Author's Note: I'm not sure if I will be able to update again since my Christmas break will be full of a lot of traveling -_- I will do my best though!
Chapter 36
Rion fidgeted nervously as he stood in full battle armor next to his mother, Erestor, and the twins. They stood behind fifty other elves in the courtyard, barring the way to the main entrance of the Last Homely House. If all went according to plan, the enemy would never get this far. Archers were positioned on the balconies above them. If they were overrun, they would flee into the Last Homely House and barricade the door.
Elrond was stationed in the healing wing with five other healers that the Elf Lord himself had trained over the centuries, stocking herbs and supplies for the battle ahead. Every other able bodied ellon had been sent out with Glorfindel who was leading the main force against the invaders.
The last they heard from another scout was that the enemy army had already crossed the mountains and would reach the Bruinen by nightfall if they kept their current pace.
This is some birthday party…
He held his bow tightly against his chest, adjusting the strap of his quiver again for what felt like the hundredth time. What worried the fourteen year old boy the most was the last bit of the scout's report. According to him, the enemy army stretched as far as the eye could see. Was it just him, or was this a very creepy parallel of the helm's deep battle? Only they were in Rivendell… surrounded by waterfalls.
Well, at least there isn't a storm.
The moment he thought that, thunder rumbled in the distance.
Oh that's just great!
As if sensing his thoughts, Erestor chuckled kindly and the boy turned to look at him.
"Those storms generally stay in the mountains."
"That's good."
They stood in companionable silence until Rion started to fidget again. He smiled warmly at the memory of the gifts his new brothers gave him earlier that day.
Flashback
"Oh Rion...we have something for you."
"We think it will cheer you up."
Elladan handed him the first cloth wrapped item. Rion unbound the cloth and gasped when he pulled out an elven short sword. Elrohir handed him the second and Rion found an exact duplicate of the first gift. The boy stared down at the two swords in his hands with a silly grin on his face, totally awed by their presents.
Sindarin script adorned both hilts and below it printed in small fine letters were the translations. The first one had Elladan's name on it and it said "May you find the courage to stand against the greatest of evils". The second of course had Elrohir's name on it and it said "True strength lies within your heart." Below each engraving was the simple but heart- warming message that plainly said "To our brother Rion."
He looked up at them, gratitude shining in his eyes as he struggled to find the right words.
"I…this is…wow… thank you."
Elladan and Elrohir shared a knowing grin and patted him on the back before pulling him into a group hug.
"Happy Birthday Rion"
"No matter what happens, we will face it together."
"You ready to fight?"
"Let me think for a minute… besides receiving some of the best training from Glorfindel, I now have armor, a bow and quiver, two swords, and two brothers who will fight by my side," Rion counted off each thing on his fingers as he looked up at the ceiling, "I don't know, you tell me," Rion grinned as he looked at the twins.
They all shared a laugh and prepared for the blooming battle ahead… together.
End Flashback
Kacy leaned forward to peer around Erestor in order to look at her son.
"Rion, you okay honey?"
He rolled his eyes and looked at her, all nervousness gone.
"Of course… Are you?"
"Of course"
Kacy fidgeted also, fingering the hilt of her elegant sword that Elrond had given her as a birthday gift all that time ago. It was a near duplicate of Arwen's sword Hadhfang, only this one was filled with the ancient power of the elves and bore a different inscription, one that she could not read since it was in the beautiful scroll of the Sindarin language. She had asked Erestor to translate it for her and he had simply looked confused, claiming there was nothing inscribed on the sword. Elrond had kindly explained some time later that no one could see the message but the sword's true bearer and that only when the time came, could she understand its meaning.
An elven rider rode across the bridge shouting, alerting them of more news. Erestor nodded his head in understanding before turning and translating for Kacy.
"He says that all of the traps are in place, all of our soldiers are positioned, and that the enemy army nears the Bruinen. It is almost time for Elrond to summon the river."
She hoped and prayed that this would work but most importantly, that they would survive. Elrond walked slowly outside to the entrance of the Last Homely house and almost seemed to glide effortlessly down until he was standing in the middle of the stairs. His ring of power began to glow as he closed his eyes and lifted his arms slowly into the air as he began chanting a very familiar spell. One that both she and Rion recognized from the Fellowship of the Ring, the same spell that Arwen chanted in order to stop the Ringwraiths.
Eventually Elrond's voice began to rise in volume as he repeated it more than once creating an echoing effect that seemed to run through the entire valley.
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Down by the Bruinen, Glorfindel held a hand up, signaling his men to hold their fire where they were currently situated on the hillsides hidden cleverly behind trees and shrubs. They looked down upon the river and at the flood of orcs and goblins marching across and through the narrow passage. That passage would take them through the forest and to the valley path that would lead them to the bridge.
Glorfindel frowned when he noticed that only one hundred orcs and goblins comprised this army. Where were the others? Apparently, this was only the first wave… which meant that the bulk of their army was still coming.
These orcs and goblins were actually walking cautiously, many looking around them in a paranoid fashion as if the elves would just pop out at them from the landscape itself.
Just as the first wave had finished crossing, Glorfindel's hand dropped, silently signaling them to open fire. Taught bowstrings released and a thick cloud of arrows rained down from the sky, catching the orcs and goblins by surprise.
Needless to say it was a massacre as Glorfindel and his force managed to completely wipe out the first wave with little effort thanks to their higher vantage point and crossfire maneuver. Half of the elven force was on the opposite hillside across from Glorfindel, enabling them to completely surround the enemy as they were forced to march between both earthen walls.
There were only two casualties reported. Two of his soldiers had been hit by wildly shot enemy arrows as the goblins struggled to figure out where exactly the elves were hiding and began to fire randomly, some even stupid enough to kill their own comrades in the confusion.
A couple of field healers were already tending to the two wounded while Glorfindel set his soldiers up for another ambush. He raised his hand again, preparing them for the next volley when the earth itself began to shake. Unfamiliar war chants coupled with the synchronized marching of a large force steadily grew louder as armored feet and spears struck the ground in a perfect rhythm.
Soon they became visible as they came out into the open from the trees as they prepared to cross the river. A mix of both Easterling warriors and trolls began to splash through the river, continuing to make an obscene racket. Glorfindel's ears were ringing as a couple of trolls beat on war drums, rallying more orcs and goblins behind them.
Just as his hand began to lower to order his elves to fire, the most horrible, bone chilling shriek pierced the air rising above the din of the marching men and drum beating trolls. A nine foot tall, black armored creature appeared at the forest's edge riding on a black horse. Its shriek once again ripped the air, causing all of the elves to clutch at their sensitive ears in pain.
The horse and its rider were hesitant to ride into the water at first. But eventually it rode alongside the army as it continued to march across the shallows. Glorfindel lifted his hand about to signal his soldiers to open fire, when a rushing sound steadily grew louder. A huge grin crossed his face as the familiar chanting voice of Elrond echoed down to them. Soon, a rushing wall of water appeared from around the river bend and sped straight for the crossing army. At least half of the army had already crossed by now but the remaining half that had been composed mainly of wargs, trolls, and orcs were caught in the river bed.
The Witch King of Angmar, urged his horse into a run, just barely crossing the river in time as the wall of water flooded over where he had just been moments before, washing away at least a quarter of his army. Wargs, trolls, and orcs shrieked and bellowed as they vanished beneath the tumultuous waters, carried away to their deaths.
The Wraith sniffed the air, smelling something familiar and revolting at the same time. He shrieked again after the waters had died down alerting his commanders of an elf force hidden nearby. They relayed orders and began marching double time, the Easterlings already out of firing range.
Glorfindel screamed the order, dropping his arm quickly while drawing his sword as his archers fired another volley into the mass of dark bodies below them.
"Tangado heid! Leithio philinn!" – (Translation: Hold your positions! Fire the arrows!)
They continued to fire arrows until half of Glorfindel's troops ran out and had to fall back to the bridge, to re-join the rest of their comrades in arms. The remaining half of Glorfindel's force continued raining arrows down upon them, but soon found their quivers empty as well. By this time, some of the enemy archers had figured out where it was that they were located and began to fire arrows of their own upon them. A few elves that were hit fell off of the cliff embankment, and into the sea of enemies below them. Glorfindel shouted for his troops to retreat, knowing that they were too outnumbered to make a final stand here.
As they attempted to take a different path to escape, many of the orcs and goblins had already found the way up to their embankment. They snarled and growled as they flooded up, trapping Glorfindel and the thirty warriors that he had left.
He ordered them to form up into lines, creating three rows of ten elves per line. The first row of elves equipped with spears and lances held them level, impaling the first of the orcs and goblins that ran at them. Those elves dropped to their knees, drawing their swords while the ten elves comprising the second row fired their last arrows. The second row threw bows aside and drew their swords as the third row charged past them to meet the invaders with a furious clash of swords and armor.
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Kacy and the others already stood with the first half of Glorfindel's troops that had rejoined them. Gandalf stood in front of the bridge a few yards in front of the courtyard entrance. Erestor frowned, wondering where the second half of Glorfindel's force was. He turned to one of the elves under the Balrog Slayer's command and sternly asked him as much.
"I do not know, sir. We were sent back after we ran out of arrows and our crossfire maneuver successfully took out the first wave of enemy troops."
"Do you know if Glorfindel was going to follow directly after you?"
"He did not say, sir. He and his force still had plenty of arrows left."
Erestor seemed to accept this answer since he turned his attention on the seventy elves lined up in the courtyard in formation. The first couple of rows of elves held shields to protect their shield-less comrades behind them while the archers on the balconies prepared to fire as the first set of torches appeared on the winding mountain path across the valley. Elrond returned to the healing wing after successfully washing away a fairly decent portion of the orc army with the Bruinen water spell.
Kacy smiled at Rion, hugging her son.
"Please, be safe… and remember everything Glofindel taught you."
"I will, mom. I love you."
"And I love you more."
They parted ways, Rion and the twins running into the Last Homely house to take up their positions with the other archers that were going to fire from the windows upstairs. They had set up a clever series of specially woven nets that would stop most enemy arrows from penetrating through the openings they were firing from. There was only a foot wide hole that the elves would shoot through and the only way the enemy could hit one of the archers was if they managed to get an arrow through that small opening.
As the enemy army marched closer the first fifty orcs and goblins that were situated just in front of the Easterlings and trolls saw their target and ran wildly for the bridge, throwing caution to the wind as their blood lust over-rode common sense. Gandalf half smiled as they drew nearer, lighting up his staff and sent a ball of fire at the middle of the bridge just before the first two orcs had finished crossing. Gandalf watched as a wall of fire shot up into the night sky as the lantern oil the elves had covered the bridge with combusted, setting every orc and goblin on the bridge aflame. Many tumbled off of the bridge shrieking still on fire and fell to their deaths into the valley below. Gandalf turned and rejoined his allies.
"That bridge will not be crossable for a few more hours."
The first trap was a total success. Until a whistling sound barely discernable above the crackling flames alerted them to the danger.
"Arrows incoming! Take cover!!" Erestor shouted as he along with many others ran back into the buildings around them.
The elves with shields raised them above their heads and crouched low as a volley of arrows pierced the courtyard. Gandalf ran back inside just as the first arrow struck the ground.
The archers on the balconies raised their barriers, keeping them well protected. The only set back was that they were now unable to fire back.
Kacy growled in anger as arrows continued to pelt the building and ground outside… like rain, keeping all of them cornered inside of the buildings, unable to fire back. For fifteen minutes, it continued until it suddenly went silent.
The elves with shields cautiously stood up and retreated inside before another hail of arrows followed the first.
Maybe this is a good thing… they have to run out of arrows eventually right?
As she continued to think she got a brilliant idea. What about those wooden barriers similar to Helm's deep? The ones where they could flip them up over their heads to shield them from objects coming at them from the sky or flip them in front of them to protect against objects or enemies running straight at them?
It was genius… now how and where could they find some of those?
"Erestor, I have an idea. I need your help."
He nodded and followed her into the library where she took out some paper and a quill with ink and began to make a crude blueprint of one of the wooden barriers. She showed him how it would be able to flip up to withstand a shower of arrows such as the ones they were currently receiving outside as opposed to it flipping back down into a makeshift wall. He grinned and his eyes lit up in excitement. Not just that but they could also find a way to craft metal sheets of armor to the outside of it to make the walls nearly impenetrable. The only setback would be that once they flipped the shield up above their heads, it would leave their bodies exposed and vice versa. That would mean that they would have to assign two fully clad warriors per barrier and make them large enough to protect them both.
Erestor called one of his troops over and had him scout out the back entrances of the Last Homely House and reported back.
"Sir, no arrows have penetrated that far back. Enemy range reaches only the main courtyard out front."
"Send a team of ten to the training fields out back and procure the supplies we need here on this list. Go with all haste."
The warrior nodded and called some of his comrades over and they ran out to do as they were told.
Kacy smiled and looked at Erestor with newfound hope.
"We may survive this yet my friend."
"Agreed"
They only had what Gandalf had said to be three hours or less to construct at least ten of these barriers, which meant that only 20 out of 50 elves would have that heavy duty protection. Forty elves total would have shielding at all, counting the elves that already had shields. Leaving ten completely unprotected. They would just have to guard the doors inside of the Last Homely House until the enemy finally ran out of arrows.
One of the warriors whose main occupation was smith crafting, had knowledge enough to hammer out thin sheets of metal to cover the wooden barriers that were currently under construction after receiving the measurements.
Two hours later and eight of them had already been successfully created but by that time, the fires on the bridge were dying down. The good news however, was that the enemy did indeed run out of arrows according to Gandalf. It seemed to both Kacy and her son that this army was not very bright. At least the orcs and goblins weren't.
As for the Easterlings, there was no knowing how they could fight. They would soon find out as the last of the fires finally died out on the bridge and the barriers were maneuvered into strategic locations throughout the courtyard. The army flooded across, hell bent on killing whatever stood in their way…
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Glorfindel and his warriors were tiring… and their foes that continued to charge up the hill knew it. So far, they had been able to hold their own but they were slowly being pushed back until they were fighting dangerously close to the cliff edge. Three more of his elite warriors had been overrun, separating them from their main group. Glorfindel knew not, if they were even still alive.
No matter how many of these creatures they felled, it seemed that five more would take their place.
"Push them back!!"
Glorfindel cried as he plunged his sword into another orc while spinning to catch the blade of another with his dagger. He removed his sword from the dead orc and decapitated another before kicking another off of the cliff. His elite warriors struggled with all of their strength to push the enemy back in order for them to gain enough ground to avoid accidentally miss stepping and falling over the cliff edge.
For a miraculous moment they succeeded in gaining a few more yards until a troll came stomping into view. The orcs and goblins moved out of the way to avoid getting trampled to death and fell back behind the monstrosity. Glorfindel's troops edged back and he shouted more orders.
Five of his warriors picked up fallen spears and threw them with all of their strength, distracting it long enough for Glorfindel to move in behind it. With a bounding leap, he latched on to the creature's back and stabbed it a couple of times. It roared in rage and in pain, rearing back and managed to grasp the edge of glorfindel's cloak, pulling him off. It snatched Glorfindel up as he attempted to roll away and hurled him through the air. Glorfindel would have flown clear over the edge of the cliff if it wasn't for a very sturdy tree that connected with him first.
With a pained groan, he slid half conscious down to the base of the tree and lay stunned a moment. His vision blurred in and out and he could see his warriors valiantly trying to kill the troll but failing. He shook himself out of it and stood shakily back to his feet. He whistled a series of notes to the remaining twenty warriors and they began to herd the troll closer to him. Glorfindel climbed quickly up the tree and waited until the troll was directly below him. He leapt down and flipped midair, kicking the troll in the face before landing in a crouch below it. He then moved out of the way as his soldiers all tackled it, pushing it off of the cliff. It roared as it plummeted to its imminent demise. Glorfindel turned to thank his warriors when an arrow whizzed centimeters past his face, causing him to lose his balance and footing near the edge. He tried to catch hold of a tree root as he fell over but missed, disappearing from his warrior's sights.
Tree roots embedded in the side of the cliff created a series of handholds that the Balrog Slayer managed to snag on his way down. He then growled, swearing death threats on the foul creatures the moment he returned to the fight. More battle cries echoed from above as he slowly climbed his way back up. Soon a pair of hands appeared over the edge as a very irate Glorfindel hauled himself back onto stable land. He got back up and rejoined his warriors in a whirlwind of fury, lifting the spirits of his troops as they began to push back the horde until finally, the last one lay dead at their feet… and no more came.
He along with his surviving warriors collapsed to the ground in a weary heap, out of breath and thankful that this fight was over…
"Count off," Glorfindel wheezed, trying to breathe around what had to be a fractured rib or two.
As he heard the battle weary replies echo back to him, frowned when the total number reached 11. Only eleven of his original thirty had survived the vicious and brutal attack. He fought back tears and struggled to his feet as he ordered his men to follow him back down the hill. They did not follow the enemy but instead went down to the Bruinen and washed their wounds and refreshed themselves before planning their next course of action.
Glorfindel only hoped that Rivendell fared better…
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The Easterlings were ten times more savage and brutal than the near mindless orcs and goblins around them. They were worthy opponents indeed.
The elves fought valiantly, cutting down most of the orcs and goblins while the archers above fired arrows down at the entranceway, keeping the majority of the enemy on the bridge. Rion spotted a couple of Easterling archers preparing to shoot fire arrows at the elves on the balcony next door and shouted for them to take cover. They dove to the ground just as the fire arrows struck the netting, setting it on fire. Eventually they were left without protection and arrows began to fly at them from below. The elf releasing arrows next to Rion got hit and went down. The boy knelt beside him and screamed for someone to help. One of the healers standing by came running up from downstairs and helped the wounded elf down into the healing wing where a couple of other wounded warriors were being tended to as well.
Rion growled and stood back up barley dodging an arrow himself before aiming for one of the Easterlings and let loose an arrow of his own, hitting the evil man in the unarmored area of his neck. He did not get back up. While Rion continued to search for, "sniper archers", as he took to calling them, spotted the one man that filled his heart with dread.
Denis. And he is an Easterling? That's weird.
Rion aimed an arrow at the unsuspecting man and pulled the arrow back on his string, preparing to let it fly when a shrill scream shattered the air, making the boy misfire. Regardless, the arrow struck one of the few remaining goblins in the head that had been standing next to Denis.
He shivered and clutched his ears as the scream filled his heart with fear until he was left shaking on the ground, leaning against a bookcase with his eyes tightly shut. Elrohir and Elladan who had been aiding one of the elves down the hall came running back to him when they saw him fall down.
Elladan sighed with relief to see that Rion was uninjured while Elrohir knelt beside him.
"Rion, listen to me, my brother… You must not let the fear consume you. Your heart is stronger!"
Rion seemed to be lost as his eyes opened and they were glazed over with fear. The nazgul scream if powerful enough could affect even the bravest of warriors, leaving them lost in a fear induced daze. He didn't even appear to have heard either of the twins although he had stopped shaking and shivering.
Elladan tried to shake him awake but that didn't work. Elrohir thought hard for a moment until he remembered something his father had told him once. The younger twin picked up Rion's hand and placed it upon his chest while placing one of his own on his. He began to speak soothingly in elvish.
Elladan recognized what Elrohir was doing and sat down next to Rion, taking a hold of his other hand and simply watched the exchange, silently lending his own support.
Soon enough, the fear that had held him captive dissipated until it was completely gone. Rion snapped out of his stupor and looked up at them both with unshed tears in his confused, brown eyes.
"What happened to me?"
"The Nazgul scream affected you."
"I don't understand…"
"Its scream can sometimes work as a fear inducing spell, leaving some warriors defenseless and afraid."
"I don't remember being afraid."
"That's because Elrohir healed you and helped you come back. Now that he has, you should not be affected by it again. Only the power of the elves can stop this kind of evil."
"What do we do now?"
"What we should be doing..."
"Continue helping these archers," Elladan finished for his brother.
The three took up their posts and continued to fire arrows upon the enemy that continued to flood into the courtyard until eventually they stopped. They were all confused for a moment as they saw Easterlings fall back with the orcs and goblins. Then they all retreated back over the bridge the way they came and continued down the path into the valley.
"That was weird."
"No kidding."
"What's going on?"
"They just… left."
"Something doesn't feel right."
"I don't think this is over."
"Probably not"
The remaining defenders of Rivendell convened in the courtyard while Elrond and his healers continued to see to all of the wounded. They were now down to only ninety out of two hundred able bodied warriors.
Just before they all relaxed, Gandalf's expression changed and he stood up from where he had been previously leaning over one of the dead Easterlings.
"They are trying to flank us!"
"They don't know the back way into Rivendell though, do they?"
"The assassin that we killed in the training fields found the way… which means that the enemy can easily find it too."
Gandalf rallied fifty of them and they ran down to hopefully stop them from flanking them, leaving the remaining forty to guard the front entrance. If the Witch King's army were to divide into half and attack them from both behind and head on, they would not survive.
"What do we do now?"
"Hope that Glorfindel finds us soon."
Erestor, Rion, and the twins went to see how Elrond fared while others took the reprieve from battle with thankful hearts.
Elrond as paranoid as ever, had to check all of them for injuries and thanked Eru when none of them were harmed, miraculously.
"Elrond, we can not survive another attack, our numbers are too few," Erestor began.
"We can… and we must."
No one dared to speak after Elrond's firm command. They knew he was right. They had only two options, walk away from the battle victoriously… or not at all.
"How many enemy troops have been accounted for?"
"We have already decimated half of their forces. I estimate that there is a good five hundred remaining. Depending if they split their force in half, we may be looking at somewhere around two hundred and fifty that will attack again from the bridge. Gandalf has led half of our remaining forces down to the practice fields to stop what Gandalf believes is going to be a flanking maneuver, sir."
"I will join you," Elrond washed his hands. He whispered in one of the healer's ears, leaving firm orders with them before exiting with Kacy and the others directly behind.
"Sir, Glorfindel is still out there."
"He will return."
"How can you be so sure?"
Elrond half smiled mischievously and turned to look at Erestor.
"I have foreseen it."
Rion finally noticed that something was wrong and that someone was missing. His panic flared and he stopped everyone dead in their tracks with his words.
"Has anyone seen my mother?"
Elrond shared a look with Erestor who took off in a sprint to try to locate her. The wise Elf Lord looked down at the human he viewed as his own son.
"We will find her, Rion."
His words had a calming effect on him and Rion truly believed him.
The Elf Lord continued walking with a purpose, reaching his study, striding over to one of the closets. He sighed as he gazed upon his old battle armor and his sword. The relics he had hoped he would never have to use again after the Great War.
The Elf Lord suited up and met his friends and family outside of his study and together they strode quickly outside to inspire morale…
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Glorfindel and his warriors both sat and stood in a circle, hotly debating what to do next. Some argued that to try to flank the enemy would be suicide since there were only eleven of them. About four of them thought it would be a good idea to cause some sort of diversion and draw some of the enemy away from Rivendell and lead them on a wild goose chase through the forests on their border. Then there were two of the silent ones who were willing to go wherever their commander ordered them to go. The other five were the ones doing most of the arguing.
"I think we should try to rejoin our fellows in Imladris by taking the far path around and enter from behind."
"No, we should just flank them and take them by surprise! They would never see it coming!!"
"That is a ridiculous idea!"
"Say's YOU!"
"I think you are all wrong. We should go to the nearest ranger's camp and ask for help!"
"Oh, so now you want to go crawling and begging the edain for help?!"
"Do you have a better idea?"
"I just might!!"
"Well let's hear it!"
"I say we just stay put until the battle cools down. Then we can rejoin everyone."
The arguing picked up in intensity as Glorfindel remained silent, finally releasing a long suffering sigh as his troops squabbled like elflings and held his face in one hand as one of his booted feet rested on top of a rock.
"Enough!"
His warriors immediately shut up and turned to look at him.
"We are not going to do anything fool hardy, agreed?"
A mumble of chorused replies answered him.
"Now, we will consider every option and then choose the wiser of them. Preferably one that is not a complete suicide mission…"
Suddenly the atmosphere changed.
Glorfindel trailed off and drew his sword and spun around when he heard a faint whispering in the trees. He could sense another presence out there with them although he was positive it was not hostile.
The other eleven jumped to their feet with weapons drawn as well and prepared to fight.
"Show yourself!"
In answer to his command, a wood elf jumped silently and gracefully down before the Imladris captain.
Glorfindel could not believe his eyes and he blinked a moment as he lowered his sword.
"Prince Legolas?"
"Yes"
"What in Arda are you doing here?"
Legolas smiled mischievously as behind him other woodland elves clad in armor, silently crept up behind the crown prince to join him on the banks of the Bruinen. Glorfindel's warriors were as stunned as he was, about two of them actually dropping their swords in shock.
"How is this possible?"
Legolas clapped one hand on Glorfindel's arm and smiled.
"The Lady of the golden wood foresaw this battle and sent a messenger to my father, asking for his help."
"How many do you bring with you?"
"Three hundred"
Glorfindel stared stupidly at the young elf unable to completely process this miracle. One of his warriors standing behind him broke down in tears of relief.
"We will be sure to thank your father in good time. Now, we need to fill you in on the details… we are in a lot of trouble," Glorfindel gravely answered as he took Legolas and the captain of the Woodland army aside and related to them what they had already done thus far.
"I know not, what state Rivendell is currently in… we were unable to stop all of them."
"I will send a couple of scouts ahead who will fill us in on the details," the captain replied. He turned and gave the order and two of the Woodland scouts disappeared into the treetops above them in seconds.
Glofindel sighed heavily as they discussed their battle plans. Their counter attack would be swift and without mercy. One thing weighed heavily upon his mind and it had to be the one thing that actually frightened the Balrog Slayer…
"I only hope that we are not too late…"
Legolas's friendly demeanor turned serious and he looked Glorfindel in the eye with fiery determination.
"We will not let Imladris fall. You have my word, as the crown prince of Mirkwood."
"Indeed we will not," Glorfindel half smiled with good humor in his voice as he realized just how much he had matured over the years.
After their scouts returned and reported, the elves made their plans. No matter what darkness lay before them, Glorfindel would be sure to make them wish they had stayed in Mordor…
TO BE CONTINUED!
Author's Note: This story is nearly completed! There is a lot more action next chapter although I'd say the majority of the battling is over. Please read and review!