Walking In Starlight

35

Orcs are chasing Sigrid and Tilda, and they run screaming around a corner, Bain jumps out and kills the lead orc. The second orcs knocks him to the ground and swings at him, only to get his sword caught on something overhead, Bain uses this chance to thrust his sword into the orc, killing it. He and his sisters round a corner and see their father fighting further up the lane, uphill from them,

"Da!" Sigrid shouted

"Da! We’re down here!" Tilda shouted

"Here!" Bain shouted

Bard hears them and turns to see them, looking relieved. However, his expressions changes to shock when he sees a troll enter the lane behind the children, throwing men many feet away with a single blow of his mace. The troll sees the children and growls, and the girls scream, too far away for Bard to reach them in time, and he looks around frantically. As the troll approaches the children, Bard tilts upright a cart that had been laying sideways in the courtyard, scrambling into it and launches it down the avenue toward the children. The troll raises its mace to smash the children, but pauses in surprise when it sees Bard hurtling toward it in the cart,

"Bain, Sigrid - get down!" Bard shouted

They throw themselves to the floor as the cart bounces over them, smashes into the troll and sends it flying; Bard is also thrown forward, and he manages to thrust his sword into the troll’s heart in a flying strike.

"Listen - I need you to gather the women and children" Bard said "take them to the Great Hall and barricade the door"

Alfrid, hiding in a doorway nearby, hears them speaking. Bard gently takes Bain’s sword from him,

"You understand - you must not come out for any reason!" Bard added

"We wanna stay with you!" Tilda exclaimed

"Show your father some respect!" Alfrid said, stepping out "you leave it to me, sire. You heard him, we make to the Great Hall!"

Alfrid grabs Tilda and Sigrid and begins rushing them away,

"Alfrid, women and children only" Bard said "I need every man fighting. See that you return!" thrusting the sword into Alfrid’s hands

"I’ll get them to safety, sire." Alfrid said

Seeing orcs appear nearby, he nervously hurries away,

"And my sword is yours to command" Alfrid added

Bard holds Bain’s face earnestly,

"Look after them!" Bard said

As Bain catches up to Alfrid, he rudely tosses him the sword, and Bain looks at him in disgust. Bard and his men continue fighting orcs,

"Make for the Great Hall!" Bain exclaimed

As they approach the Great Hall, Alfrid runs and pushes his way through the people, knocking many of them over in his haste to reach the doors,

"Out of my way!" Alfrid exclaimed "leave the cripples!"

As more and more orcs and trolls enter the city, Thranduil rides his elk into the city by crossing one of the bridges, and as he crosses, his elk tramples many orcs, the elk lowers its horns and spears five orcs at the same time, lifting them up so that Thranduil can behead all of them with one swing of his sword. As they thunder into the city, the elk is killed by multiple Orc arrows to the chest, while it falls, Thranduil leaps clear and rolls. He comes up from his roll to find himself surrounded by orcs, pulling out both his swords and begins fighting them, soon reinforced by his elven foot troops.