Samheen 6, Out of one darkness… and into another...

[Elvin Motricé]

<i>Previous thread:

The orc Sarendara was facing fell forward by the impact of the crossbow bolt. Falling forward, Saren's sword didn't hit him in the neck but in the shoulder. She could feel the steel scraping against the bone and then being pulled out of her slippery hands when the Orc sank to the ground, the bolt sticking out of his back.

The eyes of the Orc Kael was battling grew wide when a bolt pierced him and opened up his entrails and ripping open his abdomen at the front. Blood and gore covered Kael when the momentum of his arc let him spin around to find Derron in serious trouble a few feet further, being attacked by three Orcs. The officer fought well, his blades and movements were fluent and if it were Orcs like the one Kael had faced he would have won but the three worked in perfect communion, like a team that had practiced together. Suddenly one of the three lunged forward and Derron blocked his blow while another hit him with a short sword, gashing his tunic but bouncing off the mithril mail...

Perhaps that the ranged weapon wasn't such a good idea after all... Windrunner heard a small noise behind her and an Orc who whispered: "You good meal are..." Before something hit her on the head and she sank into darkness.

Theorn had just dispatched another Orc and turned to the place Raevyn was standing while he saw another Orc approaching her from behind, consumed by her bloodlust the Dark Elf didn't hear the Orc approaching and Theorn shouted: "Raevyn look out!" But it was too late. The Orc lifted a club and hit the Dark Elf on the head, sending her to the ground, unconscious. Theorn rushed towards her but was intercepted by two other Orcs and had to eliminate them first before he could get to Raevyn. When he could finally focus on Raevyn she was gone... He cursed and shouted: "To me! To me! We need to retreat!"

Draydis and Thrandil eliminated their Orc without a problem and heard Theorn's calling a few moments after.

Before Sarendara could pick up her weapon another Orc came at her and hit her on the head. She felt a sharp pain before she fell down, unconscious.

An Orc seemed to materialize from nothingness next to Saren and took her up, disappearing into a swirling shadow...
Draydis saw how another Orc materialized next to Windrunner and took her up, disappearing in the same fashion.
</i>
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<center><b>Timestamp: 6th of Samheen, early morningtide</b></center>

The rays of the morning sun woke Raevyn from her ‘sleep’ with a throbbing headache. She found herself tied to a staff with both hands and feet. A few feet further an Orc was standing guard and judging by the smell, there were more in the close vicinity. To her left she saw Windrunner tied in the same fashion and to her right Sarendara, also tied up to a staff.

A few moments later Windrunner woke up with a throbbing headache and it didn’t take long for Sarendara to regain consciousness as well. Both of them saw the same things as Raevyn and soon the three of them came to the conclusion that they were captured by the foul beasts that attacked them earlier…

[Sarendara]

Sarendara 'woke up' to her head throbbing and she could barely force her eyes open in the pain of the moment. When she did, and caught a good look at where she was and what situation she was in, she wished she had remained asleep. How dare they capture her like this! How could it have happened? Sarendara tried to think back to what happened the previous day but she could not remember everything. Her head ached from the strain she was putting on it and she felt like curling up and sobbing. As that was not an option to her, she sighed and looked around, noticing the orc right away. Something told her she did not want them knowing that she was awake, but she needed to talk to Raevyn and Windrunner. What was going to happen to her? What could she do? The situation seemed hopeless. Unless... Thrandil? Kael? Dray? Where were they? Were they also captured? Maybe something had already been done.. maybe... Sarendara shivered. She needed to stop thinking... or start thinking about something else at least.

Saredara looked down at her bonds, trying to see if there was some way to get out of them. Maybe they were loose... maybe they were poorly tied. Sarendara knew almost nothing about ropes. Sighing, she remained where she was, trying to make eye contact with her two... companions. Perhaps they had a good idea? Any idea would work. Something, anything to get her out of this situation.

[Windrunner]

The events of the day before had surprised Windrunner. One moment, she was looking for another orc to kill, seemingly doing quite well, and the next, she was tied up, a prisoner of the orcs. Soon after she awoke, she remembered the last words she had heard before she was knocked out, and if she understood the orc's poor grammar and thick accent properly, it was planning to eat her. This relevation shocked her quite a bit. Was she actually going to be eaten? On further thought, it did make a bit of sense, why waste time hunting when there were prisoners to eat after all? Still, the very thought of being eaten grossed her out, and she had to get out of this predicament, but with her arms and legs bound, how could she? And it's not like she could try to talk the orcs out of it either, she couldn't think of a single reason why if she were an orc, she wouldn't eat the elven prisoners. "Is this the end?" She wondered, accidentally saying it out loud, but unless either Sarendara or Raevyn had some talent for escape she wasn't aware of, it probably would be. Thinking of that, in addition to all the desperation she felt, a bit of a crushing guilt came over the wood elf as well, if she had been a better fighter, this situation might not have occured.

[Elvin Motricé]

The Orc that stood guard heard her and looked up: "Elfy-meat be silent. We eat later, then you scream!"

[Sarendara]

Sarendara turned her head, startled by what Windrunner had said. The words chilled her and made her feel more depressed. Angry thoughts filled her head, questioning why she was here, why she had gotten caught. She was supposed to be a helpful member of the team, but now, now she needed help. Now she could not do something on her own. When the orc spoke about 'elfy-meat' Sarendara shivered, realizing why she was there. She was there... there... she shivered again. Clamping her teeth together, Sarendara once again tried to make eye contact with Windrunner. She had no idea what else to do... but maybe if they knew they were all in this together, something might be made out of the situation. Sarendara's eyes rolled back to her bonds and she sighed. Well... if they were going to be taken somewhere... even to a large pot, they would have to be partially untied. Maybe there would be time then... probably not.

[Windrunner]

Upon hearing the orc's comment about elfy-meat, Windrunner's suspicions were confirmed true, but that was not very reassuring. Racking her brain, she desperately tried to think of a way out of this. The first thought to come to mind was a bluff about how deadly elf meat is, but she quickly shot that one down, some of those orcs had to have had elf before, this seemed routine to them, and even if they didn't, it would clearly show as a bluff.

It is said in desperate times, physical abilities far beyond someone's normal reach are called upon to get them out of there. No such abilities came for Windrunner, and she did not break the bonds holding her, or anything of the sort. On the mental standpoint however, a desperate plan formed in her head. Surely, some of the orcs didn't want to see the war go on, being tired of the casualties and the knowledge your friends could be dead soon, and all the other terrible things related to war. Perhaps she could convince them to show to the elves their interests in peace by releasing them as a diplomatic move, or something like that. On second thought, this would require orc emotions to work similar to elven emotions, them being willing to listen to things like this from an elf, and many other assumptions that were equally improbable. Still, it was the best plan she could think of, and at the worst, she would end up in the same situation as she was before. Lowering her voice to a whisper, Windrunner spoke. "I have an idea, but the odds of it working are incredibly low, but what do we have to lose?" Smiling as she said the last part.

[Elvin Motricé]

It was then that the three-some noticed that they had been stripped of their armor and weaponry. The only thing they wore were figureless gray robes smelling as if they had never been washed. Someone had undressed them and put them in these clothes...

Some commotion started in the encampment of the Orcs a bit further. Two of the foul creatures were arguing about something in their guttural language.

<b>OOC: It is Tazlure's second birthday! To celebrate this each player gets 7 stars to divide among his skills. Check the thread here</b>

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

Raevyn slowly opened her eyes and observed her surroundings. It had become painfully evident to her of what had happened. The pain in her head was excruciating, but it wasn't the worst pain she had ever felt in her lifetime. The dark elf looked at her fellow captives and quickly closed her eyes once more.

Captured...

(TBC...)

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

Raevyn slowly opened her eyes and observed her surroundings. It had become painfully evident to her of what had happened. The pain in her head was excruciating, but it wasn't the worst pain she had ever felt in her lifetime. The dark elf looked at her fellow captives and quickly closed her eyes once more.

Captured...

(TBC...)

(continuation...)


The last thing Raevyn remembered was Theorn shouting out, then all went black. And now, she was here. She wasn't happy. Again she opened her eyes slightly, only to survey her surroundings once more before closing them again.

Think... think... think...

It was pointless to try and struggle now, the ropes were too tight. Stay calm. That's it. Raevyn remembered back to a story her father had told her once long ago. It was something for a situation like she was in now. Instead of trying to fight the ropes that bound her, Raevyn relaxed her body. Maybe by relaxing her body she thought, would provide the leeway she needed to free herself.

In elven she spoke softly to Windrunner and Sarendara. "Stay calm relax your body. Do not make any sudden or quick movements. The ropes might slip if you do not fight them." Her voice she hoped couldn't be heard over the loud noise that their captors were making.

You have me now, but not for long, the dark elf thought to herself. She was already thinking of a way to not only get free, but to get their things and most importantly, kill some orcs in the process.

[Windrunner]

Though escaping the bonds and having no way to defend themselves from just being captured again didn't seem useful, even if it did work, it had a better chance of succeeding then the plan the wood elf had thought up, so Windrunner attempted to relax her body. Still, Windrunner was quite tense because of the situation, and it wasn't working well for her, but it was the most likely way to survive this she knew of.

[Elvin Motricé]

It seemed no to help. Orcs were no intelligent creatures but they knew how to secure their food. The discussion grew and Windrunner, who could see the two Orcs clearly saw them drawing their crude weapons and charging...

The Orc who was guarding them was fascinated by the fight and did not pay much attention to the prisoners...

[Windrunner]

Windrunner was far from pleased at this recent turn of events. Though she didn't speak orc and couldn't tell why the orcs were fighting, the reaction of the other orcs made it seem like they enjoyed it, making her plan even less likely to succeed. And though the guard's back was turned, any chance of escape seemed impossible, they were tied quite tightly. A surprise attack certainly wouldn't work without any weapons, and as hard as Windrunner thought, she couldn't think of any ideas on how to get out of there.

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

Raevyn was determined to free herself from the ties that bound her. Yet all of her efforts seemed to be in vain. The urge to loose it all was strong, but she knew that no matter what, remaining calm would be what was for the best. Only when she heard the noise from the orcs did she again open her eyes to see what was going on around her. Again Raevyn lowered her head and tried to calm herself into a state just short of meditation. If she could releax her muscles just enough to get only one hand free, it would be a great deal.

Time passed and she didn't seem to be getting anywhere with this plan. In frustration she inadvertantly slammed the back of her head against the post which nearly brought tears to her eyes do to her already throbbing head. Oh when I get free, the dark elf thought. When I get free they will have one pissed off dark elf on their hands.

The commotion once again caught the dark elf's attention. What was going on she wondered. And how could this distraction be of some advantage for her and the others? A quick glance at Sarendara and Windy showed that neither of them had any luck either thusfar.

Did Morgana cry? Or did she give them hell? Raevyn wasn't sure of which. One thing was for sure, if they planned on killing her, it wouldn't be easy. Reluctantly Raevyn gave in to the fact that right now there wasn't anything she could do, and that she would have to bide her time. She figured she would have at best, one chance and she was going to make the best of it.

[Elvin Motricé]

Suddenly the whole Orc encampment was in commotion when Orcs with a red thread weaven in a lock of hair charged in the encampment killing the other Orcs. It didn't take long for the attacking Orcs to overpower the others who were still weary from their fight last evening. Their guard stood up when he saw his chieftain fall dead on the floor and ran for his very life.

A few moments later the chieftain of the attacking Orcs came wandering to the three companions: "You ours now!"

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

There were days when just staying in bed pretending to be sick was a good idea, this was one of them. Now the already bad situation seems to have gone from bad to worse. Raevyn could only smile at it all.

"Oh my hero, " Raevyn said in a tone that had more than just a little bit of sarcasm tossed in. "And where did you learn to speak the common tongue so well? My next question should be do I thank you know, or later?"

The fact is Raevyn didn't know what was going on, and she was just stalling for time. More importantly, why was she being so cordial with an ORC??? Weren't these the same creatures she made a vow to destroy? And isn't this orc the same as any other orc that she so despised? More stalling commenced.

"You know," Raevyn stated matter of factly. "We had them right where we wanted them. We did not need you guys to come in here and ruin it for us." Then the thought hit her, Why are these orcs killing the other ones? "Who are you," Raevyn asked.

[Windrunner]

Windrunner was quite surprised by this recent turn of events. Not only had what seemed like a small skirmish become a full battle and a new group of orcs taken over, but Raevyn had seemed to take advantage of the situation excellently, and it might just be what would save them. The wood elf did not say a word, she was in awe of how well things seemed to be going, but she didn't have much of an idea of how the orc would respond. The feelings she had for Raevyn began flaring up again, but she reminded herself that this was not the time to think of such things, she would have all the time in the world(Though it would probably still be unrequited even then.), or at least until the next major battle to think of such thigns, if only they got out alive.

[Elvin Motricé]

The Orc's face split into a grin: "Maybe later, when night falls you thank?"

the Orc was still puzzling through Raevyn's endless stream of words when she aksed him who he was he looked at her and proudly straightened his back: "Gragor, Pri'Ur Thrugi war party leader, two party."

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

Raevyn was still perplexed, and still tied up. Neither of which she cared for much. There was nothing she wanted more right now than to be free of the ties that bound her. Curiosity was also getting the best of her, and getting information was just as i portant to her.

"Why did you attack and kill them," she asked. Raevyn didn't understand this strange development, but it did for the moment keep her alive that much longer. Raevyn looked at Windy and Sarendara to see what she could get from their expressions. She wondered if they were as confused as she was.

[Windrunner]

Windrunner was certainly confused by the situation. It seemed this attack was to their advantage, and they would be at least alive until nightfall, but she couldn't tell the reasons for it or anything. As far as she could tell, the orcs thought they were allies against the other orcs that had just been taken out, and their situation had improved, but what the heck was going on? There were so many questions she had, and a look of puzzlement came over her face. Ordinarily in such a situation, the wood elf would have asked her companions if any of them had a clue, but in front of an orc that she was still unsure of what their position was with them, she didn't want to give them an impression of stupidity or something of that sort, so she remained silent.

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

From the look on Windy's face and how Sarendara seemed to have once again slipped into the comfort of unconciousness, it would be up to the quick thinking, dark elf to hopefully talk their way out of this. At least until the can fight their way out.

"It appears that we share a common enemy," the dark elf risked saying. She weighed her words before speaking in an effort to speak in a manner that even the dumbest of orcs could relate to. "Perhaps we could go into battle... together."

[Sarendara]

Sarendara, completely baffled by the turn of events, watched in a bemused sort of way. She could not get out of her mind the thought of what was going to happen to her, no matter whose hands she were in. One orc or another, they were all the same. Why was Raevyn talking to the orc? She had no idea. Perhaps Raevyn was friends with it? Sarendara thought back to previous days and shivered. No. That was doubtful. Sarendara let her eyes roll over and fall onto Raevyn, trying to find out what the dark elf was thinking. Perhaps they could have escaped before, when there was fighting. Now... Sarendara suppressed a sigh, looking for hints.

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

Raevyn noticed the glance out of the corner of her eye. Sare had rejoined them in the world of the concious. Now of course the situation still remained sticky at best. The dark elf felt that Either Sarendara, Windy, or perhaps both would be looking to her to figure some sort of way out of this mess.

Who gave them that idea anyway??

Truth of the matter was this, Raevyn was winging it now. Not quite desperate, but she definitely had no clue as to what she or they would do next, or what came after that either. Is Windy just stupid or does she just not EVER know what to do??? How come it's always me...ME that has to figure this stuff out??, the dark elf briefly thought. She thought more, First it was those stupid humans on the way here, and that cook Kelwhateverhisnamewas. Now it's Dumb and Meek... Oh dear Goddess why me of all elves??? Time to think of something and quick.

Raevyn pointed to Windrunner and spoke to the new set orcs. "You see that one... over there?? You can have her for whatever you want.... food, sex, sex and food whatever... Just let us go. She is the leader, it was HER idea to come here in the first place. She knows more than we do and is more valuable than me and the other one."

Raevyn was lying through her teeth, but orcs are dumb. Are they not? It was the the beginning of yet another plan, hopefully her counterpart wouldn't blow it. "She is the leader, that one... You can use her as bait to get the others. I will even help you to catch them."

Raevyn hoped that this smarter of the stupid orcs knew something about the differences of the elven races. "I will help you to catch the elves who have invaded because they like my kind even less than your kind. SOOOO let us work together and we can kill the rest of the orcs that you so mightily and bravely I might add, slaughtered here. Then we can get the rest of the elves that think that my kind and your kind are dumb."

The dark elf glanced at Sare and gave her a hopefully reassuring look. They were going to make it out of this alive, and hopefully the orcs own stupidity wouild help ensure that.

[Elvin Motricé]

The Orc had a puzzled look on his face when Raevyn began her plea but slowly the a wicked grin appeared on his face: "Why eat you? Waste of good female. Why take one? You all good slaves!"

It was then that a Human dressed in foreboding black leather entered the clearing, his black cloak drifting on the wind. His voice was terrifying to hear, smooth and with the sound of one of the beautiful Elven instruments they had heard in Taloh'Tel Amrun: "Do no forget your place, Gragor, do you want to oppose the orders of the Great One?" His voice grew dangerously cold, "Do you want to oppose me?"

The look of sheer terror on Gragor's face was enough to clear out that, whoever he was, this Human held the true power over the attacking war party: "No, Gragor not oppose Great One! Gragor just toying. Gragor wants life!"

The Human nodded and smiled a beautiful smile, the smoothness and sheer perfect of his facial features was even more terrifying then his voice. Surely there could be none with such astonishing features! "Do remember that, Gragor, you live only as long as you please the Great One."

He looked at the three captured Elves and smiled again: "My apologies for the rough conditions you are in. My friends here can be a bit rough at some times."

[Sarendara]

Sarendara was very taken aback by Raevyn's "plan". How could she have even suggested such a thing? The whole idea seemed unrealistic and... and... dirty. Sarendara knew that Raevyn would try not to leave anyone behind... or would she? It slowly dawned on Sarendara that she had no idea where Raevyn's ideas about people lay, thus... how could she follow Raevyn's plan? Struck dumb yet again in the rather pressing situation, she just nodded with Raevyn's words and tried not to look at Windrunner.

We have to get out of this, whatever it takes... why me???

As the orc replied, Sarendara felt a mixture of feelings, relief that she was not going to be eaten, annoyance that the orc seemed slightly intelligent, and fear that the word slave invoked. Sarendara felt like breaking down and shivering and just giving up, but, as she had learned previously in her life, her emotions stayed mostly inside of her. Remembering Raevyn's look of reassurance, she managed to hold everything in. She managed to hope for something, some way out. After all, they were three Emerald Guard... trainees... right... Sarendara frowned slightly. They were not even qualified for this... well... nobody was.

When the human's voice chided the orc's, Sarendara felt herself stiffen. Since when did humans order and orc... and orc around? Sarendara's eyes rolled towards the human and she did shiver, afraid of how he looked and of how he talked. Who was he? Why was he here? Who was the great one? It sounded like some type of deity to her... or a great person? How could such a person invoke such fear?

The human's voice called something up in Sarendara, and she breathed in to calm herself. Believing that she had been paranoid before, she waited for her emotions to fall away and then started talking carefully.

"Greetings," Was that a good word to use?, "we were taken captive by a group of orcs. Thank you for saving us from them." Sarendara considered her words, they all seemed alright to her. Then again, she did not know if she was being saved from anything. What that orc had said was still fresh in her mind. "Would you mind untying us?" It was worth a try. Sarendara tried to fix up her face in a gesture of pain, as if the bonds were hurting her and cutting her. "My companions and I have been stuck like this for a while. The bonds are cutting into our skin." Sarendara just mentioned it briefly so that the man would not think that she really needed it. Yet, reflecting back, Sarendara sighed, thinking that she had said too much.

Taking a deep breath, Sarendara continued. "We are sorry about the trouble was have caused, we don't wish to cause any more hassle. So..." Sarendara eyed him and dedided not to continue. She doubted that the human would do anything of the sort. But, there was always that chance, and chances had to be taken advantage of. "Oh! And I am sorry, my name is Sarendara... and you are?" Sarendara had added that last part to fill in the awkward gap. Besides, she wanted to know his name. Perhaps... maybe she had heard of it before. "Do you, by any chance, know where we are?" Sarendara gave him a quick smile and raised her eyebrows slightly to show that she was interested.

Sarendara, although not realizing it, had done all of this in a slight rush. She had tried to be diplomatic and sincere about it, but because of conflicting emotions, it came out slightly panicky, at last controlling itself at the elf. The high elf just wanted to get away alive. She had no previous 'bad' experiences with orcs and was only starting to feel hate towards them. She just wanted to get away... right away.

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

Had her hands not been tied behind her, Raevyn definitely would have slapped her forehead in exasperation. This was just bad, bad I say. Now what!?!?!, she thought. Wasn't it bad enough that they had been captured by orcs, but then to be saved by different orcs, who listened to human command?? She could've swooned. It was maddening. And on top of that Sarendara...SARENDARA OF ALL PEOPLE... was talking to this human and making sense. Since when did Sarendara talk??

Oddly Raevyn felt reassured by her words. Words that came out perhaps better than even she in all her cunning and manipulativeness could've come up with. Raevyn blinked. This wasn't the same Sarendara she had come to know. Alright who switched Sarendaras on me?? I must look terrible in this stinky smelly rag that got me covered in.

The human perplexed the young dark elf. Did he just call these nasty smelly stinky ugly things friends? Not that Raevyn had much experience with humans to begin with, but she was definitely baffled by them. Besides weren't all humans slaves? At least that's what she thought. Her family had been in the slave trade back home, and the only humans she had ever dealt with where slaves. This was embarassing. To be freed by orcs that worked for human slaves.

Raevyn was about to say something else when Sarendara spoke again. Once again Raevyn was literally floored. This was NOT the same Sarendara. Either that bump on her head was a good thing, or she is an imposter Sarendara.

Raevyn looked to the human and gave a rather uneasy smile. Words where at the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't find the right ones. Hell just follow Sare's lead she thought. "Yes please release us. Surely we would be of much better use to you and this Great One you speak of alive. "