Return To Middle Earth

Still Alive

A fire blazed within the cave, it's heat felt several yards outside. A stake was placed close to the fire, the missing elf tied to it. Many orcs were hitting him for fun, mocking him. He was on his knees, his ankles bound to the stake. His arms looked to be painfully tied to the stake in a way that made any struggling on the part of the elf to result in broken wrists and shattered elbows. There was a thick rope wrapped around his neck, forcing his head to remain against the stake if he wanted to breathe. A dagger was in the fire, heating to a white. The biggest orc slapped him hard.
"Shadow Banisher, mighty Balrog Slayer, Lord of Air. You are weak. You could not even die correctly. Your peace torn from you, elf. The Valar betrayed you. The elves have not come for you. If you betray the secrets of Mirkwood and Rivendell, we will set you free." The orcs around laughed at the last part. Glorfindel stared defiantly at the orc.
"Tthe Valar will never betray me. I will die before I tell you anything, orc." His voice was cracked and weak but was said with much belief. The orc snarled, pulling a whip out and placing it in the fire long enough to catch flame. Glorfindel whimpered and tried to free himself. Memories of the Balrog and his death assaulting him. The orc brought the whip down upon the armor, snarling.
"Tell us and we will send you back to death's peace sooner."
"Nnever..." a scream escaped as another orc stabbed him in the thigh. The head orc dropped the whip in favor of the white hot dagger. Glorfindel panicked, thrashing enough to break both wrists. The orc grabbed his hair and plunged the dagger into his shoulder and twist it as the screams escaped the elf's mouth.
During this time, the elves had made their way to the cave, hearing and seeing everything that was happening. As the dagger was being twisted, the first arrow was released into the head of the orc twisting the dagger. The orc fell sideways, onto another orc. In the few moments of shock the orcs were experiencing, the elves fired many volleys as arrows, killing fifty of the orcs within. Swords were drawn and the elves raced into the cave, causing the orcs to snap out of their trance. Blades met blades in a deadly battle. Slowly, the orcs were overpowered and slain. Erestor and Elrond had stood guard around Glorfindel, protecting him from the orcs. When the battle was over Erestor knelt down to check if Glorfindel still lived. He was greeted with sky blue eyes that were wary of him.
"Hey, Gold. Don't scare us like that, okay? I need to cut the ropes." Erestor was gentle to him, stunning the other elves including Elrond. Erestor smiled a little to comfort Fin.
"Gglor.." The golden elf croaked.
"Okay, Glor. Let's get you free. You are quite a warrior, you know? You must teach me some moves or spar with me." Erestor was rambling as he slowly pulled his knife out. Glorfindel's eyes widened but Erestor only touched his face with the other hand.
"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you. If I wanted to hurt you then I'd throw a book at your thick head, okay?" Erestor teased as he managed to cut the rope around the blonde warrior's neck. He supported the neck with his free hand as he passed the knife to Elrond, who was behind Glorfindel.
"We're going to get you home, okay?" The warrior fell forwards when the ropes around his elbows and wrists were cut. Erestor caught Glorfindel.
"Nnever thought... I'd ffall for yyou... like tthis." Glorfindel croaked, earning chuckles from some of the warriors. Erestor only smiled.
"Nice one, Glorfy." Erestor shot back. Elrond cut the last rope and Glorfindel gasped in pain. Erestor gently picked him up and started to walk towards his horse. The orc bodies were left to rot as the elves made haste to Rivendell.
"Glor, you need to drink this. It's only water." Erestor coaxed him to drink a few sips.
"M name... Glorfindel." Glorfindel's eyes drooped, the herbs for the pain that had been in the water doing their job. Erestor only offered him the water skin again. Glorfindel drank about half of it before falling into a deep slumber.
"Do you think he is the legendary slayer?" A young warrior softly asked. Erestor nodded.
"How can you believe that he is?" Elrond asked.
"His glamours fell. I can plainly see all the scars of his life." Erestor informed as he started to bandage the elf. Elrond brought his horse as close as possible to the other to help with the bandaging.
"We must ride without break to Rivendell. He will not survive if we do not." Elrond ordered. The horses flew through wood and plain, sensing the urgency. Every couple of hours, Erestor would manage to give Glorfindel the herbal mixture that kept him free of pain and gave him restful sleep and trickle water into his mouth every so often. Erestor understood Glorfindel, seeing some of the memories that the blade showed. Glorfindel muttered a lot throughout the trip, talking to Ecthelion and other fallen heroes. He was on Mandos' doorstep, pleading for entry. Erestor always held the elf close to him, the back of the warrior's head on his shoulder and his arms wrapped securely around the blonde elf. Finally, the Valley came into sight. Lindir greeted the group, having summoned healers to assist the wounded. Erestor was reluctant to hand Glorfindel to the healers but released him to their care. Elrond dismounted his horse with grace, taking quick strides towards the Hall of Healing.
The silence of the healers as they worked on Glorfindel was disquieting. None of the banter or the calls for needed supplies. Only an occasional whisper would break the silence of the air in the room. Muttering from Glorfindel was the only constant sound. Elrond had washed as best he could before working with the other healers.
"Rog, you broke Turgon's sword."
"Etchilion, don' fall in the fountain."
"Go home, Turgon. You cannot keep my goose. I need it to conquer Etchilion's fear."
These were only some of the mutterings of Glorfindel.
The healers did many things at once, observing that His wounds were infected, weeping puss and discolored skin tones. Bruises covered almost every inch of his body. His hair and face were covered in sweat, blood, and grime.
Broken bones were set. Wounds were drained and cleaned. Anything still lodged within his body was removed. His face and hair were washed carefully. His burns were treated. Then came the fun part, cleaning an elf so wounded without causing even more pain. The healers completed this task, dressing the elf in the garments that would be easy to remove to reach the bandages and provided warmth. Many healers had left by this time, Elrond dismissing the remaining ones. Erestor poked his head in. Elrond offered him a small smile as he placed a blanket over the broken elf on the bed. Elrond whispered something to Erestor as he passed him at the door.
"He will live."
Erestor could not explain why this brought him great relief.