Hunting for Aearion

South Ithilien, Forest Edge

The forest here is still, as if the dark trees themselves hold their breath in anticipation. Tall and ancient, of ruinous age, moss-covered oak, birch, pine and cedar grow in groves, and the forest floor is a maze of ivy, thorn and undergrowth. Several strange paths crisscross the wood, though whether made by beast or man it is not clear. Eastward lie the dark Ephel Duath, and to the north begin the rolling hills of Emyn Arnen. To the south the terrain grows brighter, as deep forest gives way to open field and the soil becomes more sandy. Even the birds are silent in this watchful land. It is daytime.

[+TIME] Middle-earth time is:

Early Evening on Mersday, Day 2 of June.

Execute the +TIMEFRAME command for year information.

Real time is: 20:49:47 MDT on Sun Jul 12 2009.A full day has passed since the Scout patrol ambushed the orc camp on the forest edge. The main group of Scouts headed back to a rendezvous point, but Ceredir and Daerthor were reported to have headed south or southeast again, searching for the Scout Aearion, who has gone missing.

The forest has been quiet all day, but now, as evening falls, activity again stirs. In the near distance, flickers of lit fires can be seen in the orc camp, and shouting and voices can be heard, the orcs not bothering to hide their presence--and why should they? For they far outnumbered the Scout patrol that so brazenly attacked them.

Watching all this from a thick clumb of forest growth, Ceredir frowns. He stays silent, eyes not moving from the orc camp for now, a dagger in his hand. Likely, Daerthor is nearby somewhere, though he is quiet, too.

[Gwatheryn(#29325)] The wind rustles through the trees, blowing leaves from the ground. A figure moves swiftly through the grass, seeming to use the very leaves as cover. His face is covered from the nose down, with only his piercing grey eyes exposed. The hues of brown and green allow the figure to move without fear of detection from the orc camp.

After finding a place to hide himself, the figure gestures and two more more to meet him, each moving the same way, and finally laying themselves flat on a hill a few feet behind the first.

After a few moments of waiting and staring towards the fires of the orc camp, the first figure lets out a soft bird call, barely audible above the sound of the evening breeze.

The approach of the Rangers does not gain Ceredir\'s notice..but the bird call is known to him. He turns, peering into the darkness and whistles the answering notes softly.

[Gwatheryn(#29325)]

Hearing the responding call, Gwatheryn allows his motions to drift in that way, motioning for his followers to hold their positions and keep a close watch on the camp. He moves slowly and cautiously towards the sound, before catching a glimpse of the other man. Moving closer he speaks in a hushed tone, \"Hail soldier, what is your name and how long have you been scouting this camp?\"

\"Ceredir, sir,\" the reply is whispered. \"We caught up with this group mid afternoon and have been here since then. Trying to find signs of the Scout Aearion. In the confusion of the ambush we didn\'t notice him missing at first, but the Scout Daerthor recalled seeing him wounded and heading in a blind rage toward the orcs.\"

[Gwatheryn(#29325)]

The Ranger\'s only initial reply is a nod. After moments studying the surroundings he looks back towards Ceredir. \"When you ambushed the camp, how many orcs were there?\" He looks around again, studying the far off fires. \"And how badly was the Scout wounded?\"

\"Not badly enough to stop him from running off half mad into the enemy camp,\" Ceredir says, grimacing as he answers. \"I\'m told he had an arrow sticking out from his back, but that\'s the extent of what I know about Aearion\'s wounds. I was...otherwise engaged at the time.

He pauses to recollect the answer to the Ranger\'s first question, grey eyes staring back at Gwatheryn from behind Ceredir\'s face mask. \"Forty. We took out 15 with arrows, I estimate. This camp..\" he jerks his head toward the orcs\' fires, \"appears to be bigger. A hornet\'s nest.\"

\"Do I know you? Sir?\"

[Gwatheryn(#29325)]

\"I am Gwatheryn,\" the Ranger states in a partially unconcerned manner. Perhaps this is a bit of his Cuthalion lineage showing. \"Lets move up, try to get a better look at what we\'re up against.\" Without a moments hesitation, Gwatheryn begins taking a few steps closer to the camp, making sure not to reveal himself more than necessary. \"How many men were with you during the assault?\" The words are whispered without the thought of eye contact or a stop in the man\'s motion.

\"Fifteen,\" comes the answer in a harsh whisper. \"No casualties...at least not yet. Ceredir falls to silence as he follows the Ranger, sticking to the cover of the grasslands as he can. \"We had killed two scouts from their camp the other day just by chance when they stumbled upon us, then a report came in of this group. Well...the smaller group, not this larger camp.\"

[Gwatheryn(#29325)]

Looking ahead, eight fires come into view, along with the vague outlines of three sentries, two fixed and one patrolling. The moving orc makes a wide pass a good twenty yards from the closest fire. \"Eight fires,\" comes a soft assessment, \"how many do you think that gives us? I would guess a similar number to your last excursion, but I would rather not get too much closer in our present condition.\" After this, the Ranger lets out another soft bird call, beckoning the two men with him to move forward, coming to rest a few yards behind the pair.

\"Tactical assessment, Master Scout,\" Gwatheryn shifts his gaze for the first time to his companion. \"If you were the ranking company member here, what would you do next?\"

\"Eight fires...five or six to a fire, perhaps...so 40 to 50 of the enemy is what you think?\" Ceredir answers, squinting into the darkness for a moment. \"As for tactics...they outnumber us...so we need to have confusion on our side. An attack that they cannot pinpoint? Arrows fired from several directions at once to cause panic and confusion in their midst and then slip off into the darkness? If...\" he adds, \"we are lucky. Very lucky.\"

\"I\'ve seen no sign all afternoon that Aearion is here. Either we need to try to track him by day...or it is too late already.\"

[Gwatheryn(#29325)]

\"Very well.\" Gwatheryn states, \"You and I will move to the east and fire on the camp and the others will hold their position and fire on the camp. We\'ll take out the sentries first then no more than five arrows each into the main camp. This attack is not an assault. We won\'t destroy their base, we just want them to know that we\'re still here and that we can still put up a fight. Understood?\"

\"Understood. Don\'t think we could destroy their base if we wanted to, anyhow,\" Ceredir says. \"And then, sir? Regroup where? One of my Scouts, Daerthor, is back that direction.\" He points to his original hiding place, far behind them now.

[Gwatheryn(#29325)]

\"Let\'s regroup just north of here, within the veil of the forest. Stick with me as we retreat. Are you better with a bow or a sword, Ceredir?\" After this query, the Ranger begins to move towards the east, while simultaneously watching the path of the one patrolling orc. Finally finding a place that seems to be a suitable place to make their attack, Gwatheryn lays on the ground, pressing himself flat on the ground, eyes still fixed on the motion of the patrol.

\"Dagger, actually,\" Ceredir answers. \"Amrundirn did not believe me either, and Gurtir...\" he starts, then stops, letting the thought die out. \"My apologies,\" he says. \"I shouldn\'t speak of it. But dagger.\" He follows, lying on the ground and watching the orcs patrolling once Gwatheryn finds a spot.

[Gwatheryn(#29325)]

\"Well then you get to take out the patrol. I will cover you and put an arrow in the sentry. You just kill him silently and get you and his body back here without being caught.\" A slight smirk comes on the Ranger\'s face as he draws his bow. \"Take as much time as you want before you take the patrol out, but after I shoot that sentry, you need to be back here and ready to shoot at the camp. I want us heading for the forest within ninety seconds of the first arrow. Everything is in position. You make the first move, Master Scout.\"

Ceredir voices no reply. He pushes his helm further down on his head to secure it, straightens his mask, then pulls at his gauntlets to adjust them as well. Though he wears two daggers at his belt, he draws only one and then settles down to watch the pacing of the patrol. As the orc moves away from them, heading along a particularly dark stretch of the camp\'s perimeter, Ceredir gives the Ranger a look and then springs from his position, running in the soft grass toward the orc\'s back.

In the darkness there is a thump as Ceredir tackles the orc from behind, the start of a cry, cut off...and then nothing. Moments pass. The Ranger might hear the sound of a body being dragged back his way.

[Gwatheryn(#29325)]

Seeing the Master Scout move the body back, the Ranger opens fire on the fixed sentry, taking him out with a singly arrow, as the other falls at the same time. Immediately after the two fall, the ranger draws another arrow, this one aimed high and towards one of the fires. \"Now,\" he whispers \"remember. Five arrows.\" After this the Ranger shoots his first arrow into the camp, which causes a cry from an orc. The next four arrows fly and the Ranger pauses waiting for the Master Scout to be ready to depart.

The orc\'s body is roughly shoved into a nearby ditch, and Ceredir scrambles back to his original position by the Ranger, grabbing for his bow, which he had left behind before killing the patrol. He nocks an arrow to the string, letting it fly toward the orc camp, though it goes wild--either a mark of his nerves or his lack of skill. The next arrow is better aimed as Ceredir draws a breath before letting it go, then three more shot in rapid succession, the Master Scout caring more to be off and into the woods than to aim. In the orc camp, meanwhile, there is yelling and movement--and an increasingly organized response to this attack.

[Gwatheryn(#29325)]

\"Now,\" the Ranger whispers sharply. \"Into the woods. Follow me. Do not stop running until I do.\" With these words Gwatheryn sprints towards the woods, his brown and green figure eventually vanishing into the darkness of the forest. Here, among the trees, a Ranger is at his best, able of taking down a much larger force, but that is not the plan tonight. Tonight he flees, glancing back every few seconds to check the progress of Ceredir.

Ceredir does not need to be told twice to run: Strung bow still in his hand, he makes for the woods behind Gwatheryn. In open grasslands he can keep up with the Ranger, but once in the forest he is slower, so that Gwatheryn\'s efforts to check on his progress are likely necessary. At least, though, the Master Scout manages to not lose sight of Gwatheryn and impede their flight too badly.