"Wake up...! Snap out of it...!"

Caledorn awoke to the deafening sound of ringing in his ears. As his eyes opened he saw that he was on the ground, rubble surrounding him. Flicker was kneeling beside him, bow in hand. Splitting pain filled Caledorn's skull and he put both hands to his head.

"What happened?" He asked. As he pulled a hand away from his head he saw that it was covered in blood.

"The orcs had siege machines in the forest, they managed to destroy the portion of the wall we were on. They managed to take us completely by surprise." Flicker drew back his bow and let an arrow loose before turning back to Caledorn with a clean rag.

"This should staunch the blood flow until we can fight our way back to the dormitories." The ranger stood and offered Caledorn a hand up. "The orcs have swarmed most of the city by now."

"How did we survive?" The elven warrior asked as he took Flicker's hand and pulled himself up.

"By the grace of Eru," Flicker replied. "That, and yours truly managed to pull you here to relative safety." At this, the ranger winked.

"For that I thank you," Caledorn replied. As he wrapped the cloth around his head he winced slightly, for the pain was worse than he was accustomed to.

"We'll have to find our way through the alleys," Flicker said as he began to stride ahead. "The orcs are too many on the main road."

"How many elves did we lose?" Caledorn asked as he fell into step beside the ranger.

"Too many," Flicker replied with a weary sigh. "Most of the soldiers on the wall fell. The soldiers that stood against the orcs at the gate have fallen as well. I lost five of my own men at least."

"How many orcs are there?" Caledorn cast a furtive look towards the wall.

"Too many. I fear the worst for our friends," Flicker said. "But I saw them falling back to the observatory, so that's where we shall go... Whether it be to our friends or to death, that remains to be seen."

The two stealthily made their way through the back yards of several houses, making sure that the raiding orcs who were forcing their way into the homes did not see them. Screams and cries of despair filled the air, and Caledorn felt pain in his heart as he was forced to leave the victims to their fate. He was too badly injured to fight, and even had he been uninjured there were too many orcs to be able to save the unfortunate elves from their doom.

How many would die before the bloodlust of the orcs was sated? Caledorn already knew the answer. The orcs would not stop until every last elf was dead, for great was their hate for the Eldar. The thought of so many elves meeting their fates here was almost too much for Caledorn to bear, but still he carried on.

"Quickly, through here!" Flicker whispered as he climbed quietly through an open window into a burning house. The orcs seemed to have passed by it... They must have assumed that the inhabitants would burn to death.

Caledorn pulled himself through the window, wincing in pain as he did so. Evidently he had broken a rib or two in addition to the head injury... Unfortunate. He forced the pain from his mind as he often did when injured, and focused on the task at hand.

The elven warrior surveyed the house as he entered. The roof had partially fallen in, and the flames occupied half of the room already.

"Where to now?" Flicker asked, letting out a cough.

"The front door is blocked off," Caledorn replied, attempting to ward away the smoke with his hand. "Perhaps there is another window on the second floor that we can use to get onto the roofs."

Flicker hurried to the stairs, but frowned as soon as he began to ascend them.

"The stairs are blocked off as well! There's furniture in the way!"

"We have to move it!" Caledorn yelled over the roaring flames.

The two quickly made their way up to the top of the stairs where the furniture was piled. It seemed to Caledorn that it had been placed there intentionally.

"Be careful, I have a feeling someone's up there!" He warned Flicker. "Be at the ready, I'll move the furniture!"

The elf lifted a heavy wooden chair and threw it down the stairs as the ranger readied his bow. There were still three more chairs and a large desk blocking the way.

"I'll need help with this desk, it's quite heavy!" Caledorn exclaimed.

Flicker hurried to help, but drew his dagger just in case there was danger on the other side. As one they heaved the desk out of the way, and as they did the chairs went tumbling down the stairs as well.

Not wasting a second, Caledorn drew his bow with lightning speed and cleared the top of the stairs. Around the corner was a door.

"Most likely locked," Caledorn observed.

"Out of the way, this is my specialty," Flicker replied, flashing a confident grin. "Cover me just in case, though."

Caledorn could see the ranger silently counting down. When he reached one he gave the door a powerful kick, and down it went. Caledorn tensed and his fingers loosened on the bowstring, ready to release.

"Don't shoot!" A panicked voice exclaimed. Behind the door was an elf, and he stood protectively in front of what appeared to be his wife and three young children.

Caledorn immediately lowered his bow, but his ears remained alert to every sound. "You're not safe here," he said assertively.

"I know," the ellon replied, his voice shaking. "We're fortunate to have survived this long."

"Indeed you are," Flicker replied. One of the children, a young girl, smiled and pointed at the ranger.

"He has a beard!" She exclaimed, giggling and jumping up and down.

"Aye, I do! It's for scaring orcs away!" Flicker replied with a laugh. "And what's your name little one?"

"Lithiel!" She replied. "What's yours?"

"Well... My real name is Egalmoth, but I don't like it so I go by Flicker." The ranger smiled kindly.

"Flicker! Like the bird!" Lithiel exclaimed, clearly proud that she had made the connection.

"Aye lass, like the bird," Flicker replied. "You're a smart one, aren't you?"

The girl nodded, giving the ranger a shy grin.

"We have to go now," Caledorn replied. "The enemy is near."

At the elven warrior's words Lithiel and her brother, a young elf no more than five years old, began to cry.

"Shh, it's alright," Flicker said in a calm voice, while at the same time signaling towards the window. "My beard scares them away, remember? They won't touch you when I'm nearby. Follow the creepy dark armored elf, he'll lead us all to safety."

At this, Caledorn raised his eyebrows, and Flicker winked in response. The youngest elf boy ran to Caledorn and wrapped himself around the elf's leg. Caledorn let out an annoyed sigh and tried to shake him off, but the boy wouldn't budge.

"Uh... Would you mind, ah... Not doing that?" He asked the boy.

"Gelmir doesn't talk much yet..." The mother said. "I think he wants to stay with you though."

Caledorn let out another sigh. "I can't walk if he's attached to my leg."

At this the boy let go and pointed at Caledorn's shoulders.

"Fine. But just this once," Caledorn frowned as he reluctantly lifted the young elf onto his shoulders.

"We should be able to go from roof to roof," the father said. "The buildings all are close enough, all the way to the harbor."

"We're going to the observatory," Flicker replied. "Is there a way to get there?"

"There is, in fact the observatory is closer," the elf said.

"We should make haste," Caledorn said just as a loud thud sounded from downstairs. "The orcs are trying to get in."

As they made their way to the window, Lithiel tugged at Flicker's cloak. "I want a ride too!"

Flicker laughed as he hoisted the girl onto his back. "Up you go!"

"I can lead the way," the father said. "I know the path well, it's often more convenient than traveling the streets."

Just then a loud crash was heard from below as the orcs knocked the door in.

"Go, now!" Caledorn exclaimed, hurrying everyone through. He waited until they all passed before climbing out the window himself, Gelmir looking fearfully back at the orcs that were ascending the stairs.

The group hurried as fast as they could, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. The orcs seemed to have not been interested in pursuing them, instead proceeding to ransack the already burning house.

They continued until they came to a tall, thin tower. A door opened onto the rooftops, and they made their way inside one by one.

"I think we're safe," The father said breathlessly. "The door at the bottom is made of wrought iron, they won't bother to try opening it."

"We need to get to the observatory still," Caledorn said as he let Gelmir leap from his shoulders into his mother's waiting arms. "If we're to retake the city we must regroup with the others."

"You two go ahead," the father replied. "My family and I are safe here. The path to the observatory will surely be infested with orcs by now."

At his words Lithiel wrapped her arms around Flicker's neck, refusing to let go of him. "Bird man is staying with us! He'll keep the orcs away!"

Flicker gently pried her little arms from his neck and set her down with a smile. "Don't worry lass, we aren't going anywhere yet." He turned to Caledorn and pulled him out of hearing distance of the family.

"We can't leave them here. Iron wrought or not, the orcs will knock it down. They're planning to destroy the entire city; they won't just pass it by."

"We need to get to the observatory. More lives will be lost than these if we don't launch a counteroffensive in time." The elf drew a dagger and began polishing it, as if afraid to look Flicker in the eye.

"Listen, elf," Flicker practically growled. "Chances are once we get there we'll be stuck in there, there won't be a counteroffensive. So I'd rather save one family and die in this tower than get to safety myself and lose them."

Caledorn suddenly looked up and grabbed Flicker by the arm. "Don't you think I want to save them too? But we can't. They need us at the observatory."

"They might not even be alive anymore!" Flicker exclaimed. "Just because you're attracted to Taliel doesn't mean she's worth more than a whole family!"

Caledorn flinched. "What? What makes you think that has anything to do with it?"

"I've seen how you look at her. And yes, you're good at hiding your feelings. That's why it's all the more obvious when you let them slip."

Caledorn frowned. "That-That's not why."

"Then what is?" Flicker insisted.

"I had a family once. I saw all but one of them die in front of me. My father, my mother. My sister almost died too. That little girl... The one that seems to be fond of you. She looks just like my sister. I can't see this family die too... I just can't." Caledorn looked away, and Flicker thought he saw a tear fall down the elf's face. The ranger's expression softened, and he put a hand on Caledorn's shoulder.

"They won't die. We won't let them die. Do you hear me? We can protect them." Caledorn turned back to face the Flicker, and the ranger thought the elf looked more determined than before.

"We'll have to fortify the door then," he said, already moving into action.

"That's more like it!" Flicker said, smiling to himself. There was more to this elf than he first thought... He wasn't the stoic, emotionless elf that he thought he was. For some reason, that gave him hope.