The wood began to splinter as the enemy pounded relentlessly against the door. Weapons began to pierce through crevices and weaknesses in the wood as we stood waiting in anticipation of the onslaught, our weapons ready.
Legolas released the first arrow, accurately piercing into an orc through a crack in the door, it's squeal of pain drowned out by a sea of growls. Aragorn fired the second.
Without warning, the doors gave way, collapsing to the ground, allowing a huge stream of hideous disfigured orcs to pour into the room. With a final inhale, I braced myself.
So it began.
The first few were taken down by Aragorn and Legolas' arrows, but that only slowed the rate at which orcs were pouring in by a fraction.
Adjusting my grip on my gleaming golden sword, I braced myself for the incoming wave of orcs.
One ugly thing charged at me with a spear, and I dodged it's attempts to skewer my torso, quickly advancing and removing its head with a swing of my sword, feeling the spray of warm blood on my skin. I had no time to be disgusted.
Aldion released a blood-curdling howl, before leaping headfirst into the incoming wave, his teeth tearing through flesh and bone. Even his sheer size was enough to crush a couple orcs. Some orcs let out squeaks of surprise, not expecting to be pitched against such a beast.
Legolas was firing arrows at an alarming rate, his accuracy even more so, and Aragorn had switched to his sword, hacking left and right through the crowd of orcs. Gimli released a cathartic battle cry, before launching himself into the rabble, swinging his axe like a madman. From behind me, I heard four collective battle cries as the Hobbits too joined in defending themselves.
These orcs in themselves were not as skilled as we were, however the sheer number of them was staggering. Every single one I killed, three more would take its place.
Aldion fought to my left, his teeth stained with blood, a murderous glint in his eyes. It truly was a gruesome sight. He was like a dark entity that moved with the speed of lightning with a raw and savage power. All it took for an orc to be torn to pieces was a flash of black. With wide eyes, I watched as he pounced on an orc, tearing its limbs off with one bite.
Seeing an orc approach him from behind, I threw my sword, embedding it right into its chest. I watched as it collapsed onto the floor.
In one swift motion, I ducked the swing of another orc. I yanked the dagger from my boot, before charging forwards.
With a twirl of the blade, I drove it into the midsection of an incoming orc, its screech piercing my eardrums. But before I could finish it off, a growl rang out from behind me. Glancing back, I saw an orc stalking towards me with its knife raised high. Gritting my teeth, I sent a flying kick backwards, feeling my boot connect with the head of the orc with a grunt. Yanking my dagger from the orc before me, I slashed its throat, ending its struggling.
I gave myself a moment within the chaos to catch my breath. In the corner of my eye, I saw Legolas send me an impressed look. I just huffed, before sheathing my dagger and pulling my sword from the corpse on the floor, diving back into the fight.
Steel bit into flesh. The sounds of metal clashing against metal rang throughout the room, as well as inhumane growls and shrieks of pain as adrenaline pumped through my veins.
Nearby, Gimli channelled his inner rage, releasing his anger in explosive bouts as he killed anything that stood in his path, his axe avenging the death of his cousin.
The battle was gruesome, and tedious to say the least. We'd slay some orcs, and within a split second, more would come to replace them.
Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. A sense of dread set in as I made eye contact with Aragorn.
With a huge crash, a cave troll erupted from behind the doorway, sending rock everywhere with an earth-shaking growl. My eyes widened as I backed away. Its body was built like a boulder, swinging its stone mace with the force of a typhoon as it let out an earth-shattering growl from its disfigured face.
I swallowed, twirling my sword in my hand as I watched the beast stalk closer.
Legolas released an arrow into its chest, but all it did was clutch at the wound, before advancing forwards, enraged as ever. I watched in horror as the crushing force of the mace barely missed Sam, who slid underneath the beast with a cry of terror.
With a growl, the beast turned around. However, before it could crush the paralysed hobbit, it was yanked back as Aragorn and Boromir tugged at the chain, dragging it backwards and allowing Sam to scramble to safety.
Now even more furious, the beast grabbed the chain that was entwined around Boromir's fingers, swinging it and sending Boromir flying all the way across the room. He hit the stone wall with a sickening thud before rolling to the ground.
I winced.
That must have hurt, I thought as my sword met an orc sword with a clang.
Boromir was dazed and defenseless, as he struggled to regain his bearings. A snarling orc approached him, knife raised, only to be impaled by Aragorn's flying sword.
"Aragorn!" I cried, pulling the dagger from my boot and tossing it to him.
Catching it, he immediately stabbed it over his shoulder, directly into an orc who was attacking from behind. Sending me a nod, he retrieved his own sword out of the other corpse before tossing my knife back to me.
"Thank you!" I yelled over the grunts and screams of pain.
"You're welcome!" he shouted back as he decapitated another orc. I slid the knife back into my boot.
Ducking under a swing from a blade, I plunged my sword into its nether region before it's knife could complete a full arc. I twirled away, almost avoiding the slash of another orc blade.
I cursed my inability to dodge in time as I felt the steel bite into my right upper arm. Sending the orc an icy glare, I twirled my sword in my hand before plunging it straight into its chest, twisting it with a sickening crunch.
There was a loud screech behind my head, but when I swivelled, I saw an orc collapse to the floor, knife raised and ready to kill me, if it weren't for an arrow sunk directly in between its eyes.
I scanned the area, my eyes falling on Legolas, who spared a glance at me with a wink.
I raised my eyebrows as my inner competitiveness arose within me. With a growl, I leapt into the air, my feet crushing an orc as I landed, my sword channelling the momentum of the fall and cleaving another orc right down the middle.
To my left, I heard a clang. Turning, I saw Sam wielding a mere frying pan like an iron mace, every hit sent an orc falling to the ground. I made a mental note to not agitate him when he was around cooking utensils. Valar knows what this hobbit could do with a fork.
The troll swung its mace to the ground, the impact sending shattered rock flying through the air. As I fought, I saw the beast corner Frodo, the sharp spear raised high above its head before bringing it down. Frodo's face contorted with pain as he collapsed, sliding down the wall.
I knew the mithril vest would protect him, but at that moment, I didn't care. Rage flooded my veins, flowing throughout my body like a bolt of lightning.
Releasing an ear-piercing whistle from my lips, I called for Aldion, who emerged from the hordes of orcs. Leaping onto his back, I whispered in his ear.
"Let's kill this thing."
With a snarl, Aldion charged, gaining such speed and momentum in such a short distance.
Just before contact, I leapt from his back, propelling myself into the air before using the force of gravity to drive my sword deep in between the troll's shoulder blades. It let out a deafening screech of pain.
Aldion pounced, the force of impact sending the cumbersome beast stumbling forwards, tearing its flesh with his razor sharp claws. I held onto the sword as tightly as possible as it tried to violently shake me from its back, trying in vain to reach his arms behind his back to remove me. I only twisted the sword driving it in deeper as I continued to ride upon its back.
"Legolas!" I called, drawing the attention of the archer.
He nodded, before aiming an arrow at the troll. Within the blink of an eye, the arrow fired from the bow, driving right into the throat of the troll. Wheezing, it fell to its knees.
With a twist of my sword, the troll collapsed forwards, all the while with me standing on its back. The dust cleared, and I yanked my sword out of the dead troll, before stepping off my victim, blowing a stray hair from my face.
I nodded at Legolas, who returned the nod with mutual acknowledgement and gratitude.
Finally, the troll was dead, and around us were countless orc corpses we had slain.
Everyone surrounded Frodo, their eyes full of sorrow as they witnessed his lifeless body on the floor. With a sigh, I pushed past Gandalf, before kneeling beside Frodo next to my brother.
"He's fine." I reassured them.
"How do you know?" questioned Gandalf as he approached.
Slightly pulling the collar of his tunic, I revealed a shirt made from interwoven loops of sparkling white and gleaming silver.
Frodo stirred with a groan of pain, before pulling himself into a sitting position, grasping the place where the weapon should have impaled him, panting.
"He's alive!" exclaimed Sam as he helped support his friend.
"Mithril," exhaled Gimli in wonder, "You are full of surprises, Master Baggins."
We barely had a moment to recollect ourselves before the sounds of screeches echoed into the room, the shadows of more incoming enemies looming against the stone walls.
"We must move," I warned, my tone now low and urgent.
Gandalf nodded.
"To the bridge of Khazad-dûm!"
All stealth had gone out the window as we fled from the room. Now, it was about escaping the innumerable orcs that were gathering behind us in hot pursuit. I heard the screeches and growls beside us, with orcs closing in on our flanks as we ran.
When I glanced up at the towering pillars of the hall, no longer did I feel wonder and amazement. Now, a wave of dread washed over me as I looked to see hordes of orcs crawl down from the ceiling like spiders. Orcs approached us from behind, as well as from the sides, and not even halfway into the hall, we were forced to abruptly stop as we were surrounded, encircled by a mass of snarling, marred, disfigured creatures.
We pressed into each other, backing away from the orcs who were coming at us from every angle until we were bunched up into a tight circle, the hobbits inside, us on the outside.
I readied myself for a fight, possibly to the death. Beside me, Aldion bared his teeth, snapping at the orcs around us.
All of a sudden, a low growl echoed throughout the hall. The entire chamber fell into silence as the furthest archway glowed a smouldering red and orange.
My eyes widened.
Around us, the orcs began to look uneasy, their attention drawn away from us as screeches of fear rang out. Another growl, and the screeches became more frantic as the orcs began to scatter, crawling back up the walls and pillars. The roar was heard again, and the glowing red seemed to draw nearer and nearer.
I slowly got the feeling that the orcs were wise in their cowardice.
"What is this new devilry?" I asked. My chest tightened, my breathing quickening as I felt fear rearing its ugly head within me.
Gandalf shut his eyes, as if dreading to reveal what horrors awaited us. The threatening glow spread to the columns, lighting up the room with a fiery display of red.
"A balrog." He gravely answered, opening his eyes. "A demon of the ancient world."
I felt my mouth run dry as I turned back to face the glowing red light. My heart pounded against my ribcage like the beating of a war drum. Everyone else shared the same expression as the realisation of what we were trapped in here with dawned
"This foe is beyond any of you." Gandalf's voice was tight. "Run!"