The Great Quest

Arnon paced for a moment longer and then stopped, kicking at the rubble absently with the toe of his boot.

It appeared that whoever had done this had done their job quite efficiently. This place had been kept a closely guarded secret, the reason for which he had not known. And he had been told not to let anyone know of its existence. He had followed their instructions loyally, partially because it was from the family he had discussed with Harnauro, and partly because of the great service he knew it would give Middle Earth. All of his line had kept the secret loyally, but somehow, someone had discovered it. The only possibility was that one of those family members had told it themselves, thus betraying the long kept secret.

Either that or someone else had discovered on their own. In this case, there was only one thing he could do about it. He must go himself and inform the surviving family members as to what had happened.

"Ask Ofaton for me if he will agree to carry me a relatively long distance," he told one of his guards, who stood nearby.

"Where should I say you desire to go?"

"To Ethrilien." His cold gaze willed the guard to go, and he quickly did their bidding. As they usually did.

He fingered his sword hilt with one hand. Perhaps the time was coming where he would actually have to use this once again. All he could do was hope not.

*Um, I don't think you understand, Lief. The broodlord would take any of them to his home... number one, there is no reason to, and number two, it is too far away (Aetoo could fly there quickly, but not with them on his back). They are just going straight from Vardor's lair to wherever he headed to...*

*Righto, I can live with that. In that case, we're landing in Ethrilien.*

Aetoo landed at the valley floor with a gentle thud.

Quickly, Slythre and the others dismounted, Faradin helping Ayna.

"Come on," Ayna gasped through her weakened voice. "We must get to them and warn them of Vardor's coming."

Gungar began to object. "You're in no state to . . ."

"I'm the only one here that they would know and trust. Will you help me?"

Faradin took one of her arms and brought it carefully around his neck, supporting her as they moved across the clearing to the buildings nearby. Aetoo seemed to sniff the air anxiously. He smelled the magic of the valley, as did the broodlord. But there was much more to come. His master's greatest test.

*You might want to edit your earlier post so they all are in synch.*

Aetoo moved along cautiously, but also with a bit of excitement - from what he already sensed of this place, it may mean the end to his father's search...

Mal looked down in astonishment at the pane of glass in front of him, that shimmered and showed the scenes of his companions - walking side by side with the warrior that had plagued them! - entering the valley.

He looked up at the armored figure by his side. "So what is it you wish of me?"

"My master has great plans approaching, plans that require a good deal of ... fueling. In any case, we need distractions upon this Vardor's plans. The group you see before you is one. You shall be another."

Mal paused, thinking. Finally, he said, "Who is this mysterious master of yours?"

"It matters not - I speak for him in all things. Think not of us, but on your own situation. Ponder well this offer, Malagar D'Orthand, Lord of Shadows, for it may be your last chance to return to your old self."

*Something every villain seems to be offering him. *

The Nightrider watched balefully as the company contacted the villagers and began speaking animatedly, with many guestures of hands.

The one called Aetoo was with them, unaware of him, of course. Who could be aware with him when he was not entirely here? He was on the verge of reality, and the small strand of magic that allowed him to see into the world of light was easily lost amongst all of the other magic of this place. The valley practically tingled with it, almost to the extent of Elrond's valley at Rivendell. Only an elf would sense the difference between the two magics, the one of the valley and the one which allowed him to be here, an unseen phantom.

Although he was hardly that. When in this way, he was unsure what he was. Or where.

And the elf maiden who had come would have to walk practically right past him to really sense him when it was all that small.

He felt the others of Vardor's evil army, fast approaching across the skies and over and under the ground, making use of every goblin hole or forest to maintain their secrecy.

As they entered the village, Aetoo gazed about, a strange look upon his face. The broodlord turned to Ayna, and said, "Well, where is our goal? Where is the center of this dark force you spoke of?"

She looked up at the clouds and motioned vaguely with her hand. "Up there, somewhere. Invisible, until the clasp is used to reveal its presence. We must muster every force we have to this point, now, if we are to stop Vardor once he begins his attack on it."

Ulrog sniffed the air nervously. There was an all too familiar scent on the wind. A large host of orcs was heading this way. He was destracted by another twinge over his entire body. The magic of this place stung him regularly; this was clearly not a place for his kind. Still, that wouldn't matter when the host arrived. Together, under a strong cruel master, the orcs would be able to withstand the discomfort. He looked at the others, and could see from their expressions that there was no need to warn them of the approaching troops. They knew. A large battle wasn't far away. Ulrog had a feeling it was important but, as usual, he had no idea why. He rested his hand on the hilt of the sword he had picked up earlier. Suprisingly they had let him keep it.

Aetoo nodded at Slythre words, and said, "Let my companion and I make our preperations in private. Meanwhile, see to your own defenses."

So saying, he and the broodlord turned and walked up to see the layout of the area.

After they had gone, Harnauro turned to Ayna and said, "Are there any allies here that could aid us?"

"Not that I know of. Our people aren't very well armed or prepared in case of military crisis. Only the watchers have any training in that area."

"The watchers?"

"They are elves who watch over the valley and protect it from all outside foes. Each bears a little magic, and they are all highly skilled with blade and arrow. I think that there are twenty in guardian positions currently around Ethrilien. Elrov was one, but he saw it as his personal duty to protect me, and left Ethrilien for this reason.

"What I hope is that we can muster them and get the villagers into safety. And we must find a way to notify one of the great powers which is nearest here as to the danger. If we could get their help, we might be able to block off this threat before it overwhelms us."

Ayna glanced at Aetoo and the broodlord. "I think they might be some help in this case, if they are willing."

She shifted uncomfortably. "But I myself am afraid to approach them. I would much prefer it if you would."

Harnauro turned silently, and strode towards the pair in the distance. As he approached, Aeto turned to face him, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"We would know what aid you can lend to the defense," said Harnauro, coldly meeting Aetoo's gaze.

Aetoo shifted, slightly, and looked past Aetoo's head with a strange gaze, and then said, "We shall stand by you. Other aid may come, but no forces shall be commited until the extent of the foe's power and army is apparent."

Harnauro narrowed his eyes, and then returned to the others to relay the information.

Ayna walked up to Aetoo and the Broodlord, followed closely by Harnauro. "Listen. This will indeed take every s**** of your army that you have, and possibly more. Vardor must be dealt with, and his army is most likely much smaller than yours. But if he does succeed in this goal, he will unleash a being as strong as a Valar. Possibly more strong. The castle in the clouds is the point from which the magical barrier which separates Morgoth fromt this world is centered at. Vardor will use the clasp to bring the world out of its invisibility and then after attacking the castle, he'll use the key to unlock the opening in the barrier and let his former master out upon the world. Can I spell out the danger more plainly?"

Aetoo meets her gaze, and gives a shrug, and turns and walks away, alongside the broodlord. As she stares in shock at his retreating form, Harnauro snarls, "I don't know what game those two are playing, or their master... if they even have a master, and aren't simply toying with us..."

*Strange. If I have the whole scope of your part of the plot already, then this is totally out of character. We're talking about the powerfulest magical being in ages coming, and they know the spot it's likely to come to as well.*

"Then we'll have to operate without them." She glared at their backs for a second longer before turning and limping back towards the others. "Look, the watchers are beginning to return."




The Nightrider scoffed at them from his hiding place. The utter fools. Already Vardor's army was almost on top of their heads, and they had done nothing so far. An hour, maybe a little more, and this place would be a swamp of orcs and stronger beings. Much stronger beings. Some of the greatest of them almost reached his own power. Some had fled to Vardor when the War of Wrath had caused Morgoth's destruction, and others he had personally overseen the creation of, through experiments or other things. This puny group truly did not know what was coming their way. They had resisted excellently up to this point, but now it would take a miracle to save them.

He would have laughed at the puny mortals, but dry humor was sucked back into the void along with every other emotion. He remained their, emotionless and cold, waiting for his time to strike.

In a deep, dark cave, a important discussion was taking place.

"My lord, are you ready for this act? To risk so much on an outcome not yet known?"

The first figure to speak was named One, and wore armor of gleaming black metal from head to toe.

"Aye. The longer my plans take, the farther I fade. This event could let me put a finish to the gathering of power, and end things once and for all. And even now, I am not sure how long my lucidity will last. We must act while I am able."

The second figure was an elderly man, currently dressed in fine robes, if one ignored the dust upon them.

One asked, "And you will still refuse to send any forces?"

The other responded, "I cannot risk anymore of my children at this task. If we succeed, we must be as strong as we can - even the losses already have been hard. As well...we do not wish for this Vardor to fail at his task."

"Do you not fear the being called Morgoth?"

"Perhaps. I have doubts as to whether Vardor could even free him."

"Why is that? If he could not be freed, why would the Valar take such measures to lock him away?"

"I suspect they did not lock him away, but rather, sealed off his prison itself. He was cast into the endless void... all that is known of that place indicates nothing can escape from its vortex. The Valar, having created an entrance to it in order to cast Morgoth into it, likely found they could not unmake the entrance. So they sealed it."

The man paused, gave a small chuckle, and said, "Or so I imagine. I could be wrong. If the power unleashed by this Vardor truly does prove capable of bringing forth Morgoth, then it will be enough. A simple redirection of it will serve as well as anything else."

"And if it works as you think it does?"

"That will be harder. But we must try. It may be our last hope."

Angbald raised his hand slowly, watching his prey with eyes like those of a hawk. The group was settled in easy sight within the valley, as well as the people of Ethrilien. The utter fools. There was not a single guard, and he doubted that the strength of the company Vardor had fought could be strong enough to hold him off for long.

"Archers . . . FIRE!" He swung the hand down with a guesture of finality and the arrows soared out of the trees, hailing down on the company and the people of Ethrilien. Cries and shouts of alarm instantly filled the air as at least a dozen fell wounded and two or three dead. Even some of those among the company had been injured by the arrows.





Dania winced as she felt at the arrow which was stuck through her leg. Slythre had a gash on her shoulder which she was holding grimly with one hand as she shouted instructions at the fleeing villagers.

Faradin had an arrow in his side, but that did not appear to inhibit is abilities much at all. He had already pulled the thing out and was drawing his blade.

Gungar pulled out his axe and Harnauro his great bow. He sent several shafts into the trees at the slight movements he saw there, and was rewarded by a couple cries of pain.

"That's where some of them are," he said, pointing two fingers at the trees.

"Come, we'll take them," Gungar said, fingering his axe. "Arrows aren't as nice as solid weapons where you can fight back."

"Expect your enemies to be nice and you will not live long," Faradin said with a slight smile. "Now come on, we must cover the retreat of the last of these villagers."

"And see to the wounded," Slythre said, pointing at five villagers who had not stood up again.

"Two of them are dead," Faradin stated after a brief inspection. "The others we'll have to carry. Harnauro?"

Harnauro stepped forward, and soon they were dragging the injured away into the relative safety of the village.




Angbald was not far behind. His men already had moved through the trees and lower regions of the valley to reach the edges of the village, and there was some rather vicious fighting going on at two points over there. The company staying behind made his job that much easier.

His orcs were better trained than most, and their muscles were tensed, ready to leap out into combat.

"Soon, my soldiers," Angbald whispered as he fingered his battleaxe's edge. "Soon."

As the first of them fell, Harnauro snarled, and looked about for the broodlord or Aetoo - both of whom had vanished. Giving a growl, he turned to Slythre and said harshly, "I'll scout out how many of them we face. Prepare for defending the village."

She nodded, and nearby Gungar called out, "Save some of the fun for us!"

Harnauro gave a grim grin as slipped from the village and into the nearby trees, and slipped from his human shape and into the form of a shadow grey wolf.

Harnauro slid from tree to tree, dashing between bushes with a stealthy grace. His sharp vision quickly picked out the dozens of orcs that lay hidden. And also the rough, scaled creatures who stood even farther back, fingering sword hilts. He was more wary as he passed them. Perhaps it was their stance, but he thought they would be much more dangerous of opponents than the orcs.

He soon had a rough estimate and decided to start back. A rough estimate was all he needed. There were about two hundred as he saw, although reinforcements were surely going to be here soon. He took a step to the side, and that was all that kept him from getting his skull split by an arrow that thunked into the tree directly where his head had been.

He was startled at how close that had been. The arrow could very well have killed him being as perfectly aimed as he was. Unusual indeed. Nonmagic weapons had rarely been a threat.

A second arrow slapped into his back leg as he leapt forward, and he grimaced. This archer was good.

Quickly, he clawed the arrow out and ducked under the brush as the wound healed.

Two figures ahead were carrying arrows at the strings of their bows. One of them stretched out a hand and pointed in his direction.

"There," he said quietly to his companion, although Harnauro's hearing picked up every word. "The warg was over there."

Harnauro thought quickly. Judging from the archer's skill, a direct rush could rish some injury. If they thought him merely a warg, he could make use of their assumption. Hiding in the bushes, he decided he could use human hands for the moment. Slinking back a bit, he reverted to his normal shape, and felt around for a rock. Finding a heavy one, he hurled it into a bush a dozen feet to his side, immediately returning to wolf shape - and as the archers loosed arrows directly into the rustling bush, Harnauro burst out of his hiding place and rushed towards them.