Why haven't they noticed us yet? Wondered Nuthemel.
Dratted elves. They've got something up their sleeves ... again. He took a heavy swig of the strongest dwarven ale existing and felt a fraction better.
Nuthemel and three legions of dwarves were marching up a hill. It was, as usual, a battle in the elves' favor. Itwas probably just another one of their nasty, deceitful tricks. However, a glimmer of hope remained to Nuthemel in the march that the elves were, for some reason unknown to any dwarf in the army, unaware of the three legions of dwarves that were marching up the hill towards them .
If only we could get there fast enough to... Nuthemel's thoughts trailed off as he noticed a silver banner with a single mallorn leaf decorating it.
"Mallorn army approaching! From top of the hill to the south east!" He cried, and listened to the axes being wielded, even as he pulled his own from where it rested.
The thousands of dwarves sped up their marching speed slightly as the elves stood waiting at the top of the hill.
"Ready!" Called a tall elfish woman. Nuthemel stared, distracted, at her beauty. He remembered faintly a legend of dwarves being insnared by a beautiful woman who transformed herself into a lepeard and killed the still-enchanted dwarves.
This woman had almost all of the beauty that the old dwarves had described over weak mead and ale. For a moment Nuthemel stared, then suddenly remembered himself. Elf-Witch he muttered, making the sign against evil.
"Aim.. Steady!" Came the same voice as the elves took aim.
Nuthemel turned to Senthel, his Advisor and Captain.
"Senthel, take a quadrant of soldiers and get them through the tunnels up onto the hill. Then take the Elf Witch and bring her down here. they won't shoot if we have our axes above her neck."
Senthel blinked, but saluted and marched off to select a quadrant.
* * *
Finduilas glanced around rapidly as she heard a noise in the background. She gave the captain orders to carry on the shooting orders and slipped off to see what had made the noise. It's almost as if .. no, it can't be. That's ridiculous. Since when did dwarves have tunnels under my camps? All the same.. She pulled two extremely sharp daggers out of the bodice of her dress and turned back around, slowly spinning her head left and right to figure out where the noise was coming from.
All of a sudden, she whirled as she heard footsteps directly beneath her own feet. She crouched, glaring at the suspicious looking bushes in front of her.
The footsteps continued to go north of her, then wood banging against bushes, then when she turned around to try to out-run the dwarves, a hand clamped over her mouth, and two armed dwarves took the daggers from her. She kicked expertly in between both of their ribs, causing them to fall down and release her wrists, but another, extremely tall dwarf without a beard grabbed her around the waist and replaced the dwarf's hand over her mouth with his, then climbed speedily down the tunnel and ran through it.
Wait...
A tall dwarf without a beard?
* * *
Armond ran through the tunnels, finally emerging out into the sun with the "Elf-Witch" slung over his shoulder.
She was trying to kick him in the knee, but being both blindfolded and had just been dragged through a quarter mile of black, couldn't seem to get her bearings.
Armond ran in front of Nuthemel, which was in fact quite stupid because Nuthemel was in an angry rage - when the elves discovered their leaders' kidnapping, they shot so many arrows that they killed four thousand six hundred and ninety three dwarves.
When Nuthemel saw Armond toting the "ElfWitch" He made the sign against evil and came a few steps closer.
"So, Elf Witch, have you ventured out of your forest?" The Elf spat on his feet and muttered something in his own language. "Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul" He recoiled and hit her on the head with his axe and Armond released her, cursing. "Fool! The cat's senses will be sharpened when she wakes - and angry"
"Dare you call me a Fool? you - you - fool!" Shouted Nuthemel, though he once again made the sign against evil and retreated a bit from Finduilas's unconcious body.
* * *
Finduilas woke to the most uncomfortable bindings she had experienced in her life.
She had barely been out half an hour, but she was already in some damp, horrible, disgusting cave where probably half a million dwarves who had been breeding like cockroaches lived .. She shuddered.
A dwarf who was definetly average height and beard came out. Was the man who grabbed me a dream? a Hallucination, maybe? His voice pierced her thoughts.
"All right, Elf-Witch, now that you're awake, a captain has requested an audience with you. hold still so I can set up the spell"
Finduilas blinked. "What?"
The dwarf slapped her across the temple, causing her to wobble, though she did not cry out, but she gritted her teeth and her eyes sparkled angrily.
He muttered dwarvish and ordered her to stand. She did, trying to maintain her regality.
The dwarf muttered a final word, sounding more like a curse than a spell, and walked out of the room.
"Beriadan?" She asked, as a tall elf wearing simple brown robes and carrying a wineglass appeared.
"Finduilas!" He dropped the wine glass and ran closer to the 'screen'. "Are you hurt? Where are you? How long have you been gone? We only noticed your disappearence not three quarters of an hour ago!"
Finduilas laughed, a sound like bells echoing around the small, damp cave. "I barely was taken that long ago. Don't have fear, Beriadan. I am fine, and I will get out. Soon."
Beriadan stooped to pick up his shattered wineglass and disappeared from view.
Finduilas let out a sigh for the benefit of the hiding dwarf and lay down, feigning sleep.
But sleep was far from her.
* * *
Armond paced back and forth across his quarters.
There was a knock on the door and he ran to it and threw it open.
A short dwarvish maid flinched and retreated a step, then curtsied quickly and ran in, arranging flowers, dusting, straightening sheets, clearing the desk of papers and placing breakfeast on it.
She curtsied again and ran out, full of tales to gossip to her friends.
Armond rolled his eyes but shut the door, sat down at his desk and poked his food with his fork.
Some kind of .. venison .. egg .. bread - ale. Good. this was what the dwarves ate. they weren't trying to 'please' him, which generally meant that they were trying to poison him.
After eating his breakfeast, he stood up abruptly, causing the chair to fall to the ground behind him. he reclined on the small bench against the wall, back slid down, feet crossed at the ankles, a picture that would have and had infuriated Finduilas on many occasions.
Good thing she isn't here, he thought.
* * *
Nuthemel walked up and down the lines of his army.
It was approximately the 19th hour, and the elves had retired for sleep - which is why he and his army were attacking the elves.
Although the elves had promised to leave them alone, he and his men had made no such foolish promise.
He smiled grimly at the monotony of the situation; The Elves were asleep, couldn't attack them, whereas the dwarves were wide awake, kicking, and could attack whoever they wanted whenever and wherever they wanted.
Enough of this nonsense, anyway. What was the point of telling himself what he already knew? Simple. There wasn't. He Raised his hand and the soldiers all raised their hands, the signal to charge.
* * *
Safron snorted as Beriadan saddled him.
Easy, mellon. murmured the elf. Beriadan swung up into the saddle and spoke in elvish to the horse.
noro lim, safron, we go to find your mellon nin, finduilas..
Safron pawed the ground and sped across hillsides, knowing exactly where his master was.
Beriadan gazed around at the setting sun and thought uneasily how well the dwarves could use this light to attack.
Then he thought of the guards posted all over the hill top and his shoulders relaxed from their tensed position.
Safron slowed his pace as they approached a mountain side, carved all over with dwarven runes.
Beriadan ran his hand over some of the runes, creating the shape of a door with his fingers in the dirt.
The runes shimmered as sapphires and Beriadan nodded to them as they opened a small passage way.
Safron hung back, scared of the shimmering and moving rock.
Beriadan nodded to him, telling him to run home and help keep watch and continued into the mountain side.
* * *
Finduilas stirred slightly.
Morning light was coming in from the cracks in the cave wall. The 'hidden' dwarf guard was gone, and she was ridiculously tired.
She reluctantly pushed herself up into a standing postition reluctantly and stretched.
She brushed off her dress in a attempt to get all the small smudges of coal and such off. Finduilas glanced down to see if there was anything to eat and noticed something shining in the faint light.
She walked towards it and stooped. Alientes' necklace he had given her a year ago.. She reluctantly scooped it up and fastened it around her neck.
Finduilas absently wondered how Alientes was doing. Last time she saw him he was lying motionless and pale in bed.
All of a sudden she heard several dwarves cry out and heavy armour fall against the ground. She ran nimbly to the 'door' - the enchanted rock the dwarves came in and out of.
Elven sounding footsteps ran towards the door swiftly. Finduilas's eyes brightened and she backed away from the door. The footsteps stopped and she heard an elvish man muttering in muted tones.
Beriadan! Beriadan had come to rescue her!
She tried to see through the rock, but it's enchantments prevented the spells.
Suddenly light shone through the rock and Beriadan ran through, bow aimed and ready.
"Beriadan!" Finduilas said in a loud whisper.
"Sh!" Replied Beriadan. He mumbled more spells and Beriadan and Finduilas disappeared.
"Stay absolutely silent. Don't walk through water or mud or sand." Beriadan's voice echoed in Finduilas's mind.
-This is the end of Chapter I. I will hopefully have chapter II posted by Sunday night.-
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