"Boromir!" Faramir cried, tremendous relief clear in his voice. He reached out his hand to his big brother and pulled him to his feet. Boromir swayed uneasily, his eyes still fixed on Lurbak's dead body.

Faramir gripped his brother by the shoulders, trying to shake him out of his reverie, "It had to be done," he said firmly, mistaking Boromir's silent triumph for regret.

Boromir glanced quickly over his shoulder. The Orcs were beginning to band together, recovering from their momentary confusion. "Hurry!" Faramir hauled on Boromir's arm, moving before his brother could resist.

Faramir ran back towards the cave, pulling on Boromir's hand to make him move. They reached the tunnel entrance and plunged into the antechamber before Boromir could even wonder why they were not running in the opposite direction to home.

The antechamber quickly split into two passages. The one on the left being the tunnel the Orcs had taken them up through for the fight. The right, the wider of the two, being the original entrance the two boys had used upon their first entry.

Faramir pushed his brother to the right, thrusting his sword into Boromir's hands.

"Wait, Faramir," Boromir breathed, leaning heavily against the wall to support his leg. "What are we doing here? We must get away . . now . . before the Orcs return."

Faramir was already backing towards the left passage. "Hide in the tunnel entrance until they have passed," he said quickly, pressing one hand over his sore ribs. "Then you must destroy the supports for the left tunnel. We will trap them inside their own caves!"

Boromir stood for a moment in shock, thousands of possible disasters filling his mind. But Faramir was already passing into the passage. "Once more you must trust me! It is worth the risk." The voice echoed through the darkness, as Faramir disappeared, "Father would kill us anyway if we returned without it."

Boromir's heart ached as he realised the real reason for Faramir's return.

"Faramir!" he yelled, "Faramir!" There was no reply. With a cry of anger and frustration Boromir slammed his fist into the wall. The pain cleared his mind and helped him to focus and control his breathing. He slunk into the darkness of the right-hand tunnel, following his brother's instructions however foolish he thought them.

The Horn, the cursed Horn! It wasn't worth the risk! They could have been half way home by now. Agh . . . Faramir and his stubborn ide. . .

But the Orcs were coming, swarming towards the entrance like flies to a dead animal. Boromir pressed himself closer to the rock wall and forced himself to breathe silently as they thundered through the mouth of the tunnel. As Faramir had supposed, they immediately took the left passage.

The wider right-hand passage, Boromir realised, was never actually used by the cave's inhabitants. It was a trap, a decoy, a deception he himself had been fooled by. Never again. They would seal off the tunnels so no other innocent travellers would be taken in.

The Orcs passed him by without so much as a glance. Boromir was just about to move from his hiding place when another Orc came stumbling through. Gorburg. The blind Orc, not having his sight to guide him, had fallen behind. With a burning recollection of Gorburg's expression as he claimed revenge upon Faramir, Boromir moved from his hiding place.

"Gorburg," Boromir said softly as he neared the Orc. Gorburg spun around, realising how vulnerable he was without his sight. Boromir moved swiftly to the left, driving Faramir's sword into the shoulder of the unsuspecting Orc. Gorburg howled in pain and fear, reaching out for his attacker. Boromir drew back, adrenalin giving him more strength than he would have thought possible. He moved carefully, so as not to injure his leg further. Gorburg swiped wildly at the air about him and Boromir watched, enjoying the Orc's fear.

There was an angry shout from the dark passage behind Gorburg. Boromir cursed himself for forgetting his duty. The tunnel, it must be destroyed! Boromir lunged forward and struck the Orc cleanly through the heart. A merciful death, Boromir thought with a grim smile as the body slumped to the ground, as Faramir would have wanted it.

Boromir moved into the left tunnel, dragging his leg after him. He studied the wooden supports that lined the tunnel. They were weak and rotten. Boromir chose a medium sized support, he had to be sure it would take down the whole tunnel.

Taking a deep breath, he swung the sword at the post. The blade cut deep into the rotten wood, splitting it almost through. Boromir stumbled backwards as a fine powder began to spill from the roof, followed by tiny pebbles. A great tearing, splintering sound ripped through the tunnel as the post snapped and crashed to the ground. Boromir only just had time to dive out of the way as it hit the floor. A shower of rocks and dirt thundered from the roof, and scrambling to his feet, Boromir ran from the tunnel.

A cloud of dust burst from the enclosed space. Boromir just stood for a moment, staring at the wreckage of what might be his brother's last hope of escape.

A moment later Boromir was moving down the right-hand passage. Using the wall as support, he forced himself to forget the pain in his leg and keep moving. He had to be careful this time, well remembering what had happened last time he ventured into this same tunnel. As the floor grew gradually steeper, Boromir made himself slow down despite his anxiety for Faramir.

He had taken too long! If only he had left Gorburg be and destroyed the tunnel at once. He tried not to think of how he could possibly lift Faramir from the Orc's chambers. Without his full strength he doubted his ability to support Faramir's weight.

But still he moved on. When, at last, the passages on either side of the path disappeared, and slope increased more than ever, Boromir drew to a halt and listened intently.

"Keep back!" Faramir's voice shouted, and to Boromir it seemed less than a few metres away. A flicking light illuminated the floor before him and Boromir carefully avoided the slippery sand in the centre of the path.

"What are you going to do, boy?" one of the Orcs laughed, "your brother's not here to protect you now!" Boromir cringed and lowered himself carefully to a sitting position. He may have neglected to protect Faramir in the past, but he was here now, and that was what mattered.

He crawled to the edge, peering over to the room below. Faramir stood against the wall just below him, painfully reminiscent of their position several days before. He wielded a flaming torch that seemed at least to be keeping the Orcs far enough away.

But still Boromir could see no clear way of lifting Faramir up.
The Orcs moved ever closer and Faramir was forced to back further against the wall . . .