Part Fifty-Five
It was night and moonrise when Setsugekka saw the large black horse in her path where the woods met the wetland, and she took it as an ill omen, though her curiosity led her to follow the beast. She came upon Dale in this way, following Nightmare, and he was alive, but unconscious. Setsugekka determined this in a hasty examination. She rose then, bowed toward the moon in the sky, thanked the god for leading her to a place she was needed, and apologized for not recognizing the horse for a helpful sign sent from his shadow half.
Setsugekka removed her pouch fro her shoulder and removed some tools and medicines. She quickly set up the little burner and stove Her Master had provided her and then filled the small matching pot from the river to boil water.
Her patient was an Elf, though his ears and manner of dress were strange to her. Her Guardians did not often allow her to meet strangers, and it was unusual she should be without them, but their camp had been sent into a whirlwind of activity and near panic by a report from a scout, which Setsugekka had not been privy to. In the confusion, they had not pursued her when she wandered off this time.
The Elf was soon undressed and covered in Setsugekka's outermost robe. When the water was hot, Setsugekka prepared a restorative. She used her sleeve to hold the heated pot and poured some of the brew into a little cup that matched all of the potions set Her Master had given her. Setsugekka then lifted Dale's head by placing her hand behind and put the cup to his lips to make him drink. Some of the potion dribbled from his mouth, but she saw that the Elf swallowed reflexively, and that seemed a good sign.
When Dale woke, his vision was clouded. He could feel that he lay on mossy ground beneath some soft cloth, it seemed the Wizard stove was nearby, providing some small warmth and warming what smelled like tea. He could hear the river and some bird calls. He could tell that it was night and that the moon shone above. Then he saw the figure lean over him. "Tsuki," he said.
Setsugekka was very surprised that the Elf spoke any of her language, as her Guardians only spoke Elven to her. "Yes, I am a priestess of the moon. Can you tell me how you are feeling and how you came to be washed to shore near the wetlands?"
Dale did not understand the words, but the more important thing was that Tsuki was not near him and he had happened into the care of some stranger. A girl, from the sound of her voice. Dale blinked hard and strained to see. "I thought you were Tsuki. I do not understand your language."
Clearly, Setsugekka thought, the Elf only knew the one word, or perhaps in his language there was some word that sounded the same. "What do you mean by 'Tsuki', Elf? I am a priestess of the moon. Do you understand?"
The girl seemed to be saying that she was not Tsuki, but Miko. "Miko," Dale said. "My name is Dale."
"Dale?" she asked, wondering if this was his name. To Dale's ears, the pronunciation was very strange.
"Dale. Dale. You understand? It means...like a valley..." Dale strained to see clearly and tried to explain in gestures.
Setsugekka stood again. Now the Elf seemed to be making rude gestures and she did not like what he seemed to be suggesting. "I am a priestess. I am devoted to my god."
Dale sensed that he had said something wrong. He sat and the robe slipped to his lap. He supposed, however young, the girl must be a sort of healer or wisewoman to take such license and yet maintain such a haughty tone. Dale bowed in the direction the girl seemed to be and apologized for offending her.
This gesture Setsugekka understood, even though she did not know the words. She returned to Dale and offered him some tea, which she had brewed after the medicine. The potions set worked equally well for making tea while traveling.
Dale bowed again, took the little cup in his hands, said thanks, then sipped the tea. He blinked hard again, trying to see.
"There is a lump on your head. Is your vision clouded?"
Dale shook his head. "I do not understand."
Setsugekka sighed. Perhaps her Guardians were correct in keeping her close to camp, when they were not with Her Master. This Elf did not even speak Elven...but then, perhaps the Elves here would not expect her to know their language. Setsugekka was about to attempt Elven when Dale drew an image in the soil nearby with his finger.
It was a maple leaf, and then he followed, half-blindly, with the image of a tree. He did not need to see to know the shapes of leaves or trees. "What do you call the tree with a leaf like this?"
Setsugekka understood he was saying that 'tree' was tree and 'leaf' was leaf. It seemed he might be asking the name of a tree with that particular leaf. Setsugekka looked at the drawing and then at Dale. His coloring did seem to resemble a particular sort of tree, and it seemed he had drawn the leaf of that tree. "Momiji," Setsugekka whispered. "Are you an Elf, or a nature spirit appearing as an Elf?"
Dale still did not understand.
"Momiji-san, a tree wants to be in the wood. Are you lost?"
Dale frowned.
"Your eyes do fail you." She raised her hands to Dale's eyes and spoke a blessing of her god.
Dale blinked again and his vision cleared. His head still hurt and he wished he might have something to eat, or a little more tea, but at least he could move and see. The girl did look somewhat like Tsuki, perhaps she was more correctly a young woman, but it remained that she was mortal and young. "What Wizardry is that?" he asked.
Setsugekka knew that word. Her Master used it sometimes. "It is not 'Wizardry.' I am a priestess." She gestured to the moon above.
"I thought the moon was male," Dale said wearily. He felt, suddenly, that something was approaching. He was not certain whether it was a sound or smell that alerted him; it happened so automatically. "Something is coming," Dale whispered. He looked for a weapon. "Where is my sword?" Even as he asked, he saw his sword in its scabbard and straps nearby.
Setsugekka could see that something had disturbed the Elf and she understood their senses were very keen, in some ways, better than those of a priestess, in other ways, not so keen. One of her Guardians was approaching.
She gathered all her things quickly, but left her outer robe with Dale.
"Miko!" he hissed as she ran toward the woods, but she did not answer or turn back.
By nightfall, Beryl was also moving again. He had found Duma's horse wandering and now had seven of their animals with him. They had rested and fed on marsh grasses during the day, and now, though they could use some more food and a good brushing, he was assured that they were all alive, uninjured and able to walk. He had been most concerned for Brethil, because the mare was traveling while with foal, but happily, Brethil seemed not to have lost the unborn foal.
Beryl had a rough sense of where he was, in the wetlands above the Silver Wood and west of the pass that led into the domain that had belonged to the Dark Lord. He had strayed this far prior to the war, when he had sometimes spied for one Wizard or another on the place they suspected their enemy was regaining power. To the north were the treacherous Broken Hills, and to the northeast a haunted place he did not wish to visit or dwell on. He feared there he would see shades he had known in life.
Beryl had decided to travel north, for the reason that the Wizard ship had made a landing further north. He did not know where his companions had come to land, if they had been up to traveling before night, or if in fact, all had made it to shore. He decided that, not knowing where they might be, he should first head for the worst place he might find them, in case they were there and in need of rescue. The worst place now seemed anywhere closer to the Orcs.
If he found any companions, they would make a hasty escape directly east to find the road that had served to connect the Dark Lord's domain with his subjects in the south. Now that road could lead them into the Silver Wood, recently tended and populated by Elves who would be friendly to them.
It had not always been called the Silver Wood, but this region between the river and the Dark Lord's realm had since ancient times been associated with the moon such that many places and landmarks in the area, whatever the local language used to describe them, had 'moon' in them. The wood was only recently controlled and populated by Elves, and in their language, the words for silver and moon shared common roots. To say something was silver was to say it was the color of moonlight. As other Sylvan Elves already populated the Green and Golden woods, Silver seemed more fitting than Moon for the name.
Beryl hoped he did not find his companions to the north. If they were injured, burdened by packs, or trying to pick their way through the wetlands without Duma or Dale to guide them, then the would be slow in finding the wood and vulnerable to Orc attack.
Laurel had become the leader of the remaining party. She silently cursed Gwindor. The Elf seemed so capable of leading and so fearful of it and he had left them to look for Tsuki. Laurel could tell that Galadhiel was hurt. They all understood that Gwindor and Tsuki were not lovers, even if the had at one time been so, but it still hurt a female when her intended ran off risking himself for some fellow, especially at a time when said female could use his help.
Laurel was very much convinced that females should be given opportunities to learn, to see the world and to be considered as valuable as males, but she would not deny they did tend to be smaller and physically weaker in the intelligent races. Kato and Fei carried their proportionally more-than-fair share of gear, so it was not a matter of being disappointed in all males, just Gwindor, and maybe Tsuki, because they had become as emotional as females were accused of being, just when cold logic would have been valuable.
There was a lot of gear, and apart from some of the sailcloth and rope, that they had used to secure the packs against the water, and Duma's bloody shirt, which had been abandoned to prevent tracking by scent, five of them, including the Halfling, carried it all.
Apart from cursing a few males in her mind, without real intent that harm came to them, Laurel did not shirk from the role. Kato had found a damp map to consult but once that was done, his particular skills were not very useful to their party. There were no holes to dig, deals to make, songs to sing, or tea to brew. There were no strangers to charm. Fei also, though he did his part in carrying weight, did not have experience finding his way through marshes or navigating by night.
Lenaduiniel and Galadhiel had useful abilities. They were strong for their size and had keen vision, so that Laurel could consult them as to the position of landmarks in moonlight and choose a path. Lenaduiniel had leadership ability in the sense of being diplomatic and courtly. She was not well suited to forcing friends to march through mud in winter when she herself felt weary.
Laurel had taken this role. She insisted they carry everything. She insisted they keep moving. She commanded they make no camp or cook fire. In the absence of Tsuki and Dale, she had been traveling with Kato longest, and she knew that whatever the real reason for their journey was, it was something that demanded secrecy and not being captured or killed by Orcs.
None of the four with her would give up before she did. The Elves would last several days on little food and on a march. Kato, though little, was from a hearty race, and though he would complain all the way about missing meals and fire and clean soft beds, he would probably be the last to quit. Fei would not quit, just because he was a Man and Laurel was his lover. He would never quit the march before her, though he might suggest a halt if he believed she was on the verge of dropping. He would do that for her. He had been very loyal to her even before they had met Kato, Tsuki, or Dale, and now he was absolutely devoted.
It was a mutual sort of feeling. Laurel believed Fei's particular skills ill-suited to long journeys through wilderness, but she admired him for remaining. She believed he had skills that were valuable to their race as a whole. They might all die, and their effort would be remembered when Fei's writings were translated. Someone would gain knowledge, inspiration or enjoyment from the reading.
We really could use Gwindor or Tsuki to carry things, Laurel thought again. At least Duma and Dale had excuses. They had been injured. Beryl said Tsuki had been shot, but that had not stopped him from going after Dale.
Maybe Dale was dead. Laurel hoped he was alive but...maybe she should not blame Tsuki for running after him. It did not take long for an unconscious person to drown in a river and reaching them quickly could save their life. It probably would have been wrong to just count him as dead and remain to help those obviously alive.
Laurel wanted to be angry at Beryl, but leading the horses away from them had probably been a good idea. Beryl was so strange, Laurel thought. He would do some queer thing such as deprive them of horses just so he might later ride up to rescue them. He had near infinite useful skills, but he seemed to make everything so dramatic. Lenaduiniel sometimes whispered that she believed him senile.
It was probably safe to be angry with Gwindor. Laurel would keep herself angry as long as needed to get those following her out of this marshy land.
At that moment, Gwindor was asleep at Tsuki's side. They lay on a bed of reeds covered by a nearly dry horse blanket, with a small fire of reeds and driftwood nearby, to provide warmth. After seeing Tsuki and his second horse to shore, preparing a bed for Tsuki, building a fire, and tending Tsuki's wound, Gwindor had exhausted all his reserves of strength and will. Tsuki was no more prepared for travel, as his body still fought to recover from poison, loss of blood, and long expose to the cold water of the river.
They had slept the remainder of the day, since coming to shore and they continued sleeping into the night, simply unable to keep a watch or care that the light of their fire might attract enemies as well as allies.
Duma slept also. Ugarit had brought him safely to the east bank in her stolen rowboat. Her leg was still healing, but she had days of practice walking with crutches and her thigh was bound, so the injury hindered her little. She had dug a hollow in the moist earth, lined it with grass and reeds that grew in the wetlands, and then carried Duma and Tashmetum from the boat to lie in the hollow. She had propped the boat over the hollow to provide more shelter and then gone hunting. Her arms ached from rowing, but she did not mind the pain.
She brought the birds she had killed back toward the shelter, built a smoky fire of any expendable and combustible materials she could find, coated the birds with clay from the riverside and put them over the fire to cook. Ugarit then lay in the hollow between Duma and Tashmetum and rested. She did not care that her fire smoked. If Duma's companions found them, she was certain they would be grateful she had saved him and not harm her. If the Orcs found them, she would be safe, and perhaps Marduk would not mind that Duma was there.
If Sarpanit was still with them, she might question whether Ugarit was truly unspoiled. It seemed, now, a pointless thing to worry over, but as Ugarit was truly unspoiled, she felt she should defend the fact to Sarpanit.
Ugarit still only half understood why Duma had refused her. She supposed it was some peculiar Elven distinction between receiving and taking. She did believe he had been offended, but so she was offended. She had a bad feeling alike to foolishly abandoning something that was advantageous. It had not all been breeding instinct. If she were truly suffering from such, she would not have attempted to escape those Clanless Easterners. She might also have gone back to the her Clan when they came to the harbor instead of determining to prove she could cross the river on her own first. No, she had actually thought Duma a suitable mate. She did not understand why that was her choice, she only knew that it was, and this gave her a bad feeling alike to picking and eating a bad mushroom when she had meant only to pick good ones and knew well what they looked like.
To the North, Marduk had his scouts tracking the females of Death-shadow's party and the Halfling with them. There was possibly one other with them, but the tracks definitely seemed to show the Halfling and the witch. Observations from the boat told them that the female Elves and perhaps one Man were with them. They were heavily burdened and, in some areas, it seemed the Elves might be leaving footprints.
The Orcs knew that Death-shadow and Duma had been knocked from the boat; the Orc who had shot Duma had already been punished. Marduk might have killed him, but he had considered that Duma was also at fault for putting himself in the arrow's path. Marduk hoped Duma and Death-shadow were both alive. He should be the one to kill Death-Shadow, and if Duma did not please him, Marduk would be the one to kill him. There had been ten in that party. Five were soon to be tracked down, two had landed much further south, if they had landed, Green-cloak and his horses had been seen making their way to the bank, apart from the others, and the Wizard and one Elf unaccounted for. Marduk was not certain what had happened to them, but the Wizard was likely occupied looking for Death-shadow and would not be able to help his other companions.
Two smoky fires to the south said that perhaps some who had been injured or separated from their companions were alive and on land.
Marduk was determined to find them soon. He had learned something else. The stay Orcs he had taken into the Clan told him that east of the river the very shadows leapt from the woods to slay Orcs. There was only one Death-shadow, and Marduk had been tracking him in the west for several cycles of the Silver Face. To Marduk, this meant that the woods to the south sheltered moving trees, which Orcs were smart to avoid, or else some very tricky Elves. Of course, Orcs did not consider it smart to avoid Elves, they considered it smarter to attack and kill them, unless they were outnumbered. An Orc avoided Elves in large numbers and was smart to do so.
Death-shadow had tried hiding with Witches, running into horse-country, and now his party seemed to plan to avoid Marduk by entering a wood that was unfriendly to Orcs.
Marduk would have them before they reached the woods.
As soon as Dale's clothing and gear was reasonably dry he was on the move. He did not have his cloak and the many useful things concealed in its pockets, but he had all his weapons. He had not been willing to pack them away and had instead had secured everything to his person with extra care. He did not yet feel well, but he could see and walk, and so he decided it was best to look for his friends, rather than let them wonder if he were alive and on land. He did not know if Tsuki or Duma had made it from the river alive, and he would have been saddened to the point of mad hysterical laughter, if he were not at the same time so determined not to allow Marduk to defeat him.
Nightmare would have carried him, but Dale did not ask him to. Instead, he walked beside the large horse, with his fingers in a harness ring. They traveled north, toward the columns of smoke rising into the night sky.
Tsuki was awake, but resting, when Dale camp upon the simple camp. Dale removed the blanket from Tsuki and laid himself in its place. Tsuki lifted his arms and held Dale firmly. After a silence, Tsuki said, "If you and Nightmare made it to shore, then I am certain Duma did also."
Dale winced in Tsuki's embrace.
"I cast a spell to protect and guide you to shore."
"I sighted smoke from two fires, and here is only one," Dale said, lifting his head from Tsuki's chest. "There is another camp north of here. I will continue to look for him...for all of them..."
"It is good you came looking? Are you well enough? I feel I can travel, but I am afraid I needed this time to recover and have not yet sought the others...I would have come looking for you if I were stronger. Gwindor is well, but needs the sleep. I would do better riding, but I fear Moon-shadow also seems unwell."
"Did she lay down?"
"Yes, but she got up again."
Dale climbed from Tsuki and looked to the horses. They had found each other and were grazing on some grasses nearby. Dale went to Moon-shadow and examined her. He frowned as he looked back to Tsuki, who was dressing in his dry, but cold, clothing. "She miscarried."
"Miscarried?"
"Failed to carry her young to full term."
"Lost a foal. I worried that it was something of that nature. I was only beginning to suspect. We should not have sent her into the river."
Dale sighed. "It could not really be helped. Perhaps Beryl will know if she needs particular care now. I have only general understanding of animals. You can ride Nightmare. He will let you."
"Beryl's horse also carried a foal, I hope that Brethil is well. I am sorry, it was likely Nightmare sired this one."
"It is sad of course, but we can only care for Moon-shadow now."
"Dale," Gwindor said, waking, "I am so happy to see you well."
"Not very well, only determined it not show," Dale said, forcing a laugh. "Can you travel?"
"I am a Ranger."
Dale smiled and then returned his attention to the horses as Tsuki and Gwindor finished dressing and removing traces of their camp.
Tsuki came shortly to mount Nightmare and saw the robe over the horse's back. He asked Dale how he had come by it. "I do not know how to explain. I think I met a girl at the edge of the wood, but she was so strange and left so quickly that I half suspect it was a dream. She looked like you. She even spoke your language."
"I know this garment is something made in the east," Tsuki said. "This girl did not explain who she was?"
"She did not speak the Common Speech, not that considered common in the west, at any rate. I think her name was Miko."
"Miko. The word sounds familiar. I think perhaps it is a title, rather than a name."
"What title?"
"I do not remember, if I knew."
"You speak the language."
"Yes, but there are words that might not be used every day in conversation, and I have been in the west so long..." Tsuki shook his head. "A girl, from the east, richly dressed and unescorted?"
"And...she had a Wizard stove similar to yours, knowledge of herbs and potions and some ability with healing spells, I think. Maybe she was one of the gods or spirits only appearing as a girl."
"If we make it to the woods, we should be wary and look for her. It does seem a strange story."
Dale nodded and put out his hands to boost Tsuki to Nightmare's back. They searched for the campsite they had sighted by its fire, with the two Elves walking beside the horses.
Ugarit did not scent the horses until Dale already had his hands on her arms. He smelled mainly of dampness, like all the wetlands, and Tsuki had kept the horses behind. Ugarit screamed for Duma and he woke. Before he could even recognize Dale, Duma hissed at him.
Dale laughed as if mad, but he was quite calculating in his actions. "Whose Orc are you?" he asked, the calm in his voice surprising Duma.
Duma sat up and looked first to Ugarit pinned to the reeds within the hollow and then to Dale.
"He is mine," Ugarit said as she struggled. "I pulled him from the river and brought life back into him."
Dale did not look at her, but at Duma, though he did not speak to either. "Tsuki, come take the baby."
"Duma! Death-shadow is the enemy of the Orcs! He proves it now! You must help me!" Ugarit cried.
"No," Duma said and then continued slowly, "I am not your Orc. I am grateful you kept me alive, but I have also kept you alive before, and so it only means we are even and neither must belong to the other. I am Dale's Orc...because...I believe he is not the enemy of the Orcs, not even you, now."
"Duma!" Ugarit whimpered.
Duma pressed his lips together and inhaled deeply through his nose. He let the breath go slowly and then looked to Dale. "You should bind her hands. It will not look good for her if she is unbound. Marduk may believe she has betrayed him and is our willing bargaining piece. I know you want to harm her as little as possible. Ugarit's reputation within the Clan is important to her...necessary."
Dale smiled because Duma understood his plan, and he nodded at Duma's suggestion. "We will bind her before the meeting, even if I must make a rope of hair.
"You mean to trade me back to Marduk again?" Ugarit asked.
"I must assume that some of my friends have been captured, and consider that some may have suffered worse fates. Two unspoiled females should be useful in negotiations. It is two?"
Duma growled irritably.
"Dark Fire on you! Let me go! I will say that you have spoiled me just to ruin your bargain!" Ugarit tried to throw Dale from her, but she had only one good leg.
Dale grinned down at her. "And I will draw virgin blood with my whip handle just to prove my point."
Duma laughed. He did not really with to see Dale torment Ugarit, but he had a rather dark sense of humor. Ugarit turned her head toward him and glared until Duma stifled the laughter.
From the grasses of the wetlands, several sets of eyes watched the Elf overtake the Orcs. One among them was clothed and hidden by a dark mossy-green, travel-stained cloak as he crouched in the muck. The others wore only skin dye, lengths of their bata cloth wrapped or draped where modesty required, and further camouflage of mud and grass where experience taught them it would be most effective. "These bunglers are who your Rangers choose to guard our most important messenger, Anca?" Khyarhrondo asked the cloaked Man.
Captain Cinsley winced, almost imperceptibly, but enough that the Rómendar could see. They said his own name was difficult to pronounce and that the one they had given him simply meant 'mouthpiece,' but they seemed to amused when they spoke it. In truth, giving the Man such a name was alike to calling him by a number or letter, but among their people, the word also had the connotation of foul trap, as well as mouthpiece. They, who sometimes simply called themselves the Eldest, appreciated that the Man served their same Master, but they could not respect him fully, as he was manipulating his own people to aid their cause, and traitors could never be fully trusted.
Cinsley's war-learned hatred of Orcs kept him loyal to his present conspirators, but if he stopped to think about their own motives for ridding the land of Orcs, he might perceive himself to suddenly be on the wrong side.
Lord Khyarhrondo turned his head and spoke quietly to his granddaughter, "Go back to the camp and stay with Setsugekka. We can ill afford to have her escape our control."
Annavala blinked assent. Her grandfather and Lord did not only speak of Their Master's ward escaping, but being guarded by those of their race who were perhaps more loyal to their Lord Forhrondo than to the plan in general. One of their line must be with the Priestess.
Once Annavala had slipped away, Khyarhrondo addressed those remaining. "The Little Man must survive to bring his message to Our Master; all the rest are expendable," he said, "Anca, go back and have word sent to our Master."
"Perhaps you need my advise in dealing with the Rangers."
"I need nothing from you now," Khyarhrondo said firmly, though he kept his voice low. He had learned that in the lands of the west Rangers were believed stealthy, but Anca was clumsy and loud compared to his people. He crept from his hiding place and led the way north, over the wetlands, leaving the Man behind.
Marduk snapped his whip. "They are in sight! Run! Take them alive, and then I will say which ones may die!"
"They are closing!" Lenaduiniel called, near breathlessly. Even she and Galadhiel were feeling weak. The swim and their march combined had tired them. Already Laurel had cast spells to give them strength to go on, but Lenaduiniel was afraid it was only the magic that sustained them and that it relied on Laurel's will, which was just as exhausted as their bodies.
Laurel turned and dropped the packs she carried and loosed the rest from her back. "We cannot run anymore. We have done our best in coming this far south, so that others may have some chance of reaching us in time to make a rescue, but we cannot depend on it. I know that it is important Kato continue, there is no time to explain why or how! Galadhiel, I ask you, if there is any strength in you, drop all you carry and lead Kato to the wood. You others may do as you see fit, but I shall stay here and face these Orcs, whatever the outcome may be!"
Galadhiel was tired and did not wish to leave Laurel, whom she was fond of, but she was a Ranger and understood that Kato had a mission to carry out and that she was the last one left with a duty to protect him. She loosed all her packs and lifted Kato from the ground, even as he was trying to decide whether or not to carry a supply of food.
Fei dropped his load of luggage, drew his sword and hurried to Laurel's side. "I would stay with you," he said.
"I am grateful."
"The end of our story may be written in blood."
Laurel nodded. She could see many Orcs running toward them. "If we are to die today, I hope we die together."
"Beryl will come," Lenaduiniel said. "I will buy all the time my arrows can afford. He will come."
Laurel hoped it was true, but she could see the Orcs closing and there was no sign of Beryl or the horses. He would not reach them before they were forced into a loosing battle.
The battle was short. Dog ran past them to pursue Galadhiel and Kato. And though Lenaduiniel's arrows, Fei Shih's sword, and Laurel's staff caused many injuries to Orcs, they were overcome in their exhaustion by the greater numbers. Fei received a blow that knocked him to the ground, and was left for dead by the Orcs, while Laurel screamed his name, even as the Orcs were leading her by her hair.
Lenaduiniel was captured by Sarpanit. The last arrow she fired was caught in Sarpanit's hand before it could strike her, and Sarpanit's sword had a greater reach than Lenaduiniel's knives.
"Horses! Let us flee!" one of the Orcs said.
"Dog! Where is he?" Marduk asked.
Dog and Galadhiel both lay in a puddle with arrows in them, and Kato
was crouched nearby, his green cloak drawn about his body, fearful of
moving. He did not know where the arrows had come from, and he could not
believe any allies of his would risk shooting Galadhiel just to dispatch
the small Orc.