Muted protection

Chapter 13

Linwaethiel's POV

I stare in horror as the Uruks roar and charge towards me. Still holding my long knives I charge forwards to meet them and start fighting. Ducking, I collide with the stomach of an Uruk and the wound on my shoulder reopens. I grit my teeth and keep fighting.

Third person POV

The fighting at Helm's Deep continues. Gimli hacks away with his axe.

"Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two." I yells out loud keeping score of his kills.

A group of Uruks, covered in shields, approach the main gate. Aragorn takes notice and begins to cry out pointing gaining the attention of the archers.

"Northway! Nauthannen!" The elves shoot, and many of the Uruks fall down.

"Is this it? Is this all you can conjure, Saruman?" Théoden mutters just as Ururk troops carry Saruman's explosives to the drain. An Uruk soldier carrying a bright torch runs towards the hole.

"Togo hon dad, Legolas! Dago hon!" (Legolas, stop him! Kill him!) Aragorn yells loudly pointing at him. Legolas hits the Uruk with two arrows, but fails to kill it, letting the Uruk-hai light the explosives. A large part of the wall explodes, people dive for cover and below Uruks and Linwaethiel are thrown off their feet by the blast and go tumbling into the dirt. Linwaethiel coughs and struggles to her feet and keeps fighting, the fatigue of fighting an army alone getting to her.

Up in the keep Théoden looks upon in shock. Huge boulders fly through the air. Aragorn lies on the ground, unconscious. Saruman's army starts to crowd through the hole in the wall. At the gates, the Uruks try to break through.

"Brace the gates!" Théoden commands and men charge towards the gates bracing against them, attempting to prevent the Uruks from entering.

"Hold them! Stand fast!"

Men throw rocks and spears down on the orcs below. This does little to stop their barrage on the gates of Helm's deep. Aragorn regains consciousness as the Uruks run towards him. Gimli sees this and jumps down from the wall, landing in a pool of water and starts to hack at the attacking Uruks.

"Gimli! Prepare to charge!" Gimli continues fighting, but is hit and falls in to the pool.

"Hado i philinn!" (Hurl the arrows!) Aragorn shouts, before shouting again. "Herio!" (Charge!)

They attack, Aragorn leading them. Legolas takes a shield from the ground and rides down the stairs on it, shooting arrows at the Uruks. The Uruks continue flowing in from the hole in the wall, but they are met by men and elves and a dwarf. Linwaethiel having been carried by the surge of attacking Uruks joins them fighting side by side with her companions.

From up on the wall Théoden calls down to the fighters. "Aragorn, pull back to the gate!"

Upon hearing him Aragorn calls out to the surrounding warriors. "Am Marad!" (To the Keep!)

"Nan barad! Haldir! Nan barad!" (Pull back! Haldir! Pull back!) Haldir nods at him and calls for the others. Refusing to stop Gimli is dragged away.

"What are you doing? Stop it!" Linwaethiel follows close behind and fights off chasing Uruks. Haldir calls for his men, but he does not see an Uruk behind him and is struck. Haldir stumbles in pain, as he looks around. Behind him, another Uruk strikes Haldir at his back.

"Haldir!" Aragorn cries out running towards him. Haldir falls on his knees, as Aragorn fights his way up the stairs. The elf looks around in disbelief, and sees all the dead elves around him. Aragorn rushes to Haldir and the elf dies in Aragorn's arms. The ranger lays Haldir down, as more Uruk-hai approach him. He jumps on one of the ladders and falls down with them.