Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar
Lindorfin Introduction
Wasting no time, Lindorfin ran through the halls of the Elven Training Building, having no realization of the chaos that was taking place just outside. The tall, young elf was wearing simple peasant garments when a fellow elven trainee awaked him from his mid-day sleep. He had shouted for Lindorfin to hide the Edhelion relics, which were precious to elves in the Edhelion Elf Refuge and to other elves throughout the expansive region of Ered Luin. Although Lindorfin had no idea why he needed to hide the relics, he had been taught great discipline, and would do what he was asked of. He knew immediately that there was something wrong when he saw the scores of refugees running away from the doors. After doing so, he quickly made his way towards the exit.
Lindorfin soon came to the door, and only then did he come to the startling realization of what was happening. He began to hear the screams, the clashing of swords, and a distant thumping near the Edhelion East Gate. As Lindorfin came outside, he stared in disbelief at the mass destruction about. Everywhere he looked, he saw elves battling Dourhand dwarves and goblins. Several buildings were on fire, and many bodies were scattered about the floor. Civilians were running in horror, being cut down by axes and mundane goblin blades. Lindorfin gasped, and having not been in combat before, was surprised to see his trainer so agile and swift.
Talagan Silvertongue kicked a dwarf off of the high platform, holding a long gray staff in his hands, which he usually kept in his room. He was, like Lindorfin, not dressed for battle, he also had not expected this. He wore a long blue robe, which he usually wore during any of the training with Lindorfin and his colleagues. Talagan looked over at some other people nearby, who ran up stairs to the training halls for safety. A goblin jumped down from the roof unexpectedly, knocking several watchers over and attempting to slash at one of them. Talagan responded quickly, kicking the goblin away from the watcher and hitting it in the head with his staff, knocking it unconscious.
He looked back at Talagan, who nodded and pointed to a nearby body, which was turned back down. It was the body of one of the refuge elders, Haerandir. A bow and knife were laid down beside him. Lindorfin picked them up, and Talagan turned towards Lindorfin. "Lindorfin, hurry, we have no time! Have you hidden the relics?"
"Yes, they are hidden, I placed them in the halls, underground." Lindorfin said quickly.
"Good. Fortunately, we have been able to push the Dourhands and their Goblin allies back. However, the battle is not won yet. I have received word from a lookout in the Eastern Pass. He has caught sight of Skorgrim, the Dourhands' Lord, and another war party coming towards the refuge. What is worse is that he has a snow troll in his company. I did not think that Skorgrim would sink so low! His greed for Edhelion's relics holds no bounds.
"Skorgrim will be on us at any minute. We must brace ourselves for the attack. What I would ask of you is to help defend the courtyard. Sadly, Haerandir has succumbed to his wounds, but I know he would have wanted for you to take up his weapons. By using them, you should be able to help far more." Talagan said, looking down sadly at Elder Haerandir.
Suddenly, there was a pause, and a loud horn was heard in the distance, a battle horn of volume Lindorfin never before heard. Talagan's face quickly brightened, as he looked towards the East. "There, that is the horn call of Elrond. There is hope yet!" He shouted, and looked back towards Lindorfin.
"Elrond has answered my summons of many months ago! I sent him word of our troubles with Skorgrim and his dwarves, it seems he has come to help us! We may yet win this day, Lindorfin!
"Quick, now that you are armed, go to the courtyard of Edhelion. Edhelben will direct you there. Dorongur Whitethorn and other survivors are entrenched there, holding out against attack. Make your way there, and help them defend it. We need hold out only a bit longer before Elrond and his elves shall be here!
"Be careful though, there may be a few invaders still lurking beneath Edhelion's walls" Talagan warned, kicking the unconscious goblin on the ground down into the water to drown. "You may need to fight your way to the courtyard, use all that I and other trainers have taught you. Some of your fellow trainees are still alive, in the courtyard. Come this way, hurry!" Talagan said. "Ebhelden will open the gate for you."
Lindorfin wasted no time in running down the stairs, gripping his bow hard, and standing behind the gleaming elven gate. On the other side, Lindorfin saw, Ebhelden was combating a goblin, which he quickly killed with a stab to the heart. "Urk.." the goblin mumbled as it hit the ground and died. Ebhelden opened the gate and looked at Lindorfin, "Come, Lindorfin, quickly! To the East Gate!" he said as he ran towards the source of the thumping Lindorfin had heard.
Immediately, as Lindorfin neared the gate, he realized the source of the thumping. On the other side, a massive 10-foot snow troll was slamming its club onto the gate, bending it slightly with every hit. Lindorfin's heart was heavy in the face of such evil, and dread filled him, as he stumbled back. The troll stopped glared at him, roaring, before continuing to pummel the gate. Ebhelden ran to Lindorfin and shouted to him, "Skorgrim's forces have arrived! The gate will not hold long, with that snow troll beating on it. Do not tarry here, Lindorfin, hurry to the courtyard, you must help bolster our defenses there!" Ebhelden said, and Lindorfin looked away from the troll, relieved to be away from the terrifying beast.
He ran with as fast as he could through the gate near the training building, and was shocked by the number of watchers now dead or dying around Edhelion. He ran up a stairway, to see a filthy goblin picking through the body of a watcher, whose fine blue robe was partly covered in blood. The goblin cackled, and Lindorfin's mind split in anger upon seeing one of these invaders taking the lives of a watcher. He took out his bow and an arrow, pulling back the arrow all the way to his shoulder, slowly walking towards the goblin. He let go of the arrow, and it zoomed down to the goblin's skull, piercing and shattering it. The goblin fell down on the ground instantly, dead.
Lindorfin looked around, and saw a small bridge to his left, over the west gate, and ran over it. One goblin was leaning against a wall, looking down at a watcher body and grinning. This one was more attentive though, and looked at Lindorfin, quickly standing up fully. "I'll gut you, you nasty elf!" it shouted, and ran at the young elf. He dodged the first sword stab, punching the goblin away. It stumbled back a bit, and Lindorfin took the opportunity to take out his dagger. He took a slash at the goblin, but was blocked. The goblin parried, then took another stab.
This one got Lindorfin in the arm, and he stepped back, holding his cut with one hand, and his dagger in the other. The goblin chuckled, and crouched down, pouncing on the elf. He dropped down, as the goblin flew over him, and then fell onto the ground. Lindorfin jumped back, grabbing the goblin and holding it up. He slammed its head on a wall, then broke its neck and threw it down to the ground. Lindorfin looked at his wound, sighing, and taking out a minor essence of athelas medicine. He poured a bit of the liquid over the wound, and it stung badly.
He clenched his teeth, but in moments, the wound closed perfectly. Lindorfin saw he still had some of the green essence in the bottle, and put it away, running on. He saw another goblin, just as unattentive as the first, and stealthily stepped up behind it. With one swift stroke of his dagger, the goblin was dead, and slumped down on the ground on top of the watcher. Lindorfin kicked it away, and only then did he realize that he was being seen. He heard heavy footsteps behind him, and quickly jumped forward, almost into a wall. He looked back, and there was a Dourhand dwarf, holding a long axe and glaring at the elf.
The fight was over almost before it had begun. The Dourhand dwarf had no idea of the ability of this elf. He made a simple, ineffective horizontal slash with his axe. Lindorfin was almost caught, but he dropped down prone, and rolled away from the dwarf, taking out an arrow and making a quick shot at the dwarf. The arrow went directly into the Dourhand's heart, and the dwarf's assumption of Lindorfin's abilities came too late. "I am broken" the dwarf muttered, and fell back onto the ground. The elf stood up, smiling and running towards the courtyard.
Once there, he saw a dwarf in armor, with a shield and mace. It kicked down at a goblin's body, frowning "Skorgrim should have never used the help of goblins, pathetic beasts" he said. Lindorfin hid behind a small pillar, and the dwarf looked over. He shrugged his shoulders and was instantly killed by a large barbed arrow, which stuck out of the back of his head. Lindorfin smiled, putting away the bow and running past the Dourhand, to the courtyard gate.
Once there, he saw a man in red, carrying a staff similar to Talagan's. He was another of the trainers, Dorongur Whitethorn, and ran to the courtyard gate as he saw Lindorfin. Dorongur smiled, and opened the gate for him. "Quick, Lindorfin, come in! I dare not leave the gate open too long" he said, and Lindorfin rushed in, the gate shutting behind him. "Lindorfin, come this way" he said, and walked down the stairs with the young elf.
"We have suffered greatly in this battle, many watchers are hurt." He said, pointing to the several bodies and injured elves around the courtyard. "I am glad to have another to aid in the defense, there are few who are still uninjured." He said, "such as you. But, what news do you bring?"
Lindorfin was shocked at the number of people who were now dying around him, and there was not much athelas to go around. He sighed , "Skorgrim has come with a snow troll and another war party, sir. He wants Edhelion's relics badly. We might not be able to hold out much longer".
Dorongur looked to the East, then back at the young elf, "Upon hearing the battle cry of Elrond, I thought the battle was over. Yet, you have brought dire news, that the worst may be yet to come! Let us hope Elrond arrives in time" he said, shaking his head.
Suddenly, a guard ran to the two, panting. "Dorongur! Dorongur, Skorgrim has broken through!" he shouted, and the three ran back to the gate.
"Come, this way! The relics are ours!" they heard Skorgrim shout. They saw him run towards the training building, two armored dwarves behind him. He wore gleaming red-and-black armor, with a long cape. From behind the dwarves, the snow troll came, grasping his club and lumbering up to the courtyard gate. Almost instantly, the weaker gate fell to the strength of the troll's large club. The guard was immediately killed, having been directly behind the gate. Lindorfin and Dorongur were knocked back by the great shockwave, hit with a large amount of force slamming into them.
They were not dead, but dizzy and confused. The troll roared at them, and almost had a chance to kill them with one club stroke. Then suddenly, from the West Gate, a figure in blue robes ran towards the snow troll. It was an elf, who wore a blue robe and had long brown hair. He carried a longsword, silver and gleaming in the sun. It was Elrond, one of the greatest elves in Middle-Earth. He quickly shouted to the troll, "Fall, beast!" and jumped on its back. With great precision, Elrond drove his sword into the troll's skull, and it fell flat on the ground, dropping its club.
"Dorongur, come quickly! Talagan has need of us!" the great elf shouted, pointing towards the training center. Dorongur nodded, and looked back at Lindorfin.
"Lindorfin, you come as well!" He shouted, and the three of them ran back towards the training building. They moved as quickly as they could up the stairs, and at the top, they saw the bridge to the training building was crushed. On the other side, Skorgrim and two elves confronted Talagan, who stood before the doors of the building. Skorgrim clenched his fists and shouted, "The relics are mine!".
"Talagan!" Elrond shouted, realizing that even the great mage did not have a chance against skorgrim and two of his finest Dourhands.
"Never!" Talagan shouted defiantly to the three dwarves.
"What!?" Skorgrim said, obviously enraged by the elf's refusal. "Stop him!" he shouted to his dwarves. They had no chance, however. Talagan raised his hands, and they glowed purple as a loud crunch was heard above the building. Suddenly, three large boulders fell from the mountainside behind the building. They slammed into the roof, and brought it down upon Talagan and the three Dourhands. The three were killed instantly, as the debris crushed them.
"Master Talagan, no!" Dorongur shouted, holding out his staff. "Master Talagan…" he muttered, sighing. Lindorfin was in shock, having seen his master be killed, even the death signified a final pose of defiance to the enemy. Dorongur turned to Elrond, whose eyes were shut.
"Be at peace, Talagan Silvertongue. Your sacrifice was not in vain" Elrond said, and looked towards Dorongur and Lindorfin. "This is a sad day, I wish I would have arrived but a few moments earlier. What, though, of Edhelion's relics? What has become of them?" he asked.
"Well, Lindorfin was the last to see them. He is their keeper, although he is but a trainee. He should be able to tell you" Dorongur said, looking over at Lindorfin.
"Yes, a colleague of mine told me to hide them. They are in the very halls of this building, hidden underground. We can get to them from a passage underground, through the center of this refuge." Lindorfin said, having taken a few moments to remember where he had placed the sacred Edhelion relics.
"So the relics of Edhelion have been hidden inside the halls? That is excellent to hear, as that means Talagan's sacrifice was truly not in vain. The death of Skorgrim and the ruin caused by Talagan should be enough to keep the relics safe. If at least for a little while.
"I fear though that Edhelion will no longer offer respite for our kind. We were too few in number to keep Edhelion safe. Rebuilding here would be folly. No, Edhelion will fade… yet Ifeel that you shall return here again someday…"