The Strangers in Middle Earth

I own nothing but my OC's

Chapter Eight

Cleared Skies

We cheered for a while, celebrating our victory but soon we came to count the cost. So many of the brave Men and Elves who fought to defend Rohan had fallen, many young boys had been amongst the dead, struck down by the Uruk's crossbows and sadly by the beasts which came over the walls. Fortunately, the experience and training of our company was vital for the defence of the gates lasting as long as it did and if we had not done so, many of the untrained levies of Rohan would have had to fight and many of them would have been slaughtered by these monsters born from the depths of Hell itself. Of the Elves, a hundred and sixty five of them were killed, their immortal lives ending in the defence of Men and in defiance of the dark wizard. Haldir, their commander, was amongst those who fell dead, and King Théoden asked the survivors to convey his thanks to Lady Galadriel. For Rohan, they lost a hundred and seven men, over a third of the Rohirric force at Helm's Deep. For our company, twelve of us were killed, a small number in the scheme of the battle but for a force of only a hundred, it was a terrible loss. Of the knights, Sir Gad de Trafford, Sir Roger Carey, Sir Godfrey Gage, Sir Valentine Poitier, Sir Donald Stanley and Sir John Berry laid dead, as did the squire Robert Black, the yeomen Richard of Sandwich, Aiden of York, who at Edoras had spoken so well of fighting here instead of trying to track down a way to go home to his wife and sons, and Peter Peterson and the mercenaries Isaac of Avon, Henry of Wearmouth and Henry of Carlisle.

The bodies of the Uruk-Hai had been hauled out of the castle by Eomer's men, it had been decided that those of us who defended the castle throughout that darkest of nights would be allowed to rest. The corpses were burned on massive pyres, the smoke reaching up into the sky while the preparations were made for the burial of our dead. Each of them was covered with blankets for some respect so their loved ones would not have to look at the wounds which killed them. In the case of the de Trafford brothers, it was an extra boon as poor Gad, after his body fell from the causeway, had been hacked to pieces by the savage beasts below. While the two surviving brothers hadn't watched, we salvaged his remains and prepared them for burial.

Eomer's men dug a large pit over the course of a few hours behind the Deeping Wall. These men and Elves died defending Helm's Deep, and in turn they would find eternal peace within that castle. Each body was placed in the pit, one by one, until all were laid down and several came forward to say some words. The Elves all came together and sung a sombre tune at the edge of the pit before stepping away and allowing Théoden to come forwards, looking down into the pit at so many dead and then looked at all those gathered around with tired eyes.

'The price of victory was heavy, and it shall be one this country will remember until the end of days. Last night we have proven that strength still lives on in our hearts, and with that strength we shall endure whatever test is thrown at us, whatever struggle we face. Those who gave their all, who made the final sacrifice for their loved ones, we will remember them. Now we say farewell to these heroes, one final time.'

Théoden had offered my uncle the chance to speak but he declined and asked that it be given to Father Harold instead. The priest, clad in the same finery he had worn the previous night, stepped to the grave side, and clearly, he began to speak in Latin.

'Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine. Et lux perpetua luceat eis. Fidelium animae, per misericordiam Dei, requiescant in pace. Amen.'

'Amen,' I and the rest of our company repeated.

Harold bowed to the dead and made the sign of the cross before stepping away. Theoden nodded to a line of men nearby who each raised a horn to their lips and let out a long blast, and then the great horns of the castle were blown before more men with shovels began to fill in the grave. The de Trafford brothers were both weeping as they watched their brother being buried while everyone began to depart, mostly heading back to the caves. I and my cousins headed in the direction of the hall while we talked.

'I got seventeen of them,' Richard told us.

'Fifteen,' Marcus told us.

'Sixteen,' I said with a smile. 'I can't believe we survived last night. I thought we were all going to die.'

'So did most of us,' Marcus agreed. 'This victory is going to send Saruman a message.'

'That he'll need to raise more soldiers?' asked Richard.

'No, that he can be beaten, and his master will hear that message as well.'

At his statement the three of us stopped and looked at the oldest of us, realising what the wider impact of the battle would be.

'Sauron's going to strike soon,' I said, the feeling of dread creeping over me.

'And he's going to strike hard. I don't know where, but I have a bad feeling we'll be in the middle of it.'

After a shared ominous look, we continued up to the hall, my uncle had asked that all of our company assemble there after the burial. On the steps though I was stopped when my name was called out.

'John.'

I turned to see Sunniva, wearing a more formal dress than I'd seen her in before, approaching me quickly.

'You two head on, I'll join you in a minute.'

'Alright,' agreed Marcus.

'Have fun,' Richard laughed.

I joined Sunniva near the statue and then we began to speak.

'My father and brother told me about what you did last night,' Sunniva said.

'What did I do?' I asked, the battle had been so extreme and violent that some details weren't clear to me yet.

'Near the end when you retreated from the outer wall and that beast nearly killed Cenric when his back was turned.'

'And I blocked the blow,' I said, remembering now what she meant. 'I know he'd have done the same for me.'

'Still John, you saved his life. I just wanted to say thank you.'

'Your father already did before the funeral, but still Sunniva, I appreciate it. Your brother fought well too, and so did your father. If Cenric was an Englishman, he'd have earned his spurs for last night.'

'I suppose so. He says he killed seven Ururk's in the fight.'

'He did well for his first battle, that's for sure. How was it in the caves last night? Were you alright?'

'We managed, but it was terrifying. I remember when the explosion happened that destroyed the wall, we felt the entire mountain shake.'

'It must have been terrible.'

'Father Harold kept our spirits up. He was the only truly calm man in there last night, kneeling there and praying. A few of us prayed with him.'

I was surprised a little, knowing that none of the people of Rohan were Christian but they still prayed, following Father Harold's example.

'I need to get to the hall. It's been good talking to you Sunniva.'

'And you John. Take care.'

'God be with you,' I said and then hurried up to the hall, entering with the last few arrivals.

The hall was packed with our company and my uncle, Father Harold and Lord Robert stood at its head. I came to stand with my cousins and Jason while we waited for the last few to enter. At last they did and my uncle cleared his throat, getting our attention.

'Last night was honestly the hardest battle I have ever fought in, and I fear that it will not be the last in this war. Soon, Theoden King shall be riding to Isengard to accept the surrender of Saruman, and he has asked that several of us go with him. I shall go, and I invite half a dozen to act as my guards. Do I have nay volunteers?'

'Me,' said Jason. 'I wouldn't mind seeing a wizard's fortress.'

'I too,' said Sir Jack Able.

'Sounds like an adventure,' said Richard. 'I'll go with you.'

Both Marcus and I volunteered but my uncle turned us down, deciding that only one of his family should accompany him. His other three guards were decided to be Sir Arthur Parker, Robert of Wessex and Judah Tyler.

'Now that's decided, onto another matter, perhaps one more important for many of you. William, Thomas and Andrew FitzAlan, please step forwards.'

The thee squires, respectively aged eighteen, nineteen and twenty, all younger brothers of Sir Arthur FitzAlan, also of our company, stepped towards my uncle. He then proceeded to call out more names of our squires.

'Richard Armstrong, Thomas Grant and Lucas Mortimer.'

The six of them were the oldest of our squires, Lucas was the youngest at sixteen and Andrew was the oldest squire.

'Last night, the six of you fought as heroes of legend, all fighting well and being a credit to your masters, and those who trained you. I wish there was a way to make this more formal but given our circumstances this will do. You have earned the right to become knights,' he then drew his sword and held it high. 'Form a line.'

All six of them, clearly all excited and happy, formed a row at the front of the hall, kneeling before my uncle. My uncle, with dignity and honour, tapped each one on each shoulder with his sword before delivering a sharp slap across the face. When the last had received the blow my uncle loudly declared.

'Rise, Sir William FitzAlan, Sir Thomas FitzAlan, Sir Andrew FitzAlan, Sir Richard Armstrong, Sir Thomas Grant and Sir Lucas Mortimer, Knights of England.'

They all stood up, trying to look dignified but all smiling, happy that they finally attained what they wanted. They re-joined the crowd of us, we cheered them on and offered our congratulations before my uncle called for silence again.

'Well done, well done indeed. Now, it must be said, that the oldest of our squires fought well as did the younger ones, and your chance of knighthood will come again. However, it must be said that our squires were not the only ones who fought with honour and deserve a reward. Edmund of Wearmouth, Jason Bridge, Thomas Fendrel, Robert of Tynemouth, Tom of Westmoreland, Richard Bakerson, William of Dover and Peter of Pevensey.'

They all stepped forwards, they had not been expecting this, Jason looking absolutely surprised as he left our side, the three of us laughing as he did so, many others were doing so as well but some of the knights looked annoyed. One by one, by uncle knighted these common men for their acts of valour in the battle, my uncle declaring why each received his knighthood.

'Edmund, your skill in battle and your heroic, albeit unnecessary counter attack along the causeway, proved your courage.'

'Jason, you and my nephew were among the last defenders to enter the hall before we shut the doors. You fought like a hero.'

'Thomas Fendrel, you stood your ground under enemy crossbow bolts and kept shooting even as it appeared our cause was lost. You proved yourself worthy of becoming a knight.'

'Robert of Tynemouth, when your axe was broken you kept fighting armed only with your fists, breaking the necks of three Uruk-Hai personally. I don't know if you were mad or brave, but I will assume you were brave.'

'Tom of Westmoreland, armed only with a knife when you lost your billhook you refused to abandon the ladder you were fighting at and bought valuable time to allow the children fighting on the wall to escape.'

'Richard Bakerson, you were the first to volunteer to join our rear guard when the gate was breached, almost losing your life and slaying many of those monsters. Your courage is proven.'

'William of Dover, I saw you wrestle the sword of an Uruk from its hands and then you used it for the rest of the battle, killing fifteen Uruk-Hai with it. I see you still carry that sword this morning.'

'Peter of Pevensey, after losing your weapons in the gatehouse, you removed your helmet and used it to batter an Uruk to death'

'This morning, each of you was but a common man, now rise my friends, as knights.'

Each of them stood up to receive applause from the other yeomen and mercenaries and many of the knights did as well, myself and my cousins included.

'Congratulations to you all. The party travelling to Isengard will leave in an hour, get ready for the journey. What awaits us there, we shall soon find out. The rest of you will be under the command of Lord Robert and you shall journey back to Edoras with the people here, acting as guards as we did on the way here. When I reunite with you, we will then decide our next move. God be with us all.'

An hour later, Theoden King, Aragorn, Gandalf and the members of our company who were going with them, set off for Isengard. Marcus and I stood on the wall of the castle while we watched them ride away.

AN: So this is the shortest chapter of this story so far and I hope you all enjoyed it, just as a finisher to the Battle of Helm's Deep. Next time we start with the Return of the King section of the story and I am really looking forward to that. Have a great day folks.