Disclaimers: OK, I don’t own them, and I make no money from this.

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Aragorn swore under his breath as the orc blade came far too close to his head for comfort. He jabbed his sword to the side to stab the orc trying to sneak up on him before turning his attention back to the large, ugly and very angry orc in front of him. This orc had been more skilled than most, and he was having a difficult time defeating him. If they were in a one-on-one battle, this would not be much of a problem, but while the orc in front held his attention, other orcs kept trying to skewer him. He certainly was not about to turn his back on the orc in front of him. There did not seem to be an end to the orcs swarming from the trees around him, and he began to wonder if he would escape this battle with his life.

As Aragorn deflected the heavy blows from the orc in front of him, he sensed two orcs closing in on him from the sides. Unable to take his attention from the one in front of him, Aragorn was driven to his knees by an impact to the back of his legs. Seeing that the mighty warrior could be brought to his knees seemed to encourage the other orcs, and they all swarmed toward him at the same time. Aragorn was completely unable to defend himself from the overwhelming numbers, and he was soon down on the ground, taking numerous blows from hands, feet and other blunt objects. His sword had been wrenched from his hand and lay nearby, just out of reach. Knowing he was about to be killed, Aragorn looked up at the orc looming above him with his scimitar raised high above his head.

As the scimitar fell toward him, a loud explosion sounded nearby, startling all the orcs. The orc above him hesitated and turned toward the sound. That was all Aragorn needed, and he quickly grabbed his sword and stabbed upward in one smooth move. Seeing their leader fall and the confusion created by the smoke and noise broke the nerves of most of the orcs and they began to flee. Stumbling to his feet, Aragorn dispatched as many as he could while the rest escaped into the surrounding trees.

Leaning on a nearby tree for support, Aragorn caught his breath and looked up to find Gandalf walking toward him. "Where have you been?" Aragorn panted. "You're late."

"My good lad, a wizard is never late, nor is he early. A wizard arrives precisely when he means to." The twinkle in Gandalf's eyes brought an answering smile to Aragorn's face.

"Perhaps next time you can 'intend' to arrive a little earlier?" Aragorn asked.

"It seems to me that I arrived just in time." Gandalf said.

"So you did," Aragorn stood straight and looked at the wizard. "So, what was this little task you had for me?"

"Have you heard of a creature named Gollum?" the wizard asked him.