Daughter of Arnor - Servant of Fate

Chapter Six: The Doom of Duincar

"Train well, Little Sparrow, and avenge us all!" - Gruinith

2nd August/Urui T.A 3004 Duincar

They came to a halt and Gruinith put Anberenien down on the ground. They were in a secluded part of the village between the outbuildings and the fence. In the ground was a wooden trapdoor. Gruinith opened it and together they jumped down into the darkness. Inside was a wood-lined cellar containing sacks and barrels. Anberenien went to remove the cloth from her face, but Gruinith stopped her. "keep it there for now. At least till you are safe. Now take my dagger and I will be back soon. But if I do not return, those sacks hide a tunnel out of the village, you understand?"

Anberenien trembled as she took the dagger. "Don't leave me, grandmother, please!" she whimpered.

But Gruinith was firm. "I'm going to get your mother! But if I do not return, you must go through the tunnel. Do you understand? No tears now!" Anberenien nodded and Gruinith pulled herself up and out of the cellar, then unsheathed her other blade. "I will not be long. Keep that dagger at the ready, as I taught you." She slammed the trapdoor behind her, leaving Anberenien in the murky darkness. Above her, the screams now intermingled with rasping and cackling that she assumed belonged to the Orcs. She then heard what sounded like a large building collapsing.

Waiting for her grandmother to return felt like an eternity. But soon Anberenien could hear footsteps quickly approaching. She stood in the darkness, staring at the trapdoor, the dagger at the ready. If the Orcs came for her, she would be ready to take as many as she could, even though her tiny hands were shaking.

The trapdoor opened to reveal Gruinith and Rodon, who jumped down into the cellar. "Get her out of here and I will find you later!" Then slammed the trapdoor again. They heard her frantically covering it with dirt or anything else she could lay her hands on.

Rodon calmly set to work, moving sacks and barrels. A gust of cold air shot around the cellar as he revealed a small dirt tunnel. He held out his hand to Anberenien. "Come, my Lady, this way."

Anberenien shook her head. "We should wait for Mamma. Grandmother said she would bring her."

"There is no time for that, my Lady, there are orcs everywhere. We must leave now, or else they will discover us."

He grabbed hold of Anberenien's hand and pulled her into the tunnel. It was dark, damp and smelled of earth. Rodon replaced the sacks he had moved, and hastily they crawled along the tunnel in complete darkness. Above them, the screams faded. Soon Anberenien noticed a faint stench in the air. In front, she could see a faint outline of bushes in the moonlight.

Rodon now spoke in a whisper. "We are at the entrance of the tunnel, my Lady. It opens out into the midden ditch but the wood is full of Orcs. Best we wait here till sunrise. They will be gone by then." Then they heard the voices of a man and a woman above them.

"They don't sound like they are from Duincar. Their voices are strange," said Rodon.

"I recognise the woman's voice. It sounds like the lady in the market," replied Anberenien. And she explained to Rodon what had happened the previous day. They hid in the darkness of the tunnel, peering through the bushes. In the moonlight, they could see two people standing at the top of the midden ditch looking out towards the village. They were wearing black cloaks and the light of a fire reflected on their faces as they spoke.

"Should we not go in and retrieve the girl ourselves, High Priestess?" said the man.

"No, this must look like a random Orc attack and there must be no witnesses. All must think, The Gift has died with the others. Our enemy must not know of our advantage. It will make the Great Master's victory even more satisfying," replied the woman.