Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

Scarred Fate	By : Massanie Category: +Third Age > Slash - Male/Male Views: 2051 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
CHAPTER 4: Curses

CHAPTER NOTES

SCRIPTS:

'Thoughts'; ~visions~; **mind speech**; -l-Letters-l-

Tauron climbed up the steep walls of the valley that led to the High Pass, following Erestor's tracks, the small signs left by the nails he had somehow attached to his shoes. It felt like an eternity of climbing.

Glorfindel had been right: only two hours after they had left Glorfindel's party Erestor had asked them for a short break – pointing out that they didn't need to rely on speed now. They had granted him that wish, knowing that he must be exhausted as he had not made a single journey outside Imladris' borders since coming to the Hidden Valley four centuries ago and the elven sickness weighted heavy on him.

He had taken out a flask of wine from his package and taken some sips before offering it to his guards.

How could they have known that he had added a sleeping draught and swallowed a stimulant beforehand, equalising the effects?

When they had finally woken they had followed the advisor's tracks. But Erestor had soon left the path and started to climb down and east into the valley below.

Arveldir – being of higher rank – ordered the younger Tauron to follow the advisor while he took the horses and proceeded on the High Pass.

Tauron's mood could be described as deathly at best. He had made good way but the advisor had still some hours head start. Maybe that was not the worst thing to happen: if he had caught Erestor now, he might have strangled him.

Thoughts like that occupied his mind while his cold hands closed around a rock and he pulled himself upwards. He breathed heavily while he cursed time and again; over the damned darkness that made his way even more difficult, over Erestor who had brought him into this position, over Arveldir for ordering him to follow the advisor, over Glorfindel, for making them play nanny for that brat, Elrond for getting into problems which had started their journey in the first place...

To cut a long story short, the young guard cursed everyone he knew for his current situation and guessed that those he didn't know either were to blame for his misery, too, or were likely to have committed other despicable deeds for which they deserved his scorn.

He had needed to leave his armour behind when he climbed down. Now he felt cold and uncomfortably naked. For which – of course – he blamed Erestor. And Arveldir. In equal shares.

It had started snowing once again and he could only hope that he would be able to keep following Erestor's fading traces. But when he heaved his body over the cliff and onto the path he found his worries to be unfounded. There were the chief advisor's footprints, clearly visible through a thin layer of snow covering them.

Carefully Tauron examined the traces Erestor had left. The dark haired ellon had rested for a while it seemed. He had sat down in the snow and put off the strange device with which the advisor had eased his climbing.

'He must be exhausted.' Tauron thought. His health situation had been worsening since they had left Imladris. Now the advisor had to have gone to his limits, fleeing from them like that. And only two or three hours separated him from his charge now.

He would probably reach the advisor within the day. But he had lost orientation during his climb. He did not know where exactly he was and how far away the top of the High Pass was. That disturbed him greatly: what if Erestor reached the top and with it the Orcs before he had caught him up?

Determined Tauron got to his feet and went on to follow the advisor's tracks. At least he did not have to climb further and the snow was no great hindrance. But Erestor proved to be harder to catch than the young guard had deemed possible. He was able to nearly keep his head-start, only gradually did Tauron manage to reduce the distance between them.

One and a half days separated the party from the High Pass' top, only one and a half days to reach the peredhil.

It had started to snow a while ago, a thick layer covering the path before them. It wouldn't have been a problem for the Elves, had they been on foot. But it hindered the horses and for that, Glorfindel cursed it.

Still they had made good way since leaving the advisor behind the morning before. But they could have been faster had they not been so many soldiers although he was glad to have taken them along: the Orcs would probably have superior numbers even with the many soldiers that had joined Glorfindel's party.

The captain planned on arriving at the top of the High Pass around midday the following day. The Orcs would be weakest then. He could only hope that Elrond and his sons would hold out that long.

"Captain!" A soldier called from the front. He had scouted ahead and Glorfindel could only see his frame standing out against the horizon and the white snowflakes that whirled around with the wind.

"There are tracks in the snow. Tracks of Elves."

"Steady on!" Glorfindel called to the party and his soldiers halted immediately. Slowly he proceeded towards the scout and dismounted.

Yes, there were tracks in the snow, of two elves no less. Glorfindel frowned, carefully examining the footprints.

"Two Elves climbed up from the valley onto the pass in an interval of maybe two hours. The second one maybe five or six hours ago. Definitely Elves and on the way to the top of the High Pass. The imprints are not deep enough for humans." The soldier remarked.

"The first one used something to improve his foothold. Do you see the deep imprints here?"

There were indeed five small deep imprints on the ball of the footprint, forming a trapeze, with one imprint in the middle, and a similar formation at the boot's heel. Small but deep were they, like "nails!"

"Yes, to ease the climb on the iced stones. He took them off, see the movement here? And then he rested for a while."

"They would have been a hindrance for an Elf in the snow; must have stiffen the sole far too much to walk comfortably with the pace he set." Glorfindel murmured as he walked further along the path, examining the tracks that led eastwards.

"He must have been in a hurry but calm; not like someone who is followed." In between the footprints there was a rather long distance but the ball had not twisted inwards. This one had been jogging through the snow in a concentrated and calm manner. A well trained elf.

The scout raised one well formed eyebrow. "He must have been quite small. The footprints are … well … rather small."

The seneschal nodded.

"What worries me is that they took the way through the valley and then the hard and rather difficult climb onto the path. They have avoided us.

It seems that the second one followed the first. He kneeled down to examine the tracks ..."

Suddenly an idea crossed Glorfindel's mind; an unwelcome, unpleasant idea. And one that he somehow knew to be true – unfortunately. "Oh please don't let it be that stubborn Mirkwood plague. He is a brilliant climber. Never used ropes or anything when he climbed the rocks in the Hidden Valley."

The soldier looked up to his captain. A curious but serious look on his face. "Why do you expect him to do so?"

"I don't know, but I do." Glorfindel stood and went to his horse. "We should be moving."

CHAPTER END NOTES

ellon ~ male elf

peredhil ~ half elves
- 3
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- 5
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Scarred Fate