The Strangers in Middle Earth

by JJAndrews

After meeting with disaster at the Battle of Bosworth, Sir John Harris and a band of fellow Yorkist survivors never expected to be pulled away from their own world to one very similar yet different to the one they know. This is good Sir John's story, his version of the War of the Ring, fought in the name of justice and in the name of God.

7. Chapter 7 The Storm Breaks

The Strangers in Middle Earth

I own nothing but my OC's

Chapter Seven

The Battle of Helm's Deep

The Battle of Helm's Deep, or as the people of Rohan remember it, the Battle of the Hornburg, was one of the greatest battles of the War of the Ring. Never in Rohan's history had there been a night so dark or a dawn so glorious.

The defenders were positioned thusly, the Elves, along with Aragorn and Gimili, took over the defence of the Deeping Wall, half of them on the wall itself and the other half behind it as a reserve force. The Men of Rohan and England were positioned in the Hornburg, with our archers on the outer wall, alongside my uncle who had been given command of the archers, both of Rohan and England. The rest of the English company stood inside the gatehouse, right in front of the gates, ready to receive the enemy if they attacked with a ram. That is where I and my cousins stood. Robert was at the rear of the gatehouse, in command of us. I looked over my shoulder to see rank upon rank of men clad in plate, faceless warriors in helmets gripping their polearms, axes, maces, hammers and swords. Our squires stood towards the back of the gatehouse since they were less experienced than us so it only made sense to keep them out of the way. All of us knew that if the gate was breached, we'd be in the thick of the fighting.

'Anyone scared?' Jason asked after the thunder roared and the rain started to fall, though we were dry in the gate house.

'No,' Lord Robert answered, in a tone stating he wanted silence.

'To be honest, I'm ready to shit myself.'

At that we all let out a round of nervous laughter.

'You should go on the wall then,' Richard shouted. 'When the Uruk-Hai come up the ladders you can give them a surprise.'

Jason let out a booming laugh at that, as did all of us, trying to hide our fear of the coming army. We could hear them marching forwards, step by step.

'It's appropriate,' he then announced. 'It's already raining, why shouldn't they have something else dropping on them?'

We all laughed again, but it soon died down as the sound of the enemies marching stopped and silenced reigned control for a few moments. It didn't last long and soon a steady, crashing sound filled the air, the Uruk-Hai had begun to beat their weapons into the ground. The steady drum beat making our hearts hammer faster and faster while we waited for them to make the first move.

Up above us, my uncle stood on the outer wall next to Thomas Fendrel, both of them looking at the horde approaching. Ten thousand Uruk-Hai, it was not a pleasant image. My uncle wouldn't admit it at the time, but he was scared, there was no doubt about it. After going into battle enough times, being scared turned into a gnawing sense of dread at the back of the mind. Pushing up his visor he looked at the massive formation and thought about how strange this was. He had fought in larger battles before, at Castillon when so many had been shredded by French cannons he had survived, though he was captured, and my father had to pay his ransom. Each side numbered around ten thousand that day. He'd also faced ten thousand Lancastrians at Blore Heath and came out victorious. This however, this was the day where the odds had never been so highly stacked against him.

'Will they just get on with it?' asked Mathew, Thomas's brother.

'Steady boy,' my uncle told the young man. 'They're just trying to scare you,' he then looked over to the king standing on the inner wall who nodded while Aragorn was shouting orders in Elvish. 'Bowmen! Nock!'

At his command out archers on the outer wall fitted their arrows onto their bow strings.

'Draw!'

'Loose!'

The arrows flew through the air, every archer shot their arrows at the Uruk horde ahead and their chanting ended, replaced by some thumping as beasts from their front line fell dead. They were silenced for a few precious moments before they began roaring and hollering at us, hungry for slaughter.

'Nock! Draw! Loose!'

As the arrows flew again, the Uruk's charged forwards ready to kill.

The Battle of Helm's Deep began.

…

In the caves behind the castle, everywhere there sat huddled together frightened women and children, together in family groups and waiting. The sounds from outside could be heard, though muffled, and it was clear the battle had begun. Father Harold however was at peace, in quiet prayer. He had found a small cluster of rocks against the cave wall where he had placed his cross and several candles. He knelt before the cross and was praying for help, for victory. Though his eyes were closed he knew that there were people looking at him, wondering what he was doing. This act, so common in England, was so foreign in this strange land.

Eventually he heard movement, someone with soft steps coming towards him. At last he opened his eyes and turned his head to see Sunniva cautiously approaching him.

'Can I help you, my child?'

'Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt you,' she whispered. 'I was just curious about what you were doing.'

'Praying.'

'I thought so.'

'Don't you pray in Rohan?'

'We don't really. We honour those who came before us and call on Béma when we must.'

'I pray, however. I pray that those men out there will win, that our lives will be spared and few of them will die. Pray with me if you wish.'

'I'm sorry Harold, but I don't know what you pray for or even what to say.'

He smiled at her.

'Over the years I've come to believe that the words you think of while praying are even more powerful than any written down. If you want to pray with me, just kneel, close your eyes, and think of what you want to say to Him.'

'Him?'

'To God. Just ask and one day your prayers may be answered. Your father and your brother are out there right now, fighting to protect us all. If anyone deserves a prayer, it's them.'

Sunniva looked at a few of the other people in the cave, most of them not caring but a few looking at them questioningly. Deciding to step forward, Sunniva knelt next to Father Harold and copied his hand gesture and closed her eyes.

…

Outside, standing in the gatehouse, I was growing restless. We could hear the fighting coming from the Deeping Wall, and as any soldier will tell you, there are few things worse than someone else fighting while you cannot help them.

'What are they waiting for?' growled Jason. 'My billhook's hungry for Uruk flesh.'

'Calm down Jason,' Robert told him. 'Can't you hear it?'

'Hear what?'

'Shut up and you will.'

I heard it then as well, marching, coming closer and closer, the flagstones beneath my feet vibrating, more and more. My suspicion was confirmed when a young Rohirrim shouted down a message to us.

'Uruk's coming up the causeway!'

'Do they have a ram?' asked Robert.

'We can't tell, they've got their shields raised and they're packed together so we can't see them properly. Our archers can't touch them.'

'The ram must be hidden in there,' said Marcus.

'Prepare yourselves!' shouted Robert. 'Jason's bill is going to be well fed soon!'

'Almost feel sorry for them, with my fathers surprise,' Richard said to me while I shifted my bevor, protecting my lower face, and then shut my helmet's visor.

The blast then struck. The entire castle shook and the sound of the explosion was almost deafening.

'God's teeth what was that?' I asked.

'Sounded like a cannon,' said Marcus and, though I couldn't see his face through his helmet, I could tell he was now nervous. 'Damn.'

'It's too close and too loud to be a cannon,' Jason told us.

'The Deeping Wall's been destroyed!' shouted someone from above. 'The wizards powers have struck us here!'

'Brace the gates!' Théoden then shouted to us.

In turn, we threw ourselves against the gate a second before it was struck.

Above us, on the outer wall, my uncle was still stunned by what had just happened. In moments the Deeping Wall had been shattered and the Uruk-Hai were rushing in, thousands of those beasts attacking the Elves. Still, he was soon brought back to the situation, the Uruk's were using their ram at the gates. It was time.

'Mathew,' he said to the archer, 'send word to the Hall. It's time for our surprise.'

'Yes Baron.'

He then hurried off to deliver the message.

'The rest of you, keep shooting and chucking rocks! Move it!'

He then grabbed a rock from the basket near him and threw it down at an Uruk, striking it on the head and knocking it to the ground. Thomas shot at the enemy three more times, two of them killed Uruk-Hai and the third struck one on the breast plate doing no damage.

'Damn.'

'Keep shooting.'

Not long after that Mathew returned, two young men following him, carrying a large cauldron on wooden poles. Though it had stopped raining, the occasional spit of rain fell from the sky causing the cauldron to sizzle. The brought it to the wooden hoarding overlooking the great and my uncle grinned.

'Are you ready boys?' he asked them, chuckling.

'We are sir,' one of the men carrying the cauldron said as they removed the lid, revealing the scorching hot sand within.

'Wait for my order and then pour.'

He looked down through the hoarding and waited until the Uruk's were about to strike the gate again.

'Now.'

The two men poured out the stream of hot sand down onto the Uruk's below. For a moment there was nothing but then came the screaming as the beasts were scalded by the sand. They even dropped the ram as they tried to run away from the gate, fighting their way past their own comrades to escape and get help.

'Well done lads!' my uncle shouted and laughed, a few of the others doing the same, but a series of crossbow bolts striking the hoarding forced them to back off. 'Those beasts stink, don't they? I think they need a bath. Bring up the boiling water.'

One of our archers, William of Sandwich, peered through the hoarding and shot another arrow at the enemy but then a bolt from a crossbow struck him through the eye. He fell backwards, dead by the time he hit the ground.

'Damn,' gasped Mathew, looking at his friend, dead on the stone floor.

'Get the water,' Thomas told his brother. 'Now.'

Mathew hurried away to do it, his brother looking at him sadly before turning back to fitting another arrow and getting ready to shoot.

'For God!' he roared and let loose the arrow.

The boiling water arrived just in time as the Uruk-Hai began their next ram attack, and the water was poured down on them, dousing a large group of the beasts with steaming water, scalding them and sending them running back again.

'Well done,' my uncle said again but before the hoarding was closed a volley of bolts tore through, killing one of the men who had been carrying the water. 'They've positioned bowmen under us,' he said and growled in annoyance. 'Alright, bring up more water.'

'They'll shoot us if we open the hoarding again,' said a Rohan boy of about twelve close by.

'And if we don't stop those Uruk-Hai they'll break down the gates and murder you and your mother. Now do as I say!'

They hurried off to get another cauldron, taking the emptied one with them. My uncle then walked around the battlements, looking down to the Deeping Wall where he saw the Elves and Uruk-Hai fighting in a battle of elegance and skill against savagery and blood lust. The action was taking place in the breach made by the explosion. My uncle wasn't sure if the blast was a device of black powder or magic but its effect was terrible, in a singe second ruining their plans for a defence. The Elves were clearly fighting with all the skill their centuries of training and experience granted them but there were so many Uruk-Hai. They wouldn't be able to last much longer. He was about to suggest they withdraw to the Hornburg when Gamling gave that exact order.

'Aragorn! Pull back to the Keep. Get your men out of there!'

The retreat soon saw the Elves fighting off the Uruk-Hai while they fought their way back to the Hornburg. However, for us, the fight was about to come much closer.

In the gatehouse, we remained pressed against the gates while the Uruk-Hai, under the protection of their crossbows, hammered away at us. Those at the front were myself and my cousins, Jason and Sir's Henry Cannaguy and John Stanley. Edmund and the three de Trafford brothers, Gad, Daniel and Edward, were behind us.

The ram struck the gate again, splintering some of the wood in a couple of places.

'They're almost through!' Marcus shouted.

'Prepare yourselves!' Jason boomed and the next blow opened the gate and half a dozen Uruk crossbowmen aimed a volley straight at us.

Then a cauldron of scorching water was thrown down onto them, making them roar in pain, launching their bolts wildly.

'Get them!' Jason ordered and thrust the spear tip of the billhook into the neck of an Uruk.

The fighting was bloody and chaotic. I swung my poleaxe down and cut into the beasts neck, black blood spraying everywhere as it staggered away to die. It was at once replaced by another who swung its sword at my check and it hit my armour, tearing my tabard but not hurting me. I aimed a punch at the beasts jaw, breaking a few teeth only for Richard to finish him off with a mace to the neck. I held my weapon aloft with the spear tip forward and stabbed and jabbed at any Uruk who tried to get past me. Jason pulled the hooked part of his weapon across the throat of one beast, spilling blood everywhere and then I slammed the hammer part of my weapon into the shoulder of an Uruk. Even as we fought as hard as we could we were forced away from the gates themselves by the enemies numbers and ferocity, only a few feet but a number of them were through and were hacking into us. I saw Sir Godfrey Gage with his long-shafted mace fall dead, the spiked end of an Uruk sword cutting through the mail beneath his arm while another hacked into his neck. Immediately afterwards Sir Valentine Poitier killed one of the beasts with his poleaxe only to be grabbed by the neck and pulled into the enemies ranks. His screams filled the air and then a crunching sound announced his death.

'First rank retire!' shouted Robert who was in a commanding position at the back.

I and my compatriots stepped back and allowed Edmund and the three brothers to the front, all of them armed with hammers and small shields. As Edmund came forward he banged his hammer against the shield three times and let out a dreadful roar as he got to work. With black blood spraying everywhere they bludgeoned the beasts back out of the gate and onto the causeway itself. I followed and now we were fighting outside, for a moment I thought we would be able to drive them all the way back down the causeway. Ahead of us, Gad de Trafford, like me clad in a sallet but without a bevor, turned and held his hammer in the air.

'We'll chase the bastards all the way to Isengard!' he declared.

That was when a volley of crossbow bolts struck us, mostly bouncing off our plate but, with a gasp, a single cursed bolt struck Gad through the chin.

'Gad!' his youngest brother, Edward, shouted and rushed to him but the unfortunate hero, gasping for breath through his wrecked throat, staggered to the side and fell from the causeway into the mass of Uruk's below.

'Back inside!' Edmund ordered and we all did as commanded and retreated back into the gate, he was the last back in, blocking two crossbow bolts with his shield before we were in again.

We slammed the gates shut and we would have tried to barricade it if not for the next Uruk attack. They threw themselves onto our weapons and we fought just as hard against them. Many of our men fell dead in that horrid fighting, blood both black and red mixing on the stone floor. The fighting was too tight for my poleaxe so I passed it back through the ranks, drawing my sword and letting Alaric spill Uruk blood. I stabbed one through the arm pit and another I sliced through its leg. One I kicked at, breaking its knee before thrusting my sword through its throat and then jabbed the cross guard into the eye of another. It was a chaotic, hand to hand, brutal fight without any concept of quarter or mercy.

Then the momentum of the attack stopped. Richard killed the last beast and through the breach we saw something none of us expected. Aragorn and Gimli, later I learned they got there by a postern gate, and they were making mincemeat of the monsters racing up the causeway.

'Shore up the door!' the king ordered, and men appeared with wood and nails, quickly starting to repair the damage.

As they did so most of the English company moved out of the way and I opened my visor and lowered my bevor, happy to finally get a breath of fresh air.

'Are you alright?' Richard asked me, removing his helmet.

'I'm not hurt.'

'You've still got an arrow sticking out of you.'

I looked down and saw the broken shaft and head of a bolt stuck in my armour.

'Can you pull it out?'

'I'll try.'

He gripped it and after two tugs yanked it out, leaving a small hole in my armour but nothing too bad. A good smith should be able to repair it.

'Do you think we'll have a break in the attack now?' he asked, clearly, he was exhausted, sweat coating his face and hair.

'I hope so. It depends on how long the gate holds. And poor Aragorn and Gimli. They're stuck out there.'

'They knew what they were getting into.'

'Help!' someone shouted and we looked up to the inside of the outer wall where a fight had broken out.

'Don't' tell me they have ladders that long!' I shouted.

Robert looked and saw it as well, looking at us and all the other men in our company and gave the order.

'Half the men up top! Come on!'

Cenric was soon by me and passed me my poleaxe before we started running up top. My cousins and I followed Robert, running up the steps towards the keep, past the statue of King Helm and then over the narrow stone bridge to the outer wall where massive ladders were letting Uruk-Hai by the score onto the walls. Standing in front of one ladder was my uncle and Reeve Cerdic, the former cleaving through the beasts with his claymore and the other thrusting and slashing with his own blade.

'Father!' Cenric shouted and ran to help the two older men with his long axe, thrusting at one Uruk as it climbed off the ladder, battering it backwards and into a long fall.

We filled out onto the outer wall, fighting as hard as we could to drive them off. Englishmen, Rohirrim and Elves fighting for our lives against the most savage enemy this land had seen so far in its history. Our archers were running away from the outer wall, a few such as Oswald and Thomas letting off a last few arrows before running back themselves, letting us deal with the enemy had to hand. Soon I was using my poleaxe to great effect, standing in front of a ladder and using the hammer on the hands of the Uruk's as they climbed up, forcing many to lose their hold before falling to their deaths below. Close by I saw Legolas with a rope, hauling something up, and it was soon revealed to be Aragorn and Gimli. Glad that they were safe, I kept at my work. One Uruk thrust at me with its sword but I stepped back to avoid it, allowing it to jump onto the wall. However, it didn't go one pace before a large man stepped in with a two handed hammer and smashed it in the chin, sending it to the ground and I finished it off with a stab. Looking up I realised this man was Wemba, Cerdic's smith.

'Thank you, friend.'

'Don't talk, just fight!'

He then joined me in our defence but in many places the Uruk's had clambered over the walls and were fighting us in a confused brawl across the battlements.

'Pull back! Fall back!' I heard Gamling roar.

'You heard him!' I shouted at Wemba and shoved him along, urging him to get back to the keep.

I swung my poleaxe as hard as I could at an Uruk, whacking him with the blunt head of the weapon, sending its helmet flying off, blood and bone following it. My uncle with Cerdic and Cenric were also pulling back, rushing across the stone bridge. An Uruk swung at Cenric when he wasn't looking but I reached the just in time, blocking the blow with my poleaxe before swinging again and hitting the beast at the back of the neck, breaking it in one blow. The boy turned in time to see what I did, and he nodded in thanks before continuing to run. Archers on the inner wall were shooting at the Uruk's now, buying us time, as we continued to run, until I crossed, followed by Aragorn and his two companions, the last off the outer wall. The bridge to the outer wall was fitted with a gatehouse and turret so we slammed the door shut and barred it, though in only moments we heard the monsters battering at it.

'Won't hold forever,' said Cerdic.

'I'll stay and guard it,' I volunteered.

'No you won't,' my uncle ordered me. 'The castle will fall soon, there's no doubt of that. Jason, Edmund and some of the others are getting ready to hold the path up here. Go join them, we'll buy as much time as we can.'

'Yes uncle.'

I hurried across the yard topped by the statue to the long, curved path leading up to the yard. It was just below a section of wall marking the great keep where a dozen archers, a mix of ours and the Elves, were ready to start shooting. Amongst them I was glad to see the Fendrel brothers up there. Just below them stood three ranks of our knights, all with weapons ready, and I joined them, as did Richard.

'We're not coming out of this are we?' Richard whispered.

'I don't think so.'

There came a crash from below followed by a hollering as the Uruk's swarmed up the path towards us. Men on the inner wall shot down at them and as they rounded the corner before us the archers let loose a volley at them, striking down many of the Uruk's.

'Retreat!' a voice called behind us and I spared a glance to see everyone else racing into the keep except for a few such as my uncle, the king and Aragorn who were making sure people were reaching the safety of the hall. Cerdic though rushed over to join us, making his way to the front of our lines and we braced ourselves to buy time for our comrades.

Our foes crashed into us, but we held our line, thrusting, stabbing and hacking away at the while the archers above us kept shooting, every second allowing more and more men and boys to escape to safety. Cerdic blocked a blow with his shield before stabbing an Uruk only for another to swing at his arm, but I blocked it with my poleaxe just in time before killing the offending beast. For a while I felt like a warrior of legend, like Beowulf, Edwin, Raedwald or Aeneas as we slew monster after monster before the order came.

'Retreat! Everyone's inside! Retreat!'

'Let's go!' Cerdic shouted and we started running, our archers shooting a few times before they also ran.

Somehow, and to this day I'm not sure how, I, Aragorn and Jason were at the back, stabbing and hacking as we ran towards the steps. With each step back Jason stabbed with his weapon, letting out a savage growl with each blow and spurt of black blood. There Jason parried a blow with the shaft of his bill only for the wood to break in half, splinters flying everywhere. Before he could be killed though, I pulled Jason back and sliced into the beast with my poleaxe. Jason drew his arming sword and started swinging, trading a few blows before killing another Uruk and I swung three times with the hammer side of my poleaxe, killing a monster with each blow.

'We have to go!' I shouted at Jason and he nodded, the pair of us running up the steps and through the doors which were at once slammed shut behind us and then barred.

I let go of my weapon, it clattered to the stone floor, and then I removed my helmet, sweat running out of it as I threw off my soaked arming cap and then, at last, I collapsed to the ground, my armour banging against the flagstones as I did so. For a few seconds I just laid on the ground, panting and not thinking about the Hell waiting outside.

Then a hand gripped me by the shoulder and spun me around to look up into my uncles terrified eyes.

'John are you alright?' he asked, voice shrill with fear.

'Just tired,' I told him and his expression changed to relief.

'Good. I promised your father I'd take care of you and I'm not letting you die tonight.'

He pulled me up to my feet and I looked around the hall to see hundreds of men and boys mixed with Elves, all exhausted and broken. Some were crying, seeing their brothers, fathers or sons killed. Some women were bringing in buckets of water with cups and I soon had a drink, feeling better for it.

Yet, as I looked around this hall, I knew I was looking at the faces of men and boys who knew they were about to die.

'This is a mess,' said Tancred who was nearby. 'I said we shouldn't have come here.'

'Just shut up,' I snapped at him. 'I'm not going to die listening to you bragging about being right, save that for Saint Peter.'

'I know we're about to die,' Jason added, 'but I'd rather die here than of old age in my bed. I'll die on me two good feet with a sword in hand and I'll go to God with a smile on my happy, blood stained face.'

'You know,' said Richard, 'I always knew it would end like this.'

'Meaning?' asked Marcus.

'That I'd get killed in a castle besieged by monsters ready to turn me into the main course for their victory feast.'

'How can you make jokes at a time like this?' Mathew Fendrel asked him.

'Last chance I'll ever get.'

'Maybe the Witch of Widford will save us,' Tancred snidely hissed at him.

'Shut it!' I shouted at him again.

…

By the time the first, pale light of morning emerged, our spirits could not have been lower. A call had gone out for the women and children to escape down a narrow passage to the mountains. As for the boys who had fought, the king allowed them to go as well, thanking them for their service to king and country. As for us in the hall of the castle, we barricaded the door while the Uruk's outside brought up their battering ram. I looked at us gathered together, a collection of men and elves, still ready to fight to the end, even if that was only because we had nowhere to run to. Of the men of Rohan, they were down to the last hundred men, our company stood with them as well and of the elves, only about twenty or so remained standing, their casualties on the Deeping Wall had been terrible, their leader Haldir still stood, though he was injured. I looked over to the king where he and Aragorn were in the midst of a fierce argument, but I paid them no mind, my job was to fight, and if my time had come, it had come.

'We take twenty of them for each of us,' announced Richard. 'I won't die before I've done that!'

'Just twenty?' asked Jason, looking at his sword. 'I'm aiming for fifty!'

'This isn't a game you fools!' shouted Tancred. 'We're all going to die.'

'I've had enough of your cowardice,' I hissed at Tancred.

'How dare you call me a coward?' he growled dangerously.

'Because he's right,' Lord Robert told his son. 'We have no chance of coming out of this alive my son. At least die with some self-respect.'

'You argued against coming here,' he reminded his father.

'I did, but we can't change the past, any part of it. Now stop whining and get ready to fight.'

Forcing a table into place over the doorway as the ram struck again we could hear the wood splitting. We only had moments, we all knew it, and we were ready. Then something changed, the sunlight, it grew brighter suddenly as the sun properly rose at last. Then the king spoke up, his voice now strong and ready for the battle.

'The horn of Helm Hammerhand, shall sound in the Deep one last time!'

'Yes,' Gimli shouted and ran towards the horn.

'Let this be the hour, we draw swords together,' he said to Aragorn and turned to my uncle. 'Baron, have your men's horses brought up. We ride out one last time today! Will you ride with me as well?'

'I'll be honoured,' he answered, though internally he disliked it.

It's like the Battle of Wakefield all over again, he thought to himself.

'Sire,' he then said to the king of Rohan, 'not all of my men are gifted to fight in the saddle and prefer to fight on their own two feet.'

'Have them form a rear guard to protect the caves.'

As my horse had died, and to be honest I've always preferred fighting on foot to on horseback, I volunteered to fight in the rear guard. We were a motley collection of Englishmen, Elves and Rohirrim, all tired but ready for whatever fate awaited us. Our bowmen had put down their longbows and taken up swords, falchions and hammers, joining us in the line. I said farewell to my cousins as their horses were brought up and they got ready to ride out, as did Cernric saying goodbye to his father.

'Fell deeds awake,' the king of Rohan proclaimed from his horse. 'Now for wrath! Now for ruin! For the red dawn!'

The gates were smashed open as the mighty war horn of the fortress roared into life and the first of the Uruk-Hai rushed in, only to see mounted men.

'FORTH EORLINGAS!'

The cavalry charged out, shouting and cheering as they did so and riding down many of the Uruk's. As they rode out, those of us left rushed forwards and the fight went on.

…

In the caves there were scenes of panic as hundreds of women and children hurried through the passages towards the only escape into the mountains. Father Harold was amongst them but his ankle was still hurting so he couldn't go very fast. Sunniva was still with him, as well as others.

'There's no point waiting for me,' he told Sunniva. 'Run as fast as you can.'

She knew he was right but didn't want to admit it. Harold reached into his small leather bag and withdrew from it a book, its pages rough, and passed it to Sunniva.

'Keep this safe and escape.'

'What is it?'

'It will take too long to explain. Now escape while you can and let old men rest.'

She looked at the book for a moment and nodded.

'Good luck.'

'Good luck.'

Sunniva started running along with everyone else while Harold sat down on a large rock nearby and reached to his belt, pulling out a long knife with an ornate handle, ready to wait.

…

With Alaric in my hands I swung and sliced, running through my enemies while still the fighting went on around us. We had fought with all our strength and had managed to fight out of the hall and into the Hornburg again. I and Cenric rushed onto the command turret of the castle where Theoden had commanded us the previous night. As Uruk had planet a white hand banner there and the two of us had decided to bring it down. Together we slew the beasts there and Cenric personally grabbed the banner and tore it down. From our position through we saw a stunning sight. From a nearby hill we saw a great force of cavalry in green cloaks charging towards the enemy, led by a figure in white.

'The wizard!' I cheered. 'Aid has come!'

The Uruk's knew what had happened and they had begun to flee from the castle as their comrades outside were being swept aside by the riders of Rohan. Soon the Hornburg was abandoned by the Uruk's, desperate for a chance of escaping, but it was useless and the walls of the castle were lined by us, cheering as we saw the enemy fleeing towards the forest.

'Where did that forest come from?' I asked Cenric who shrugged, as confused as I was.

The enemy horde reached the trees and then the screams started. In an almost nightmarish display the trees shook and shivered tearing apart the Uruk-Hai. We watched in awe of this but men began to cheer with relief now that we knew we would live. We had won the Battle of Helm's Deep.

AN: And so the battle is won. John and his companions fought through a terrible night of slaughter but have come out victorious. So, I hope you all liked this chapter, I loved writing it. Now, one thing I really wanted to do with this rewrite was to show James Harris's qualities as a leader before he does the things which happen later, if you've read the original version of this fanfic then you know what I mean and I think I managed this here. So, let me know what you think and have a great day.

Review Response Time:

ATP: Oh I have plans for Father Harold in this world. Thanks for your review.

Puffgirl1952 the 2nd: Thanks for your review and I hope you enjoyed the battle.