The two hunted the landscape for any sign of the women's path, but the footsteps had been erased, whether by the fickle wind or an intentional hand the elf and man could neither tell, for they seemed to have disappeared from the cliff face. In the silence of the night Tal-ano heard the gentle flow of water and a faint sound in the wind, he gave a hushed grunt and headed toward it. The elf, who had heard nothing grew curious and felt rather a heavy weight fall upon him, the smell of the herbs that grew at their feet was stronger, older and more alien, the air was filled with an invisible mist and the stars themselves shone brighter in that valley. So overcome was he by this feeling that he lost the eager Tal-ano in the shadow and by the time he realized it he had walked into a strong stream that splashed and sparkled in the light of the stars above him. He stepped out of the water and looked to the North, there above him stood a grand shadow, silhouetted by the immeasurable stars around. Menalmacar, the star-hunter stood at its pinnacle, winter had come and he did not even realize it, such were the seasons in this land. As he stood agape and flow of the water called out to him and he knelt at its banks and he thought he had surely gone mad, for it seemed as though a song was emanating from the crash of the water upon the stones and the roots of trees. It spoke in a voice that he could not understand and it seemed muted to him, for it had been years since he last opened his elvish mind to the thoughts of unspeaking things, not since he lived by the sea with the lord and lady…and Alphindil.
As his thoughts came to his companion the water seemed to cease flowing, or rather slowed to the point that it became as a solid thing, it spoke in an ancient tongue that sounded akin to the tongue of the Noldor. In years to come he would learn their portent and the message that was given to him. The voice of the river was old and young, alive and other-worldly; to him it sounded like the voice of a young girl and an old man speaking at one,
"Elorn, Elorn…"
It beckoned to him in a soft and alluring tone,
"You have come back, come back though you long abandoned me…drink of me, take me into you and taste the sweetness of my stream, for I am…"
Suddenly the sound of a bow twang broke his trance and he rolled to his right and an arrow pierced the frozen surface of the water, returning time to its proper motion. The elf turned and saw a shadow race toward him, a flint like knife drawn and raised high, it cried out a shrill and high-pitched battle cry. He leaped to his feet and charged at the being, aiming low at his hips. The tactic proved far more successful and the two fell onto the ground. Celebrin on top held the wrists of the attacker and wrestled for control of the knife, in the shadow he could not see the face of the attacker but the grunt sounded female and the spirit seemed worn and without strength. He wrested the knife from the shadow easily and as he did so the shadow crumpled up into a ball and wept,
"Please do not harm me, I only wanted to go home…Please just let me go home…"
The voice was unmistakably Cidhrali and upon being reunited with his wife Celebrin called out her name, but she did not see him only batted away shadows that were not there. Taking a rag that tied back his hair he dipped it into the stream and poured it over her face; waking from her nightmare Cidhrali looked up and at first was frightened but when Celebrin called her name she thrust herself into his arms and held him for what seemed like hours. The rush of feet and the sound of horns filled the air, immediately and without thinking they ran from where they sat and ducked into the shadow of a nearby mass of stones. They breathed heavily as figures stepped out onto the embankment, they were dressed in horrifying masks that had barred teeth and wild grasses or the hair of beasts growing in every which manner covering the top portions of their bodies. Upon their wrists they wore gauntlets made of the bones of wild cats and tigers, and for clothing they wore shells from river creatures, which shimmered like fish scales in the night but made a horrible clatter of sounds, both frightening and disorienting. They spoke to each other in a strange tongue and inspected the ground, one the largest of the group thrust his hand into the stream and pulled out the arrow that Celebrin had ducked. Seeing the path of feet he sent two of his companions in the direction of the stones.
Celebrin gave Cidhrali the knife and motioned for her to run when he stepped out of the shadows and drew them away from her. She nodded, as though shamed by something and cowed into the shadows like small frightened child. Celebrin waited for the two creatures to come closer and inspect the stones; he then drew out Lin-Gladaear, which sung lustfully as he did so. The two were drawn by the sound of the steel and one, blindly walked into Celebrin's downward slash; he gave out a brief and chilling cry and fell into the stream behind him. The other called out to his companions before rushing to meet the elf head on. In a smooth and fluid motion the elf turned and reaffirmed his stance, striking upward as the other came rushing upon him. The strangers' armor of bones and shells cracked and shattered upon meeting the cool dwarf-made steel, blood sprayed over the rocks as the battle crying pokuhu fell to the ground.
Three others looked at him in amazement and their attention was drawn to the glistening crescent that emanated from this new force's hand; like lightening it shimmered and its battle song rang out to them. The leader sent his two other companions forward and together all three rushed him; Cidhrali ran down the path of the stream and called to herself the attention of the leader who changed his course and like a swift owl flew over the stones as his companions met battle with the crescent armed stranger. They wielded long clubs lined with sharpened black stones that clashed against the steel; the two gave a good fight to the elf now that they were prepared unlike their companions. Yet the steel of the dwarf-made sword was stronger and sharper than their clubs or their armor; and the elf moved swift in movements he learned long ago in his youth. In less than ten minutes the two pokuhu were upon the ground, one without an arm and the other clutching his chest in agony. Within his arm Celebrin felt a sharp pang, and looking upon his wound he saw a black stone protruding from his shredded skin.
He pulled it out and winced in pain, and would tend to it as soon as Cidhrali was safe. He heard her shriek and raced toward her screams. Yet as he ran more shadows came out of the darkness and gave cries of battle. Arrows flew over his head as he ran behind the pile of stones, in the distance he saw Cidhrali struggling with an overwhelming shadow above her. Then a great cry of pain rang out through the sky and the two figures ceased moving; a pain in Celebrin's heart crushed him as he saw Cidhrali ceased moving. The figure above her stood and walked toward Celebrin; the elf felt a rush of anger and rage come upon him but as he was about to rush to slaughter the creature ropes and lassos encircled him and he was thrown to the floor by the blows of clubs and fists. A foot was placed upon his neck and the sound of vengeful cheers rang out above him, as the leader stepped forward. The others carried torches and in their amber light the shadow walked forward, his mask was terrible to behold and he laughed but it was an uneasy laugh; surrounded by his companions he fell to his knees. He coughed and blood spurt out of the gaping maw. The great leader then fell onto his face and there was silence.
Celebrin looked in awe as the leader twitched and then ceased to move, his blood spreading upon the dirt beneath him, the some seven other creatures spoke in hushed tones. Then they all turned to see an empty space where Cidhrali once lay. Celebrin felt joy in his heart, knowing she had gotten away, but he was pulled up against the rocks and soon had a knife pointed at his neck. A masked creature snarled at him and spoke in a rash and violent tone; they pulled at his hair and kicked him several times, bringing him to his knees and coughing out blood. He could not understand anything of what they were saying, but knew they were enacting their vengeance on him; suddenly and arrow flew through the sky and brought down one of those gathered around him. The other creatures were still in shock when another arrow came and pierced through the neck of another creature causing him to wail uncontrollably before falling into the stream, face down. A battle cry was heard in the sky and a shadow came racing toward them, Celebrin used the distraction to cut himself from the bonds, using the knife he kept on his waist belt. The creatures, thinking it was some new menace ran from the shadow, leaving Celebrin lying on the floor, cutting his bonds.
"What took you so long?"
He said to Tal-ano as the man helped him to his feet. The man looked at him apologetically and then the two shared a brief chuckle before Tal-ano motioned to another shadow coming toward them, wielding a bow and arrow. Cidhrali had gotten a hold of her senses and though covered with blood, came and embraced her husband, dropping her brother's bow to the ground. The three then followed the course of the stream, hoping to find a way out; they came to a great gorge, which caused the water to leap off the cliff into a deep ravine. The morning sun began to turn the sky from a midnight black to a deep and velvety purple. The Morning star ascended the sky and his lesser companions faded. Cidhrali looked ashamed and spoke little of what had happened only saying that she was taken by the creatures and had no idea how long she had been gone. When the other two told her she was only captured for one night, fell upon her knees weeping, the strain and the pressure taking hold of her at last. Still they were out in the open then and so Celebrin led them toward a nearby cave; it was not deep and seemed to have long been abandoned by any creature, but covered by deep brush. The opening was fortunately accessible only by a small walkway for the opening looked out into the gorge; there the three rested from their ordeal, Tal-ano and Cidhrali slept deep sleeps, but Celebrin kept watch, sleeping as he had been trained to do, with both eyes open, allowing his mind to wander the paths of dreams.
Sorry for the peter jacksonesque blood scenes, but what is one to do.