(PTII)Defenders of Middle Earth: A Middle Earth Story(Book 4)

Chapter 9: The Battle of Esgaroth

"Brace the gate!" A burgundy cloaked captain cried as a loud thump sounded once more from the other side. Soldiers scurried to carry out his orders, bringing lumber and stones to shore up the entrance.

Harald and Vesker, the two exiles from Dale, hurried alongside the Esgaroth guards in their last ditch effort to save the city. They dodged arrows and rubble as they attempted to reach the gate, but too many soldiers were already clustered around it. Archers manned the walls, but they were quickly being wiped out by the hail of enemy arrows that flew thick through the air. Several of the swordsmen that were gathered around the gates ran up the stairs to take the places of the fallen archers, but they fared little better than their comrades. 

"Vesker, this way!" Harald shouted over the din of battle, motioning towards a more heavily fortified part of the wall. Large wooden planks had been erected over the edges of it, providing a place to take cover from the constant rain of arrows. 

"What should we do?" Vesker asked. He was the younger of the two, and often looked to the slightly older Harald for judgement. They were brothers, not by birth but by adoption. They had been raised in a foster home together, and though they had many differences the two were close.

"We should find an officer," Harald replied in a tone more confident than he felt. "They'll know where to send us."

"You two! Over here!" A nearby captain shouted as if on cue, motioning them over with a wave. When they reached his side he pointed to a small culvert in one of the city's walls.

"I want you to watch that! I have a feeling they'll try to flank us through there." Before the two Dalemen could respond, the captain rushed back into the crowd of soldiers, shouting out orders as he attempted to bring order to the chaos.

Harald glanced uncertainly back at Vesker, whose eyes were wide with fright. "Follow my lead, little brother. We should be safe if we follow orders."

Vesker didn't seem convinced, but regardless followed his brother down the wall to the culvert. A few drops of water trickled through it, but nearly as much as normally did. On an ordinary day, a small pool gathered at the foot of it. Today it was dry. But since neither guard was from Esgaroth, they did not notice this anomaly.

The cacophony of battle was slightly fainter here, though the cries of orcs and men alike could be heard in the distance. The steady drip, drip, drip of the culvert was barely noticeable at first, but after a few moments it began to annoy Harald.

"Curse that dripping!" He exclaimed in annoyance. Normally it wouldn't have bothered him, but after being exiled from his home and then being thrown into a warzone, his patience was incredibly thin.

Suddenly though, as if on queue, the dripping stopped. Vesker grinned and pointed to the culvert as he sat down, his back against the wall. 

"It listened to ya!" He laughed. 

Harald didn't laugh in kind, however. His ear was pressed up against the wall, and he lifted a hand up to signal for silence. 

Boom. Boom. A faint rumble could be heard through the wall, followed by what sounded like a heavy object beating against it. 

Suddenly Harald's eyes widened in fear, and he pointed back to where the captain had last been. 

"Vesker, go! Tell them we need aid!" He exclaimed. 

Vesker didn't need to be told twice. He turned and sprinted away, his eyes scanning for the captain as he ran. Just as he leapt over a pile of rubble a loud explosion shook the ground behind him, launching him into the air before sending him crashing to the ground. His head made contact first, and the rough pavestones cut into his skin as he fell. 

After a moment of lying in dazed confusion, he slowly blinked his eyes and tried to take in his surroundings. Smoke and dust filled the air, but he could see that the wall where the culvert had been was gone completely. Dark shapes poured through the opening, and as Vesker's vision cleared he saw that they were orcs. 

"Harald!" He shouted hoarsely, oblivious to the nearby enemies. They immediately heard his cry and began to rush toward him, their jagged weapons raised in the air as they charged through the smoke. The explosion had rendered Vesker nearly deaf, and his ears were ringing uncontrollably. He could not even hear his own voice as he repeatedly called his brother's name.

Suddenly a hail of arrows cut down the orcs that were moving through the breach, and dozens of Dale swordsmen appeared from around the corner of the wall.  They quickly formed a shield wall in the breach, effectively sealing it off from further attack for the moment. 

One of the captains ran to Vesker, who was still dazed but was beginning to comprehend what had happened. 

"My brother, he was here too," he said breathlessly. "I do not know where he is now."

The captain rested a hand on his shoulder. "Once this is over, we'll find him. For now, we need to get you to the hospital tent."

"But Harald," Vesker insisted as he attempted to stand up. "He may need help." 

The captain looked upon the young man with sadness, for he knew that the other soldier was likely dead. "We'll search for him. You need healing." 

"I... I..." Vesker began, but he was cut off by a shrill, unnatural shriek that rent the air above them. 

"It's that beast, it's returned!" One of the other soldiers cried fearfully. A great shadow abruptly blocked out the sun, winged and bringing a fell wind with it.Several of the soldiers dropped their weapons to cover their ears, while others screamed like scared children. 

"Hold!" The captain shouted over the commotion. "Hold your ground!" 

The beast circled above, as if sizing the group up. As Vesker was led away he could see it gather its wings close to its body and dive down, disappearing behind the rubble of the wall to the place where the soldiers had been. 

The captain looked back fearfully as screams of terror and death rang out behind them. He knew that the breach had been taken, and that it would only be a matter of time before the rest of the city followed. The walls had been the only defense that protected them from the enemy, and now that they were gone there was nothing to stop the orcs from overwhelming the defenders within.  

Already injured and maimed men were trickling back from the frontlines, many of them with shocked, dazed expressions on their faces. Those who were well enough to walk on their own looked haunted, as if they had seen terror beyond imagination. 

"Surgeon! We need a surgeon!" A soldier cried loudly. He was carrying a man whose leg had been badly mangled, and it appeared as if he had been mauled by some sort of creature. He looked to be no older than twenty, and his expression showed that he was fleeting in and out of consciousness. 

Two white-robed men emerged from a nearby tent and rushed the men in. Soon after a bloodcurdling scream was heard from within, and the sound filled the captain with pity and fear. He knew that the boy- for that was what he was- had lost his leg. The wound had likely been infected, and were that the case there was little else that the battlefield surgeons could do. 

A moment after the screaming had stopped, a young woman hurried over to the captain and Vesker. Her long blonde hair was tied into a ponytail behind her and she wore the characteristic white garb of a nurse. 

"What are his injuries?" She asked, motioning to Vesker. 

"Head trauma. Probably damage to the ears. I do not know more, I found him on the front," the captain replied. "Take him. I must go back to fight." 

Vesker did not object, for even if he had been uninjured he would be loathe to return to the hell that had claimed his brother... The hell that would claim many more in the days to come.

Hey guys! I know this chapter is slightly shorter than usual, but don't worry! I got past my writer's block and should be able to move forward with the story now! Let me know what you think of the story so far!