posted 11-30-2003 04:25 PM            

Through the forest by the water,
In the darkness of the night,
I and my companions wandered,
Looking for Fearlorn's plight,

In the evening he had rested,
With his back against a tree,
When a shadow rose and struck him,
And dragged him back, bodily,

We had heard his voice a'shouting,
While he had been borne away,
I had come to see the trouble,
But the foul thing got away,

Now we sought him in the shadows,
In the caverns, brush, and bog,
But we had not found our comrade,
And now the trees were laced with fog,

Against the pitch we lit our torches,
Lighting the wood in flickering red,
By this light, we continued searching,
Seeking him if alive or dead,

Suddenly, the wood grew silent,
The sounds of night growing still,
In response, we too were statues,
Holding wind by each one's will,

As swiftly as our ears allowed,
The four of us drew our steel,
In the forest all around,
A foreboding presence I could feel,

Just beyond our ring of light,
I could discern a glinting eye,
Readying ourselves for a threat,
We stood our ground, the lads and I,

In a terrible, bounding stride,
The being made its presence known,
It bore with it a great axe,
A shirt of mail, and shield of bone,

The sight of such a thing emerging,
From the refuge of the wood,
Made the company quake and tremble,
But beside me, they still stood,

In a beat, the thing was on us,
Slashing with its wicked blade,
We ducked and dodged the singing metal,
But the light of torches began to fade,

The crest I bore revealed my rank,
And with roar of rage and lust,
It bore down on me with its axe,
Hoping to smite me to the dust,

Rather than try to parry the blow,
I quickly sidestepped to the right,
And taking advantage of the opening,
I thrust my sword with all my might,

Into its belly, the blade disappeared,
Piercing halfway to the hilt,
Its grip on the axe began to fail,
And its head began to tilt,

In the throes of death and torment,
It cried out in one final note,
A blaring horn in the stillness,
And to the ground, the beast was smote,

The lads around me cheered my glory,
But the task was not complete,
For I could sense in the forest,
More foes we had to meet,

Through the night, we fought and struggled,
Nigh the sun rose in the East,
In the clearing, dead were piled,
And the scavengers had a feast,

But, now our victory was confirmed,
After fighting so long and hard,
We had only lost one companion,
I could not save him, the poor Geldard,

We found him in the midst of bodies,
Of all the foes that he had slain,
I took him back to be with family,
And in the cemetery he was lain,

Fearlorn we had not forgotten,
And we still search to this day,
But we have not found our comrade,
Beneath the flowers, he now lay,

Having lived through such peril,
Slaying the foes that I had met,
In the forest by the water,
The Battle at Lardoth I shan't forget.