlight, and a sword he knew how to use. If the orcs caught her, he could maybe rescue her.
But how did he dare walk in the open like that? Had he not heard the orcs? And why didn't they react? Despite Sam's elven cloak, he was clearly visible in the bleak twilight.
Then it dawned on her. It was only she who saw him. He must have put on the Ring, making him invisible! And just like the last time she saw it worn, Kat apparently was immune to its effect.
Sam clutched the sword in its scabbard, and it looked like he was preparing to attack. Kat wanted to yell at him to wait; the orcs were at least a hundred, maybe more, and though Sam was invisible he was all alone. It would be better to just sneak over to where Frodo lay, and silently drag him away before they found him.
