Ok, peoples, here is the next chapter
Aragorn and the two elves ran down the corridor with Variweil easily keeping up. The dog jogged by Aragorn's side, his tongue hanging out. The air had been getting thicker and Aragorn prayed he hadn't taken them down the wrong path. He too was breathing hard, more from the smoky air than fatigue though. They came to one of the smaller corridors that were there and Kancarch suddenly stopped. Aragorn almost ran into him. He looked down at the dog. His ears were erect and he stood rigid. Aragorn had learned form his brother to listen to animals and so he held up his hand for his companions to stop. They halted abruptly. Kancarch started whining and grabbed the bottom of Aragorn's tunic and pulled. Then he ran forward and looked back to see if Aragorn would follow.
"What is the dog doing?" Legolas asked.
"I don't know. He reminds me of Jaric when he was a puppy and needed something." Elladan said, talking of a dog they had raised when Aragorn had been a boy.
"Yes he does. I wonder what he wants." Aragorn mused.
"We better go with him. Animals normally have a better sense of danger than we do."
"But so do I master elf, and the fire is coming from that corridor too." The dragon spoke up.
"Ok, wait. There was this girl that Kancarch liked. She fed him scraps through a hole. Maybe he is going to find her."
"Then let's go with him, she must be in trouble to have not gotten out of here yet."
"No, you find safety. I'll go with the dog and see if we can find her."
"Estel, I don't want to lose you." Elladan said.
"You won't. I'll be fine. You need to get out fast." Aragorn reassured them.
"I'll go with you. Legolas said. "No you won't. You look bad. I think you'd better get into clean air." Aragorn replied.
All this time Kancarch had been getting more and more restless and now he barked. Suddenly they heard a scream and the dog went tearing down the passageway. Aragorn followed behind him, limping slightly and the elves went after them. Variweil looked down the corridor, before deciding to follow them. They reached a door and they heard another shriek. Then Kancarch jumped against the door and it opened. The dog immediately ran in. Aragorn looked in to see Marianna and Durlhug looking at Kancarch. The dog lunged toward Durlhug and attacked him. Elladan and Legolas ran up behind him and he looked at them.
"The fire is coming from both sides." Elladan said.
"We need to get out of here before the fire reaches this corridor."
Marianna ran up to them. "The fire is getting closer. I need to get the animals out before the fire reaches them.
"It is already too late. We need to go now so we won't become toast." Aragorn said. Just then Kancarch came running out and barked at Marianna.
"Ok, lets go" She said with a sigh. She knew that what he said was true, although she didn't want to believe it. She hated to see any loss of life, even if it was the life of her enemies. At least she still had Kancarch, she thought. They reached the mouth of the corridor and started the way they had come. Kancarch was in front. Looking back Aragorn saw the glow of the fire as it raced towards them. But at the end of the corridor he could see light. They were almost there if they could just go on a little longer. Aragorn's leg hurt unbearably, but he ran along, concentrating on the light at the end of the tunnel. He stumbled and fell to the ground. He was so tired that half of him just wanted to lie there, but Legolas noticed.
"Come on, we are almost there." He said, helping his friend up. After what seemed an eternity they made it out, and were met with several arrows pointing straight at them!
Elrond's heart dropped. He put his hand on Elrohir's head and began an ancient healing technique. It was a very dangerous technique to use, but Elrond felt as if he had no other choice. He wondered why he hadn't tried it earlier, when it would have been more likely to work. Then he had to concentrate. He poured his energy, his life, into his son. It took at least fifteen minutes, but finally it worked and Elrohir started breathing again. Elrond was exhausted. He was almost unconscious when Glorfindel came in.
When Glorfindell saw that Elrond was asleep he silently opened the door to leave, but Elrond had been woken up by his entry.
"Glorfindel, did you need me?" He asked.
"Nay sire, I was just checking up on you and wondering if you wanted some tea."
"Thank you Glorfindel, some tea would be nice."
"Yes sir, how was he last night?" Glorfindel asked.
"I almost lost him last night Glorfindell, and unless there is a miracle I don't believe he will survive." Elrond said sadly.
"Then let's hope for a miracle sir." Glorfindel said, before leaving to get some tea.
"Yes, let's hope for a miracle." Elrond whispered. He then moved to Elrohirs bedside and took his hand. As he sat there a tear slipped from his eye.
Aragorn immediately reached for his sword, which was not there of course. Kancarch started growling and his hackles went up as he saw the arrows.
"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Elladan said, stepping protectively in front of Marianna and Aragorn. Legolas was already at Aragorn's side helping him with his hurt leg.
"Making demands of someone who has an arrow to your head? I had thought an elf would have better diplomacy than that."
They herd a chuckle and the bows lowered.
"I know that voice, Erisatal, is that you?"
"Yes it is master Elladan, but why are you here? And injured too, let us go to the camp site to talk and my men will take care of your injuries."
"Yes that would be wise thing to do, I just have one question. Why were you pointing arrows at us when we came out of the cave?" Erisatal laughed. "That is a long story that I will save for after your injuries are attended to."
"Well then, we had better start going then." Elladan said
The camp was bustling with activity.
"So, how has this hunting season been for you?" Elladan asked Erisatal as someone saw to his lacerations.
"It was not as profitable as it could have been. The growing quantity of orcs has severely cut down the number of wildlife. They destroy everything in their paths and scare off anything that is left. We have tried to track down and kill as many as possible before they get bold enough to attack human settlements, but a few times we have been too late and whole villages have been wiped out." Elladan winced, remembering his encounter with the orcs.
"We ran into some orcs too, Elrohir was shot by one of their foul arrows." Elladan shook his head sadly. "I need to get back to him as soon as I can, he is not well." Aragorn, who had been listening, broke in at this comment.
"How bad is he, and why did you not tell me this before? We must get to him! I might be able to help." Aragorn started up.
"Estel, Ada is already doing all he can, I doubt there is anything anyone can do. And your leg is infected, I don't want to lose you too," He said, party to himself.
"No, I don't care if my leg is hurt, we can get that fixed back in Rivendell. Elrohir is hurt and I want to be with him. If you don't mind, Erisatal, we will borrow some horses."
"I don't mind at all, but I'm afraid your brother might." He said. "I am a grown up. I can make my own choices."
"What about Viraweil and Marianna?" Elladan asked
"They will do fine without us; Varawiel knows these men are friends, and Marianna has that dog to protect her. They can follow us to Rivindell, but I want to go now!" Aragorn looked at his brother defiantly. His brother stared back, showing exactly where Aragorn got his stubbornness from.
"I couldn't help overhearing your conversation," Marianna broke in, "But I think I might be able to help." She said. The two brothers turned their gazes to her.
"My father is the greatest healer in all Middle Earth and he hasn't been able to help, I'm afraid there is nothing you can do." Elladan shook his head sadly.
"But there may be, the Valar has given me a gift."
There will be one more chapter. Sorry for taking so long, but you are probably used to it by now, lol. Thanks to all who reviewed, keep those reviews coming!
Replies to reviewers:
Lost-Elf: Here it is, sorry it took so long.
Moonyasha: I'm actually Baptist but I have some Catholic friends who got me into doing lent. Thanks so much for your review!
Mornflower: Yes, DEAD! But hey, death isn't always permanent, I have read three stories this week were someone came back from the dead.
Zammy: I like horses too, except the one who tries to throw me every single time I ride. I have learned two things about horses. A: It is actually pretty easy to stay on a rearing horse. B: It is not so easy to stay on a cantering horse that suddenly stops. My horse has tried both on me.
Kirsten: Sorry for not updating for a while. Thanks for the review.
Hyperactive Forever: Well, as for Elrohir being alright... I'm not so sure about that...
See the purple button, press it, do what is says and get a million dollars. Well, not really, but you will get some brownies.