Chapter 2 - The Search
He had lived a week with these elves, and finally he had time to speak with Elrond. He didn't really fit in, for he was a human among elves. His dirty blonde hair didn't match any of their hair, which seemed to always be one color, never shades. He was an average height, and he wasn't too muscular. He had wanted to leave for the past five days, but he wanted council for his journey, and Elrond seemed like the perfect person to ask. He was now walking down the paths of Rivendell, on his way to meet the lord of the elves, but as he walked another elf approached him. It was Defréndel, the elf who had found him in the middle of the burned away leaf figure.
"Hello, Síla. How are you this fair day?" He asked. Since Jacob had fallen, the elves had given him that nickname. It was the word in their language for star, because they thought he was a falling star stone, originally.
He answered Defréndel, "I am on my way to speak with Lord Elrond about my journey. I must be leaving soon, and I don't doubt the others have already begun searching." He was concerned about one of them in particular, but he didn't feel like saying that out loud, yet. "Would you like to come with me?"
"Nay, my friend. I am on my way for a hunt, we leave in 2 hours." Defréndel answer, though it was clear he wished to accompany his friend. The two parted ways, and Jacob went onward toward the building in which he was to meet Elrond. As he approached, He noticed one of the sturdiest looking elves he had ever seen. The elf's eyes seem to be filled with wisdom, his stare piercing through everything he looked at. His brow seemed heavy on his face, but still the elf looked young, as all the elves did.
"Hello, friend. Come, we have much to discuss," the elf, who seemed to be Elrond, said as he turned to enter the structure behind him. Jacob followed him in, and they began to speak. Jacob told Elrond of his past life, about his friends, and what he felt he had to do. Elrond gave him many pieces of advice, but he only asked one question, "Are you prepared to defend yourself if you need to? Do you have the skill to cross middle-earth?" Elrond said he would not prevent him from leaving, but he would prefer to know that Jacob would live. So, Elrond decided to propose a test. He would send Jacob on the hunt with Defréndel, but first he needed to learn how to shoot a bow.
"I've never shot a bow before in my life," Jacob was saying, 2 hours later, when the hunt was over. Everyone was shocked by this statement, because in a one-hour hunt, Jacob had taken 30 animals down, and never missed a shot. Better than any of the elves other than Defréndel, who was the best archer in all Rivendell. It seemed that Jacob could shoot a bow with the skill of an elf, but his only question was if he was the only one. Now he could start his search for his friends. Now he could look for Cat.
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She could fight, apparently. She had just proven that. The Captain had been training his troops, readying for combat, when Cat approached them. She picked up one of the swords laying there, when Drinian noticed her. The sword felt heavy in her hand, and it seemed to be awkward as she let the weight of the blade carry a single swing. She set it down and picked up another. It was a shorter, lighter sword, more comfortable in her hand.
The captain reached her and called, "Do you wield a blade, where you are from, Hánna?"
"No, but if I am going to look for my friends, I'll need a way to defend myself," She replied. One of the young soldiers scoffed and muttered something under his breath. Cat turned to him and asked, with a commanding edge to her voice, "What was that, boy? Do you find something funny?" She picked up a smaller, circular shield and approached the young soldier. She sized up the boy, noticing that he was a little more muscular than herself, but he was scrawny compared to the other trainees. His brown hair flopped down into his eyes every once and awhile, and his eyes simply looked angry.
Again, the young man decided to make a foolish remark, "For a girl like you, that blade is more a danger to you than a-" His remark was cut short as Cat had raised her blade and pointed it directly at him, then began to speak.
"Really? Want to prove it?" She countered. She lowered her blade and raised her shield. The other young soldiers backed away, as Drinian simply looked on as the challenge progressed. The young man raised his blade with a smirk on his face. He hadn't been expecting a challenge from a girl, much less this one. He noted her blonde hair pulled back into a bun, the fierce look in her brown hazel eyes, and utter calm she seemed to possess. He was certain he could beat her.
"Alright, Girlie. I just don't want to hurt you." He said sarcastically. He swung first, in a great overhead strike, which was a grave mistake. In a single motion, Cat allowed the sword to come down into her own as she guided it to her right, stepping to the left. She slammed her shield into the foolish youth's back, continuing his momentum to the ground. She held her blade steady above the boy, saying she had won the duel. The young man looked stunned, but still admitted defeat.
"Little Ryan's been beat by a girl. Ha!" One of the other boys remarked. Cat turned swiftly on the boy, giving him a threatening stare that he simply didn't understand. So, he continued, "Never gonna beat an orc if ya can't beat a girl, Ryan!"
Ending the remarks, Cat asked calmly, "Do you think you can do better?" The boy backed away and shut his mouth. She turned to the captain and said, "Well, that wasn't expected. I have never held a sword before in my life, but I will be going now. I need to find Mal." With that she began to walk back to Drinian's home to pack a bag for her journey. Little did she know, she wouldn't be going alone.
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She was on her way to Gondor, galloping across fields and down roads. Though she had never ridden a horse before in her life, she had found that riding felt only natural in this world. She carried a spear on her back and her hair blew in the wind. She felt free when she was riding a horse, like she had no problems in the world. She could feel her long blonde hair in the wind, and she kept her sharp eyes on the road ahead of her. But still, she knew she had to start looking for the others. At least she got to do it while riding. Ahead on the road she saw a figure standing there, with a blade in his hand. It looked to be an orc from what she could see. The Rohirrim had told her to beware orcs, so she was cautious to continue. She rode forward slowly, watching the orc ahead of her. Her horse seemed to be bothered by something, but she couldn't tell what. She drew her spear, and only a moment later a band of 8 orcs emerged from a group of bushes a few meters ahead of her, but a short way in front of the original orc.
She charged, trampling one orc, while impaling another on her spear, leaving her in the middle of a group of 6 orcs still, with another coming. She knew she was overwhelmed and didn't want her mount injured. She leapt from horseback, landing on an orc. Swinging her spear, she cut down another. 4 more, but she wasn't at an advantage now. She held back their flurries of blows, but she couldn't find an opening to kill. She knew that she had lost this fight, and now only hoped to escape with her life. At her first opportunity, she turned and ran. As her feet pounded the ground, she wished she could be riding again. She realized the orcs were gaining on her, and she turned to make her final stand.
She might survive this. She could win. She told herself that, so she had a chance. Then from behind her someone shouted. She knew that voice. It was one of the others. It must have been that they were all looking for each other.
The voice shouted, "Stop!" With that single word the orcs halted, and a look of terror came to their eyes. Then she knew the voice. It was Vince.
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He had found one of them. It looked to be Mal, and she might be the easiest to convince to join him. Vince had spent the last weeks recruiting orcs and searching for the others. Now that she had killed 4 of his orcs, he knew he wasn't the only one who had gained abilities when they arrived in middle- earth. Now the orcs had stopped their attack after his command, but still Mal continued to attack. It would seem she believed that he not been speaking to her.
"Mal, stop!" He commanded. She turned to face him, seeing a friend put her mind at ease until saw that he had a duo of orcs flanking him on either side. "These orcs are mine, I lead them," He called. She looked at him like he was crazy. He hated that look, she had used it often, even before they were in middle-earth. "I am taking over this land using these orcs," He said. Then she seemed to understand. She looked at him, turned, and swung her spear in a wide arc, killing 3 of the remaining orcs. Then she drew back her arm and hurled the spear forward, impaling the last of them. Vince simply watched as she gave a whistle and her horse trotted up to her.
"Kill the beast, but leave the girl alive," Vince said calmly to the orcs beside him. They advanced quickly, drawing their weapons. One wielding a pair of deadly axes, the other carried his crossbow with confidence. He aimed his bolt at the horse and pulled the trigger, but his weapon was not the only that was heard. The horse remained unharmed, and a trio of feathers was sprouting from the ground. Vince saw a figure with long, blonde hair rush past him, and his axe wielding champion cried out in surprise and pain at the sword that had been driven through his chest. The marksman turned to see who had killed his partner, and three more feathers sprouted from his face. Vince knew what had stopped the bolt now, and he knew who the figure was. It was the others. Jacob was an archer, Cat was a shield-maiden, and Mal was a rider. They were insignificant, for he was a lord.
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