Brothers In Arms: A Middle Earth Story

Chapter 3: Trouble at Every Turn

Faramir and his rangers left early the next day. Their ambush of the Haradrim had been successful evidently, but I hadn't seen Faramir since; One of his men had told me that they had found something important during the ambush, but he would not say what. Further, some sort of commotion had taken place in the night, though what exactly had happened I did not know. Rumors were that some strange creature had been captured, a spy of Sauron sent to watch the hideout. The thought filled me with unease.

I agreed to stay for a day longer, but I knew that even that was a risky proposition. This forest would soon be swarming with the servants of the Enemy, making our journey to Cair Sirion exponentially more difficult.

I sent the men I had selected for the mission out into the forest to scout, in hopes that they would find an easier path north that would keep us concealed from the enemy. All of them had returned by evening, and their news wasn't reassuring.

"Haradrim have set up camps all along the road," Ohtar explained as he showed me on the map. "Fortunately, they're dumb as rocks and easy to sneak past. But if they keep multiplying as fast as they have over the past three days, we won't be able to pass at all."

"Going through the forest to the north is always an option, though," Thorondir interjected as he came to my side. "Aside from the stray orc patrol, the way is clear. It'll put us several hours behind schedule but it would be far safer than the alternative."

I glanced over at Uirion, who was silently sharpening his curved dagger in the corner. "What about you? Do you have any ideas?"

He looked up darkly and shook his head, but declined to say anything.

"I think Thorondir's approach is the best one," Eradan said, rising from his seat and moving to the opposite side of the table. "It might take us longer, perhaps, but we have horses. And our mission requires stealth, which the forest can provide us."

"Either way, we're behind enemy lines now," Thorondir replied. "Every inch of land east of the Anduin is being watched. Any option is dangerous."

I nodded in understanding, poring over the map in an attempt to find anything that we had possibly missed.

"Lots of killing will be involved either way," Ohtar said after a moment, shaking his head grimly. "I'd rather be killing orcs than men, even though they're evil men."

Uirion let out a derisive snort from the corner, but I attempted to ignore him. "Then your vote is to take the forest path?"

"This isn't a democracy," Thorondir said, leaning back against the grotto wall. "It's your call. But I agree with Ohtar. Shooting other men doesn't sit well with me if we can prevent it."

Eradan nodded. "It's your choice, brother."

I rested against the table, running through the different scenarios in my mind. Neither were ideal, but at this point the ideal choices had disappeared with the sun as it set this evening.

"We make for the forest road first thing in the morning," I asserted, sounding more confident than I felt. "Be ready to travel at first light."

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By the next morning, the wounded had recovered enough to travel, or at least to carry those who couldn't walk with them. Aerel sent them along a path to the south, one that wound around the Haradrim camps and led to the bridge that I had taken across the Anduin two days earlier. It wasn't entirely safe, but it would allow them to reach Minas Tirith with minimal enemy contact.

My team, on the other hand, was setting out on a far more perilous road. Uirion had scouted ahead and informed me that the orc patrols had become more active, possibly due to Faramir's departure the day before. We would have to proceed with extreme caution.