Scouting ahead

[ArPharazon]

Calion:

Auros? His commander at the court had said Auros was the name of the Noldo they were suppose to escort. This was either the Noldo they were waiting for, or someone who knew of it and tried to work against them. The fact that it was a Noldo, and that he was willing to examine the Dwarf, were almost proof of his honesty. However, what explanation could there be for him to be unwilling to share his medicines? Ah well, the other remedies seemed to be working, and perhaps the Noldo only had little medicine of his own.

So Calion moved his eyes very quickly, making eye-contact with Fainan. She was still on guard, pointing her bow, perhaps not even having heard what the Noldo had said. Calion, however, decided that there was a bigger chance this was the Elf they were looking for, then a few minutes before. So, he decided to speak to the Noldo, and, in a way, give him the answers he had asked for.

'Nice to meet you, Auros. I am Calion, Dagger-elf from the court of Thranduil, king of Mirkwood. The Dwarf, whom we already have given antivenan and white willow tea, has mentioned to us, that the business he has here is 'compatible' to ours. He may be trusted, as far as Dwarves can be. Speaking of trust: you seem to me to have proven your kindheartedness by wanting to treat the Dwarf, but still, your presence here cannot be seen as less than suspicious for now. So speak, Auros, and answer me: what IS your business here?'

[Varda]

Fainin:

Fainan listened with interest. She could hear every word.

The dwarf should be recovering soon, maybe five minutes or less to consciousness depending on how fatigued he had been when hurt.

Calion seemed competent to her, and she was glad he had elected to do the questioning. If the Noldo was on the secret Rivendell mission, she wondered how he would answer.

Since the guards seemed to have been drawn away, she was watching more for any danger to the party than danger from Auros.

In the distance, she thought she heard a few wolf howls, then silence. The horses moved quietly, grazing, now and again looking curiously at the new horse and rider.

She waited only for Calion's signal to join the party on the ground.

[Eonwë]

Auros:

Auros laughed. "The direct approach! Very well. I have been sent as a scout from Rivendell to report movements of the Enemy. My mission takes me along the Forest path to Erebor. Beyond that my mission concerns you not. It is likely others have come along the main road and spoken with your king already. "

Auros paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the Dwarf, I can speak for his travel from Rivendell, but as to what brings him here, that I do not know. When he awakes, I must be the first to speak with him."

Auros again grew solemn. "There will be no eavesdropping. Anything we may say will not be for others' ears. Now, it is your turn. I know your group is small. I deem you are my guides through your land, and we must leave at dawn. The Dwarf may still be weak come morning, so he will have to ride with us. There is little time for planning, and we must get as much rest as we can. Call your friends over so we can begin preparations."

Auros drew his pack from his horse and set it against a tree near the Dwarf.

[Elatan]

Dusksinger

Full speed for 30 seconds and still no teeth or claws in her back or in Malloth but halting and looking was out of the question. If they were chasing her it would be enough for them to catch up before she could turn and get speed up. She tried to turn her head to see but the need for looking where to ride only allowed her some few seconds to watch her rear.

Better just to keep on until I reach the gate or was thrown down, If I get to the gate alive Malloth will have distanced them enough to gain time to send him home alone without my weight upon him and I can crawl up into a tree. From there I can take them one by one if needed.

At full speed she directed Malloth toward the gate getting ready to jump, the gate seemed as a dark hole among the trees in the fading light but as she drew nearer shapes of 3 persons appeared. It looked like one was lying, one sitting and one standing.

For all the evil... what the.. I sure hope these people are friendly and will allow me to speak before they do anything. If I am chased by wolves and they start off attacking me the wolves will get a big dinner tonight, If the wolves are close they might consider me riding with the wolves. Anyway, there are no turning back or hiding, either I will be killed by these people or the wolves or its my lucky day

With thundering hooves Malloth left the grassy fields and the reached within 50 meters of the gate and Lomelinde saw the shades turn as she appeared in their line of sight. She yelled out "Wolves attacking, Wolves attacking and jumped off.

She rolled two or three times on the ground before she stopped at the feets of a fourth person standing hidden.
Lomelinde got on her feet and turned towards the open looking for wolves.

If these are people are hostile well then better a knife in the back than a set of teeth in the chest

[ArPharazon]

Calion:

Calion nodded to Auros, convinced this was the one they had been waiting for. He turned towards Fainan, and signaled her to come down. As Fainan climbed down to the ground, a sudden noise came from some distance outside the gate.

A horse running, wolves howling, and a voice yelling out: 'Wolves attacking, wolves attacking!', and at that point the horse, now within 50 meters from the gate, became riderless, as the female rider jumped off.

She rolled two or three times on the ground before she stopped at the feet of Fainan, now down on the ground. As the mortal woman got back on her feet, Calion ran towards the gate, preparing to fight the wolves now nearing the party, and protect his companions, new and old, and the human's horse, from death unlooked for.

[Varda]

Fainan:

Fainan grinned at the new arrival. Things were just too awful to take them any other way. This had been a seriously bad time to come out of the tree.

With a quick leap, she went back to her branch and pile of newly made arrows. Maybe the Valar had made her wait so long to make sure she had plenty of ammunition! Immediately she loosed arrows into the oncoming wolves, hoping to kill or injure as many as possible before they reached the party on the ground. She heard the horses whinny and stomp. Certainly the dwarf was about to wake to interesting times!

[arathorn]

Haran:

He had awoken from his nightmare with a start and slowly opened one eye cautiously. Fiery and icy memories dogged his now groggy mind as he strained to see what was going on about him. He was still weak from the sudden collapse, so continued to lie on what seemed a firm yet somewhat reassuring surface. A musky, earthy scent it had to it. It took a moment to realize he was perched upon one of the elve's horses! Hmm, not as bad as he had thought. The animal was actually quite stable and, dare he say, comfortable? But, how in Valinor's name had he gotten up here! One of the Mirkwood inhabitants he had recently met must have tended to his wound and set him upon the beast. Perhaps they were ready to move on? How inconvenient that he should falter at such a time. Well, whatever the circumstance he had improved considerably and was about to call out when he thought better of it. The elves must be thinking he was still unconscious. A perfect opportunity to let matters unfold and see what he could learn. He continued to lie prone on the animal and listened intently to the conversation nearby.

A new elf had arrived since his unfortunate swoon and was now speaking with the others. Odd that elves should be so wary of their own kind. These were indeed dark times. Then again, he was no scholar of elven relationships or lore. Perhaps there was a history between the fair elder folk he would yet be privy to. He chanced a peek at the newcomer and a flicker of recognition passed by. Had he not see him before? Yes, at Rivendell, to be sure! He thought hard.. he had not met many but made a point to try to remember names... Auros! That was it. Hmm... he would have to attempt to speak to him in private to know what further decisions had been made in Rivendell after his departure. Their visit here was most likely temporary, to get aid for passage through Mirkwood and the rest of the trip would have to be kept close to the chest. Luckily he had only told the other elves what he needed to to get past the gate. One did not volunteer more information than was required even in happier days. He continued feigning sleep, trying to see what else he could learn about their current situation. Heh, Haran the Spy.. how clandestine! Ha, perhaps not, still, prudence was a virtue.

Slowly, he was lifted from the horse and laid down by the tree. The conversation continued revealing nothing of interest as he was poked and prodded by the new arrival. How undignified! He sighed and waited for a proper moment to 'awaken'.

Suddenly, he heard a female voice in distress yelling from beyond the doors, 'Wolves!'. Well, enough of this lurking, they were being attacked again and an idle dwarf was a worthless one. He had heard howling on his journey and was not surprised that the wargs had finally shown their true colours. He leaped to his feet, caught his balance and realized he was still a bit tipsy. No matter. His compatriots had tended to him well and that too would soon pass. Not completely ready to wade into battle, he reached into his pack by the tree and pulled out his trusty throwing axes. A force from above was a daunting foe, so he grabbed onto the trunk and began climbing to a better vantage point for his onslaught!

[Eonwë]

Auros:

As the cries came to Auros' ears, the sense of foreboding faded. He sighed. It's here.

As he drew Angran, he noticed the Dwarf jump up. "My advice, Master Dwarf," he said as he turned toward the howling, "is to rest while you can."
But then, he did not expect the Dwarf to listen. A stubborn lot they were, almost as stubborn as Elves. Maybe it's for the better. The newcomer seems to be in no condition to fight, and even a weakened 4th will be helpful if we have an entire pack to deal with.

Striding past the newcomer's horse as it entered the gate, he came alongside Calion. He could see the wolves' eyes glittering in the moonlight. Only wolves.

"Well, Calion, it seems the Elves of Mirkwood need not seek danger to find it." He turned to Calion with a small grin on his face. "Shall we go out to meet them?"
Charging forward, he met the first wolf to reach the forest with Elvish steel.

[ArPharazon]

As Calion charged to the gate, his companions behind him came into action too. But... how strange! The Dwarf climbed a tree, while the Elf came standing in the front of the battle. Sure, the Dwarf was yet too weak to fight in the frontline, but who would have thought he actually realised that, instead of storming into the wolves and probably dying.

So, Auros (as Calion was now sure the Elf was who he said to be) came standing besides him, looking confident in his own fighting abilities. He had definitely fought worse than wolves.

Auros said "Well, Calion, it seems the Elves of Mirkwood need not seek danger to find it." He turned to Calion with a small grin on his face. "Shall we go out to meet them?"

Calion nodded back, and the two Elves stormed against the wolves. Calion took out his daggers, and with one of them stabbed the stomach of the first wolf he met. He could do more with his daggers than just throw them.

[Varda]

Fainan:

Fainan's arrows sang over the heads of her companions. Even if her shots only injured, they might help. But she aimed for lethal shots whenever they presented.

[arathorn]

Haran:

As he made his way to the treetop he heard one of the elves call out to him to rest. Without turning back he replied 'There are times for rest, Master Elf, and certainly this is not one of them! The Wargs will no doubt not choose this moment either. And as luck would have it, elves are not the only ones with a skill of hurling weaponry, I have throwing axes with me and will aid the battle from above. Wish me luck or better yet, accuracy!'

With that he perched himself between a sturdy branch and the crest of the gate, then began to spy out a suitable lupine target. This was indeed turning out to be a most vigorous and eventful mission!

[ArPharazon]

A dagger in each hand, Calion continued to advance into the wolf troop. There seemed to be no limit to those beasts, even if there actually were just a few.

After a short duel, another wolf fell, with a dagger in the chest and the other in the head. Trying to grab the daggers out of his victim, Calion was however jumped on by another wolf, the biggest of the pack, knocking him on the ground. The new wolf looked at him, a mean glance from his eyes. And was that a smile on his face? These things were more intelligent then Calion had ever realised. The wolf jumped at Calion's throat, intending to slay the now helpless Elf.

Calion's long life flashed before his eyes. A thought arose in him: Could his companions help him?

*OOC: Please do, I do not wish to be out of the story so soon.

[arathorn]

Haran:

From this lofty vantage point the dwarf saw one of the elves suddenly fall beneath a larger of the furry behemoths... was the beast actually grinning at his pinned prey? Without a moment's hesitation he flung two sharpened hatchets in quick succession straight at the wolf's eyes, blinding him instantly. At least this would give his new ally a chance to recover his bearings.

He continued to survey the battle below, ready to assist when the most opportune moment presented itself...

[Eonwë]

Auros:

Arrows flew around him, as well as the occasional axe.

Seeing Calion in danger, Auros slew the wolf he was fighting and went to Calion's aid. Axes flew from the trees above, striking the beast towering over the Mirkwood Elf. Another wolf was charging from Auros' side, leaving only a moment to aid Calion. He kicked the wolf off of Calion then side-stepped to dodge the beast charging him,.. but it wasn't fully successful. The beast's claws met Auros' shield arm, gashing the shoulder. He flinched, but it happened so fast the pain did not begin at once. One arm now injured, he changed his sword-form to a one-handed stance.
I didn't move fast enough. But there's only a few left. I can make it until they're dead.

Calling to Calion, Auros said, "Are you ok? Can you still fight? We cannot let any of them escape!"

As he waited for the response, he saw his chance and struck the wolf who had attacked him.

[ArPharazon]

Calion:

Just as the large beast jumped for Calion's throat, it was knocked back by 2 axes, firmly planted in the wolf's eyes. Auros kicked the wolf off of Calion, but got attacked by another in the process, and injured in his shield-arm. He changed his sword-stance to accomodate this new complication.

Auros said to Calion: "Are you ok? Can you still fight? We cannot let any of them escape!" and struck the wolf that had charged him.

Calion answered: "I'm allright, thank you. And thank you as well, Haran! I never knew Dwarves possessed such accuracy!" Calion jumped back to his feet, grabbed his daggers from his previous victim, and used them to finish off the big blinded one, who had nearly slain him.

After that, he joined Auros, acting as a shield for him, while doing quite some damage himself. Together they fought the remaining wolves in open combat.