Authors notes: - Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out but my
workload has been awful and it not getting any better. Plus my mind is
whirling with ideas for the sequel to Nwalmaer!!! Thank you for the
reviews and please review this piece!
**
The creatures swiftly overcame Legolas. Every blow shook him to the core
but he felt no pain. Dropping his sword Legolas withdrew his knives. With
a ferocity that surprised even him he felled any creature that came near.
The creatures soon realised that their opponent would not be beaten as
easily as they first thought and formed a circle around the elf. The
bravest ones stepping forward were quickly dispatched.
"I am not so easy to defeat." Legolas snapped as he slashed a knife
across the face of a foolish creature that had done just that.
"I will stand here and kill everyone of you for you cannot defeat me."
"Is that so elf?" one of the creatures hissed. "You are outnumbered."
"That maybe so but I am more powerful than you can imagine. You know not
of what you face and that will be your undoing."
The creature sneered and advanced on the blonde elf that whirled the
knives in his hands.
With a roar the creature launched himself at the elf but Legolas was
quicker. With movement that was faster than could be followed he plunged
one of his knives into the leader's chest. As soon as the knife entered
flesh everything froze. Then a blast of red energy spilled forth from the
wound and engulfed the pair. Legolas tried to remove the knife but it was
as if the knife had become part of the creature's body. He tried to let
go but it was fused to his hand and burned. The intensity of the light
increased blinding the elf. Legolas could no longer sense the outside
world just the energy that pulsed between them. The light still increased
and Legolas screamed as did the creature. Then the light went out.
*
Eomer fell sideways clumsily to avoid the swinging blade of one of the
creatures. With a grunt he hit the ground and then rolled to the side to
avoid another and right into the path of a sword. Crying out softly as it
sliced through his arm he flung out his own sword catching the creature
in the abdomen. With a squeal it fell forward collapsing on top of the
man. Exhausted he struggled to move the body and finally as he did he saw
a sword aiming for his head.
"No!" he cried but could not summon the energy to lift his sword. Just as
the blow was about to fall the creature froze. Eomer flinched
anticipating the blow but the creature remained still. Moving quickly out
of the way he stood weaving as total exhaustion flooded through him. All
the creatures had frozen and this confused the man. Looking around he saw
a dull red glow where he had last seen Legolas and then a scream of pain
echoed and the creatures disintegrated. In horror he watched, as they
seemed to melt, their bodies breaking down. A blinding white light
flashed across the sky and then darkness returned. There was no trace of
the dark creatures.
"Legolas" he whispered and stumbled down the ridge to the plain where
Legolas had fought on. He saw a crumpled body with its blonde hair
splayed out across the ground.
"Legolas!" he cried staggering into a run. Collapsing on his knees beside
the elf he turned his friend over gently. Gasping at the amount of wounds
that marred the elf's pale face he reached out to try and wake the elf.
There was no response. Assessing the wounds he saw that some of them were
days old. With a start he realised that all the wounds the elf had
collected before he died were now visible. How the elf had suffered to
save them all.
"Legolas" he whispered and the elf stirred. After what seemed like an
eternity to Eomer the elf slowly opened his eyes. They were dull and
glazed with pain and exhaustion.
"It's gone." Legolas whispered. Eomer's brow wrinkled with confusion.
"What has gone?"
"The power. I feel myself again."
"The creatures are destroyed Legolas. Maybe once you had defeated them
the power would dissipate, as it was for that reason it was granted to
you."
"So now I remain as I once was to maintain the elven magic for eternity.
I fail to see the incentive."
Eomer smiled gently at Legolas's words.
"If it helps any we are both wounded, have no horses, it is raining and
we are a long way from Gondor."
"Aye it does. Thank you my friend." Legolas smiled and then groaned
slightly as with Eomer's help he rose to his feet.
"Shall we depart?" Legolas asked and Eomer nodded his assent. Supporting
each other the two trudged wearily in the direction of Gondor.
*
Gandalf stood as a silent sentry watching the horizon from the tallest
tower of Gondor's outer wall. He ignored the curious looks that were sent
in his direction by the other warriors on sentry duty and his eyes
remained fixed on an invisible point that they could not see.
He was waiting. The attack on Ithilien was not anticipated by anyone and
he now considered the consequences. The colony was destroyed that much he
knew. He had retrieved the creature Urguth and he was now locked in one
of the deepest cells beneath the citadel. Questioning the foul creature
had given light to the nature of the attack and the elves of Ithilien
would have been totally unprepared. Legolas would suffer greatly at what
he would perceive to be his failure. Added to the events that had
occurred recently the elf would be under an extreme amount of pressure.
If Aragorn expected Legolas to react to events in his usual calm way then
the man was in for a grave surprise.
"Riders!" A voice called and was accompanied by a flurry of activity. One
of the soldiers hurried down the stone steps and ran full pelt to the
Citadel to alert the King. Gandalf hurried down to the main gate and
awaited their arrival.
He recognised them as Ithilien elves and they were approaching at a fast
pace. So few he thought sadly. This was not how the firstborn should
depart this world.
The horses clattered across the cobbles as they passed through the main
gate. They drew to a halt as they caught sight of Gandalf.
"What news?" he asked aware that Legolas and Eomer were not present.
"Ithilien had fallen" Came the blunt reply from one of the wearied elves.
They were all cut and bloodied.
"Legolas?" Aragorn demanded as he reached the group Faramir close behind,
both slightly breathless from their desperate run from the Citadel.
"The creatures returned. Legolas remained behind with Lord Eomer to
enable us to get to safety with Gimli." The elf who Aragorn recognised as
Lanmaer spoke.
"And you left him?" Aragorn demanded.
"He erected some kind of barrier so we could not get to him. He ordered
us to go."
"Ithilien?" Faramir asked almost dreading the answer.
"We are all that remain and when our lord returns we will depart for the
Havens. There is nothing to keep us here we were fools to remain."
Another elf said bitterly.
"In saying that you blame our Lord. Do not speak in that manner again. It
was our choice to remain we have no one to blame but ourselves." Lanmaer
snapped and then returned to face Aragorn.
"Gimli requires a healer," he said gently passing the dwarf down.
"What happened?" Faramir asked.
"He was knocked out attempting to reach Legolas."
Gandalf whistled a shrill whistle that made everyone jump. An answering
neigh echoed through the streets and with a clatter of flying hooves
Shadowfax appeared. Quickly mounting he turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Aragorn asked
"To find our wayward elf and horse lord."
"We shall go with you." Lanmaer announced.
"No. If nay harm came to you Legolas would suffer enormous guilt. Rest
for I will return presently."
With a whispered word the white stallion galloped away and was swiftly
out of sight.
*
workload has been awful and it not getting any better. Plus my mind is
whirling with ideas for the sequel to Nwalmaer!!! Thank you for the
reviews and please review this piece!
**
The creatures swiftly overcame Legolas. Every blow shook him to the core
but he felt no pain. Dropping his sword Legolas withdrew his knives. With
a ferocity that surprised even him he felled any creature that came near.
The creatures soon realised that their opponent would not be beaten as
easily as they first thought and formed a circle around the elf. The
bravest ones stepping forward were quickly dispatched.
"I am not so easy to defeat." Legolas snapped as he slashed a knife
across the face of a foolish creature that had done just that.
"I will stand here and kill everyone of you for you cannot defeat me."
"Is that so elf?" one of the creatures hissed. "You are outnumbered."
"That maybe so but I am more powerful than you can imagine. You know not
of what you face and that will be your undoing."
The creature sneered and advanced on the blonde elf that whirled the
knives in his hands.
With a roar the creature launched himself at the elf but Legolas was
quicker. With movement that was faster than could be followed he plunged
one of his knives into the leader's chest. As soon as the knife entered
flesh everything froze. Then a blast of red energy spilled forth from the
wound and engulfed the pair. Legolas tried to remove the knife but it was
as if the knife had become part of the creature's body. He tried to let
go but it was fused to his hand and burned. The intensity of the light
increased blinding the elf. Legolas could no longer sense the outside
world just the energy that pulsed between them. The light still increased
and Legolas screamed as did the creature. Then the light went out.
*
Eomer fell sideways clumsily to avoid the swinging blade of one of the
creatures. With a grunt he hit the ground and then rolled to the side to
avoid another and right into the path of a sword. Crying out softly as it
sliced through his arm he flung out his own sword catching the creature
in the abdomen. With a squeal it fell forward collapsing on top of the
man. Exhausted he struggled to move the body and finally as he did he saw
a sword aiming for his head.
"No!" he cried but could not summon the energy to lift his sword. Just as
the blow was about to fall the creature froze. Eomer flinched
anticipating the blow but the creature remained still. Moving quickly out
of the way he stood weaving as total exhaustion flooded through him. All
the creatures had frozen and this confused the man. Looking around he saw
a dull red glow where he had last seen Legolas and then a scream of pain
echoed and the creatures disintegrated. In horror he watched, as they
seemed to melt, their bodies breaking down. A blinding white light
flashed across the sky and then darkness returned. There was no trace of
the dark creatures.
"Legolas" he whispered and stumbled down the ridge to the plain where
Legolas had fought on. He saw a crumpled body with its blonde hair
splayed out across the ground.
"Legolas!" he cried staggering into a run. Collapsing on his knees beside
the elf he turned his friend over gently. Gasping at the amount of wounds
that marred the elf's pale face he reached out to try and wake the elf.
There was no response. Assessing the wounds he saw that some of them were
days old. With a start he realised that all the wounds the elf had
collected before he died were now visible. How the elf had suffered to
save them all.
"Legolas" he whispered and the elf stirred. After what seemed like an
eternity to Eomer the elf slowly opened his eyes. They were dull and
glazed with pain and exhaustion.
"It's gone." Legolas whispered. Eomer's brow wrinkled with confusion.
"What has gone?"
"The power. I feel myself again."
"The creatures are destroyed Legolas. Maybe once you had defeated them
the power would dissipate, as it was for that reason it was granted to
you."
"So now I remain as I once was to maintain the elven magic for eternity.
I fail to see the incentive."
Eomer smiled gently at Legolas's words.
"If it helps any we are both wounded, have no horses, it is raining and
we are a long way from Gondor."
"Aye it does. Thank you my friend." Legolas smiled and then groaned
slightly as with Eomer's help he rose to his feet.
"Shall we depart?" Legolas asked and Eomer nodded his assent. Supporting
each other the two trudged wearily in the direction of Gondor.
*
Gandalf stood as a silent sentry watching the horizon from the tallest
tower of Gondor's outer wall. He ignored the curious looks that were sent
in his direction by the other warriors on sentry duty and his eyes
remained fixed on an invisible point that they could not see.
He was waiting. The attack on Ithilien was not anticipated by anyone and
he now considered the consequences. The colony was destroyed that much he
knew. He had retrieved the creature Urguth and he was now locked in one
of the deepest cells beneath the citadel. Questioning the foul creature
had given light to the nature of the attack and the elves of Ithilien
would have been totally unprepared. Legolas would suffer greatly at what
he would perceive to be his failure. Added to the events that had
occurred recently the elf would be under an extreme amount of pressure.
If Aragorn expected Legolas to react to events in his usual calm way then
the man was in for a grave surprise.
"Riders!" A voice called and was accompanied by a flurry of activity. One
of the soldiers hurried down the stone steps and ran full pelt to the
Citadel to alert the King. Gandalf hurried down to the main gate and
awaited their arrival.
He recognised them as Ithilien elves and they were approaching at a fast
pace. So few he thought sadly. This was not how the firstborn should
depart this world.
The horses clattered across the cobbles as they passed through the main
gate. They drew to a halt as they caught sight of Gandalf.
"What news?" he asked aware that Legolas and Eomer were not present.
"Ithilien had fallen" Came the blunt reply from one of the wearied elves.
They were all cut and bloodied.
"Legolas?" Aragorn demanded as he reached the group Faramir close behind,
both slightly breathless from their desperate run from the Citadel.
"The creatures returned. Legolas remained behind with Lord Eomer to
enable us to get to safety with Gimli." The elf who Aragorn recognised as
Lanmaer spoke.
"And you left him?" Aragorn demanded.
"He erected some kind of barrier so we could not get to him. He ordered
us to go."
"Ithilien?" Faramir asked almost dreading the answer.
"We are all that remain and when our lord returns we will depart for the
Havens. There is nothing to keep us here we were fools to remain."
Another elf said bitterly.
"In saying that you blame our Lord. Do not speak in that manner again. It
was our choice to remain we have no one to blame but ourselves." Lanmaer
snapped and then returned to face Aragorn.
"Gimli requires a healer," he said gently passing the dwarf down.
"What happened?" Faramir asked.
"He was knocked out attempting to reach Legolas."
Gandalf whistled a shrill whistle that made everyone jump. An answering
neigh echoed through the streets and with a clatter of flying hooves
Shadowfax appeared. Quickly mounting he turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Aragorn asked
"To find our wayward elf and horse lord."
"We shall go with you." Lanmaer announced.
"No. If nay harm came to you Legolas would suffer enormous guilt. Rest
for I will return presently."
With a whispered word the white stallion galloped away and was swiftly
out of sight.
*