Chapter 13- Hellm's Deep
Aragorn stood in the armoury and closed his eyes in contemplation. It has been 2 weeks since the Fellowship has left Lothlorien as an united front and now the group was scattered. Draco has left them in the forest, Viridis fell in Moria, and now seven days ago the group was broken. The cause an Uruk-Hai attack a little after Argonoth gates, which resulted in Boromir death, the kidnapping of Merry and Pippin and Frodo and Sam going alone into Mordor. He, Legolas and Gimli had followed the hobbits kidnappers and that led them to the steppes of Rohan, the home of the horse lords which was rules by King Theoden who turned out to be under Saruman spell. The silver lining of the whole situation was the return of Gandalf who had managed to free the king from his enslavement. Later, the wizard had departed to search for Eomer, the kings nephew who had been banished with those loyal to the king when Saruman had bewitched the monarch. Now he and the inhabitants of Edoras were in Helms Deep, preparing themselves for the attack of a massive Orc army from Isengard. He knew that their chances were slim, but he needed to believe, as the hopelessness of their situation had gotten Legolas. He opened his eyes and saw Legolas arriving to him and apologizing for losing hope, Aragorn smilled and caught his arms in sign of acceptance. The moment was broken when the voice of a horn echoed in the room, man and elf looked at each other and ran closely followed by Gimli as this wasn't an orc horn but elfish.
Theoden looked with wide eyes at the army of elfs that was coming toward the gates and he gave the signal to let them in. The army stopped its march as it arrived at the top and 3 elfs separated from it and looked at the three members of the Fellowship.
- Haldir, what are you doing here- asked Aragorn
- We are here to help, Aragorn, Lady Galadriel send us- sed the blond elf
- our border are secure and the Lord of the Lady send their best fighters- one of the black elfs next to Haldir said
- Ego much, Sirius- the other snorted
- you know me Sev- Sirius stated but the friendly barter was interrupted by a high peached sound and two black shapes appeared over the fortress
- Nazguls- Teoden sed faintly, but he saw the elfs smiling
- Not at all, my Lord- the blond elf sed
- let me present you, the Prince of the Golden Woods, the son of Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn, Viridis as well as the youngest son of Lord Tranduil, King of Mirkwood and brother if Legolas here, Draco and their mounts Zephir and Icarus The Rohirim looked fascinated at the two shadows which approached the fortress and they saw the small clear circle that the elfs formed and the shadows landed and two young elfs dismounted from the creatures.
- What are they?- asked the King
- Dragons,- the black haired elf with Green eyes answered then he turned toward the elf army- listen carefully, the orc army is approaching fast, we have at most an hour to an hour and a half until they are here, I want archers on the walls and on the ground behind them, Severus, you and Sirius go above the door and put a shield to reinforce the door, me and Draco will put a shield over the hole in the wall where the water comes out, this is the weakest point and the orcs will try to breach and enter from there. Elfs, I want each of you to pair up and watch each other back, it may not help us, but our chances may improve. Zephir, Icarus- at that the two dragons looked at them,- use the relief and box with fire the orc army when it arrives, cut their escape route and let them be at the mercy of the spears and arrows,- The dragons nodded and flew in the air,- Mars, Apollo- there was a flash of fire and the most beautiful bird appeared followed by an enormous snake- Apollo, you are the healer, I want you in the back at that the bird nodded- any combatant that is slightly hurt will go at the back and let Apollo heal him, before returning to fight, understand
- Yes, our prince- the Galadrim sed in one voice
- Mars, I want you between the swordsmen on the ground and the wall. You know how to control your gaze to not harm our people, you are protected, if the orcs breach the wall the first thing that they'll see is you as well as Hades and Zeus...
- So we turn- Draco smirked
- we turn- Viridis nodded
- Elfs any questions
- No our prince- with that the elfs separated to go to their assigned positions
- And that is how you divide an army to be at its most effective- Severus smirked to the ire of Theoden
After giving his order Viridis turned just in time to be engulfed in a hug by Aragorn, then he saw Gimli and Legolas and smiled.
- We are so happy to see you lad- the dwarf sed
-Thank you. can you fill us with what happened to the Fellowship, while we were separated?
- Sam and Frodo separated from us at the Argonath gates as we were attacked by orcs there, Merry and Pippin were captured by orcs bred by Saruman and Boromir was killed trying to protect them. It took three arrows to kill him- Legolas said
- We hunted the orcs that took the hobbits, but they were intercepted by a Rohirin patrol led by a banished rider named Eomer and destroyed. Fortunately the hobbits managed to escape to Fangorn forest- Gimli said
- We entered the forest and found Gandalf there. He led us to Edoras, freed King Teoden from Saruman control then he rode up to find Eomer and his riders while we moved here- Aragorn said - When are you expecting Gandalf to be back?-Draco asked
- Tomorrow at first light- King Theoden answered
- So we must hold on until then. It will be difficult, but with luck will managed.- Viridis sed and closed his eyes thinking- Ok, Haldir...
- Yes my prince
- You are the commander on the elfs on the wall with Aragorn if possible- he looked at the Gondorian and the man nodded- you two will watch your backs as much as possible understand
- Yes, my prince/ Viridis- sed the two men together
- Sirius, Severus- he looked at the two elfs
- Yes.
- in case of breach you two will command the ground forces again protect each other.
- Sure, kiddo- Sirius sed- Come on Sev
- Where do you want me and Gimli- Legolas asked as Viridis looked at them
- At the wall, unfortunately there is a good chance that some orcs will be able to reach the top. Gimli you are lethal with an axe and Legolas is just as good with knives. Furthermore if we put Gimli down on the ground we'll never hear the end of it, how we elfs have sabotaged the chance of the lone dwarf to kill more orcs that us. If he is up, we won't have that as he'll have first choice on the possible orcs.
- And you know that its true- Gimli sed and everybody laugh - Ok everyone knows where he should be scatter
Night had fallen and it had started to rain. Teoden looked at his men and saw the fear in their eyes as a huge mass of orcs encased the front of Helm' s Deep. The beasts were roaring and the noise of their weapons echoed in the valley. The King gaze turned toward the wall and saw the shinning armour of the elfs. Each of the immortals were calm and concentrated, as Aragorn was walking between them and issuing orders. From his position on the ramparts he could also see the courtyard. In the front stood the biggest snake he had ever seen. The beast was black with yellow eyes, 60 meters long, he had also a red feather on his head behind one of his eyes. Its jaw was open and 12 inch teeth were gleaming in the light from the lightening. Behind him stood the two biggest cats he had ever seen. He had seen the two young elfs change into them. Both animals were as big as ponies, One was black with green eyes and the other was pale yellow with grey eyes. They had also 6 inch teeth and claws. The claws were sharp, curved and Teoden was sure that they could pass through the toughest armour like it was butter. Behind the cats were stationed the second group of elfs led by the two black haired elfs. Suddenly the orcs noise stopped and Theoden turned his head as he saw the end of a rohan arrow sticking up from one of the orcs. The creature fell dead as his companions stilled. Then the moment passed and the black army started its attack.
The orcs were getting desperate. The original plan was to use the small channel and blow a hole in it with the new weapons from Saruman, however this had failed miserably as something was repelling the huge balls. What was worse, the balls were rebounding and falling among them, then to add insult to injury fire balls were falling from the sky on them and causing them to explode. The group that was trying to ram the door and brake it was also unsuccessful as they were stopped by something, and the result was that the bridge leading to the door was blackened with the bodies of the fallen orcs. Then finally progress, one of the numerous ladders managed to attach itself to the wall and the real battle started.
The elfs on the wall took their sword and stored the bows as the first orcs managed to step on the wall. They had managed to hold on for as long as possible the ladders , however their numbers were so great that some of them had passed through them. The dragons had managed to destroy a good number of them also, however they had stopped their fire the closer some of the ladders got to the wall of the fortress. This however was excellent news for one dwarf as he could finally participate in the battle.
- Legolas, 10- Gimli said pleased with himself
- I am at 15- the elf replied
- I will not let an Elf Princeling to beat me up- Gimli answered at with new vigour started to hack the orcs.
While they defence was good, the number of attackers was so big that they managed to push their way into the courtyard as they went over the corpuses of the slain elfs, however their delight was short lived as they saw the huge snake. The orcs then crossed they sight of the snake and it was like train strings were cut. They just fell and die. Some of the elfs decided to keep of wide berth of the creature and go around it, however this idea was short lived as the moment they went to the sides, they were attacked by two huge cats, the size of ponies. Even their armour wasn't able to protect them as the claws of the creature passed through it with ease. Some of the orcs just died by being near them. The lucky ones that managed to pass the animals were met with elf steel and arrows. One of the Orc generals grumbled, if he survived he would go back to Isengard and kill slowly the small oily man that gave Saruman the information about the strength of Rohan as his information was outdated. If correct, they could have blown a hole by now in the wall, the front gate would have fell and they would be in the citadel. His inattention cost him much as Haldir beheaded him. The Lothlorien marksman exhaled and silently thanked Viridis for his plan to fight with a partner. He hadn't noticed one orc at his back and the creature was poised to attack him, fortunately Aragorn had and had killed it and saved his life.
The defenders were getting tired, the battle had started at the beginning of the night and it was almost dawn. The surviving rohan men were at their end and Teoden was hopping that Eomer would come soon. His gaze turned to the surviving elves and saw that a third of them were still alive including the elf prince and his entourage. Then suddenly a horn echoed in the valley and the king noticed two riders on the hill. He smiled Eomer had come.
Gandalf exhaled with relieve. The fortress was still standing and was intact to his surprise. Then another horn answered their call and the white wizard smiled an elf horn, a Lothlorien horn. Then two high pitched screeches were heard and he saw the two black dragons flying down.
- Don't worry, they are with the elves- he said calmly to Eomer and both of them noticed two fire balls impacting the diminished orc army.
Eomer had been scared that he would find only devastation but to his immense relief that wasn't the case. He made a sign and his men aligned then with a signal the charge started.
Viridis was exhausted. His body was lined with cuts and he breather with relief as he heard the horns. He made a sign to Draco and both of them went to the wall and saw the sea of horses descending from the mountain. Then he heard it a voice in the air and inside he froze. That was Saruman voice and he was chanting his last desperate spell. There was a huge lightening that struck both Zephir and Icarus in the wings. The two dragons loss their battle with gravity and fell among the orcs.
- NO- both boys screamed as they fell their bond with the dragons snap and they knew that their familiars were dead