Chapter 2: Out of the frying pan and into the fire

"Run!" Anastor shouted, echoing his sister's warning.

In his peripheral vision, Legolas saw Anastor and Noruil fleeing towards the Elf Path. On his other side, Galithil was trying to fit an arrow against his bowstring with shaking hands. Ignoring them all, Legolas released his arrow and drew a shuddering breath in an attempt to master himself when the arrow bounced harmlessly off the hard shell of the spider's body.

"Ssss," it protested, scuttling back a step to better appraise its prey.

Its comrade feinted towards them a few steps, legs clicking as they moved.

Legolas heard two high-pitched whimpers several paces behind him--Berior and Brethil. He also heard two bows creak as they were drawn and, seconds later, he saw two arrows fly by him. They struck the spider that had charged them. One hit the spider's body and flew off into the ferns as Legolas's arrow had done. The second was a more fortunate shot, hitting the spider above its sharp beak. The spider screeched and backed off hurriedly.

"Aim for their heads," Galithil shouted, loosing his own arrow and targeting the same spider that Brethil and Berior's arrows had struck. Galithil's arrow sank into the spider's eye, causing it to scream and curl into itself.

Legolas reached into his quiver to follow his cousin's example. As he did, the other spider spit a web towards him. It stuck to the hand holding his bow. Legolas could not suppress a frightened yelp. He jerked his arm backward and the yelp stretched into an incoherent shriek  when he could not pull free of the web. Shaking his hand frantically, trying to dislodge the web and resist the spider's tug on it, Legolas drew his knife and brought the blade down across the thick, sticky rope. The knife cut through, but the dark strand clung to the blade. Legolas shook it loose and shoved the knife back into its sheath. Then he reached for an arrow and fit it against his bowstring. Releasing it, the arrow struck the spider that had tried to bind him in its web squarely in an eye. One of Galithil's arrows flew into the spider's other eye and it dropped to the ground, its legs splayed out around it.

Legolas pulled out another arrow, and saw Galithil doing the same next to him, but before he could put it to use, Brethil and Berior's bows twanged and the second spider squealed and fell to the ground, two arrows in its eyes.

Legolas's breath came in short pants as he stared at the unmoving spiders.

"Where are Anastor and Noruil?" Galithil asked. His voice shook as badly as his hands.

"Ran towards the Path," Berior gasped, breathless.

"Is that all of them? All of the spiders?" Brethil asked, looking into the trees.

That brought Legolas, Galithil and Berior to attention and all four children scanned the trees with wide eyes.

"If there are anymore, it is too dark to see them," Berior replied after a moment, panic causing his voice to rise in pitch.

"We need to get out of here," Brethil said, pulling at Berior's arm. They looked at Legolas and Galithil, poised to run.

Legolas grimaced, but it was Galithil that voiced the reason why they could not simply flee.

"We have to find Maidhien," he said. "We cannot leave her out here."

Berior frowned, but shook his head. "We need to get help. If there are more spiders..." he looked at the dead forms behind Galithil. "We were lucky. Nothing more."

"We are too far from the stronghold," Galithil retorted. "By the time we get back there and someone comes back here, anything might have happened to her."

Berior drew a breath to argue, but Legolas interrupted him. "Anastor and Noruil ran towards home. They will send help . And our adars certainly have someone looking for us by now, since it is so late, so maybe they will find us faster when Anastor and Noruil tell them where we are. But we need to find Maidhien."

Berior and Brethil said nothing more to protest, so Galithil pointed into the forest, south of the Path, at a clear trail of crushed ferns and undergrowth. "Maidhien ran this way. Let's go."

*~*~*

"The encounters I have summarized make a total of eight skirmishes with orcs trying to cross into the forest from the western border this season. That is more incursions than we suffered in all of last year. For some reason the number of orcs is growing," the captain of the Western Boarder Patrol concluded. He looked between Thranduil and Hallion at one end of the meeting table to Aradunnon at the other.

Aradunnon nodded and smiled grimly at Morillion, indicating he had done well. In response, Morillion leaned against the back of his chair, breathing a little easier. Thranduil, however, continued studying the map Morillion had used to mark the locations of the skirmishes he had just described.

"Too close to villages," the King finally said in a very quiet voice.

Aradunnon nodded.

"Well, we have repositioned the patrols to best protect those villages, of course, my lord," Morillion hastened to assure him.

"And the Southern Patrol has pulled back north of the Forest Road and west of the Emyn Duir to protect the villages there," Aradunnon added.

"Your village being the largest in the area," Thranduil observed, looking from the map to his brother.

Aradunnon frowned, but nodded.

Thranduil turned to the other Elf seated at the meeting table. "What do you have to tell me, Ostarndor," he asked.

The captain of the Southern Patrol looked at the King levelly for a long moment. He had stood with Thranduil on the Dagorlad and he had been one of the first Elves to scout the growing presence of orcs when Sauron first arose in Amon Lanc. So he had been the obvious choice to send south to spy now.

"The Shadow deepens in the south, my lord. The forest is darker. Colder." He shook his head. "The fumes that spew from Dol Guldur and smother the trees are thicker, but that is not what I mean." He paused and held Thranduil's gaze with his own. "Something moves in the forest. I never saw it, but when it was near, it was all I could do to breath."

"Are you telling me that the Evil One is abroad in this forest," Thranduil asked, his voice rising slightly.

Ostarndor frowned. "Perhaps. I do not know. But whatever it is, the orcs and spiders feed on it. They swarm to it like maggots to dead flesh."

Thranduil's brows drew together, but he nodded once in acknowledgment of Ostarndor's report. He contemplated the map again for a long moment before turning his gaze back to his troop commander.  "Those villages need to move, Aradunnon," he began.

Shaking his head, Aradunnon cut him off. "The warriors can keep the villages safe."

"We will discuss the best way to approach the village leaders with lord Golwon tomorrow," Thranduil continued, ignoring his brother's interruption. He spoke with a finality that made Aradunnon scowl. Recognizing that expression well, Thranduil stood. Hallion, Morillion and Ostarndor stood immediately as well. With an audible sigh, Aradunnon followed suit.

"Thank you both," Thranduil said, nodding to Morillion and Ostarndor. "Your service to this realm is invaluable, as you must know. I appreciate it greatly."

Thranduil was about to invite both captains to a meeting the next morning that he had planned with Aradunnon to describe how they intended to use some of the Northern Patrol to fortify the embattled Southern and Western borders, but he was interrupted when the doors to the Hall opened slightly and then fell closed again.

"You cannot go in," he heard one of the guards outside the door insist.

"Get off me," an all too familiar voice demanded.

Thranduil stifled a sigh and glanced at Aradunnon. His mouth was turned down and he shook his head.

The doors flapped open and shut again. "I have to speak to him," Dannenion's voice declared. There was the sound of a scuffle, and a moment later the doors flew open again. Dannenion burst through them, rushing into the Hall. The guards pursued him, reaching to pull him back.

"Let him come," Thranduil called to them. Better to hear what Dannenion has to say and be done with it, than postpone the inevitable. Thranduil was about to ask Morillion and Ostarndor to leave--no need to have witnesses to what was clearly going to be an angry confrontation--but before he could, he was distracted by a most unexpected sight. Dannenion was towing his son behind him. The child was disheveled--sweating, barely able to keep pace with his father, fairly gasping for breath. Thranduil frowned. It looked as if Anastor had been crying, he realized.

"Peace, Dannenion. I will hear you. But there is no need for you to drag Anastor so," Thranduil said. Turning his gaze back to the adults, his frown deepened when he looked at Dolwon, who had followed Dannenion into the Hall and was pulling Noruil alongside him. Both father and son wore wide-eyed, half-fearful, half-pleading expressions. Thranduil stared at them, unable to imagine what this spectacle could possibly represent. Their behavior was so odd and unexplainable that it had prompted Hallion to quietly position himself between them and the King.

When they reached the table, Dannenion pushed his son directly in front of the King. Holding Anastor by both shoulders--as much to steady himself as to hold his son in place, Thranduil thought--Dannenion spoke. "Tell him," he choked out.

Thranduil looked at the child, and Anastor looked back at him mutely, his mouth open slightly, drawing panting breaths. Dannenion gave him a slight shake. "Tell him quickly," he demanded.

"We were looking for medicinal herbs with Galithil," Anastor began.

From the corner of his eye, Thranduil saw Aradunnon's posture stiffen. Thranduil felt his heart beat a little faster--Legolas said at lunch that he and all his cousins intended to gather herbs after lessons.  Something was clearly wrong here, but surely it could not involve the children. It was well past dinner. He and Aradunnon had been busy speaking with the captains and had missed dinner with the family, but they would have heard by now if something were amiss.

"We went really far," Noruil said, when Anastor did not seem to know how to continue.

Anastor nodded. "We all said we should not go so far, but Galithil wanted to find some herb further along the Path. He said he knew what clearing it was in. But it was getting dark." He trailed off as his voice seemed to abandon him again.

Thranduil looked silently to Noruil.

"We went all the way to the clearing Galithil wanted to go to." Noruil said. Then he hesitated a moment before continuing with a shaky voice. "There were spiders in the clearing," Noruil whispered.

Thranduil drew a deep, slow breath. There were spiders. The phrase echoed in his mind and for a moment Thranduil heard nothing else, though somewhere on the periphery of his senses he was aware that people were still speaking, saying something about Maidhien.  Then there was yelling. Aradunnon yelling something about Galithil and Hallion calling for calm. The guards and warriors were silent, looking intently at Thranduil. It was their gaze that finally focused him. They were clearly waiting for orders.

Thranduil turned to Noruil and Anastor. "Where is Maidhien?" he asked, trying to gather the threads of what the others were saying.

Anastor looked at Thranduil, his eyes still wide with fear. "We ran towards the Path. Maidhien ran too. Before us. She saw the spiders first. But she ran deeper into the forest."

"Deeper into the forest," Dannenion echoed, speaking to Aradunnon and pointing at his son to emphasize his words. "We cannot waste time talking..."

Thranduil ignored them. "Deeper into the forest and not along the Path? She ran north of the Path?" he prompted when Anastor stopped and stared at his father.

The child's gaze shifted back to Thranduil and he shook his head. "South," he answered. "She ran south."

"After the deer," Noruil added. That earned him a glare from Anastor.

"And what of Legolas and his cousins?" Thranduil pressed, after another deep breath in response to the fact that Maidhien had run southward. "Did they follow Maidhien?"

Again Anastor shook his head. "We ran and did not look back. I do not know where they ran."

"The last I saw," Noruil added, "Legolas had his bow drawn. Like he was going to fight the spiders."

Thranduil grasped the corner edge of the table and was vaguely aware that Aradunnon and Hallion both stopped arguing with Dannenion and fell silent upon hearing that. "How many spiders?" Thranduil managed. His voice sounded oddly quiet.

"I saw two," Noruil answered.

"But it was dark and you could barely see them," Anastor added. "They were hanging in the trees on webs."

Thranduil nodded and looked between Anastor and Noruil. "You did the right thing to run back here to get help. And you have helped a great deal by telling us what happened. Now here is what we most need to know, so we can go find your sister as quickly as possible: where is this clearing?"

"West, down the Path," Anastor replied quickly, pointing.

Noruil nodded. "Do you know where the wild ginger grows?" he asked.

Thranduil looked from Aradunnon to Hallion and then to each of the warriors in the room. All shook their heads.

"Conuiön will know," Hallion said. "Amoneth and Lindomiel gather ginger often."

So Thranduil turned back to Noruil and nodded.

Noruil bit his lip. "Well, as far as you go to get to the ginger, you have to go that far again and maybe a little further to get to the other clearing Galithil took us to. You will know you are getting close because, just before the clearing, there is an old tree on the southern edge of the Path that was struck by lightening and split in two."

Anastor nodded. "That is right. We looked at that just before we got to the clearing."

"Turn south off the Path right past that tree and you will see the clearing after a short walk ."

"Very good," Thranduil said, grasping Noruil's shoulder and patting Anastor's. He turned to Hallion. "Get Conuiön and Colloth. Tell them what we have heard and tell them to meet me at the barn. Tell them to ready horses. Then go to Celonhael's cottage and tell him." He paused and looked at Anastor and Noruil. "Did Brethil go with you? Or Aewen?"

Anastor shook his head. "Eirienil and Aewen turned back towards the stronghold after we left the clearing with the ginger. But Brethil did go with us to the second clearing."

Thranduil turned back to Hallion. "Go to Crithad's cottage as well then. And check with Dollion to make sure Aewen is home safely." He paused. "Aradunnon and I will confirm Eirienil is home when we tell Amoneth and Lindomiel what has happened and get our weapons." Thranduil turned to Dannenion. "We will meet you at the barn as soon as we are armed." Then he looked more closely at Dannenion and Dolwon, frowning.  They carried no weapons."You had better arm yourselves if we are going after spiders. Do you have swords?"

Dannenion and Dolwon stared at Thranduil for a long moment and then both shook their heads.

"You could handle them, though? You have fought spiders before in the South?"

"Yes," Dannenion said and Dolwon nodded.

Thranduil turned to Hallion. "Have someone bring them swords from the armory. Aradunnon and I will meet you at the barn as soon as we are armed ourselves."

With that, Thranduil turned and strode swiftly towards the doors of the Hall that led to the family quarters, Aradunnon right on his heels. Behind him, he heard Hallion leave the Hall through the main doors at a run.

*~*~*

Maidhien ran, too terrified to even glance behind her or to realize that Galithil and his cousins were calling to her. She wanted to scream, but she feared if she did, she would only attract more spiders. It was now completely dark and she knew the spiders hunted mostly at night. So she ran as fast as she could, with no idea where she was going.

Suddenly, to her left, she saw the glow of a fire. With a yelp born of hope, she veered in the direction of the light. Fire meant adults and adults meant safety. This deep in the forest, the fire likely meant hunters or, better still, a patrol. If she could get to them, they would help her.

Eyes fixed on the fire, she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other, ignoring the fact that her lungs now burned for oxygen and her legs screamed for rest. With great relief, she finally burst into the small clearing where the fire flickered. Once there, she collapsed to her hands and knees.

“Help me,” she cried between gasping breaths. “Spiders…” She could force out no more, so she raised a hand to point into the darkness. As she did, she looked into the faces of the people in the camp and her eyes widened again in abject fear.

These were not Elves.

*~*~*
Adar/ada--Father/dad

AN: Apologies to Tolkien for stealing his chapter title from the Hobbit. It just seemed to fit this chapter well.