Well… Lets see…there wont be another update for while, due to the road show at my school, which is a large amount of work and time, so I'll be quite beat, and not in the mood to deal with ff.n.
This Chapter focuses mainly on Kat, but there is some Sirrah scaring people.
I used my limited knowledge from reading Tamora pierce books, and watching gladiator too many times, to get the knowledge for the fighting, and modified it to my logic. I'm sure most people would be able to work out that bows don't function well in a cave.
I am imagining a very open cave for helms deep, as in more like a large cavern, with a narrow opening and a few stalactites and stalagmites in random places. Oh well, I'm sure you'll beable to figure it out. My conception of helms deep is quite different from the movie's.
Sorry, I've never been mortally wounded, or even broken a bone, so I'm working off when I shut my thumb in a door. Forgive me in that respect.
sarcasm Be proud, there is an unorthodox hero in this chapter! / sarcasm
Ok. I'm done with the author's note. Bb
Chapter 14: In which our heros are still separated, many things happen to Kat, and Sirrah yells loud enough to make the room jump a foot in the air.
~^~
Éomer soon found them, and clapped Kat on the shoulder.
"There you are green one! We had wondered where you were, on the wall."
"In your dubious free time I'm sure." Kat muttered, fingering the mallorn leaf that she assumed that her new name had come from. Éomer laughed.
"Indeed. But last I saw, your friend was fine, and we are doing better than any could have hoped! What know you of these caves?"
Kat rolled her eyes.
"Not much, but I'm sure we'll be having an orc problem soon."
Éomer nodded. "In a moment, we have little time before they break through the first doors." Kat now heard faint clattering in the distance. "But we have time yet. Is all of your company still armed?"
Kat cocked an eyebrow as Éomer referred to them as 'her company'.
"They are, or at least I have heard of no shortage."
Éomer nodded.
"Then, we must organize them."
"Sounds like ordering water around a lake." Kat said.
Éomer only laughed.
"That it may be, but dams may control the floods, and so we must be the dams to this flood!"
"Which one, the orcs or the men?"
Éomer's face fell.
"I wonder as well. But come, we must protect the women and children, we cannot break our oath to them!"
Kat sighed and follow him to the front, apprehensive. Taking a deep breath, she settled her legs, which were starting to turn to goo.
"Um…Éomer, what's your plan?"
Éomer looked at her.
"We wait for them to come, and then we fight as does us all honor."
Kat eyed him. He seemed serious…
"Well…I guess it'll work…but…" Éomer smirked, and she realized he was joking. "I hate you…you know that?" she said, and not waiting for an answer, she turned around. "All right, who's got spears?"
A few raised their hands. Kat asked them to come up and stand in a line, thinking to herself that she had seen far too many war movies, and read too many books that included strategy from the middle ages for her own good. Éomer nodded approvingly.
"Alright, that's the extent of my knowledge."
"Bows?" Said Éomer simply, tugging a thought out of her. Kat raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't it too cramped?"
Éomer nodded.
"Now, where do you think the swords men go?"
Kat eyed the tunnel.
"Around the edges of the tunnel, and behind…we need someone behind the spearsmen…"
Éomer nodded.
"The axemen, anyone wielding an axe."
"Like Gimli!"
Gimli turned around.
"Here now, what's this? A counsel, in the middle of a siege?"
Kat nodded.
"I think I'm being given a lesson in strategy."
Éomer smiled.
"That you are, dragon, you'll make a fine general someday, if they'll let you."
Kat shrugged.
"If I ever get home, there'll be no need…" seeing the look on his face, she continued. "Don't ask."
As Éomer turned to order the men to their places, Gimli came beside her.
"You know, I've heard you say that more than anything since I have met you."
Kat nodded, staring into space as she thought about the criticality of this battle.
"Yeah, its my new motto."
Gimli nodded, seeing her airiness, and recognizing her in a pensive mood. Éomer came back.
"Lady Kat, come, we are near the front."
Kat shook her head, in surprise more than anything else.
"What?"
Éomer smiled.
"Surely you still have your startling sorcery? It could be of use."
"Oh!" Kat said, hitting herself. "Pardon, I'd forgotten."
Éomer gave her a look as if asking how she could have forgotten. Kat followed him mindlessly, Gimli behind her. They reached the front, and Kat looked around. The way to them was narrow, so they obviously had the upper hand on the orcs that were fast breaking through the door. She could hear them now, the pounding was louder, and in rhythm.
"Do they have a ram there now?"
Éomer nodded.
"Yes, it seems that they had to work to maneuver it to here. They'll be in in a moment."
"You talk about it like it's a walk in the park." Muttered Kat, not feeling humorous as he was. To pass the time remaining to them, she turned to Éomer.
"So, where've you been? Seen Sirrah?"
Éomer nodded, as did Gimli.
"She was a great asset on the wall, very few orcs got on the wall through the ladders because of her."
Kat tilted her head in question.
"How?"
"I know nothing except she was throwing fire."
"Ay." Said Gimli, "It was quite a sight to see."
Kat shook her head.
"Typical. Fire…" she paused. "Oh my god…Everyone get you spears up, but be ready to put them down!" She suddenly yelled.
Éomer looked oddly at her, but did not question her. He trusted her, though only the gods knew why.
Kat ignored his look, and concentrated on her hand. Remembering what it felt like to control fire from when she had burned the Nazgul to a crisp, she took a deep breath, and held it. She thought of just blasting them with fire, which was why se had told them to take their spears up. But as the magic was called up, it formed into something different, and she got an idea.
A minute passed, the orcs pounding grew louder, and Kat stepped forward, away from the protection of the spears. Unknown to her, Gimli followed, knowing that she could overdo herself.
The door splintered. Kat jerked, but did not wake from the trance that she had obviously fallen into. Instead she began, in a steady voice, to chant. She wasn't even aware of it, or didn't seem to be.
Cave and tunnel turn away
Cast off the vile feet that assail you today!
Burn their core and flame their mind
But harm no other, but their kind!
Floor! The feet of these beasts are scantly clad
Of carrion they smell, and are made of stories sad!
Pain and death accompany their presence
Cast them off, let them die as penance!
The door burst open and orcs ran in. Kat was fortunate that there were no archers, she was unprotected. At first she made no move when they came in. Gimli was close to moving to catch her hand and forcefully dragging her back when she suddenly raised her hand. Galadriel's braclet shined in the gloom, the bright white shining into the orc's eyes, and making them stop. The others kept coming in though, and soon the cave was full, and the orcs eyes adjusting. When Gimli was again considering taking her other hand and dragging her back, he noticed a green ball that was cupped in her hand. He stared at it through the braclet's light, and suddenly realized that it was flame…green flame. The orcs started forward and several things happened at once. Éomer yelled, Gimli started forward, the men began to shout to distract the orcs, and Kat hurled her hand downward, forcing the ball of flame into the ground.
There was a moment of silence, and then a great din. The cave rumbled, and the men coward down. The orcs paused, unsure of what this was. Then everyone stopped, too enamored with what was happening to the orcs to do anything else but watch. As Kat forced the flame into the ground, it spread like a wave to the orcs, and suddenly, all of them were encased in flame. None of them seemed to move, though if they had, they could have done nearly as much damage to the men as Kat had done to them. Suddenly, the inferno was over, and all of the orcs slumped to the ground. Kat slumped against the wall, though she was not smoking slightly, as they were. Gimli, realizing that the spell was well over, ran to Kat and forcefully grabbed her, *finally* dragging her back behind the lines. Éomer looked at her with new respect. It did not last long though, as orcs streamed in again, jumping over the bodies of their comrades, if they could e called comrades. Kat woke up from her downtime that always came after a large spell, and drew her sword.
"Shit…shit…shit…" She repeated it until necessity called. Necessity was the orcs reaching the spearmen who jabbed the orcs first. The first line of orcs fell. The second wave also fell to the spears men, but the third wave broke through the spearsmen, who drew their swords, if they had them, or began to staff fight.
The battle in the caves had begun.
~^~
Kat lasted through to many orcs to count. At first she counted them like Gimli and Legolas did, but didn't know where to start, she had no Idea how many her spell had killed. So she just killed them, feeling very much like a machine after awhile. It was not until she began to feel the after effects of her spell that she began to weaken. Cursing the orcs, the spell, herself, and anything else that she could with a clear conscious curse, she continued on, trying to find somewhere that she could go for safety. She barely heard anything, except her own voice urging her on. Somewhere in the distance there were men yelling, and orcs screaming, but she barely heard. She ran and orc through, and was about to pull the sword from it, when suddenly, a whip of fire drew itself across her side. She didn't even know what it was until she chanced a glance, and saw blood dripping down her side.
"HOLY MOTHER F***ING SHIT!!!" She screamed, not in pain but more surprised. Surprised that she was actually wounded, surprised at the amount of blood that was slowly making its way down to her feet, and surprised at the fact that the ground was quickly coming up to meet her.
~^~
"SHIT!" Yelled Sirrah loundly, surprising everyone in the room so much that they jumped a foot in the air. Aragorn immediately stood up. Sirrah had been quiet until now, and he assumed it had to do with Kat.
"What has happened?"
Sirrah gave a shuddering breath.
"She's hurt…" she wimpered, looking the most scared that any of them had ever seen her since they had met her.
Aragorn was the most surprised. He had seen them face down a Nazgul as if it were nothing. But it seemed when taken away from each other, they were not so strong. Or perhaps it was something different. Gandalf had once told him, when he had asked on watch, that they were connected through bonds that were beyond the obvious of friendship and magic. One was of healing and protection, one was of the future and direction, they were symbiotic. It was an age old tie, and Aragorn knew better than anyone that having half of a whole could prove deadly. He hoped feverantly for Kat's safety.
"Then she is not dead?" asked Legolas quietly.
Sirrah shook her head, sweat breaking out on her forhead. She rose quickly, and paced to the window of the culvert. She looked on at the orcs, still outside the wall. Someone had gone out there, she realized, and staunched the flow through the part of the wall that had been blasted. There were large rocks in the way, about half as high as the wall. Taking deep breaths, she stepped closer to the window.
"I wish I could at least talk to her." She whispered. Legolas heard and came behind her.
"Why can you not?"
Sirrah stared out into the gathering gloom that came before the dawn. Théoden and Aragorn sat back, to lost in their own thoughts. They let Legolas handle it, for he also had a dear friend in the caves. Sirrah sighed softly.
"I don't want to distract her. And I think that's why she hasn't tried to talk to me since she woke up. We've both enough sense to know that distraction is deadly."
Legolas nodded, understanding what she meant. Laying a hand on her shoulder he squeezed it gently.
"Don't worry little one, she has many friends, they will protect her, if they can at all."
Sirrah nodded, glad to have someone to share her pain with. Legolas was in even worse of a situation that she herself was. He had no information at all regarding Gimli. Again her respect and admiration of the elf climbed a notch. She smiled, feeling better.
"Thanks Leggy."
Legolas looked at her oddly but said nothing of her new name for him.
~^~
Kat was vaugly aware of a dark shape moving towards her. She was on her knees, and attempted to raise her head, but whatever it had been had cut through muscles that were connected to her neck. Her first coherent thought was to check her fingers and toes to make sure she could still move them. She was pretty sure they still worked, it was only flesh that had been cut. That seemed soon to change though. Her vision swam, but she made out an orc and a short sword, already bloody.
AIDS, was her only thought, I hope I don't get AIDS from that sword…the thought never occurred to her that she wouldn't be around to have AIDS.
The orcs raised his sword, grinning savagely. Kat closed her eyes, breathing slowly and shallowly. Suddenly, there was a yell. A blot moved in front of her, swinging something. Kat slumped down onto the ground. The blot now stood above her, still swinging…that…what was it? An…axe?
"Gimli?" Kat said airily.
Gimli grunted, swinging the axe left and right, straddling Kat's middle, where blood was slowly starting to pool. There was another yell, and someone else jumped in. It was one of Kat's 'company', the boy her age who had been a spy. Kat forced her eyes open again. Gimli knelt next to her face.
"Come now, No one would forgive me if I didn't help you out, least of all Lady Sirrah."
Kat nodded, and gasped from the pain that moving brought. Gimli frowned.
"Can you move at all?"
Kat squeezed her eyes shut.
"No…but I will if I have to."
Gimli nodded.
"I think you must, I can no more pick you up than you can mine rock. And Quatros is busy." He said, indicating the boy.
Kat tried to chuckle, but even breathing took effort, and the laugh died on her lips. Gathering her strength, she rose to her elbows and began to crawl. It got easier to ignore the pain as she went, Gimli beside her, urging her on and directing her. It seemed ages. She remembered all of the games she had played when small, of her friend next door teaching her how the military men were supposed to crawl across plains. Never thought I'd have to use it like this, she thought bitterly. To her surprise though, she did not wish she was home. She only wished For Sirrah to be able to be here, or at least to talk to her. But she didn't dare.
After an eternity of crawling, they reached the side of the cave. Gimli shooed her into an overhang that was up to his shoulders, as wide as he was long, and just deep enough to make a perfect curl up place for Kat. Kat did curl up, shivering in her spot for a long while whilst Gimli stood watch. Every once in a while an orc would chance him, but it did no good. After ten minutes, Kat got fed up with herself.
Allright, she thought to herself, if I can't fight, I may as well try some magic.
She knew she could not heal herself. She needed Sirrah or another healer to do that, for some reason, the magic would not do a loop and still work. She had tried it on various scrapes and bruises before. Closing her eyes, she felt the battle scene before her.
There was Gimli, standing like an unpenetrable wall. Kat smiled a moment when she saw him. She would have to repay him for this, if she could. Her thoughts shifted and now she focused on the battle. The forces of light and dark battled in her minds eye. She was just about to focus energy to kill one of the dark fighters when she realized…the light was red lined. It was bright white, lined with red and yellow.
Oh my god, she thought with a start, the forces are switched!
Recovering from the shock, she drew on what strength remained to her, and reached out to the most desprate battle she saw. She found it soon enough, and orc and a man, swords locked together, and slowly, stealthly, another orc creeping up behind the man. Kat focused on that orc first. Taking her power, she used it as a drape to cover the light of the orc. It turned dark immediately, and the light faded. It didn't turn to a dark force, just went blank. Kat felt jerk of pity. There was light everywhere. Even in the dark forces, there was a burning somewhere deep in their souls as she saw them here. The battle that she had been watching was turning, and suddenly, the man broke the sword lock and rolled. The prick of light leaped after it, but was implaled on a point that the man had presented it. Kat realized that it was a sword. The light slowly seeped from the orc, some disappearing, some seeming to evaporate, and some running to cover the dark fighter. She looked around curiously. All around, light and dark melded together, the light covering the ground and locked in battle. Kat sat looking at it for a long time, until she realized that the light coating the ground was blood, orc blood. She threw herself from the magic, sweating. She had wanted a way to kill orcs precisely and quickly, and she had found it, but she couldn't use it. Even these orcs drew pity from her, when killed as she had just killed that one.
When she awoke into normal seeing, it was a great relief. There seemed to be fewer orcs, and these few were rapidly being dispatched. Kat found it reassuring to see them not in pain, and to see them die fighting, instead of their soul, or what remained of it, simply being taken from them, leaving a lifeless shell in its wake. Kat couldn't shake the feeling that that had been the most unnatural and yet painful of deaths that she could have found to inflict…on anyone.
None the less, working magic had made her feel better, not tired her out as it usually did, and she had enough strength to twist around and examine her wound. The sword had broken her armor, and then sliced into her side. It would have cut her in half, had her chain mail not been as good as it was. She blessed Théoden a thousand times for his gift. While she was at it, and to pass the time, she blessed Galadriel for her bracelet, and Gimli twice as much as she had Théoden, and then blessed the boy her age for covering their retreat.
There was a yell, and the orcs retreated. Kat cheered weakly, laying her head against the stone. Gimli guffawed, telling them to run. Éomer ran to the door and ordered men to stack whatever they could find into the opening to block the orcs from coming back in. When he had seen that through, he came back to see the wounded. Kat smirked when he poked his head around Gimli.
"Hello." She said. Éomer smiled and nodded to her.
"The dawn comes, perhaps we will live to see another day."
Kat nodded.
"Dawn was ever the hope of men."
Éomer nodded and disappeared. Kat laid back, sighing heavily.
"Éomer!"
Éomer turned.
"Bring some wounded to me. I cannot heal myself, but I may beable to help them."
Éomer nodded.
Éomer brought the most wounded to Kat, those who were in immediate danger of losing their lives. Kat could do nothing more than get them stable and keep them from dying there, but was sure that some of the worse ones would die no matter what. She herself was just happy to be conscious. Éomer now turned and regarded his men. Taking the ones that were not scathed, he ordered them to open it wide and ready themselves to charge with the dawn. Éomer called his men together for one last battle. He did not bother to try and move Kat. The other wounded he sent with some that could be spared to the back of the caves. Kat vaguely wondered how the others in the caves were doing. No need to worry about it now, she thought to herself, you've still got you to worry about.
~^~
They waited. Aragorn arose and went to the door. Sirrah thought of following him, but she was still staring at the caves, and stayed where she was. Théoden rose as well, and called for all to ready their horses. Aragorn, though Sirrah knew he had heard, did not turn, and Sirrah guessed that Aragorn and Théoden had discussed this matter. Sirrah reluctantly followed and began to ready chaos. Tiro whinnied.
"I'm sorry Tiro. I…" she paused, getting breath back. "I don't know where she is at the moment. Rather I do, but she's…indisposed."
Legolas smiled as he readied Arod. Sirrah spoke to tiro as Kat often did. The horse even seemed to understand her to some degree, for she calmed and bowed her head. Chaos however, whinnied and tossed her head, eager to go.
"All right chaos, just a minute." Sirrah muttered, and grabbed the tack. She suddenly remembered that the horse, and the tack had been bought her, in helms deep. "Well, what do you know," she muttered, "A full circle." And with that, she set the saddle blanket and saddle on chaos and began to cinch the buckles.
Aragorn come running in, followed by a great thundering Boom!
"Aragorn, why did you have to provoke them?" Sirrah asked, half in jest.
Aragorn smiled as he mounted his horse. "They needed no provoking my Lady."
Sirrah smiled a little, mounting Tiro. "I'm sure you provided it any way."
As they maneuvered their horses out a great horn sounded, as if in answer to the smiting of the gate. They rode out with the cries of many men, calling
"Helm, Helm!" they shouted, riding at the now cowering orcs, "Helm has arisen again! Helm for Théoden king!"
As they rode down to face they final battle, Sirrah felt as if the dawn had turned all of the tides, and finally the battle was going their way.
~^~