Lord of the Rings: Retold
The Return of the King
Chapter 6:
We go back to Minas Tirith.
Faramir is being placed on a pyre of wood. Faramir moves uneasily in his unconscious sleep. The guards place piles of wood around the pyre table. Denethor bends over him and touches his face.
Denethor, "the house of his spirit crumbles. He is burning. Already burning."
Pippin runs up to Faramir, and tries to remove the wood surrounding the pyre.
Pippin yells hysterically, "he's not dead! He's not dead!"
Tom quickly joins in, yelling, "you daft brutes! He's still breathing!"
Cain begins barking!
Denethor grabs Pippin and Tom and drags them out. Pippin continues to cry out that Faramir is not dead.
Pippin, "no! No! No! No! He's not dead! No!"
Tom, "listen to us you madman!"
Denethor, "farewell, Peregrin, son of Paladin. I release you from my service. Go now and die in what way seems best to you."
He throws Pippin to the ground and shuts the doors. Pippin is greatly distressed. Tom and Cain are banging/scratching at the doors.
Denethor, "pour oil on the wood!"
Tom, Cain and Pippin run desperately through the city, trying to find the White Wizard. Chaos reigns around him.
A Soldier, "come on, soldier! Move it! Hurry along there! Hurry along!"
Pippin, "Gandalf! Where is Gandalf? Gandalf!"
Tom, "we need help!"
Orcs are streaming into the city, while buildings crumble, and men and women run in fear.
Gandalf, "retreat! The city is breached. Fall back to the second level! Get the women and children out. Get them out! Retreat!"
Another Soldier, "come on. Come on!"
Gothmog, "move into the city. Kill all in your path."
The Orcs run rampant, killing everything they come across.
A Soldier, "take them down!"
Gandalf, "fight! Fight to the last man! Fight for your lives!"
Pippin, "Gandalf", he pushes his way through the soldiers with Tom and Cain right behind him, "Gandalf! Denethor has lost his mind! He's burning Faramir alive!"
Tom, "the man is a complete loon!"
Gandalf, "up! Quickly!", he pulls Pippin onto Shadowfax, with Tom jumping onto Cain, and chasing after them.
Shadowfax stops suddenly when he sees the Witch-King on his fell beast land before them.
Gandalf, "go back to the abyss! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your master!"
Witch-King, "do you not know death when you see it, old man? This is my hour", his sword begins to flame and, at the Witch-King's timing, he breaks Gandalf's staff, throwing both Gandalf and Pippin to the ground. Tom jumps off of Cain and runs to their sides.
Pippin, "Gandalf", he takes out his sword and runs towards the fell beast but it roars in his face and frightens him off.
Witch-King, "you have failed. The world of Men will fall."
Horns can be heard in the distance. Gandalf looks up as the Witch-King flys away towards the sound.
...
Outside the city, the ranks of the Rohirrim crest the hill outside the Pelennor Fields. Théoden looks down on the thousands of Orcs, realizing that this battle cannot be won. His riders see the same. The Rohirrim are about to lose what courage they had.
Éowyn, "courage, Merry. Courage for our friends", she holds Merry close to her.
….
Gothmog, "form ranks, you maggots. Form ranks! Pikes in front. Archers behind."
….
Théoden bares his teeth at the enemy, and summons his courage, riding to his captains and giving orders.
Théoden, "Éomer, take your éored down the left flank."
Éomer, "flank ready."
Théoden, "Gamling, follow the King's banner down the center. Grimbold, take your company right after you pass the wall. Forth, and fear no darkness!"
Théoden rides in front of the Rohirrim, trying to bolster their courage.
Théoden, "Arise, Arise, Riders of Théoden!"
Théoden rides in front of Éowyn, and she hides her face from him.
Théoden, "spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered, a sword-day, a red day, where the sun rises!"
The riders ready their spears, as do the Orcs.
Éowyn says to Merry, "whatever happens, stay with me. I'll look after you."
Merry tries not to look nervous. Théoden rides in front of the horses, banging his sword against their lowered spears.
Théoden, "ride now! Ride now! Ride! Ride for ruin, and the world's ending! Death!"
Rohirrim, "Death!"
Éowyn gulps, looking nervous.
Théoden, "Death!"
Rohirrim, "Death!"
Théoden, "Death!"
Merry and Éowyn, "Death!"
Théoden, "Forth Eorlingas!"
Horns sound. The Rohirrim charge. The Orcs ready to fire at them.
Gothmog, "fire!"
The arrows are fired and many riders fall.
Merry, "Death!"
More arrows are fired, and more Rohirrim fall.
Théoden, "Charge!"
Gothmog, "fire at will!"
More riders fall as another round of arrows are fired, but they charge on and the Orcs begin to back off. The Rohirrim charged into the Mordor armies with such force that no Orc could withstand them.
The Rohirrim continue to decimate the Orc army.
….
Back in the city, Denethor stands atop the pyre pouring oil over his head. He looks down at Faramir who is covered in oil. Faramir's face twitches, but it passes unnoticed.
Denethor, "set a fire in our flesh."
Denethor stands on the pyre, arms outstretched like a martyr. Faramir lies at his feet. The attending soldiers move closely to the pyre with their torches. Just as they are about to put fire to wood, Shadowfax kicks open the doors.
Gandalf, "stay this madness!"
The guards stop. Denethor grabs a torch from a guard.
Denethor, "you may triumph in the field of battle for a day, but against the power that has risen in the east, there is no victory."
Denethor lights the pile of wood himself. Gandalf takes up a spear and charges Denethor, knocking him off the pyre. Pippin leaps from Shadowfax onto the pyre and tries to roll Faramir from a flaming death. Tom begins fighting off the guards with his lute as a blunt instrument, making various noises anytime it hit someone! Cain starts barking at the guards. After several tries Pippin succeeds and they both fall off onto the ground. Pippin slaps the flames off Faramir's clothes. Denethor rises and attacks Pippin.
Denethor, "no! You will not take my son from me!"
Pippin, "no! No!"
Tom, "get off of him, you daft steward!"
Gandalf rides up again and knocks Denethor onto the pyre, which now roars with flame. Denethor looks through the fire at Faramir, who has opened his eyes. Realizing that his son his still alive, Denethor softens…
Denethor, "Faramir."
But the flames leap around him and set the steward ablaze. Mad with pain, the screaming Denethor collapses as he burns to a crisp.
Gandalf, "so passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion."
The Rohirrim are still slashing away at the Orcs, who begin retreating back to Mordor.
Éomer, "drive them to the river!"
Théoden, "make safe the city!"
All of a sudden everything becomes silent.
We see a huge group of Mûmakil, ready for battle, approaching the Rohirrim. Théoden and his Men watch in fear as the giant beasts march toward them.
Théoden, "reform the line! Reform the line!"
The riders fall back into position, and prepare to charge the Haradrim.
Théoden, "sound the charge! Take them head-on!"
Gamling blows his horn.
Théoden, "charge!"
The Rohirrim charge towards the Mûmakil, and get decimated by the strength and size of their opponents. The Mûmakil use their tusks to send riders flying, and stomp upon them with their feet. The archers on the back of the giant beasts also kill many riders. Éomer pauses in front of one beast, and throws his spear at its driver, killing him. The driver falls, stabbing his Mûmak in the ear, which causes it to swing sideways, taking down another beast and itself. Meanwhile, Éowyn and Merry are riding amongst the Mûmakil, barely dodging death several times.
Éowyn, "take the reins! Pull him left! Left!"
She grabs a second sword from an Orc, and riding between a Mûmak's legs, hamstrings it, causing it to fall.
Éomer is shooting arrows as he says, "aim for their heads!"
The Mûmak he is aiming for rises on its hind legs, and begins to stagger.
Théoden, "bring it down! Bring it down! Bring it down!"
A nearby Mûmak falls, nearly landing on Merry and Éowyn. Their horse falls, and they are sent flying. Éowyn narrowly misses being landed on, by rolling away. Merry appears to have disappeared.
Éowyn, "Merry!"
Éowyn sees Théoden fighting Orcs that are surrounding him. She runs and kills some of the Orcs alongside of him. Merry coughs as he gets up from the ruins of the dead Mûmak. He is nearly killed by the spear of a Haradrim soldier but he ducks just in time and slashes him to death. Eowyn is approached by Gothmog, who tries to kill her. She hits him in his bad leg.
The Orcs are attacking the next level of the city, and soldiers wait behind the gate, ready to attack. Gandalf, Tom and Pippin are sitting behind a short wall, watching, and waiting.
Pippin, "I didn't think it would end this way."
Tom, "neither did I."
Gandalf looks at him in surprise.
Gandalf, "end? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass. And then you see it."
Pippin listens hopefully, as does Tom, as the sounds of the battle around them fade.
Pippin, "what, Gandalf? See what?"
Gandalf, "white shores, and beyond. A far green country under a swift sunrise."
Pippin, "well, that isn't so bad."
Gandalf, "no. No, it isn't."
Tom, "it sounds great."
They smile slightly at each other. The Orcs have nearly broken in. Gandalf nods at the Hobbit and man, and Pippin tightens the grip on his sword, with Tom holding his own sword tightly, and Csib growling righr beside them. Outside the gate, the Rohirrim grimly continue to fight on.
Théoden, "rally to me! To me!"
The riders near him are suddenly nervous. Théoden turns around and is aware of the presence of the Witch-king. The Witch-king swoops down and knocks down Snowmane and Théoden. Snowmane lands on top of Théoden. Not far off, Éowyn watches in shock and horror. The fell beast stands over Théoden.
Witch-king, "feast on his flesh."
Éowyn comes to stand in front of the beast, "I will kill you if you touch him!"
Witch-king, "do not come between a Nazgûl and his prey."
The fell beast tries to strike, and misses, foolishly leaving its neck exposed. Éowyn chops its head off in two strokes, and it dies, flailing about and landing heavily. The Witch-king then stands in front of Éowyn, a flail in its hand. Éowyn looks on in fear, and then ducks and side steps as the Nazgûl tries to hit her. The Witch-king finally lands a hit on her shield, and it shatters. She falls, crying out, and clutching her arm.
The Witch-King stands triumphantly before her. Elsewhere on the battlefield, black ships begin arriving at the pier.
The Head Orc says, "late as usual, pirate scum! There's knife-work here that needs doing. Come on, ya sea rats! Get off your ships!"
Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Freya hop down from one of the ships.
Gimli mutters to Legolas, "there's plenty for the both of us. May the best Dwarf win!"
Freya, "I'll hold you to that."
Aragorn, Freya, Legolas and Gimli then start running, charging the Orcs. The Dead stream from behind them, over the water, killing everything in their path.
Éowyn pants in fear as the Witch-king approaches.
The Witch-king grabs Éowyn's neck, "you fool. No man can kill me! Die now."
Suddenly Merry comes up from behind and stabs the Witch-king in the back of the leg. His blade crumbles into nothing and he falls to the ground, holding his right arm in pain. The Witch-king shrieks, and falls to its knees. Éowyn stands up and takes off her helmet, shaking her long golden hair loose.
Éowyn, "I am no man!"
With a cry, she stabs the Witch-king in the face with her blade. She falls to the ground in agony, but the Witch-king withers and crumples into nothing with a shrill cry, while Merry and Éowyn watch in surprise and shock.
The scene shifts over to various shots of Aragorn, Legolas, Freya and Gimli fighting.
Legolas is shooting as he goes, "15, 16…"
Gimli, as he is hacking up Orcs, "17…"
Freya slices the heads of three orcs as she says, "21 through 23!"
Aragorn takes down several Orcs and looks up.
Gimli, "…29…"
Éowyn, "Merry!"
Gothmog gets up just as Éowyn looks back. She begins to crawl. Aragorn is shown killing several Orcs. Eowyn reaches for a sword, but it slips from her reach. Aragorn slashes Gothmog just before he kills her and Gimli finishes him off.
Freya runs down several orcs with a spear, yelling, "34!"
Aragorn, "Legolas!"
Legolas turns to see an Oliphaunt charging him and rushes to meet it, swinging up onto its tusk. He quickly moves from its trunk to its leg, clambering up its limb using the many arrows stuck in its hide as hand and foot holds. Reaching the top he is met by several Southron warriors.
Legolas, "while shooting them down, "33, 34…"
Legolas then grabs hold of the rope holding the platform on the Oliphaunt's back. Swinging off, he cuts the rope and lets the platform fall over the side, pulling him up to the creature's back. Running up to the Oliphaunt's head he strings three arrows and shoots them into the beast's skull, bringing it down. Legolas slides off the trunk, landing safely on the ground in front of Gimli.
Gimli, "that still only counts as one! Come on, then! Come on!"
Freya had just sliced an orc in half and said, "48!"
Aragorn looks over the battlefield; realizing most of the enemies are dead. In the distance, a group of The Dead take down a Mûmak. The Dead overrun the city, killing all of the Mordor troops.
Meanwhile, Éowyn crawls to Théoden's side.
Théoden opens his eyes and looks at hern "I know your face…Éowyn."
Éowyn smiles tearfully.
Théoden, "my eyes darken."
Éowyn strokes Théoden's head gently, "no. No. I am going to save you."
Théoden weakly says, "you already did. Éowyn, my body is broken. You have to let me go. I go to my fathers, in whose mighty company, I shall not now feel ashamed", he draws a labored breath, "Éowyn…"
Théoden dies and Éowyn cries bitterly over his body. In another spot on the battlefield, the Army of the Dead stands before Aragorn.
King of the Dead, "release us."
Gimli, "bad idea. Very handy in a tight spot, these lads, despite the fact they're dead."
Freya, "Gimli…."
King of the Dead, "you gave us your word."
Aragorn, "I hold your oath fulfilled. Go. Be at peace."
The King of the Dead closes his eyes in relief, and the dead shimmer, and then disappear, as if blown away by the wind.
Soldiers walk around the battle-field, including Éomer, Pippin and Tom, to see if there is anyone still alive. Pippin spots Merry's Elven Cloak and picks it up.
Pippin, "Merry."
Eomer, in severe despair, "no", he drops his helmet and sword and runs over to Eowyn, who he thinks is dead, "no", he screams and cries bitterly.
Later, at the Houses of Healing, Aragorn is healing Éowyn of her wounds. She begins to breathe normally as she opens her eyes. We see her later, walking towards a window. Faramir looks at her in compassion.
We go back to where Pippin is looking for Merry. Freya and Tom are with him, with Cain trying to catch a whiff of Merry.
Pippin, "Merry! Merry", he glances over towards a dead Mûmak and pushes a dead body off of Merry.
Freya, "dear God."
Pippin takes Merry in his arms, "Merry! Merry, it's me. It's Pippin."
Tom and Freya look on in fear.
Cain starts whimpering.
Merry speaks weakly, "I knew you'd find me."
Pippin, "yes."
Tom breathes a sigh of relief with Freya quickly following with her own.
Merry, "are you going to leave me?"
Pippin, "no, Merry. I'm going to look after you."
Pippin grabs a cloak and covers Merry with it.
The fivd of them begin heading back to the city.
...
Reviews:
Amanny: same here. I always felt bad for Sam and Frodo at this moment. I'm. Glad you've been enjoying this story so much.
...
I made Denethor's death less over the top here.
Today I released this chapter, and chapter 27 of Ben 10: Alternate Alien.
Once this story finishes up, I shall release the Hobbit trilogy: Retold.
