The rain fell heavily on the broken stone of the old ruins, a section of fallen roof and rubble had made a small man-made cave in which I crouched beside the small fire. The fire was small enough not to produce too much smoke or light and it had been built within a convenient alcove in a broken section of wall, a slab of marble had been pulled over to block any of it’s light being visible from the outside. It was essential that I remained hidden and that my hiding place was not compromised. I had spent the past week at the outpost keeping watch over the valley below; the outpost itself had been used for decades by many of the Dunedain before me.
Along the walls there were hundreds of scratched runes made by the previous occupants of the outpost, some were names followed by the dates that that person was present and some were records of events or short blessings protection or good fortune. I rose from beside the fire, wrapped my cloak closer to keep out the chill of the night and stood beside the entrance to my current dwelling. Leaning against the cold stone I gazed down into the valley, with the driving rain and the absence of moonlight the visibility was very poor but my senses were far superior to that of any normal man. I scanned the rough dirt track below for any signs of movement; there had been none for the past four days. Previous to that I had spotted a small party of Orcs riding Wargs heading out form the ancient ruins of Fornost.
As my watch of the road continued my senses were strained to the limit, the heavy wind and rain masked any sound and every movement that could be made seen in the darkness could merely be a tree swaying in the wind. I pulled up the hood of my cloak and decided to move down the hill a little hoping that this would give me a better view. Bracing myself against the wind I picked my way through the piles of stone careful not to dislodge any of the loose rocks in case there was someone on the road. I made my way down hill towards a small coppice of trees that should provide me with some cover. I settled my self with my back to one of trees and continued my watch. A few minutes later and I managed to catch the slightest sound over to my left, glancing round I could see nothing through the dense undergrowth. I drew my sword, the scabbard was lined in soft leather and it slid out without a sound and the blade. I had covered the blade with a thin layer of soot from the fire to prevent the shine from its polished surface from betraying my presence. Slowly I crept forward slowly as I heard the sound again, avoiding the fallen twigs and branches I inched my way towards the sound. A blade suddenly appeared on my right shoulder and I froze. I was mesmerized by the blade; I could feel the weight of it on my shoulder as I calculated my chances of avoiding it.
“Had I been an Orc you would be dead right now” came a low voice behind me. I relaxed as I recognised the voice and slowly turned towards my attacker. It was Argarzir my mentor and trainer back at Esteldin.
“Had you been an Orc I would have smelt you” I replied. He smiled and lowered his blade.
“True, but I am surprised you fell for my little distraction, you still have much to learn”
I cursed my foolishness, it was true that I was still under his tuition but I had arrogantly thought that I was ready to join the ranks of the Rangers.
“But you have done well this week" he continued "your attempts to conceal your activities were excellent, as was your spotting of that Orc party”
Had he really been watching me all week? And where from? The ruins where the only cover on that hill, and I had spent a full week there without even seeing him. I felt a new sense of admiration my mentor and I could only wonder at the skill and knowledge he possessed.
“Go back to the ruin there is a horse waiting for you” he said “Your trial has ended, rest awhile and I shall come and see you in a day or two”
As I made my way up the hill I looked back over my shoulder and was not at all surprised to find myself alone on the hillside once again.
