Aeonian [Legolas]

23

The water was rough and unforgiving. From the moment Viridis jumped into the water he felt any ounce of control slip into the hands of the tides, he knew he would be fighting to keep his head above the water.

"Viridis!" Bilbo cried out when he saw the Elf get pushed toward his barrel. He hooked an arm around the edge and used it to hold on as they rushed forward. Through a shadowed channel they went. The air was thick and moist but at that moment, it was welcomed. They were steps closer to escaping and with an Elven army surely on their way to stop them before they could get any further, any progress was important.

"The alarms have been sounded!" Viridis called out over the rushing noise of Mother Nature. "Elves are on our trail and-"

"Orcs!" One of the Dwarves cried out, thrusting a hand out into the distance where the beasts could be seen advancing.

They had only just made it out into open air, the greenery of land only serving as a warning for the dangers it held. The sky, though blue, looked trepidatious and Viridis almost wished for the comfort of wooden archways shaped to preserve life, not destroy it.

"Hold on!" Thorin called out, just barely calling out in time for the rest of the company to go wide-eyed when their gazes landed on a sudden dip in the channel, small waves of inconsistent lengths rushing up to greet them as they had no other choice than to brace themselves and hold onto whatever barrel they could.

Viridis sucked a lungful of air into his lungs and within the second he was forced down, head pushed under the water and body turning to the mercy of the tides. It was only his tight grip on Bilbo's barrel edge that kept him with everyone else as they were carried along.

The channel widened into something more river-like and it started twisting this way and that in a pattern of grace. Rocks jutted out from the white rapids and Viridis fought with each of them as he tried to steer him and Bilbo clear away from them without simultaneously being knocked down by a boulder hiding beneath the water.

A horn sounded in the distance then, long and resonating and Viridis knew then that any chance they would have in getting out rested solely in their luck for the next thirty seconds. They were so close to the river gate, ten more seconds and-

Viridis' gaze turned upward to the drawbridge that rested atop the gate, heart sinking in his chest when he took in the sight of Elven guards taking to their stations, heavily layered in armor and not at all looking like they were about to take pity on the Dwarves.

A simple pull of a lever and the gate was sliding shut, blocking them out and trapping them in.

"No!" Throrin cried out angrily, banging a fist against the metal bar that kept them enclosed.

The rest of the company groaned and cried out as the water carried them to their leader.

Viridis swore under his breath. Brows furrowing as he surveyed the area, landing on a jutting edge of land just out of reach from the iron gates shut resolutely.

"Stay here." He called out, issuing no other warnings before he was pushing off Bilbo's barrel and using the momentum to pull himself onto land.

"Viridis, down!" A voice called out no sooner than he had reached land. The Elf didn't have enough time to locate where the sound had come from let alone identify who had spoken before he was kneeling and falling to the ground in the blink of an eye, just barely missing an arrow slicing through the air followed quickly by the dead body of an Orc.

After the night at the burning tree, the break from fighting Orcs had been welcomed but now that they were undoubtedly surrounded, Viridis found himself facing no qualms about spilling some blood.