Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 30- Aid to Friends
The winds blow warm over the lands surrounding the Lonely Mountain. In most times, it may add to the peaceful feeling in the area. However, it does not do so today.
The Battle of Dale has been raging for several days. The massive army of the Easterlings had laid siege to Dale. Despite the aid of the Dwarves of Erebor, and even some from the Iron Hills, Dale had fallen and its population had been forced to retreat into the Lonely Mountain. The Easterlings had continued on to lay siege to Erebor. Despite their best efforts, the Men and Dwarves had failed to break the siege, and the previous day, King Brand of Dale had fallen before the Gates of Erebor, and King Dain Ironfoot had then fallen defending the body of his friend.
Command of the battle now lay in the hands of Brand and Dain's sons, Bard and Thorin Stonehelm. However, the two new kings, who have not even yet been crowned because of the battle, are losing confidence in their ability to win the battle. Their number of combat-ready warriors has dipped below ten thousand, while their lookouts estimate the Easterling army as still being over 40,000.
On the ramparts overlooking the gates of Erebor, Thorin and Bard look out over the Easterling army assembled before the Mountain. The Easterlings are preparing for a new assault on the Mountain, and both kings are worried they may not be able to withstand this one.
"We will put my warriors and your swordsmen behind the gate, and mount all your archers here on the ramparts. When they come, we will hit them with everything we have," Thorin says in an iron tone.
"This may be our last chance. If we can't mount a truly effective defense, this will be the end of us," Bard says.
Thorin nods in response. He is about to speak again when suddenly, a strange sound can be heard. Both kings stay silent as they try to listen more carefully. Slowly, more and more people in and out of the Mountain go quiet as they listen to the sound.
Then, two large dark shapes appear in the sky, flying up from the south. Everyone watching watches quietly as the shapes approach. That is, until they nose down and start shooting green bolts of light into the Easterlings that cause explosions and kill dozens of Easterlings and scatter more.
Following the end of the battle of the Black Gate, Aragorn had dispatched the mandalorians that had come to help the other two major battles going on come to an end. Bo-Katan had sent one Kom'rk and its complement of warriors to Mirkwood, and the other two to Erebor. Now, the two sent to Erebor have arrived.
As the two fighters pull up from their first strafing pass, they jettison several explosives out of the back. These explosives fall down upon the Easterlings and detonate, killing several hundred Easterlings.
As the fireballs from the explosions rise into the sky, the two fighters open their passenger bays, and 40 Mandalorians fly out of the fighters. The Mandalorians dive down towards the ground, dropping grenade on the Easterlings before drawing their blasters and firing them into the ranks of the Easterlings as the fighters make another strafing pass with their laser cannons.
On the ramparts of Erebor, Bard and Thorin stare on in shock as the Mandalorians and their fighters lay waste to the Easterlings. The fighters kill hundreds of Easterlings with each pass, while the warriors fire their blasters, drop grenade and fire rockets, and unleash jets of flame with their flamethrowers. In a matter of minutes, thousands of Easterlings have been killed.
The Mandalorians finally set down, not wanting to waste all the fuel in their jetpacks. However, this doesn't stop the wave of death they are unleashing on the Easterlings. Sticking together, the Mandalorians attack the Easterlings viciously, gunning down every Easterling around them. A handful of Easterlings manage to get close to the mandalorians, but they are quickly killed by the Mandalorians' vibro-blades.
As Bard and Thorin continue to watch the Mandalorian's assault of the Easterlings, they both turn to each other with a grin on their faces. "Well, looks like these people may have given us the chance we need," Bard says.
"Agreed," Thorin responds with glee evident in his voice. The two kings head down into the mountain.
On the field before the Mountain, the Mandalorians continue their attack, trying to keep in a circle so they are covered from all directions. Blaster bolts are flying everywhere as the Mandalorians fire their weapons over and over. The fighters continue their strafing runs with their laser cannons, killing hundreds of Easterlings.
Then, from the direction of Erebor, the Mandalorians hear the bellowing sound of a large horn. All of the Mandalorians turn their heads towards the Mountain, and feel smiles cross their faces as they watch the armies of Dale and Erebor come charging out of the now open gates and beginning to fall on what is now the rear of the Easterling army and slaying all in their path. The Mandalorians take advantage of this and press their own attack, but now putting more pressure in the direction of the approaching Men and Dwarves so they can unite their forces.
Faced with the Mandalorians, and now a concentrated attack out of Erebor, the discipline of the Easterlings breaks and the Easterlings begin to flee before their enemies. The Dwarves and the Men of Dale cheer as they watch their enemies beginning to flee and charge after them, determined to kill as many as they can before the Easterlings can escape.
Finally, the last of the Easterlings between the Mandalorians and the defenders of Erebor fall to the blades and bolts of their enemies. The Dwarves and Men cheer as Bard and Thorin walk to meet the Mandalorians.
The lead Mandalorian removes their helmet, revealing it to in fact be Gar. Having spent lots of time in Middle Earth, it was decided to send him to lead the Erebor strike force since he knew a little bit about Middle Earth customs.
"Greetings, my Lords. I am Gar Rook, and we are warriors of Mandalore. We have been sent to aid you against the Easterlings," Gar says. He then looks at Thorin and says, "Young Gimli sends his regards."
Thorin smiles at that. "Ah. You know young Gimli?"
"Yes. I fought alongside him at Helm's Deep and have several fights with him since then," Gar says with a smile.
"Well, someone who is a friend of Gimli's is one I can trust," Thorin says.
"What brought you here?" Bard asks.
"The Mandalorians come from off world, but some of our members have been here for months and have been fighting for the freedom of the Free Peoples. Now, I come with news. Earlier today, I was part of an army of Rohan and Gondor that fought the Dark Lord's army at the Black Gate. And during that battle, the One Ring was destroyed. Sauron has been defeated for good," Gar informs the two kings.
Bard and Thorin look at Gar in amazement, hardly believing what he just said.
After several moments, Gar says, "We have further messages from Aragorn, the new king of Gondor. However, how about we wait for those until we've beaten these Easterlings."
Bard and Thorin grin and nod. Gar slides his helmet back onto his head and draws his blasters. Then, he utters a war cry and charges alongside Bard and Thorin after the Easterlings, with the Dwarves, Men, and Mandalorians following them.
Under the brightening sky that now lies over Mirkwood, Fel moves rapidly through the trees, firing his blasters at the Orcs in his way. Around him, more of his Mandalorian fellows move through the trees, gunning down more Orcs. All around them are Elves of both Lothlorien and the Woodland Realm.
Aragorn had sent Fel to lead the Mandalorians he had ordered to assist the Elves in their assault on Dol Guldur. After landing just outside the Elves' camp, the Mandalorians had met the Elves, and Fel had conferred with Thranduil, Celeborn, and Galadriel. Now, the Elves and the Mandalorians have begun their assault on Dol Guldur.
Sauron's forces in Dol Guldur had been expecting the assault, and stationed Orcs and spiders out in the trees surrounding the hill where the fortress lies. Fel and the Elvish commanders had decided that they would kill all of the enemies in the trees and secure the bridge leading to the fortress. After that, Galadriel would enter the fight, though Fel had no idea what she planned to do, especially since she was not armed.
Fel smiles a bit to himself as he thinks of Galadriel. When he had first met Galadriel after their arrival, he had been in absolute awe of her beauty. Jakan's attempts to convey her beauty when her talked about her didn't do her justice by a long shot. Fel was certain he had never seen anything so beautiful, nor believed a being could be so beautiful. He had joked with one of his fellow Mandalorians he had almost proposed marriage on the spot, so taken was he by her beauty. That had caused a number of good laughs amongst the Mandalorians.
Fel now tries to refocus on the battle. With a screech, a spider comes scuttling out of the trees. Pushing aside his feelings of disgust at the sight of the massive arachnid, Fel kills it with several blaster shots to the face.
Fel leaps over the corpse of the spider, and immediately sees several Orcs charging at him. Fel kills two of them with blaster shots, then draws his sword and drives it through the heart of the third Orc charging at him. He then whips out the sword and beheads the final Orc.
Another Mandalorian hurries up to him. "We've got about 30 meters to the bridge," the warrior reports.
"Good. Let's move," Fel says. He moves forward into the trees, the other warrior following close behind.
As they move through the trees, Orcs continue to come at them screeching and waving their weapons. However, several Galadhrim melt out of the trees and join the two Mandalorians, cutting down any orcs that face them.
Within a minute, they move out of the trees, and find the end of the bridge. Up ahead, Dol Guldur looms against the skyline.
Fel taps into the Mandalorians' radio and calls out, "This is Fel Vizsla. We have secured the end of the bridge."
Another Mandalorian, who had remained with Celeborn, Thranduil, and Galadriel to serve as a communicator, replies, "Copy. Making our way there now."
As Fel and his small group, more and more Elves and Mandalorians begin to emerge from the trees. Fel is pleased to see that there have been almost no casualties among the Elves, and feels glad that they were able to assist the Elves.
As the minutes tick by, Orcs, Trolls, and Wargs try to sortie forth from Dol Guldur, but are cut down by blaster bolts and arrows. None manage to get even halfway along the bridge.
Finally, Galadriel emerges from the trees with Celeborn and Thranduil. She makes her way to Fel and smiles. "Well done, Fel Vizsla. You are a grand warrior. Your life will be full of battle, but do not lose sight of who you are," she says. Fel feels a strange feeling going through him as he hears that.
Galadriel turns to Celeborn and gives her husband a firm hand-squeeze before moving out onto the bridge leading to the fortress. The Elves and Mandalorians begin firing their bows and blasters at the fortress to keep the Orcs from trying to fire their own bows at Galadriel.
Fel watches as Galadriel raises her hands. Then, to his surprise, she begins to sing. Her voice echoes through the surrounds, entrancing the Mandalorians, who have never heard something of its like. Then, Fel sees a bright light shining from her head. Looking more closely, he can see what looks like an extravagant ring at the center of the light.
Energy begins to swirl around Dol Guldur and the wind picks up. Fel realizes she is casting magic with her song.
As Galadriel sings, her own power and the power of Nenya is unleashed. The remaining sorcery within Dol Guldur begins to be purged from the stones of the fortress. The stones of the fortress are torn free and loosened. The gates into the fortress collapse and the towers begin to crumble. The deep pits of Dol Guldur are torn open and made bare. All the inhabitants of the fortress are killed in the fortress' destruction as the fortress finally collapses into a pile of rubble.
Finally, Galadriel ceases her singing and lowers her hands as the glow from Nenya fades. She smiles slightly as she turns to face her audience. However, she quickly focuses on Fel.
"Fel Vizsla, I believe your work here is accomplished. When you return, please deliver a message. Tell that I and Lord Celeborn will be attending King Elessar's coronation," Galadriel says.
"Huh?" Fel asks. However, he smiles in understanding as an image of Aragorn flashes through his mind.
Haldir then steps forward to Fel. "It has been a pleasure to fight beside you once more, Fel Vizsla. And give my regards to Jakan Shan when next you see him," Haldir says to Fel.
"Of course, Haldir," Fel says with an incline of the head. He is looking forward to getting back to Minas Tirith and seeing what comes next.
And, I'll end the chapter there.
Next chapter will cover the reunion of the Fellowship, the coronation, and the marriage of Aragorn and Arwen. It should be up soon. Until it is, please leave a review and stay tuned!
