[Alcarillo]

Alassante helped her husband fasten together his old armor. They stood in the dying light of the forge, and a group of men stood outside in the street, mustering all arms they could. A group of women and children also stood further away, with a cart full of belongings beside them. Cainenyo would go with the men to the gate, where they would fight orcs alongside the professional soldiers, and Alassante, Arenwino, and young Nessime would go with the women and children and try to find a way out of the city before it was too late.

Alassante fastened the last buckle to be seen, and Cainenyo stood before her in shining plates of armor, with chain-mail peeking out from gaps and joints. In his hand was the dark grey blade of his father from Gondolin: Angereg. His head was adorned by a helmet. None of the armor was very impressive looking. It had lain in storage for nearly hundreds of years, and now there was no time to clean it or ready it for its first taste of orcish blood.

Alassante stood from her kneeling position and kissed Cainenyo, and reminded him that she would be safe and escape to the west. Cainenyo softly held her hands in his and told her that they would soon meet again and not to worry. Then she moved away into the darkness of the street and joined her son and daughter by the cart and other women and children. It broke Cainenyo's heart to think that this would be the last time he would ever see his home and his forge, and perhaps even his family. He swallowed and stared after Alassante as she left him. But she was heading for safety now, and Cainenyo had to fulfill his duty as a warrior and aid his countrymen at the gates. He joined the men in the street. One of their voices cried out into the darkness of the early morning:

"To the gates of the city!"

At first the group walked, but as they moved down the empty cobblestone streets their paced quickened. They were soon running as they passed alleyways and empty houses, with great windows staring bleakly at them. The sounds of war became more audible: harsh screams echoing down streets, the raucous cries of orcs, and the clanging of steel upon steel. The clamor grew steadily louder as the group turned a corner. They now passed a burning home and could see far off the top of the gate over a rooftop. Cainenyo's heart began to pound harder and sweat began to form on his brow. There was only one more corner to turn and they would be at the gates.

Cainenyo took a deep breath as they turned that corner. And when they did, the battle was right before them, and all of its sounds were louder than he had ever imagined. The sight was almost as awful: dead elves and orcs strewn across the street carelessly, with puddles of blood on the pavestones. Dozens of elves fought hordes orcs, which poured out of the gate like a flood, uttering orcish curses in their foul languages. The elves pushed against them and resisted as best they could. Another group of warriors from a road to the left leapt into the fray to aid the elves at the gate, and now the tides were nearly equal, both causing terrible casualty to the other.

Now Cainenyo's group, shouting a valiant battle cry, charged into the crowd of elves, and pushed into the crowd of orcs. Cainenyo's sword flashed through the air and slashed an ugly orc across the chest. He fell, and Cainenyo stabbed him in the belly. The orc stopped moving; Cainenyo had killed his first orc. He continued, and took large, bold strokes at the enemy. Cainenyo was cut across his knuckles, and it began to hurt to hold his sword, but he still fought.

Another orc grabbed Cainenyo's left arm and tried to hew it off, but Cainenyo's sword blocked the blow. He wrested free, and his sword swung through the garments of bat-wings it wore, but the orc escaped unscathed. It now tried to stab Cainenyo frantically, but Cainenyo moved away. He did not go far, for a smaller orc was now approaching, with knives in its hands. Cainenyo took a swing and cut one of its arms, so that it screeched in pain and black blood oozed out of the long wound. It and the large orc were now chasing him along the edge of the street that led to the gate. Cainenyo now realized his fear and the possibility that he would die at the hands of these two. He felt tired all of a sudden, and ducked into an alleyway, and prayed that the orcs didn't follow. But they did, and came after him . . .