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Old 10-14-2007, 04:31 PM   #107
littlemanpoet
Itinerant Songster
 
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: The Edge of Faerie
Posts: 7,072
littlemanpoet is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.littlemanpoet is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
A bank of clouds drew near from the north. They looked to be brimfull of snow and howling wind. But it was south that they looked.

"There! Do you see?"

Bergil was standing at a cliff edge, facing south. He was looking across a deep valley to an outcropping of rock on the sheer face of the slope on the other side of the valley, the flight of an arrow distant.

Erebemlin looked. "Aye, 'tis them."

"Who?" asked Aeron.

"Tharonwë and the girl. 'Tis a shame we cannot fly."

"Where?" Raefindan asked, heated.

Bergil pointed. Two figures seemed to crawl like ants against the face of the far slope, climbing a steep path that was hard to make out from the their vantage point. Raefindan looked to their path, and saw that they were going the way they needed to, but they were woefully far behind: the valley widened ahead of them, and they would skirt the side of the mountains a long, long way around, in a large circle, before they came to the spot where the Elf and the girl now were.

Mellondu came up and nocked an arrow to his bow.

"What are you doing?" Raefindan cried.

"He is within range now and will not be for long. Maybe he can be shot down."

"But you could hit the girl!"

"I do not think so," was all Mellondu's reply.

Suddenly fury built up in Raefindan to an indescribable pitch, and before he knew it, he closed the gap between himself and Mellondu, and was forcing him bodily to the cliff edge. Mellondu was taken by surprise and could not react before he was teetering on the brink.

"Stop!" Erebemlin yelled, too far away to do anything.

Suddenly Raefindan felt hands grabbing him and pulling him back. Aeron. It was enough for Mellondu to get his balance back and force himself away from the edge, but now Raefindan fought them both like a wild beast, trying to force one then another leg, torso, head, or arm over the edge. Suddenly it was done. The face was turned up to him, the eyes full of surprise as it fell like a stone, inches away from the sheer cliff face. But it was not Mellondu; it was Aeron.

Roy looked in horror until the body was a small insect-sized dot that seemed to have merged with the landscape far below. His mind rang suddenly with the laughter of Tharonwë.

"You tried to kill me!" Mellondu raged.

Roy looked at him in anguish. He could not find words to say all the thoughts that rushed through his mind, all the feelings crashing in on him.

"Aeron!" he choked, tears coming to his eyes.

The storm drew nearer.
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