[Nerindel]

As the darkness slowly lifted Taurëwen found herself lying on the cold damp earth. The vision of the Spider and it huge maw closing on her flashed through her mind. She tried to scream but nothing came out, not even her lips moved. She realised that most of her senses where impaired in some way or other by the spiders poison. "Get up!" she screamed in her mind, that not working she then focused her mind and after some mental struggle she managed unsteadily to raise to her feet. Her vision was just as foggy as her mind and she soon came to realise that hear hearing had been affected too.

Suddenly she saw a huge blurry mass in front of her, her mind raced as she realised how defenseless she was, her heart raced as she resolved that it was likely that she was going to die here, partially paralysed by the spiders poison and unable to defend her friends and their woodland home. As she closed her eyes waiting for death the regret of not telling Reynion how she felt filled her mind.

She slowly forced her eyes to open when the anticipated strike did not come, Through the blurriness she could see that the blurry mass that she had seen before was not moving, but as she blinked trying and clear her vision she saw a smaller blurred figure fall to the ground. "Nooooo!" she screamed in her mind, realising that one of her friends had just fallen and she could do nothing to help them.

Suddenly a numbness took her and her mind fell into delirious mutterings, every so often ceasing enough for her to be aware of what was going on around her. During one of these brief instances she felt strong but gentle arms wrapped around her waist, she sensed someone gently guiding her and sitting her down on the soft damp earth, then the moment was gone and the mutterings returned.

Taurëwen was aware of nothing else until they reached a small forest clearing, the poison was beginning to wear off, once coherent enough she instantly fumbled in her herb satchel for a small green vial that contained something that would lift the fogginess she still felt. She removed the stopper and swallowed a mouthful of the liquid, she started coughing violently as its fiery taste burned in her throat. "Are you alright!" came Arië's concerned voice next to her, "yes, I am fine" she reassured the young elf, "please will you administer this to anyone else who has been affected by poison!" she continued earnestly placing the vial in the she-elf's hands. "I will, but you must come quickly, It is Ihwesta and Gil" Taurëwen saw the pleading in the young elf's eyes and nodding once she followed the young elf to Ceros who was gently laying Ihwesta next to Gil. Taurëwen's usually gentle eyes went wide with horror as she saw the extent of their wounds.

"Can you help them?" Ceros asked her not looking from the injured pair, quickly examining the wounds on both elves she turned back to Ceros and nodded "Yes, I think I can, but I will need help." "Yes anything, just tell me what you need" he answered earnestly, "I need a fire,next to me if possible, boiled water and two volunteers" she urged him gently, he nodded once the set about making the fire.

Taurëwen then turned back to her two patients, The stump where Gil's hand had once been was still bleeding profusely and the temporary dressing that one of the others must have put on was now dark red soaked with the young elf's life blood, just then Eruwen and Arië came up beside her asking how they could help. "Eruwen! take off Gil's dressing and clean his wound, then press the palm of your hand as hard as you can against it to stop the bleeding, then I will sear the end" Eruwen nodded and went to Gil's side. Taurëwen could hear Ceros building the fire next to her as she turned to Arië "Now we will tend to Ihwesta!" she removed her belt knife and gently cut away the material surrounding the wound, she then took one of her water skins and gently washed the wound, she saw Arië's eyes widen at the extent of the damage. "Do not worry, we can fix this. " She reassured the young elf. "Here, press your hand on the wound to stop the flow of blood while I get what I need" gently she pressed Arië's hand on the wound, then rummaged in her pack for the small wooden box that held a fine silver needle. She carefully took it out then pulled a single strand of her strong golden hair from her head and threaded it through the needle.

Turning back she saw that the fire was lit and Ceros was now sat between the two wounded elf's, helping both Arië and Eruwen with their patients. She sat her knife blade in the flames and turned the needle point in the flames for a few seconds, "Ceros, hold the wound closed so I can sew it up," He immediately did as she asked. "Arië! Arië!" she cried to the stunned elf , "I need you to keep the wound clean while I work, can you do that?" Arië nodded solemnly and took the water skin and began cleaning the blood away. Taurëwen worked carefully but relentlessly to stitch up the wounds on Ihwesta's leg, once done Arië helped her to bind the leg. She will need some kind of support, she told the others while she wiped her hands on the skirts of her dress "and she must drink this when she wakes" she continued putting some sage leaves into the water Ceros had boiled.

"Ceros I need you to hold down Gil, I have to sear the stump to stop the bleeding or he will die from the loss!" Ceros did as she asked and held Gil's shoulders. Eruwen her hands heavily soaked in Gil's blood held his legs, realising what Taurëwen meant to do. lifting the now red hot blade from the fire she placed it on Gilbereth's stump searing the end and preventing both the bleeding and any infection. She winced as Gil awoke screaming with the added pain she had inflicted, but it was short lived as he passed out once more, the smell of burnt flesh filled the glade as she made up a yarrow root pulice and applied it to the wound, then with Ceros's help she bound up the stump, telling him to make sure that Gil also drank the sage soaked infusion. "It will numb the pain." she told them softly

Taurëwen then got up and walked, where she did not know or care she just had to get away. She only got as far as the outskirts of the clearing when she fell to her knees, exhausted both physically and mentally. The tears streamed down her face stinging the scratch one of the spiders had given her. "Why is this happening?" she cried staring at her blood soaked hands "I swear that I will not Rest until I see this darkness defeated" she yelled defiantly into the darkness of the trees, then she fell against the nearest tree and let her tears for herself, her friends and the once great wood fall, until her eyes had no more to give.

[ August 25, 2003: Message edited by: Nerindel ]