Assasin's Shadow

[rohirrim TR]

Curamir made his way into the citadel to wait for Aragorn, the guard told him he had only returned two day hence.

"greetings, son of Faramir" Said Aragorn entering from a side door. "smoke was spotted coming from Osgiliath, what news do you have?"

"An army my lord, led by a treacherous asassin that you may know by the name Nahor." Curamir reported the events that had happened as Elessar listened without question.

" I do not know of this Nahor, however the elf you met Eruanna" and at that moment Colomir,Elnar and Acalwecia burst in. "ahh speak of the devil" Aragorn said chuckling "here is Eruanna herself."

"Greetings Elessar" replied Acalwecia "has he told you the situation?"

"I believe so, what can you tell me?"

[Curubethion]

The dwarf had left.

Curmaar sat, gazing at the Mithrilstone. It dully glimmered, like a cat's eye in the dark. Its depths held a dark secret...and a dark power. Only twice had the Southron felt that power. Only twice. And it had been terrible...

I cannot go on like this, he thought.This thing is evil! Yet...

It hung before him, tantilizing.

"Vengeance..." it whispered.

It was power...power to repay the evil. And make all things right...

But can I...

A blow struck him on the head.

[Acalewia]

"There is much I could tell you. Two have declared war upon all Rangers, North and South. The rumors of the Mithrilstone have been proved true." Acalewia said.
"It is true the Rangers bear the Stone?" Elessar asked.
"Not anymore, My Lord." He turned to Elnar.
"You know this how?" Elnar bowed.
"Elnar, son of Elmar. I was among the thirty who traveled with you on the Paths of the Dead." From the coner of his eye, he saw Colomir shudder. "A Ranger in that company bore the Stone and it was lost to the Haradim when he was slain by them. A wizard by the name of Morlin searches for it in the North, while the Assasin searches for it in the South" Elessar glanced at Acalewia, who nodded.
"What is to be done?" Colomir asked.

************************************************** ********

"You let them get away?!" the orc leader bellowed. "You let them reach The City?!" he spat as if the name left a bad taste in his mouth. Now we must wait until they reach the forest again.
"They were too quick," the underling replied. "We did not catch up to them until the were in the fields. Why does our lord wish them to be brought to him alive?"
"That is not for us to know. Now we will wait for them."

[Curubethion]

Curmaar's head spun...he fell back, a pain throbbing in his head. Dimly he saw a figure running...

Above all rose a fiery pain greater than the one at his head, though. It seared the core of his heart...it was a burning void! It raged through his body...because the Mithrilstone was gone.

Gone! he thought. Nooo! Death!!! Death!!!

He ran towards something...pain filled his chest, and he stopped. Slowly breathing, he backed away from the wall. The room began to clear...a red haze still filled it. Curmaar turned towards the door. He ran out into the fresh air; his eyes caught a figure vanishing around a corner.

Thief, you will pay with dear coin!

He sprinted through the streets, paying no heed to the people who rushed out of his way. As he turned the corner, he saw the dwarf, running from him. How long had he been watching...waiting?

You will pay!!

They ran, through the gates, towards the seventh circle of the city...

The dwarf ducked into an alley near the back of Minas Tirith. Curmaar ran after him...and he saw his quarry. The dwarf was almost at the top of the wall at the alley's end.

But...it's not a wall...it's the White Mountains!

Then the dwarf vanished. He had escaped into the mountains. A howl of agonized rage was ripped from Curmaar's heart. He fell to his knees, crying out in pain.

The Mithrilstone was taken.

[rohirrim TR]

as the King and his party rode for Osgiliath they left the city's last level and saw a man staggering down the rode looking dazed. he turned his face away as Curamir glanced at him they passed and he slowly followed.

[Acalewia]

Acalewia fell back to the back of the group. She had noticed the man staggering and then following them. If he was who she thought it was, she would soon find out.


************************************************** ******

The Assasin was getting impatent. Those stupid excuses for orcs should have been back by now. He had decided he would kill them when they got back for taking so long. As to the elf and Faramir's sons, he would see.
"Faramir will wish he had never set eyes on the Stone" he said, laughing to himself.

[rohirrim TR]

Far in the north the snow had stopped falling but the cold had not grown any less. late that afternoon while Elessars party was on the road to Osgiliath Alatar and the rangers set out once more.

"you young ones did not need to come with me" Alatar muttered

"It was our choice, and besides do you think we wanted to spend all winter with dwarves? I do not fault them their hospitality only their cooking mind you." replied Hluor with a grin in Gimli and Makoins direction.

"cooking? you bottomless pit of a ranger wouldn't know good cooking if it walked up and hit you with an axe" replied Gimli with a good natured snarl.

Hluor chuckled and adressed the wizard. "what are you seeking? I've heard you muttering things like 'couldn't be, maybe powerful, deadly, need the chosen one' whats all that about?

"you?? overheard? er...yes well this winter is a bit unnatural, it smacks of an ice drake."

"the spirit of the dragon?"

"not exactly, you see when a dragon dwells in a place for a long time the land starts to resent it, snow had not gathered on the lonely mountain for years, the heat of the dragon kept it from melting, but the land resented such an...irregularity. A powerful magician can use the ill-feeling to create a fell creature made out of the very land itself, I believe in this case Morluin has called an Ice drake."

"well? how do we kill it?"

"we may not be able to, only a descendant of the dragon slayer may kill it, and as you know the last decsendant of Bard was disgraced and fled to the south over forty years ago."

"so why are we even bothering looking for it?"

"to make such an end as to be worthy of rememberance, and hopefully to find Morluin and destroy him"....

[Curubethion]

Curmaar saw Acalewia fall back, and he hesitated. Then, as if resolved about something, he quickened his pace.

I am through with fleeing, he thought.

And then he saw a bright light fill his vision...

An old man, robed in white, stood before him. He smiled at Curmaar slightly, raising his hand in greeting. Curmaar stood still before him.

The man showed him the city of Minas Tirith, and then pointed...towards the Misty Mountains far off.

North? Is that where my road goes? he thought.

Smiling again, the man said, "Son of the desert, hear me. There is work for you to do...the work of your forefathers must be finished. Go to the land where I once walked with the King...take this and go..."

The light faded. All was as it had been...except for a ring that was on the man's hand. It was gold, with a red stone that burned like fire...

[Acalewia]

Acalewia had slowed enough to where she was next to Curmaar.
"I have many questions for you, my friend" She held her hand out to him. "Ride with me. You are known to the others" then she noticed the ring.
"Ringbearer," She added in a low voice so the others could not hear.

[Curubethion]

"Can you tell me of this ring?" he asked her. "What is its meaning? Somehow I think it was given to me by a vision...but that cannot be, can it?"

She replied, "There have been legends told about the former bearer of this ring...and I know many of them to be true. He was said to be wise, mighty...some even say he saved the life of Faramir. We of the Fair Realms called him Mithrandir...yet he went to many people. 'Gandalf', most called him, but he was once known as 'Olorin'...the dwarves called him 'Tharkun', and when he went to the South, they called him 'Incanus'."

"Incanus! Stories I have heard of him...what became of him?"

"He was said to have left these realms for the Undying Lands...perhaps he has chosen you for a task."

"Yes...he said something like that. But this ring-can you tell me of it?"

"It was called Narya, the Ring of Fire."

[rohirrim TR]

Alatar and his party sat by a small fire that was crackling and spitting because of all the ice that had to be melted off of the branches.

"do you know where Morluin is?" inquired Hluor.

"I have an idea where he is, we fought in bree and he has not gone far, I can still feel his malevolence" answered Alater.

[Lady Willow Rose]

A figure blinked rapidly. How she had come to be lying on the cold ground, she knew not. Her mind was a jumble of color and sound. Even her name was a mystery to her. She knew only one thing: Pain. Her body ached and burned. "Valar," she whispered. "Where am I?" There were people near by. Maybe they would help her. "Please!" she cried. "Please, I need help."

[Lady Willow Rose]

No one responded. Of course, that might have been because her voice was to hoarse for shouting. She pulled herself up, trying and failing to ignore the pain. The rags she was wearing barely covered her. She shuddered from the cold and fear. There were people up ahead of her.

An elven woman and a man talked intimately. She staggered toward them.

[Acalewia]

Elnar had now joined the two.
"The King will wait for us at the gates. Is this the Southron I have heard so much of?"
"He is, Elnar" Both Acalewia and Elnar noticed the ragged woman staggering toward them. Elnar dismounted and steadied her.
"Who may you be, Child." he asked. "and where are you from?"

[Lady Willow Rose]

She looked up into the stranger's face and felt the sudden urge to cry. "I don't know," she whimpered. "I can't remember who I am or where I'm from. I can only remember one name and I haven't the least idea what it signifies." She fought the tears that wanted so badly to fall.

[Acalewia]

"What name do you remember?" Acalewia asked as she unpinned her cloak and set it across the woman's shoulders. "It may help us help you unravel your mystery"

[Curubethion]

The Assasin grinned as he looked down from his rocky perch in Minas Morgul. His soldiers marched through the streets, chanting endlessly. They were like deadly ants, following one leader, not feeling anything. Fearless...elite...his fighters.

A bird descended from the sky, landing on his outstretched arm. It was totally black-a giant crow. The Assasin grinned again, and whispered to it. Then, shrieking a loud caw, it flew off, vanishing into the sky.

My next attack...thought the Assassin. Nobody will see it! Haha!

[Lady Willow Rose]

She clung to the lady elf's cloak, grateful for the warmth. "The name was Aragorn," she told her. "Anytime I think the name I feel some sort of connection and safety. Then it's if there's danger approaching. Some sort of attack."

[rohirrim TR]

Night had fallen in the north, the dwarves had gone off by themselves acting quite secretive, Arhor the ranger was on watch.
The night was quiet and brittle with cold in the distance he heard a crack of ice and a rattle of tree limbs breaking in the cold then a swirl of snow wrapped around the fire and extinguished it like a person pinching off a candle flame. it grew colder and Arhor was becoming alarmed suddenly drift snow hit him right behind the knees filling his mouth with ice. a large tree above the camp started cracking and soon fell to the ice barely missing the sleepers. and Alatar awoke. "UP! ALL OF YOU, we must get moving its our only hope, where are the dwarves?"

"the dwarves went on ahead, they said they would return in the morning and lead us to a good fighting position" answered Arhor struggling to get out of the snow that was clustering about him.

"blast! this may ruin all, QUICK to bree it will be safe there for a few days yet but the open country is no longer open to us the Ice drake is drawing too near".

and so they moved out as Morluin watched his palantir with pleasuere.

[Acalewia]

Acalewia and Elnar looked at each other.
"We must away to the King" Elnar said as he helped the woman on his horse. Acalewia and Cumaar followed on her horse. There was something about the woman that Acalewia could not put her finger on. She had a feeling she may have been sent there by the Valar.