Chapter Five:

Elrohir let the rope make its way down the hill after having tied it securely to a protuberant sharp rock on the mountain side. Immediately, and not even testing if it will support his weight, Aragorn grabbed it and with one foot at each side, started to descend the almost 20 feet until the cliff gained a 60 degree slope, which they could carefully but easily descend without the rope´s help.

As soon as the human reached land, Elladan, with the grace elves possessed, took the rope and followed his foster-brother. Elrohir glanced at the horses. Noticing Aragorn´s healer pack attached to his horse´s saddle decided to pick it up before descending after his brothers. He also took a blanket and a canteen of water. Seeing the horses were calm and deciding they would be fine for the moment, he rushed to catch up with the others, dread filling his heart for the condition in which they would find their dear friend.

Following the crushed shrubberies and the marks on the clay floor, they could easily see where to start searching for the elf.

Elrohir, from behind and being careful not to drop what he was carrying, could not reach Aragorn and Elladan, whom were descending as faster as they were able to.

"Legolas!" Both brothers called out his friend´s name while they tried to spot him.

"We are near the bottom now, he must be somewhere over here" Elladan´s voice reflected the anxiety his heart was enduring, for it came out faltering.

"Ai, he must" Aragorn was just a few steps ahead of him, when he abruptly stopped short and grabbed a young three trunk to avoid falling forward. Elladan almost crushed on him, but his quick reflexes helped him to stop in time. He stepped beside Aragorn and focused his eyes on the abrupt halt of the land and the about ten feet ravine. At about fifteen meters of its base, a thin stream peacefully made his way south, taking autumn dressed leaves with him.

"Oh Valar, no", the human said in a low voice as he sat on the edge and jumped below. Elladan lifted his eyes searching what he knew his brother saw. His heart sank and a dread sensation blurred his sight. After his vision could be trusted again, he descended using protuberant tree´s roots as an improvised ladder.

Legolas immobile and thin form, dressed as usual with nature and tree´s colors, was almost hard to distinguish from the leaves that covered the ground.

"Legolas!" Elrohir heard Aragorn, not with a searching tone but with a demanding one. He arrived to see the human and his twin running and kneeling beside a ragged and still Legolas´s figure, lying beside the stream.

"Mellon?" Aragorn´s worried voice didn´t sound as high as he intended. Placing very gently a hand on Legolas´s lower back on a comforting way, he leaned even more in search of the elf´s face.

"Is he alright?" Elladan had kneeled on the other side of where Legolas´s face was, and was now trying to look over. He extended his hand and freed the very pale face from disheveled and muddy blond locks.

"He is breathing" Aragorn had placed a hand below the elf´s nose, immediately feeling the humid and warm airstream. "Legolas", he firmly called his friend, while pressing three fingers on the elf temple and sliding them along the cheek bone line to try, with gentleness, to catch some response. "Legolas!" This time he sounded not as patient as before, his worrying increasing.

"He must have had a very rough landing, from up there to end up here. How is he?" Elrohir stated and then asked, glancing over his shoulder the distance between the ravine and where they were now, and then looking at the unmoving elf in front of him, as he kneeled next to his twin. Legolas´s face portrayed a disturbed frown, which revealed pain even in his apparent unconsciousness. Patterns of not yet dried tears made themselves visible in the dirt of his cheeks.

"He is out" Elladan concluded and informed him. The Mirkwood prince haven´t shown any sign of awareness yet.

"He is not" Aragorn affirmed, bending dong closer to analyze Legolas´s eyes. "Legolas, open your eyes". He commanded in a quiet voice, placing his warm hand on his friend´s forehead. Coaxed by the gentleness reaching him over the pain and confusion, he tried to open them, but failed miserably. Only a distressful groan was all he could muster.

"Ok, it´s ok. Don´t worry, just rest". Aragorn soothed. He pressed his thumb on Legolas´s eyelid, and lifted it carefully. His blue iris was a mere thin ring, due to the extended state his pupil had gained. Letting the eyelid drop, he glanced at his brothers, who understood the tacit diagnosis. The ranger´s hands travelled through a mess of muddied hair, to test the skull. With probing fingers, he massaged Legolas´s head in search for any damage. Travelling through a sea of blond hair, and challenged by the warrior braids, his fingertips found a large protuberance at the back of his friend´s head, just above the neck line.

"He hit his head here" Aragorn said, keeping his right hand over the lump. With the other, he pressed and tested the neck. At the sudden pressure, Legolas involuntary gasped and coughed, furrowing his face at the unexpected new source of pain. While waiting for his friends, the woodland elf has entered a disoriented state, overtaken by a growing headache. Now, after being found and called for his attention, he was becoming more aware of his situation. It was extremely difficult to breathe. Panic began to rouse, and wheezy breaths didn´t help any to calm his mind. He again found use of his right hand in a desperate attempt to rise from his uncomfortable position. But his wrist was captured midway, and placed back down on its original place. The soothing words were becoming farther and farther away, as his mind slipped, at last, to the much desired land of unconsciousness.

TBC…