[CaptainofDespair]

The shadows of night had settled across the Hills of Evendim, leaving the cold land shrouded in a seemingly eternal dark. Torches burned within the camp of the refugee Arnorians, providing the only source of light, but also attracting the eyes of a foe much more frightening than the silent darkness. Orcs had come, from where, it was not known, but they were certainly in the service of the Angmarim. They had been stalking the camp, for some time. They had gone unnoticed by the whole of the host, and they preferred to remain that way.

Far off the camp was, but not far enough to leave it safe. The orcs had come with a purpose, and they had been stalking the party for some time. Nagbak, chieftain of these orcs, stood on a small rock, gazing deep into the shadows. A lieutenant, standing near him, shivered in the cold, muttering in broken Common and Black Speech. “Silence, you fool,” came a quick reply to the muttering. “There are elves in that train, and they may be able to hear us.” The bowlegged underling looked up to his chieftain, inquiring into his lord’s course of action, “What are we to do? We cannot face the whole of them, and still be able to have strength to flee.” A short grunt came from the chief, followed in quick succession by a wisp of steamy breath rising from the nostrils of the large orc. “That’s why we are sneaking in. I will be taking a contingent of the guard, to creep into the camp, subdue what guards we must, and capture the elves and any other priority targets.” He paused, pointing into the shadows, “You will wait in the trees. When I return, we must make haste. We cannot afford to be caught in the daylight. My mission depends on this raid,” he finished, adding a snort to fortify his point.

Only a few moments more had passed, and the orcs had split into two groups, one far outweighing the other in numbers. The plans were finalized amongst the higher ranking orcs, and then the trains split, one to the forest, to wait in silence, the other to the human camp. A light fog had now descended upon the hills, furthering the cloak and dagger mission the clever chieftain had devised. Slowly, they crept into position, careful not to make any noise ‘unnatural’ to the region.

A guard patrolling the torch-defined perimeter, suddenly noticed a few torches burn out. Too weary to think much of it, he lackadaisically wandered over the edge of the lights to investigate, thinking it was only a spurt of wind. Then, without warning, he was swallowed up by the shadows, as several lightly clad orcs snuck into the camp. They then took up positions within a cluster of the tents, prepared for battle, should it come. A weary elf, possibly one of the emissaries to the humans, was awake within stretched hide hovel, sitting on a bedroll provided for him (though Nagbak could not tell if it was possibly a female, for the darkness obscured his vision, and he was not sure if Elves even had men and women). His two compatriots were asleep, as much as Elves can be. Nagbak gave a low grunt, like that of a boar, rousing the elf from his position. As soon as he came to the edge of the shadows, the chieftain conked the elf in the head, with the back of his large hand, incapacitating the diplomat. The other elf, having ‘heard’ the thump of his fellow elf hitting the dirt, rose up, only to meet a similar fate. A third elf, whom Nagbak had not seen in the darkness, came up behind him, in a semi-daze, attempting to rouse the guards. This failed, as the elf was grabbed, and flung to the earth. Two other orcs then cast themselves upon the fallen Moriquendi, and bound him as quickly as possible. Fearing that the elven guards had discovered them, the orcs pulled back, to the edge of the camp, to gather their cargo, and prepare for the long flight away from the camp.

But, just as the orcs were preparing to pull out with their prizes, they were interrupted. A woman, with a child walking upon her heels, had entered the cold of night, for an unknown reason, strolling towards the night-cloaked orcs. Making a hasty decision, Nagbak gave the signal to capture the woman and child, and cart them off with the elves. Two orcs waited in the shadows, as the two humans passed by. When they had passed just beyond them, they leapt out, each taking a prisoner. Nagbak stood before his gathered men, who had the elves bound and gagged, to make them easier to carry off. However, the woman and child were merely slung over the broad shoulders of their captors, each having been incapacitated. With another hand signal, the orcs crept back out of the camp, unseen, and unheard, to the forest.

It had taken the orcs several long minutes to reach the tree-line, partially due to cargo, and somewhat due to the fear of an alarm being sounded in the camp. But the alarm was never risen, and the orcs paraded into the cold-soiled forest unscathed. Nagbak’s lieutenant was waiting for him, to hear the news of the kidnaping. He spoke in a low tone, both weary of no sleep, and of out of the habit that had been acquired over the past few days, “How went the operation, my chief?” The larger orc shrugged, and without looking where the prisoners were, pointed into the nothingness of the night “It went well. The scouts were correct, and we managed to take all the elven emissaries. We were almost caught however, by some woman and a child. So, they were taken as well.” A sigh came from the subordinate. “Good. Now where do we go from here?” The chieftain grunted, and then snorted. Cracking his neck, he added “To the southwest. If my plans are to come to fruition, I will need the elves for bartering. The humans will be handed over as well, unless something unfortunate should befall them.” He chuckled, and sat down on a fallen tree, removing his helm. “We will depart shortly, but first I must rest.” The old orc (for an orc at least), too tired to get up, drifted into a sleep.

When he awoke, only an hour or two after sitting down to catch his breath, he found his loyal companions were assembled, with all of the hostages bound and gagged, and prepared to march out. A wry smile crossed the hard features of the orc, and he placed one of his large hands on the shoulder of another, and gave a hardy laugh. “You boys are deserving of reward. And it will come, after we get what we want from the Elves.” A few gave a low cheer, still wary of the camp. Then, Nagbak, raising his fist into the air, gave the signal to move out. The orcs bustled forward, some carrying the cargo on their backs.

Song had broken out from the ranks once they had gotten a few miles from the camp. Nagbak could only marvel at the liveliness of his ‘boys’. A few hours had passed and they had gotten a safe distance from the small forest, if it could have been called that, so the whole of the orcs decided to rest amongst a crowding of rocks and boulders, for both the reason of stealth, and for protection from attack, should something of that nature come upon them.

The Elves and the Dunedain were unbound, and permitted to eat some of the orc rations, but it left a horrible taste in their mouths, and they ate it no more. One of the Elves, who had refused the food outright, made a gamble, one that could prove fatal. He dared to question the chieftain, without permission to speak. In a beautiful elven voice, he inquired into the mind of the orc chief. “Why have you taken us from our beds, and dragged us into the night? Do you intend to slay us here, or force the dominion of your master upon us?” Nagbak was not pleased with the disrespect to his title, but he decided to humor the elf, as it could prove useful if they knew his plan. “ I do not intend to bring any harm to you, Elf. Nor will I allow you to fall into the hands of Angmar. I intend to bring you to those of your house, and strike a deal,” he chuckled, hoping for some sort of expression on the face of his prisoner. When none came, he frowned, but continued on, “You are now my pawns, in a bid for a land the orcs can call home, without fear of conquest or dominion. And I bid you, do not disrespect my title of chief again.” Then, in a strange showing of compassion, he tossed a sack to the elf, adding “Take this to your companions, and feed them with your way bread. The Elf nodded, and was led back to the others, to be rebound. The rest of the night was lonesome and quiet, all good signs that the camp had not noticed the kidnaping yet.