The Stranger in Middle Earth

I do not own the rights to Lord of the Rings

AN- For the record I've altered the last chapter so I'd recommend re reading that one. It's not essential but it will help you understand some stuff which happens in this chapter.

By the way I have a request. If anyone can do a drawing to be the cover image for this can they do one and send it to me. That would be great because I can't draw at all. Do whatever you like, use your imagination. Now onto the story.

Chapter Five
The Battle of Helm's Deep

I stood in the Hornburg in front of the statue of Hammerhand with Rickard next to me. In front of us stood thirty men. They were members of the Helm's Deep garrison and were all wearing mail armour. Each man was armed with a spear, shield and either an axe or a sword. They also each wore a green cloak which appeared to be the one piece of kit that every soldier of Rohan had. Those men looked at me waiting for me to speak. Earlier I had been given a temporary position in Rohans army due to the lack of officers, to be exact the rank of Captain. My Uncle had been made a temporary Captain as well but for some reason Rickard hadn't. Due to my new rank I was wearing my Rohan cloak that I wore on the way to Helm's Deep and somehow Rickard had got a cloak as well.

'Well listen to me soldiers,' I said at them and then internally groaned at how stupid it came out. 'Our job is to hold this fortress and defend your loved ones in the caves behind us.'

'Which means we kill anything that's got a White Hand on it,' Rickard clarified.

'Thank you Rickard. We've been positioned at the Gatehouse so when the enemy comes in we'll be in the thick of the action. Remember, we are the righteous. In us is nothing but faith and the desire for peace! All that our enemy has is a sadistic desire to kill and burn! We have something worth fighting for! Now to the Gates, God be with us and don't lose your heads!'
My men gave a small cheer and then hurried to the Gatehouse.

'Good God,' I said to Rickard, 'how many of those men are going to die?'

'Don't even think about that.'

Rickard and I looked and saw my uncle walking towards us.

'John I need a word with you,' he said to me. 'Rickard, get to the Gatehouse.'

'Yes Sir,' Rickard said crisply and then quickly marched towards the Gatehouse.

'And he wonders why he's not my chief heir,' my uncle said distantly.

'Actually Uncle he's never wondered why he's not got as large a part of your will as Markus,' I reminded him.

'Well I'm just trying to motivate him into actually caring about something other than wine.'

'What did you need to speak to me about?' I asked him to get the conversation away from Rickard and alcohol.

'I've got advise for you,' he told me. 'This is your first time at holding a command. Make sure you don't show fear and be brave for your men. Don't let them think you're mortal.'

'So basically don't run and don't die,' I clarified.

'Yes. Good luck John.'

He then let a small sad smile creep onto his face and then walked away towards the Outer Wall.

'What about Rickard?' I asked him. 'Have you said anything to him?'

'I have,' he answered not turning to look at me.

A while later Rickard and I were in the Gatehouse with my men. The gates were right in front of me and I knew that soon we would be in the centre of the battle. Nervously I clutched the poleaxe in my hands while Rickard tapped the tip of his falchion on the wooden gates in front of him. Where we were we couldn't see the enemy army but we could hear them. It was a constant rolling thumping which went through the air and through my bones. The visor on my helmet was up, I'd pull it down once the fight actually began, and I listened to the sound of the Uruk-hai marching towards us as it grew louder. I heard the roar of thunder and the sound of rain. I felt Rickard nudge me and I turned to face him.

'What is it?' I asked him.

'Don't you think we should say a prayer?' he asked me, his voice a little muffled through his helmet's visor which was down.

'Yes,' I answered and then I said a silent prayer in my head which I shall record here.

Father above
You have spared my life many times
You have sent me here for a reason I know this
I ask you now, grant me and all the others here victory
To those who die take them to your care and bring them home to you
For you decide the fate of all men
Aman

There was no noise, as if our breathing itself had become silent. Then it started. A thumping. It kept crashing through our ears unnerving us all. Ten thousand beasts all at one thumping their weapons against their shields and the ground. Many of us in the gatehouse shifted slightly and nervously on the spot. It kept going for what felt like forever and then it suddenly stopped. The next thing we heard was a crashing as an Uruk-hai fell dead. Above us I heard my Uncles voice shout out victoriously,

'FIRST BLOOD TO US!'

Then we cheered. Everyone gave a short cheer over that one small victory. However, what little joy we had melted away when a brutal, guttural roar barked out and then a rumble as thousands of iron, shod boots charged forwards.

'Here we go again,' Rickard said with excitement as what I thought would be my last thoughts went through my mind. Where would God send me, to Heaven or Hell? He sent us here, surely he would not let us all die. What if He wasn't real? What if after I died there was nothing? I shook the thoughts out of my mind and cleared my head. I needed to know what was happening outside.

'Is anyone here fast?' I asked my men.

'I am sir,' said a boy at the age of roughly nineteen wearing a mail hauberk, a helmet with nose guard and was armed with a spear and axe.

'Get up there and let me know what's happening. If any Uruk-hai move up the causeway let us know. Understand?'

He quickly ran out of the gatehouse and up to the outer wall. For a while we heard shouting and steel clashing, coming from the Deeping Wall.

'Yes sir.'

'Move it!'

'Are we doing the kill count again?' Rickard asked me eagerly.

'Might as well,' I answered.

'What's taking them so long, I'm getting bored here,' Rickard said with false disappointment.

'Sir!' I heard my runner shout as he vaulted back into the gatehouse. 'The enemy are moving up the causeway now!'

'Ready yourselves!' I shouted at them and pulled down my helmets visor.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

'JESUS CHRIST!' cursed Rickard as the blast tore through the air. 'What in Christ's name was that?'

'It sounded like a cannon battery,' I said and later I would smile at the irony. Although it wasn't a cannon I didn't believe they had any black powder.

'Brace the gates!' Theoden shouted and we all pressed ourselves against the gates just as the first blow from the battering ram slammed into the wood throwing us all back.

We threw ourselves against the gates again doing all we could to keep them closed. I knew it was futile, that they'd get through eventually but every second we delayed them the closer our reinforcements were. They kept sending blow after blow against the gates and slowly pieces of wood broke away and then a massive chunk of the gates was destroyed as the ram cut through the gates, impaling one of my men. A flurry of crossbow bolts flew into the gatehouse killing more soldiers around me.

'Archers fire!' I shouted and my archers fired into the enemy crossbowmen. 'CHARGE!'

All of us bolted towards the hole in the gate with Rickard and I at the front. Our foes had forced open the gates and many of them were pouring into the breach. I impaled an Uruk-hai in the neck with the sharp butt of my poleaxe killing it. Each Uruk-hai wore full plate armour and carried falchions and spears. They were larger, stronger and far more ferocious than Orc's. One of them swung its falchion down toward my head. I blocked the blow with my poleaxe shaft and then sent a kick into its groin. It ignored the kick and kept fighting. I blocked another blow before Rickard came to the rescue and hacked into its neck from behind. Too many Uruk-hai were pouring into the breach and my men were trying to push them back out. It was too tight and confined for me to use my poleaxe effectively so I dropped it and pulled out Alaric. I swung him, slicing the front of an Uruk's neck sending black blood pouring out of the wound and down its chest. One of them swung its sword onto my head and the blow left me disorientated. After a moment I pulled myself together and attacked once more. I stabbed one through the arm pit and hacked into another's neck. Next to me Rickard had blacked a blow with his shield and was getting ready to return the blow. Many of the Uruk's were rushing through the breach and were deep amongst our ranks. Then Theoden arrived. He'd gathered all of our reserves and lead them into the fray. Using his sword in his left hand he blocked and parried enemy attacks, cutting down three Uruk's in quick succession. He was quickly next to Rickard and I at the breach where he killed another before an Uruk spear stabbed him in the joint of his armour.

'No,' I hissed. If the King was killed the morale of our forces would break completely. However, Theoden had a will made of iron and killed the Uruk with a stab from his sword. Gamling quickly pulled the King away from the front and I stepped into his place.

'All archers up top!' I ordered. 'Shoot them before they reach the gates!'
I swung my sword three times and killed two more Uruk-hai. I then felt the crush of hundreds of men behind me rushing forwards to avenge the injury their king had suffered. I stabbed another in the mouth and then I saw one without a helmet. I quickly brought my sword down onto its skull and broke it open sending out a spray of black blood.

'We can't hold out much longer,' Rickard said as he kicked an Uruk in the knee breaking the bone and then sliced off the Uruk's head.

As he said those words the Uruk-hai attack faltered. I had no time to think about why that had happened and I kept fighting. When the last Uruk had been killed I saw the reason why. Aragorn and Gimli had somehow made it onto the causeway and were slaughtering their way through the Uruk's.

'Shore up the door!' ordered the King and men carrying beams of wood hurried forwards. 'John, lead half of your men up to the outer wall!'
'Yes your majesty,' I said to him and picked up my poleaxe which somehow hadn't been broken and lead half of the men up to the outer wall where, to my horror, the Uruk-hai had erected ladders. Some of them were streaming into the courtyard towards me and my men. My face was hot and sweaty, my joints ached and I was growing more and more tired. I pushed up the visor of my helmet to let air kiss my face.

'CHARGE!' I bellowed and, with our weapons raised, all of us charged forwards.

Rickard was right next to me and behind us dozens of men. We crashed into them, I swung my poleaxe low cutting off the leg of an Uruk with the axe part of my weapon and let someone else finish it off. Then I smashed the blunt head of my weapon into the helmet of an Uruk crushing the skull beneath it. Rickard threw himself into an Uruk and used his shield to throw it into the ground where he finished it off with his falchion. I aimed at the legs of an Uruk and swung my weapon their knocking the beast off balance and tripping it over to be killed by one of my spearmen. We pushed the Uruk's back and we were soon spread along the outer wall fighting them off. I found my uncle in front of a ladder fighting with his Great Sword. With incredible strength for a man his age he sliced every Uruk that came up that ladder, sometimes killing them two at a time. During the battle I killed two more Uruk's and found my way to the ladder. I saw that there were elves fighting with us in the Hornburg. That was when I realized that we'd lost the Deeping Wall. For as long as we could we fought them off bravely. However, there were too many of them. Their blood lust and cruelty was too much for the conscripted men of Rohan.

'PULL BACK! PULL BACK!' I heard Gamling shout and I quickly moved to obey the order.

As I tried to make it off the Outer Wall I looked and saw what I didn't want to see. An Uruk was about to kill a child. I realized with horror that the child was the boy I took from his sister. I ran as fast as I could in my armour and attacked the Uruk from behind, sinking the head of my poleaxe into its neck. The Uruk fell dead and I grabbed the boy, carrying him with me as I ran.

'THE CASTLE IS BREACHED!' someone shouted. 'RETREAT!'

When we reached the courtyard Uruk's were racing through the fortress like a river of armour and muscle. I put Cenric down on the ground.

'RUN!' I shouted at him and he did run up the steps into the Hall and I followed him inside just before we had to slam doors shut.

I stepped into the Hall and then collapsed to the floor and pressed my back against the wall. I had taken off my helmet and dropped my poleaxe. I closed my eyes and let my thought take me. This was it. I was going to die. Every soldier in the fortress was going to die. Every person in the caves was going to die.

'John get up.'

I opened my eyes and saw my uncle looking down at me. Black blood was splattered across his armour and sword which he held in his hands. The visor on his helmet was still down.

'I said get up.'

'If you insist,' I said to him and managed to climb up to my feet.

'John I'm not going to say "I told you so".'

'You don't have to.'

'But if we're going to die,' he continued, 'then I won't have my nephew killed while napping. Now pick up your weapon and get ready to make a last stand.'

As I grabbed my poleaxe Rickard was looking at his falchion which had been broken in half. He shook his head, dropped the weapon and pulled out his mace.

'Never thought I'd die like this,' I said to my cousin.

'I did,' he said quickly. 'I always knew that I'd be killed in a fortress which was under attack by an army of ten thousand monsters that want to turn me into a very handsome and well prepared first course.'

I still managed to laugh at him. He was always optimistic even at our darkest hour. Some of the men were barricading the doors as a

battering ram slammed into them.

'The fortress is taken,' Theoden said loudly. 'It is over.'

'You said this fortress would never fall while men defend it!' shouted Aragorn over the noise of a table being overturned. 'They still defend it. They have died defending it!'

My family and I stood near the wall and prepared ourselves to meet our maker. I had put my helmet back on but the visor was up for now.

'It appears that even the King has given up,' my uncle said to us.

'I know,' I said to him. 'Are you ready to die?'

'No, I don't want to die, I want to live but I'm prepared to die.'

I was about to say something that would probably sound inspiring if I wrote it here when I heard Theoden give out orders.

'Let the horn of Helm Hammerhand sound in the Deep. One last time!'

'YES!' roared Gimli and hurried away to use the horn.

'Bring forth all the horses! We shall ride out for glory!' he declared and a few men hurried to the stables.

Our mounts were brought to us and I climbed onto Julius. In my left hand I held the reins and in my right I had my poleaxe. I felt my fear dissolve, knowing that we were about to die in glory. It's hard to describe what knowing that you were about to die feels like. Anyone who hasn't experienced it for themselves can never know what that feels like. I suppose I can describe it best as falling from a great height through the air. You know it is all about to end but you feel liberated.

'Good luck both of you,' my uncle said to Rickard and I.

I pulled down the visor of my helmet as we heard Theoden giving his speech.

'Fell deeds await. Now for wrath. Now for ruin and the red dawn!'

At long last the door broke open and the Uruk-hai stormed in.

'FORTH EORLINGAS!' Theoden roared and we all gave a defiant shout as we charged out smashing apart the Uruk's awaiting us.

I stabbed an Uruk as I rode past it with the butt of my pole axe. We rode out of the Hall and into the courtyard then down the path to the causeway. Every Uruk we rode by was killed, sliced down by our forces. We made it out of the Hornburg. I stabbed down and killed an Uruk that tried to kill Julius. All around us was a sea of Uruk-hai. I knew we could never win with these odds but we'd kill as many of those demons as possible. I stabbed at another but it blocked the blow and yanked the poleaxe from my hand. Quickly I pulled out Alaric and sliced the throat of the Uruk. Then I heard a horse whinny above all the noise of the battle and my eyes turned towards the sound. There, atop a hill between two cliffs on his white horse he was there. Quickly, all eyes turned towards him.

'Who's that?' asked Rickard, his mace covered in blood.

'It's Gandalf,' I told him and my spirits rose a little. He was then joined by another rider and then a whole line of horsemen.

'TO THE KING!' one of them shouted and then as one thousands of them charged down the hill towards the Uruk-hai.

The sun rose behind them blinding the Uruk's. That's when I noticed them. Some of our allies weren't wearing the mail and scale armour of the Rohirrim but instead were wearing full plate armour shining in the light. They were knights. Fifty knights. This force crashed into the Uruk-hai ranks and I kept fighting. Slicing Uruk after Uruk I kept fighting. They tried to hold us back but they had no chance. They retreated. We drove them back and they fled. We followed them but stopped when we reached a hill and saw something odd. A forest had appeared overnight and the Uruk's were running straight into it.

'Stop!' Gandalf ordered us and stop we did.

We watched the Uruk's run into the forest and they never came out of it. The trees shook wildly and the screams of Uruk-hai filled the air.

'VICTORY!' Theoden then shouted. 'We have victory.'

He was right. We had victory. By the grace of God, He had granted us victory. The smile beneath my visor was massive. Everyone was cheering. Relieved to be alive we all cheered. Our reinforcements cheered, those of us who had fought in the Hornburg cheered. It was incredible. I had pushed up the visor of my helmet, never before had the air felt so sweet. We had won. By the Will and the Grace of God we had been granted victory. My uncle and my cousin were next to me and we all cheered. Never before in my life had a victory been so sweet. As I thought that it couldn't have gotten any sweeter I saw a Knight dressed in Milanese armour riding towards us. He had a broken lance in his hand and a sword at his waist.

'Am I late?' he asked us and then took off his helmet.

We looked at his face and smiles split all of our faces. He was clean shaven and had short black hair.

'Markus,' my uncle said, his voice filled with joy.

Review response

Kiya-Well here's a fun fact, Haldir wasn't supposed to lead the elves to Helm's Deep. It was originally going to be Arwen. Yep. She was actually going to do something! That was how Aragorn was originally going to get the sword but it deviated so much from the original story that it outraged so many fans they changed it to Haldir even though they had filmed some scenes with her fighting. Thanks for your continued reviews.

Have a nice day.