Talon followed the young guard down into the bowels of the castle of Taunderon til at length they came upon a less frequented portion of the dungeon. Strangely enough, this night it was frequented much more than usual; a small horde of guards seemed to be surrounding someone, taunting and jeering.The young Talasti.

No doubt news of the King's death had traveled fast throughout the Castle; Talon could tell from the jeers and taunts being hurled in the elf's direction that this was so. For a very long while, he allowed them to simply continue their actions...

...and at length finally stepped forward. "Enough!" he growled, drawing shocked looks from the guards, who backed away from the bruised and cut young man, who was laying limply--although rather defiantly on the ground.

Talon stepped inward, giving Talasti a good moment to look at his fearsome features, then unchained him and yanked him up forcefully into his iron grasp. With not so much as a word to the guards, he then dragged the young elf up into Adra's chambers, where he chained his hands and feet around a column.

Then he stepped back to regard the poor young fellow, his eyes never leaving him while he awaited Adra's return to her chambers.

Continue tracking him on my own...or search out the King's daughter in Taunderon? he pondered.

If Arandil goes to Taunderon, the journey will cost him much time in trying to track the Dunlending. In fact, he may even lose the trail. But he may also discover the chieftain's exact location...

On the other hand, if the ranger continued to track the chieftain on his own, he would have to rely on blind luck to find any traces of him.

As foolish as he is, he is wise and cunning. The Dunlending will undoubtedly try to cover his tracks.

Both choices were extremely risky. If he chooses wrong, the true heir to Gondor will be lost...

Then I'll have to take the throne.

He frowned at the thought, knowing that he may be too weak to do such a thing...knowing that he may share the fate of Isildur...

The night began to grow brighter as the dawn came anew. Arandil quickly put the thought out of his mind and made his decision...

I come upon the outskirts of the Taunderon kingdom... As I feared, we shall not receive a warm welcome...

Kronos took in one last glimpse of the massively upgraded defenses...

Meanwhile, back at the campfire...

"So... you advise against it, my Elven friend..." Landi rose to his feet, and proceeded to wake the others...

"Young prince, the decision comes down to you..."

"We shall ride into Taunderon, as planned... I trust you to keep harm at bay..." Trevor said, as smugly as ever...

"So be it..." Landi was the last to mount his horse, they proceeded east...

To Taunderon...

The rider's horse walked through the forest and onto the dirt path the ranger was following. Arandil recognized that the rider had come from the same path of Wydde's Wood, so he or she must be friendly...

She squatted then, cupping Talasti's chin with her cold hand and jerking his face to where his eyes had no other choice but to meet hers. She leaned in as if she were whispering some deadly secret and, in all acuality, she was. "The Ring will only work for evil, my young captive," she whispered. "Only a fool would try to use it for anything else."

At that she drew back ever-the-slightest, staring into Talasti's hardened eyes, letting her words sink in though she was keenly aware that he did not believe her at all. Then cruelly she ended with, "Think of it, what would a pathetic little elf like yourself want with the Ring, but to achieve your own power... already its evil has claimed you!" she hissed almost gleefully, a dark and unpleasant smile gracing her features.

With that she stood, now dropping something--a piece of fresh bread--from her other hand, knowing that chained Talasti would never be able to get it unless someone actually fed it to him. The young man had to be famished; Adra really didn't know if he'd been fed anything at all in the dungeon and if he had it hadn't been something pleasant. The mere suggestion of edible food had to be utter torture...

Then, her smile growing even darker, she placed a picture of cool water, perfectly clear, beside the piece of bread. "Your friends have forgotten you, my young friend," Adra said coldly. "Join me, and you can begin the road to gaining everything you want..."

With this she said no more, but simply waited to see what Talasti might respond.

"It is heavily guarded... I sense much evil ahead..." Kronos gave warning...

"We press on..." Landi, the wizard, said with much doubt...

The group reached the first wave of guards...

"I am Trevor, Prince of Ithilien, open your borders to my party..."

They awaited reply...

Kronos, the elf, was ever mindful of the dangers lying ahead...

The ranger turned back and stepped forward, ready to dash into the woods. "The city is not far away." he called to the elf. "If we move with haste, we can make it Taunderon before nightfall."

"Taunderon has no use for visitors," the leader commented. Even as he did so, he cast a particularly wary look in the direction of their Elven companion. "We certainly have no use for Elves."

"That's the best joke I've heard in a while... now, you've heard his majesty, he wishes to speak with the king..."

Bendar dropped from his steed, and approached the leader of the guard faction...

"...I am the top warrior of the kingdom of Ithilien, this..." He pointed toward Vereiz,"...is my apprentice, followed by the wizard Landi, and... the elf, Kronos of Dolamroth..."

He gave the great unicorn a gentle pat, whispering his thanks to it before turning again to his companion, "i will take news the the king... I am unsure if i will find my way back to you... take care in your journies, we will meet again should the tree's will it."

then he hoped upon the great mount which was provided, taking a moment to catch his barrings, for he was not one of the most trained horsment in middle earth, and this was indeed much more then a horse...

And then there was one...

Somehow, he had known that it would come to this. A great choice would be put before him, but he knew not what. Now he knew. Three wouldn't have been nearly enough to overpower the guards of the dungeon and free Talasti, even if he was indeed lightly guarded. If there was any hope in freeing Talasti, more manpower would be necessary. L'Endriel was no captain of war, but that was pretty obvious. Since there was no manpower available, the prudent choice would be to wait for the others.

Unless, of course, he decided to pursue a different strategy.

Stealth might work. Now that he was alone, he would have the ability to pass off as a man. L'Endriel looked down at his garb and smirked. He was dressed a bit differently from the elves, and had twin hatchets at the sides of his legs.

Yes, he would pass off as a man.

Travel if you will to save a mere one...Eirianna had said. L'Endriel gritted his teeth. He knew that this "mere one" was suffering, and suffering alone. He knew that when alone, the suffering only multiplied, and hope gave way to despair.

L'Endriel mounted the unicorn without hesitation and began to ride. He did not know how far Talasti had regressed while rotting in prison, but he knew that sooner or later, everyone had their breaking point. Time was of the essence. He bid his steed to ride faster.

His grip on his sword tightened. "Our king has been found dead in the night." he started, then eyeing the elf once more as he continued. "His death was by an Elven arrow."

The squad of guards under his lead picked up on the implication. They tightened their circle about the unwanted guests. "How convenient your arrival then is. If you wish to become enemies of Taunderon, by all means, continue to press onward. If you wish to leave in one piece, however, you would be advised to depart as I have commanded your fool prince..."

It was an image of a large and hideous being, sitting in the darkness of...

Somewhere.

Somewhere familiar; a place she had seen before, even visited once, a long, long time ago. But try as she might, she could not place that locality.

It was as if it were enchanted somehow, that something was preventing her magicks from informing her of where this vicious looking being was.

Then that image segued into another: a woman, darkly beautiful, smiling the smile of a balrog if indeed such a being ever could. A smile of secret events set into quiet motion, here and there, all leading up to....

Eirianna's eyes widened as she jerked her finger from the pool of mercury.

The King of Gondor kidnapped as a babe, long ago, leaving his kingdom under loose leadership. The King of Taunderon murdered, to all appearances by elven arrow. And the elf who it appeared was being set up for the revenge of man...

...was not yet killed.

Why? True he was but a lad, but for what reason was he not yet destroyed? Was it because he had sought the Ring...? He was young, and naive, and open about it; that was a fact.

Someone else, perhaps, sought the One Ring... and perhaps thought this youth knew something, something which would be enough that he would be kept alive. Or he was being used as a trap, to pull the Elven into war with Man, that one turn against the other and thus weaken each other in the process...

...leaving one lurking in growing strength... One who indeed might be seeking the One Ring?

To then use it for....

Now Eirianna leapt to her feet, filled with growing certainty that she was on the right track. She flew upward, following steps carved first in bedrock, then in tamped-down soil, and finally came into the base of a great and ancient oak. As she came out into its hollow base, she went to the cambrium still in the walls, and reaching out one slender hand laid it on the living wood. She dropped to one knee in reverence.

"Thank you, Grandfather," she murmured softly. Then she rose to her feet and exited the tree, to stand in the deep shadows of Wydde's Wood. A piercing keen escaped her lips; soon she was rewarded as Gorfynt came plunging to answer her call. Above her head, his form camoflagued by the forest's canopy, Hecate circled and screamed.

She leapt lightly aboard the stamping Gorfynt, who quieted long enough to turn his noble head and stare at her in welcome. She smiled briefly, and stroked his neck. Then she straightened, her demeanor growing firm.

"Bring notice to those seeking the lad, my friend!" she called up to Hecate. "I ride to the Keep to inform the King!"

The twelve guards were ready, with their hands on the hilts of their swords, it did not matter...

Bendar bull-rushed the main guard, knocking him on his back... before the two guards on opposite sides of the guard that had fallen had a chance to unsheathe their swords, Bendar took them down as well; one of them receiving the hilt of Bendar's sword to his temple, and the other his closed fist...

Vereiz leapt from his horse, pinning a guard near the rear, knocking him out and parrying another guards attack...

Landi, the wizard, threw two guards near the front to the ground with his staff...

With his Lothlorian bow, Kronos was able to disable five guards from atop his steed... hitting three in their digits, and the other two in the hand itself...

With all of the guards incapacitated, Bendar and Vereiz took their weapons and bounded their hands...

"...it's been too long..." Bendar said with warriors' pride... they mounted their beasts... "...Forward! on to the interior gate..." he ordered the guards...

Adra looked to the defiantly quiet Talasti, and snorted. "You are not so brave as even I had thought," she smirked. "You aren't worth the time."

Then she turned her eyes to her crystal, commanding it to show her the visions the Ringwraith had seen. In that crystal appeared the image of a couple of warriors, one who appeared to be a wizard, a young and somehow regally attired young man...

...and an elf.

Adra placed the tip of her right index finger to her lips as she thought. Then she watched the progress of these "visitors" only from her chambers, sensing that an opportunity of sorts was about to arise for her to use...

"Of course, they know we're here [i]now..." Bendar answered back...

"That's not what he meant, prepare yourselves, something wicked this way comes..." Landi said, sending a chill down the spine of young Prince Trevor...

"I shall meet up with you, if you find yourselves within the interior..."Kronos said, before seeming to disappear into thin air...

Kronos took his twin elven short swords from their resting place, between his back and his quiver... He started to climb the castle wall, using his swords as makeshift climbing tools...

Meanwhile

--nor did she care. One thing was certain though, and that was that she didn't wish to deal with yet another fool who wanted that blessed Ring; one was quite enough.

Even as the shadows of the night began to fall once more, Adra stood from her perch next to her crystal and stepped onto the balcony of her chambers, staff in hand. Her eyes darkened further as cues from one of her ever-faithful Ringwraiths informed her of the Prince's location, seeming to somehow beg her for allowance to go to him and drag him into the Hellish depths of non-death where all Ringwraiths dwelt.

She smiled wickedly. Not this time. This one is mine.

Reaching out then with her staff, Adra aimed it for a particularly storm-filled cloud hovering in the air above, channeling her dark magicks then through her staff to charge particles within the cloud. Then she sent those charged particles downward, and they sparked with electric fury into four bolts of lightning directed straight for the unsuspecting Prince and his companions, eeriely not even touching the Taunderon guards. As the bolts disappated...

He couldn't be seen... so rather than attract attention by taking unnecessary lives, he carefully made his way to the gate controls...

The guard watched as the lever seemingly moved on its own...

I wonder why there are so many troops? Its almost like their at war... Arandil wondered.

The ranger had not spoken to the elf for the entire trip, afraid of revealing too much of his quest. It is not Feileacan that worries him though; the spies of this "sorceress" whom she spoke of were. The ranger badly wanted to ask her about that...

Don't ask, don't tell. Best to wait until we find the King's daughter before I ask anything...

Within moments, they arrived to the walls of Taunderon and the main gate. Arandil squinted his eyes to get a better look.

"Odd," he began, interrupting a silence that had followed him for a long time, "A group of men, with their hands bound behind them I think, are marching into the gate."

A strong stench filled the air he was breathing and Arandil turned away. The smell was disgusting. It seemed a cross between wood burning, rusting metal, and dried blood. The ranger realized it was coming from the gate.

Arandil stepped forward with his arm covering his mouth and face as he searched the gate...

He stepped back and walked to Feileacan. "There are bodies...four I think...with their skin burnt. I have no idea what to make of it..."

The ranger became unsure whether it was a wise idea to come to Taunderon at all.

Well he knew there were those who continued on the path they had chosen, a path momentarily departed from by the Daughter of the Moon, who he had befriended. Now bringing his powerful wings in more closely to his body, he stooped earthward, the whistle of the wind now a hurricane in his ears, the clear nicitating membranes sliding down over his eyes to prevent them from drying out in his great dive. Down and down he went, until scarcely five feet from the top of the tallest tree he snapped out his wings, converting the dive into a great and swooping arc. He arrowed along the treetops, crying out again; then with but one or two flaps of his wings he headed sunward once more, up into the freedom of the sky.

One more time he circled the position where he knew the others were... or at least were nearby to it. Then he let out a final piercing cry...

....the one who would dare disturb the bare remainders of the day which the kingdom was spending in mourning of a lost king. Even as she watched she knew what would happen next. The lead guard at the main gate rallied his men and unbound the hostages. Then he sent messengers out to other factions of the Taunderon guard to watch even more carefully for tresspassers. Still, they could not find the one who had opened the gate...

...but Adra knew exactly who had. For of the group of tresspassers which she had just killed, there was yet one missing. The elf, who no doubt was a bearer of an elven cloak which would protect him from the eyes of the guards. She watched even as the lead guard scanned the wall of the gate, his look shifting from one of puzzlement to one of understanding to one of complete anger.

He knew.

Adra smiled wicked even as she continued to keep an eye on the progressing events.

”Elven cloak!” the lead gaurd then snarled, actually drawing his sword, suspicion clouding his eyes. ”Who dares...!?” he then seethed, his men all gathering behind him with their own swords drawn, prepared to move in at the command.

At her crystal, Adra yet watched, her look tinged with...

...satisfaction.

She, as well as the Taunderon guards, merely waited...

Arandil nodded, the thought still on his mind.

"Its probably the only chance we have. The guards on the wall seem to be occupied with something. They won't spot us if we move quickly along the river bank."

The ranger searched for a stream leading inside...and spotted one a few yards away. Arandil and Feileacan moved through the forest until they reached the flowing river. From there they followed it, under cover of darkness, into a tunnel...

She was one of the two elven women the demon had attacked in the woods of Moon’s Keep...

Adra frowned, then snorted disdainfully, knowing that this had to be the “rescue team” for the young Talasti. Either the elves in that village were foolish enough to not see a Ringwraith and a message seared in evil as a threat, or someone was acting against the advice of others more wise. Adra figured the second, for she somehow sensed the strength and wisdom of that other female elf...

...the one who had the power to blind her demons...

Adra was interrupted from these thoughts when there came a knock at her chamber doors. Pulling herself from her crystal, she stood and floated to the door gracefully, opening it to reveal the guard. He opened his mouth to tell her of what had happened at the gate, but she rose a hand to hush him. “I know of your troubles at the main gate,” she said soothingly. “Tell the Captain that it will do him little good to continue seeking the elf; he has probably already used his trickery to get safely within our walls or perhaps even has fled after discovering his companion’s untimely demise. Even with my magicks I cannot say where he is, nor do I know what it is that he seeks if it is here he remains.”

She paused at that then, pursing her lips thoughtfully, the look on her face implying nothing but concern. But inside she was simply gleeful, in an evil sort of way of course, for a wicked idea was coming to her mind. “Strange that an elf should be travelling with men...” she then added, seeing the rising concern in the guard’s eyes. Then she added, “Even now I have also become aware that a female elf and another man are sneaking into our kingdom through our waterways.”

The guard looked alarmed for a fraction of a second, then polished it off into a look of mild concern. "Shall we intercept them, my lady?” he asked.

Adra nodded, the look on her face implying that she regretted having to do so. “I’m afraid you must. But capturing others will only lead the elves of Moon’s Keep to send more to oppose us and weaken our defenses, now that they have murdered our king. After all, they sent this one,” she said, waving at the chained Talasti, “They have sent these others now sneaking in via the waterway...and perhaps they even had a hand in what has happened at the gate, for I know not of any other elf folk who would disturb us.”

She quieted at that, watching as anger gelled in the depths of the guard’s eyes. She had to fight the wicked smile, knowing her plans were proceeding perfectly. “Do you suggest that we take more... aggressive actions against this meddling and murderous elf?” the guard then queried.

Adra’s icy blue eyes met his. “Yes, my friend. We must. Now go, and tell the Captain of the Guard I wish to speak with him. Also make certain to send a squad out after the interlopers in the waterway. Time is key.”

The guard bowed respectfully. “Yes my lady, at once.”

With this he turned and departed hurriedly...so hurriedly, in fact, that he didn’t even note the wicked smile that had finally risen on Adra’s face. Discord between elf and man was beginning, and would soon lead to discord among men if Adra played her cards just right.

Her evil plans were at last bearing fruit...

Yep, I pretty much stood there in silence, I found mental tranquility and verbal hush to be the way of life in such hectic enviroments. It was as of now that I couldn't manage myself, every second she, Adra Slavonic: an sadistic being of uncomprehendable savagery, had a sneer of confidence. At times it even was directed to me which only angered me so much more than I had been angered me so, yet I controlled myself sustaining an expression of lull.

Yet my verbal mental incarceration was slipping at every moment and at times I thought I would explode to expose every edge of anger, instead of intelligently composing myself.

Many things angered me but they were scrambled and unanswerable by even my emotions. I just wandered around them in the void of my mind attempting to clasp them with and intelligent perspective, but that didn't help. They were simple questions that challenged the views, but when challenging yourself their was always a long tide of meditation.

The questions where:

1. Am I angry at the beautiful lady for the root of the altercation or the woman before me?

2. Is it me that is falling further into darkness or this inhuman being?

The list went on and on, but I still couldn't answer it, but maybe if I heard myself say them outloud, just maybe the thought process could change.

"Adra--" I said, my words aiming for her attention though my pause was only momentarily it was not a hesitant of fear by her face that turned to see me.

"Do you believe that I--an elf of such youth to be falling to darkness quicker than the plans that you accumilate, or is it that you hold greater darkness than even I can comprehened?" The statement was delivered cunningly without even a stutter betweein my words, I had assured myself of that with a recall of them in my head only seconds after I spoke them.

It was in the silence of the room that led me to gaze at her deepily, my red fox orbs reaching for her soul to grasp it's very intentions, but I was too short and she was too evil to touch even spirtually.

Arandil frowned, embarrassed for these recruits.

They HAVE to be recruits if they're moving through the water wearing armor on their legs.

Arandil only made a half smile to Feileacan in an attempt to reassure her.

"They're probably as foolish as they are reckless." he said as they continued walking their way through the ankle-high water.

Before long, Arandil and Feileacan reached three tunnels, one going straight ahead and the others left and right. He stopped as two men, dressed in mail armour, emerged from the tunnel in front of them. Two more guards came out of the other tunnels, but did not advance on them. All except one were armed with spears.

Again, Arandil frowned at the ambush.

No wonder I couldn't figure out where they were going...they seperated.

The captain in front of them, holding a sword unlike the others, stepped forward. He pointed the blade at Arandil.

"Surrender your weapons," he stated, "And we will let you live. We will try and make your punishment as lenient as possible."

The ranger, who hadn't even touched his sword yet, nodded towards the elf. "What about her?"

The captain looked at Feileacan and his face flushed red with anger. "She...IT...will never leave this place. Her kind has dealt us a horrific blow and we will have justice!"

The ranger looked at the man quizzically. "What has happened? What have the Elves done to earn such hatred?"

The guard looked and nearly spat at him as he shouted. "They killed our King!"

Arandil moved fast and gripped the spear of one of the guards of the left tunnel. He tried to yank it from him, but he still held a grip and was pulled forward. The ranger punched the man across the face, then struck the other guard in the forehead with the blunt end of the spear.

During this time, the captain was only able to give a surprised expression on his still-red face.

At length he sighed, and raised his head. Eirianna stared back at him, her clear gray eyes troubled.

"It would indeed appear that there is great and surreptitious evil present, my daughter," he said at length, waving his hand toward the disc. "I too find this greatly disturbing, that a prince of man has long been taken... and now a king of man has been murdered, and his death contrived to appear fabricated by Elven hand.

"We have been approached by man to give aid regarding this prince... and I could assist not. Now the King of Taunderon..." He waved once more toward the disk.

"Indeed, it is as you suggest. It would appear that someone is setting man against elven... and the only reason I can think this might be designed is to weaken them both, as you say."

Now he paused, and turned away from his daughter, another wave of his hand indicating he was through with the vision her moon-disc had shown him. She let forth a small sigh, and took it in her hand, letting the silvery substance which had filled it absorb into her hand before replacing it about her neck. Still not speaking, she quietly waited her father's edict.

For surely one was forthcoming.

Gildur strode again to the great arched window, and gazed out upon the quiet beauty of Wydde's Wood. However, all he could see were the shadowy images of the warriors of man, their hands full of weaponry and fire, their harsh cries filling the quiet shadows as they came in hordes to attack the Keep.

This simply could not be allowed.

He turned and faced Eirianna.

"By Elven magicks, and under the protection of the Ents, we shall withdraw from the sight of Man," he at last said heavily. Clearly this was not a choice he was making lightly; much there was that elven had learned from man, and much could man receive in turn from the tutorage of the elven.

"What of the boy, and the noble E'rae?" she asked of length. "As well as the one I chose as brother? Are we to forget them too? Are we to hide away, and leave them to whatever dire fate awaits them at the hands of man?

"And in regard to man," she went on, abruptly changing track. "What of this lost prince? Perhaps if we can assist in finding him, the men of Taunderon would see the possibility that their own king was not felled by Elven hand. It is not logical to strike against one, and give effort to benefit the other."

She paused a moment, considering, sniffing a bit to see the brief fire that flashed in her father's eyes. For though he loved his daughter dearly, he was King of the Elven, and once an edict had been declared he would have none gainsay it.

She ignored the look, and straightened before him.

"Father," she said softly but with that firmness the mighty oak maintains against the gale. "I would return along the path I had taken. I shall use the magick of which I have been blessed with understanding, as well as my own ability with the bow, and shall join with those who seek the lad and who would stand before that evil which creeps like mists among the autumn trees."

She stood tall and silent before him, unspeaking then, until she saw the slight change in his attitude and in his eye. He bowed his agreement, then, and lifted a warning hand to her.

She knew full well what that meant.

"It is understood, Father," she replied in a quiet voice. "I shall not gain entry into Moon's Keep again...

"...until the goals I have set out to take have been reached, and man and elven are reconciled."

With that she stepped forward and wrapped her arms about Gildur in a tight embrace, holding him as though she might never see him again. For indeed, this was something even her magicks could not tell her at the moment.

His returning grip seemed to reach out to prevent her from leaving as she finally backed away a bit. Then, kissing her father on the cheek, she abruptly whirled about and strode out of his Great Hall, soon coming to her rooms where she adorned herself with a travelling cloak and her personal bow and quiver of arrows. Going to a drawer, she took out an embroidered bag, which she fastened upon the sash that bound her slender waist.

Then she departed from the Keep, calling out for Gorfynt as she went. And even as she leapt upon his broad and powerful back, to flee the outer walls of the Keep, even though she kept her eyes focused straight upon the path which twined amidst the trees ahead of them, she could yet feel the very wood cry out in anguish when Moon's Keep and all those within it suddenly slipped into the shadows behind her....

Never to be found by man again -- or indeed, by her -- until the mysterious evil threatening Middle Earth had been successfully thwarted.

The call of the ever-circling Hecate alive in her ears, the warmth of Gorfynt's hide beneath her, she lifted her face and urged her mount to a gallop. Behind her was nothing but trees and shadows and a strange sense of emptiness which only made her heart grow heavy in her breast, and made the creatures of Wydde's Wood cry out in secret pain.

...or you will die here. For though you may desire the One Ring....

...you lack the power to wield it. And if you did have the power to wield it...”

She trailed, her look darkening into a promise of death. As if on cue to that, her crystal responded once more to the sights her minions were taking in throughout Middle Earth, and particularly one region of Middle Earth which Adra had taken great interest in. In the view of that crystal shone the image of a flaxen-haired elven woman whom Adra was beginning to recognize well...

...and was beginning to hate with every fiber of her being. That elven woman was astride a great and mighty unicorn and was headed...

Adra’s eyes grew even darker. She turned from the depths of her crystal to Talasti once more. “You will assist me, whether it is your choice or not. Even now your “friends” come, but they come not for you...” she paused, sensing the fall of Wydde’s Wood into shadow. “...they come merely to protect themselves, and they would not stand for one such as you seeking the One Ring regardless of what they may claim. With me...” she again smiled wickedly, “You will have a power that they cannot even fathom, that they will never hold. For I will control them all...”

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

As Arandil and the Feileacan began to take on the Taunderon guards rather boldly, the eyes of the demon flared into brillant life in a certain sort of demonic...

...amusement. The female elf seemed to somehow sense the watching eyes, but Arandil either did not or paid it no heed. The move was foolish on his part. Even as he whirled on the Captain of the Guards, his face quizzical yet firey, a demonic screech suddenly filled the air, certainly defeaning any who was near, even the Taunderon guard. Before those ears could recover, the demon stepped out of the shadows in the form of a black and inky shadow of evil. The waterways suddenly fell into an abnormal chill, sending shivers of evil down the back of the ranger and the elf. The Tuanderon guards...

...were strangely unaffected by this. Even as that shadow of evil descended upon Feileacan and Arandil and caused them confusion...

...the Taunderon guard recovered from the initial shock and moved in, their eyes firey with anger at Arandil’s foolish attack. The Captain of the Guard took the still-surprised Arandil off-guard and placed his sword parallel to the ground and under Arandil’s chin, holding it tightly to his throat and therefore holding him in place against the wall of the particular water tunnel they stood in. His eyes pierced the ranger’s. “You are an ally of THEM!” he seethed.

Was it that in truth I was what she believed I was or was it that I felt sadistic and evil for the fact that I brought those to rescue me in a situation that could injure them? I simply frowned in reply and continued on a trip of silence. Placing my head down and my eyes closed my mental ability focused on tranquility so I once could be at peace with self to find that this darkness was not me.

I knew it wasn't and I knew she did too...

That being the guard and the sword against my throat...

Arandil pondered the man's question, uncertain over what the answer should be.

If I do not speak he will kill me anyway.

The ranger looked into the guard's eyes, saw the rage barely being held back, then looked at the shadow behind him...already shaping itself into a dark cloud.

Arandil realized what must be done. He must now show the evil that has descended upon Taunderon that he does not fear it, and to show the courage that lies dormant in the hearts of the Men of Middle Earth. He looked to the guard...

"I am Arandil, son of Arungvir, Chieftain of the Dunedain."

Then he shifted his eyes to the darkness that gathered before him, sensing the demon staring back.

"Descedant of the House of Isildur. Heir to the Throne of Gondor. My title is recognized by the Steward of Gondor and if I am slain, he will bring war to Taunderon while you fight with the Elves."

Kronos had found himself walking into this scene while looking for another route his party might use to enter the Castle walls...

Camped out against a near by stairwell, he blended against the sewer wall and took out the guards...

Kronos approached Feileacan carefully,"Why do you enter through the sewers?"

Ulfhak the Scourge could still sense "it"...the cloud in his mind...the thing that keeps calling him even from his sleep. As he led his army south to conquer Taunderon, he still felt the calling. His troops were now a day's march from the kingdom of Man...but Ulfhak couldn't wait. He must find it!

The guards' boots echoed the hallways of the keep...while the rotting shoes and sandals the orcs wore barely made a noise as they scuttled their way through.

Eventually they reached a chamber, richly decorated...with a dark, shadowy feel to it.

Ulfhak crept silently into the keep...the noises in his head were turning to whispers. The orc saw an elf, standing there bound by chains, but before him was an ugly (from an Orc's point of view) human female, wearing a black suit.

It was then that the whispering turned into a voice. It was loud enough to seem it was coming from right next to Ulfhak, and carried with it a sinister tone. It echoed in his ears and head as he heard it.

"Her name is Adra Slavonic, a sorceress. She is my lieutenant as you are my champion, Ulfhak...the Scourge of the Iron Hills."

Ulfhak would have dropped to his knees and whimpered had the voice not frozen him in place. Not just him either; the two other orcs were just as petrified. They knew who was speaking, the only one who had the power to stop them from breathing so they could hear him clearly.

The Dark Lord himself...Sauron.

"I have sent you to aid her in the search for a lost possession of mine. Submit to her as you have submitted to me. Do not fail me, Ulfhak."

Then he was gone. Ulfhak felt air enter his lungs, and he heard his two supporters inhaling again.

It is his will, and my duty to never question it. he thought.

Ulfhak stepped closer to Adra and bowed his head. The other two orcs did likewise.

On and on they flew until at length the darkness about them seemed to lighten a fraction; with a brief snort the spotted unicorn came to a halt at the edge of Wydde's Wood and stood dancing and jigging, his breath steaming out into the cool night air. The Daughter of the Moon reached out a soft hand to steady him, then moved that hand and reached into the bag hanging from her waist. From it she drew forth a mushroom cap and some dried leaves; she crumbled the leaves and sprinkled them into the cap. This she held up toward the sliver of moon which so scarcely lightened the woods, and watched with a clear, calm gaze as those barely-there motes came down in a dancing swirl to play in the cup-shaped piece. She let them gambol therein for a moment, then made a sign above the cap. The motes quieted, then swirled about to form an image.

Eirianna's eyes darkened to smoke as she watched the images coalesce.

So, that one coming to us, and who now travels with Feileacan, is a prince... as is another one, but one of elven blood she mused as she watched the events unfold. And into that growing darkness comes more: an orc brings dire promise of assistance.

Yet nowhere in those sparkling swirls came there information of her chosen brother or the noble elf from her own Keep. She frowned, wondering as to their absence, and straightened with a sigh. The young Talasti was still prisoner; it was for his sake that she had returned after bringing information of dark designs to her father. But those she had returned to join appeared to have disappeared... and others had then popped into being in their stead.

She sat atop the shivering Gorfynt, mulling a course of action. Truly, a bold entry would not be the best thing she could do. Then a thought struck her.

Raising her eyes from the scenes in the mushroom cap, she now raised a hand as well and made a sign in the air. After a few moments, a ghostly shadow came fluttering to her: a luna moth. It settled on her outreached hand with a gentle shimmy of it's minty wings, it's feathery antenna waving in delicate acknowledgment of her summons.

"Fly hence and inform the fey Prince that I am here on the outskirts of Wydde's Wood, and would join with them in the retrieval of the young Talasti," she beseeched the insect. "I thank you for your help."

With that she lifted her hand yet higher and set the moth on its fluttering way. It headed in a zig-zag course directly to the kingdom of Taunderon, where it came to a tickling landing on the cheek of the elven Prince. Securing a strong foothold, it quietly whispered what Eirianna had asked directly into his ear.

retrieval???

Something else, beyond the party's absence, was happening in the kingdom of Taunderon... and Kronos welcomed the mystery with open arms...

He came now, even closer to Feileacan,"Why is it you come here... is it for... Talasti..."

Iiiiiiiiiisildur!!! it hissed yet once more, then falling into a deathly silence.

The information regarding Arandil’s lineage then travelled along a link forged in evil between the Ringwraith and Adra, almost immediately flashing on the crystal before the eyes of the Orc and the Sorceress, and perhaps the young Talasti as well.

Adra’s look didn’t betray a hint of the slightest emotion during all of this. But she did take one step forward towards her crystal in a certain sort of...

...anticipation.

She couldn’t help it. Isildur was the last to bear the One Ring before it was lost, so perhaps this supposed heir knew something of its current whereabouts. If not, however, Adra had other reasons for having a particular interest with this Heir to the Gondor throne...

...and none of those reasons were particularly pleasant. She was well aware that the true Heir to the Throne was missing, for she had played a role in his sudden disappearance while he was just an infant...

Adra directed her icy blue eyes towards the Orc, barely withholding a burning desire to go forth and find out what this Ranger possibly knew. Likewise there was a burning desire within her to seek one other out, one who just might have powers that could thwart the Sorceress from her ultimate goal...

Which, of course, would simply not do.

She pointed to her crystal, whereupon the image of the Captain of the Guards and Arandil froze in place. “To prove your loyalty to me, you shall go and retrieve this Ranger from the waterways and then bring him to me in tact, for he may have vital information concerning something I am most interested in. Go and waste no time, for there are other matters which demand my attention, and soon. There shall be no one who will stand in the way of my goals; no Ranger, no Orc, nor any elf...”

He slowly came to a near by bend in the tunnel, Feileacan close behind... peering down the passageway, he saw a guard holding a man against the side wall... also, a being drowning in blackness, seeming to wait in anticipation...

Without hesitation, Kronos took up his bow...

A mithril arrow found it's self lodged into the guard's upper shoulder, causing him to instantly drop his sword...

Writhing in pain, the guard fell unconscious...

The wraith now approached the man... Kronos quickly took two more arrows from his quiver, enchanting them with elven magics... they ignited in flame...

With the ringwraith ablaze, Kronos charged with the grace of an Elven Prince... His short swords ready for melee combat...

Kronos, Feileacan, a shaken-up Arandil, and fire now battled the ringwraith...

Death could not come to this wraith, but Kronos would wait out it's patience...

"Wait," she ordered the Orc in but a whisper, extending one arm and holding out her hand to place emphasis upon the whispered word. For Adra was now keenly aware that there was another elf present in the picture, if not only for the fact that enchanted arrows had momentarily thwarted her Ringwraith. Even as the Ringwraith began to shriek, others of its kind began to gather in an effort to retaliate...

...but they heard the orders of their Mistress as well.

Wait, my servants.

She finally cast her icy blues towards the Orc. "Strange that those seeking my young prisoner would resist capture, if capture would bring them closer to him. How foolishly they play into my designs..."

She grinned demonically then, sending her final order to her dark minions. In the blink of but an eye, all the Ringwraiths and Demons at her command simply vanished from the waterways, leaving only the wounded Captain of the Guards, the remainder of his men, and the three interlopers.

Adra was most interested in what they would now choose to do...

...and finally lifted off in a tiny whirlwind of its own making. It flew up in a looping arc, circled once about the heads of those it had approached, then shot off in a direct line away from them. This line soon degraded to the up and down zig-zag flight it normally followed; another period of time passed before it came to a landing on the Moon Daughter's palm.

She frowned at the silence it maintained.

"There is no reply?" she queried of the insect. The moth remained silent, merely flapping its wings slowly in the shadows of the forest's edge where they were hidden.

Eirianna pursed her lips, and wandered to where Gorfynt was standing in silence of his own. The faithful unicorn nickered softly to acknowledge her presence, then quieted as she began stroking his neck with her free hand. On the palm of her other hand, the luna moth yet waited.

"I find the lack of communication strange to say the least, if not troublesome," she whispered at length. Although she seemed to be staring off into the shadowy woods, the vision of sorceress and orc and imprisoned elf and murdered king danced in her eyes.

"Did you pass knowledge of their immediate adversaries?"

The wings of the luna seemed to droop at this.

A soft smile came across Eirianna's features. "You followed explicitly what I had directed; it is my error that more information was not given. Please, I beg of you, return to Taunderon. Inform the fey Prince and the heir to Gondor, indeed, and the elven Feileacan, what indeed they are truly up against. Let all know of my being here, waiting. I dare not make a bold entry into the kingdom without prospect of aid from within. But night soon shall fade, and in the light the darkness they battle shall fade somewhat as well.

"Then go ye hence to the young elven, Talasti, and bring him hope. A rescue is in the making. And while you do this, I shall remain here, thinking."

A lift of the arm and the moth was sent along it's return path, where once again it entered into Taunderon and came before Arandil and Kronos and Feileacan. There it obediently flew, from one to the other, utterly ignoring the fallen Captain of the Guards, whispering in one ear and the next all that Eirianna had bidden it do, before alighting on the ear of the Heir to the Throne of Gondor.

There it waited, gathering its strength so that the second portion of its mission could be undertaken, waiting as well so that any in its presence could send message back to the Daughter of the Moon.

"You," Ulfhak said, turning to one of his captains. "Ride back to the army and order to make camp near the river. Have them purge nearby forests and begin construction of siege weaponry. We are not assaulting Taunderon."

The orc nodded and scurried off. Ulfhak looked to his other officer. "Take thirty of your Riders, dismount them, and have them sit around outside the walls. I might be joining you shortly."

As soon as they were both gone, Ulfhak stepped closer to see the crystal better. The orc waited anxiously for the order to go to battle...

Kronos gave the moth word the princess shall not wait much longer for their arrival...

He motioned the two new friends to flea the sewers, and head back the way they came...

Back to Wydde's Wood...

But the ranger did not make a move.

A shivering cold fell upon his body as he heard "it"...so cold that he could not move.

Arandil knew what the sound was, for he heard it before in the Elven forests. It carried with it the same familiarity when the ringwraith spoke it to him...

Isildur

Neither Kronos nor Feileacan heard it; it was only him. He stared into the darkness of the tunnel ahead of him, not even noticing the moth landing on his ear.

Voices were in his mind, almost drowning out the moth's whispering. He couldn't hear them clearly, and they grew louder and more furious. However, he still heard what the creature had to say...and it was enough to snap him from his trance.

Arandil shook his head, and watched his two comrades flee the tunnel from where they had entered.

The voices were gone, and the ranger was able to move now. Without saying a word, he took off after his friends...

"Your kind is so arrogant...so full of pride...it sickens me!" Ulfhak told the elf, and grabbed the man's hair. "I'm looking forward of stripping the skins off your people and feeding them to the wargs."

Ulfhak smiled, displaying a row of jagged rotten teeth. Unknown to him, however, disaster was about to fall upon his troops.

Outside Taunderon...

The orc captain and his men waited impatiently outside the walls in the forests. Their wargs were ordered to return to the army as they dismounted, waiting for them to return.

"Look!" shrieked a scarred soldier. The captain lept over to him and watched as three figures left a large hole in the wall.

The orc squinted his large eyes to see better, and recognized two elves and a Man. He held up a rusty axe and waved his hand in the air, signalling his men to advance.

"What're you doing?" asked one orc. The captain snarled as he spoke.

"We're going to smash some heads..."

"But Ulfhak isn't here yet!"

The captain shook his head. "I've waited far too long for this! Stay back and cower under a rock for that fool Ulfhak; I'm going forth to win glory for our tribes!"

At that, the captain gave a war cry and charged through the forest at the three warriors. Only half his troops followed, however, as the rest retreated into the woods.

"Orcs... approaching from the West..."

Not yet in view, Kronos relied on his keen senses...

"We could out-run them..." Kronos said, as he focused on the two steeds Feileacan and Arandil rode in on...

Now another image flickered int he depths of the cap.

Orcs! she thought, her heart rising in her throat. They seek the others, who at last are trying to regroup with me! But-- has my interference led to their betrayal to the foe?

Concern creased her brow, both wondering if indeed she was the cause of them being noticed by the enemy's armies, as well as debating if there was anything she could do to come to their assistance.

His call was not unanswered.

Soon he came over the place where Eirianna stood, his hawk's eyes clearly able to pick out her quiet form there through the foliage beneath him. He let out another cry of affirmation...

...and continued onward, heading straightly toward the Kingdom of Taunderon, and to the place where roughly fifteen orcs were stumping noisily along.

In his wake he trailed hundreds of hawks and gryfalcons, eagles and even occasional owls, and others of the stooping ilk. They had followed immediately, obeying his commanding call to them.

Thus it was that out of the darkness there suddenly descended upon the orcs a veritable horde of stooping, diving, and extremely sharp taloned and beaked raptors. They stooped and dove, slicing and slashing, piercing flesh and leather with an almost laughably easy grace, the larger of the horde swooping down to grasp an orc's helm by the edges of the eye-slit, often completely removing it from the creature's head, while those followng aimed for their suddenly exposed faces and ripping asunder the orc's eyes, blinding them, or tearing at the throat. Other birds simply added to the fracas by raining down, snatching arrows from quivers, snatching at any skin they could reach before soaring upward to disappear into the darkness once again. It was all but impossible for the orcs to retaliate; occasionally one would grasp a scaly leg as it proceeded to flee upward, halting its progress, to then snap the neck of the brave and unselfish bird. But far, far more hit and disappeared before the orcs knew what was happening, too small and fleet and visibly seen for but flashing seconds before being swallowed up by the night.

This air battle was as swift as it was confusing. At length the orcs stood milling about... crying out and then roaring louder when Hecate himself stooped down in his partly human form, grasped the captain who had chosen to lead this small regiment against the wishes of its commander, and rose with him some 2,000 feet into the air.

From there he let him drop. The captain fell like a stone, thrashing and flailing and roaring, impacting the ground with a sickening thud to remain utterly still, utterly lifeless, its bones smashed and its neck broken.

Another piercing, keening cry, and the birds whirled and fled. Hecate made one great circling maneuver high over the heads of the two elven and the Man, alerting them, before he himself turned and fled back through the darkness to the Daughter of the Moon.

Adra snarled. “This is Her doing, I know it!” In an instant, the image of the Daughter of the Moon fell into the depths of the crystal, so that Ulfhak knew exactly of whom Adra spoke. Then the images flashed back once more to where the valiant Hecate was leading the small group away.

The Sorceress cocked her head and bit her lip, slitting her eyes thoughtfully. She directed her icy blues to the Orc once more. “Your warriors act foolishly,” she then growled, “But perhaps their foolishness can be used to our benefit....”

She hesitated a moment, keenly aware of the Orc’s anger. She played upon it. “We must watch carefully as the daylight draws near, for if they will not come to us...

...we shall be led to them...

...and to Her...

"The creature has come to a rest, just over the second ridge..." Kronos said, as the steeds galloped with much passion...

Not long after...

The group crossed over the second ridge, in the distance the outline of the creature and one of a humaniod could be seen...

But, to the eyes of an Elf, Kronos could see much more... He could actually lock eyes with Eirianna, a look that seemed to be given back...

Feileacan's horse, along with Kronos, was the first to reach the daughter of the moon...

Kronos was the first to dismount, he approached Eirianna and bowed in respect,"I am Kronos, of Dolamroth... I... We come to your heed, princess..." He said, as well as on behalf of his new 'party'...

A sorceress...a murdered King of Man...a captured elf...and now orcs. he thought.

Something dark is gathering in Taunderon, and if it is unleashed, it will surely devastate Middle Earth.

Arandil frowned as he rode closer to the elves' horse.

I have to find that Dunlending...

Finally, he reached Eirianna, whom Kronos was addressing himself to. The ranger dismounted and approached her.

"I am Arandil, of Gondor and Rivendell. You must be the King's daughter." The ranger then bowed to her. "It is an honor to meet you, my Lady."

He felt comfortable near her...her spirit produced a warm aura that calmed Arandil almost as soon as he saw her.

A surprised look fell on his face...then it was quickly swept away by anger. He roared loudly as he let go of the elf and charged out of the chamber.

The guards understood the presence of the orcs being in Taunderon (though they still made disgusted faces towards them), so nothing stopped Ulfhak from getting to his men.

Eventually, he burst open the doors of the Keep and walked out from the castle walls as the guards opened the gate for him. The orc chieftain approached four of his kind, bloody and beaten, that were helped up by other troops.

An orc warrior moved to Ulfhak, hissing as he spoke. "The beassssts from the sssky killed our captain. These four are the only ssssurvivors."

Ulfhak stared at them coldly. They betrayed not just him, but the whole army and everything it stood for.

That simply wouldn't do.

Ulfhak turned away. "Kill them."

He heard their pitiful shrieks and screams as they were torn to pieces by the ravenous orcs. The chieftain allowed himself a small smile; it was the closest he had ever gotten to some type of carnage since the march from the Iron Hills.

As soon as his men were done feasting, Ulfhak called one of them forward.

"Get back to the army, and summon Grishnuk and his company to Taunderon." he ordered the soldier.

The orc gave a slight nod. "How many troops?"

"His whole company." Ulfhak responded. His new messenger shrunk back from him, out of shock and fear.

"Th-that's two hundred..."

"Do it."

The messenger quickly ran off to his destination. Ulfhak watched the orc go, then turned back to the gates of Taunderon.

The Elves will pay...one does not simply humiliate Ulfhak the Scourge and get away with it.

"Rise, Kronos of Dolamroth, and welcome. More than just a little relief fills my heart that you have safely made your way here to me; there were two others who I had been travelling with, who seem to have disappeared."

She turned to Feileacan, who yet remained astride the horse.

"It is good to see you safe here as well, Feileacan of Moon's Keep." She greeted her fellow elf with a brief nod of acknowledgement, before continuing with, "I trust you have informed this new ally of the mission we were upon, as well as of the disappearance of E'rae and L'Endriel? Unless, of course, some dire ill has befallen them of which you know, and of which I am yet unaware."

She paused a moment to allow the elf to reply, when she was approached by the third in their little party. Her clear gray eyes warmed with recognition as Arandil slid smoothly off his mount and approached her. Still smiling, she repeated the gesture she had with Kronos...

...and slowly her smile began to flicker as she sensed his deep-seated fear.

There is a shadow across the soul of this one, she thought to herself, but did not deign to say anything aloud regarding this strangeness. Instead she merely bowed her head in greeting.

"An honor, in turn, it is indeed to at last be introduced to you, Arandil of Gondor," she replied smoothly, recalling her brief view of him back in Moon's Keep. Smiling then, she took a step back so as to encompass the entire party with her gaze, and once having captured the attention of all began quickly running through the information she had sent the moth to reveal them all.

"A young elf from our Keep is imprisoned within the castle of Taunderon. There is a dark sorceress there, who commands the wraiths of the Ring; I fear she has taken the young Talasti as he so foolishly and naively was in search of the One Ring for himself. I set out with companions to rescue the young one, only to learn the King of Taunderon has been murdered, with the murder being made to appear by elven hand. I feared where this may lead..."

She paused a moment, gathering herself, then continued on.

"...so I returned to Moon's Keep to inform my father, Gildur the King of Elves. He has slipped our kingdom into the shadows, away from the realms of Man, to protect our own from a threatening war which we do not merit. But I cannot leave Talasti, so I have come of my own to continue with his rescue.

"However...."

Her eyes darkened to thundercloud smoke, and she pursed her lips in consternation.

"Now Orcs there are who have entered into this mystery, and soon more to come. Look."

With that she held out the cap, showing the solitary orc slipping quietly through another forest, heading stealthily through the trees, his very bearing fairly screaming that his actions bode no good.

"I cannot be certain, but logic would state that this one is being sent for something... and knowing the mentality of orcs, that can only mean one thing. I grow more and more fearful for us all, not only for the kingdoms of Man and Elven, but for all of Middle Earth as well.

"My friends, I trust you have come to me as allies as well as in friendship. Have any here any thoughts they would speak, or suggestions to make? For now I fear my mission to save Talasti from imprisonment has suddenly burgeoned a thousandfold."

An Heir to the Throne of Gondor via the Isildur bloodline, eh? Long have I searched for you... she thought darkly.

For well did she remember the day when she had been with the Dunelandings, when she had just begun to use her powers to manipulate others. How easy it had been to convince the Dunelandings that the caravan of women and children which the true Heir travelled with was a set up for them to attack Duneland and take over the area. The child had been brought to her...

...and how easy it had been for her to convince them that there was no other solution to their troubles but to destroy the child. Yet somehow the other Heir had eluded her grasp and the talents of her dark minions...

...somehow. Adra was keenly aware that the Elves had counterattacked that day...

...and was also fairly certain that this was the one and only reason the other Heir had disappeared. And how very fitting that she know found him aiding the very Kind who had probably saved his life to begin with...

...how very, very fitting.

Adra’s look darkened further as a deeply rooted hatred suddenly found new fuel to add to the fire.

Had these elves—including this one who was so easily able to blind her Ringwraiths—been the ones who had been able to secret away this Ranger, this Heir to the Gondor throne, from her ever-searching gaze?

Turning now to look at the young Talasti coldly, Adra nodded but once to Talon to keep watch once more, meanwhile departing to find Ulfhak. In but a small amount of time, she was able to find him just inside the gates of Taunderon. “Rest your company once they arrive, for daylight will soon be upon us,” she commented, her icy blue eyes demanding nothing but total compliance. “I know the location of the One who implemented the attack upon your company, and well do I know that they will come to us, for they seek the Elf whom I hold captive in my chambers. Rest your men, and rally them...

...but when the valiant party at last arrives...

..leave the Ranger and the white-haired female Elf for me...”

Kronos waited, his mind calculating various strategies...

So, Kronos took it upon himself to plan their assault on the castle of Taunderon...

"I believe it is best if we allot... one group making the initial drive on the castle, and the second a timely reinforcement..." Kronos said at length...

"I shall be in the first, who will accompany me?" Kronos asked, waiting for comments and/or volunteers...

The ranger smiled. "I will accompany you, Kronos, with this first attack."

He looked back in the direction of the kingdom. "The Taunderon guards are well-armoured and trained, but their organization is dependent on their officers. Without them, they'll break. The orcs, however, need no leaders to attack. Their heavily dependent on numbers, but they'll lose courage against stronger foes."

Arandil looked back to Kronos. "We go under cover of darkness. It worked well with us..." he said, nodding to Felieacan. Finally, Arandil faced Eirianna.

"Also...there is a personal matter I must discuss with you, my Lady, but it should wait until this is done."

Hopefully, the Dunlending will do the same...

Having his say in the battle plan, Arandil took a step back to attend his own counsel.

The One Ring?! he thought, his face not revealing the emotion he felt over such a thing.

The Ring....so thats what this is about. This war between Man and Elf, the sorceress, the orcs...all aimed to the finding of the One Ring.

He glanced briefly at Eirianna. Yet, her kind have not discovered it either. How strange...they fight over something that neither have possession of.They've been keeping this a secret...from Men. Why?

His closed his hands into fists and tightened them.

What is that they fear?

For a moment, a brief moment, deep inside Arandil's mind a voice whispered four words...but it was so quick that he never heard what it said.

The Doom of Man.

"...alas, I feel I should need a creature of graceful stealth for this first attack..."

He knew of a kingdom of men that was sure to offer him shelter for the night...

Taunderon...

But, this was not the case...

Approaching from the West, he quickly and most easily noticed the hoard of Orcs that awaited him...

A few hundred meters past the easternmost part of Taunderon, D'Artagnan could make out 4 different beings in the distance...

He strode up, unimpeded, for they must have known his intent was nothing but pure...

With every beat of the beast's hooves, D'Artagnan could make out those who now awaited him...

A man... and 3 elves... one of which was the fairest being he had ever laid eyes upon...

He dismounted, somehow dismissing all but the one he now approached...

He knelt, took up Eirianna's hand and recited a sonnet that came not only from his heart, but from his very soul...

"As fast as objects to his beams assemble?
O'... 'tis the first, 'tis flattery in my seeing...
and my great mind most kingly drinks it up:
Mine eye well knows what with his gust is 'greeing...
and to his palate doth prepare the cup:
If it be poisoned, 'tis the lesser sin
that mine eye loves it and doth first begin..."

D'Artagnan, never wavering his gaze into Eirianna's eyes, softly pressed his lips to her hand...

He now stood, awaiting questions he knew would come...

Then her humor got the better of her, and for a moment all thought of darkness and evil and the captured Talasti fled to the back of her mind. She turned a clear look back upon the human, a wry smile coming to her face. Then she spoke to him in a manner similar to which he had her:

"O, what a mansion have those vices got
Which for their habitation chose out thee,
Where beauty's veil doth cover every blot,
And all things turn to fair that eyes can see!
Take heed, dear heart, of this large privilege;
The hardest knife ill-used doth lose his edge."

Folding her slender hands gracefully together, she raised them to her lips, not wanting him to see how that wry little grin had transformed into an outright smile. For a moment she struggled with herself, then finally managed to put aside the momentary camaraderie.

She now turned to Kronos.

"I am not skilled in the ways of the warrior, although I am fair with the arrow and can ride like the wind. I don't know if this is what you seek in the first assault upon the city; think you I really have the weight to lend in frontal battle against orc and sorceress?"

He then continued,"...furthermore, it would not be wise to keep all of our eggs in one basket..."

His eyes lit up, and a sly smirk came to D'Artagnan's features...

He took the cavalier from it's resting place upon his head, and held it to his breast...

"For I impair not beauty being mute,
when others would give life, and bring a tomb...
There lives more life in one of your fair eyes
than both your poets can in praise devise..."

The smirk changed to that of a smile, and his eyes showed brightly as something sparked inside of D'Artagnan...

He could not notice his hindrance to the plan that lie before them all...

"Why do you do this, why are you so evil?" He questioned, his eyes being cascaded with the sheets of tears. He felt the urge to whipe them away but his shackles held him down.

She paused, her icy blues pinning his eyes. "I understand what you seek far better than you might suspect, far better than the Elves who claim to be coming for you yet dawdle in doing so ever will."

With that she then stood and took her crystal in her hands, again turning to Talasti and kneeling before him, her right hand atop the crystal as she closed her eyes and summoned an image to reveal itself in its crystalline depths.

The image of Kronos, Arandil, Eirianna and the seemingly love-stricken D'artnangun swam into focus. The two latter members seemed to be caught up in some sort of romantic exchange, distracted from any plans which they most certainly were making...

Adra opened her eyes, allowing Talasti to view that image. "Indeed they take their time though they believe your very life is at stake. Are you indeed certain that, if and when they come, you will want to return with them at all?"

Her blue eyes locked onto his once more, and she waited.

"No, I'm not sure if I'll want to go. I don't know what I'll do." He said, revealing his feelings as he refocused his eyes back upon the crystal that exposed these images.

'What am I doing?' He mentally asked himself, feeling his heard begin to pump with the adernaline as it's provoke.

'Shut up, we will be gaining all we need in the world under this beautiful lady.' Talasti's more overly confident side began to talk in his mind, caressing it with it's intentions.

He attempted to reach for his brain, but then he noticed the chains upon his wrist. The chains. They held him from mobile action at all, and if he embrace her like a mother, like a real woman he would wield the freedom of movement, for his spirit to drift along like the wind about him.

Adra stepped back then, still clutching her staff expectantly. Finally she spoke. "Come, so that we may eat together and discuss The One Ring. For you and I, my young friend, shall indeed find it. And when we do...

...all others who hold rings of their own shall bow to us...

"Stay your words of such frivolity, D'artagnan!" she suddenly cried out, a frown darkening her lovely features. "Time we have not for you to ply your troth, nor for me to sidestep it as my dear Gorfynt would sidestep any living thing in his path!"

And you are Man... and I am Elven, the silent words shot into his eyes from hers.

She turned then to the others.

"We waste time; Kronos, so certain are you that I should accompany you in this first wave? Yet, we of the elven race can tread with a far lighter foot than man...."

She drew herself up, nodding her head and reached a slender hand up to grasp her bow.

"So be it. I shall travel with you, that you and I lay initial siege to the fortress in Taunderon. Mayhap we can create enough havoc there that our two warriors can follow after, and we may save young Talasti from the foul clutches which grasp him. For behold."

She held out the mushroom cap, in which the image of a dark sorceress freeing and embracing the young elf was clearly displayed.

"It is clear he knows not what he does."

She took a step forward now, to close the distance between herself and Kronos, but paused. Her eyes grew dark and moist as they turned upon Arandil.

"I am not remiss, nor have I ignored your plea, my friend," she said softly. "When all is right, I shall most gladly lend an ear and whatever else I may in regard to this personal matter of which you have spoken."

Then she uttered a piercing whistle, and from the shadowy woods about them Gorfynt trotted into view. Disconcertedly enough, he was soon followed by Brisgean the Silver...

"I hate them." Those were the words that pounded in his brain as he walked forth, his feet heard hitting against the surface. It was a feeling in him that was so similar, but hard to describe.

Though he was physical free, his soul felt incarcerated in the power of darkness. Manipulated and utilized by his narcissistic personality that occasionally came to the forefront during combats. Yet now he was incarcerated in a combat with himself, which meant that he had lost all hope of light.

He had been beckoned, and taken in the hands of Adra, which was once a nightmare, but now a dream that had successfully became reality.

"They will bow to me." He murmured repeatidally under his voice, attempting to remind himself that this was all for the better and without a speck of flaws.

D'Artagnan chose this time to interject, never withdrawing his suave smile,"...a rescue mission, I'd be glad to volunteer my services as a swordsman... and a gentleman..."

Kronos turned to D'Artagnan,"The odds are greatly stacked against our favor..."

D'Artagnan now passed his gaze in the direction of Eirianna,"...I love a good challenge... when the prize is fair..." He said, as he focused his attention back to Kronos...

"Very well, you will be party to the reinforcements... they shall fill you in, for time is of the essence..."

Kronos approached the black unicorn, gracefully taking himself on to the beautiful creature...

He waited for Eirianna to do the same, and follow his lead toward the castle of Taunderon...

Then she stepped aside from him, bowing slightly as if honoring him and then allowing him to take from the bar well before she did. As he seated himself she only then took her own small plate then sat across from him. She took a small fruit from the plate and bit into it, then turned her eyes once more to Talasti.

"Tell me..." she started, "What do you know of the One Ring?"

"I know that it is a powerful ring that could bring back tranquility if used without darkness." He said, feeling a sense of calmness and light come through his mouth that hadn't been since his entrance into the castle.

The Steward knows I left Rivendell...and he knows I'm in Taunderon. he thought. Why would he only send one guardsman?

He stepped forward, then placed his hands behind his back to hide the wrist bands.

"D'Artagnan, I am Arandil of...Rivendell." he said. "I and the Elves are preparing to advance on the kingdom of Taunderon, now held by the King's advisor, Adra Slavonic. Unfortunately, she seems to be a powerful sorceress in service of Mordor. Only recently have the Taunderon people shown aggression to the Elves, and orcs have been seen marching into the castle walls."

"We are going to rescue an elf in Taunderon, who has been blamed for the King's death. Our assault needs to be silent. Kronos and Eirianna will lead the first group, and all of three of us will lead the second as reinforcements. We move in on their signal."

Arandil's introduction was enough to bring his attention back to the events surrounding him...

It wasn't so much that he was now speaking, but it was what he was saying...

D'Artagnan was mightily wooed by the graces of Eirianna, but he was no fool...

In being wooed, he failed in his attempt to establish acquaintances...

He never did give his name...

Yet this Arandil knew it, doubtful that one from Rivendell would know the name of D'Artagnan...

That meant one of two things...

Arandil was lying, or D'Artagnan had already made acquaintances with he...

Either way, D'Artagnan had the upper hand... breathing but a word of distrust now would negate that power...

Taking one last look at Arandil's slowly departing form, D'Artagnan took upon his trusted steed...

As the whole of the company filed inside the courtyard, they extended their lines so that it was four rows deep. There the orcs waited for their next command...

Ulfhak smiled as he climbed down from the top of the wall to converse with the orc captain. "Grishnuk!" he called. "How fairs the army?"

Grishnuk approached him, flanked by the flagbearer. "The siege weapons are done, my lord. We have also sent raiding parties out to nearby villages..."

"Have we been seen?" Ulfhak asked. The orc shook his head.

"No...but we have seen elves disappear into the woods...and not far from here we caught the scent of Man."

Ulfhak nodded, grinding his teeth as he planned. "Daylight is starting to fade...disperse your men onto the walls and the waterways. We suspect an attack here..." he looked up at the Keep.

"Soon."

In a chain of grunts and growls, the orcs broke formation to attend their new patrol jobs. Many of the human guards were disgusted by their arrival, and some were frightened by their presence in Taunderon. Ulfhak began to walk towards the Keep...

Kronos stopped on the outskirts of the Taunderon territory...

"We must walk the remainder of the excursion..." He said, dismounting quickly and gracefully landing upon the tips of his feet...

"Your presence here is more than the happenstance of your stealth... furthermore, that of your girth..."

Kronos unstrapped his cloak, so that it would now hold both he and Eirianna within it's enchantment...

He approached the Daughter of the Moon,"...Forgive me M'lady..." Kronos said as he took the liberty of absorbing her into his grasp...

Without another moments haste, he strode quickly for the castle of Taunderon...

Invisible to the naked eye...

Not long after...

Within the walls of Taunderon, Kronos surveyed the area in search of two human guards astray from the rest...

It didn't take them long to find such, and disrobe them as well...

Now, as Eirianna and Kronos came from the deep interior of the castle draped in the clothing of the enemy, they slowly made their way through the human guards... quietly dispatching one after the other...

The masses of Orcs, yet not all that were expected, were now in view...

The time for reinforcements had arrived...

Taking up the horn Kronos had seized from the guard, he began to belt out 3 distinct notes...

The sign had been given...

In one swift motion, Kronos took upon his swords in one hand and his cloak of invisibility in the other...

"I cannot in good conscious have you be seen, M'lady..." Kronos said, as he tossed Eirianna his cloak...

Waiting for no one, Kronos approached the horde of Orcs... simply disappearing among the masses...

...which was exactly the massed amount of enemy they now faced: they, two lone and highly daring elven.

Two, one most brave and stout-hearted... and the other not lacking in abilities and resourcefulness herself. The frown on her lovely features vanished as inspiration struck. She glanced upward, noting indeed that night had fallen and that the moon was above them in its ripe fullness.

And she herself was the Daughter of the Moon....

"Kronos!" she dared risk giving away her position by crying out in a loud voice. "Seek high ground!"

Then she whirled, the cloak flying about her, and proceeded to do just that herself. Soon she found herself upon a battlement of the castle, looking down into the courtyard where the orcs flailed amidst themselves, striving to find the elven prince who slipped here and there between them like a pale ghost, leaving orc after orc dead in his wake, a single arrow expertly sending it to its final rest. There in the distance, orcs were lining the river and tributaries of the waterways leading into Taunderon, waiting there to claim as their victims any who dared try to sneak in via the tunnels as had her party earlier.

She smiled grimly, her eyes taking on the hue of a tornado-spawning cloud.

Then she threw back her head, raising her arms to the moon above, and cried unto it in her magickal elven tongue.

"Father of Night, heed my cry! Gather up the waters as is your wont, and wreak havoc upon those who wouldst kill me and mine!"

Quite suddenly, although of course it didn't vary from where it silently orbited the earth, the Moon seemed to grow in immensity. Something of an otherness seemed to stretch forth from it, as it reached down in response to that beckoning to do what the moon indeed does... and has been doing since it first orbited earth and earth first had its seas:

It created tides, quite naturally in those seas. But now it was called upon to act in a specific manner... and it did not fail to heed that call. It sent all its great heaving forces down, down, down... pinpointing a particular river and its particular tributaries, coiling up all those waters into one immense and quivering bulge that towered nearly a mile high...

... which it then let free with a mighty, resounding roar.

The waters rebounded with a thunderous crash into Taunderon, easily overflooding into the courtyard where orcs were sent smashing willy-nilly, the water cascading up underneath the helms they wore to easily drown them. Many who were not lucky enough to drown outright found themselves shattered and broken, limbs smashed beyond recognition, let alone use. And along the banks of the waterways the story was the same, only here it was against trees instead of stone walls that the orcs were smashed and drowned against.

Wave after wave sloshed back and forth, churning in a wild and frothing mixture of water and stone and orc and wagon and guard and weapon and whatever else happened to be in the path of its fury. And when that water finally abated, and sank back into the riverbanks from which it had come, it was to reveal a nearly completely decimated army.

Perhaps 100 orcs yet remained alive... and of those, a mere handful were entirely unbroken.

"Kronos!" Eirianna dared risk giving away her position by crying out in a loud voice. "Seek high ground!"

Heeding the Daughter of the Moon's warning, Kronos swiftly exited the horde of Orcs...

Approaching the castle wall, Kronos took up his bow and fired off five mithril arrows into the stone bricks...

These arrows were strategically aligned as a make shift step ladder...

Kronos was but a blur, as he reached his peek... seeming to float up these steps of mithril, he leapt onto a large crested drape that lie upon each wall of Taunderon...

Climbing to the top of the castle wall, Kronos had successfully escaped his early demise...

He now look down upon the gruesome site of broken and beaten Orcs with his blue elven hawkeyes... searching for the one he knew he could not possibly see...

So... he simply stood atop the wall, his right leg propped up on it's side, as he leaned upon it peering arbitrarily among the crowd of Orcs...

His hair slightly skewed from it's normally tight fashion, and his deep breaths for that of an elf were all that would take notice upon him... as he continued to search for the one called Eirianna...

...and she saw him, standing some 100 yards from her, one foot rested upon the edge of the castle wall as he peered fearlessly down into the ruined havoc left in the wake of the flood she sent. Her heart leapt; if she could see him, so could other eyes...

...and those other eyes undoubtedly would be filled with fury.

Without further thought, she simply turned and raced toward him, leaping fallen stones here and there, for the rage of the waters had crested this high at times, toppling the crenellations from the top of the wall in a random patchwork which made her going a little rough. But of elven stock was she, and sure of foot; it was but the work of short moments before she drew herself up to a breathless halt beside Kronos.

He turned his head to look at her.

"And now, in the midst of those who yet would seek us ill, I cannot in fair mind let them find you, brave warrior," she said softly, holding out one cloak-draped arm, and thus inviting Kronos to share with her the embrace of its invisibility. Perhaps then, they could depart to where their reinforcements were fast approaching, to lay their follow-up onslaught against the pitiful remnants of the once-mighty orc army.

Once Kronos felt their safety under the light of Moon was enough, they disrobed the cloak...

Luckily they did so, as the group of reinforcements came striding by, or they might have become pavement beneath the onslaught of the beasts hooved feet...

Although, this did not stop two of the three horses from bucking their riders from their backs...

Feileacan the only one not thrown, due to her prowess as an Elf, dismounted and checked on the downed men...

Finding no injuries, the men and the female elf approached Kronos and Eirianna...

Looks of confusion on their faces...

"We must fall back, regroup..." Was all Kronos said...

But...what of the guards...?

He quickly ran back and remounted his horse, then rode through the gateway into Taunderon. He slowed down his mount so that he could see the bodies on the wet, soggy ground clearly. Many were orcs, some were squirming in pain, but there were the guardsmen as well.

Arandil hated the orcs, but the sight of his fellow Men lying dead on the ground, helpless to the onslaught that overcame them, sickened him deeply.

"So...this is the cost for one elf? The lives of a hundred men?" he asked no one. He looked up at the Keep.

He searched for a reason, ANY reason, to reassure himself that somehow they deserved to die. Was it because they were forced servants to the sorceress? Was it their small, petty anger towards the elves?

'Fall back, regroup' Arandil recalled Kronos' words.

As he continued to stare at the Keep, his words repeated inside his mind. They began to fade away, as whispers from a hundred voices overwhelmed them. Each voice repeated the same thing over and over again...

At length she started, alarm rising to engulf her.

"What does he think he is doing?" she cried, turning to Kronos now that the man had disappeared entirely from view. "All we have risked... all we have gained, to even the balance of that against we fight... all for nothing now? Now he too risks himself in capture by those few of the enemy who yet remain alive? Can he not see what use his station might be in the light of the bigger picture; can he not see that larger image at all?

"Why does he ignore your order, why does he do this?"

Scrabbling in her pouch, she withdrew her mushroom cap, made another motion above it with swift grace, and stared intently into its tiny depths. There the image of Arandil was revealed, dismounting, sword in hand, striding into the veritable den of the dragon.

She turned eyes widened in shock and alarm to Kronos and D'artagnan, sweeping them both with her gaze.

"He must be stopped; he must not be captured. The Darkness must not have pawn of both Man and Elven in its grasp; oh how insidious is the misty, coiling hand with which it strives to clutch dominion over all of Middle Earth!"

With that she said no more, but whirled away from the others and uttered that same peculiar keening whistle. From the darkness surrounding them, the stamp of hoofbeats came into their ears, and Gorfynt came leaping forward, to stand snorting and pawing.

"The time for boldness is now, my friends, while the enemy is lost and befuddled in its extremity!" Saying thus, she leaped astride the unicorn and sent her heels into his side. Gorfynt reared slightly, then took off, his pounding feet carrying her quickly and surely to the very gates she had just left. It was only then that she realized she yet held the cloak of invisibility in her hand, having been in the mere action of disrobing from it when Arandil made his unexpectedly foolhardy move.

Throughout all of this, the orc's face had grown redder and redder, and his claws dug deep into the wooden frame of the window.

He knew what would come next; whatever survivors Taunderon had will mount a defense inside the building...and would rout if they were still fighting the same being that devastated them outside.

Unless I am with them.

Ulfhak gripped his sword tighter, then dashed out of the room to reach the staircase leading to the bottom...

I will meet them head on...and they will pay dearly for what they had done to me!

"Go, my dear friend," she whispered softly as with a quick motion she tore a piece of the cloak of invisibility from its hem. One quick movement more, and that bit was firmly skewered upon Gorfynt's spiraled horn.

"Go, and find a place to remain in hiding, to await my calling. For where I go there is not room enough for your dancing hooves, my friend; I would place you not in harm's way by requesting you carry me into a place in which you would have no turning room.

"This bit of elven magick will keep you hidden from all eyes. I shall call you when I need you again."

With that she wrapped her slender arms about Gorfynt's muscular neck, losing herself in the sweet scent of his hide and hair of his mane as she hugged him. Then, stepping back, she gave him an encouraging little slap on the shoulder, turned, and headed off on the footsteps a moth might take toward the doorway into the Keep...

...which gaped open like the veritable jaws of doom, eager to devour her. She tiptoed along, quietly unslinging her bow and placing an arrow to its string, ever ready to do her part, as she crept unseen through that doorway and along the dismally dark passageway beyond it, following the sounds of booted footsteps she heard in the distance ahead of her.

Soon she had come into sight of Arandil, who stood, sword in hand, looking about himself as though pondering what action would be best to take at that point. And the fact that he was clearly debating some sort of action was not what sent chills coursing up and down Eirianna's spine.

They rode into the castle, Kronos ever watchful for archers on the wall...

The beast was swift in it's delivery of Kronos and D'Artagnan to the entrance where both Eirianna and Arandil had admitted...

D'Artagnan unsheathed his rapier, held it high toward the heavens, then brought it back to his chest...

Kronos was impeded from moving past D'Artagnan for there was an arm obstructing the Elf...

"All for one?" D'Artagnan asked impartially...

"And... one for all..." Kronos simply retorted...

D'Artagnan took his arm from where it rested backhand against Kronos' chest...

Kronos did not wait for anything more, as he disappeared into the aperture...

D'Artagnan nodded to himself, a smile emerging from his features,"I like it..." he then strode to catch up with Kronos... a wise decision, indeed...

It was then he came into his mind.

He couldn't move, nor breathe, nor blink. The night sky ripped itself apart as fire pierced through it...flowing downward until it stopped in front of Arandil.

The fire did not engulf him...it retreated itself until a crevice began to form in the middle. It grew wider and wider...until he realized that this manifestation was a great, lidless eye of fire.

The fire drowned out all things in Arandil's view, consuming his whole vision. Then he heard his voice.

"Isildur..."

The name echoed in his ears...and in a flash, the Eye dissipated in front of him. Arandil could see the Keep and the sky again...but only barely as he fell onto one knee.

He felt the water returning to his dry eyes, and shut them as he tried to catch his breath. In the distance, he heard neighing from a horse. Though he did not see her, Arandil knew it was Eirianna.

One side of him immediately told him to tell her what happened...that they should leave as swiftly as possible...

But the other...the other side said they must breach the Keep. For the sorceress knows the fate of his brother...and to come this far only to turn back would be foolish.

Besides, the elf had did most of the damage to Taunderon anyway...

Staring into the ground, the ranger made his choice...

"True, the guards may be deeper inside, my friend... but we cannot rush in mindlessly. Many have dropped, but there are yet enough remaining to give us battle. We daren't go in each alone, but must combine what small force we have and use cunning and stealth to achieve our goal of rescuing the young Talasti."

She paused a moment, breathing lightly into his ear. Then she continued.

"The sorceress already has one of the elven in her clutches, and appears to be misleading Men into believing we are the murderers of their King. Arandil, we cannot let her take you as well; what dire purpose would she strive for, who would she use you to manipulate? Turn Man against Man? Taunderon against Gondor? There is much on the side of darkness she could use you for..."

Suddenly she stopped, aware of the fact that there was more truth in her words than she thought. For although she couldn't sense exactly what it meant, she could feel a certain... darkness hovering over this strong ranger like a stormcloud hovering over a Keep.

She frowned, catching her lip in her teeth. Then she rummaged in her bag, and drew out a small silvery item. It was an amulet of the full moon.

"Here, take this," she said softly, pressing it into the ranger's hand. "There is a shadow over you... but this will serve to protect you from the darkness which strives to claim us all. The light of the full moon is bright; may it bathe you in its strength."

She then dared place an arm about the ranger, so the cloak enveloped them both, blinking his form into invisibility as she pulled lightly against him, moving them away from where they had been standing and into another, now unknown, position. There she paused, and waited to see if his next actions would bespeak his understanding of the sense within her words or not.

...and not because of the many deaths of the orcs and the possible deaths of Taunderon citizens...

...but rather for the orcs’ failure...

...and the sense of something else entirely. For not many had the power to call upon the waters for their aid...

...except perhaps the elves.
Was this the work of She who would dare defy the Sorceress’s own dark powers, for she HAD been enroute to Taunderon to rescue Talasti by Adra’s last knowledge...

Adra’s face contorted into a look of complete disgust, and she turned her dark senses outward, calling upon the night to aid her quest in finding this one...

...but to no avail. Yet she did find one, one whom she was most interested in...

...Him, the one whom she had lost, the Heir to the Gondor throne...

Smiling wickedly then and totally ignoring Talasti, she reached out with her dark powers for the Ranger Arandil, and began to feel him respond...

...when suddenly he too seemed to disappear from her influence. Only with the greatest effort did she refrain from snarling aloud; with greater effort she turned an icy blue gaze to young Talasti. “They come for you now, to stop you from gaining the wealth of power you would have with me, from gaining the wealth of power you can have over them. Now is your chance to defy all which they try to do to you, my young friend.”

Then she turned to her crystal, where the only two visible intruders swam into clear focus...

...an elf, and a man who were even now entering the castle. Adra frowned darkly, pondering her next move. She turned her icy blue eyes to Talasti then, smiling wickedly, pointing to the crystal and the image therein. “We have no need to fear these impudent fools,” she said darkly, her smile broadening even more sadistically. Then she extended her right hand above the crystal, closing her eyes and throwing back her head, calling upon the shadows of the night to aid her once more. Around the twosome...

...as well as the intruding Feileacan...

...gathered a horde of demons at the Sorceress’s command whereupon they began to crowd and claw their unsuspecting prey with unrelenting eagerness...

In it's wake was one additional man, and one fewer horde of demons...

The newcomer now had 3 pairs of eyes pinned on his white essence...

Kronos the only one to recognize the man in white,"Landi, it is you..." He said, a smile coming to his face as he rushed toward the wizard...

Greeting Landi as if he was a long lost friend,"Where are the others?" Kronos asked...

Landi wasn't quite sure what he was talking about, he answered that the man Kronos knew was no more...

D'Artagnan was amazed as well,"What kind of magic was that, old man?" he said, grateful of the rescue...

"It wasn't me... it was the resurgence of life that thwarted the evil... Now, if someone would be so kind as to tell me the year, I will be on my way..." The old man finished...

"Thank you, my Lady. Your words have made me see the foolishness behind my actions...and the ways to avoid such similar mistakes." he said.

No more than a few moments passed that new events swirled about them. Though he did not see it through the cloak, the ranger could hear the arrival of a new presence on the grounds...and the cold shiver going down his spine fromi t.

"Come," she breathed into his ear, her voice the whisper of a butterfly's wings. "Let us rejoin the others, and plan quickly the second phase of our attack. For now is the time to strike, but again, we must be in unity when we do."

With that she quietly but insistently drew him back to the place where the wall about the city had crumbled, and stealthily crept out of it, all the while making certain the cloak was about them both. A peculiar whistle from her full lips, and the pounding of Gorfynt's wild hooves soon sounded in their ears. As he came up to stand nearby, she quickly threw the cloak back that she could mount him. Turning she held a hand out to Arandil.

"Quickly, now; come!" she urged him, then taking the hand he reached out to her and assisting him to a seat on Gorfynt's broad back behind her. She then wrapped the cloak of invisibility about them both, making certain something of it touched the unicorn's hide in protection, and with a light cluck pressed the creature into motion.

Gorfynt needed no further direction. He snorted, tossed his head, and reared. Performing a flawless one hundred eighty degree turn on his hind legs, he came down in motion, and soon had left the walls of Taunderon behind.

A young man of chivalry, D'Artagnan approached Gorfynt holding his arms out to steady Eirianna's dismount...

Arandil dismounted from the beautiful beast's rear... D'Artagnan, arms ready, awaited Eirianna to show her intentions... for he knew an Elf woman could handle such things, he couldn't help but lend a hand to a lady...

"There are six of us now, and the orcs' army lies in shambles, as does the army of men," she said a bit breathlessly.

"There is no better time than now to breach the fortress, but in a united and planned manner. What say you, anyone? Ideas?"

With one gracefully quick motion, he rose his arms over his head... reaching back and drawing his swords, Kronos surged the weapons into the ground...

He then spoke up,"The time for weapons of men and elves has past..."

Now, successful in acquiring the attention of all,"...we must have faith in our miraculous accompany... for incantation is our only hope against what still lies ahead..."

He quieted at that, waiting for support...

We'll fortify the Keep...no way that witch can cast water in here!

"I want archers standing by every window! Have them assisted by at least one other guard!" he ordered an orc. The creature started limping back to gather such teams together.

He had been split enternally so far that it had became hard to react, and it was slow for him to if he was to at all. This was clear now, as silence rained mad in the chambers after Adra had finally spoke of what was going on. Staring into her eyes, he reached forward, pulling aggressively at her neck and kissing her. A kindle of bliss and an activation of disgust went through his veins, confusing him.

Releasing and falling back from his aggresive, but somewhat passionate touch of lips, he looked transfixed at the ground. The very gulp that visablly ran down his throat signified all his confusion running down his body, pounding along with the sound of his heart. A tear rolled down his left eye, as his right side of his lip curved into a smirk.

He felt pleasure, as well as ultimate pain. It was her who gave him those things, and he didn't know how to release this emotion, so it seemed a kiss was all he could give. The aggression of it had brought lust, a sensation of disgust to the table, but the simple fact he kissed her gave a aura of love.

The Daughter of the Moon smiled, the curve of her lips at once both alluring and sly. A certain flash of darkness wafted through her clear eyes, bringing a touch of smoke into them as Kronos's impassioned words came into her delicate ears.

She didn't move from her spot but remained standing where she was next to Gorfynt, swaying just a bit in tandem with his restless movements. The hand laying upon his withers now moved of it's own accord, and began to gently twine a bit of his mane between its fingers, the movement innocent enough yet given an undercurrent of darkness by the look which flickered in the depths of her eyes.

Then her vision seemed to clear, and she spoke up.

"This I can promise you, my friends," she said quietly, glancing slowly round to capture the full attention of all present. Her eyes stopped at the white wizard, and held steady in his own pair.

"Unless our new friend wishes to take the honors...."

Kronos simply smiled, gathering up his twin elven short swords...

That's the old Landi...

D'Artagnan quickly took upon his steed, others following suit...

All but Landi had a beast to ride... Kronos approached Landi allowing him to tag on with Brisgean the Silver...

The group rode into the keep of the castle...

"Archers, on the wall!" Kronos bellowed...

Landi said something in a foreign tongue, and the keep lit up... the archers, as if deer caught in headlights, couldn't focus for the lives of them...

"That should even the field..." Landi quipped...

Kronos was the first to approach the aperture...

"It's well fortified..." He said, turning back to the group...

"Be wary, all!" she cried out in a loud voice, then rode Gorfynt out into the open. He came to a rearing halt at her silent command, so well tuned to each other were they both, and stood in one spot in the middle of the large courtyard with lay outside the main door leading into the castle itself.

Eirianna threw back her head, and reached her hands to the sky. It arched overhead, a star-sprinkled canopy somehow lessened in splendor by the glory of the full moon which shone brilliantly therein. She pinned her eyes upon that moon, drinking in its features, basking in its silvery wonder, feeling its strength rippling through her as it responded to her silent beckoning.

Then she remained silent no longer.

"Father of the Night, hear me!" she cried out, her voice as silver as the light shimmering over her head. "Great woe is upon us! Here are those who would destroy your children, we who humble ourselves to your honor, and keep you ever in our hearts! Now I beseech thee, oh great Power of the Dark, come down, come dance upon them! Send the glory of your light into them, as a tarantelle of olde, giving aimless wings to their feet and yet even more aimless thoughts to their minds! Take their minds, my Father! Emblazon them with your brilliance, that they fall before you stricken with that affliction which has been given the honor of your name!"

Her voice rang out like a bell, striking the night like a gong, echoing upward and upward, soaring on the wings of darkness, seeking light, reaching the source of her entreaty, finding surcease to her plea...

...as the brilliant moon above grew impossibly brighter, larger, more compelling, more urgent. Eirianna immediately threw her arm over her eyes, crying out to her companions to do the same. Thus it was that the ensuing events were not seen but only heard... which was quite enough.

Only the gods themselves should have the privilege of watching as man and orc are literally driven mad.

The moon sent it's light shooting down as if it was a great silvery sword, reaching into nook and cranny of Taunderon, slicing into eyes and entering brains... and there inducing immediate and quite total lunacy in whatever person it touched in that manner. The night became rife with cries and clashes as man turned against orc, and orc against man, and kind against kind, each one driven by the sudden, insane surety that friend had become foe.

In the end, there were none left of the warriors of man, nor of the grand army of orcs, other then the Scourge himself who watched with maddened eyes as his men scrabbled and screamed and ripped and tore each other to death...

...all save those who fell to the earth, drooling there in the simplistic pleasure they found in inscribing doodles in the dirt.

At length all became quiet. The moon backed off it's glacial fires, and became the full moon once again. Slowly Eirianna lowered her arm, then twisted round upon Gorfynt's back. She sent a solemn look toward her companions who rode up to join her then.

The hobbits, terrified, tried to run back through the hole they'd came through....

Meanwhile, D'Artagnan lay unconscious apon a large pile of dead washed-up Orcs...

As for the hobbits, they were unsuccessful in their retreat... simple enough for Landi to pull each of them back into the open with his mysterious magics...

"Well... What do you have to say for yourselves?" Landi asked, not actually wanting any part of the answer...

The three hobbits broke into explanations at once... each trying to talk over the next...

Landi merely rolled his eyes,"well..." he said in a surprisingly calm fashion...

This seemed to work, as the hobbit farthest to the right took a step forward...

"Beanlee Brothers, three are we..."

"There's Sammy, and Gilli, and Bangly..."

The second hobbit took half a step forward...

"That's me..."Bangly said with a foolish grin on his face, he stepped back...

The first one continued...

"We drink, we dance, we cook..."

"Everything we seen, we saw, we took..."

The third, Gilli, now stood forward...

"Please take... a look... at this book..."

The other two halflings came to one knee, with there arms held wide, at the song's closing...

Gilli approached Eirianna, handing her a spell book...

"That'll be 100 gold pieces..." Gilli said, with the heart of a crooked salesman...

The hobbits, three, panted as they waited for a response...

How serendipitous indeed is this arrival... and heralded by the felling of one of our own! she thought as she slipped from Gorfynt's back and approached the fallen D'artagnan. The little hobbit just followed her, still holding out the book as she knelt over the young man, laying a cool hand against his forehead and trying to assess what damage he might have obtained in his fall.

Behind her, the hobbit pressed his book, asking again for the money. She turned a concerned look upon the little hobbit, her hand still upon D'artagnan's brow, but remained quiet as she reassessed the situation. Then she shot a look to the wizard as if to say,

What know you of books of spells, white one?

Sammy Beanlee now spoke up,"Beanlee brothes, three are we... surely something we sell to thee... information, perhaps?"

"I doubt a hobbit would be useful enough as a reliable source... you're lucky you still stand, consider that your payment..." Landi said, now turning to see if Eirianna had any luck reviving the fallen D'Artagnan...

"I say, princess... are you in need for a spot of potion for the fallen man?"

I wonder what has happened to his father. The Steward would have sent him instead of his son...

Now...hobbits (THREE hobbits!) have become involved in something they should have no part of. Nonetheless, this is the work of the hand of fate, and Arandil believed it would give him the reason why such things are happening. An Elven sorceress, two Elven warriors, two Men of Gondor, a Wizard, and now Hobbits...

With Orcs now joining sides with a sorceress in a Kingdom of Man. Could this be it? The time Arandil long feared? Maybe his destiny is starting to form before him...but his brother could still yet be alive...

And this is my destiny instead...to simply find him and bring him back.

He still held the charm Eirianna had given him...and it instilled hope in him. Hope for what, Arandil had yet to comprehend.

"Indeed, time is of the essence," she finally agreed, although the wealth of bodies laying about would seem to give mute testimony otherwise. But she was not so stupid as to think the battle had been won that quickly.

The sorceress was still ahead... and orcs can always be created....

"This man needs assistance; Feileacan, if you have healing properties please tend to him. We cannot wait here long; who will stand by until he awakens?"

She cast her clear gaze about, yet even while she waited reply she pulled the little mushroom cap from her pouch. Now moving to capture a bit of water which was dripping from nearly everywhere she looked, she then made a mystical motion over the cap, and peered into it.

Her eyes cut upward, and she nodded ahead.

"There ahead of us is the Grand Hall, where we must leave our mounts. In the back is a small door; it is through that which we must travel if we are to find and rescue Talasti. We must go forth quickly, and achieve our goal, and leave this place in haste. I fear that what has happened here might indeed be used in turn against us; I-- I had no choice but to do as I did."

Not wanting to speak any further of the two Great Magicks she had inflicted upon Taunderon, she turned and approached Gorfynt. She gently laid her face against his shoulder, quietly stroking his neck and murmuring her distress over her actions.

But when she pulled back and turned round to face her companions, her demeanor had changed from that of a princess to that of a warrior. She replaced the mushroom cap in her pouch, and unslung her bow.

"Shall we proceed?" she continued without so much as a trace of grief in her voice.

"100 gold pieces for the safekeeping of our fallen..." He now turned to Feileacan,"Unless you wish to stay by his side, of course..."

There would be no waiting for answers, as the wizard, the man, the elven prince, and the daughter of the moon rode to the small door in the back of the Grand Hall...

It was unlocked, with a swift kick from Kronos...

He allowed Eirianna to gain passage, after he cleared the passage...

Eirianna's nose wrinkled but she proceeded ahead without pause. Through that corridor they progressed, coming to stairs then which led them upwards for a seeming eternity...

...only to open up into a lonely little hallway, a door at it's far end.

Eirianna moved with deep intent, descending upon that door and then standing aside as Kronos came up behind her to "unlock" it. It flew open beneath his booted foot, revealing a richly apportioned bedroom covered with silken wall hangings and stuffed and mounted creatures and strange devices.

It appeared to be empty. Directly ahead was an open doorway leading to a balcony.

"Be wary, all!" Eirianna cried, now uncaring as to who might hear her. "She is beyond, upon that balcony, and with her is young Talasti! But take a care; there is one in hiding within this room... and another progressing here, an orc of some stature; they will not stand idly by while we take that which we have come to take!"

...even as the moon strove to blind them as well as it was the unsuspecting men below. Adra summoned the powers of her staff to forge a hedge protection made of darkness about she and Talasti, letting her lips linger on his for a seemingly endless moment as she sought to spark that something dark she sensed within him, yearning to bring it to full life. Then she pulled back from him, turning to the carnage caused by the elven woman...

...for Adra was now certain it was her...

...as the the moon returned to its natural state once more.

"They wreak havoc and destruction on men, for they have no true leader..." she said, waving her hand expansively to indicate the dead bodies below her. "With the One Ring, we would have the power and authority to bring order to Middle Earth...

an order lead by you and I, my dear Talasti."

Adra fell silent at this, keenly aware of the approach of others...

"They come now, already with the intent to harm and destroy," she whispered.

Taking her staff in her right hand, she wrapped an arm about Talasti and drew him to herself, leading him inside the bedchambers once more. She paused once she stepped foot into the bedchambers, her arm still companionably about Talasti.

But her eyes were positively glacial.

"You would kill countless men for one who may indeed not wish to return with you at all?" she queried icily, turning now to young Talasti...

...all the while her senses where keenly aware of the fact that yet one more lurked whom she was most interested in meeting...

She leaned over and whispered seductively into Talasti's ear. "She who used her powers to kill so many hides still...

She turned and faced the approaching group. "I ask you all, what sort of princess kills innocents with reckless abandon?"