Chapter Twelve
"They're working themselves into a frenzy out there." Deedlit murmured, as she and Parn gazed out at the almost countless murky shapes below them. The Elven archers from the Undying Lands were already positioned at the walls with the men, Elves, and Dwarves (there are a few in Ashram's army as well) that were already there.
"What's going on up here?" Ashram's voice asked, as Parn and others turned to look at the speaker.
"Ashram…………..! You're awake! Thank the gods!" Pirotess shouted, as she happily hugged her husband. Ashram smiled slightly.
"Good to see you too, Pirotess. Parn, what's the situation?" Ashram asked, immediately getting back to the business at hand.
"See for yourself." Parn replied, as the king stood alongside him and gazed out. Ashram's face immediately paled.
"Where are my people? Are they safe?" Ashram asked, fearing for his people's lives.
"They are safe, for the moment. I had Spark evacuate them into the castle before those Orcs arrived." Parn replied, allaying the king's fears somewhat.
"I'm glad you did. I hate to think of what those Orcs would do to human beings that could not fight back." Ashram murmured.
"But things are about to get ugly. Those Orcs didn't come here to talk." Ghim said, from his position.
"No doubt about that." Deedlit agreed. Seconds later, their fears were proven true; as arrows from below struck some of the archers on the wall.
"Loose!" Parn shouted. At his command, the archers let fly their arrows into the horde, but to little effect. There were too many of them.
"They have siege ladders! Make sure they don't make it!" Ashram commanded, grey eyes flashing as he raced along the wall, sword unsheathed and prepared for bloodshed. Below them, the Orcs were making way for the huge ladders, roaring with glee when they were set up against the walls.
"Finally! A chance to even the score!" Gimli shouted, as he swung his axe in a wide arc and sliced two Orcs neatly in half. Beside him, Ghim and Grievus were also enjoying themselves.
"We should have rallied the Dwarves! It seems that the ones we already have are enjoying themselves!" Ashram commented, as he and Parn stood back to back.
"The Elves aren't doing half bad, either!" Parn added, as he watched some Elves throw aside their bows and unsheathe their swords. Meanwhile, Maar stood small and forgotten in a corner, uncertain as to what he was supposed to do. He'd lost track of Link in the melee, and had been jostled by both men and elves into a corner. With frightened eyes he watched as all hell broke loose around him. But then he looked at his king; the king he had sworn fealty to only a few days prior. He watched as the man in the silvery white armor bravely fought off dozens of Orcs, with his friends at his side. With resolve building within him, and a yell that could have come from a warrior twice his size, Maar unsheathed his sword, the legendary Sting, and charged into battle.
"Legolas! I've got twenty already!" Gimli shouted.
"My score is up to thirty-one!" Legolas replied. This got a flustered scowl from Gimli.
"We'll see who wins this time around!" Gimli retorted, as he severed the necks of two more Orcs with his axe.
"Sorry you two, but I've just killed sixty!" Kage shouted, from his place almost directly above them. This got almost identical scowls from both Legolas and Gimli, and renewed efforts to outdo one another.
"An Orc killing contest?! At a time like this?!" Navi complained, as she dodged arrows.
"What better time for it than a battle, little sprite?" Shiroi asked, as he stabbed another Orc in the stomach, then kicked it off of the wall.
"Unbelievable!" Navi muttered, barely dodging an arrow when it whizzed past, carrying Link's hat with it.
"Sire! The tunnel is almost clear!" a man shouted, over the din to his king.
"Good. How are the men holding up down there?" Ashram asked, as he fiercely fended off a blow, then killed his opponent with a deft stab to the chest.
"As well as can be expected, sir. But there's Orcs down there who're trying to stop us." the man replied.
"Damn! Parn! To the caverns!" Ashram shouted over his shoulder to the gold-armored knight, before a tremendous explosion shook the castle to its foundations.
"What was that?! Kage asked, as he picked himself up from where he'd been thrown by the blast.
"The Fires of Isengard………….Everyone! Follow the king into the caverns!" Sheik cried, as he leaped from battlement to battlement, leaving a swath of death behind him.
"Stand tall, everyone! Provide for them a rearguard!" Yasha shouted, as he and some brave men, Elves, and Dwarves remained behind to prevent any Orcs (mainly Olag-hai) from getting through.
"Yasha!" Link yelped, fearful for his friend's life.
"Go now, Link! Hyrule can't afford to lose you! GO!" Yasha ordered, then returned his attention to the Orcs that were coming at him.
"Link! Come on!" Shiroi shouted, as he killed some Orcs with his sword, then turned and blasted some more with his magic. Reluctantly, Link did as he was told and followed the White Priest, leaving the stubborn Oni to an unknown fate.
"May the gods look kindly on Yasha tonight." Link thought, as he looked over his shoulder one last time and saw the Oni fighting bravely on.
Far away, Lina and her group were also heading for an unknown fate. They had since parted ways with Zelgadis and Amelia, and were now heading to Marfa's temple.
"I see it!" Gourry shouted, as he crested a hill, then abruptly drew rein.
"Whoa! What is it, Gourry? What do you………………?!" Lina trailed off when she saw what had frozen Gourry in his tracks.
"The temple…………" Filia muttered, as she too looked upon the temple.
"The Orcs must have gotten here first. Let's go in and see if there is anything left." Xellos suggested. Slowly, the four of them approached the now crumbling temple.
"I smell blood." Filia said, as they climbed the steps leading up into the temple courtyard. There, they discovered a grisly sight; priestesses of almost every age group lay dead in pools of their own blood. The bodies had been ravaged, and some looked half eaten.
"Oh gods……………." Filia said, her eyes wide with shock and horror.
"Even the Mazoku weren't this brutal……….I'm sorry we didn't come in time to save them." Xellos murmured, as he gazed (with open eyes) sadly at the corpses.
"Let's get inside, this can't be as bad as it gets." Lina said, as she led the way through the arched doorway into the temple keep. As they walked through the temple itself, they could see just how desperate the situation had been.
"Did anyone escape?" Gourry asked, as he looked at the blood-smeared walls.
"I don't know………" Lina replied, as they emerged into the inner sanctum.
"The palantir is gone." Xellos muttered, as he pointed out at empty space in the statue's hands where it should have been.
"Are you sure? We're not even sure what the thing looks like!" Lina rebuked.
"Quite sure. I've done enough research over the years to know where it ended up. And it certainly isn't here now." Xellos said, as he stepped closer to the statue of Marfa and looked at the cupped hands.
"Someone smeared blood on Marfa's face………..prophecies are being fulfilled even as we stand here." Filia murmured.
"Prophecies?" Lina asked, intrigued by what she'd just heard.
"Never mind. We must get going." Filia replied, hastily, as she hurried away.
"What's she talking about, Xellos?" Lina again asked. Xellos shrugged.
"I haven't the slightest idea. I think we'd better catch up with her. She might leave us behind if we don't hurry." Xellos said, as he led them out.
"But what about the dead? We can't just leave them here like this." Gourry said, seeming to be the most disturbed by the slaughter.
"You're right, Gourry, we can't. But we must. So many other lives are depending on us right now. All we can do now is try to help the living." Lina said, with uncharacteristic gentleness.
"She's right, Gourry. If this wasn't such a dire time, we might be able to properly bury the dead. Let's go. I can sense that things are going badly for Marmo." Xellos murmured, as they all reached their horses and mounted.
"Let's ride!" Lina shouted, as she sparred her horse into action.
"I hope Zel and Amelia are having better luck than we are." Gourry sighed, as they rode into the night.
"I hope so too, Gourry. More than anything." Lina agreed, as they rode back towards Marmo.
While Lina, Gourry, Xellos, and Filia walked through the bloodied temple, Amelia and Zelgadis were making excellent time across the desert.
"Everything is so quiet. It's like time has stopped." Amelia murmured, as they rode.
"Yes. It's too quiet, actually." Zelgadis mused, as he tried to push his own uneasiness aside. Finally, after a long silence, they got Flaim within sight.
"There it is. The Kingdom of Flaim. It's been awhile since we were last here." Zelgadis murmured.
"Yeah. I hope King Kashue is well enough to see us." Amelia added, remembering that Kashue had been gravely ill the last time they had visited the desert kingdom. Then, before the could say anything else, Amelia and Zelgadis found themselves at lance-point.
"Who are you? What do you want?!" Zelgadis asked, angrily.
"We'll ask the questions, shaman, as soon as we are inside the castle. Move!" the lead horseman demanded, as he poked his lance into Zelgadis' arm. Fighting the urge to fight back, Zelgadis got his horse moving, but made sure that he was between the leader and Amelia. As they marched along, Amelia noticed that the people of Flaim would occasionally look out at them, then would duck back out of sight.
"They're afraid of something." Amelia thought, as they rode through the vacant streets. Finally, they arrived in the castle courtyard, and from there Zelgadis and Amelia were made to dismount and were led to the dungeon.
"You can't do this to us! This is unjust!" Amelia shouted, as she was shoved into the same cell as Zelgadis.
"Shut up, wench. We'll be back later to question you. So just remain quiet and you won't get hurt." The guard said, before leaving the prisoners in the dark.
Far away, the Witch King watched all that was going on with the very palantir Lina and her group had been sent to find.
"Fools. Do they not realize that they have already lost?" the Witch King asked, with evil glee, as he watched the struggle on Marmo, the desolation of Marfa's temple, and the capture of Amelia and Zelgadis. Karla, who had retreated to a shadowed corner of the crumbling ruins, said nothing, but watched in silent horror as the land she so loved wilted beneath the cruel black shadow of the awakening Mount Doom.
"Soon it will be time. Soon my Master will awaken and nothing anyone can do will stop him. His revenge will be swift." The Witch King said, as the palantir glowed red, and, for a split second, showed a lidless, blood-red eye that was ringed with unquenchable fire. And then it was gone, and the palantir went dark.