Lord of the Rings: An Outlaw's Redemption
…
Chapter 7: The Battle of Amon Hen
The next morning, the Fellowship were floating down the river again. Quarries lined the cliffs that loomed over the river and soon enough, there came into view two massive statues. Arthur stared up in awe of the massive constructions. Each statue held its left arm aloft as if to say halt to anyone approaching them. Their expressions were stern and solemn like silent wardens of a kingdom.
"Jesus! Wonder how long it took to make those damn things?" Arthur wondered to himself. "What are those anyway?" he asked.
"Those are the Gates of Argonath, or the Pillars of Kings. They're cared in the likenesses of Isildur and Anárion, my distant kin," Aragorn said having heard Arthur's question. "Long have I desired to look upon their likeness," he added softly.
"Gotta wonder how long it took to make those big statues," Arthur remarked. "Must've taken a long time to make 'em," he said.
"Indeed, but time they had back then," Aragorn replied, and Arthur nodded.
The Fellowship soon sailed past the Argonath and neared a great waterfall where they moored onto the western bank. As Arthur helped unload everything from the boats, he noticed that Boromir was acting strangely, glancing at Frodo agitatedly. Frodo seemed to notice how Boromir was acting and seemed disturbed by it. As the group prepared to make camp, Arthur asked Aragorn what the plan.
"We will cross the lake at nightfall. Hide the boats and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the north," Aragon said for everyone to hear.
"Oh yes? And it's just a simple matter of passing through Emyn Muil; an impassable labyrinth of razor sharp rocks," Gimli said. "And after that, it gets even better!" he exclaimed.
Pippin who had been listening looked up in alarm at what Gimli had just said.
"A festering stinking marshland as far as the eye can see!" Gimli then said.
Arthur shook his head but he then saw Legolas looking into the treeline of the forest; the elf prince had been looking at the forest ever since the moored onto the beach. This had Arthur curious and concerned so he walked up to Legolas and asked him, "What is it? Something wrong?"
"Something of the Shadow draws near," Legolas said tersely.
"Shit, something bad then?" Arthur asked and Legolas looked at him seriously. The cowboy nodded, understanding that it was serious so he walked over to Aragorn to speak to him.
"Hey, Strider," Arthur said to the Dunédain who looked up at him. "Legolas has… well, he thinks something bad is coming this way. Might be best to get to the other side, right now."
Aragorn nodded when Merry suddenly spoke up, "Where's Frodo?" he asked looking around.
Sam who had been half-asleep gave a start and looked around. Arthur looked around as well and saw that Frodo wasn't around. And neither was Boromir.
"They're both gone!" Arthur stated.
"Who?" Pippin asked.
"Frodo and Boromir!" Arthur said to the Took. Taking up his Lancaster, Arthur headed off into the forest. "I'm gonna go look for 'em! When we get back, we leave for the Eastern Shore!" he shouted as he jogged into the forest.
…
Arthur ran through the forest, trying to find some trail or either Frodo or Boromir to pick up on. He soon found some disturbed leaves indicating that there had been a struggle before splitting off into two individual tracks. One was of a man wearing boots and the other was that of large bare feet.
"That dumb bastard tried to the Ring from Frodo," Arthur cursed as he came to the obvious conclusion that the Ring had driven Boromir mad. Looking at the tracks Frodo had left, Arthur made to follow them. Whilst the Ring could render one invisible to the naked eye, it didn't mean that they wouldn't leave any tracks behind and that was what Arthur hoped would lead him to Frodo.
Following the tracks through the forest, Arthur made his way up a hill to where an old ruin lay and he found Frodo sitting there, obviously frightened out of his wits.
"Frodo?" Arthur called out to the hobbit gently. Frodo looked up and moved back away in fear. "Easy, kid, I ain't gonna hurt ya," Arthur said to him gently. "Did Boromir try to take the Ring?" he asked.
Frodo nodded sadly and replied, "He was mad; he tried to take the ring, but I put it on and escaped. I saw… I saw…" Words failed the Hobbit and he gave a shuddering exhale of breathe.
"I understand," Arthur said nodding his head. "You wanna head back to camp? I'll go and deal with Boromir."
"No! I can't! I must go on alone!" Frodo said.
"Alone? Yer talking crazy. Ya can't go on alone!" Arthur replied. "Who's gonna be there to look after you?" he asked.
Frodo looked at Arthur and asked, "Would you protect me from yourself?" He held in his palm the One Ring. Arthur looked down at the golden band that shone innocently in the light of the sun, but he knew that the Ring was anything but innocent.
Kneeling down in front of Frodo, Arthur said to him, "Kid, I'd have been right there with you in Mordor." Suddenly, Arthur spotted the glow of Frodo's sword, Sting. "Shit, yer sword!" Frodo noticed and drew it out partially revealing the blue glow. Arthur stood to his feet and looked at Frodo.
"Go! Get outta here while you still can!" the cowboy told Frodo who then ran off into the forest. Arthur stepped out and he saw a large horde of orcs standing before him. But to Arthur's keen eye, these seemed different than the ones in Moria; they looked taller and much more muscular than normal and their shields and even their faces had a white hand painted on them.
"C'mon you dumb bastards! Let's see if you're allergic to lead!" Arthur shouted as he cocked his Lancaster and prepared to fire as the first few of the orcs charged forward only to fall to the ground with golf ball sized holes in their heads. After shooting down a dozen orcs, Arthur switched to his Schofield and fired all six shots of the revolver into the orcs, killing them instantly.
Then as Arthur prepared to reload, the next few orcs surged forward with savage roars.
"Shit!" Arthur swore as he ducked a swing from an orc's cleaver-like sword. Pulling out his knife, Arthur stabbed the blade into the creature's neck, killing it and black blood gushing out of the wound. An orc had gotten behind Arthur and prepared to swings its blade into the cowboy's back when an arrow suddenly pierced its skull making it fall back with a dying groan. Arthur looked up and saw Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli charging out of the undergrowth with their own weapons.
Gimli threw his throwing axe at a charging orc and Legolas fired another arrow into an orc's throat and Aragorn slashed one through the heart killing it.
"What the hell are these things?!" Arthur shouted as he reloaded his Schofield.
"Uruk-Hai! Much stronger than regular orcs!" Gimli shouted as he hacked deep into an Uruk's guts with his axe.
"Christ!" Arthur spat as he finished reloading his Schofield and fired it at an Uruk that was trading strikes with Aragorn.
"Where's Frodo?!" Aragorn shouted to Arthur.
"Boromir tried to take the ring from him!" Arthur replied as he fired three shots into an Uruk. "Where are the others?!" he shouted.
Then three loud ox-horn trumpets sounded out into the forest.
"The Horn of Gondor!" Legolas exclaimed as he turned his head in the direction of the ox-horn blasts.
"Boromir needs aid!" Aragorn shouted.
"I'll fight my way to him! Find the others! Get them outta here!" Arthur shouted as he holstered his Schofield and drew Orcrist from its sheath and ran down the hill.
…
Jumping over a log, Arthur cut down another Uruk with Orcrist, severing its head from its shoulders. Pulling out his shotgun in his left hand, Arthur continued running through the forest, slashing at any Uruk that came near, or blasting them with buckshot pellets from his shotgun. Three more ox-horn blasts sounded through the air and Arthur gritted his teeth as he urged himself to run faster to find Boromir; although the cowboy knew that the Gondorian had tried to take the Ring from Frodo, he didn't wish the man dead.
Three more Uruks stood in Arthur's way and he shot the middle one in the chest with his shotgun before swinging his sword into the other. The last raised its shield in time to block Arthur's strike before kicking him in the chest. Arthur grunted as he hit the dirt and the Uruk launched itself at with its sword held high for a downward strike, its sharp teeth bared in a roar. Arthur raised his shotgun and fired a blast into the Uruk's stomach, wounding it. The Uruk groaned in pain, clutching its bleeding stomach. Arthur stood to his feet and shoved the barrel of his shotgun into the creature's mouth and pulled the trigger.
Black blood, grey matter and bits of bone sprayed everywhere as the shotgun destroyed the head of the Uruk-hai at point-blank range. Arthur wiped his face clean of the gore and picked up his sword then another ox-horn blast sounded.
"Shit!" Arthur ran through the forest, hoping to find Boromir still alive.
…
Arthur soon found Boromir and a lone Uruk standing in a ring of stone statues. Boromir was on his knees with three arrows stuck in him; one was in his shoulder, another was in his stomach and the last was in his chest. The lone Uruk held a bow in its hands and aimed an arrow right at Boromir's head, preparing to finish him off.
"NO!" Arthur shouted as he sprinted over and tackled the Uruk, knocking the bow from its grasp. The Uruk roared as it grappled against Arthur and punched the cowboy in the face twice. Arthur grunted in pain as the strong hits from the Uruk nearly made him see stars; kneeing the Uruk in the stomach, Arthur swung his own fist into the Uruk's face snapping its head to the side. The Uruk stumbled back before picking up a sword and shield from one of its dead kindred and roared angrily.
Arthur pulled out his Lancaster and fired a shot at the Uruk, but the beast put up its shield in time to block the bullets making Arthur grimace; it was either smart or lucky enough to figure how to use its shield to block bullets.
Pulling out Orcrist, Arthur shouted at the Uruk, "C'mon you dumb bastard! I ain't got all day!" The Uruk roared as it charged forward swinging its sword in a wide arc. Arthur blocked the strike from the Uruk's sword, getting into a lock with it. The Uruk then slammed its shield into Arthur sending the cowboy stumbling back and the Uruk slapped Orcrist out of Arthur's hands.
"Dammit!" Arthur swore as the Uruk tried to cleave him in half with its sword. Arthur jumped to the side and pulled out his knife and lunged, stabbing the beast in its thigh. The Uruk bellowed in pain slamming its shield into Arthur's face send him stumbling backward into a tree. The Uruk then threw its shield at Arthur and it was sheer dumb luck that the shield only pinned Arthur to the trunk of the tree, the prongs on either side of Arthur's neck. Arthur grunted as he struggled to get loose from his confines. The Uruk gave a triumphant howl as it swung its sword towards Arthur's head. Arthur then slid down the tree trunk and the Uruk's sword buried itself deeply into the tree.
Arthur smashed his fist into the Uruk's face before it swung a haymaker at Arthur throwing him backwards. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Arthur looked up to see the Uruk pull his knife out of its legs, giving a snarl and licked its own blood off Arthur's knife in an attempt to frighten him.
"Big dumb bastard! Is that all you got?!" Arthur taunted as he stood to his feet and the Uruk howled in rage throwing his knife at Arthur who avoided the blade in time. Then a familiar voice made itself heard in Arthur's head.
"A little something that will help you in your time of utmost need."
Arthur instinctively pulled out his Schofield and found the sun-rune on it glowing a bright blue. Cocking back the hammer, Arthur prepared to fire as the Uruk charged toward with a roar. Squeezing the trigger, Arthur shouted, "This is for Boromir!" A whiff of blue flame was expunged from the barrel of Arthur's revolver and a blue bolt of fire whizzed towards the Uruk hitting it in the head, causing it to explode. The Uruk fell to the ground dead and Arthur sighed in relief before he looked over at Boromir.
"Boromir!" The cowboy ran over to the Gondorian man and Aragorn arrived to see Arthur tending to Boromir.
"No…" Aragorn said in sadness as he knelt beside Boromir who was pale and weak.
"They took… the little ones!" Boromir said through a dying gasp.
"All of them?!" Arthur asked in shock.
"No… Merry and… Pippin," Boromir wheezed out. "Frodo? Where is Frodo?" he asked looking around blindly.
"I let Frodo go," Arthur told the Captain of the White Tower.
"Then you did… what I could not," Boromir said. "I tired to take the ring!"
"It's okay, it won't hurt you anymore," Arthur told him.
"Forgive me! I did not see… I failed you all!" Boromir wept.
"No, Boromir, you fought bravely! You've kept your honour!" Aragorn said to him.
"It is over! The world of men will fall, and all will come to darkness… and my city to ruin," Boromir sobbed through his pain.
"I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I swear to you, I will not let the White City fall, nor our people fail!" Aragorn swore.
"Our people? Our people," Boromir whispered and he reached out, feeling for his sword and Arthur handed it to him and helped Boromir clasp it to his chest.
"I would've followed you, my captain, my King!" Boromir said to Aragorn, looking at Arthur with the last of his strength, he said to him, "And forgive me, Arthur Morgan, for not seeing you as a good man."
"There's nothing to forgive, because I didn't blame you," Arthur said to the Gondorian solemnly. "This ain't my world, but I'm gonna make sure that your people won't die if it's the last goddamn thing I do!" he promised.
"Thank you, thank you," Boromir said before giving his last breath.
Legolas and Gimli arrived to see Boromir's passing. Aragorn bowed his head in respect. "Be at peace… son of Gondor," he said softly.
"They will look to his coming from the White Tower, but he will not return," Aragorn said as he stood to his feet, a tear rolling down his cheek and his eyes distant. For a moment, Arthur saw a glimpse of a king in Aragorn's face, noble and dignified.
…
Arthur and Aragorn laid Boromir to rest in one of the boats. Boromir's sword lay on his breast and his shield rest above his head and his broken ox-horn lay beside him. Arthur then pushed the boat out into the lake, watching as it was carried by the currents going over the waterfall and disappearing into the mists below. Aragorn adjusted the Gondorian vambraces on his wrists, wearing them in Boromir's honour.
Legolas shoved one of the boats into the water, "Hurry! Frodo and Sam have reached the eastern shore!" Arthur looked and saw Frodo and Sam disappearing into the forests of the eastern side.
"Don't bother Legolas, Frodo's fate ain't fer us to decide no more," the cowboy said to the Mirkwood Prince.
"You mean not to follow them?" Legolas asked in disbelief.
"Arthur is right. We cannot follow the path Frodo was meant to take," Aragorn said in agreement with Arthur.
"Then it has all been in vain!" Gimli lamented. "The Fellowship has failed!" he said in despair.
Aragorn stood up and put his hands upon Gimli and Legolas's shoulders. "Not if we hold true to each other," he told them. "We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torture and death. Not while we have strength left," he declared.
"Strider's right. I don't know about you two, but I for one ain't gonna let those sick bastards do god knows what to Merry and Pippin! Right now, I'm in the mood to hunt some orc!" Arthur grinned darkly as he placed his hat on his head and he looked at Legolas and Gimli, "Question is: can you two keep up?" he asked.
Aragorn smiled as he picked up his dagger and said, "Leave all that can be spared behind! Travel light. Let's hunt some orc!"
Arthur and Aragorn then began to run into the woods. Gimli looked at Legolas with a grin before giving "Yes!" of excitement and with a laugh, the dwarf ran after Arthur and Aragorn with Legolas following close behind.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back to this story! Sorry I took so long to update this, been busy with other projects but I hope this chapter shows I have not given up on this story.
And to answer some of your reviews about how I copy and pasted the beginning from Mugiwara N0 Luffy's The Gunslinger story, yes I did copy and paste it but I then apologised to Mugiwara for it and he more or less forgave me for it.
And to all others who say I haven't done anything that is different from the original plot of LOTR and that this story is trash, I'm not forcing you to read it. This story may be trash but it's MY TRASH. I write it how I want to.
Anyways, not much more to say, and apologies for this chapter being so short, but I hope it shows I'm still interested in this story.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.