At the same time that Hadar had met with misfortune at the farmhouse, Caledorn was moving along the side of the road itself, little more than a passing shadow in the night. Anyone that would have been traveling along the road at that time would not have seen anything out of the ordinary, and indeed wouldn't have even been aware of his presence aside from possibly having the uncomfortable feeling of being watched.

Caledorn's path was far more dangerous than Hadar's however, for many patrols guarded the road. In fact, Caledorn was certain that the patrols were in place purely to halt Rukil's progress, and he caught snatches of their conversations that seemed to prove his point. However, it became clear without a doubt when Caledorn came upon a well-traveled crossroads. There, instead of a patrol, a large camp had been erected all around the crossroads, and heavily armored warriors marched back and forth, making their rounds about the camp. One tent that was larger than the others caught Caledorn's attention particularly, and he decided to investigate.

As he neared it, he heard what sounded like two voices in a heated debate, one of which was on the verge of shouting.

"Curse you, I told you we can handle this ourselves! We don't need you to come along and strongarm us out of the way!" The first voice said angrily.

"Remember thine place, General," A second, far more menacing voice, said. "My Master is also thine master, and I am his highest servant. Thou would do best to heed my council."

"Your council is madness! If we leave Khand it will become vulnerable to attack!"

"And if Rhun falls to that usurper, thou shalt be destroyed. It would be in thine Emperor's interest to obey." The second voice grew harsher, and a hint of anger could be heard in it.

"Perhaps an alliance with Mordor is no longer in my lord's best interest then," A third voice, which was much more even toned, said.

"Thou hast little choice in the matter, Ambassador Hideki. If thine people wish to break the alliance between us, they shall starve. No longer shall they receive supplies. Their fields shall burn. If thou will not be allies, then thou shalt be enemies."

"Do not be hasty, m'lord. We merely wish to control our own armies. We can send half our force to aid you against the rebels in Rhun, but no more."

"Hmm... So be it. Separate thy forces and make haste to Rhun. Half thine forces will not be enough to face the usurper in open battle, but with the help of our puppet in Rhun they shall surely crush him."

At that moment a fourth voice, that of a guard, interrupted.

"M'lords, sentries have reported seeing an unidentified man on the road nearby, not one hour past. He was dressed like an assassin or spy and was making his way toward the camp."

"Then I must leave. My master will not be pleased by thine halfhearted efforts." Caledorn heard the sound of someone leaving the tent in a hurry. He silently jumped onto the top of one of the tent poles and crawled slowly forward, hoping to catch a glimpse of Mordor's ambassador.

What he saw when he was able to see clearly didn't surprise him in the slightest. Mounting a coal black horse was Sauron's messenger known only as the Mouth of Sauron, his mouth turned slightly upward in an eternal grimace. Caledorn had encountered him once before, on the plains of Dagorlad many years ago. The Mouth had proved to be a surprisingly challenging foe, and both warriors had barely escaped with their lives. Now though, Caledorn felt that he could defeat him easily enough if he took him by surprise. After all, the Mouth had no idea that Caledorn was anywhere nearby, and wouldn't be expecting an assassin.

But Caledorn knew, the Mouth relied on more than his eyes to see around him. It seemed almost as if the ghastly emissary of Mordor had an unearthly ability to sense, rather than see, anything nearby of interest. And so it was that when the Mouth left the encampment, Caledorn followed at a safe distance, careful to stay close to the shadows.

Once they both had traveled out of sight of the camp, the Mouth halted. Caledorn crouched down into a rut on the road, and waited in silence. The Mouth sat still, seeming almost to have frozen in place. Then, after a moment of complete silence, the Mouth guided his dark steed off the road, quickening his pace to a fast trot. He soon disappeared into the thick fog that was on either side of the road, like a phantom in the night.

Seems that the Mouth is planning something, Caledorn thought to himself. He quickly followed the emissary until once more he halted, now out of sight of the road. This time, instead of staying still he began to laugh quietly, a harsh, menacing laugh.

"Do not think that I am unaware of thy presence, assassin. I suspected that I was being followed the entire time, but was not certain of thee until now." The Mouth turned his ghastly head, seeming to look straight at Caledorn.

"For one without eyes, you see much," the elf said as he stood tall, revealing himself.

"Ah, Caledorn... Eyes are useless when thou hast access to more powerful senses," the Mouth said, recognizing Caledorn immediately.

"Those senses will betray you. They were gained by dark power; naught will come of them but failure." Caledorn drew his sword, its silver blade reflecting the pale moonlight.

"Dost thou wish to repeat your failed attempt at Dagorlad?" The Mouth also drew his sword. "Thou didst not kill me then, thou cannot do it now."

"I challenge you to fair and open combat, sword against sword. Sorcery is forbidden. Allow yourself to gain a scrap of honor and accept my terms." Caledorn said this knowing full well that Black Numenoreans, while treacherous, were bound by a strange code of honor. He did not fully understand it, but he knew that the Mouth would not easily refuse.

The Mouth frowned slightly, and it seemed that a shadow of doubt was plaguing his mind. After what seemed to be an inner conflict with himself, he dismounted and drew himself to his full height.

"I accept thine terms. But know that the oath binds us both, thou cannot avail thineself of sorcery either."

"Very well. Enough words then." Caledorn stepped forward, his eyes narrowing with determination.

With a chilling cry the Mouth rushed toward the elf, the clash of their swords ringing through the crisp night air. The contrast between the duelists was clear: The Mouth fought with anger and fury, darkness in his every move. Caledorn fought with quiet determination, parrying his enemy's blows with grace and agility. Nature itself seemed to be watching with bated breath, for the birds and night creatures had all gone silent.

The Mouth soon gained the advantage, aggressively pushing Caledorn back with the strength of his swings. Caledorn parried each blow, but he knew that if he didn't do something soon it would be too late. He waited for a slight pause in the Mouth's attacks, then leapt into the air and swung down with such strength that the sword was wrenched from the Mouth's grasp. Quickly recovering, the Mouth reached into his cloak and pulled out a jagged dagger. His wide mouth turned up into a crooked smile and he tilted his head to the side.

"Is this all thee can do, elf?" He said, sneering even more.

"No... I was not aware that we had started fighting yet," Caledorn said matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

The Mouth frowned, then quickly came at Caledorn with a flurry of jabs with the knife. Caledorn hastily dodged, barely avoiding the blade. Both duelists were now in their element, for the Mouth preferred daggers to the long, unwieldy blade of a sword. Even now, he constantly attempted to close the distance, forcing Caledorn to retreat so that he had room to effectively swing his blade. But Caledorn was no stranger to a duel either, and once he had gained enough distance he executed a fast combination that forced the Mouth to keep his distance. This was enough to give Caledorn the advantage, and now he pushed the Mouth further and further back, towards a steep drop a few yards away. The Mouth immediately perceived the warrior elf's goal, and amongst his dark thoughts a plan began to take shape.

Caledorn realized that he must move carefully, otherwise it would be him and not the Mouth that would meet an untimely end on the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. He pushed the offensive until the Mouth was less than a foot away from the cliff edge, where the Mouth stopped and began to push back. Caledorn kept up the pressure though, knowing that if the Mouth forced him into the defense he would lose the advantage.

Suddenly and without warning, the Mouth leapt at Caledorn, tackling him to the ground and knocking his sword away. Caledorn gasped as he hit the ground, his breath knocked out of him. Without waiting, the Mouth immediately brought his dagger down on Caledorn. Had he taken a second to aim his stab, he would've certainly killed the elf. As it was, the blade pierced into Caledorn's shoulder, pinning him to the ground. Caledorn let out a cry of pain and swiftly kicked the Mouth between the legs, knocking the Mouth off of him momentarily. The wound was already affecting him though, and Caledorn realized with anger that the blade was most likely poisoned. Of course the Mouth would use some trickery, he thought, mentally reprimanding himself for not expecting it.

He slowly extracted it from his shoulder, grimacing in pain as he did so. The Mouth would recover soon, and if he didn't hurry it would be over. He propped himself up and got to his knees, immediately regretting it. His head spun, and it felt as though he would vomit. Definitely poisoned, he thought.

As if that wasn't bad enough, he felt a hand wrap around his ankle. He swiftly kicked backward, feeling his boot make contact with the Mouth's helmet. Immediately spinning around, he threw the Mouth's dagger. It embedded itself in the Mouth's thigh, and he howled with rage and pain.

Take that, Caledorn thought. Now that he was free from the Mouth's grasp, he dove toward his sword, which was lying a few yards away near the edge of the cliff. Just as he was within reach, he heard a maniacal shout and heard the Mouth charging at him from behind. He had just enough time to turn around before the Mouth reached him. The impact of the charge knocked Caledorn from the ledge, and both he and the Mouth of Sauron plunged into the blackness below.

So what do you all think happened to them? Did either of them survive? And let me know what you thought of the chapter! Was it good? Terrible? I admit, I'm starting to get antsy about starting Defenders of Middle Earth, this book will be over sooner than it seems! Do you all still like it?