With a secret mission to marry an elf, Wynne must join Legolas' and Elvenking Thranduil's new quest as a horsekeeper. She begins an adventurous journey, encountering orcs and monsters, friendly uruk-hai, a lady dwarf and many Fellowship heroes - but...
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~ A skirmish ensues and afterwards the elves find a new use for strong alcohol. ~
6. Fighting Orcs
Everything seemed to happen at once.
The elves moved so fast their limbs became blurred. Jumping off their horses they drew swords and slender daggers, fearlessly meeting the attackers.
Galion drove his two handed sword against an orc's shield with a metallic clang, hard enough to make him sink to his knees, and Thranduil let his two slimmer blades slice the air with a whining sound as he approached a second one on light feet.
The archer elves swiftly circled their enemies and punched them in vulnerable spots with their daggers.
Two orcs were forced to back away under Galion's onslaught and Legolas used the opening to run away a few yards where he could string and draw his bow. Soon arrow after arrow showered over the orc band.
The horses, now mostly riderless, took the opportunity to bolt.
Wynne was paralyzed with shock and fear and when Vatna fled she promptly fell off, right in the thick of the tumult. She was instantly surrounded by yelling orcs, agile elves and the ugly smell of blood.
In the confusion of trampling feet and weapons she lost all sense of direction. Curling herself into a ball, she tried to appear small and inconspicuous.
That was not a good strategy in the midst of battle. Almost immediately an agonizing pain erupted in her leg. She glimpsed a gruesome face with an arrow sticking out of its cheek and then the creature was on top of her. Blood from its wound darkened its thin lips when it bared a set of crooked teeth, preparing to bite.
Instinctively Wynne pulled away and kicked it in its wrinkled face. Its nose cracked with a sickening sound and she was sprayed with a fountain of hot blood.
The orc doggedly came back, raising its short sword to give her leg another jab, but she kicked again and again. At last it was gone.
She crawled away, slipping on blood and entrails, whimpering in fear, terrified she would be grabbed by orc claws again and get pulled back.
Then she realized everything had become strangely quiet.
Looking around in a daze, she saw dead orcs littering the ground, and among them the elves calmly cleaning their daggers and swords on the dry grass.
She couldn't believe it was over already. Where was the orc that had attacked her?
There. Right beside her, but only its limp body. Its head had rolled away with the arrow still sticking out.
Had she kicked its head off? No, that was impossible. One of the elves must have decapitated it without her noticing.
Galion came over and helped her stand. "Are you well?"
