God of middle-earth (2/n)

The journey was long, suffice it to say, but Dundro was familiar with the route, having taken it several times. He sang an old Elvish tune:

me echad-ed-Barad-dur

tâl lagor taug mâb

maeg pilin a maeg crist

menelvagor min forven

mina in dúath

ir úlaer, ir glamog

maeg pilin a maeg crist

edhel innas dag

He arrived at his destination and promptly sat himself on a log. Unwinding the reel, the silence was disturbed by the sounding of a horn. Dundro nearly fell off his log as the harsh tone scraped at his ears. There was a great roar, and the earth shook beneath Dundro’s feet. He was paralysed in shock. His fears increased by leaps and bounds as here caught sight of the crude metal armor and squarish blades that he knew only too well from his readings of Bilbo’s and Frodo’s scripts. He dashed behind a large rock, overlooking the river opposing the horde of Orcs. But it was too late, there came a shout and heavy footfalls approaching the rock. Dundro restrained himself from crying out, instead he took a deep breath and dived into the waters of the Brandywine.

Looking up from the scum, he glimpsed the fell Enemy roaring in surprise as their prey eluded them. They were more frightening than Frodo’s descriptions.

Almost immediately, he was grabbed by the swift current and was forcefully swept down stream. Up and down he bobbed, chased by a squad of bloodthirsty Orcs. They were bearing a sigil of which Dundro was not familiar. Dundro once again submerged himself with a mighty breath and hoped the Orcs would leave him alone. He quickly scrambled together the remainder of his mental faculties and tried to think. The Brandywine ran from down the East Road to the Overbourn Marshes. Assuming the Orcs diverted from the river's path, whence should he then, leave? He dared not to scurry back to Hobbiton with a horde of Orcs on his tail. Dundro was not a courageous fellow, he dared not to traverse the Old Forest with the path permeated with beasts and Men alike.

Resignedly, Dundro placed his fate in the Brandywine River.