Erudessa leaped up a tree trunk to an outcropping branch to get a better view. The rough bark nipped at her palms on the way up, but she ignored it until she was safely perched. A few scratches marred her hands, nothing serious. She brushed away a few leaves scraping at her hood and watched her plan unfold.

Yanduin and Bethdul followed the Rangers from tree to tree. So far so good. The Rangers seemed to be headed for the wall at first blush, but their direction was a bit skewed. If they followed the known path in this region, it would take them within shouting distance of the wall before turning away, followed by a sharp reversal toward the Gap.

[i]The Gap! If they knew where they were going, I'd say they were headed for the one place our wall couldn't connect. But there's no way they know about that...is there?[/i] She dropped to the earth and trailed them, darting from cover to cover in silence. The further they went, the less doubt she had in her mind of their destination.

Erudessa motioned for Frandur and Henindal to approach her. They scrambled over and nodded. "Yes milady?" Frandur whispered.
"They're headed for the Gap. Frandur, teleport over, warn the company there, and start gathering scrap metal and wood. Take Henindal with you."
"Yes milady," they replied, then promptly vanished. Erudessa raised her arm to her lips and whispered into the bracelet, "Yanduin, Bethdul, engage."

On command, the two elves leaped to the earth and unleashed a barrage of crossbow fire at the Rangers. As soon as everyone was appropriately distracted, Erudessa bolted for the most concealed path she could find toward the Gap. She skidded to a halt, however, when a horrifying thought crossed her mind.

[i]I lost one.[/i]

She counted the enemy Rangers present. [i]One, two, three, four, five...I'm missing not one, but two![/i] If she couldn't track down the two missing Rangers, only heaven could know whether an ambush was in order. She almost called off the attack when she recalled seeing one of the Rangers drop off a cliff. Had one gone back to help the other? Panicking, Erudessa turned and raced back to the cliff where she last saw them. Sure enough, scratching noises reached her ears as she drew closer to the cliffside.

Eru swallowed hard, paused to regain her breath, and peered over the edge.

One of the soldiers was gravely wounded.
The other soldier carried him.

She drew back and laid against a rock, gripping her chest to calm her emotions. It wasn't just relief washing over her, but pity too. [i]Ignore this feeling, girl. You can't go helping the enemy. And you don't have time! Every second you dawdle risks Yanduin's and Bethdul's lives![/i] Yet, those old healer instincts kept tugging at her. Dead people she could deal with, and living people she could handle, but the wounded...they tugged at her heartstrings.

[i]Remember your training. Let them go.[/i]