God of middle-earth (4/n)

At this point, Dundro was about to give up. The sounds of Orcs which permeated the marshes made it hard to ascertain which direction it was coming from. That and the sheer lack of landmarks made Dundro feel even worse. And don’t forget, he was hungry, which is saying something.

As all these feelings swam about in Dundro’s head, he began to realise that this was exactly the adventure he was seeking his entire life! Not as high-stakes as Uncle Frodo’s, of course but it was something.

Empowered by this revelation, Dundro walked briskly and without fear, despite having no clue about the direction he was going. All of a sudden, there came a ear-piercing howl, emanating from no perceivable location.

Dundro froze mid-step.

Then came a cracking of a branch.

Snap.

Dundro whirled around. Nothing.

A growl and the shine of inhuman eyes came and went for the slightest moment. The hunting wolves crept closer.

Poor Dundro, on the other hand was completely oblivious. Then, the march of the Orc horde came within earshot of Dundro. The harsh Orc-tongue inflexions of a thousand-strong Enemy sounded.

This was enough to scare the wits out of Dundro, and he fled, screaming. The hunting dogs bayed and swiftly began pursuit. Dundro turned, saw the fell Beasts and almost fainted. He scampered along as fast as his stubby Hobbit legs could carry him. Unfortunately, this was a puny effort in comparison to the trained, deft Wargs.

They got closer. And closer. Closer.... The Wargs leapt with inhuman grace and revealed its pink maw...

Dundro eyed a low hanging bough on a nearby tree and derouted. The Warg smashed to the ground, growling in anger. The rest of pack swiftly tracked Dundro to the tree but they were too late, Dundro had already shimmied up the ancient oak and was now crouched on a high branch. Dundro’s heart raced as he waited to see if the Wargs had followed him. Thankfully, the fell Beasts failed to reach Dundro at his lofty position. They let loose a heart-wrenching roar of resignation, and just as quickly as they were there, they were gone. Dundro finally exhaled, calming his pounding heart. He rested his head on the trunk of his savior and closed his eyes. Dundro Baggins would live another day.