[Child of the 7th Age]

Luindal had been the last to seek safety on the ledge. At first he had been wholly occupied by the pressing need to find a means of escape for his companions. After making sure his message had reached the Elves who remained behind on the Spirit, he had darted back and forth, making sure that Freyn attended to all the injured and that everyone was safely removed from the frigid waters.

At his suggestion, the Elves and Lossoth had strapped ropes about their waists, linking themselves together in groups of two or three. Once the rocks gave way, there would be a rush of water, and it would not do to have the smallest or weakest pushed under by the pounding waves. They would stand a better chance if they linked arms and helped each other to push through against the rushing water.

Now all he could do was sit and wait. Outiside, he could hear the welcome sound of picks and hands clawing away at the thick wall of stone and rubble imprisoning them, and watched as his own crew attempted to push out the stones from inside with some success. The water below now looked to be some four feet deep. They would need to move quickly when the last stone fell.

Yet still knawing at the back of Luindal's mind was the grim scene that had occurred earlier inside the tunnel. He had extended his thoughts outward and touched one of the Elves, trapped with his Lossoth companion inside a narrow cleft of rock with the water relentlessly pouring in. One instant, there had been a quavering response laden with fear, and the next, nothing: only emptiness and shadow. To leave behind two companions in a watery grave seemed a hard thing indeed when they had only been here for less than a day.

A thundering crash put an abrupt halt to these ruminations. Outside, two boulders had been pried loose and heaved aside from the entrance so that the hole was large enough for a man ofr Elf to get through as long as he bent low, crouching near the ground. The waves surged forward with great force, but close behind came a familiar Elvish voice. The next moment, one of the rescuers stood firm inside the cavern amid the swirling waters, urging them to spring down from the ledge and come forward to leave the cave as quickly as they could. In groups of two and three, they approached the opening and crawled through with difficulty, coughing and spluttering, as the waves beat rhythmically against the walls of the cavern. After a time, each one managed to push their way through to the outside. Thoroughly cold and drenched, they waited for the longboats to bear them to the safety of the ship.