2: ACROSS THE PLAINS OF AZANULBIZAR

Tiphereth had remained at the edge of the stream as Lac'Nala, slew the Olog-hai. Never had he seen a blade as sharp nor a warrior as skilled with it's use to sever a tree trunk forearm of a Troll. "Ashantra's Will." he swore under his breath.

He watched the one called Ruulgak disappear into the distance, and though he could have still easily caught up with the creature's giant strides, he doubted he would fair as well as the ranger against such a monster.

Lac stood with his sword held up before him gimmaced as he moved, then looked upon Tiphereth and Brianna, "We have not more time, gather the others we must flee. Soon this meadow will be crawling with Orc, Olog-hai and worse, for where you find Olog-hai Uruk-hai are not far behind. Sauron knows we have escaped and suspects where we head. We must warn the Rhovanians that war is now upon thier doorstep. I fear war as already crossed into thier lands and the peoples of the borders my already have been laid waste in if path." Lac then moved quickly towards Ssinjin and Beldegir.

"Come quickly, leave what is not prepared, we must travel with the speed of the great eagles in flight. Sauron's armies are will soon be on the move and snapping at our heals. The lives of innocents rest in our hands."

As the six companions embarked on the crossing of the barren valley of Azanulbizar, the low rumble of an approaching storm echoed from the southeast.



Tiphereth, able to match the speed of a galloping mount, easily ran alongside the others. With each push of his powerful legs, he floated in the air, gliding and descending as if he were running underwater. There was not much that could elude their sight, as the bald steppe and low grasses offered no means of concealment for their enemies or themselves for that matter and so occasionally, the Deithir leaped into the air and scanned the horizon from the higher vantage point as he remained suspended, floating on the air.

He takes note of Brianna's hindered movement and realizes that her injuries from the Black Troll's blow was much more serious then she lead everyone to believe. Saying nothing he continues to playfully skip across the dried grassland and desert steppe the spans far to the east and judges that they are an hour away from the impending storm.

Jack comes up beside Brianna but does not look at her. He just stares straight ahead. "You put yourself in danger by not being honest." His voice is low so that only she can hear him for the moment. "Do not be afraid to ask for help."

"I am not talking about coddling. I am talking about your health. You are injured and need help." When she stumbles his pale hand reaches out to steady her. "Do you have a desire to see Death? That is where you will end up unless you admit that you need help."

"All right but don't tell me. I know nothing of the healing arts. All of my knowlegde lies within the other realm. You need to inform one of the others. Perhaps your friend up there can help with that or even the ranger."

Jack comes up beside her again. "Not once did I say no. If you truly want to be healed I am not the one to ask. I would probably do more harm than good. Now I apologize if I have offended you but if you do not ask someone for help I will do it for you." With that the ghostwalker steps back a bit.

"And what of your new friends? What will happen to them if there is another fight? And trust me there will be. The evil is all around. Will they be able to count on you or will your injuries keep you from aiding them? There is a larger picture that you must look at beyond the here and now." He looks over at her now. "Perhaps I should take you to meet someone that did not ask for help when they should have."

"If you can talk me through it I will wrap your ribs for you. That is if you trust me enough to do that." Despite his lack of social skills Jack is being rather nice to the young woman. "The choice is, of course, yours to make."

Nodding Jack calls out to the group and lets them know what is going on. He stands in front of Brianna as he pulls an old shirt from his bag. He starts tearing it strips. "Do what you need to do to get ready. This may hurt a bit."

The ghostwalker binds her ribs tightly, noticing the bruising on her back. "I hope you understand that you will need more than just this when we finally make camp. You need an expert healer to look at these injuries."

Lac, walks up to Brianna and the one called Jack. He watches as Jack wraps her ribs, and listens as Jack explains the need for rest and proper healing measures. " Brianna, can you continue for another leagu or so? Then we should be at the ruines of watch tower of Rohanathila. There we can rest for the night." Lac said

Jack stays at the back of the group a few paces behind them. He keeps a watchful eye on Brianna as well as their surroundings. At the mention of the watchtower he has a vague memory of the place that quickly fades.

Lac smiled and said "Good it will not be long and will be able to help with your discomfort. But now we must make haste." Lac said as they pressed on. Soon the arrived at the ruined watchtower and climbed the steps to the floor and ruined walls of the watch tower. "We can rest here for the night, from here we can watch the approaches. These walls will aford us some protection, but we must be prepared to flee at a moments call. Rest and eat as you can, but we must have no fire, for it can be seen easily." Lac instructed. "After I attened to Brianna I wil take first watch."