Disclaimer: I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.
02/03/2013
Thanks everyone for your continued reviews and comments. There's some speculation of a blossoming romance between Cap and Eowyn. Please keep in mind that as a single, 39 year old male I'm probably more clueless about the feelings of young women than what Cap is.
Bruce, Merry and Pippin are still in recovery so their next appearance is probably a chapter away.
WolfishPennings: The answers to those questions I am still trying to figure out myself.
gunman: Hopefully the Battle of Helm's Deep I have in mind will better meet your expectations. What happens to Haldir and the Galadhrim will be an important part of this.
Kai-Aala: I have a few ideas in relation to Gondor and I am looking forward to writing the chapters that include them.
Chapter 19 – The Road to Helm's Deep
The evacuees from Edoras stretched in a long line as they travelled westward towards their destination of Helm's Deep. A small military escort of a hundred cavalry and infantry protected the column. The column included the Fellowship, Theoden and his court. Edoras's civilian population formed the bulk of the evacuees. A few fortunate residents had packhorses, wagons or carts to carry elderly or infant family members. The rest carried their meagre possessions on stretchers or their own backs. The column sporadically grew in number along the journey after being joined by refugees from outlying villages and farms that had been attacked by Saruman's forces. That said, the Rohirrim's morale continued to hold due to their belief that they would be safe once they reached Helm's Deep.
It was midday on the second day since Edoras had been evacuated. The Fellowship had placed themselves apart while still being in reasonable proximity to each other. The one exception was Legolas who had volunteered to act as a scout for the evacuee column. Riding Graegwind, Thor had earlier in the day conversed with Hama who was riding his own steed. The Captain of the Royal Guard spoke with pride that his eldest son, Haleth, was commencing training with Eomer's eored later that year. Thor was now riding to the left of Theoden who was riding his white stallion named 'Snowmane'. Boromir was riding at Theoden's right. For the first time since Amon Hen, Boromir was no longer wearing his bandage. The scar from the Uruk's shield blow was nonetheless still visible on his forehead.
Boromir was advising Theoden of the current military situation in Gondor. Despite his relationship with Denethor being at its lowest ebb, Theoden felt no animosity towards the Steward's eldest son. Boromir was one of the finest military strategists in Middle-earth and Rohan was fortunate he was here to aid in its struggle with Isengard. With sadness, Theoden privately recalled how Theodred came back from his summer in Gondor positively idolising Boromir. His conversation with Thor was an entirely different experience. Theoden had never heard of any realm named 'Asgard' before. As Gandalf vouched Thor's identity, Theoden didn't doubt the realm's existence or Thor being its Crown Prince. That still didn't mean it was easy comprehending Thor's descriptions of his father's realm.
"Forgive me, Prince Thor," Theoden apologised to the Asgardian. "I've no doubt you're a man of your word. But if only half of what you've told me about Asgard is true, it would surely rival Valinor in splendour."
"Valinor?" Thor queried.
"The Undying Lands," Boromir spoke its more colloquial name.
"The final destination of Legolas's people?" Thor recalled what the Elf told him.
Boromir nodded. "It's also the realm of the Valar – the spirits that watch over Middle-earth."
"All Men know of Valinor is from legend," Theoden added.
It was extremely rare that Odin allowed visitors to Asgard. And certainly not visitors from less advanced realms. Thor hoped his father could be persuaded to make an exception.
"Milord," Thor addressed Theoden. "I'm still trying to find a way back to Asgard. Should it happen, and in exchange for your generous hospitality, I'll try to arrange for you to visit Asgard as my guest. You can then see for yourself if the All-Father's realm is all you imagine it to be."
The Lord of the Mark smiled for the first time in days.
"Thank you I'd like that," Theoden replied before revealing what most intrigued him about Asgard. "If only to see what it's like to travel across a rainbow."
Ahead of the trio, Eowyn held the reins of her steed as Gimli rode on its back. Rogers walked alongside her to her right. Aragorn was just a few yards behind riding his own horse. The previous day, Rogers had acted as a scout for the column before swapping with Legolas for today. The First Avenger was finally able to talk to Eowyn about his home. Eowyn was staggered to learn that this 'America' was nearly seventy-fold the size of Rohan. And as for its population – surely not even Sauron had that many orcs under his command! She could never see herself exchanging a trusty mount for one of those 'automobiles'. However, Eowyn was curious to travel in one of those 'aeroplanes' if only to see what it was like to fly like a bird. Conversation eventually turned to family.
"Eomer and I've been raised by our uncle ever since we were children," Eowyn told Rogers and Gimli. "Our parents died when we were quite young. Losing Theodred was like losing a brother."
Rogers nodded in understanding before replying, "I'm sorry about your folks and cousin, Eowyn. My family's long dead and I've none of my own." He opted not to say that spending seven decades in suspended animation was the major reason why.
Thinking the conversation was becoming a bit morose Gimli tried to raise the pair's spirits.
"You're a handsome young lad, Steve". Gimli observed with a twinkle in his eye. "At least as far as Men go. But you really need to grow yourself a beard. Once you do, all the ladies will be demanding your favour."
Rogers raised a quizzical eyebrow at Gimli and asked with restrained sarcasm, "Is that from experience, Gimli? If it's true, you must have a line of Dwarf women longer than the Anduin wanting to date, sorry, court you."
Eowyn burst out laughing at Roger's wit. Even Gimli seemed to take it in good humour.
"By not allowing your ladies to grow beards, you Men don't know what you're missing out on," he responded with a wink.
"I'm not even going to think about that, Gimli," Rogers replied with a light chuckle.
"We've had no dealings with your people for so long, Gimli," Eowyn said slightly more seriously. "We know very little about what your women look like."
Gimli began educating the pair on the subject. "It's true you don't see many Dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they're often mistaken for Dwarf men. And this, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no Dwarf women." Despite resting one of his axes on his left shoulder, Gimli waved his hands around as he continued. "And that Dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!"
Rogers and Eowyn laughed at Gimli's remark.
The Dwarf joined in the pair's merriment before he concluded, "Which is of course ridiculous!"
Gimli had become so animated about this discussion that he accidentally spurred Eowyn's steed with his legs. The steed took this as a signal to go into a canter. Gimli let out a startled cry as his ride's change of pace caught him completely by surprise. After the horse had moved a few yards forward, Gimli unceremoniously fell off his ride hitting the ground with a noticeable thud. The small commotion grabbed the attention of those in the immediate vicinity. Eowyn rushed to Gimli to check on his welfare while Rogers ran to catch Eowyn's steed. As soon as he caught the horse's reins he heard Gimli trying to save face.
"It's alright, it's alright," Gimli proclaimed as if nothing were amiss. "Nobody panic. That was deliberate. That was deliberate."
Rogers quietly whispered to Eowyn's steed, "We both know that's not true."
After Eowyn's steed appeared to snort its consent, Rogers turned around to look at his two travelling companions. Although her back was turned, Eowyn seemed to be gazing towards Aragorn.
It was moderately overcast the following morning. Legolas and Rogers agreed to exchange the role of scout at around noon. That being the case, Rogers found himself in the middle of the column walking between Boromir and Thor who were both mounted. The three spoke in hushed tones.
"I mean to offence to the lady," Boromir said to the two Avengers. "But did either of you taste Eowyn's stew?"
Eowyn had cooked a stew she personally served a number of the Fellowship for dinner the previous night. Polite acceptance marked the Fellowship's reaction to it.
"I wouldn't have given it to a Frost Giant," Thor bitterly recalled the taste.
"Gimli and I must've missed it when went to check on Legolas," Rogers wryly informed. "There was this old lady who insisted on giving the three of us a platter of ham and roast potatoes. She said she wanted to reward the heroes who'd freed Edoras."
Thor considered this a moment before saying, "Given that happened, Rogers, I volunteer to take your place as a scout. It's only fair that you face the dangers of the Eowyn's cooking like the rest of us."
The quiet chuckle the trio shared was interrupted by a commotion seemingly at the front of the column. The word 'Wargs' soon rapidly swept down the column. The two Avengers noted it was a word that greatly distressed many of the civilians.
"What are wargs?" Rogers asked Boromir.
"They're like a giant breed of wolf," Boromir grimly answered. "And they're just as evil as the orcs who ride them."
Theoden's call echoed down the line. "All riders to the head of the column!"
The trio rushed towards the sound of Theoden's voice. Seeing that the column was under attack, Rogers thought Gandalf would agree on the need for him to move with haste. It went without saying that many in the column temporarily lost their fear of wargs. They witnessed open-mouthed how Rogers kept up with his two friends' steeds. Ignoring this, the three were at the front of the column in quick time. Thor noticed that Gimli was on the white horse that Eomer had given the Fellowship. The horse seemed to be stubbornly remaining in its place despite Gimli trying to urge it forward.
"I shall go help our Fellowship's Dwarf," Thor dryly told Rogers and Boromir before breaking away from them.
Rogers and Boromir found themselves near Eowyn who was about to mount her steed. The pair of them had no doubt what Eowyn was planning to do. Unfortunately for her, those plans came to a quick end when Theoden trotted up on Snowmane.
"You must lead the people to Helm's Deep," Theoden commanded his niece. "And make haste!"
"I can fight!" Eowyn insisted.
"No!" Theoden firmly rebuked her before speaking to Rogers. "Captain Rogers, please ensure my niece's safety while does so."
"Yes, sir," Rogers replied without hesitation.
Eowyn was livid at her uncle's order to Rogers. Being denied another chance to engage in battle was bad enough. But to imply that she could not defend herself from enemy attack was even worse.
"I have no need of escort, Uncle!" Eowyn indignantly stated. "I'm a Sh-"
Eowyn stopped arguing the moment her designated bodyguard gripped her arm. Rogers thought that touching Rohan's ranking lady was probably a greater breach of royal protocol than when Aragorn argued with Theoden in the Golden Hall. He appreciated why Eowyn felt upset but this was no time for arguments.
"I'd like to fight as well," Rogers quietly soothed to Eowyn. "But your uncle's just given us a direct order. Let's just give him one less thing to worry about."
The anger in Eowyn's face drained after Rogers had spoken. After slowly nodding her agreement, she walked towards the civilians in the column.
"Make for the lower ground!" she firmly told them. "Stay together!"
Rogers looked at Theoden. The King gave him a small nod of appreciation before charging forwards. Rogers then shared a knowing look with Boromir.
"See you at Helm's Deep," Rogers said with simple optimism.
"Until then, my friend," Boromir replied before spurring his mount towards the oncoming battle.
The two friends did not give even the slightest of backward glances as they went their separate ways. In comparison, Eowyn and Aragorn shared a last look before the latter rode off with the other riders of the column.
Thor had managed to spur Gimli's mount forward and the Dwarf was now riding unsteadily alongside him. As the company of riders neared the slope of a hill, Thor noticed a Rohirrim's badly mauled body on the ground next to the bodies of the warg and orc that had killed him. Thor closed his eyes in regret when he realised the dead Rohirrim was none other than Hama. As Thor approached the crest of the hill, he noticed that Legolas had been firing arrows at the oncoming enemy. There appeared to be dozens warg-riders charging towards the Rohirrim and their allies. Thor thought Legolas demonstrated Asgardian-like reflexes as the Elf effortlessly stopped Gimli's horse before vaulting on to its back. In response to the warg's howling and snarls, Theoden lead the column's riders in replying with a defiant cry.
Thor intended showing the wargs and their riders no mercy. Reflecting the SHIELD Initiative he was part of, the Asgardian resolved to avenge Hama. Thor threw Mjolnir at a warg that was coming straight at him and Graegwind. There was a loud crack as Mjolnir broke the warg's skull, causing it and its rider to tumble to the ground. Thor summoned Mjolnir from the ground back into his hand. Theoden and the Rohirrim did not have time to be amazed at the sight. Within seconds, the two sides collided head-on and engaged in bloody combat.
As soon as Mjolnir had returned to his hand, Thor struck a warg-rider to his right. The orc rapidly flew backwards off his mount as a result of the blow's power. The surviving warg made to sink its yellow fangs in Graegwind. The beast didn't even have time to blink as Thor struck its temple, immediately killing the warg.
The battle between the column's riders and the warg-riders was very chaotic. As he rode through the battle, Boromir thought there seemed to be little unit cohesion displayed. The battle had degenerated essentially into a series of individual duels. If the Rohirrim were fighting other horseman this would not be too much of a problem. But in this battle, a Rohirrim had to fight not just an orc but the orc's mount as well. Several Rohirrim were dismounted or killed when a warg attacked their horse first.
As he engaged in combat, Thor tried keeping track of the other Fellowship members in the battle. Thor became slightly concerned when he saw Gimli on the ground in a defensive stance. As Gimli prepared to receive a warg's lunge at him, Legolas shot it with an arrow from horseback.
"That one counts as mine!" an indignant Gimli told Legolas before having to defend himself from another warg's attack.
Thor inwardly chided himself about forgetting his competition with Legolas and Gimli as he pulverised the head of a warg-rider with a downward strike. Thor's attention was soon caught by more pressing matters.
Theoden showed good agility for a man his age as he parried and defeated a pair of enemy attacks. In some ways, Theoden had welcomed the opportunity to engage these warg-riders. It allowed him to vent some of the anger he still felt over Saruman's possession as well as Theodred's death. However, there were not enough Royal Guards to ensure that Theoden was well protected from all sides. Theoden thought he was about to join his fallen son after being caught unawares by a riderless warg that leapt straight towards him. A fast moving blur hit the warg on the side of its head before propelling its lifeless body a few yards to Theoden's right. Theoden then followed Mjolnir's movement back into its owner's hand.
"My thanks, Prince Thor," Theoden thanked him.
Thor simply gave a nod in response. Like Rogers earlier, the God of Thunder felt Gandalf would understand a more open display of power given the circumstances.
"Enough of this, milord," Thor boldly proclaimed. "No more of your riders shall fall this day!"
To Theoden's astonishment, Thor leapt off Graegwind and began running at an impossible speed for a Man. Thor released cry fiercer than any warg's howl while twirling Mjolnir into a blur. Thor's actions had caught the attentions of many of the combatants including Legolas and Boromir. With his red cloak flying behind him, Thor resembled a whirlwind of death as he struck warg after warg in rapid succession. The Asgardian scattered countless wargs and their riders in all directions. Legolas and Boromir were so fixated on Thor they failed to notice that Aragorn was in trouble. Aragorn was struggling to free himself from a warg that was blindly charging towards the edge of a cliff.
Unnerved by Thor's speed and strength, many warg-riders immediately routed towards Isengard in a tight pack. To the deadly surprise of many orcs and wargs, Thor was more than capable of keeping up with them. He found it trivially easy to run up to the fleeing wargs before crippling them from behind with a blow to the spine. The handful of surviving war-riders that managed to free themselves from their crippled mounts now had to face Thor on foot. The Avenger killed them all within seconds.
After few moments after his rampage had finished, Thor noticed a group of Rohirrim riding up from behind. The Rohirrim began plunging their spears and lances into any immobilised foe. Wargs that were in their death throes expressed their pain with grating cries and whimpers. Odin often worried about the cruel streak that his heir sometimes displayed during his darker moments. This was such a moment as Thor jogged back to the rest of the Fellowship. He ignored the looks he was getting from the Rohirrim as they momentarily paused from killing.
"Personally, I'd let them suffer," Thor coldly referred to their crippled enemies.
Thor's vindictiveness quickly dissipated when he returned to the main group. Many riders had dismounted and were tending to others lying on the ground. Those grounded riders who were not dead instead released a cacophony of painful cries from the wounds they'd sustained. Other hale riders had the grim duty of having to dispatch wounded horses that had no chance of recovering. Given the love they had of their horses, Thor was not surprised to see a number of Rohirrim had a tear running down their cheeks as they conducted their mercy killings.
Thor soon came across Gimli. The Dwarf flailed helplessly on his back under the weight of the corpses of two wargs. As Thor began to pull Gimli out from under the warg's remains, he tried lightening the Dwarf's spirits and his own.
"You should feel flattered, Gimli," he wryly commented. "The orcs and their wargs were unable kill you by blade or fang. They had to resort to squashing you."
"I'm sure the Elf planned to put me in this position," Gimli indignantly grumbled while getting back on his feet.
Thor released a weary smirk as he gave Gimli a supportive pat on the back. It was then Boromir walked up to the pair with a concerned look on his face.
"Have either of you seen Aragorn?" he asked straight out.
Thor shook his head. "Nay. I lost track of him not long after the battle started."
The three started calling out Aragorn's name and grew increasingly nervous when he didn't respond. They noticed that Legolas was searching the ground near a cliff edge. It was the same cliff that Aragorn had been involuntarily heading towards. The three of them began walking to Legolas in the hope that his keen senses had located Aragorn. Legolas had heard the trio of Fellowship approaching him as well as their calls beforehand.
"I've found no trace of Aragorn either," Legolas worriedly reported.
The Fellowship then heard a snicker from a dying warg-rider close by. It was none other than Sharku himself. Thor walked over to Sharku and pulled him by his collar with both hands. Sharku's feet were not even touching the ground as Thor glared into his eyes with a burning hate.
"If you know what happened to our friend, tell us," Thor steely demanded. "I'll grant you a merciful death."
Sharku was neither moved by the Asgardian's tone nor promised 'reward'.
"He's dead," the Orc chortled.
Sharku was enjoying that his dying words would break the spirits of such a representative group of the Free Peoples. After a cough, he provided the brief details of Aragorn's demise.
"Took a little tumble off the cliff," Sharku revealed.
Boromir immediately raced towards the cliff edge.
"You lie!" Legolas exclaimed to Sharku with uncharacteristic anger.
The Prince of Mirkwood refused to believe that such a great Man as his friend had been killed by a cliff fall. Not when Middle-earth most needed Aragorn to finally accept his destiny.
Sharku gave a horrible gurgle before he expired in Thor's grip. Legolas, Thor and Gimli noticed an object fall softly from Sharku's dead hand. Legolas bent down to pick it up. The three of them widen their eyes in horror when they saw the object was the pendant of the Evenstar. Thor angrily threw Sharku's body aside before he, Legolas and Gimli joined Boromir at the cliff's edge. The cliff was steep with its face bottoming out at a rocky riverbank. The river flowed to the west at a great speed. The four spotted no trace of Aragorn either on land or in the river. Such was the group's shock none noticed Theoden had come up behind them. The Fellowship only turned around at the sound of Gamling's question to Theoden.
"Your orders, milord?" Gamling asked his liege.
"Get the wounded on horses," Theoden answered. "Despite Prince Thor's deeds, I suspect these aren't the only wolves in Isengard's service." After a pause, and despite the sorrow he felt for so many of his fallen subjects around him, Theoden then coldly added, "Leave the dead."
"Until we see his body, Aragorn's not dead!" Thor defiantly declared with a touch of grief and denial. "We will join you at Helm's Deep after finding him."
Theoden noted by the look in Legolas and Gimli's eyes that they intended to follow Thor. Theoden was not surprised by their reactions to his orders. But he was surprised by who spoke in defence of his authority.
"What would Aragorn have us do?" Boromir rhetorically asked the rest of the Fellowship. "He and Steve are our Captains. They ordered us to assist with the defence of Helm's Deep as highest priority."
Boromir realised he sounded just like Aragorn did when ordering the Fellowship to make for Lothlorien. Boromir believed the combined pride of Legolas, Thor and Gimli would tower over Mount Doom. It was no small relief then that none of them remonstrated with him as he did with Aragorn outside of Moria. Boromir wondered if the Ranger felt as awful at the time as he currently did.
Despite their feelings on the matter, the three non-Men knew that Theoden and Boromir were correct. They each looked down the cliff face as a poor farewell to Aragorn before they headed back to their steeds. Graegwind sensed something was wrong with Thor and gave him a tiny lick.
"Thank you, my friend," Thor murmured in response before mounting his steed.
Holding on to Legolas, Gimli looked over his shoulder to see Thor start riding east – the opposite direction of Helm's Deep.
"Thor!" Gimli called out to him in concern. "Where are you going, lad?"
"I will be but a moment, Gimli," Thor replied without even to turning behind.
Thor quickly rode back to where Hama's body was. As soon as he dismounted, Thor respectfully removed Hama's sword and scabbard. It appeared that the Captain of the Royal Guard didn't even had the chance to draw his weapon in defence. Thor walked over to the corpse of Hama's steed and removed a blanket that was carried behind its saddle. Thor gently placed the blanket over Hama's face before holding it down with the Rohirrim's helm. After a moment, Thor then spoke to Hama's covered corpse.
"Leaving your body behind is a poor reward for so loyal a Captain." Thor soberly saluted before promising, "But you have my word, I shall give your sword to your son."
Thor then mounted Graegwind before joining the remaining riders as they travelled to Helm's Deep.
While its riders had been engaged in battle, the remainder of the column continued towards Helm's Deep. A tense atmosphere pervaded due to the uncertainty over how the riders were faring against Saruman's wargs. An unspoken concern was that if another warg pack attacked the column, there was no cavalry screen to protect it. On that basis, no one objected to Eowyn's decision for the column to get to Helm's Deep without stopping for a break. During the journey, many Rohirrim wished they had the speed that Rogers had demonstrated earlier.
Rogers was walking a few yards to Eowyn's left. He was guiding by the reins the horse carrying Freda and Eothain. But the brother and sister were not the only children within Roger's proximity. A gaggle of more than a dozen Rohirrim children (both boys and girls) between the ages of six and twelve walked closely beside him. They'd been initially attracted by the American's brightly coloured uniform. But Rogers soon had their attention for another reason.
Eowyn wondered how Rogers – not being a father himself – had learned to be such a brilliant entertainer of children. Rogers gave his audience a highly sanitised version of his war stories. Eowyn had to suppress a grin at the children hanging on to Captain America's every word, making his exploits sound like a series of grand adventures. Some would understandably criticise Rogers of glorifying war to the children. But he was only doing so to take their minds away from the prospect of more warg attacks. Eowyn actually found herself caught up in one or two of the stories. The Shield-maiden thought the Dark Lord with the strange name of 'Red Skull' and his minion 'Zola' sounded as loathsome a pair as Saruman and Grima.
Although she had known Rogers for only a few days, Eowyn had quickly developed a strong liking of the man. He was a soldier who treated her and her role as a shield-maiden with respect and as an equal. Despite being a great warrior, Rogers did not possess any arrogance or act if any ordinary task was beneath him. Roger's gallantry, kindness and gentlemanly manners reminded her so much of Theodred. From what he told her, Eowyn understood that Rogers came from a humble background. Eowyn thought that his nobility surpassed many Rohirrim who had inherited theirs as a title.
At about noon, the column came within sight of its intended destination. Helm's Deep was wedged into a narrow step-sided valley. Its front was facing north with a sheer cliff face at its back. Helm's Deep most prominent feature was the Hornburg. The Hornburg was a tower some three hundred-foot tall surrounded by concentric inner and outer walls. The Outer Wall stood one hundred feet above the ground and had the Gatehouse to its front. The Gatehouse was the only entrance into the fortress, via its two large wooden doors set between two guard towers, which were approached by a curving stone causeway. Behind the Inner Wall was a courtyard with archways that had been carved into the rock. The archways led to the fortress halls, quarters, stables, and armoury. Connecting the Hornburg with the other side of the ravine was the Deeping Wall. The Deeping Wall was over thirty feet high and nearly three hundred feet long. Rogers' initial impression of Helm's Deep was that it was unlike any he had seen in Europe during the War.
Rogers followed Eowyn up the causeway with Freda and Eothain in tow. As soon as he passed through the main gates, Rogers was immediately struck by how crowded Helm's Deep already was. Refugees were everywhere including on the ramp that curled up to the courtyard. Rogers grimly thought history showed a crowded location under siege was often vulnerable to the threat of disease.
The sentries assigned to Helm's Deep had to act as traffic cops directing the new arrivals to less crowded areas of the fortress. Seeing that Rogers was close to Eowyn, one sentry assumed he must be a man of importance.
"Would you like me to take your horse to the stable, milord?" he offered Rogers.
"Thanks," Rogers replied before taking Freda and Eothain off the mount. He then heard a woman's voice call the children's names coming from behind him.
"Mama!" Freda screamed in recognition.
She and her brother ran at full speed until they shared a joyous and relieved hug with their mother who had arrived at Helm's Deep earlier. Rogers smiled as he took in the happy family reunion. Not all victories in war were solely won on the battlefield. Satisfied he had kept his promise to Freda; Rogers started assessing the layout within Helm's Deep. Sentries allowed him up the steps that led to the top of the Outer Wall. Eowyn had instructed them they were to extend every courtesy to the warrior named 'Captain America'.
Rogers walked east along the Outer Wall until he reached its conjunction with the Deeping Wall. He estimated that both walls were thick enough to have defenders in ranks of three or four. To his left, Rogers noted that a narrow ramp lead from the top of the Gatehouse into the courtyard. The ramp passed through a narrow archway that formed the base of a small stone turrent. Rogers saw a large area of dead ground that stood behind the Deeping Wall and the cliff face that Helm's Deep backed into. The area was beginning to fill with refugees with many setting up tents in the area. A thick iron door at the bottom of the Hornburg could access the area. Rogers also noticed a small stream flowing from the cliff wall until it exited through a small iron culvert at the base of the Deeping Wall. As far as he was concerned, the feature was both good and bad news. The good news was that it would appear the fortress had a secure fresh water source. The bad news was that the culvert gave the Deepening Wall a very clear weak point. Overall, Rogers concluded that in the event of an assault, the two critical points would certainly be the Deeping Wall and the Gatehouse.
After asking a sentry where he could find Eowyn, Rogers walked over the ramp that connected the Gatehouse to the Courtyard. When he emerged into the courtyard, he saw in its middle a stone statute of a bearded man wearing armour holding a horn in his hand. Rogers assumed this had to be the Rohirrim that the fortress was named after.
King Hammerhand, Rogers mentally promised the statue. If Saruman's forces want to step foot in here, they'll first have to get past the Avengers.
Rogers eventually found Eowyn in a small-enclosed area of the Courtyard. She was inspecting food supplies in conjunction with the fortress quartermaster. The food was mostly bread, potatoes with some eggs and dry meat. It wasn't much of a supply compared to the number of people within the bounds of Helm's Deep. Eowyn seemed to have the same concerns.
"Where's the rest?" she asked the quartermaster
"This is all we could save, milady," the quartermaster awkwardly replied.
After a beat, Eowyn commanded him, "Take it to the caves."
"Caves?" Rogers repeated.
"The Glittering Caves," Eowyn clarified for him. "They're within the rockface. In the event of an attack, those who can't fight can take refuge in them."
Eowyn held on to the hope that her uncle would not count her among that number. After leading the column unscathed to Helm's Deep as instructed, surely she'd be allowed to defend the fortress as Rohan's leading shield-maiden?
"The jewelled caverns are quite spectacular, Steve," Eowyn continued describing the Glitting Caves. "Especially when torchlight is reflected off the large pool. Under happier circumstances, I would be glad to give you a tour of them."
Before Rogers could reply, he and Eowyn's attention was caught by the sound of Gamling's voice echoing up the ramp into the courtyard
"Make way for the King! Make way for Theoden!"
Eowyn and Rogers rushed out into the courtyard proper. Theoden's force halted around the statue of Helm Hammerhand. Many within the courtyard immediately began moving wounded riders to the infirmary. Several others began sobbing when they didn't see riders who were also loved ones. Rogers began immediately looking for the rest of the Fellowship.
After doing a rough estimate of the number of returning riders, a shocked Eowyn observed to her uncle, "Only half have returned!"
"Our people are safe," Theoden grimly advised her. "Without Prince Thor, our losses would've been far greater."
As Theoden said this, Rogers saw the said Avenger dismounting alongside Boromir. He walked up and shared a heartfelt arm grip with each of them.
"You'll need to tell me what you did," Rogers wryly remarked to the Asgardian.
"Perhaps I shall tell you later," Thor stoically replied.
Rogers smile quickly melted away. Boromir appeared to be as downcast as Thor was. Rogers then realised that one of the Fellowship who'd been part of the column was missing.
"Where's Aragorn?" Rogers asked with a rising sense of dread.
It was then that he overheard Gimli's reply to Eowyn who had asked the Dwarf the same question.
"He fell," Gimli advised in a voice choked with sorrow.
Eowyn and Rogers shared a look. Even in her grief at Gimli's news, Eowyn did not want to show any public display of weakness. She broke away from Rogers' gaze before rushing up the stairs into the hall. At least the excuse of following Theoden could be used as a pretext to privately unleash the tears that wanted to burst from her. Rogers had seen similar looks to Eowyn's and knew what she was really up to. He thought it best not to go after her. Largely because he felt the same way about Aragorn's death as she did. Roger's brought his attention back to those of the Fellowship still alive.
"With the loss of Aragorn you're now our sole captain," Legolas observed to Rogers with melancholic dignity. "What would you have us do?"
Rogers looked into each of their eyes before he soberly told them, "We get ready."
I suspect to the disappointment of some readers there will be no romance between Rogers and Eowyn. One main reason is that I don't want to try and second-guess developments in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I also refer to Gandalf's remarks before the Fellowship entered Edoras in an earlier chapter. Also one of the scenes cut from The Avengers shows Steve still suffers a bit from 'nice guy' syndrome.
[RD: The original text of this chapter contained some speculation on my part about Tyr and Fenris in relation to Earth-199999. The text has been amended to reflect the events of The Dark World].