Chapter 1 ~ Mission
The Southrons are invading. King Elessar begs your assistance as a sign of your continued loyalty.
It played continuously through his dulled mind, tormenting him while forcing him to go forward and complete his mission. His weary limbs where close upon useless and his head throbbed painfully as blood from his forehead trailed down the side of his face.
His spent mount stumbled beneath him, jarring him back to the present. As he lifted his head to take note of his surroundings, his vision blurred and the trees around him seemed to spin and bend in strange directions. He reeled in his saddle and was obliged to take as firm a hold on his steed’s mane as he could to prevent himself from falling.
Two days before he had been riding on his mission, on his way to Prince Faramir, when he was ambushed by Southrons. He had fought his way through, killing all three of his attackers, but he himself was wounded terribly in the process. It hurt to move his leg as the blood had hardened over the gash in his thigh, at least stopping the flow. Blood still trickled from the cut on his forehead and he knew he had been stabbed at least once, somewhere near his shoulder.
He had been thrown from his horse and had sustained a huge bruise on his skull. The Southrons had nearly overpowered him, but his frightened horse had foiled whatever plans they had made by prancing nervously about his master and accidentally crushing the foot of one of the attackers.
The Southrons are invading. King Elessar begs your assistance as a sign of your continued loyalty.
The message had been entrusted to him and it must be delivered. He lifted his head slowly once more and looked about him. Blinking away the blood that had gotten in his eye he found that they had lost the path. He had no idea where they were. He had failed. He would eventually fall from his horse and die. Prince Faramir would never know that the country was in danger. They would not go to the King’s aid and all would be lost. He had failed.
The Southrons are invading. King Elessar begs your assistance as a sign of your continued loyalty.
Again those words rang through his sluggish mind, reminding him of the day, only a week ago, when the message had been committed to him. The king himself had ordered him to deliver the urgent entreaty. He had sworn to his king that he would deliver the message even if it cost him his life.
The king had smiled and said he doubted it would come down to that. Surely they could still ride to Ithilien without danger of attack.
But no. They could no longer ride even to Ithilien without danger. The Southrons had invaded even so far as that, and the message would never be delivered. It had cost him his life.