Chapter 43: The Battle of the Hornburg
It is night time. Men stand ready and armed on the battlements of Helms Deep and along the top of the Deeping Wall elves are lined up. They watch as the Uruk-hai armies advance with lit torches. Dustin and Max stand next to each other on the Deeping Wall.
You could have picked a better spot." asked Max.
Dustin smiled and smirked to Max's frustration. Due to his size, he couldn't see over the wall.
Trent joined the elves at the Deeping wall as well. He came beside Dustin and watched the incoming dark army.
"Well lad," spoke Max, "whatever luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night."
Moments later… thunder sounded and a flash of lighting came down…
CRRASSSH!
…That shone brightly on everyone's faces as well as briefly illuminating the valley, and the huge milling mass sea of Uruk-hai that filled it…
"Your friends are with you, Trent," Dustin assured Trent.
"Let's hope they last the night," Max repeated.
Trent then went away from the others and strode down the wall. As he did.
At the top of the causeway, Anton stood with his men as more thunder was rumbling. And as the king glanced up at the threatening sky…
…Rain began to pour…
…Slowly at first, pinging of the metal of their armor…
…But quickly… it became a swift and loud downpour of rain that began to soak both the Rohan and Uruk-Hai armies. The thudding of tens of thousands of booted feet competed with the thunder as the army filled the valley from wall to wall…
The women and children in the caves heard the sounds overhead and were frightened. Tori, however, kept vigilant, hoping that the soldiers will save them all. Mothers drew their children close and tried to soothe their crying babies…
The Uruks were squat and broad, some tall and grim, with high helms and sable shields. An Uruk-hai leader climbed up, and stood on top of a rock outcrop, as the rest of Zeltrax's hate-bred army marched on ahead, carrying their spears and banners, nearing the great fortress of Rohan…
Trent strode behind the elven archers lining the wall, commanding, "…A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn… an uben tanatha le faelas (Show them no mercy… for you shall receive none)!"
The Uruk army marched on still, until… the leader held his sword in the air, and gave a terrifying, animal-like cry, signaling for the troops to stop. Finally… the enemy soldiers came to a stop just inside of bow range before the Deeping Wall.
Silence followed…
…The women and children heard the silence as well as they held on to wait in both hope and fear of the battle that was about to commence…
Trent took position among the Elf-archers, standing in front of them. From thereon in… only the sounds of thousands of sputtering torches… and the loud steamy blowing of tens of thousands of Uruk-hai could be heard between thunder rumbles…
The blowing became louder… and louder each moment, growling in anticipation of the upcoming battle and slaughter, as the rain continued to pour, drenching the valley, making the ground muddy beneath the Uruks' feet…
Max tried to jump and struggle to see what was going on in the valley. "What's happening out there?" the Dwarf asked impatiently.
"Shall I describe it to you?" Dustin asked, looking out at the enemy army… then glanced down at Gimli with a smile, "…or would you like me to find you a box?"
Max glanced up at Dustin after that snide remark…
Max gave a loud, good-natured chuckle, "heheeehehehe!"
The Uruk leader roared out his commands… and the army started slamming the butt of their spears to the ground, with the Orc horns sounding in the background…
…THUMP…!
…THUMP…!
…THUMP…!
…THUMP…!
…THUMP…!
…THUMP…!
As the thumping continued, Trent drew his sword, readying himself for attack…
…THUMP…!
…THUMP…!
…THUMP…!
…THUMP…!
…THUMP…!
Dustin also readied himself for battle as Max struggled, trying to see what was happening as he jumped a little ways over the wall…
…THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP…!
The thunderous thumping of the Uruk-Hai increased even faster…
The archers above the gate had their bows drawn and aimed at the front line of Uruk-hai…
…THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP…!
Everyone waited tensely as the thumping and roaring continued to sound so loudly that it could even be heard from inside the caves. The women and children in the caves huddle together in fear to this loud thumping…
…THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP…!
The thumping became louder and faster each time…
The Uruks banged fists upon their armor, and stomped onto the ground, adding to the horrible thumping of their spears. Aldor, an old man beside the teenage Háleth, had his bow drawn… but shook in utter fear making him unable to hold his arrow. The tension increased, especially with the old man hearing the accursed stomping…
…Then… the old man lost his grip, releasing his arrow prematurely…
SWOOP!
…And accidentally shot an Uruk-hai in the neck.
"DARTHO (HOLD)!" Aragorn shouted, raising his hand to the Elves…
Everyone waited as the accidental shot silenced the thumping…
Some or most of them went speechless after what happened with the old man.
…With a hollow groan, the Uruk that was shot… slowly collapsed to the ground…
In great frustration… The other Uruk-hai bare their teeth… and roar in anguish, now wanting the blood of Rohan more eagerly because the Men were the ones to draw first blood.
With a cry… the Uruk-hai leader thrusts his weapon in the air… and the Uruk-hai army began charging to the fortress…
Anton still stood faithfully with his men as he said fatefully, "…so it begins."
The battle had indeed begun. The Uruk-Hai army massed in great numbers, charging faster towards the walls, intending to carry out the wishes of their master, Saruman, to leave no man alive in the fortress…
"Tangado halad! (Prepare to fire!)," Trent commanded.
"Tangado halad!" other Elves relayed the order to the rest as they notched arrows to their bows and aimed…
The Uruks rushed even closer as the Elves stood ready with their bows drawn.
Dustin told his Elven kin, "…faeg i-varv dîn na lanc… a nu ranc (their armor is weak at the neck… and underneath the arm).
Leithio i philinn! (Release the arrows!)," Trent yelled…
And the Elves fired their arrows. Arrows start to rain down on the Uruk-hai below, killing many, but many more ran over the bodies to continue forward.
"Did they hit anything?" Max asked, still trying fruitlessly to see over the wall.
Feeling that the men have waited long enough, Anton told Danny, "give them a volley."
Danny raised his hand and shouted, "fire!"
"FIRE!" A man, who has only one eye, relayed the order to the human archers over the gate.
More arrows were released, hitting more Uruks, but the army kept advancing further, with more replacing those that were fallen…
"Ribed…!" Trent cried out as he raised his sword, and leaned back towards a line of Elves, who were down below, behind the Deeping wall, to give extra support to their kin from the ground, "…BAANT!"
A second barrage of arrows flowed even more fiercely than before. Volley after volley met their marks, but still the Uruks kept on, like an endless tide climbing over the bodies of their dead, trying to reach the walls.
"Send them to me!" cried Max with impatience, "c'mon!
The Elves continued to fire their arrows at the Uruks, then…
The Uruks pulled out crossbows… and shot them at some of the Elves with their arrows. Some Elves fell over in front of… and even behind the Deeping Wall. And in the confusion… the Uruk-hai were able to reach the wall… and started to load their siege ladders, digging them into the ground next to the walls, pushing them up with their long spears…
"Pendraid! (Ladders!)," Trent called out the warning, seeing the Uruks climb up the walls using the ladders.
Good!" Max exclaimed with relishing satisfaction.
The ladders had lots of Uruk-hai warriors on them, as they were pushed up by the Uruk pikesmen, reaching the top of the Deeping Wall. The Berserker Uruks, the much larger and fearsome of the Uruk-Hai with naught but loin cloths and small helmets on their heads, filled with human blood to awaken a bloodlust within these creatures, were on top of the ladders, waiting to create a massacre with the Elves.
Swords! Swords!" Trent exclaimed as the Elves drew their blades in preparation for combat.
One of the ladders reached the wall… but Max was there, waiting, as he swung his axe high, hitting the creature in the chest.
The Berserkers swung their huge swords wide, striking many Elven warriors. Ryan stuck his sword into one of the beasts, then turned around to pull the blade from the stinking creature as it fell. But also in the raging battle… some of the Elves were thrown down in front of the Uruks. As one of the Berserker Uruks enjoyed his slaughter of Elves… Max slid in under its legs… and hacked at the creature's stomach.
Max then glanced up at Dustin, exclaiming, "Dustin, two already!" He held up two fingers up in confirmation.
"I'm on seventeen!" Dustin called back, after shooting an Uruk with his bow.
"Arg! I'll have no pointy-ear outscoring me!" Max grumbled with disgust, as he swung his axe at another enemy in the groin, making it fall down, to the ground, where Max finished it off.
The two contestants of the Uruk killing contest continued to count how many Uruks they've killed. Dustin had just killed 17 and Max killed three .
Dustin shoots two more arrows at the Uruks. "Nineteen!" Dustin called out to Max, "how's that for you."
Trent fought his hardest, dodging many of the Berserker Uruks attacks, cutting their legs and stabbing them while they were down. The valiant ranger then went to one of the siege ladders and knocked it down with his foot. The alliance between the men and elves has so far been able to ward off the incoming Uruk-Hai. But there were so many more to go through.
So with Helm's Deep still in great peril, will the Men and Elves win… or lose…