So I know I promised some original stuff, but I had a creative block and I could only come up with this! Set in middle earth from a more realistic point of view (and some heavy creative licence used), I present to you the adventures of Ducat and Frederick!
It was hard work being an outlaw. All the running, stealing, fighting, drinking, sleeping and flirting with pretty maids takes up a lot of time in a decent man's day. Especially when those God-Forsaken Dunedain come sniffing up your trail for pilfering the pockets of some rich noble. To be honest he kind of deserved it though.
The forest was deep and green. The leaves rustled above like a sarcastic round of applause as the two men vaulted over boulders and leaped around twisting, mottled roots. Behind them were the valiant guardians in green, the Dunedain. After the realm of Arnor fell, they decided to become a form of vigilante police force, roaming middle earth, punishing wrong-doers.One of the men dived to the side as an arrow glided through the air and landed with a loud Thunk in the tree, inches from his head. Suddenly the forest dropped off into a steep, sharp precipice. The first man leaped through the veil of leaves around him and slid down the muddy side of the ravine, and out of sight. The second man followed suit swiftly, and the Dunedain came to a halt at the edge of the pit, peering over the edge for a sign of their quarry.
Below an unassuming boulder, lying at the bottom of the pit, slumped the two men. One whispered the other. 'Tight fit Ducat?' The taller of the two men, Ducat, shifted uncomfortably. He had long, brown hair, and a face that could have belonged to a king, had it not been grimy and scratched after months of hard travel. He was well over 6 feet tall, and was surprisingly strong despite his skinny build.One his back rested a simple longbow, with a quiver full of arrows, and a rusting iron short sword hung at his belt. 'Not all of us are blessed with a perfect example of the human form such as yours, Frederick.' Frederick, (Or Freddy) was shorter than his companion, and shared his slender build. He did not however, share his royal looks. Although not an ugly man, he was not the equal of Ducat in looks. He also bore a bow and short sword. Both the men wore a simple raiment of green and brown to hide against the mud and leaves. Outlaws always need to hide.
The dunedain quickly tired and left. What was a few coppers from a rich noble, when they could be out hunting orcs? Ducat heard them trudging away, and carefully made his way out from beneath the boulder. 'Come out Freddy, it's clear.' Freddy climbed out after him, and the two men brushed themselves off. 'It's a long walk to the nearest town, shall we head out.' 'No better time than the present.' The lonely pair began again the slog through the woods. After a few hours of tiring hiking, Freddy suddenly put a hand on Ducats chest. 'Ducat, you hear that?' Ducat stopped to listen, and heard the noise of something moving through the forest, too big to be an animal. He smelt something too, almost like a marsh. 'It can't be-' '-Orcs!' The pair drew their bows and slunk into the bushes after their fresh prey.
The orcs came into view moments later. They too were stalking some unseen quarry. 'What could they be after?' 'There!' Freddy pointed out a flash of blue, shining cloth between the branches and leaves. A woman emerged from the trees, garbed in a beautiful flowing, blue dress. The orcs were ready to pounce to, axes raised. 'On 3 Freddy, 1-' '2' '3!' They both launched arrows into the bush the orcs crouched in, and with a thud the two corpses fell into the road in front of the woman. She screamed and fell back. Ducat quickly ran out to help her, with Freddy following close behind. 'Hello my lady!' Ducat introduced himself with a deep, sweeping bow. The woman climbed to her feet. Up close Ducat could see that she was indeed pretty, with piercing blue eyes and long, auburn hair. She looked quite unimpressed with the pair. 'You're wrong, I am no lady, just the daughter of the local priest.' Oh great Ducat thought to himself, Another elf-worshipping religious nut. Even so he continued his courtesy. 'You are certainly beautiful enough to be a princess.' Freddy chipped in from behind. 'And such a princess will need a handsome king to court her.' 'And you two would know of such a lordly man?' 'My lady' Freddy replied. 'May I present to you, Ducat, king of the forests, speaker to birds, lord of the leaves!'
'More like king of the mud!' The woman snorted and walked on. Ducat and Freddy fell in behind her. 'Where are you going to my Lady?' 'Out into the forest to collect herbs.' 'Perhaps you could use some noble guards such as us-' '-The wood is a dangerous place, as you have seen!' 'I don't think so.' 'Why so cruel my Lady? We have only sought to defend your royal highness!' The woman looked up and Ducat felt her eyes drilling into him. 'Very well, I suppose you may be of some assistance, you see, my father may have a job for you. Just follow me back to the village and he will explain our proposition.''Any task completed in your name-' '-is a noble task indeed!'
Soon the woman had picked her herbs and they were heading back to the village. The village was surprisingly large and well decorated. Flowers hung from buildings, and lamps were lit around the streets. 'My father's house is through here.' The woman gestured to Ducat and Freddy to enter a large, grand building. The door opened with a creek and they stepped inside. A man stepped forward to greet them. He had the same piercing eyes as the woman, but his hair was grey, and he wore the flowing blue robes of a priest. 'Ah!' He croaked. 'My daughter found some suitable men for my task! Sit down, let me discuss my proposition with you.' Ducal and Freddy took seats by the priests roaring fire, and settled down to listen. 'There have been some strange rumours around my church, concerning the management and order of the faith. Strange orders have come down the line, instructing us to do things I would not consider, priestly.' Ducal and Freddy leaned in closer. 'Things like: Collect a church tax of one gold piece from each churchgoer, instruct your village guard to punish anyone caught not practising the faith or attending church on Sundays, very strange things indeed!' 'What do you want us to do about it?' 'I wan't you to go the the faiths headquarters in middle earth, and find out whats going on. You will be payed handsomely for your trouble. When you have found out, return to me and collect your reward!' Freddy was incredulous. 'Thats in Lothlorien! It would be madness trying to sneak in there!' The women looked up at them with her big, blue eyes. 'You say you are nights of the forest. Surely it can't be such a problem sneaking into a forest?
'I can't believe we took that job.' Freddy complained as they sat in the back to the cart, that lurched and bumped beneath them. 'You could never deny a woman could you?' 'We need cash Freddy, don't question my judgement just because it happens to be a beautiful lady giving us that cash.' Freddy sat in a moody silence for about three hours before he fell asleep. It would a long journey to the borders of lothlorien, nearly 3 days ride. Ducat was beginning to regret taking the job.
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It was hard work being an outlaw. All the running, stealing, fighting, drinking, sleeping and flirting with pretty maids takes up a lot of time in a decent man's day. Especially when those God-Forsaken Dunedain come sniffing up your trail for pilfering the pockets of some rich noble. To be honest he kind of deserved it though.
The forest was deep and green. The leaves rustled above like a sarcastic round of applause as the two men vaulted over boulders and leaped around twisting, mottled roots. Behind them were the valiant guardians in green, the Dunedain. After the realm of Arnor fell, they decided to become a form of vigilante police force, roaming middle earth, punishing wrong-doers.One of the men dived to the side as an arrow glided through the air and landed with a loud Thunk in the tree, inches from his head. Suddenly the forest dropped off into a steep, sharp precipice. The first man leaped through the veil of leaves around him and slid down the muddy side of the ravine, and out of sight. The second man followed suit swiftly, and the Dunedain came to a halt at the edge of the pit, peering over the edge for a sign of their quarry.
Below an unassuming boulder, lying at the bottom of the pit, slumped the two men. One whispered the other. 'Tight fit Ducat?' The taller of the two men, Ducat, shifted uncomfortably. He had long, brown hair, and a face that could have belonged to a king, had it not been grimy and scratched after months of hard travel. He was well over 6 feet tall, and was surprisingly strong despite his skinny build.One his back rested a simple longbow, with a quiver full of arrows, and a rusting iron short sword hung at his belt. 'Not all of us are blessed with a perfect example of the human form such as yours, Frederick.' Frederick, (Or Freddy) was shorter than his companion, and shared his slender build. He did not however, share his royal looks. Although not an ugly man, he was not the equal of Ducat in looks. He also bore a bow and short sword. Both the men wore a simple raiment of green and brown to hide against the mud and leaves. Outlaws always need to hide.
The dunedain quickly tired and left. What was a few coppers from a rich noble, when they could be out hunting orcs? Ducat heard them trudging away, and carefully made his way out from beneath the boulder. 'Come out Freddy, it's clear.' Freddy climbed out after him, and the two men brushed themselves off. 'It's a long walk to the nearest town, shall we head out.' 'No better time than the present.' The lonely pair began again the slog through the woods. After a few hours of tiring hiking, Freddy suddenly put a hand on Ducats chest. 'Ducat, you hear that?' Ducat stopped to listen, and heard the noise of something moving through the forest, too big to be an animal. He smelt something too, almost like a marsh. 'It can't be-' '-Orcs!' The pair drew their bows and slunk into the bushes after their fresh prey.
The orcs came into view moments later. They too were stalking some unseen quarry. 'What could they be after?' 'There!' Freddy pointed out a flash of blue, shining cloth between the branches and leaves. A woman emerged from the trees, garbed in a beautiful flowing, blue dress. The orcs were ready to pounce to, axes raised. 'On 3 Freddy, 1-' '2' '3!' They both launched arrows into the bush the orcs crouched in, and with a thud the two corpses fell into the road in front of the woman. She screamed and fell back. Ducat quickly ran out to help her, with Freddy following close behind. 'Hello my lady!' Ducat introduced himself with a deep, sweeping bow. The woman climbed to her feet. Up close Ducat could see that she was indeed pretty, with piercing blue eyes and long, auburn hair. She looked quite unimpressed with the pair. 'You're wrong, I am no lady, just the daughter of the local priest.' Oh great Ducat thought to himself, Another elf-worshipping religious nut. Even so he continued his courtesy. 'You are certainly beautiful enough to be a princess.' Freddy chipped in from behind. 'And such a princess will need a handsome king to court her.' 'And you two would know of such a lordly man?' 'My lady' Freddy replied. 'May I present to you, Ducat, king of the forests, speaker to birds, lord of the leaves!'
'More like king of the mud!' The woman snorted and walked on. Ducat and Freddy fell in behind her. 'Where are you going to my Lady?' 'Out into the forest to collect herbs.' 'Perhaps you could use some noble guards such as us-' '-The wood is a dangerous place, as you have seen!' 'I don't think so.' 'Why so cruel my Lady? We have only sought to defend your royal highness!' The woman looked up and Ducat felt her eyes drilling into him. 'Very well, I suppose you may be of some assistance, you see, my father may have a job for you. Just follow me back to the village and he will explain our proposition.''Any task completed in your name-' '-is a noble task indeed!'
Soon the woman had picked her herbs and they were heading back to the village. The village was surprisingly large and well decorated. Flowers hung from buildings, and lamps were lit around the streets. 'My father's house is through here.' The woman gestured to Ducat and Freddy to enter a large, grand building. The door opened with a creek and they stepped inside. A man stepped forward to greet them. He had the same piercing eyes as the woman, but his hair was grey, and he wore the flowing blue robes of a priest. 'Ah!' He croaked. 'My daughter found some suitable men for my task! Sit down, let me discuss my proposition with you.' Ducal and Freddy took seats by the priests roaring fire, and settled down to listen. 'There have been some strange rumours around my church, concerning the management and order of the faith. Strange orders have come down the line, instructing us to do things I would not consider, priestly.' Ducal and Freddy leaned in closer. 'Things like: Collect a church tax of one gold piece from each churchgoer, instruct your village guard to punish anyone caught not practising the faith or attending church on Sundays, very strange things indeed!' 'What do you want us to do about it?' 'I wan't you to go the the faiths headquarters in middle earth, and find out whats going on. You will be payed handsomely for your trouble. When you have found out, return to me and collect your reward!' Freddy was incredulous. 'Thats in Lothlorien! It would be madness trying to sneak in there!' The women looked up at them with her big, blue eyes. 'You say you are nights of the forest. Surely it can't be such a problem sneaking into a forest?
'I can't believe we took that job.' Freddy complained as they sat in the back to the cart, that lurched and bumped beneath them. 'You could never deny a woman could you?' 'We need cash Freddy, don't question my judgement just because it happens to be a beautiful lady giving us that cash.' Freddy sat in a moody silence for about three hours before he fell asleep. It would a long journey to the borders of lothlorien, nearly 3 days ride. Ducat was beginning to regret taking the job.
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