[Envinyatar]

Several hours of steady riding brought them nearer the Outer Fence of Mordor. The Shadow Mountains were rightly named as they loomed tall and craggy above the broad ashy plain. The sun, in its westward course, threw the shadows of the range eastward, reaching out for both the hunters and the hunted alike.

Late afternoon was tending toward evening as Rhûnnaro called a halt to their progress. They had traveled more westerly than south thus far and in the distance they saw, where the evening shadows had not yet hidden things from view, a small cloud of ash taken up on the breeze and above, the circling of a lone scavenger bird.

‘Look!’ Rhûnnaro’s head nodded toward the small disturbance. ‘The death bird circles lazily and keeps his sharp eyes fixed on something of interest below.’

‘The slaves have no water or food. They must have run all day and now are starting to lag. Do you think it is them, or the Hunters?’ Tenzin sat easily on his horse, his eyes sweeping the western edge of the mountains for any other clues.

‘Not the Hunters. The cloud of dust would be larger from the movement of the horses. I think they are farther north of us, having moved directly west of where we started.’ Rhûnnaro narrowed his eyes, as if to pierce the small dusty cloud. ‘Perhaps the girl made use of the map I tossed her.’ He loosed the long knife at his belt, making it an easy draw.

‘Have your bow ready. Let us see who travels there before us. Perhaps they can be useful to us.’

^*^*^*^*^*^*^

The sun had gone down further by the time they approached their quarry. Five sets of hastening footprints became clearer in the ashy ground, with one other showing the larger prints of one who dragged his right leg somewhat. The slaves, exhausted from their day of running, had thrown themselves down in the shallow protection afforded by an outcropping of rocks which formed a small semicircular barrier from prying eyes to the east and north.

Rhûnnaro pulled two small bags from his saddle pack, and secured them to his belt. He clasped his knfe in his teeth and motioning Tenzin to stay back on his horse, arrow nocked in readiness, he climbed quietly up the rocky structure and looked down into the shadows at the sleeping slaves.

He threw the two bags into their midst while crying out in a loud voice. ‘Stand, slaves, and speak to me . . .

[ May 15, 2003: Message edited by: Envinyatar ]