Chapter Seven

The terrain that surrounded the ruins of the black tower resembled green waves that had been frozen into solid ground.  There were no trees other than scrubby ones scattered about like solitary sentinels.  There were no rocks larger than pebbles, and there were no caves.  This land did not offer any real shelter for the fleeing companions. 

“Do you see the horses?” Aragorn asked, as they ran.  He was having to concentrate on where he put the foot on his aching leg.  One wrong step could mean disaster.

Legolas’s keen eyes searched through the gathering gloom. “No.  They may have wandered to the far side of the tower.”

Ignoring what he perceived as pessimism,  Aragorn asked, “Is that thing following us?”  He could have looked, but he was afraid that if he turned his head around to do so, it might twist his body just enough to cause him to lose his balance and fall, a prospect that the ranger did not wish to dwell on but still had to keep in mind.

The elf, with no such fear of falling, effortlessly turned his head to glance behind him.  “It is,” was his succinct reply.

“Why did I think it might find freedom from those horrid tunnels so tempting that it would head off somewhere else to explore?”

“Wishful thinking, I would assume,” Legolas stated dryly.  “It destroyed a good portion of its home to get at us, so I doubt it will give up any time soon.  I had the distinct impression that it liked those tunnels and would prefer them to the open air.  Unfortunately, it seems to find us even more irresistible.”

The ranger looked at his companion, running lightly beside him.  “Your tremendous capacity for crushing my  hopes never ceases to amaze me,” he said just as dryly.

“I am merely being practical,” the elf declared somewhat indignantly.  “Valar knows one of us has to be.”  The archer made that last mock-scathing remark before turning his head toward his left shoulder and letting out a long, shrill whistle.  In mere seconds, he heard the faint whinny of two horses.  He had barely heard the sound, so he thought it would surely be too far away for Aragorn to hear.  Thus, he asked, “Did you hear that?”

“No.  Did they answer your call?”

“Indeed they did,” the archer replied cheerfully, a small smile brightening his face.

Aragorn grinned, as his face also brightened.  Salvation, it seemed, was near at hand.  His relief, however, was short-lived.

“I was right, I am afraid.  They are on the other side of the snake and if they try to come straight toward us, that beast will either catch them or frighten them away.”

“There you go again.”  The remark sounded humorous, but the idea that the horses, who could take them far from the oncoming serpent, might never reach them made his blood chill, and he suddenly shivered.

Altering their path would be a futile attempt to avoid the snake.  The creature would simply turn to follow them, no matter which way they went.  That would hold true for the horses, as well, if they came close to the creature.

After a moment’s thought, Legolas gave another shrill whistle, this one lasting a second longer and with a slightly higher pitch to it. 

“The signal to follow,” Aragorn commented.  “Good idea.  I was going to suggest that.”

He received a small laugh from his friend as a reply.  The ranger frowned, not understanding why Legolas would laugh.  He had no idea that the elf was again thinking of how much their thoughts ran in such similar directions.  Of course, the elf was also thinking that the man may just be trying to make himself appear as clever as his friend.  He was good at that, too.

As the two tried to put more distance between them and their pursuer by concentrating on their speed, the exact opposite happened.  Aragorn began to slow down.  It was gradual at first, but soon, it became apparent that the man’s leg was bothering him much more than he was willing to admit.  His mind was no longer able to overcome the discomfort and lack of strength.  After a few more minutes, it all but gave out completely.

“I can’t put any more pressure on it.  Leave me here and go after the horses,” he urged his companion. 

Legolas looked at the man as if he had grown another head.  “Not with that snake heading this way,” he said, as he pulled up to offer assistance to his friend. 

“Maybe it will follow you,” the ranger commented with a grin.  When Legolas glared at him, he added, “Well, you can outrun it until you reach the horses, and then you can come back and get me.”

“And, if the snake decides to continue to come after you instead?  Snakes, like most predators, have a way of knowing when their prey is impaired in some way.”

“You have a point,” Aragorn had to admit.

“Besides, even if it did follow me, that snake can turn and cut me off, no matter how fast I run.”

Aragorn sighed.  “I was just hoping.”

A quick glance told the pair that the snake was closing on them.  Its bulk kept it from moving as fast as  normal snakes would in comparison to their size, but it was by no means slow and plodding.  It was a mesmerizing creature to watch, as  the huge body undulated across the ground.  The silver glow of the rising moon made the creature’s scales glisten and sparkle.  However, the immediacy of the danger heading their way soon broke that spell. 

Not bothering to ask permission and certainly not willing to stand and argue, Legolas wrapped his right arm around his friend’s waist and began to pull Aragorn along,  his body making an effective crutch for the ranger.  His elven strength was enough to half carry Aragorn over the ground at a relatively swift pace.

Knowing full well the severity of the situation, Aragorn did not object to the elf’s maneuver.  He tried to use his good led to help their progress, and it didn’t take long for the two to find a rhythm together.  If only they could keep pace with the on-coming serpent, they would have a chance to reach the shelter of a small woodland that appeared ahead when they topped a small rise.  Legolas was heading straight for it.

The elf had no illusions that the bulky snake could plough through the little forest, but there was no other refuge for miles and no other place they could reach before the giant serpent caught them.

The wood-elf would have to apologize to the trees he knew would meet their end when the snake arrived in their midst.  Having dealt with the Shadow’s destruction in his own woodland home, Legolas knew the trees would not only forgive him but would aid him  in any way they could.

It seemed to take hours to reach the small forest.  Fear had stretched out both time and space, making the woodland appear to retreat as the two companions moved forward, eventually they were able to cross the threshold at the edge of the woods.

A few small shafts of moonlight were barely able to filter thought he thick leaves, so that only little patches reached the ground.  Thus, there was near darkness inside the forest.

Legolas moved among the trees until he felt that he and Aragorn were deep enough to be able to stop for a moment’s rest.  He let go of Aragorn to let the ranger lean against one of the trees.  He himself placed a palm against a nearby tree and lowered his head.

The wood-elf felt the tree shiver and heard the fear coming from the rest of the woodland.  They were well aware of the danger that approached, and they knew that some of them would not survive the encounter, just as Legolas had known would happen. 
 
Beyond the fear, though, the tress acknowledged the elf’s need for protection, and the tree he was touching assured him that the danger would be held at bay as long as possible.  

“Hannon le,” Legolas whispered to them.  Their fear of what was about to happen nearly broke his heart.  At the same time, their willingness to sacrifice whatever was called for to aid him and Aragorn gladdened him.  Legolas knew they would do their best, and he was profoundly grateful.

The horrendous sound of splintering wood abruptly brought both the elf’s and the ranger's attention back to the danger behind them.

As Legolas quickly grabbed Aragorn, the man said, “I’m sorry about the trees.”  He felt sad, so he could only guess how his friend was feeling.

Legolas nodded but made no remark.  He found it hard to speak, because even having lived his whole life in the forest, he had never heard more than one tree shatter, usually after being struck by lightning.  However, now, with many tress involved at once, it was a sound that took the wood-elf’s breath away and made his very soul cringe.

The crashing and sundering of wood continued but was soon followed by the sound of thrashing and a swishing noise.  The trees were swinging their branches so that their leaves were rustling violently.  The delaying tactic had begun.

It relished the darkness that had now come upon the land, though there was a light from overhead that It did not understand.  It was soft and not as unpleasant as what It had seen earlier when It had broken loose from the tunnels.  It rather liked this new and different kind of light.

Closer It moved toward It’s goal.  It’s body undulating from side to side, which was the only way It was able to move.  It was easier than it had been in It’s confined underground home.  Yet, preferring the closeness of the stone walls of the tunnels, It did not really like the total openness of It’s surroundings.

At times, the beings up ahead disappeared from sight, moving down between the small bumps in the ground, but they always reappeared on the next rise.

The terrain leveled out after a while, and in the distance It saw...what was that? It was darker than the area around it and stretched out all across the edge of the land.  The snake's vision was not keen, so It could not tell what it was looking at.  It's flicking tongue revealed a strange scent, similar to the ground beneath It.

It slowed, not sure if It should tackle this mysterious and massive creature. Then It caught the indistinct sight of It’s prey. They were headed for the thing. If they were not afraid of it, then It certainly should not be. It had never known real fear, having been the master of It’s environment. If this thing gave the prey shelter, It might lose them. It began to move forward as fast as It could.

It soon became apparent that It was not going to catch them before they reached the creature. It hissed in anger but was not yet willing to give up. It had left It’s home and come this far, so It would continue.

When It saw the prey disappear into the dark creature, It was mystified. It moved closer and then stopped once again, taking in what lay before It. It had never seen a tree, much less a number of them crowded together, so the forest was a complete mystery to It.

This strange creature consisted of not one but many forms grouped together, and their lower bodies seemed to be anchored to the earth. They were tall and dark, and there were smaller dark forms sticking out all over each one. These were covered with strange things similar to what was on the ground It had been traveling over - yet different. These were the source of the scent It had detected.

These dark creatures were waving their appendages.  The movements sent vibrations into the earth, which is what It was now experiencing. It flicked It’s tongue again, trying to pick up any smell that would give It a clue as to what It now faced.

It waited for a few moments, still trying to assess the creatures’ possible danger to It.  When no overt threat was made, It plunged forward, inevitably crashing into and splintering the creatures while attempting to make It’s way between them.

The forms in It’s vicinity scraped and pounded It’s body but did no real damage, at least not enough to stop It from charging ahead while trying to avert It’s head and spare itself from sustaining more hits.

It was then that the creatures nearest It started waving their smaller appendages with the strange fluttering things attached into It’s face and knocking into It’s head.  Such blows not only made It angrier, but they were also painful.

Even with It’s rudimentary thinking processes, It realized that going back would probably be as bad as continuing forward, and the beings It was after were still ahead of It, so It continued moving toward the prey, thrashing wildly as It went.

TBC