Silverhelm: A Tale of Two Enemies

But Legolas, I Like Getting Myself Killed!

Night had fallen. Saruman's army was gathered around Helm's Deep. Legolas, Gimli, and I stood at the wall, looking over the vast expanse of filthy Uruks, carrying sputtering torches and banners bearing the White Hand. Behind us stood many Elves at attention.

"You could've picked a better spot," Gimli said, hopping up and down to see over the wall. Aragorn came up behind us."Well, the luck you live by, lassie, let's hope it lasts the night."

"Aragorn, Lyrasael, your friends are with you," Legolas said to us. Friends? If you insist...

"Let's hope they last the night," Gimli muttered. I walked back to the Elves. Walking along their ranks, I shouted,

"A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas! (Show them no mercy! For you will receive none!"

At the wall, Gimli whispered to Legolas, "What's going on out there?"

"Shall I describe it to you?" Legolas offered. "Or shall I find you a box?"

In front of us, the army came to a halt, well within the bowshot of even a Rohirrim archer. Fool of an Uruk. Overhead, thunder rumbled. Just as the army stopped, Manwe opened the skies and rain poured out, pinging off our armor.

"Ready arrows!" I shouted in Elvish. I heard a synchronized clanking as the Elves drew their arrows and nocked them as one, then a less synchronized clanking as Theoden gave the order to his archers. I did not give the order to shoot yet, but a Man released his arrow, killing an Uruk in the front line. The orc toppled forward, and all went silent. "Daro! (Hold!)" I commanded.

"Their armor is weak at the neck," Legolas said, bowstring to his ear. "And under the arms."

"Leitho i pilin! (release arrows!)" I gave the command.

"Anybody hit anything?" Gimli said, still not seeing over the wall. From the Keep, the King gave his own archers a command and the Rohirrim fired.

"Tangado a chadad! (Keep shooting!)" I ordered, sword held high.

The Uruk leader gave a command and the Uruks shot back, black arrows from their crude bows. An elf fell from the walls. Then, amidst the shooting, the Uruks brought forward ladders.

"Pendraid! (Ladders!)" The Elves shouldered their bows and drew out their long, curved swords. Legolas, who had (naturally) lost his sword, kept his bow out.

"Good!" Gimli eagerly.

As the first orcs cane over the parapets, we took them down, but some managed to get on the walls and occupy us. I spun through the orcs that came over, hacking and slashing.

"I love this quiver!" Legolas shouted from somewhere to my right. I had given him Galadriel's quiver since I wouldn't be using a bow for this battle. The quiver would just get in my way.

"Legolas!" Gimli exclaimed. "Two already!" I grunted, killing another two orcs.

"I'm on seventeen!" a triumphant Legolas shot back.

"Arggh!" Gimli cried. "I'll have no pointy ear outscoring me!"

"Nineteen!"

"Twenty-nine," I responded. "Thirty-one!" They'd have to work hard to outdo me.

Fighting through the orcs climbing over the wall, I made my way to the parapets and kicked a ladder over. It fell backward, dropping the orcs on it and crushing a section of the army. But more kept coming.

As this was happening, a battalion of orcs, with shields at their sides and over their heads, advanced over the causeway to the gate where Daelen's hooves had pounded not so long ago. Lorien's elves took potshots at them, working as a team: one would strike the shield, which would cause the orcs to stagger with impact. In that split-second opportunity, the other would shoot beyond.