Chapter IV

Haldir could feel his muscles tense as dusk fell in the forest. It grew dark very quickly, the sun had been hidden behind thick cloud all day, and now a heavy, drenching rain had begun to fall. The twilight cast pitch-black shadows on the ground underneath the trees. A way off outside the eastern edge of the forest, Anduin surged speedily past, heading south in a hurry. Haldir thought of what had become of the Fellowship, whom he had last seen being carried downstream by the strong current, in Elven-boats given to them by Lord Celeborn. Reports from the South had been sketchy; a great battle in Rohan had been mentioned, and trouble was brewing on Gondor's borders. Of the Ringbearer no report had been received in Lothlórien. Yet Lady Galadriel still seemed to hold out hope for him, and while she bore Nenya and used her Mirror she could hope to be better informed than most of Frodo's current condition.

At least the Ring still evades Sauron's grasp, or all would have come to Darkness already, thought Haldir. But even without the One Ring Sauron's power grew. How long could they hope to hold out against him?

Even as Haldir considered this, a warning call came from a tree near him. Even through the rain Haldir could hear a great many tramping footsteps on the other side of the River. Loud splashes signalled that a force of some numbers was crossing Anduin. Rúmil clambered through the tree to Haldir's side.

"What is it?" Haldir demanded.

"A force from Dol Guldur," replied Rúmil. "Our forward scouts report that there are at least two thousand of them. Some of the smaller ones seem to be those who escaped from the last assault, goblins from Moria."

"So few?" Haldir muttered. "Surely Dol Guldur has a greater host than two thousand orcs? Are there no Wargs with them?"

"No brother. Do not look so disappointed!"

Haldir grinned, but he was concerned that the Dark Lord had either held back the greater part of his force, or was attacking some other region as well. His thoughts turned briefly to King Thranduil in Northern Mirkwood, and to the horrifying possibility that perhaps Rivendell itself was under attack, when Rúmil brought his thoughts back to the here and now.

"What are your orders, Haldir? With this rain they will not be able to damage the trees with fire. Shall we pull back into the forest and ambush them?"

"No!" Haldir exclaimed. "I will not allow them to set one foot inside the Golden Wood, not this time. We have enough archers to hold them at the boundary. Send word to Caras Galadhon, tell my Lord and Lady that we are under attack, and ask for more of the Galadhrim to be sent to the eastern border. By the time they return we may be glad of the reinforcements."

Rúmil looked doubtful, but he knew better than to question Haldir's orders. He chose a young Elf who was an inexperienced warrior to take Haldir's message to Caras Galadhon, and then took up his position on his brother's right-hand side. Orophin was on Rúmil's other side. Rúmil suspected Orophin was trying to prevent Haldir being too over-protective of him during the battle, something which neither Elf could afford to let happen. Rúmil silently wished Orophin luck; he had been trying for hundreds of years to get Haldir to stop worrying about him, but the elder brother seemed determined to fill the gap left after the tragic deaths of their parents.

Silently, without needing to be told, all the Elves along the eastern edge of Lórien drew an arrow from their quiver and notched it on their bows. The orcs ran up from the near bank of the Anduin, crude weapons in their hands, snarling in anticipation of the battle ahead. They swarmed towards the edge of the forest, like black, scampering overgrown ants. Haldir looked down the length of his white-fletched arrow and, as the orcs ran ever closer, he suddenly gave the order to fire. Immediately a shower of a hundred arrows cut into the crowd of orcs. They ran on nevertheless, but the Elves kept up the stream of arrows, and slowly, the orcs began to falter. This battle was not going the way they wanted; not one of them had yet reached the woods, where the trees would give them cover. The Moria orcs had reported to those in Dol Guldur how weak the defences on the edge of Lothlórien were, but now they were come up against a large number of the Galadhrim, and the circumstances were very different. The Elves had been taken by surprise before, now they had lain in wait. The orcs had lost over half their number when those at the front tried to turn back and run. Several large uruks in the lines behind them pushed them back, and fighting broke out between the lines as the foremost orcs tried to retreat.

Haldir saw that the orcs were distracted, and took his opportunity. He gave the order for the Elves to leave the trees and charge the orcs' lines with blades drawn. A few Elves remained behind to cover their descent, keeping up the barrage of arrows. The greater part of the Galadhrim assembled on the ground, hidden from the orcs by the thick rain. Haldir gave his final instructions before the charge.

"Kill all you can! Remember, those that are merely driven away will return! CHARGE!"

The Elves of Lórien rushed into the orcs' lines; their keen blades cutting many down before they could even raise their weapons in defence. A few of the Elves fell, but many, many more orcs were killed, and those that remained were thoroughly discouraged by the Elves' attack. More and more of the smaller goblins began to run before the Elves' sortie. Some of the larger orcs and uruks, however, were not so easily dismayed. Rúmil found himself caught in a group of these vicious beasts, and it was difficult for him to hold them off. Haldir saw his brother's plight, but the battle had driven him away from Rúmil and Orophin, and all he could do was watch in horror as a huge uruk raised an axe and prepared to bring it down onto his brother's back.

"NOOOOO!"

Haldir's cry went unheeded. The uruk swung the axe down. At the last minute it was intercepted by an elven sword, wielded by Orophin. Orophin slayed the uruk before Rúmil even knew of the danger. Haldir breathed a sigh of relief, and then had to fend off three orcs who had thought they could take advantage of his distraction.

Soon all of the orcs were running for the River. Haldir ordered a pursuit, despite the risk of an ambush, determined to prevent large numbers of them returning and joining a future attack. Many orcs were shot as they tried to cross the River. As the last, few fortunate orcs disappeared into the dark on the far side of the Anduin, chased by Elven-arrows, Haldir ordered the Galadhrim to withdraw back to the borders of Lórien. They were met there by the reinforcements, who Haldir ordered to take over the watch, so that his exhausted warriors could return to Caras Galadhon and rest.

Theirs had been a spectacular effort, well deserved of song and tale. Celeborn had kept the majority of the Galadhrim in the city, expecting an overwhelming assault that would push through the border defences. His reinforcements had been reluctantly sent, and were not so many as Haldir would have wished for if his company had been in difficulties. But in the end, they had not been needed, for the Elves under Haldir had swept the orcs from the border of Lothlórien, though there had been many casualties. They returned to Caras Galadhon to a hero's welcome.

*                      *                      *

Haldir stood before Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel in their talan in Caras Galadhon. They praised him greatly for leading the second defence of their realm. Lady Galadriel presented her captain with magnificent Elven-armour that shone in the white lamplight, and a crimson cloak that she herself clasped at his shoulder with a silver brooch. But even as the Elves of Lórien celebrated, Galadriel warned that all the world was in great peril, and that the Golden Wood had not seen the last of the Shadow from Dol Guldur.