Chapter Thirty Five

As Legolas stared down at the trolls at the foot of his tree, his vision began to get hazy. He blinked several times and took a chance on shaking his head, hoping that would not make the situation any worse. Finally his vision cleared up and was sharp again.

It was p lain that all the things he had been through in the last few days were catching up with him. Now, it seemed, his exhaustion was stealing the last of his strength away.

The elf was not dizzy, but he feared that he was still in danger of passing out. If such a thing happened in any other forest, he was confident that whatever tree he was in would keep him from falling out of it. Here, among these unresponsive trees, that was not a sure thing or even a probable thing. If he fell, he would die, either from the fall itself or from the trolls, who would delight in tearing him apart. If given the choice, he would much prefer to be dead by the time the trolls got their hands on him.

Sitting down sideways on the branch, Legolas firmly wrapped his arms around the trunk for support. Closing his eyes, he took several deep breaths. His heart was pounding so hard that both his head and his injured shoulder were throbbing in unison with his pulse. He thanked the Valar that this infuriating failure of his body hadn’t happened before Aragorn had showed up.

No sooner did his friend come to mind, than the trolls began to hit the tree again. Two of them were slamming their shoulders into the trunk, once more causing vibrations to work their way up to where Legolas sat. It didn’t take long for the elf to realize that now was the time to move.

The stubborn creatures below were not going to give up no matter how long it tool. They were relentless, and Legolas’s heart sank when he realized that they would keep at it until they somehow managed to bring the tree down. He could not allow that to happen. Not only would the tree be destroyed, but he would lose any chance he might have of escaping.

With a strength of will born of millennia of elven stubbornness, Legolas knew he had to reach deep inside himself to do what he was planning. Standing up again, the elf looked around him at the nearby trees. There was no way he could jump to another one without the trolls seeing him, but he knew that if he kept moving, they would not be able to catch him as long as he was able to keep moving.

There was just one problem with his logic. The nearest tree was not close enough to make a very safe leap, in fact it would be a very dangerous one. An old adage came to him. Desperate times called for desperate measures. How many times had his training masters told the future warriors that. It was hardly the first time that phrase had come to him, but it had never been more appropriate than it was right now.

Disregarding the trolls’ yelling and tree slamming, Legolas moved as far to the end of the branch he was on as he could safely reach. He eyed the nearest tree. He had made leaps that far before, but he had always been in top shape when he had done it.

He remembered another thing he had been told while in training. Desperation lends a kind of strength that an individual might not ordinarily possess. It was that strength that the elf would have to tap into right now.

Making one last survey of the distance he was going to have to cover to successfully reach the safety of the other tree, Legolas moved back along the branch, turned and ran has fast as he could until he felt the next step would no longer support his weight. Leaving the outcome in the hands of the Valar, he leapt into the air toward the neighboring tree.

*~*~*~*

Nothing had changed for Aragorn. He was still riding through the forest as fast as he dared, knowing that the best he was able to do was stay the same distance ahead of the pursuing trolls. They may not have been getting any closer, which was a good thing, but their shouts were getting much more intense. Frustration at not being able to catch him was driving the creatures to a frenzy.

“Go after each other,” the man grumbled aloud. “Leave me alone.” He was in no short of supply of frustration either.

The trolls had not stopped or even slowed their pursuit in order to battle each other for the prize they were hoping he would be. Now, since they weren’t able to get their hands on him, maybe each group would take their aggravation out on the other group. So far it wasn’t happening.

Tack and Sump were still in the lead, trying to outrun the other. The rovers who had left Legolas and started after the human weren’t far behind.

Aragorn had it in mind to swing round in a circle so wide that the trolls wouldn’t figure out what he was doing. Then he could return to Legolas, and the two could leave troll country far behind.

The trolls were familiar with this forest, and Sump, who lived on this side of the river, soon realized what the man was doing. He hadn’t figured out the details, but he knew, after a while, that the one they chased was heading back toward the river. Not entirely stupid, Sump suddenly veered off to the right, planning on intercepting the rider as he passed by.

Tack stopped dead in his tracks, not sure if Sump’s actions were the result of something he had seen or if it was a trick to get rid of him and his group, so he could have the prey all to himself.

“What you stoppin’ for?” one of his group asked.

“Sump’s headed that way,” Tack pointed out. “Why’s he goin’ that way?”

The trolls in his group had all stopped and the ones who heard his question, just shrugged.

Tack narrowed his eyes. “He wouldn’t just quit. He must know somethin’.”

It was then that Tack made the decision that if Sump was headed in a new direction, he better head that way, too. As long as he kept Sump in his sights, the other troll leader couldn’t slip away and go after former captive without him. So Tack turned his group to the right, and they began running after the other trolls.

By this time, the rovers had almost caught up with them. They increased their pace, but the rovers were smaller and faster. They passed Tack and his group up, driving the larger trolls into a desperate drive to get back in the chase and overtake all of them, Sump included.

When Aragorn saw and heard the trolls coming at him from the right rather than from behind, he realized that they had figured out what he was up to and were trying to cut him off. They were also spreading out to try and surround him. They couldn’t get in front of him, but they could trap him against the river. It wasn’t taking them very long toward accomplishing that.

Quickly looking around him, the man saw a gap of about twenty feet where an opening lay before him. Aragorn wasted no time in making straight for it.

He shop through the gap, and then he checked behind him, the opening had closed, and the trolls were once again running after him. That was too close a call. He would have to be more observant. It was getting harder to do, since the sun had now gone down behind the trees. There was still plenty of light, but it wouldn’t last long. In this forest, gloom would descend soon. Giving the trolls the slip might be easier now, but finding Legolas would be harder.

*~*~*~*

Legolas felt the fear and exhilaration he always experienced whenever he made a leap that he wasn’t convinced he could make. It never mattered whether it was from tree to tree, rock to rock, ledge to ledge or some combination. He was by no means a daredevil, at least, he hadn’t been one for a very long time, but he couldn’t deny that the thrill was still there.

The stakes now, however, were higher than just the risk of missing the next branch and possibly falling. That would have resulted in humiliation and endless teasing from his friends. A failure this time would end in death.

Legolas had given the leap every ounce of strength he possessed. Once he left the tree he was jumping from, he no longer had any control over whether he would make it or not. His concentration now was to make sure he caught the branch he was aiming for.

The two trolls who were slamming into the tree, and the one close by watching them didn’t see the elf make his leap. The fourth one, however, was far enough away that he easily caught sight of the elf sailing overhead. He had never seen such a thing before, so at first, he just stood and stared, too surprised to alert his companions that their prize was on the move.

As he neared the tree, Legolas couldn’t be sure that the outer edge of the branch he planned to land on would hold him, so he concentrated on the one above his head. He would have to grab it and hold on, literally for dear life. He knew that as long as he didn’t lose his grip, the branch could bend, and he would still be safe until he gained his balance.

He had lost count of the number of times he was forced to ignore his injured shoulder in order to get a necessary task accomplished. Now was no exception, it seemed, so he reached out with both hands. As soon as he felt his hand hit the wood, his fingers closed around it. The branch did bend, but Legolas was able to get his feet firmly onto the lower branch.

Once he was sure his position was secure, the elf made his way to the trunk. He took only a moment to catch his breath, and then he made his way around to the other side to see how close the next tree was to this one.

The troll who had seen him jump, started yelling. “He’s jumped to another tree!”

The other three creatures stopped and looked at him. They saw how far the nearest tree was and scoffed at the idea that anyone would even attempt such a thing. “Nobody can jump that far.”

“I don’t care if he can or not, he did. I seen him do it.”

The troll didn’t wait to see if the others believed him or not. He knew the being they sought was gone, and there was no longer any reason to remain here. “Stay then. I’m goin’ after him, and when I catch him, he’ll be all mine.”

The others looked at each other. Then they looked up into the tree. It quickly became apparent that there was no one there. One of them shrugged and began to follow the troll now running after the fleeing prey. His two companions soon followed.

The next jump Legolas was forced to make was not as far. The one after that was even shorter. Before long the elf was moving through trees so close together, their branches were intermingled with each other. It was almost like traveling through the trees at home, ‘a highway of wood’ one of his masters called it.

Pushing pain and exhaustion out of his mind, Legolas began moving the same way he had last seen Aragorn heading. If the ranger hadn’t changed direction, he could catch up to his friend.

Legolas had no way of knowing that Aragorn was heading straight back toward him, having made a slight detour to get past the trolls’ attempt to surround him.

Legolas had outdistanced the trolls after him so far, since he could no longer hear them yelling. There were only four of them, but that was still four less than he and Aragorn might have to deal with, if things went ill.

The archer head a noise up ahead of him and stopped to listen, hoping to decide exactly what it was he was hearing and what it might mean for him.

“Estel,” the elf said, as he saw the ranger coming his way.

As luck would have it, the man was not only headed his way, but if he didn’t veer off, he would pass under him just three trees over. The elf wasted no time in making his way to that tree and working his way down to the lowest branch.

By the time he was in position, Aragorn was right under him. He had time to do only one thing. He jumped.

Aragorn had just looked behind him to confirm what his ears had already told him about the progress of the trolls. He was now setting his sight ahead, when he felt a jolt behind him. Even though he was startled, the ragner reacted swiftly. He raised his left arm, hoping to knock off whatever was attacking him.

Before he could do more that raise his arm half way up, he heard a voice in his ear. “Estel, it is me. Keep going.”

The man almost melted from shock, though it was that very shock that kept his body stiff enough to keep him from falling from his horse, not that the elf would have let that happen.

“Legolas? It it really you?” It was all he could think of to say.

“Aye, it is me.” The elf’s hand on his shoulder was as reassuring as his words had been an instant before.

Grinning, the ranger said, “You really know how to make an entrance, mellon nin.”

Listening to the horde of creaturels following them, Legolas couldn’t resist saying, “I see you have not lost your touch for attracting a crowd of unpleasant characters out for your blood.”

“A well-honed talent, I’m told,” the ranger replied dryly.

“I think we should turn off to the left. The four trolls who stayed to make a meal of me are up ahead. I would rather not meet up with them again.”

Aragorn eased his horse into a gentle angle rather than a sharp turn. He tuned his head and spoke over his shoulder. “They are all spread out behind us.” After a slight pause, he remarked, “You realize we’re headed back toward the river.”

Aragorn felt the slight movement of Legolas’s body against his back, as the archer nodded.

“Do you think we can make it to the riverbank and outrun them there?”

“I don’t think so,” Aragorn replied in a flat and decisive tone, leaving no question that he might have doubts about what he had just said.

“That is not what I wanted to hear,” the elf said, though it was exactly what he expected to hear.

He wasn’t surprised to hear trolls on both sides of them. Though they weren’t quite even with the two riders, it was easy to tell that going in either direction was going to result in a confrontation.

“Do you still have my knife?” Legolas asked.

“Thank the Valar. I do have that. Do you still have the other one?”

“Yes, so we won’t have to face them unarmed.” He wouldn’t have wanted to face them even if he’d had six arms and each had a weapon at the end of it.

Just then something very large hit them from the side and knocked Aragorn’s stallion completely off his feet, sending him and both his riders flying toward the ground.

TBC