The Tale of Adulas

by Dinledhwen


Part 1

I was out for an afternoon walk deep in the woods when I came upon a
Galadhrim bow with its quiver of arrows leaning up against the trunk of a
tall old oak tree. Now I recognized them as the gift Galadriel had given to
Legolas before the Fellowship departed Lothlorien in the movie The
Fellowship of the Ring. Obviously this bow and quiver couldn't be the actual
props used in this movie. It made no sense for someone to leave them or this
replica of them out here in the woods. So I picked up the quiver hoping to
find an answer to this mystery. Right away I noticed how skillfully made
this quiver was. The gold peacock had been perfectly reproduced on the light
brown wood and the dozen arrows with their dark green to brown shafts had
the greeny-gold feathers and were tipped with slender metal arrow heads.

Tucked in behind the quiver and held in place by narrow leather loops were
the two white knives in their gold and white scabbards. I carefully pulled
out the left knife. This was no prop for the blade was fine and keen with
the etched leaf and vine pattern running down it length. I slid it back into
its scabbard with no doubt that the second knife was the same. It was then
that I saw the small parchment colored paper envelope sticking out from
under the folded shoulder straps. I pulled it out and was surprised to find
my name written in a neat but unfamiliar feminine hand on the front in black
ink. When I turned the envelope over, I saw that it was sealed with red
sealing wax.

I set the quiver back down against the tree trunk and carefully broke open
the seal. Inside I found a small slip of parchment colored paper which I
pulled out. On the front was this message written in the same handwriting:

Your life is in danger Adulas! There is Uruk-hai in the woods today. Take
these weapons and go north to the old log over the ravine. There will be
someone there to meet you. Hurry!

I turned the slip of paper over but it was blank on the other side. Now only
my close friends knew that Adulas was the elvish name I used on the
computer. Translated it means Leaf Double which points out the fact that I
would be an identical twin for my favorite Lord of the Rings character
Legolas if I only had the elvish ears.

But how could anyone know that I would be passing by this oak tree today? It
was no secret to my friends that I walked in the woods for exercise. I just
never told them where since I wished to keep the solitude and beauty of this
unspoiled area of tall old oak trees deep in the woods for myself. Yet
someone did know and was aware of the old log over the ravine a short
distance to the north. I had passed by there before and had thought about
crossing over when curiosity tempted me. However it had been late in the
afternoon that day. So I turned around and went home with the intention of
returning. That was where I was going when I saw the bow and quiver.

As for the Uruk-hai, they only existed in the Lord of the Rings as the
soldiers in Saruman's army. So why would someone leave behind real weapons
for defense against fictional characters? And if I were to assume that there
was Uruk-hai out here, then why would they be after me specifically? None of
this was making a bit of sense. I decided that it would be useless to stay
here by this oak tree any longer since there were no answers to my
questions. I slid the slip of paper back into the envelope and slipped it
into a back pocket of my jeans. Then I picked up the quiver. According to
the message I was to take the weapons. Although I didn't understand what was
going on, I felt it would be wrong to leave them behind. So I slipped the
quiver on in such a way that I could wear it over my right shoulder like
Legolas had in the first movie and picked up the bow. Like the quiver it had
been skillfully made with the vine and leaf pattern carved in a raised
pattern in the middle and on the ends.

Suddenly I heard the sound of a snapping twig behind me. I quickly turned
around and saw two fierce looking Uruk-hai running towards me from the south
each with two corners of a large net in their hands. They were similar in
physical appearance to the fierce Uruk-hai in the first movie with tall dark
muscular bodies clad in black armor, long black hair, and cruel faces. They
had wicked looking swords they were carrying at their sides but the white
hand of Saruman was missing. Now they were so intent on pinning me up
against the tree trunk that they couldn't change direction fast enough when
I simply stepped out of their way to the east at the last minute. The only
thing the two Uruk-hai caught in their net was the tree trunk as they passed
by on either side jerking themselves off their feet and landing flat on
their backs when the net was suddenly pulled tight.

When the two Uruk-hai started to recover from having the wind knocked out of
them, I decided I wasn't going to stick around to see what else they had in
mind since I was now convinced they were real. So I ran off into the woods
heading to the north and the old log over the ravine like the message had
instructed to do. I had only gone a short distance when I discovered my way
was blocked by one of the old tall oak trees which had been blown over
during a recent wind storm. The shortest and easiest way around the tree was
to the west where the torn roots were exposed to the air. I was about to
take a step in that direction when a black dagger quickly flew passed in
front of me just missing by inches and became imbedded into the tree trunk
with a dull ker-thunk.

Spinning around I saw the same two net bearing Uruk-hai running towards me
again. This time they had with them six more Uruk-hai who were about to cut
off my escape routes to the east and west. There was nothing I could do
about them for the two Uruk-hai were rapidly closing in. So I quickly took
out an arrow and fitted it to the bowstring which I drew back clear to my
right ear while looking down the shaft. Now I had been inspired to try
archery after I had seen Legolas in the first movie. But shooting at a
stationary paper target was easier than a moving one. Fortunately my aim was
good, and I stopped permanently the Uruk-hai to my right. His companion on
the left met a similar end.

This obviously didn't set well with the remaining six Uruk-hai. They scowled
at me while cautiously approaching from the sides and front with their
swords held at the ready.