Lord Of The Rings
Attack Of The Nazgûls
Chapter Three
Attack Of The Nazgûls
The woman and children of Rohan were screaming. Their cries attracting the attention of the men. All around Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, women and children were running inside, trying to find save haven.
Éowyn came running up, determined to stay and fight, but Aragorn stopped her.
"This is no place for a Lady of the Mark." He said.
Éowyn eyed him. "I can fight. I can handle a couple of Orcs." She said, defiantly.
"You may be able to kill a few Orcs, but you won't be able to withstand against the dark riders of Mordor." Gandalf said. "Aragorn is right. You should get inside."
Éowyn was too stubborn to move and so, Éomer, her brother, came forward, sword in hand and led her away, pushing her into the great hall, as the great golden doors shut with a mighty clang.
The Nazgûls had dismounted from their winged creatures and with their swords raised had began to step forward slowly, and had began to spread out in a circle, so they had surrounded the defenders of Rohan. The leader had a bigger sword then the rest, it's end glittering in the sun.
The Rohan men backed up each others backs. Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli stood back to back. The Nazgûls ignored the Rohan men and circled Gandalf and his group. Gandalf could see Éomer edging forward but shook his head to stop him from attacking. The wizard didn't want any more people hurt, especially after the battle at Helm's Deep.
The Nazgûls stopped and each one had their swords pointed and sharpened towards Gandalf and his group. Two Nazgûls glided forward towards Aragorn. Their swords raised towards his chest. Aragorn didn't waver; he stood tall and firm. Gandalf stepped in front of Aragorn, bringing his staff down and sending shock waves out to the Nazgûls.
The Nazgûls stopped as the shock wave hit them. As soon as the shock passed, they edged forward ever more, the two's swords pointing forward at Gandalf, but their hidden eyes were focused on the man behind the wizard.
Gandalf stood firm against the riders, not wavering against them. They edged forward, swords glittering in the sun. Then an arrow hit one of the Nazgûls and an earth-shattering cry pierced the ears of everyone nearby. Legolas lowered his bow, his eyes pointing daggers at the Riders.
The riders moved on and the group stepped back, even though they were completely surrounded. The two Nazgûl halted suddenly and thrust their swords forward. Gandalf moved back out of the range, pushing Aragorn back, far enough so the sword didn't reach him.
Then there was a cry and Riders of Rohan, mounted on their horses, came charging forward, swords at the ready. The distraction worked as the black riders turned to face their charging opponents. It gave Gandalf the time to grab Aragorn and pull him away from the enclosed space. He was followed by Gimli and Legolas.
"You two, keep him safe." Gandalf ordered, thrusting Aragorn towards the Elf and Dwarf. Then the white wizard ran back into the crowd of Nazgûls, determined to keep them distracted to give Aragorn the chance to escape.
As he arrived, Gandalf could see only eight riders. He turned and to his horror saw the leader of the riders, behind him, edging closer to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. Even though the Elf and Dwarf stood in front of the Ranger, they wouldn't be able to hold the black rider off for long.
Gandalf stepped toward the black rider, but an arrow suddenly flew in front of his bearded face. He stepped back as a horde of arrows flew past, settling nearby in the ground. Behind him came an army of Orcs, with murder glittering in their eyes as they reached the remainder of Rohan.
An Orc came flying at him, it's axe raised ready to strike, but Gandalf stepped back, swinging his staff and hitting the Orc in the face, sending it crashing to the ground. The Orc cried a meaningful cry as it died. Gandalf was in the middle of the swarm of Orcs and he couldn't reach Aragorn. They would have to fend for themselves.
*****
In the city of Minas Tirith, Merry stood beside the horse of King Théoden. He was waiting patiently for the King and Pippin to return from Denethor's chambers. It was mid-day and the sun was shining. In the far east the Hobbit could see the edges of Morder. Frodo and Sam are somewhere near there. The Hobbit thought.
He sat down on the grass and closed his eyes, letting himself drift into an uneasy sleep. He woke suddenly when he heard a familiar voice calling his name.
"Merry!" it was Pippin and his face glowed in the sunlight. "I can come with. Even though this city is magical, I'd rather stay with you."
Merry glowered with pride. "I'm glad too." He said.
Behind Pippin stood Théoden, and he said, "Master Merry, would you care to join me on my stead?"
"Why thank you sir!" Merry answered with pride. "I would be glad to join you. What about Pip?"
"He can ride with one of my other men. You don't mind being separated for awhile do you?"
"Of course not!" Merry answered quickly.
As soon as the two Hobbits were secure on the horses, Théoden and his company began there long journey home.
*****
Orcs swarmed round them; arrows flying past them and digging into the ground. The black rider was edging closer to Aragorn, swinging his sword as it went, hitting anyone that dared to get in his way. It's hidden eyes was focused on the ranger he was heading for.
An arrow hit the rider but it didn't falter. The rider continued to walk forward.
Aragorn saw the rider and stepped back with Legolas and Gimli. "I have to stay." He said, and tried to push forward between the elf and dwarf, but the two kept him back. Gimli said; "Nay. It's best that you don't stay. The riders are after your blood. If you're caught then you'll be killed. You need to escape."
"I will not run." The man replied sternly.
"You won't be able to anymore." Legolas pointed out. Coming towards them, from behind, were two more Nazgûls. "There's no where to go!"
The three backed up against each other, each holding their weapons against them. The Nazgûl were quickly approaching, sliding ever closer. Aragorn looked to Legolas, who looked to Gimli. They didn't know what to do. There was only one way to escape and that was to run, but the black riders were very close and there was no way to escape the circle that the riders had enclosed them in.
Not wanting to show weakness against the riders, Legolas pulled a shining arrow from its small bag at his back, placed it in his bow and fired it at one of the Nazgûls. As the arrow was so close the arrow pierced the rider causing it to shriek loudly. It stepped back leaving an open for Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli to run for it.
They ducked through the gap and with Aragorn in the lead ran back into the horde of Orcs, avoiding the many Orcs that flew at them. Then suddenly, as Aragorn looked back at Legolas and Gimli, far on the hill was an Orc and it fired a pointy arrow straight at him. Aragorn turned as the Orc fired the arrow. He had no time to move out the way and the arrow hit him in his right side.
Stunned for the moment, but the Ranger gave no thought to stop. The arrow still in his side, Aragorn moved out the way. Pain ran through his side as he lunged to the side, but the movement caused his legs to buckle beneath him. He fell, dropping his sword as he did so.
"Strider!" Legolas shouted as he saw Aragorn fall. Then the elf's keen eyes saw the lead black rider standing right by Aragorn, his sword raised above his head. Legolas reached back to bring an arrow, but to his surprise he felt air. There was absolutely nothing in his arrow bag. All his arrows had gone!
Legolas looked around, eyes darting for anybody that could come to his friends aid when he needed it. His eyes rested on Gandalf, who seemed to be trying to make his way towards Aragorn anyway. But the elf shouted anyway: "Gandalf!"
Gandalf already knew the danger. He was trying to make his way through the crowd of Orcs. Legolas rushed towards the black rider, holding his swords, but another rider stepped in front of him, blocking him from reaching Aragorn.
Aragorn had climbed back to his feet, but had no weapons, apart from a small dagger. The rider stepped forward again. The small dagger in the Ranger's hand was tiny compared to the length of the sword that the Nazgûl held. Then suddenly pain ran up Aragorn's back, and he turned to see an Orc holding a dagger in his hand, dripping with blood. The Orc had struck him with the dagger.
But then something dug into his back and with horror, Aragorn realised that he had turned his back on the rider and the rider had taken the chance to strike him. The sword was pulled out, and Aragorn fell to his knees, weakened. Blackness overcame him.
The last thing he remembered was a hissing sound close to his ear and something tearing through his ribs, as he fell into darkness.
To Be Continued…
Please read and review! It would be very helpful if you could.