Unnur's Line

Chapter Sixteen:

     Deep in the dimness of the dungeons of Dul-Guldur, the Orcs carried the limp body of the Alatariel to the very last cell in the deepest furthest region of the fortress. Torches lit the passageway and water could be heard dripping down the slimy walls into the far reaches of the cavern.

     Upon reaching the last cell Garrash reached into his armour and yanked the keys free and unlocked the door with a clang. At the far end of the cell something crawled into the shadows and he laughed.

    “Brought you a cell mate” and he moved to the side as Guarak carried in the lifeless form of the shield maiden to dump her on the floor and slam the door shut. They laughed as they walked away their stomping footsteps echoing off the stone walls.

  In the far corner of the cell a shadowed figure moved slowly out of the corner draped in rags and what was left of a cloak and hood. Crawling slowly, he peered at the body lying in the middle of the cell floor with caution.

   Even in the dampness of the cell he could make out the smell of blood, and slowly got closer trying to see who it was with his one good eye. She lay were they had dumped her on her side.

   An arrow was lodged in her upper back shoulder area and another threw her leg from what he could see. Blood had caked on her cloths and they smelled of smoke, her hair was matted where it lay tangled around her arms.

   Getting up to her he could see that she was breathing in rasps and was very much out cold from the trauma. Shifting his weight to get more comfortable he gazed at her and froze when he spotted the ring on her hand.

     Pulling his head up he listened to the sounds out in the corridor outside of the cell. All was quiet as usual except the steady dripping of water. Reaching out he took her left hand and brought it closer to his face to look at it.

    He held her cold hand and felt the ring as his sight was limited and felt the metal triangle of Thorins ring. Licking his lips he listened again, feeling nervousness come over him and then pried the ring from the woman’s finger and felt it in his hands.

     It couldn’t be, he thought as he looked at it more closely and then around the cell to come back to the unconscious form in front of him. Then dragging his body he crawled over to the left hand side of the cell and felt around the base of the wall with his left hand. He was seeking a small crack in the wall and when he found it gently tapped it and a piece of the wall came away in his hand.

  Behind it a small hole in which a rag was stuffed and with this he pulled it out and gently unwrapped it. Inside the rag was another ring made of gold with a deep blue stone set deep and surrounded with dwarven runes.  

     He added the new ring to this one and rewrapped it and pushed it into the hole and returned the stone in place before stopping to listen once again. Moving with more determination he returned back to the form on the floor.

  And Feeling along her back he felt to where the arrow had entered into her back and taking a deep breath snapped the end off where the fletching was and she jumped and groaned where she lay.

 Dawn slowly came around feeling the coldness of the stone floor against her side and her where her cheek rest against it. The smell of rot almost made her sick and the intense pain in her shoulder and leg threatened to blind her.

  “Lay still” a raspy voice in her ear made her quiver and she was almost too afraid to open her eye’s to see where she was. Slowly forcing her eye’s open she was met with darkness and then blinking the soot away she could make out in the dimness the stone walls and a metal door which was shut. She groaned again in realization that she was held again in captivity.