The Forest of Brethil may have once been a place with trees and plush meadows but in the dawn of the Fourth Age, it had become nothing more than an enormous field of briars and sharp rocks. It took Eowyn some time to realize that the briars were all that was left of the once great wood and that many of the sharp rocks were the petrified stumps of trees that had been destroyed by whatever menace held sway of the mountains. So far they had seen nothing of the worms that had attacked the night before. Since there was no way of tracking them now, the trio could not even be certain if they were travelling in the right direction.
With dark coming soon, their progress was unacceptably slow with the thorns hooking into their skins and tearing at their flesh even though they had kept themselves well covered. Eowyn felt the exhaustion in her bones as she continued to hack her way through the sharp; hooky branches and knew that she could not give into the weariness she felt. She forced herself to continue, laying waste to the almost impassable barrier underneath the force of her blade, until those who followed her were trudging over the fragmented remains of shattered splinters. She ignored the sweat that stung her eyes or the multitude of cuts to her skin from branches she had been unable to avoid and knew that her suffering was not endured alone for the others were enduring the same torture, though under slightly less strain.
Eowyn looked up at the sky and saw the night descending, they would have to find some place to camp soon although she did not look forward to it. Those worms originated from this very mountain and she was certain that they would emerge when the sun had dropped out of sight completely. Having no idea of the numbers they faced when that emergence took place, Eowyn knew that she would be unable to close her eyes and let herself sleep. She doubted if any of them could. Swinging her blade against the curling twist of sharp branches before her, she prepared to dispatch it the way she had dispatched all others when her blade slice through it easily. The force of her strike made it crumble in mid air and it disintegrated before her feet like ash.
"Everyone be still!" She hissed as she swept her gaze across the terrain. The barrier was dwindling but Eowyn suspected it would not take them long to clear it. Taking another step forward, she gently tapped her sword against the briar before her and saw it crumble in the same fashion. Like brittle glass, something had heaved its icy breath upon the briar obstacle before her. It would be an easy enough task to escape the patch but what lay beyond it was another question all together. The land ahead was a steep incline upwards, framed with rocks and crevasses overgrown with rocks. She knew where they were even if she did not see them.
"We are in danger," Arwen replied though it did not require her elven senses to make that statement for Eowyn and Melia were well aware of it.
"We’re in their nest aren’t we?" Melia guessed accurately.
Eowyn nodded slowly, not daring to answer. She continued forward, aware that they had to escape the confinement around them if they were going to survive this place. She moved through the briar with renewed strength, shattering them easily with her blade because of their frostbitten state. Eowyn worked tirelessly, aware that behind her, both Arwen and Melia were grasping their weapons tight, in readiness for attack should it come before they crossed the barrier. Above the blanket of twilight had descended and Eowyn knew from the tension in Arwen’s face that the creatures were coming. She simply could not bring herself to say it.
"Take my shield," Eowyn declared once they were free of the barrier and she handed Arwen the shield she had not employed much during this journey. However, last night’s encounter with the cold drakes had changed all that. Before setting their horses free, she had taken the shield, a gift from her brother Eomer to use for this very purpose.
"You will need it," Arwen muttered as Eowyn thrust the object into her arms.
"Not as much as you," Eowyn retorted and turned her eyes to the crevasses that seemed for all purposes benign but she knew to be filled with dark terrors that were soon coming for them. "Use it Arwen," Eowyn said firmly. "Use it to protect yourself. You carry all our futures within your body, you must protect the child even at cost to us."
"Do not ask that of me!" Arwen returned. "I would do anything for my child even give up my life but I won’t allow you to die for me!"
"That choice is not yours to make," Eowyn stated firmly, needing Arwen to understand that whatever feelings she had towards her friends, they were a necessary sacrifice if the greater good was to be accomplished. "Please, if I am to die, I want to know it was for the good of all."
"Can this wait?" Melia shouted and called their attention to the fact that the same slithering sound that had signaled the approach of the worms the night before was returning.
She had no sooner snapped her warning when the first worm emerged out of the crevasse, its cold breath in her face as it lunged towards her, displaying amazing agility for a creature that bore no arms or legs. She dove towards the ground to avoid being frostbitten to death, feeling the jagged rocks on the ground scraping painfully against her elbows and then the front of her body. Somehow she had managed to keep a hold of the crossbow throughout that painful maneuver and though she was certain she had lost some skin in the process, rolled onto her knee and took aim. The bolt from her crossbow struck the creature’s belly and it bellowed with pain.
Its roar brought the rest of its kindred from their hiding places and the triumvirate soon found themselves surrounded by five of the dreaded beasts. Melia fired another bolt at the worm that had attacked her and it slithered forward in a charge of outrage. She jumped to her feet as it came upon her, performing some minor feat of acrobatics when she leapt over its head and landed behind the beast. Turning her weapon upon it, she fired another series of bolts into the worm’s spine, finally stopping it for good. However, the others of its kind did not look upon her efforts kindly and they closed in on her.
"Melia!" Eowyn called out and was already running to the Ranger’s defense. A worm came at her in her effort and she avoid its lashing tail by jumping up once and ensuring she landed on its lengths when she came down again. The creature hissed at her, its jaws snapping at her.
"Eowyn! Drop!" Arwen shouted and Eowyn obeyed immediately, dropping to her knees in time to see Arwen fling her shield towards the creature. The circular plate of steel sliced through the air before meeting the flesh and bone of the worm. The creature screamed in agony and Eowyn found herself scrambling away trying to avoid the spray of blood that came from its grisly end. She stood up shakily and saw Arwen breathing a sigh of relief at her continued existence. However, the queen of Gondor had little time to savor Eowyn’s survival because Melia was valiantly fighting off two worms that were converging upon her.
Arwen came up from behind the two creatures and swung her blade in a wide arch over her shoulder, bringing the sword down upon the midsection of the worm. She put all her strength into it and drove the blade through its flesh until it came to a halt upon the ground. The worm tensed in agony, its scream tearing through her ears as she split it in half. Suddenly a blast of cold enveloped her body and Arwen felt her senses overload with the biting sensation of ice. She tried to turn around but only heard the fog of Eowyn’s scream and as she fell to the ground, she saw Eowyn slashing away at the worm that attacked her from behind. The creature was attempting to evade the flaying frenzy of the shield maiden’s blade but fury had made Eowyn a deadly enemy.
"Arwen!" She felt Melia’s hand around her arm, trying to help her to her feet.
Thanks to her aid, the Ranger had managed to fight off the remaining worm with her own sword, deciding that a more direct approach was necessary to vanquish the beast once and for all. However because Arwen had come to her assistance, the queen had left herself open for attack. Though the worm that had come up behind her had not managed to bathe her in the full vent of its icy breath, what it had done was enough to incapacitate the queen enough to stop her in her tracks.
"I am unhurt," Arwen managed to say through her chattering teeth. The cold was unpleasant and her body was racked with shivers but it was not permanent. Even now, she could feel the warmth returning to her limbs as Melia rubbed her arms hard, attempting to generate enough friction to produce heat. Arwen felt the blood flowing through her body as the biting sting against her skin faded away thanks to Melia’s ministration.
"Did I not tell you that you should have kept the shield?" Eowyn said with a little smile as she retrieved the shield embedded in a worm’s neck. Arwen was accustomed to her using levity to hide her worry and this moment was no exception.
Around them, lay the scattered remains of dead worms and Arwen wondered if they were truly that fortunate to survive another meeting with the dreadful creatures or was a higher power providing them with protection. Whatever the force keeping them alive still, Arwen was not about to question it. She was grateful to be alive.
"If I had not used it, you would not be here to be so smug," Arwen retorted with an equal expression of mischief in her voice.
Eowyn was about to answer when suddenly the ground shook with a tremor that silenced the words in her throat. Small grains of dirt lodged in place around them in the landscape was shaken loose as something that felt like thunder began to approach. Arwen felt her heart pound and if she suffered any ill effects of the worm, they were more or less shunted aside because she sensed what was coming.
"Run!" Arwen cried out.
"Run?" Eowyn declared. "Where?"
There was no place to run unless they return to the briar and there was no telling that what Arwen was sensing and caused such terror in the elf’s eyes would not follow them. Arwen did not answer because her eyes were fixed upon the drake that emerged from one of the crevasses. This was no worm, small and insignificant, this was a cold drake, a thing of claws and teeth. Its red eyes swept across the terrain, taking in the sight of all its dead children before turning her serpentine head towards those who had slaughtered them.
For an instant, none of them could do anything but stare at the massive beast with their mouths open in frozen horror. Only when it took a step towards them, were they forced into motion. Melia raised her crossbow and began firing at the creature. The first bolt that flew through the air struck the creature in its side had little effect. Even a formidable piece of steel was not going to penetrate a drake’s scales. The cold drake shrugged of the bolt as if it was rainwater on its back and Melia watched with growing fear as the metal bolt clattered impotently to the ground.
"Aim for its belly!" Eowyn shouted and wished she had a bow and arrow for those were weapons useful for an enemy such as this.
Melia nodded mutely and resumed her efforts. The creature was closing in on them and the trio found that they had no way to turn except back into the briar that only succeed in trapping them more than offering them an escape. Melia took careful aim with one of the few bolts she had left and let it fly at the drake. The projectile flew through the air and this time, could not be as easily discarded. The bolt struck its belly and though it was not enough to bring down the beast, it was successful in provoking the drake’s fury and it opened its mouth, preparing to vent the full torrent of its rage.
"GET BEHIND ME!" Eowyn ordered them all as she held up the shield between them and the drake. Eowyn had no idea if it would hold. The shield was made of mithrail, the hardest known substance after drake scales. Whether or not it would survive the drake’s cold breath was a mystery she wished she did not have to find out this way. Arwen scrambled behind her while Melia leapt behind a rock as the blast of ice came forth from the creature’s widened jaws.
Eowyn felt the steel of the shield become so cold it was almost difficult to maintain her hold but fortunately, it had not disintegrated and had managed to protect them from doing so. She peered from underneath the shield and heard Arwen scream to see the drake’s enormous head coming towards her; its jaws wide open. Eowyn pushed Arwen out of the way and swung the shield wide, slamming the steel covering into the side of the drake’s head. She did not expect it to hurt the creature but it did cause the drake to recoil a little, giving her time to escape.
"We need to spear it!" Arwen cried out when Eowyn reached her place of safety behind the rocks. The drake was breathing its cold breath against it relentlessly, causing some of the smaller boulders to shatter. Eventually it would make it cold enough for even their brief refuge to crumble.
"I would appreciate any suggestions you might have on how we’re going to manage that little feat!" Eowyn cried out as the drake smashed its tail against the rocks, trying to force them out.
"We need a distraction!" Arwen cried out as she felt more cold waves around her. "Melia! Can you hear us!"
"I hear you!" Melia cried out as she worked feverishly to retrieve the bolts she had used on the worms. The drake’s attention was still fixated on Arwen and Eowyn and allowed her to continue with little hindrance. Without them, she was powerless to be of any help to her friends.
"We need you to face it head on!" Arwen called out.
"What?" Melia stopped short and stared in their direction past the enormous bulk of the creature, with disbelief etched upon her face.
"We need it distracted so we can strike!" Arwen returned over the drake’s roar. The creature turned towards Melia upon hearing them speak, suddenly remembering the Ranger’s presence. Melia grasped what Arwen intended and knew that the tactic was dangerous to say the least. All three of them could be killed in one foul swoop if they erred in its execution. Unfortunately, it was also their only chance. However, for it to work, Melia had to move now. Taking a deep breath, she raced forward, avoiding a deadly swipe by the drake’s claws when it attempted to strike her in transit. Upon missing, it used it tail instead, attempting to swat her away like an insect. Melia managed to elude it, leaping onto the boulder that Arwen and Eowyn were hidden behind
"I hope you are right about this!" Melia cried out before swallowing thickly when she saw the drake coming towards her.
She stood her ground and perhaps it was her defiance, daring to face it in the open with her crossbow aimed boldly that stayed the creature’s desire to turn her to ice. The drake wanted to feed upon her bones, to taste her marrow upon its tongue. It rumbled forward as Melia began shooting bolts at it, taking precise aim so as to strike its soft underbelly. The drake roared in outrage and rose up to its full height when its skin was broken, preparing to avenge the pain by snapping its jaws around her skull. Melia’s fingers trembled as she continued to shoot; her fear threatening to override her senses. But she forced it away as best she could because it was imperative that she held her ground. In a matter of seconds, she emptied all the bolts she had into the beast’s belly and heard its deafening roar in her ears. In its fury, it chose to abandon the desire to feed upon her, deciding instead the quicker path of simply freezing her.
Melia saw the drake’s mouth widen and knew what was coming. She jumped as the cold blast came at her, landing badly on the shoulder that popped loudly when she hit the ground. The pain was beyond belief, like white heat searing through her body. It forced a cry of pain from her lips and for a few seconds she could not move. She was almost prepared to let the drake have her when suddenly, Arwen and Eowyn made a running leap onto the rock, and their swords were brandished high above their heads as they jumped towards the drake. The creature was caught by surprise at the sudden emergence of the other two women and had little time to react as they came lunging towards it.
The drake let out a loud wail of agony as their swords slid deep into the creature’s sternum. With their grip upon the weapons tight and the weight of their bodies pulling them downwards, the blades through the drake’s soft underbelly, ripping open its stomach in two bloody trails. It writhed in excruciating pain and flayed its head from side to side as it screamed a bloodcurdling cry that seemed to fill the world with its pain. The drake’s entire body quaked as the weapons did their worst, tearing out its insides and spilling blood and innards through the fissure of torn tissue.
As it struggled to shake of its attackers, Arwen and Eowyn were both flung away from its body like rag dolls. They landed in the dirt just in time to see the drake staggered away. The beast was heaving and straining against the agony of movement. Its spilled organs were dragging across the dirt in a gruesome display before it rolled heavily onto its side, its breath ragged and thready. Arwen picked herself up; glad to have suffered only scrapes and bruises but her gaze still fixed upon the wounded animal whose life’s blood had turned the ground into a crimson pool of blood. She saw her sword still protruding from its belly and knew by its terrible wounds that the creature was not long for the world.
A part of her felt sorrow for killing these beasts for they were rare and would soon be a thing of legend, however it was still one of the Enemy’s agents who would have spared no compassion if it were them in its place. With that in mind, Arwen’s heart hardened to its plight. The drake’s breathing soon shallowed and when the glow of its red eyes dimmed forever, it moved no more.
Only after she was certain of its demise was Arwen able to release the breath caught in her throat. It did not take long before she remembered the friends who had survived this crisis with her and immediately searched the blood-drenched arena of battle. She saw Eowyn standing up wearily, an angry gash across the side of her face. Blood stained Eowyn’s cheek and matted the gold of her hair, but other then that small injury, she appeared unhurt. Melia however had not moved from where she had fallen and that alarmed Arwen and Eowyn jointly. Both women hurried to the Ranger who was lying on her back, her face contorted in a grimace of pain. Arwen who was the experienced healer knelt down next to Eowyn.
"Melia, are you all right?" Arwen asked and then realized what a foolish question it was because if she were well she would be on her feet.
"I think I have dislocated my shoulder," the Ranger grunted in pain as Arwen helped her to a sitting position.
"You saved us," Eowyn declared as she knelt down next to Melia as well. "Thank you."
"You saved yourself," Melia replied through her teeth as Arwen made an exploratory examination of her injury. "I merely furnished the opportunity."
"I did not think that would work," Arwen answered honestly. "If you had not tricked the beast into the position she was when we attacked, it would not have."
"I did what I could," she replied as Arwen tended to her. "I’m glad that it worked, for all our sakes."
"I hope that is the last of them," Eowyn confessed as she sat down on the dirt, refusing to move at least for an hour or so. She had been fighting off exhaustion all day but now what reserves there were left of her strength was dwindling. "At least for while."
"I have to agree with you," Melia grunted as Arwen placed her hands on the Ranger’s shoulder and prepared to pop the bone into place. Eowyn offered her hand and Melia took it, unashamed to admit that what Arwen had to do would hurt.
"Brace yourself," the elven queen warned and Melia nodded, closing her eyes.
Arwen’s movement was swift in order to lessen the length of the pain but she could not eradicate it. The sharp, bone-jarring sensation rose up in Melia’s throat and escaped her mouth in an agonized cry as the bone was put back in place. Her hand clenched spasmodically around Eowyn’s and for a few seconds, it appeared as if she might pass out from the pain. Admirably, she remained conscious though her experience showed by the tears that had welled in her eyes.
"I am sorry," Arwen apologized for causing her pain but there was no way around it if the shoulder was to recover.
"Its alright," Melia whispered. "It had to be done."
"Arwen, you tend to Melia," Eowyn instructed, seeing Arwen had everything in hand. "I am going to ensure that there are no more surprises awaiting us."
"Are you sure that is wise?" The elf looked at her with concern. "You should not wander about alone."
"I will not go far," Eowyn assured her and made her way towards the drake’s lair.
