Chapter Three

Elrohir studied his surroundings carefully. He and the other captive elves were tied up in the back of a cave. They had been forced in here shortly before sunrise, as the orcs could not stand sunlight. The orcs had tossed them against the walls, then settled down to sleep. There were a few orcs standing guard that would sound the alarm if the elves made so much as one wrong move. Findegil and Ciril, the other elves in their patrol were lying against the opposite wall, while Elladan was lying next to him. Elrohir was not able to tell how badly the other elves were hurt, but the one he was most worried about was Elladan. Elladan had a large, bloody gash on his left temple. He had been unconscious for far too long.

Elrohir shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position, and hissed sharply from the pain the movement caused. 'Maybe I should be worried about my own injuries,' he thought. Elrohir knew, though, that even if his injuries were extremely painful, none of them were life threatening. He had a couple of bruised or cracked ribs, he wasn't sure which, and numerous cuts and bruises caused by abuse from the orcs, but the worst injury he had suffered was the jagged arrow wound in his leg. The wound had not been treated, and as long as he was captive, it wouldn't be. He was almost sure the arrow had not been poisoned, but the injury could still grow infected.

His mind drifted back to the moment he had acquired the wound. He and the other elves had been fighting an overwhelming number of orcs. Even though they were so badly outnumbered, they had been holding their own, and killing a great number of orcs while acquiring only minor injuries themselves. Somehow, though, they had missed an orc archer in the trees. The arrow had lodged in Elrohir's leg before he realized there was any danger from that direction. The pain and shock had sent him sprawling to the ground. Elladan had immediately leaped to his defense. Elrohir had managed to struggle back to his feet, but the injury hampered his movements, slowed him down when he could least afford it. Once he was injured, Elladan had tried to pick up his slack and had taken on too many enemies. In the end, it mattered not how many orcs they had managed to kill. There were always more to take their place. They had been overwhelmed. Once the bodies littering the ground began to hamper their movements, the elves were swarmed by the numerous remaining orcs. The elves had been tackled to the ground, one by one, and beaten into submission.

Elladan had taken a blow to the head early on, and once he was unconscious, the orcs had mostly left him alone. They had more fun beating on elves that could feel and react to pain. That was when Elrohir had acquired the injuries to his ribs. And sometime during those endless moments when the orcs were hitting, kicking, and stomping on him, the arrow had been ripped painfully from his leg. When the orcs had forced him and the other elves to their feet at the point of many swords and knives, Elrohir had been terrified to see that Elladan did not get up. He had barely been able to breathe in his fear for his brother until one of the orcs leaned over Elladan and put a hand in front of his face.

"He still breathes," the orc had said to the one in charge. "What should we do with him?"

"Tie him up and drag him with us," the other orc replied.

"No!" Elrohir had cried out. He could not bear to have his brother dragged along the ground like so much unwanted refuse. "I will carry him."

"Your leg will not allow it," Findegil protested. "I will carry him."

The orcs wanted to play with their captives, but the sun would be coming up soon, and they needed to get to shelter, so they had allowed Findegil to carry Elladan. Ciril had offered to carry Gelmir, but when an orc rolled him over, they could all see the orc knife in his heart.

"No point in bringing that one," the orc leader had said. "Leave him for the wolves."

Elrohir had struggled against the orcs at that point. He could not leave Gelmir there for just any predator who came along. He stopped struggling when one of the orcs put his sword to Elladan's throat and offered to leave two elves behind for the wolves.

The four remaining elves were bound and marched quickly through the forest to the caves the orcs intended to take refuge in. Elrohir's leg caused him to stumble numerous times, and every time he fell, he was beaten until he staggered back to his feet and managed to hobble a few more steps. All in all, Elrohir rather wished he were back home in the care of his father. He hated being a patient, but some of those teas that his father used to help with pain sounded pretty good right now.

Elrohir's attention was drawn to Elladan as he moaned softly and moved his head.

"Elladan?" Elrohir spoke softly. He needed to talk to Elladan, but he didn't want to attract the attention of their guards.

"'Ro?" Elladan questioned softly. He struggled to open his eyes. When he had managed to force them open, he looked around the cave until his eyes came to rest on his slightly younger brother. "Why are you blurry?" He closed his eyes again and concentrated on trying to clear the cobwebs from his mind.

Elrohir didn't like that question. "You took a blow to the head in battle. You probably have a concussion."

Elladan opened his eyes again and squinted at his brother. "I think you're right. It's not serious, though. I have a headache the size of a Múmak, but that is all." His vision was beginning to clear up, and he took a closer look at his brother. Elrohir's face was covered in cuts and bruises, he was holding himself very stiffly upright, and Elladan frowned as he saw the injury to Elrohir's leg. "You're still bleeding. How long has it been since the battle? We need to get the bleeding stopped, El."

Elrohir rolled his eyes as his brother's protective instincts took control. "And how would you propose we do that? Are you going to ask the orcs for some bandages and clean water? Do not worry, Elladan. The bleeding has slowed considerably in the last hour. I will be fine. You are the one I was worried about."

"Well, I am awake now, and I believe I am in better shape than you. Just how did you manage to get yourself shot in the leg?"

"You were there, Elladan. You know as well as I do how it happened."

Elladan thought for a moment, remembering the battle before his mind drifted back to the conversation they had had with their father and brother before leaving. "At least I was not the one to shoot you."

Elrohir couldn't help the small snort of laughter. "You do realize that Ada and Estel will never let us live that down. Or this either, probably."

"We can blame it on Ada," Elladan said. "If he had not brought up the tale, this would not have happened."

"Somehow, I doubt Ada will see it that way," Elrohir muttered. He closed his eyes, then opened them and looked at his brother. "I am just glad Estel is home, where it is safe. I could not bear it if he were here with us."

"Ada was correct in keeping him home this trip," Elladan concurred. As his vision was slowly getting back to normal, he glanced around the cave, seeing the other two elves tied up on the opposite side of the cave. As he looked around, he realized that someone was missing. "Gelmir?" he asked Elrohir.

Elrohir shook his head gravely and looked away.

Elladan closed his eyes and lowered his head. Gelmir had been a good friend. He would be sorely missed. Elladan forced his mind back to their current situation. While they were inside this cave, an escape would be impossible. Their best chance would come when the orcs were ready to move out at nightfall again. He was sure Elrohir was underplaying his injuries, and was unsure if he would be in any condition to help with an escape attempt. He knew, however, that Elrohir would do anything he could to help them escape, even if it required running through the forest on that leg. They could not discuss it yet, and truly, he had no plan in mind, but he knew that they could not remain captive for longer than this one day. Orcs were notorious for torturing any elves they captured. They were just lucky that the orcs wanted sleep more than entertainment right now. He knew that would soon change, though. They had to be long gone before the orcs grew bored or restless. Looking across the cave, he caught the eyes of the two elves tied up there. He shifted his eyes toward the entrance of the cave and then looked back at them. They both nodded slowly to him. Whatever he chose to do, they would be ready to follow his lead.

He looked back at Elrohir and saw the trust in his brother's eyes that they would get out of this. Elrohir nodded to him as well. He would also be ready. 'Great,' Elladan thought sarcastically. 'Everyone will be ready to follow my plan. Now I just need to come up with one.' He leaned his head back against the stone wall and closed his eyes, trying desperately to come up with an escape plan.