To Deceive a Deceiver
Chapter 2.
The night in this barren landscape was dark and cold. The great, silver orb of the moon was hining on the sky, and still, something hanged in the air, something foul that was just a herald of something far more sinister. Soon, the sounds of ragged breath and heavy boots could be heard from the darkness, before a group of orcs appered. These were no ordinary orcs, it was the Uruk-hai, the master creation of evil, strong, fast, and agile, more then any other orc kind that was ever bred. They were here on purpose, for they bore prisoners, important prisoners, or so did they think. The Uruk-hai stopped just under the shade of the forest. They were nearing Isengard, but they've been running for day now and even an orc like they were, they could only run so far without any rest. Besides, they were slowed down by those worms, those snagas from Mordor. Their presence wasn't something they could really refuse, but Uglúk, the great leader of this group, was still constantly angered by them. They were weak, undisciplined, and downright annoying. While the Uruk-hai could run without any problems, they were constantly complaining about the sun.
The large orc gave his orders to the others. He was about to give another, when suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard from the south. The orcs immediately raised their weapons and roared, and the clopped ceaced for a moment, but then the rider continued his journey forward. The lack of fear gave Uglúk the suspition as to who it was, and they were confirmed a minute after, as a dark horse appeared on the edge of their camp. On the back of the horse sat a figure. The Uruk-hai leader never really knew who it was, just that she appered in Isengard one day and she was a frequent guest in there many times, doing unknown work for the Old Man. He was ordered to obey her commands, and that was all he really needed to know.
"Uglúk." the figure called in the common tongue. Just like they were, she was here for a certain purpose, and the orc captain approached her with the intention to find just why she was here.
"You know you shouldn't be here alone like this, especially not with your fancy nag over there. My men hadn't eaten nothing but a maggoty bread for three stinking days. You might gotta have to travel with us the rest of the way." he said in his hard, growling orkish voice, but the figure on the horse didn't seemed unnerved by his statement. "You know they wouldn't dare. It wouldn't be wise to do so. Such wasteful death it will be. I don't like killing orcs. Saruman send me forward to meet you. He's expecting his prize, Uglúk."
"And he will have it. We will deliver them. What's that? Doesn't Saruman trust us?"
"He does. But these are still Rohan teritories. It was actually my idea. I wanted to make sure the hobbits will arrive in one piece, just like Saruman requested."
"Oh, how thoughtful. Do not insult me and my men, shatraug, Saruman will not protect you forever."
The figure stared in his yellow eyes for what seemed like and eternity, and during the moment, the other orcs and Uruks have surrounded them, waiting for her answer. She took her breath to speak, but just in that moment, a sudden noice came from the darkness. Then, all hell broke loose, as a small army of horse men bursted in the camp, immediately starting to kill the orcs. The horrible cries of pain and death filled the night's silence and in the chaos, the two little hobbits slipped away from into the forest, while the unknown rider quickly escaped into the darkness.
...
A dark and terrible storm was raging above the Helm's Deep during the night, heavy rain drops were falling from the sky, as the defenders stood nervously on the walls, holding bows and arrows in their trembling hands, staring terrified of the sheer numbers of the orc army that were marching towards them. It was almost unbearable for them just to listen to the sounds the orcs were making, in their eagerness to shed some human blood.
Enethriel stood there, right next to Legolas and Gimli, surrounded by the elven archers, shifting on her feet as she observed the Uruk-hai warriors. "Saruman must be proud of his creations." she mumbled silently.
"It's always bad when a wise man uses his talents for evil things." the elven prince sighed and turned his head to her. "You are afraid." he said, half asking, half stating a fact.
"Yes, my dear friend, you know I haven't seen that much battles. And this... only a great evil could raise such an army in such a short time." she answered, and he put a hand on her shoulder. "We will prevail here, Enethriel." he said and smiled.
She wanted to say something, when suddenly, they heard a sound of a released bowstring, as an old man couldn't hold his hand anymore and she turned just in time to see an arrow sink itself into an orc's head. The effects were immediate. A mighty roar erupted from the now angry orcs and in the next second they were running towards the walls. The battle of the Hornburg began.
...
It was horrifying. Waves after waves, more and more orcs were climbing the walls, there forces were constantly rolling forward, seemingly without an end. Yet while the walls were standing, there was no way for them to enter the inside of the fortress. Their own marksmen with crossbows were quickly striken down, but it was getting more and more difficult to keep the orcs from overwhelming the Deep's defences.
Enethriel was standing there, on a wall near the main gate, shooting one arrow after another, picking up those that she could find lying around her position at the same time. She was ready to use her sword if it would be needed, and she knew it would be needed. She just didn't have any idea how soon. At least until she saw it.
The orcs were carrying something, some kind of an iron orbs filled with some black substance. For a little while, she freeze, confused what was going on. But then she heard Aragorn screaming, and so Legolas not far from her, as he was trying to shoot down an orc carrying a torch, running towards the small bared opening in the base of the wall. She used her own arrows and shot the orc twice, but Saruman has made his orcs well, and even as the Uruk-hai was slowly falling, he used his last strengths to jump and reach the wall opening. In that moment, a crushing explosion have shook the very mountains behind the keep, large boulders of stone were flying at all sides. It seemed like a several seconds of absolute silence set in, before the orcs roared and ran in through the new gap in the wall.
...
On the other side of the wall, the other side of the battlefield, a lone warrior slowly recovered from the quake caused by the explosion. A few Uruk-hai just climbed the stairs on the walls and as they did, a growling laugh escaped from their throats. "Are your men so desperate that they let the fighting on the women?" they asked. And they were true, for this lone warrior was indeed a woman. But she wasn't just a warrior. She was a lore-master. It was a rarity amongst Theoden's people, but Kaewyn was born with the talent for magic and she was proud of it. Although not even her magic could stop such a force, she was ready to sacrifice her life for her king.
"That was my choice." she said to the orc, before she suddenly shot him with a fireball from her hand. "And you," she turned to the other orcs. "You have done a great mistake." and with that, she nearly jumped forward with her staff and her short sword. Due to her magic gifts, she never was really clarified as an ordinary woman from Rohan, and even if she would, she would refused being treated like anything else than a warrior. She hurled herself against the orcs and pushed one of them down from the wall with a good hit of her staff, and then she ran down, fighting her way through the enemy down to the gates. Several orcs jumped in her way, and she was shooting but as she remained occupied with those, she didn't notice another one creeping behind her.
...
The fight was getting desperate, those who didn't die already were forced to retreat deeper into the fortress. Enethriel was one of the last to go, trying to easy the way for as many other warriors as she could, but she was slowly getting out of arrows. She decided to follow them as well, but just then, she saw a strange light on the far wall. It was fire, and as she looked closely, she saw a young woman fighting the orcs. For a moment, she had to stop and admire her. The woman was fighting with a strange grace, swinging her staff and the sword from side to side, shooting balls of fire whenever she had the chance. But as she was watching her, she suddenly saw a lonely orc the young woman didn't notice as she was concentrated on those in front of her. The ugly creature was stalking towards her back with his sword drawn, ready to attack.
...
A steel sword was suddenly embeded in the orc's neck. Kaewyn had almost laughed, but they were two other orcs currently on her list. The heavy breath of the orc behind her totally esaped her in the thrill of battle. Only when she felt his presence directly behind her, she turned her head, and she saw the edge of his axe nering her face, when suddenly, the orc squeeked in surprise as a long arrow landed inside his chest. She turned back and there, on the far wall, she saw an elf, nodding to her, before motioning towards the retreting soldiers. With a nod of thanks in return, she pushed her way through the rest of the orcs on the wall and ran inside. A moment after, she saw the elf slip inside as well.
...
The battle was over soon. As the king rode out of the fortress, accompanied by his most trusted companions, everything came crushing down at the orcs. As the first ray of the sun bursted through the sunlight, and the silhuette of the White Rider appered on the horizon, everyone's hearts leaped with joy as they knew that this was their victory. Like a wave on the sea, Eomér's riders with Gandalf in their front and the rising sun in their back swooped down on the orc army, and soon the rest of Isengard's filth was forced to run in the forest, the forest that was, at the end, their ultimate doom.
Sitting on her own horse in the middle of the field, Enethriel saw the green mass of Huorns and she sighed in sadness as she realised what that meant. She couldn't help but feel pity and worry as to what exactly the angered forest did to Saruman. While the rest of the soldiers went back into the fortress to take care of the frightened people, she followed the king, the wizard and the rest of the company towards Isengard. She was riding in silence, thinking about what will happen when they arrive there. Just then, she heard the sound of a trotting horse behind her. Turning her head, she saw a grayish steed making his way to her side. She raised he eyes to look at the rider and her eybrows shot upwards as she saw the girl she saw fighting earlier. She had a cheerful look in her bright gray eyes, and she was smiling happily, clearly enjoying the results of the battle. "You saved my life." she said, approaching her as if they were old friends, lining her horse with her's.
"That was nothing." the young elf answered. "You were in danger and you needed help, so I offered it. You've been handling yourself quite well in the battle."
"Not as well as I should." she laughed. "I just thought I should come and express my gratitude personally. My name is Kaewyn."
"I am Enethriel, and I am pleased to meet you, lore-master. I have never thought there was someone gifted with magic among your people, and I spent a lot of time in these lands already."
"It is a mystery for me as well. But I am the one to refuse a gifts of the Valar just because I don't understand them. We have achieved victory here because of them as well. But I noticed that you seem rather troubled."
Enethriel sighed, before she started to recall her story from the beginning. She spoke softly so that no one else would hear it, and the human woman listened intently, not missing a single word from the tale. At the end, she smiled and put a reassuring hand on the elf's shoulder. "I understand your feelings, Enethriel. Your not the only one who valued the friendship of the white wizard. I, for one, do not wish to see him harmed eather. But he is smart, perhaps there is still hope. He is defeated, it will be stupid to cause himself further damage and humiliation by resisting."
"We can only hope." Enethriel answered sadly, and her heart sank, as the iron tower suddenly appered in the valley before them. She sighed and urged her horse forward, but in her heart, she would rather turn it around, in order not to face what was about to come. For deep in her heart, she knew that staying here would only hurt her further.