𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬 ➵︎ [ 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘧 ]

15| the first gold knife

This chapter is dedicated to Woistmeinsmoothie . Thanks for all your kind and constructive comments, and voting on all my chapters.

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As we ran up the hill, the first wave of Uruk Hais poured over the top like insects swarming over a mound. But these were not mere ants. These were a breed of orcs I had never seen before, taller than men, dark and twisted, a white handprint that they bore like an emblem upon their cold helmets of steel.

I pulled out my golden sword as it gleamed in the sun, twirling it in my hand as I watched the Uruk Hai grow closer and closer. I braced myself for what was to come, calming my jittery nerves as the horde of bloodthirsty creatures charged towards us, their growls like the snarls of a beast, savage and ruthless in their motives.

We met them upon the slopes of Amon Hen, the sounds of metal upon metal ringing into the air. I swung my sword, watching as it bit into the side of an Uruk. However, all that seemed to do was enrage the orc, who let out a vicious snarl before swinging its own blade at me. I only just managed to duck in time.

These Uruks were different. They knew no pain. And that terrified me.

Ducking another swing, I noted the way their armour shifted. My eyes fell upon the exposed skin by their neck and beneath their arms with every drastic movement. The chink in their armour.

Stepping out of the way of the swing of an Uruk's sword, I swiftly swung mine, feeling the vibrations as it cut through the neck of the Uruk's armour. A dark viscous liquid poured out.

My suspicion that their necks were a weak spot was just confirmed.

Gimli swung his axe with intense ferocity and Legolas released arrow after arrow, plucking them out of dead corpses like flowers from the earth as we ran to the heart of all the fighting.

My heart pounding relentlessly as I ran, we emerged from the forest to see Aragorn dive into a horde of Uruk Hais from atop a stone structure, his sword never stopping once as it flashed silver in the sunlight.

I deftly sidestepped to avoid being cloven in two. I felt my weight shift to my left foot as I dodged. In one swift motion, I brought my blade down upon the arm of the Uruk. I watched in satisfaction as the severed limb hit the ground, hand still clutching the weapon. It released a blood-curdling screech. Driving my sword into its neck, the screech choked into a splutter. I immediately moved on to the next.

There was no time to stop and admire my handiwork. They just kept coming.

"What do they want?" I called, slitting the throat of an Uruk, only to find another behind it.

"They're after the hobbits!" Aragorn replied as he swung his sword in an arc, decapitating a foe.

My widened eyes met his as we fought. Frodo was Valar knows where in the forest, and Merry, Pippin and Sam were left defenceless.

"The hobbits! We must go find them!"

"Aragorn! Daeriel!" Yelled Legolas in between arrow shots. "Go!"

Immediately, he swung around, impaling an Uruk with an arrow still nocked in his bow before shooting another with the same arrow.

Running after Aragorn, I paused and turned to Legolas.

"Stay safe," I called.

The blonde-haired elf responded with a nod, before turning back to fight the onslaught of Uruks.