Rhavaniel called out, "Clear!" and Kili came up through the bell level's trap door.
Last night, they had sawed down the largest bell that would still fit through the hole in the tower wall. It was a beautiful silver cylinder inscribed with its name in Khazdul, 'Day Breaker'.
Rhavaniel took one last shot at an Orc attempting to climb the tower's north side, then ducked behind Day Breaker with Kili. They waited quietly until they heard the creak of the ladder, warning them that the first Orc was about to step into the tower.
Kili nodded to Rhavaniel, and they shouldered the great bell toward the opening. The massive bell rolled through the tower and down the ladder, crushing all the Orcs in its wake. The bell continued to roll down through the foothills, finally seeing the sunlight it was named for. As it picked up speed, its clapper shook loose from centuries of corrosion and the bell rang once more as it raced away.
Kili began to pick off the wounded and scattered Orcs with his bow. Rhavaniel was about to join him when a disturbing thought crossed her mind. She turned to the cliff side of the tower and looked down. The tide had not completely turned in their favor.
"The Orcs are in the City! They are climbing the cliff!" Their exit route was blocked.
A group of small, nimble snaga Orcs were attempting to climb the cliff wall. As Kili suspected, some of the most rusted spikes broke off, sending an Orc screaming to the base of the cliff. But most of the spikes held, and the Orcs kept coming.
Rhavaniel lowered her bow, "We need to take them all down at once."
Kili understood, and together they began to rock a large supporting beam on the carillon. The wood was weak and rotten. Once they were able to overcome the inertia, the weight of the bells worked with them. The beam and its heavy bells crashed out the tower and dropped down along the cliff face, taking all of the climbing Orcs with it.
The tearing of the carillon beam also tore down another section of the already weak tower roof. Kili and Rhavaniel barely avoided being pulled down with bells and tiles.
Kili shouted, "We can't stay here any longer!"
They climbed down the central pillar, to the increasing pile of rubble on the ground floor. They finally have no choice but to take the rope exit down the cliff, and quickly. They gathered their packs, and climbed out the window.
(***********)
A single Orc had survived the attempt to scale the cliff and claim the tower. He was battered and bruised at the foot of the cliffs. He looked up to see two small figures coming down the cliff on ropes. Those were the ones causing all of this trouble! He was not a trained archer, but he grabbed a fallen Orc's bow and took his best shot.
The Orc missed Kili twice. He next tried to shoot Rhavaniel, who was coming down faster than Kili. The arrow hit her in the pack, which protected her. But the force of the heavy arrow was as strong as a kick, and slammed Rhavaniel's light body into the cliff wall. Kili tried to grab her, but she lost her grip, and began to repel far too rapidly.
Kili clamped his rope to steady himself. He twisted around, and threw his knife at the Orc bowman, catching him squarely in the head before he could draw aim on Rhavaniel again.
Rhavaniel landed on the ground with a crunch and spit out blood from her battered face. She waved to Kili that she was alright, and ducked behind the carillon wreckage to catch her breath.
Kili struggled to release his clamp. His line had become kinked and he was stranded too far above the ground to jump. He scanned the ground and saw it, a riderless Warg waiting for him.
"Don't move Rhavi, don't make a sound." he whispered.
The Warg growled up at Kili, then sniffed the air. It put its great snout to the ground and came closer to the cliff - it smelled Elf blood.
"No! Come back here! Here, you beast! Rhavi, look out!" Kili shouted.
Rhavaniel was frantically searching her pack for her spare bowstring . The first string had been snapped in her fall. She heard Kili shouting from the cliff and knew something was approaching her hiding place. She pulled out her sword and leaned back against the tower debris, listening carefully.
She felt it before she heard it, hot breath coming down on top of her head. She looked up, directly into the eyes of the Warg. She saw...recognition. The beast knew her. She knew him from his burn scars and white chest. This was the Warg she and Kili had spared. She had treated his wounds, and fed him. She looked in his eyes and knew he would not harm her. With one last sniff, the Warg turned away from her and walked south along the cliff wall, abandoning the City of Dale.