They could not make a stand. They would not last. The turning point had been reached and if they would not move quickly, all would be lost. The man had fallen, perhaps mortally wounded to the ground and the Elf still fought, despite being wounded.
The woman had turned to come to the aid of the Elf, and Dûrion himself sprinted back, ignoring the pain and lurking exhaustion. Without even checking if the man was still alive, Dûrion swung the man's arm over his shoulder, and tried to haul him out of the line of fire. "To the road!" he cried over the loud noises of combat, hoping that the Elves would hear him. "My horse might be able to carry two. We must be quick!"
Manoeuvring and dodging swords had almost become impossible as he tried to drag the man with him. The ranger tried to parry all the swords as best as he could, but he could not make it alone.
"If you're still alive," he growled to the man, whom had not given any sign of life yet. "then for all our sakes, wield your sword, or else we all be dead."

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O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

Over the sounds of battle Ariali heard the man's call to flee else they would be slain. The cut on his back stung but he did not heed the pain, he needed to survive. He parried a stab at him and punched the orc leaving him on the floor. He now noticed an opening for him to run, it was just him and the other elf who had yet to make break for it , he called to her "let's go! ". He moved hacking at any orcs in his path trying to keep the way open for the other elf as well as trying to lower the amount of orcs pursuing the other two men. He knew that they needed to move now else all would be lost.

_________________

Lessien wasn't the only one who ran back to the fight after hearing the Elf's scream. She was grateful the others weren't so selfish to run away, even though nobody knew anyone. One of the men picked up the Elf. Lessien made sure they were not harmed in their weak position. She scared the Orcs away with her swift sword strikes and unhuman precision. At least she tried.. But these Orcs didn't seem to be afraid of anything.
The group headed for the road. Running, but still fighting and avoiding arrows. Even though they never met and had barely spoken to each other, they acted as a team with an excellent battle strategy, covering each other and defending themselves.

_________________
"Don't waste your time or time will waste you"

He felt one of the men help him move away from the group of orcs. The cut on his back was stinging, he dimly wondered if the blade had been poisoned. He shook himself awake, the other elf was doing a good job of keeping the rest of the orcs at bay. They were moving towards the road, he took in the details of the group and how they were fairing, one of the men appeared to be unconscious, he hoped he wasnt dead, apart from himself and the other none appeared to be harmed though the amount of orcs had been threatening to overwhelm them. He thought he saw the other elf moving back to join them. He was drifting in and out of consciousness it seemed. He sheathed one of his swords but kept the other out. ''Elbereth save us'' he muttered to himself.

_________________

Somehow they made it.. Dûrion didn't even have the time to contemplate how, but somehow they managed to get near the road, still followed by the remaining orcs. Blood mixed with sweat was smeared over his face and an almost unbearable pain numbed his leg, making it almost impossible to walk. The young man, he'd dragged with him, still seemed unconscious and the Elf, beside him, seemed hardly able to walk. The She-Elf appeared to be unharmed, as she fought in the defenses.
As they reached the muddy road, Dûrion whistled loudly, and within only a few moments, his brown mare, Tahna, appeared on the green plains. However hopeless the situation was, never would she ignore her master's call. The group had only a head start of a few moments before the ors would catch up with them.
"Are you able to run?" Dûrion addressed Lessien curtly. "Tahna may be able to carry both Elf and man, and if we run, we might be able to make it."
Quickly the ranger sheated his sword, and swung his sadlebag over his shoulder. He glanced at the Elf, who softly called for the help of Elbereth. "Elbereth won't save us," he spoke rushed. "But you can. Take her reigns and make sure he doesn't fall off." Dûrion nodded to Goran. "Just ride as fast as you can."

_________________


O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

Lessien nodded when Dûrion asked her if she could run. The fight did exhaust her, but when one's life is in danger, one would always find new energy to survive. Like the other Elf, she quietly called for Elbereth. Even though they found an effective way to escape, it didn't mean this was over yet. Any help was welcome.
The mare rushed off in a swift gallop, carrying the wounded. Dûrion and herself ran as fast as they could, following the horse which was almost already out of sight.
Lessien hoped they could get rid of the Orcs somehow. Apart from the sunlight, this area was rich of trees, bushes and perhaps even a stream which could be used in their advantage.
She was awakened from her thoughts by an arrow that barely missed her. More arrows followed.
The mare was out of sight now.
"Hebo estel," she whispered to herself. The Orc's screams indicated they were closer than whe wanted them to be.
The low branches of the trees which darkened the path, completed the eerie atmosphere.

_________________
"Don't waste your time or time will waste you"

Goran groaned, his eyes slowly opened and he saw the ground shifting beneath him with increased speed. The hooves slamming on the soil in rhythmic sense soothed him in a way. But he noticed the black arrow still in the side of his chest. The male Elf sat near him. the other two grew ever smaller.

He moaned about herbs, in his pocket... the arrow was poisoned, like most Orcish weapons. He felt paralyzed. So he could not move much as the venom creeped into his veins. "arrow... herbs..."

Ariali dragged himself onto the horse and steadied the man before him to keep him from falling off. He stilll had a sword in his hand in case he needed to use it.
Just before the horse galloped off he took one last look at the scene, the other man was spurring the horse on telling it to move quickly away and the other elf didnt appear to be injured and was keeping the orcs at bay if only just.
The horse moved quickly away and before long the orcs as well as the companions were out of sight, whether this was reassuring or worrying he wasn't sure.
The man beside him muttered something about herbs and the arrow in his chest and he now for the first time actually noticed that the man had been struck by an orc's arrow.
He had some skill in healing and he would not let this man die after he had helped him. He looked back and saw no-one. Speaking words softly in the elven speech he asked the horse to stop and it obeyed, the elven speech having a way with animals. He got off the horse and laid the man gently on the ground beside him. He glanced around, still empty. He started searching the mans pocket's for the right herbs until he found them.
''I'm going to pull the arrow out now'' Ariali said to him though he wasnt even sure if he could hear him. In one quick motion he pulled the arrow out and within seconds another arrow flew past his face he turned and saw what was likely to be an orc scout. He cursed his luck and attacked him and was able to kill him but his weariness and the wounds were getting to him. He moved towards the man and quickly applied the herbs to the wound as best he could. '' That should do it'' he said to partly himself and the man. Ariali himself was close to losing consciousness, he then heard footsteps behind him, he turned around to see who it was knowing fully well that it wasn't likely he would survive another wave of orcs if it was them.

_________________

His mare had swiftly vanished from sight; an endless distance it seemed. His ragged breathing and the fast thumping of his heart seemed to dim the shouts of the orcs, that were following them. He tried no to give in to burning pain, that radiated through his leg, and threatened to overwhelm him. As they moved out of the shadows of the forest, the sun shone relentlessly in a cloudless sky and the air was hot and dusty. Ahead of him, the Elf ran with quick paces, not once looking back and nor did he. He just ran and ran, as fast as he could. Their only chance was to shake the orcs off; that the sun and the long distance run would wear them out. After what seemed hours, when Dûrion started to wonder how long he could keep going, he briefly glanced over his shoulder. A cloud of dust could be spotted far in the distance; obviously was the band of orcs lagging behind, perhaps not able to keep up.
"We might - .. have lost them.." he rasped to the Elf, hardly able to speak because of his laboured breathing. "We must find- .. the others.."

_________________


O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

His eyes made out the of what seemed like a horse in the near distance. He guessed that it was the source of the noise behind him.He hoped it was the one that belonged to one of the men and that had bore them away from the danger. As it approached his eyes became more unfocused due mainly to the wound on his back. He attempted to bandage it as best he could though he knew he would have done a better job under better conditions, however it didn't seem like the wound was poisoned and for this he counted himself lucky though he hoped that should he lose consciousness it would not get any worse.
The horse came up to him. He knew he had not the strength to put both the man and himself on the horse and in any case he didnt want to move the man incase he aggravated the wound further.
''Go find your master,'' he said softly to him in the elvish tongue. ''Bring him to us else we should perish''
The horse seemed to have understood what it was meant to do as it galloped away to find his master. Ariali's eyes became unfocused and he finally lost consciousness.

_________________

Lessien answered the man with an affirming sound. Her breath was to uneven to speak a word. She looked ahead of her, trying to logically think where the others could be.
But she got help from someone she had entirely forgotten. Someone she left downhill while she went up to scout the surroundings.
She heard the sound of a horse, her horse, named Sellion. She saw the horse galloping towards her. She shortly stopped to get up, reaching for the man to help him up. When they bot sat on Sellion's back, both their breaths became more calm. Both were relieved in a way.
The horse seemed to know here to go. Lessien let him be, but held on tight to his brown manes. She was tired and could barely concentrate at his point. She thanked the Valar quietly for the fact she was not harmed.
Sellion did not go that far.
Lessien saw the other horse. The elf and man were lying on the ground. Lessien thought the worst and jumped off of her own horse. She kneeled beside them and checked if they were alive. Both were wounded, but still breathing. Both were already treated, but not as good as it could have been done.
"We have to get to a save place," she said to the man. "A quiet place where we can treat their wounds and were we can rest. We should make it with two horses. Do you know this area well?"

_________________
"Don't waste your time or time will waste you"

[ Just wanted to let you know that I haven't disappeared, but that I'm waiting for Goran, before I reply. ]

_________________


O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

[Haha okay=P I didn't think you had dissapeared, but thanks for this info^^ I'll tell Goran he should write something]

_________________
"Don't waste your time or time will waste you"

[I'll write something up tomorrow, got a bit distracted by other stuff for a moment]

[ That's okay! Take your time! Sometimes we're all busy with RL ]

_________________


O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

The wound started to blister. The poison did his work, if he didn't die of a clean cut, he would die of the fever and the infection. He needed herbs badly to fully treat it. A hideous smell. He lied on his back, barely able to move. He was somewhere else now, where he did not know. Trees rose around him, he looked skyward, a blue sky. Goran thought the had went West, but he needed to go South to deliver the documents.
Wait, he thought, those were taken. He had to find them and take them back to The White city. North Downs, that was the place the Orc mentioned. That's near Angmar, a long-lost kingdom, once ruled by the Witch-King, he remembered.
Probably filled with scum like kobolds and Orcs. This did not please him. Those documents were the proof that the Easterlings were mustering an army, in command of Mordor. Had the Dark Lord truly returned? How else might Mordor be involved, and besides Orcs had increased in size ever since. A year ago their populations were even dwindling, but now it seems it has grown double the size.

He tried to look up to see what his newfound comrades were doing and he asked politely again about the herbs, explaining it was becoming infected.