Rhavaniel returned to the outcrop, her clothes bloody from the execution of the last Orc. He had flailed and begged for mercy. Her inexperience prevented her from landing a clean blow that would have killed him quickly. It turned into a brutal ordeal that Rhavaniel hoped would never be repeated.
She ran to Kili, who was back on the ground, dizzy from blood loss. She offered him the water skin she was still carrying.
"I thought you were dead." she sobbed.
Kili spit out the first mouthful of water, tainted with blood and bile. She helped him take another drink.
"Check." he managed to say. She knew what he meant. She visited all four bodies and cut their throats to be sure. She found Kili's boots on one of the small Orcs, and brought them back to him.
Rhavaniel was shocked at Kili's injuries, "We need to close these wounds."
Kili nodded in agreement - he could feel blood running down his side.
"I will be straight back." she promised.
"Two more." Kili warned her.
"I know. I killed them first. They were...they are dead."
"Warg."
"A Warg? I did not see one. I will be careful."
She ran to retrieve their packs, grateful for the Elf Guard medicinal kit they had taken from the Watchtower. She opened the box and thanked Ilúvatar for the sealed strips of cloth, soaked in medicine and boiled tree sap. When allowed to dry over a wound, it served as a second skin. She would not have to use the curved needle and thread packed for the more serious injuries involving cut muscle tissue. She did not trust her sewing skills under normal circumstances, and her hands were still shaking.
She gathered up Kili's knife, coat and bow, and the chamois meat that was intact - they still had to eat. She ran back to Kili.
After cleaning and carefully patching Kili's back, she helped him sit up and looked at his other injuries. His mouth had stopped bleeding, and he was keeping water down.
Rhavaniel was anguished. She held Kili as close as she dared without touching his wounds, and whispered, "I am sorry."
"Not your fault." he assured her. "The Warg?"
"No sign of it. I suspect it ran off to hunt chamois."
"We need to keep moving." he told her, struggling to put his boots on. He was deathly pale.
"I think there is an underground river. We should follow it for our best chance of being near water and more game."
Kili tried to shoulder his pack and she gently took it from him. "I can manage both. Let the dressing set properly. We will find shelter soon, and rest."
They walked slowly through the rough ground, with Rhavaniel leading the way. She knew water flowed below them. Within an hour, they found a cascade - a small waterfall where a portion of the underground river ran over surface rocks before sinking back into the depths of the ground. They stopped to rest there. Rhavaniel took off her blouse, stiffened with dried blood, and rinsed it. The stink of Orc blood on it was still choking her. Her chemise and leggings were equally filthy, but cleaning them would have to wait.
Rhavaniel spotted several stone cylinders near them. They were short - nearly covered in grass - and showed signs of caving in.
"Are those wells?" she asked Kili.
He glanced at them, "No. They are smokestacks for a Dwarf home under this hill. The entrance must be nearby, unless it caved in ages ago."
Rhavaniel explored the ground around the smokestacks in widening circles while Kili rested. There were no weak spots, or signs of a former passage.
She walked back to the cascade and leaned against the rocks, disappointed. That is when she saw it - a hole in the largest rock, at the height of her waist. She reached in, and felt the lever. The rock was just a shell - a doorway. She pulled, and heard a click and a creak as the stone door began to move. She stopped, holding her breath.
Kili pulled their last lantern from his pack, lit it, and drew his sword. He silently nodded his readiness to Rhavaniel.
They both had swords in hand when she pulled the stone door open.