The Lonely Mountain [1]

Bolg's Last Stand

Legolas was running dangerously low of arrows as the tower he was stood on began to shake. He looked down to see one of the war beasts slamming its maces into the bottom of the tower. He heard something falling down the cliff to the side of him and turned just in time to see Amara and Bolg falling. Amara hit an outcrop at the bottom of some stairs and stopped but Bolg continued. Legolas' eyes widened in fear as he noticed one of her own knives embedded in her stomach.

Bolg got to his feet and appeared over the crest of the hill, making his way to where Amara lay. Legolas reached back to draw another arrow, only to find his quiver empty. He froze in panic as Bolg got closer to Amara, who seemed to be slowly regaining consciousness. Legolas discarded his bow and drew Orcrist from its sheath. He turned and jumped from the tower, landing on the beast and embedding his sword into its head. He gripped onto the swords hilt as he used it to drive the beast headfirst into the tower. It had the desired effect as the tower collapsed and bridged the gap between the two outcrops of rock.

Amara's vision was hazy as she watched Legolas appear and run across the fallen tower. She could feel the warmth of her own blood beginning to seep around the knife in her abdomen.

Bolg had regained his staff and walked out to meet Legolas. The clash of metal on metal could be heard as they reached each other. Legolas blocked and dodged Bolg's attacks with ease. However, Bolg's attacks occasionally made contact with the tower they were stood on and the bricks were beginning to fall into the abyss below. As Legolas side stepped the growing hole, he lost his footing and went crashing through the first wall of the tower but landed on the second. Bolg gave him no time to recover before he too jumped down.

Legolas slashed again and pressed the heal of his other hand onto the blade to try and force it to hit its mark. But Bolg was mush stronger and slammed him backwards into a wall. Legolas jumped away as that wall began to collapse as well. Bolg's strikes were getting angrier and more reckless and he was destroying more and more of the tower that was holding them both up. Legolas blocked behind his back and was able to push Bolg back and slightly off balance. Bolg quickly regained his footing and after a few hits was able to throw Legolas to the floor.

Thorin had appeared at the edge of the frozen river above them and threw an orc off of the edge. The orc slammed into the tower behind Bolg and Legolas watched as the bricks began to crack under Bolg's feet. Bolg went tumbling backwards and was buried beneath a mound of stone.

Legolas looked up to see Thorin laying on the edge of the river with an orc above him. Legolas looked at Orcrist with longing before cocking his head to the side and launching the sword towards the orc. Thorin looked up in shock as the blade pierced the centre of the orcs armour. He reached out his hand and grasped the handle, pulling it from the orc before it fell.

Legolas had been momentarily distracted and had to dive to his knees and spin out of the way as Bolg appeared again. He drew his knives and stood to face Bolg. They slashed at each other and Legolas noticed Amara's knife in Bolg's back for the first time. He swung and connected the heal of his knife into the heal of hers, forcing the blade deeper into Bolg's shoulder. Bolg swung round with a cry of pain and pushed Legolas over backwards, the blond elf disappearing beneath a collection of stone.

A horn pierced through in the distance as the rest of Bolg's troops arrived. Legolas regained his footing but had to leap to the side as Bolg launched a hunk of rock towards him. The wall beneath him began to collapse and he had to leap from stone to stone to reach solid ground. He threw himself at Bolg and wrapped his legs around the orc's head. He used his momentum to throw them both over. Legolas stabbed his knife into a crack and swung himself back up onto the tower. Bolg too pulled himself up and caught Legolas' arm as he swung. But the elf was smiling. Legolas swung himself upwards and landed both of his feet on Bolg's shoulders. He gripped his remaining knife in both hands and slammed it into the orc's skull.

Legolas flipped off of the orc as the last of the tower collapsed.