[Child of the 7th Age]

It only took a few minutes to split up into two groups of almost equal size, with one contingent following Vrain and the other gathering in a circle around Aravorn. They agreed to meet on the outskirts of the bandits' camp, where they hoped to mount a unified attack. Still, if Elentari's life was being actively threatened, each of them knew they might have to break this pledge and go hurtling into battle as soon as they reached the ruffians' encampment.

A number of the companions clambered down into the blackened pit with torches and lanterns brightly lit to try and make out where the tunnel was leading and to keep their balance on the ledge which was made up of a mishmash of mud, rock, and rotting planks. They found the going difficult, sometimes sinking up to their knees in mud, and other times crawling over jagged boulders in spots where the path almost seemed to disappear. Vrain worried whether they were really following the same route that the bandits had used to haul off Elentari, since he couldn't imagine how they'd managed to drag her through some of these narrow passages.

With considerable difficulty, they helped each other over the spots where obstacles jutted out into the path, or wet, slick ground made it hard to keep their footing. Still, with Vrain in the lead, they made steady progress until they reached the mouth of a tunnel which looked out from the southeast over the bandits' camp. The Dwarf immediately asked everyone to douse their torches and lanterns and to stand in silence, until he could figure out where the Ranger had brought the other group.

Those on horseback had made it to the camp more quickly than those who'd come through the tunnel. They had initially started out at a pace no faster than a loping canter. However, Aravorn managed to locate one of the manicured pathways where all the grass had been cut back, and they had quickened their pace considerably. They'd continued at a steady, hard gallop and, as luck would have it, met no more covered pits or other traps. They now crouched in the wooded grove just northeast of the main encampment.

Creeping in under cover of long grass, Aravorn could see that three sentries had been posted along the perimeter of the bandits' camp to guard their prisoner and forestall any attack. One of the men stood wide awake and alert, but a second had gone off in the woods on the opposite side of camp to relieve himself while the last was curled up snoring on the ground. Elentari's drooping body was still pinioned against a large tree, held in place by ropes that cruelly bound her arms and legs.

Since there seemed to be no immediate danger to the Elf, Aravorn took time to search for some indication where the other companions were. An instant later, the hoot of a horned owl split the quiet of the night. The sound was too perfect to belong to a real bird. Aravorn turned around in the direction of the noise and peered out in the darkness, as several dwarves and men emerged at the foot of a hill just to his left.

[ June 17, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]