Rise (Lord of the Rings)

40 - Diving Into Chaos

It felt as though the run to the outside took forever. The closer I got to the fighting, the more sounds became distinguished: the zips of arrows; the clashing of swords; the battle cries; howls and yowls of pain.

My grip on my sword hilt tightened further. I didn't know what to expect when I would come upon the battle. I hated to think about it.

The moment air welcomed me, rain did as well. I was pelted with cold drops. I looked at the wall through the rain, the blockade that separated the two sides. Ladders thrown by the Orcs were being thrown back down. Archers shot over the wall, trying to aim a hit at the enemy. Wanting to get a glimpse of what we were dealing with, I jumped down the stairs; my feet hit dirt ground as I headed for the wall's stairs.

With my legs slightly burning already, I made it up. There was a shout of something in Elvish I couldn't make out. Looking around, I realized something: We didn't have this many archers. The archers we had were clothed differently than the ones I was staring at. Where did they come from?

"Lass!" Gimli's voice made me search for him. I saw him squeezing past the archers who released another volley of arrows over the wall. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to help," I shouted. "Who are they?" I flicked a thumb at the archers beside us.

"Reinforcements. The Elves came to assist us."

"The Elves?" I blinked in disbelief. My heart rose a little bit in hope. We stood just a little bit more of a chance now. "So there has been no breach yet."

"Very little." Gimli sounded disappointed in that.

"You just want to give your ax something to chop, right?" I laughed.

"You shouldn't be here, lass." The Dwarf didn't seem to catch onto my joking air.

"For the last time, I—"

A loud explosion cut off my words. A chunk of wall feet from us exploded, throwing debris everywhere. The blast made the wall quake under my feet, making me lose my balance. It didn't help that Gimli knocked into me from the impact of the explosion.

A few decent sized chunks of wall flew on the archers who were shooting arrows. I realized the rain that had welcomed me when I had first stepped onto the battlefield had decided to disappear. I shuddered, feeling my damp outfit cling to my body uncomfortably.

I looked down below, the explosion had thrown back a few soldiers, leaving them lying on the ground, not stirring.

The first casualties I see, I thought gravely. Most looked to be older Men compared to young boys. My thoughts strayed to Éothain.

Apparently, the Uruks had found a small weakness and didn't hesitate to take advantage of it.

"Aragorn!" Gimli roared.

"Where is he?" I stuttered. I hadn't come across him or Legolas, but knowing the Elf, he was up here with the archers, shooting alongside them.

"Look!" Gimli pointed down.

Looking where the Dwarf pointed, I realized he was right. Aragorn wasn't stirring, lying on the ground. I looked with alarmed eyes to see the Uruks piling through the breach in the wall. They kicked up water, splashing themselves.

"We need to stall the Uruks somehow; he has to get on his feet!" I said urgently.

"What idea do you have, lass?"