Frodo watched from the foliage as Abraham and the girl sprinted to the cover of the woods. He started wagging his tail when he recognized the two figures rushing toward him, but too soon the happiness turned into a sense of danger as he saw the Pirates pour out of the castle after them.
Without a second glance Frodo let out a bark and dashed toward their defense, with a hundred men at his back.
* * * * *
Abraham and Lydia were barely keeping ahead of the pack of angry Pirates. Ab did his best to encourage Lydia to move quicker, but the long hours of her captivity were not helping her in this regard. Gripping his sword more firmly, he prepared to turn around and face his many foes. But before he could do so, he heard a bark from behind him. A very familiar deep bark.. a bark that was suppose to be dead.
Lydia screamed with pleasure, "Frodo! Hey boy-"
But before she could give him a hug, he sidestepped her and charged toward the pirates with what looked like a company of men who had grown from trees. Each standing only about five and a half feet, they had beards that were going in all kinds of different directions. Not only did their beards straggle, but their hair was enough to frighten any squirrel away. With rough hide coats that was stretched taunt over their broad shoulders, they were tan from the days they had spent in the sun, making raids onto the Infidels crops and caravans.
With these men, Ab was confident of victory, he charged into the battle yelling, "Lydia! Hurry! Go climb a tree before they can get to you."
Having learned her lesson, she climbed the nearest oak tree up as high as she dared. When she finally turned around, the two sides were locked in deadly combat. From where she was sitting, she had a perfect vantage point of the battle raging at her feet. Frodo was a battle machine, no one could resist the claws and teeth of the ferocious fighter. Abraham was battling two men at once. The apparent general (you could tell that he was the leader, because he was the stockiest) was mauling every man in his path.
The battle was a short one, the pirates had been taken completely by surprise by the multitude prepared to assault them. After another five minutes of fighting, they fell back into the castle. But the barbaric Men of the Forest were right on their heels. In seconds, the castle was in their possession. Not much of a fight was put up when Ab, Frodo, and their little army had captured the stronghold.
When they searched high and low, they could not find the Emperor. He had fled.
"Coward!" Growled Jepthah, as he tipped a table over. (The leader of the Wild Men)
Ab sighed and slouched onto a wooden bench. The Pirates had been contained in the courtyard, as there had been no other place big enough to contain them. When they had found out that their leader had fled, they had completely given up. "Why did he not fight?"
Lydia turned around, her clothes were badly tattered from the climb of the tree and from her captivity. "I doubt he would've wanted to risk his neck over some children.. He probably went to go prepare for Jason."
Realization dawned on Abraham, "That's right! But.. hold on.. how did you guys find us?" He directed his question at Jepthah.
He spoke in his gravelly voice, "That my friend is a tale worth the telling."
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