Radagast the Brown groaned wearily and surveyed the area. The men and dwarves ran to and fro in the ruins of the village gathering supplies and equipment for the barricade. The elves still hadn't opened the gates of their fortress. We need more time, he thought. Just two more hours and we'll all be safe.
Dain and Brand approached him hesitantly, trying to catch his eye. He turned to face them and nodded approvingly.
"Your men work well. In another two hours this place will be impregnable."
Brand untied his cloak and draped it over a tree stump. "If only we had that much time. Our forward scouts have reported a band of Sauron's followers advancing from the Southwest. Their numbers are in the hundreds. They'll be arriving within an hour."
"Aye, they'll be here in an hour. And die just as quickly. No mud spawned orc horde can best us while we stand on our own ground."
"Overconfidence has slain many, my friend. While I don't doubt your words, there is no folly in being wary." Radagast laughed at Dain's indignant look and patted him on the shoulder. "Enough of war for the moment. You told me of a certain mineral that I might find interesting around the village."
Dain brightened considerably and laughed. "Oh, yes. My little secret." He steered Radagast away from the frontlines and pointed to a cluster of dwarves working on the bridge connecting the village to the fortress. "My men have discovered a mineral that reacts to fire. When fire reaches it, it… uh, what's the word… oh, it erupts in flames. I have found that it also has the ability to melt steel, which could prove useful when we fall back into the fort."
"Yes… that could prove very useful. How long will it take for you to prep-"
Warning horns blared out, halting his speech. A flock of ravens from the mountain descended to Radagast's position, cawing harshly in alarm.
The orcs are here! They cried.
Radagast turned back to Dain, only to find the dwarf king pounding his way towards the main bridge. With a resigned sigh he hurried out after the dwarf, calling out after the king. All around him men and dwarves finished buckling on armor and followed him to the bridge.
Horash snarled angrily and stepped over the headless body of his scout. The other trackers cringed in fear and scrambled to avoid him. After one final spiteful glare at the decapitated orc, he turned back to his men.
"Our surprise is lost. Kill them all! No survivors!"
The assorted orcs, uruks, and men shouted out lustily and streamed past him, eager to be the first into the fray. As the archer contingent passed, he halted them and pointed to the bridge.
"Find a good spot and fire from this bank. The Master wants as few casualties as possible."
The archers saluted and raced past towards the bridge. Today is a good day to kill, he thought grimly.
"Hurry men! We must defend the bridge." Brand urged the men forward and waved to Radagast. "Radagast, tell the elves to hurry!"
Radagast signaled the ravens and they hurried off towards the elves. After making sure they flew in the right direction, he turned back to the main enemy force. He grabbed the attention of a handful of archers and pointed to the bridge. They saluted and strung their bows. As they took aim on the advancing horde, Radagast prayed silently to the Valinor, Grant them speed and accuracy.
The men fired at the horde with little effect. Two of the Mordor archers cried out in pain and toppled off of the ledge they were on and plunged into the raging waters below. A volley of elven arrows passed by from behind, but clattered harmlessly against the bridge as a warning to the orcs. The orcs hesitated at the top of the bridge, fearful of a quick death and a short fall. The men and dwarves capitalized on this, taking the time to set up a ring around the bridge. The archers exchanged volleys as the foot-soldiers advanced slowly. Three men fell under a hail of black darts while an uruk and a pair of orcs tumbled off the bridge with swan-fletched feathers in their heads.
Radagast turned back to King Brand to find him tugging on an arrow in his arm. The dart slid out easily as he yanked it out and cast it away. "That was a nice shot." He said unconcernedly. "Too bad they have archers that good."
"Indeed, it is too bad. Here they come."
The men and elves fired another volley into the orc ranks, transfixing five with their arrows. The return fire failed to hit anything as the men took cover behind the barricades. As the evil horde finally reached the end of the bridge, Balin hefted his axe and dashed out from cover, leading the men and dwarves. He personally slew an orc and watched as two Goblins lost their footing and were pushed off of the edge into the rapids. They squealed in fear as the white water overcame them and drowned them.
The next volley took down five orcs as the bulk of the evil forces hurled themselves across the bridge. The men crashed heavily against the orcs at the foot of the bridge. Amid the crash of blade on shield and cries of triumph, three of Brand's most valiant men fell to a mob of uruks. As the rest of the force began to cross, Brand, Balin and Radagast realized their peril and called for a retreat. The men and dwarves slowly began to detach from the fray and followed them as they fell back. A hail of darts urged them in their retreat.
The men held in reserve threw themselves forward into the melee in an attempt to stall the orc advance. The orc archers however, caught them in the open and pinned them down with a storm of arrows. Every single archer focused on the men since they were easy targets. Radagast took this opportunity to concentrate his archers back at them. Near half of the orcs fell as the men picked them apart with ease.
Despite all of their efforts, the orcs kept coming. With a handful of men staying behind to sacrifice themselves, Radagast called a full retreat. A new wave of orcs launched themselves into the fray and caught up with the retreating men, slaying several before Radagast halted them with a word of power. Five of the orcs collapsed in a heap and the rest fled before him, allowing the men to fall back in safety.
Horash finally decided to enter the fray. He and his picked bodyguard uruks slipped across the bridge with the second half of his orcs. His archers followed suit and clustered behind him. The scent of blood threatened to consume him as he directed the archers on the desperate melee below in the village. Under his direct guidance they succeeded in bringing down six men and dwarves.
"Keep up the shooting!" he cried. "Don't let them escape!"
Radagast wiped blood off of his arm and lashed out at an incoming orc. His staff flared as it connected with the orc, freezing its limbs in place. The statue disintegrated and joined a growing pile of ashes at his feet.
By now the elves were firing a continuous stream of arrows into the orcs. Their effectiveness was shown by the carpet of dead bodies covering the village square. They helped slow down the tide of orcs, but nothing could halt it completely. Brand and Balin stood at the foot of the second bridge, helping men and dwarves across as Radagast and half of the remaining men struggled with the orcs. Through the confusion he caught a glimpse of a huge uruk striding forwards through the orc horde. A cluster of lesser uruks followed it bearing shields to catch stray arrows.
The elves noticed him as well, for a torrent of arrows shattered the uruk cluster, slaying a third of them. The others retreated behind cover while the large brute continued forward, oblivious to the arrows.
At last it was Radagast's turn to cross the bridge. He froze the nearest orcs in place and hurried across the bridge. As he crossed, Balin issued an order and one of the dwarves lit an oil-covered rope. The dwarf dropped the rope onto a bag sitting on the bridge and ran for cover. The men held up their shields to cover their faces.
Radagast felt his feet leave the ground as the bridge exploded. Shards of rock and wood flew in all directions as the bridge fragmented in the middle. As the dust cleared, Radagast stood up and turned back to face the orc horde. Less than half of the orc still stood. The big, tall uruk glared menacingly at him from across the chasm, pure hate in his eyes.
"Hear the voice of Sauron!" He bellowed. "You will all die. Not one of you will survive. We will find a way across and we will kill you all!"
Balin laughed and taunted the uruk. "While you do that, you might as well try flying. No one's going to cross this gap without our permission."
Radagast smiled wearily and blocked out the reply. He picked up his staff and waved to the elves on the ramparts.
We're safe for now, Gandalf. Hurry up and bring your King to finish the job.