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.
02/04/2013
The Easter break (and the associated sugar rush) allowed me to produce this chapter quicker than under normal circumstances.
MasterXMaster: The jpeg I have for this story is my Champion facing the Tower of Orthanc. Him being able to use Thor's powers would have saved me a great deal of grief from all too many ToO raids.
vincent1875: Anyone who is familiar with the Waterworks in the LOTRO Mines of Moria would agree with your observation without hesitation.
Chapter 23 – Delaying Actions
The Main Gate still held firm as the Royal Guards and regular soldiers braced it from the relentless pounding of the Uruks' battering ram. Unfortunately, they were unable to get much support from the defenders placed atop the Gatehouse and Outer Wall. The Uruk-hai were subjecting those defenders to a continual barrage of crossbow bolts. Many defenders instinctively kept their heads down, reducing the contribution they could make to the defence. Those defenders brave enough to rise to their full height ran the risk of being struck down by two or three bolts at a time.
Used to battle, Rogers and Boromir remained standing as an example to those under their command. Aside from his shield, Rogers enhanced reflexes meant he had hardly any problem intercepting any bolts aimed in his direction. As the Howling Commandos had already lost a quarter of their original number, Rogers had only three of them dropping rocks at a time. The others he had ordered to crouch down. Rogers kept rotating the Commandos who threw rocks to prevent them from getting tired as well as having a small enough number to protect with his shield.
When they could, both Captains checked on the battle around the Deeping Wall. They both had seen the God of Thunder's dramatic display of power. Like all defenders who had witnessed one of Thor's lightning attacks for the first time, Boromir was still struggling to believe what his eyes had seen. Such attacks could see Saruman's army destroyed in minutes.
"Is Thor not able to summon more lightning to aid us?" Boromir enquired of Rogers.
There wasn't time to fully explain Banner's hypothesis about the vortex on the Avengers' powers.
"It's more a case of can't not won't," Rogers summarised it.
At this moment, Thor and Gimli were at the forefront of efforts in holding the breach in the Deeping Wall. The breach's tallest and shortest defenders both played a large part in driving back the Uruk-hai attempting to storm it. The pair and the Galadhrim used the breach as a chokehold to reduce the Uruk-hai's numerical advantage.
The Uruk Commander was not blind as to how the assault he ordered through the breach had been stopped. Consequently, he ordered many of his numerous reserves to begin attacking the Deeping Wall by assault ladder again. This time the accursed red-cloaked man was not in a position to break them.
In defending the Deeping Wall breach, Aragorn had taken on more the role of commander rather than warrior. Aragorn stood a bit behind the ranks of breach defenders as he coordinated their efforts. From this position, Aragorn was able to see the Uruk-hai using fresh ladders to recommence climbing over the wall. The small number of Galadhrim still defending atop the wall would soon be overrun. Once this happened, the Uruk-hai would then stream down the stairs along the wall and begin attacking the breach defenders from behind. With the God of Thunder as one the breach defenders, Aragorn felt more comfortable about reducing the number of Galadhrim at the breach to reinforce the defence along the wall.
Theoden had also noticed the Uruk-hai's resumed use of assault ladders. Unlike Aragorn at the moment, Theoden's position allowed him to see the vast number of Uruks lining up to climb the wall from the outside. Standing next to him, Gamling had the same thoughts as his liege.
"The Elves will soon be surrounded," Gamling observed to Theoden.
The King concurred about the situation at the Deeping Wall. He hoped Thor wouldn't be upset at being deprived of further glory.
"Pull them back," Theoden ordered.
Aragorn heard his name being shouted from above.
"Aragorn!" Gamling desperately hailed him. "Fall back to the Keep! Get your Elves out of there"!
Aragorn relayed the order in Sindarin to the surviving Galadhrim. Legolas had joined Thor and Gimli in defending the breach. The Elf was using his fighting knives instead of his bow given the close quarter combat. Upon hearing Aragorn's order, he repeated it in the Common Tongue to Gimli and Thor.
"Aragorn calls on us to fall back to the keep," Legolas translated. "If we stay here, the Uruks on the wall above shall soon surround us."
Theoden's anxiety about Thor being told this order was misplaced. Much to Odin's pride, Thor no longer valued battlefield glory above the lives of those he had sworn to protect. However, the breaching Uruks prevented Thor, Legolas and Gimli from following Aragorn's order. The Uruk-hai's inherent bloodlust drove them to relentlessly attack the breach despite the literal hammering they were suffering at the Asgardian's hands. Thor sensed Mjolnir still contained a remanent of the lightning bolt he had drawn into it earlier. Seeing it wasn't enough to scatter the Uruk-hai like before, he decided to keep that remanent in reserve for now. But Thor also sensed the return of another elemental power of his.
"Allow me to provide a safe retreat," Thor stated.
"More lightning?" Legolas pensively guessed what was about to happen.
With the slightest of menacing smiles, Thor responded, "No - what follows."
Thor thrust Mjolnir at the Uruks in front of him before releasing a powerful thunderclap. Thor's terrible sonic attack instantly killed close-by Uruks as its resonance shattered their armour and bones. The other Uruks affected by this attack dropped to their knees or lay writhing on the ground clutching the sides of their helmets. These Uruks released a series of grating cries confirming their eardrums had been painfully burst by the sonic boom. Legolas, Gimli and a number of Galadhrim silently wondered why they also had not been deafened by a sound even louder than the exploding mines.
Seeing there was now no Uruk-hai within thirty yards of the breach that could hinder escape, Thor hurried Legolas and Gimli with, "Come, friends, let us away!"
Even Gimli did not object to Thor's suggestion that they join the surviving Galadhrim in retreating. When the Fellowship camped along the Anduin, Thor told Gimli and Legolas that his battle with the Destroyer was of 'thunder and lightning'. While prone to exaggeration, Dwarves generally retold battles in a style more descriptive rather than poetic. It was a major reason why Gimli voiced his scepticism about Thor's feats at the Battle of Puente Antiguo.
Apologies for doubting you, Odinson, Gimli privately reflected while running towards the Hornburg. I mistook Asgardian storytelling to be like that of the Elves.
During the action at the breach, Aragorn had also ordered the Galadhrim atop the Deeping Wall to also fall back. Haldir was among them. With supreme selflessness, he had been covering his subordinates' retreat until the boom of Thor's sonic attack momentarily distracted him. This distraction meant he was too slow in parrying an Uruk's attack from his front. The Uruk's falchion cut through the armour protecting Haldir's left forearm. Haldir quickly defeated the Uruk but was stunned by the pain and blood gashing from the wound he'd received. Because of this, Haldir failed to notice the Uruk about to attack him from behind.
Both Aragorn and Thor noticed with wide-eyed horror the imminent danger that Haldir was in. Not surprisingly, the latter was the quickest to react to it. Thor charged at a flight of stairs close to Haldir's position. Thor leapt up to the midpoint of the stairs from side-on before launching himself at the offending Uruk. Just as the Uruk was about to bring its falchion downward onto Haldir's skull, Thor sent it flying back over the wall with Mjolnir like he had with countless other Uruk-hai during the battle. Thor put his left arm around Haldir to prevent the Marchwarden from falling over.
After putting his right arm around Thor's shoulders, Haldir gasped to his rescuer, "Don't let me hinder your escape, Prince Thor."
"Your noble offer is unnecessary, brave Haldir," Thor replied.
In a show of his enormous strength Thor lifted Haldir up from the ground with his left arm. Thor retreated from the wall in the reverse manner of how he had effected Haldir's rescue. The Avenger began following Aragorn up the stairs into the Hornburg while effortlessly holding Haldir.
A multitude of angry growls from behind indicated that the Uruk-hai were now pouring through the unguarded breach in pursuit of the retreating defenders. A low metallic hum from Mjolnir made Thor suddenly halt. Haldir wondered why Thor had stopped and turned to face the pursuing Uruk-hai not less than ten yards away. The reason was because Thor could now utilise another returning power.
At a mental command from Thor, Mjolnir rapidly flew out of his hand headfirst at the oncoming Uruk-hai. Mjolnir knocked down two or three Uruks at a time as it travelled in a straight trajectory. Thor sensed he could only utilise this power as far as the breach after which point Mjolnir would simply drop to the ground. But like his powers to summon the elements, Thor was certain his ability to project Mjolnir would increase in strength as time wore on. After summoning being back, Mjolnir knocked down more Uruks on its return flight into Thor's outstretched right hand.
"Three out of four!" Thor pleasingly observed as he wrapped his fingers around Mjolnir's shaft.
From a mixture of disorientation from his wound and seeing another remarkable demonstration of power by Thor, Haldir remarked, "Your hammer hit the orcs with much greater accuracy than that."
Thor and Haldir were the last surviving defenders of the Deeping Wall to retreat into the Hornburg. Because of Thor's latest display of power, Aragorn and Legolas were able to close and bar the Hornburg's heavy iron door with time to spare. After placing the wounded Haldir against a wall, Thor ran up to the door.
"Avert your eyes," Thor ordered the defenders around him.
After they had done so, Thor slowly released the remaining lightning energy in Mjolnir to weld the door to its frame.
"That'll hold them," Gimli observed about the enemy.
"Assuming they've no more explosives, my friend," Thor cautioned.
Aragorn examined Haldir's wound as the Uruk-hai began a futile attempt to breakdown the door with their fists. After ordering one of the Galadhrim to collect some medical supplies from the infirmary, Aragorn issued new orders to the Fellowship around him.
"Legolas, Thor, Gimli," he addressed each of them. "Take the Galadhrim and assist the gatehouse."
Legolas relayed the order in Sindarin. All but two of the twenty-two surviving members of the Lothlorien company then followed in the Fellowship's wake.
The Uruk-hai assault on the Main Gate finally yielded its first success. The spot on the gate that had been subjected to relentless pounding splintered open, creating a gap roughly the width of the battering ram. The Uruks directly in charge of the ram had prepared for this eventuality. At a signal, a number of Uruk marksmen brought their crossbows to the gap and shot down a number of Rohirrim on the other side of it. Theoden couldn't directly see what was happening inside the gatehouse from the Inner Wall. But the death screams of the Rohirrim bracing the Main Gate was all the indication he needed to know that they were in trouble. Theoden first drew Herugrim before ordering the last reserves to follow him into the fray.
"To the gate," he coolly ordered Gamling and other Royal Guards. "Draw your swords."
Rogers heard Theoden's command from behind. Looking over his shoulder, Rogers saw the King hurriedly leading the Royal Guard down to the Main Gate. Captain America then recalled how Gandalf said he feared for Theoden and the survival of Rohan. Rogers fully understood the Wizard's concerns. Even if the Rohirrim were victorious at Helm's Deep, the War of the Ring still needed to be fought. Should Theoden fall in this battle, it wouldn't just be a devastating blow to Rohan's national morale. With Theodred dead and Eomer technically still an outlaw (and with Eowyn suffering the 'hindrance' of her gender), Theoden's death could see Rohan's unity shatter with its nobles squabbling over whom of them should be its king. Those lords could even press their claims through violence maybe even leading to a civil war. It was an eventuality the First Avenger needed to do all he could to prevent.
As if reading Rogers's mind, Boromir said to him, "Go, Steve. I'll look after your boys."
Rogers gave Boromir an appreciative nod in response. Before he went after Theoden, Rogers knelt down in front of the Howling Commandos who were not dropping rocks. A Rohirrim sentry came up and stood in Rogers' former spot without having to even be asked.
"Alright, Commandos," Rogers told them in a businesslike manner. "I've got to help King Theoden. While I'm gone, just keep throwing rocks and obey Lord Boromir."
Haleth spoke for all Commandos as he replied, "We shall honour your trust in us, milord."
A moved Rogers gripped Haleth's shoulder.
"And fighting alongside you boys has been one of my greatest honours," Captain America told his young charges. After seeing the boys' proud smiles in response to this, Rogers promised them, "I'll be back as soon as I can."
In the interests of saving time, Rogers jumped down from atop the gatehouse, landing in front of its inner entrance. The fighting within the gatehouse was chaotic to say the least. Revealed to Rogers for the first time was that Theoden was left-handed. The King swiftly cut off the arm of an Uruk who was chocking Gamling. Roger's worse fears seemed to be realised as Theoden cried out after an Uruk's spear pierced right shoulder. After killing the offending Uruk with a stab of Herugrim, Theoden was then pulled away from the front ranks by Gamling. Rogers rapidly moved to take the King's place.
The gatehouse's interior was too confined an area to throw his shield without the risk of hitting the Rohirrim. Rogers instead used his shield to hack down any Uruk that dared attack him through the hole in the Main Gate. Seeing Captain America deflect their attacks and kill many of their kind with a singular punch, the Uruk-hai resumed using their battering ram. They hoped the force behind the battering ram's movements would knock over Rogers in addition to the Main Gates as a whole.
It was then that one of the defenders that had retreated from the Deeping Wall began fighting alongside Rogers. Not surprisingly, it was Thor. With the other defenders making room for him, Thor swung Mjolnir at the battering ram's head. The battering ram broke in half down its length, its Uruk bearers falling flat on their backs.
While the Uruks scrambled to their feet, Thor knowingly remarked to Rogers, "We'd be a more effective rampart than this gate."
Silently agreeing, Rogers called out to the defenders behind them "Take over from us!"
Even though they were only meant to act under direct order from their King or Captain, half a dozen Royal Guards formed a shield-wall and rushed up to the Main Gate. The Uruk-hai began to hack at the door with their falchions to break it open given the loss of their battering ram. Rogers and Thor rushed over to Theoden.
"Thor and I will buy time to make repairs," Rogers lied by omission to the King.
Theoden immediately accepted the offer. "Please give us as much as you can!"
Rogers and Thor gave each other a small knowing smile. It coincided with the arrival of Legolas, Gimli and some of the Galadhrim.
Seeing the question on Rogers's face, Legolas informed him, "Aragorn tends to Haldir who's been wounded.
Noting this, Rogers then ordered, "Legolas take the other Elves and help Boromir topside. Gimli, help secure the gate here. Thor, with me!"
The Fellowship split towards their ordered locations. Gimli moved up to take the place of a fallen Royal Guard covering the hole in the Gate. Gimli possessed some of the deep knowledge about building design and construction that was proverbial among Durin's Folk. Before engaging the Uruk-hai, he noted the splintered doors in front of him.
Men have always built great forts of stone, Gimli reflected in frustration. But I've never understood why they insist on making its most contested point of wood!
Thor and Rogers had quietly slipped out of a side exit on the western side of the gatehouse. They stood on a small ledge of parallel height to the Main Gates. Peering around a corner they took stock of the Uruks ferociously attacking through the gates from the outside. The two Avengers would need to leap over a deep gap between the ledge and the Causeway to engage the enemy.
Standing behind Thor, Rogers had to crouch around the Asgardian to assess the situation.
"It's about as wide as that gap of those stairs in Moria," Rogers compared distances
Thor recalled with a twinkle in his eye, "I wonder if Gimli would asked to be tossed over this one?"
"Only in an alternate universe," Rogers wryly responded.
Thor gave a quick smirk before launching himself with a fearsome cry. Rogers quickly followed in the Asgardian's wake. The Uruk-hai on the Causeway didn't know what hit them. Within a second of their landing, Thor and Rogers killed the Uruks that were attacking through the Gate. Without having to worry about being attacked from behind, the pair began tearing into the Uruks to their front.
Thor swept many advancing Uruk-hai down the drop to his right. To Thor's left, Rogers used his shield to dispatch any Uruk during this fight at close quarters. Seeing the two Avengers in action from his vantage point, Boromir ordered all archers to concentrate their fire against the Uruk-hai using crossbows. Standing next to Boromir, Legolas continued to fire arrows in support of Thor and Rogers. The Elf quietly wondered how far Thor was in front of himself and Gimli in their competition.
"You boys go rest with your other Commandos," Boromir softly ordered those who had been throwing rocks. "Make sure you all still keep your head down."
Boromir smiled as he heard from behind those three boys excitedly telling the other Commandos the latest deeds of Captain America and Prince Thor. Theoden and Gimli coordinated repairs to the Main Gate as soon as Thor and Rogers had landed on the Causeway. Before a plank covered the last gap in the gate, Theoden called out to the pair of Avengers who had their backs turned to him.
"Thor, Steve get out of there!" he urged them.
"Did you hear someone telling us to retreat?" Rogers asked Thor with mock innocence.
The God of Thunder immediately got the hint upon hearing the plank being nailed in.
"It's hard to hear anything above the orcs' screaming," he dryly agreed before sending a couple of Uruks flying back down the Causeway.
During the recent action around the Gatehouse, the Uruk-hai readied their next line of attack on the fortress. The orc sappers had brought the parts and equipment to construct three large ballistae. They had started construction of these not long after the Deeping Wall had been breached. The ballistae were now operational much to the impatient annoyance of the Uruk Commander. The sappers loaded each ballista with a fifteen-foot steel bolt possessing a three-pronged hook at its head. The other end of the bolt was a loop on which was tied a long rope from a pulley. At a command, the sappers fired the ballistae at the top of the Outer Wall that was east of the Gatehouse.
The ballistae bolts shot over the Outer Wall before being dragged back from the slack of their ropes by the respective pulley they were tied to. The bolts stopped when their hooks gripped the inside of the Outer Wall battlements perfectly. By a series of winches operated by the sappers, each ballista began to raise a wide ladder using the taunt rope for support. Each ladder was as tall as from the ground to the top of the Outer Wall. And each of these ladders was being ridden by hundreds of Uruk-hai eager to begin climbing them. Demonstrating his superlative archery skills, Legolas manage to split one of the taunt ropes with an arrow from his bow. The ladder the rope was supporting crashed to the ground along with the Uruks climbing it.
Rogers and Thor were not unaware of the Uruk-hai's intended assault even as they battled to hold the Causeway. If only because the Uruks armed with crossbows had been ordered to concentrate their fire at them while the ladders were being raised. The Uruk Commander didn't care that many Uruk marksmen now began to fall to the arrows of the Galadhrim. The Commander knew which defenders posed the greater threat to this attack. Thor swotted away the crossbow bolts fired at the Avengers while Rogers kept the Uruks advancing up the Causeway at bay. Indirectly aiding the pair was the Uruks on the Causeway being killed by 'friendly fire' from their crossbow-wielding brethren.
Rogers would have liked to throw his shield at the ladders to bring them down. But he currently needed it to hold back the Uruk-hai's attack on the Main Gate as well as cover Thor. The ladders were now fully raised and the Uruk-hai began eagerly climbing them. An alarmed Rogers noticed that one of them was close to the top of the Gatehouse – right where Rohan's Howling Commandos were placed.
Rogers quickly asked his fellow Avenger, "Thor, can you project your hammer again?"
"Soon but not as soon as you would like," Thor answered, sensing that power was still 'recharging' as well as the reason for Rogers's request.
As the Uruks began rapidly pouring over the parapets along the Outer Wall and Gatehouse, Legolas dropped a length of rope down to the Causeway. Both Avengers heard the hidden plea for help in the Prince of Mirkwood's voice.
"Thor! Steve!" Legolas urged them to climb the rope.
In a case of perfect timing, Thor sensed he could unleash another lightning attack. Thor didn't want to project it at the Uruks within bounds of Helm's Deep least the defenders be vaporised alongside them. He decided instead to prevent any more Uruks from climbing over the wall.
"Steve, change over!" Thor requested.
At this, he and Rogers changed positions and roles in the blink of an eye. In another piece of good luck, there was a gap of several yards between the two Avengers and the next wave of Uruks intent on killing them. Thor raised Mjolnir skywards as Rogers deflected incoming crossbow bolts with his shield.
The other defenders of Helm's Deep were too caught up trying to hold back the growing number of Uruk-hai on the Outer Wall and Gatehouse to be awed at Thor drawing in another lightning bolt. Thor mentally commanded the lightning bolt he had drawn into Mjolnir to fork out in three directions. The bolt struck the ladders; the mass of Uruk marksmen firing at the two Avengers; and the line of Uruks advancing up the Causeway. Despite having three separate targets, the mass energy from the bolt disintegrated all of them.
A satisfied Thor told Rogers, "Go help our friends. I'll hold things here."
Rogers then turned and abseiled up the rope at a rapid pace. When he climbed over Gatehouse parapets, Rogers witnessed the fighting between the defenders and the Uruk-hai. In theory, the Uruk-hai on the Outer Wall whom Thor's attack had cut off were caught in a pincer attack. Boromir, Legolas and the Rohirrim formed a pincer from the Gatehouse. Aragorn (who had returned from treating Haldir) and Gimli led the other pincer that was a mixture of Galadhrim and Royal Guards. In reality, there were no clear battle lines and along the wall. Defenders and attackers duelled in a confused mass while standing on the corpses of the fallen. Just as Rogers had feared, the fallen included a number of Howling Commandos.
Until Thor's destruction of the ladders, the main objective of each pincer was to prevent the Uruks from accessing the stairs and ramps that led into the Inner Wall and the courtyard behind it. With the Avengers on the Causeway, the fight along the Outer Wall was much more evenly balanced. The attacking Uruks made the most of their numbers and had significantly reduced the number of defenders seeking to contain them despite suffering heavy losses of their own. Rogers knew if this situation didn't change quickly, he may have to ask Thor to aid him in beating back this attack. The disadvantage of this would be to allow the Uruk-hai to resume an unhindered attack on the Main Gate.
Rogers's spirit quickly rose upon seing Haleth kill an Uruk by thrusting his sword into its side. Haleth slew the Uruk just as it was about to kill one of the younger Commandos. Rogers's pride in the young man quickly turned to horror when an Uruk hidden by the confusion cut down Haleth from behind. Haleth's death instantly spurred Rogers into action.
Rogers engaged the Uruks that the defenders led by Boromir were fighting. Legolas plainly saw the grief stricken fury that drove Captain America's deadly actions. Rogers killed countless Uruks in a blur of shield cuts, punches and kicks. His anger wasn't even quenched when he sliced off the head of the Uruk that had killed Haleth. Killing every Uruk along the Outer Wall was the only way he would get some satisfaction over the deaths of so many Commandos.
The Outer and Inner Walls were a pair of large concentric semi-circles that curved into the cliff face behind Helm's Deep. With no defenders to his immediate front, it was a design of the fortress that Rogers was about to use with deadly effect.
Aragorn and a handful of Galadhrim were the only defenders on the eastern side of the Outer Wall that blocked the encroaching Uruks from accessing its flight of stairs to the curved ramp beneath it. Once the Uruks reached this ramp it was just a few yards to enter the courtyard entrance located on the eastern side of the Inner Wall. Aragorn locked eyes with Rogers who was on the Uruks' other flank. He noticed Rogers held his shield in his right hand across his chest side-on.
Getting the hint that Rogers delivered through an angry nod, Aragorn told the surrounding Galadhrim in Sindarin, "Duck!"
After Aragorn and the Galadhrim did this, Rogers instantly released his shield with a powerful throw. Following the eastern curvature of the Outer Wall, Rogers' shield rapidly sliced through the ranks of massed Uruks before it. The shield left a trail of dissected orc torsos in its wake. The Uruk that had its falchion raised over a ducking Aragorn didn't even have time to move it more than an inch from its apex before becoming the last victim of Rogers' attack. Spinning clockwise, Rogers' shield hit the cliff face the Outer Wall curved into before deflecting back at an angle into the taller Inner Wall. After it hit the Inner Wall, the shield deflected again this time back into Roger's waiting hand. The shield was utterly stained and drenched in the black blood of the Uruks that Rogers had just killed with it.
Rogers's attack had changed the balance of the battle along the Outer Wall in favour of the defenders within moments. Captain America joined the defenders in quickly mopping up any Uruks that still stood between them. It was then that Aragorn and Rogers were able to speak to each other for the first time since the Battle of Helm's Deep had started.
With his momentary rage now spent, Rogers asked Aragorn, "How's Haldir?"
"He's badly wounded but I've managed to stem the bleeding." Aragorn quickly reported before adding in somber relief, "At least his arm won't need to be amputated."
The pair refocused attention back on the battle.
"How longer can you and Thor hold the Causeway?" Aragorn asked Rogers with a sense of disbelief
"As long as you'd like," Rogers answered with steely resolve. He then added as an afterthought, "Although we wouldn't say 'no' to more fire support."
Standing behind Rogers, Legolas advised, "Unfortunately our stocks of arrows are running dangerously low.
Thinking of a solution, Rogers called out to the only surviving Howling Commando whose name he knew. "Eothain!"
An exhausted Eothain ran as fast as he could to Rogers. After a releasing a tired puff, he asked "Yes, milord?"
"I want you Commandos to look for any unused arrows," Rogers ordered him. "Look in the armoury, even in the quivers of the dead and wounded."
Eothain immediately raced off to pass on the order to the other five surviving Howling Commandos. Despite sustaining a casualty rate of more than seventy five per cent, the Commandos still didn't want to let down Captain America.
Thor cut a solitary figure on the Causeway. The Uruk-hai were still reeling from the Asgardian's previous display of power. Even those Uruks armed with crossbows had not fired at him least they suffer the fate of those that had just previously. Thor knew the loud thud behind him was Rogers returning to fight alongside him.
"I can project Mjolnir again," Thor told Rogers who had resumed position to his left.
There was a dark gleam in Rogers's eye as he replied, "I think you know where to send it."
Uruks in Mjolnir's flight path flew everywhere as it hit them on its journey. The four ballistae the Uruk-hai had constructed crumbled into a mess of steel and wood as soon as Mjolnir struck each of them. Both Avengers exchanged pleased smiles after Mjolnir returned to Thor.
The Uruk Commander clenched his jaw in anger and disbelief. Every attempt the Uruk-hai had made to breach the fortress had been beaten back by just two Men with extraordinary abilities. With the iron door at the base of the Hornburg welded shut and their ballistae destroyed, the only way still open to the Uruks was through the Main Gate. But of course that meant having to first get past the two Men who were now back on the Causeway!
As he took stock of the situation, the Commander estimated that he still had around 6,000 Uruk-hai at his command as well as a number of battering rams. With these numbers, the Commander was confident the Uruk-hai could still quickly claim Helm's Deep after the two Men fell. But the pair had so beaten off every attack that had been made against them. The Uruk Commander then had an idea. Calling over a pair of warg-riders, he barked at them to get some new weapons from the Uruk-hai depot that was some thirty miles north of the battlefield. As the warg-riders sped off, the Commander ordered a fresh assault up the Causeway while ordering the Uruk marksmen to shoot at the other defenders.
Rogers casually told Thor, "Seeing I wouldn't allow him to join us, Gimli asked if he could add my kills to his for that competition of yours".
"What did you say to that?" Thor asked with a twinkle in his eye.
Before engaging a fresh Uruk-hai assault, Rogers paraphrased the words Thor used to describe Avenger unity.
"I told him one Avenger's kill is a kill for all of us!"
Pippin, Merry and Banner had resumed their riding positions on Treebeard as the Ent began escorting them out of Fangorn. There was no banter between the four of them. Banner and Merry were silently fuming over the Ent Moot's decision. Pippin was still coming to terms with the horrible fate that was in store for the Hobbits and their beloved Shire. Treebeard assumed the three non-Ents weren't talking was because they were admiring the beauty of Fangorn. He felt somewhat guilty having to interrupt these thoughts.
"I shall leave you at the western borders of the forest," Treebeard advised the trio he was carrying. "You can make your way north to your homeland from there."
"Thanks, Treebeard," Banner sarcastically thanked him. "That's so kind of you."
"Oh it's no trouble at all, Master Bruce," the Ent magnanimously replied.
Banner released an annoyed sigh at Treebeard's seeming ignorance about the whole concept of sarcasm. Pippin recalled when the trio last rode Treebeard how they saw that all the forest around Isengard had been cut down. If only he had one of those devices from Bruce's world called 'cameras'. He then could've shown Treebeard and the other Ents what Saruman's manipulations would ultimately mean for Fangorn. Pippin began thinking if by being manipulative, Saruman was on to something…
"Wait! Stop!" Pippin urgently called out which bought Treebeard to a sudden halt.
"What's wrong, Pippin?" a concerned Banner asked.
"Turn around!" Pippin demanded of Treebeard. "Take us south!"
"South!" Treebeard gasped. "But that will lead you past Isengard!"
"Yes, exactly," Pippin confidently answered with a gleam in his eye. "If we go south, we can slip past Saruman unnoticed. The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm. It's the last thing he'll expect."
Treebeard pondered Pippin's 'logic' a moment before saying, "Mmmm. That doesn't make much sense to me."
"Join the club," a confused Banner agreed with Treebeard for the first time in hours.
The Ent noted Banner's response before continuing.
"Well, Master Bruce," Treebeard concluded. "Hobbits are very small. Perhaps Master Pippin is right. South it is then. Hold on, little masters!" As Treebeard began turning in that direction he said to Banner, "Master Bruce, I'd like you to tell me about the association you've invited me to join. But let me first tell you why I always like going south. It always feels like going downhill…"
As a tired Banner rubbed his face, Merry quietly questioned Pippin about the direction he had send Treebeard on.
"Are you mad?" Merry put to his cousin. "We'll be caught!"
Pippin looked south with knowing determination. "Not this time. Not after what Bruce said."
Merry thought that Pippin had picked strange circumstances to begin sounding enigmatic.
Merry, Pippin, Bruce and someone else besides the Ents will have a more prominent role next chapter.
It's always puzzled me why Aragorn was ordered to get his 'men' out of there.
My late Mother always found Haldir's death to be upsetting. Mum, if you're reading this somewhere, Thor's save of Haldir was for you.