Post by Galio on Dec 27, 2010 2:54:08 GMT -5
Micah (Kessen)
Theodred stood high on the walls of Helm's deep looking out at the darkness below him, staring with unseeing eyes into the valley below. This was the worst part. Not the battle, battles are panic and chaos and exhilaration all thrown together into hours that seem like minutes. Before the battle though, before the battle every second is a minute, every minute an hour, as if the Valor themselves slowed down time to make you think. So that perhaps some battles might be avoided, so that men might see reason in those long hours before a battle. But not tonight. Tonight madness and not reason would control this dark world and from that madness few would emerge.
Around Theodred stood the elves. Their faces high and fair as they, like him, stared into the night. Theodred had never seen elves before and he thought it a shame to be seeing them now, like this. Grave and somber and waiting he would have liked his first encounter with elves to be a happier occasion to be a dance and a song and a drink, but such is not the world.
As a member of Theoden's court (he had, after all, been named for Theoden's son) Theodred had been placed with the elves as a token of good will "Stoutest and swiftest of mine." Theoden had called him not that Theodred thought his "stoutness" or "swiftness" would do him much good. Elves were bowmen, Theodred only carried the familiar weight of his sword strapped to his back and a throwing axe at his hip. Like as not he would stand here until some Uruk archer put an arrow through his chest.
Horns blew at the rim of the valley. Cruel harsh horns. Horns that ran rank with the smell of death and madness. They were here. It had started.
Riley (Deagen)
Avelen clasped tighter to his bow. He clenched his teeth together so his face was ridged. Being only one hundred and twenty-one years of age, he was not as experienced in battle as his Lorien brothers and this running in the back of his mind inspired a lack of confidence. Also, he was already nearly spent due to the recent march from his homeland and now he stood before ten thousand fresh Uruk warriors to meet them in mortal combat. He asked himself, "Why do we help these men? Eternal paradise awaits us in the Grey Havens but we fly to the aid of this paltry race that is predestined to die in this cornered and supposed sanctuary!" Avelen was then jerked from his thoughts at the sound of a child’s cry. He turned from the great, coming hoard to see a little, crying girl. Overcome with fear, the girl could not contain her bawling.
Overcome with a sense of compassion, Avelen walked over to the little girl. He saw she was mature enough to comprehend the situation, so he asked her gently, "What are you afraid of, little one?" The girl looked up, still trembling and with tears in her eyes, but she withheld her cries. Avelen saw in her eyes that she wasn't in an analytical mood, so he added, "Is it those wicked creatures out there?" He pointed out into the darkness beyond the gate. "...well you need not fear them." The girl looked down again, and said in a small, quivering voice, "Mommy said if daddy was here, he'd protect us." Avelen quickly knelt down to the girl's level and whispered fiercely, "I will fight them here until all of them are gone away forever! I will protect you!" The girl lifted her eyes until they met Avelen's. She smiled a toothy smile, jumped to her feet, and hugged Avelen. Not being recently acquainted with these emotions, Avelen wrapped his arms around her and fought back tears of his own. At this moment, a battle horn sounded from the darkness. Avelen's eyes widened. He held the girl back and said, "Go back into the caves and hold to that courage!" She gave a fear-tainted smile and ran to the caves. Avelen then retook his position at the wall, courage strong and resolve renewed. He was now ready to fight.
Nick (Damien)
((Very well done! Enjoyed it thoroughly))
Berk leaned up against the wall grasping both of his knives tightly. Sweat was already lining his forehead. Berk prayed softly, crossed himself and pulled his hood up over his head. He was used to fighting, but not to war. By simply standing there... silently... he could hear his own heart beat as if it were one of the drums that were being pounded by the Uruks.
The horns sounded. For a second, Berk's heart felt as though it had completely stopped. No breathing. No beating. As if to wake himself up, Berk bounced up and down a few times and rolled his head around to loosen himself up a bit. He then sheathed his daggers, pulled his bow out, strung an arrow up and walked out onto the wall to begin the fight...
Micah
"And so... it begins."
Ork feet. Thousands of them. Iron shod and pounding the wet ground as they raced forward. Theodred's eyes widened at the fury of the orc host, than closed entirely. This truly was to be the end then.
"Ladders!" A cry rose from the Elven host. The Uruk-hai had come prepared. And still Theodred stood, eyes closed upon the battlements. Arrows flew and whizzed tiny messengers of death that foreshadowed the feast of slaughter that was to come. But Theodred remained unmoved.
There is a calm tranquility to finality. There we're no doubts or qualms or fears that ran through Theodred's heart in that moment. This was to be his death then? So be it. On this good earth, earth that his Father and Grandfather and great grandfather had owned Theodred's blood would be spilled, his end would be made. There was peace in that assurance, confidence in that knowledge and Theodred embraced it. And for one small moment amidst the yells and the screams and the cries of battle Theodred Horseman of the Mark was at peace.
A loud thud announced the arrival of the first ladder. At the same instant Theodred's eyes snapped open his hand drew his sword with a sharp metal on metal scrape. This night would be Theodred's last. He intended to make it worth the memory.
Riley
The select few elves who were stationed on the keep were instructed to hold their arrows until ordered to fire. Though only moments ago, Avelen was distressed at the fact that he was in this "select" group, he now could be distressed at nothing but the fact that he couldn't see what was happening down by the deeping wall. He heard his brother's warnings of ladders and battle roars from the Uruk host, then the cries of his elven brethren. There was little that kept him from leaping from his position to run to the rescue of his friends other than obeying his orders. No pains of war could contend with this internal torment.
"Nahr! Nahr!" The order to fire for Avelen's group of elves was given. His training, now instinct, commanded his every action. He began firing into the darkness, for surely there must be some unfortunate Uruk-Hai warrior longing for the chaos that was ensuing near the front; Avelen was willing to satiate this monster's lust. Then Avelen noticed brilliant, sparkling torches moving rapidly toward the wall. These were a great distance off, but Avelen christened them--targets--and began firing at them.
Nick
Berk winced as the nearby ladder landed. He looked up at Horseman standing nearby with his eyes closed. 'What the--?' he thought as he saw the orcish hand grasp the rung of the ladder that was just about the edge of the wall. As the orc screamed and lept forward, Berk dove forward and tackled the orc. Three quick stabs ended the horrific screeching of the orc. Turning, Berk ran to the horseman and gave him a good strong pat on the shoulder.
"You alright?"
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Kru'fan, the Uruk-hai had one task. Reach the explosives on the wall. That's all he had to do. One smart word to one of the taskmasters and now he has to just run in and blow hisself up. Dumb. Oh well. Might as well go out with a bang... Kru' chuckled to himself. Bang.
"Ha ha..."
He began his charge with as much vigor and rage as he could muster.
Micah
Theodred stood on the wall sword drawn as the scout raced past him deftly dispatching the first orc on the wall. The next leapt off the ladder and aimed a hard blow at Theodred's head. The warrior ducked letting the orcs momentum carry it past him. The Uruk stumbled recovered and then halted as Theodred's sword buried itself in his chest. Theodred drew the blade clear and with a heave pushed the ladder from the wall to where it crashed below than turned to the scout.
"Never better." He said in respond to the Scout. Then turned back to the walls, there was work to be done here.
Riley
Avelen sustained his barrage at the sparkling light far in the distance. He knew he had hit the torch bearer, but this distant light continued on regardless of how many times Avelen would hit it. He wondered if other orcs were picking it up and carrying it, or if he was merely injuring the bearer; Either way, it seemed to be important to the orcs to keep this torch moving toward the wall. After Avelen had fired his bow once more and caused the torch to fall for a fifth time, he grew very concerned as it rose and continued toward the wall again. Avelen whispered to himself, "Surely some underhandedness is awry."
Nick
Kru'fan cursed for the fifth time, and most definitely not under his breath. The fifth arrow had hit him right in the left foot. He continued on, dragging his aching foot towards the wall. That wall is mine. I am that wall. Must show them all who we are!
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Berk grinned at the Man of Rohan. 'Amateurs.'
Turning, Berk picked a fallen Elven archer's bow and arrows and began shooting out into the darkness.
Micah
Theodred turned from Orc to Orc his sword a stroke of white light as he waved it through the night. A roar behind him alerted him to an orc and a swift backstab brought the beast down to the earth. Theodred turned... just in time to see an ironclad fist racing towards his face. The impact of the blow was horrendous sending him back peddling towards the walls edge. He flailed his sword upward bringing it through the chin of the offending Uruk but his revenge brought him little comfort. Theodreds calves impacted with the wall and with a grunt the man of Rohan tumbled over the edge.
His impact was wet and the mud made a brave attempt to suffocate his already shocked lungs but Theodred rolled up and tried to ignore the dots in front of his eyes long enough to stand. An Uruk raced towards him sword raised high but through reflex more then skill Theodred buried his sword in the orcs chest. Another came, and another, and another. The night had just got darker.
Riley
Avelen could no longer contain himself; He knew he had to inform his captain of this far off light. Going against his own grain, he left his post and went to find his captain who was lower in the keep. Though he could not before see, due to the crenelation of a farther down wall, hundreds of torches were on the ramp marching up to the gate. He still knew he had to find his captain. A dark worry rose in the back of his mind; He sensed great peril on the deeping wall. Then 'round the walk-way, he saw his captain sitting against a wall of keep strait across from the front gate. He called over the din of the battle, "Captain Maylon!" Avelen's heart sank as he rushed to his captain who had trained him from childhood, only to find his lifeless corpse pierced through with an orc arrow. He had known Maylon his entire life; Avelen used to wear Maylon's armor as he followed him to drill everyday. That was when Avelen was only nine years of age.
Avelen embraced his older brother as great sobs rose within him. "Brace the gate!!" Cried a man of Rohan. This cry was followed by a great crash that came from the gate. This startled Avelen and caused his mind to snap back into the battle. He wanted action, and he wanted it now. He leaped to his feet and sprinted toward the threshold which lead to the deeping wall. The great roars and cries which he could not hear in such overwhelming volume from inside the keep, did neither frighten him nor inspire even a thought of hesitation, but rather fed the flame of his rage. As he ran down the stairs, he strapped his bow to his back, and unsheathed his sword. His wrath had been incited, and his body was piloted by vengeance itself.
Nick
Berk kicked back up onto his feet after taking a good, solid kick to the chest by an Uruk Soldier. Side-stepping the pike, he slid his right dagger directly into the Uruk's throat, ending the momentary duel.
"Behind you!" a nearby soldier shouted at Berk.
Spinning as fast as he possibly could, Berk found an Uruk sword swinging right as his legs. Berk leaped up and landed on the Uruk's head, bringing him swiftly to the ground, unconscious. Berk made sure he'd never awake by removing his head from his body.
Looking down below the deeping wall, Berk saw the soldier he had met earlier, swinging wildly and taking out Uruks right and left. Determined to help his new friend as much as possible, Berk began fighting his way down the stairs to try to aid his friend. Three Uruks lost their lunch, and various other necessary organs, as Berk eventually reached his friend.
"You usually fight alone?" Berk attempted some sort of humor during this incredibly dark and dreary night. He lodged one of his daggers in a nearby uruk, then lost the other one in a heap of three uruks that were just slain by the soldier of Rohan. A raging, yelling uruk created the need for a weapon and Berk began searching for any sharp object nearby. The uruk landed a strong kick into Berk's face, laying him flat out on the ground. Berk rolled over and watched, almost in slow motion, as the uruk raised his weapon for the final blow...
((Save me? lol))
Micah
"When your fighting an army you never engage a single soldier" Theodred's uncle had taught him. Theodred hadn't really understood what that meant then. He got it now. The minute you stopped moving in a fight like this you were dead. You fought everyone, you parried or dodged and attacked only when you had the time. You never engaged an orc you swung or he swung and then you moved. Orc bodies we're piling around him as he fought but he never stayed in one place long enough to notice. He parried and stabbed, dodged and lunged, spun and attacked, he never stopped. The scout from the wall reappeared to his right. Brave man, he thought shaking his head. The scout held his own but fell under an orc blow and lay on the ground stunned. Theodred rolled forward and buried his sword in an orc gut and on one knee turned to face the scout. In one motion his hand whipped up drew his ax and launched it. The blade whirled through the air and with practiced precision buried itself in the orcs chest.
"You always fight without a blade?" He shouted at the scout as the Uruk fell to the ground. Theodred turned just in time to grab his sword and parry another blow and then was off again. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a large group of torches gathering at the causeway. Time to start moving with purpose.
Riley
With tears of immortal pain rushing down his cheeks, Avelen rushed down the stairs to vent his hopeless fury on the first unfortunate orc that happened to make it passed the wall guards. To his dismay, none had. His brother would yet be avenged with the blood of many an Uruk. He ran farther to see that this whole section of the wall was a perfect void of orcs. Apparently his Lorien friends had been standing their ground quite well. He looked down the wall and saw blackness; He looked over the wall and saw torches laying all around two men fighting with desperate vigor. He quickly sheathed his sword and pulled out his bow again. He then began killing every orc that came into the light of the torches in an effort to assist these two unfortunate, but gallant souls.
After consistently firing for over two minutes, which seemed like mere seconds to Avelen, he noticed scores of orange lights in the sky moving towards the fort. They then came down upon the deeping wall and burnt everything they came in contact with. Screams rose up from the distant flames. Avelen could see profiles of men backed by these flames. The men seemed to be making a futile attempt to run back to the keep. A mighty herald called from the keep, "More incoming! Fall back! Fall back to the keep!" Avelen was reluctant to comply, for he wanted to continue helping the two men on the ground. Eventually, however, he ran back into the keep, but not to his former post; Avelen turned to the gate. Justice had not yet been done. He walked over to Maylon's body, which was unmoved, and reverently drew his brother's elegant sword. Now wielding two elven blades, he stood before his brother and the gate fearless, and impatient. Avelen spoke to himself, "Bring your fury, beasts; Your wages are yet to be paid."
Nick
"Only when I get bored..." Berk attempted a chuckle. He stood, found his daggers and continued to fight. After a few seconds of more fighting he looked over at the Warrior of Rohan and said, in an almost embarrassing fashion...
"Thanks."
Then the fire came. Berk yelled to the Warrior...
"Back to the keep!"
Slicing two more orcs' chests, Berk began to back up the stairs towards the keep.
"You coming?!" Berk yelled. As he just finished the word, a huge sphere of flaming fury hit the wall not more than ten feet away from him. Two shards of the rock flew off and slammed themselves against Berk. One to the head and one embedded itself into Berk's left leg.
Suddenly everything went black.
Berk's unconscious body slid down a few stairs then stopped... motionless.
Micah
The explosion rocked Theodred from his feet. Chunks of wall spun in every direction. Black dots swarmed in front of his eyes as he came to a rude collision with the ground. Through a dark tunnel he saw the world around him erupt into chaos. The scout lay motionless to his left, an Uruk warrior bore down on him with it's sword raised, and Theodred came to the groggy realization that his own sword had been lost in the explosion. The orc got closer... desperately he searched the earth around him as his senses slowly gathered. The orc stood poised to strike... with a sudden upward motion Theodred heaved one of the scouts fallen daggers from the earth and from his knees buried it in the Uruks chest. The beast let out a grunt and fell away just as one of it's brethren reached the fallen scout and raised it's sword high for a killing blow. The dagger shot from Theodred's hand and buried itself in the back of the Orcs neck. With a heave the Warrior was on his feet again and scooping up the Uruks sword knelt next to the scouts body. There was no time to feel for a pulse... With one decisive motion Theodred hauled the Scouts limp form onto one of his shoulders. The man was light enough and even with a nights worth of battle Theodred didn't doubt his ability to carry the man. The questions that now arose we're where exactly was he going to go? And when he got there would the Scout be alive.
Riley
Avelen began sweating in anticipation of blood. He wanted the enemy to breach the gate; He wanted chaos to ensue, and for his rage to exact its outlet. Avelen's eyes widened as he realized what he was actually thinking. These emotions reflected neither honor, nor decency. He decided to calm himself. He layed his own sword against the wall and sheathed his brother's. He then knelt and closed his eyes in an attempt to settle the raging fire of his malice. Now, he wished the besiegers would take their time while he took his. But now he was calm in his heart and of a sober mind. Everything began to become clear; He stood and unstrapped his bow.
Habe still lay frozen in fear in the cold, wet grass. Unable to overcome his cowardice, he had lain in the tall weeds behind the deeping wall for the entirety of the battle. Most of the Uruk-Hai had never come within even thirty feet of him. He clung to his sword and cried in his shame. "How could they ask this of me?" he moaned to himself, "I'm not a warrior; I'm just a farm boy! It isn't fair!" Weeping, he dropped his head back down into the grass whispered to himself, "None of this should've happened." Though still trembling in fear, and completely soaked, he followed through with what he had dared himself to do countless times throughout the rage of the battle; He stood up.
Nick
((I'm going to keep Berk unconscious whilst being carried by Theodred)).
Kru'fan limped along, cursing and muttering under his breath. It would be his luck to, as he's charging towards the wall with flaming torch in hand, trip and fall flat on his face, pushing the four or five arrows that were already lodged in his body deeper in. Much cursing and beating the ground ensued after that. His torch was out. Kru'fan rose back up again and grabbed a nearby sword. Furious from the embarrassment, Kru'fan climbed the wall and looked for the closest human or elf that he could destroy.
Seeing most of them retreat discouraged Kru'fan, but he looked to his left and saw one lonely human stand up. Kru'fan smiled.
Micah
Theodred's back gave a constant throbbing pain as he carried the scout through the muck that formed below the wall. For now the Orcs we're too busy rushing towards the causeway to notice the two Rohirram but it wouldn't be long before they were spotted. Rain poured onto Theodred as his mind raced. It was suicide pure and simple, he should just put the body down and... lightning struck briefly illuminating the wall above him... and outlining the door. A secret door built into the sidewall of the deep, smoothed and well blended Theodred had forgotten about the doors existence until that moment. Theodred had come to the deep as a child often and had seen the door many times a trigger hidden within the wall would open the door and if he could sneak inside... it was a long shot to be sure... a climb up slippery rocks in the dark wouldn't be easy put simply it was a bad plan. But bad plans are better than no plan at all. Slowly Theodred moved towards the wall.
Riley
It sounded like the orcs dropped the battering ram several times on the others side of the gate. While trying to imagine what could be transpiring out there, Avelen's elven intuition was triggered. It was as though someone said in his mind, "Someone needs help. Go!" So Avelen left the men of Rohan to defend the gate to look over the wall. He sprinted up the stairs next to the gate and looked over the outermost wall of the keep. Nothing but blackness, save for the scattered torches on the field and the high concentration of them on the causeway. Just as Avelen looked down the wall, a fiery projectile from a catapult smashed into the ground about forty feet short of the wall right in front of him. The small explosion illuminated the to men Avelen had seen before on the ground. His heart leaped at the thought that they were still alive, but he wasn't sure what to do. He wondered why one was carrying the other and also why they were walking directly towards the highest part of the wall of the entire fort. Avelen assumed that the carrier had a plan, and Avelen would watch him until he understood.
Habe regretted ever standing. "You fool! You fool! You fool! Why would you stand?! It was almost over! This thing is going to kill you for sure!" he screamed in his mind. This great Uruk warrior seemed to have about five arrows sticking out of him in all directions. He was the only orc in sight on the wall and was looking in Habe's direction. Habe predicted this orc was not going to kill him in any sort of merciful fashion, so he broke into a sprint toward the keep. He was farther from the keep than the Uruk was, but he hoped he'd be able to outrun it due to its injury. Somehow, it frightened Habe even more that the Uruk only watched him run. "Oh, he's going to start running for the door any second!" Habe cried inside. The Uruk still stood on the wall, a mighty, glaring sentry.
Nick
Kru'fan continued smiling until he realized that the stupid human was running for cover. Poor fool was running away from him! 'Hah.'
Kru'fan broke into a dead sprint, full-force towards the human...
He gained on him...
Continued gaining on him until he was practically upon him...
Then the arrows decided to kick in and they actually hurt pretty terribly. Kru'fan fell under the pain of them and let out a loud moan of pain which was quickly muffled by the muddy ground into which his face slammed. Many words which are not appropriate for anyone's ears, let alone children, were uttered and thought by the Uruk at this time. As fast as he could he rose to continue his pursuit...
((Where in the world are we? Are we catching up to where Theodred and Berk are? That'd be kinda fun))
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Slowly blinking out the throbbing pain of his head, Berk realized that he was upside down... being carried. 'URUKS!' he thought and began wriggling and writhing to get free as best as he could with his slightly delirious state...
Micah
Theodred finally reached the shadows of the wall and managed to make it to the start of the rocks. Now for the hard part, there were some handholds and footholds on the wall but scaling it with a passenger while worrying about being shot or stabbed would be... difficult. He raised one hand to begin his climb when the scout started struggling. Well at least he's alive. Theodred thought. He gently, or at least as gently as possible, laid the scout down in the shadow of the wall. "Easy friend." He whispered. "You are still outside the walls. Can you walk?"
Riley
Avelen watched as the man of Rohan seemed to observe the side of the wall and then set down his friend. "There must be a secret entrance!" Avelen said to himself. He turned and half ran-half slid down the steps down to the gate. The gate seemed to be holding for now so Avelen decided to go find the access to this door. He ran past his old post, which was now reinforced with archers from the deeping wall, and into the door leading to the caves. He found a clandestine entrance to the side leading back to the keep, but underground. As he ran down small corridors, he wondered what the builders of this stronghold were thinking. He came to what seemed to be a dead end. "It must be a door." he thought. He rapidly felt around for keystones that may trigger this door to open. Suddenly, to his surprise, he found it. He shoved a stone back until it clicked, and the door swung quickly inward and nearly crushed him. He avoided this mischief and stepped up to the edge. There was about a twenty foot drop, and as Avelen looked out, he could see the two men, one crouching over the other. He softly to them as to not draw unwanted attention, but they couldn't hear him. As he looked for a rock to throw at them, he noticed at least twelve orcs running nearby. They might run by without noticing, but they would pass by very near the two men. Avelen rushed back a few feet and doused the wall-torch that he figured he should've doused before even opening the door. He came back to the opening with bow ready and shot the last orc in the line square in the head. The goal was to eliminate all the orcs before they reached the two men. Avelen thought as he was firing, "These men owe me many drinks."
While all this was happening, Habe ran for his life and screamed wildly in an unashamed panic, as this giant Uruk kept charging, falling, getting up again, and cursing all the while. The Uruk hadn't fallen in about five seconds, so it couldn't have been two feet behind Habe. He made a quick right turn, in an attempt to avoid a killing blow, but missed the stairway leading into the keep. It was a very good thing that he took this turn, for the warrior had come with a downward swing of his sword and struck the stairs. Unfortunately for the Uruk, his sword met the second stair and due to the monster's great momentum, it jabbed him in the stomach, pole vaulted him head over heals, and onto his back. He stopped moving upside down on the stairs. This turn of events caused all the arrows that had been pushed through his chest, to now be pushed back out. As Habe was sprinting toward the deeping wall, he heard the most ferocious roar he had ever imagined coming from behind. As he ran up the stairs of the wall he said frantically, "Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!" Several Uruks were on the wall between him and the keep, so Habe climbed down one of the ladders leading in front of the wall. As he climbed down the ladder he asked himself frantically, "Where are you going? Where are you going? Where are you going? I'm insane!!" He got to the bottom of the ladder and barely any orcs were around. They were all about two hundred yards back from the wall, just standing. Habe thought this strange, but more importantly, terrifying. He started running to some rocks over by the keep, and an explosion, much larger than any he had heard this, came from the middle of the deeping wall. The explosion sent Habe more than fifteen feet through the air and pelted him with rocks of all sizes.
Nick
Berk swiftly drew his dagger and held it to the soldier's neck in front of him. Then his mind was flooded with the recent memories of this soldier's face and the fights that they had just been in together... He shook his head and apologized.
"Sorry... not quite myself yet."
Berk tried to move his legs... but they were both numb. His left arm suddenly began panging with pain which caused him to moan which, even though muffled by his closed mouth, still created a bit of noise. Berk whispered to the soldier.
"Can't feel my legs. My arm... oh my arm. It's hurt real bad. Go ahead without me. I'll manage."
Berk attempted to begin tending to his arm when he heard the nearby orcs approaching rapidly. He drew his dagger in his good arm and attempted to push the soldier a little bit...
"Go on! I'll handle these guys..."
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Kru'fan was mad. So mad. What luck to get shot about eight times, then fall on his own sword! 'Where did that little--' Kru'fan got up and roared as loud as he could... Then saw his fellow Uruks nearby. A couple of them were looking at him, wondering why he wasn't dead yet. They all knew he was supposed to be a torch bearer. Enraged at his situation, Kru'fan picked up his sword and began charging up the stairs and along the wall away from the keep. He figured, which was the first wrong step, that the stupid little human would have been a coward and run away from the keep, so he took off along the wall in the wrong direction. He noticed... after a few seconds, that he was all alone on the wall... and that something was quickly approaching the wall in the air. Looking up he saw the flaming boulder of something flying towards him.
There was one word... and it was not a word that is repeatable...
Then Kru'fan was no more.
Theodred stood high on the walls of Helm's deep looking out at the darkness below him, staring with unseeing eyes into the valley below. This was the worst part. Not the battle, battles are panic and chaos and exhilaration all thrown together into hours that seem like minutes. Before the battle though, before the battle every second is a minute, every minute an hour, as if the Valor themselves slowed down time to make you think. So that perhaps some battles might be avoided, so that men might see reason in those long hours before a battle. But not tonight. Tonight madness and not reason would control this dark world and from that madness few would emerge.
Around Theodred stood the elves. Their faces high and fair as they, like him, stared into the night. Theodred had never seen elves before and he thought it a shame to be seeing them now, like this. Grave and somber and waiting he would have liked his first encounter with elves to be a happier occasion to be a dance and a song and a drink, but such is not the world.
As a member of Theoden's court (he had, after all, been named for Theoden's son) Theodred had been placed with the elves as a token of good will "Stoutest and swiftest of mine." Theoden had called him not that Theodred thought his "stoutness" or "swiftness" would do him much good. Elves were bowmen, Theodred only carried the familiar weight of his sword strapped to his back and a throwing axe at his hip. Like as not he would stand here until some Uruk archer put an arrow through his chest.
Horns blew at the rim of the valley. Cruel harsh horns. Horns that ran rank with the smell of death and madness. They were here. It had started.
Riley (Deagen)
Avelen clasped tighter to his bow. He clenched his teeth together so his face was ridged. Being only one hundred and twenty-one years of age, he was not as experienced in battle as his Lorien brothers and this running in the back of his mind inspired a lack of confidence. Also, he was already nearly spent due to the recent march from his homeland and now he stood before ten thousand fresh Uruk warriors to meet them in mortal combat. He asked himself, "Why do we help these men? Eternal paradise awaits us in the Grey Havens but we fly to the aid of this paltry race that is predestined to die in this cornered and supposed sanctuary!" Avelen was then jerked from his thoughts at the sound of a child’s cry. He turned from the great, coming hoard to see a little, crying girl. Overcome with fear, the girl could not contain her bawling.
Overcome with a sense of compassion, Avelen walked over to the little girl. He saw she was mature enough to comprehend the situation, so he asked her gently, "What are you afraid of, little one?" The girl looked up, still trembling and with tears in her eyes, but she withheld her cries. Avelen saw in her eyes that she wasn't in an analytical mood, so he added, "Is it those wicked creatures out there?" He pointed out into the darkness beyond the gate. "...well you need not fear them." The girl looked down again, and said in a small, quivering voice, "Mommy said if daddy was here, he'd protect us." Avelen quickly knelt down to the girl's level and whispered fiercely, "I will fight them here until all of them are gone away forever! I will protect you!" The girl lifted her eyes until they met Avelen's. She smiled a toothy smile, jumped to her feet, and hugged Avelen. Not being recently acquainted with these emotions, Avelen wrapped his arms around her and fought back tears of his own. At this moment, a battle horn sounded from the darkness. Avelen's eyes widened. He held the girl back and said, "Go back into the caves and hold to that courage!" She gave a fear-tainted smile and ran to the caves. Avelen then retook his position at the wall, courage strong and resolve renewed. He was now ready to fight.
Nick (Damien)
((Very well done! Enjoyed it thoroughly))
Berk leaned up against the wall grasping both of his knives tightly. Sweat was already lining his forehead. Berk prayed softly, crossed himself and pulled his hood up over his head. He was used to fighting, but not to war. By simply standing there... silently... he could hear his own heart beat as if it were one of the drums that were being pounded by the Uruks.
The horns sounded. For a second, Berk's heart felt as though it had completely stopped. No breathing. No beating. As if to wake himself up, Berk bounced up and down a few times and rolled his head around to loosen himself up a bit. He then sheathed his daggers, pulled his bow out, strung an arrow up and walked out onto the wall to begin the fight...
Micah
"And so... it begins."
Ork feet. Thousands of them. Iron shod and pounding the wet ground as they raced forward. Theodred's eyes widened at the fury of the orc host, than closed entirely. This truly was to be the end then.
"Ladders!" A cry rose from the Elven host. The Uruk-hai had come prepared. And still Theodred stood, eyes closed upon the battlements. Arrows flew and whizzed tiny messengers of death that foreshadowed the feast of slaughter that was to come. But Theodred remained unmoved.
There is a calm tranquility to finality. There we're no doubts or qualms or fears that ran through Theodred's heart in that moment. This was to be his death then? So be it. On this good earth, earth that his Father and Grandfather and great grandfather had owned Theodred's blood would be spilled, his end would be made. There was peace in that assurance, confidence in that knowledge and Theodred embraced it. And for one small moment amidst the yells and the screams and the cries of battle Theodred Horseman of the Mark was at peace.
A loud thud announced the arrival of the first ladder. At the same instant Theodred's eyes snapped open his hand drew his sword with a sharp metal on metal scrape. This night would be Theodred's last. He intended to make it worth the memory.
Riley
The select few elves who were stationed on the keep were instructed to hold their arrows until ordered to fire. Though only moments ago, Avelen was distressed at the fact that he was in this "select" group, he now could be distressed at nothing but the fact that he couldn't see what was happening down by the deeping wall. He heard his brother's warnings of ladders and battle roars from the Uruk host, then the cries of his elven brethren. There was little that kept him from leaping from his position to run to the rescue of his friends other than obeying his orders. No pains of war could contend with this internal torment.
"Nahr! Nahr!" The order to fire for Avelen's group of elves was given. His training, now instinct, commanded his every action. He began firing into the darkness, for surely there must be some unfortunate Uruk-Hai warrior longing for the chaos that was ensuing near the front; Avelen was willing to satiate this monster's lust. Then Avelen noticed brilliant, sparkling torches moving rapidly toward the wall. These were a great distance off, but Avelen christened them--targets--and began firing at them.
Nick
Berk winced as the nearby ladder landed. He looked up at Horseman standing nearby with his eyes closed. 'What the--?' he thought as he saw the orcish hand grasp the rung of the ladder that was just about the edge of the wall. As the orc screamed and lept forward, Berk dove forward and tackled the orc. Three quick stabs ended the horrific screeching of the orc. Turning, Berk ran to the horseman and gave him a good strong pat on the shoulder.
"You alright?"
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Kru'fan, the Uruk-hai had one task. Reach the explosives on the wall. That's all he had to do. One smart word to one of the taskmasters and now he has to just run in and blow hisself up. Dumb. Oh well. Might as well go out with a bang... Kru' chuckled to himself. Bang.
"Ha ha..."
He began his charge with as much vigor and rage as he could muster.
Micah
Theodred stood on the wall sword drawn as the scout raced past him deftly dispatching the first orc on the wall. The next leapt off the ladder and aimed a hard blow at Theodred's head. The warrior ducked letting the orcs momentum carry it past him. The Uruk stumbled recovered and then halted as Theodred's sword buried itself in his chest. Theodred drew the blade clear and with a heave pushed the ladder from the wall to where it crashed below than turned to the scout.
"Never better." He said in respond to the Scout. Then turned back to the walls, there was work to be done here.
Riley
Avelen sustained his barrage at the sparkling light far in the distance. He knew he had hit the torch bearer, but this distant light continued on regardless of how many times Avelen would hit it. He wondered if other orcs were picking it up and carrying it, or if he was merely injuring the bearer; Either way, it seemed to be important to the orcs to keep this torch moving toward the wall. After Avelen had fired his bow once more and caused the torch to fall for a fifth time, he grew very concerned as it rose and continued toward the wall again. Avelen whispered to himself, "Surely some underhandedness is awry."
Nick
Kru'fan cursed for the fifth time, and most definitely not under his breath. The fifth arrow had hit him right in the left foot. He continued on, dragging his aching foot towards the wall. That wall is mine. I am that wall. Must show them all who we are!
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Berk grinned at the Man of Rohan. 'Amateurs.'
Turning, Berk picked a fallen Elven archer's bow and arrows and began shooting out into the darkness.
Micah
Theodred turned from Orc to Orc his sword a stroke of white light as he waved it through the night. A roar behind him alerted him to an orc and a swift backstab brought the beast down to the earth. Theodred turned... just in time to see an ironclad fist racing towards his face. The impact of the blow was horrendous sending him back peddling towards the walls edge. He flailed his sword upward bringing it through the chin of the offending Uruk but his revenge brought him little comfort. Theodreds calves impacted with the wall and with a grunt the man of Rohan tumbled over the edge.
His impact was wet and the mud made a brave attempt to suffocate his already shocked lungs but Theodred rolled up and tried to ignore the dots in front of his eyes long enough to stand. An Uruk raced towards him sword raised high but through reflex more then skill Theodred buried his sword in the orcs chest. Another came, and another, and another. The night had just got darker.
Riley
Avelen could no longer contain himself; He knew he had to inform his captain of this far off light. Going against his own grain, he left his post and went to find his captain who was lower in the keep. Though he could not before see, due to the crenelation of a farther down wall, hundreds of torches were on the ramp marching up to the gate. He still knew he had to find his captain. A dark worry rose in the back of his mind; He sensed great peril on the deeping wall. Then 'round the walk-way, he saw his captain sitting against a wall of keep strait across from the front gate. He called over the din of the battle, "Captain Maylon!" Avelen's heart sank as he rushed to his captain who had trained him from childhood, only to find his lifeless corpse pierced through with an orc arrow. He had known Maylon his entire life; Avelen used to wear Maylon's armor as he followed him to drill everyday. That was when Avelen was only nine years of age.
Avelen embraced his older brother as great sobs rose within him. "Brace the gate!!" Cried a man of Rohan. This cry was followed by a great crash that came from the gate. This startled Avelen and caused his mind to snap back into the battle. He wanted action, and he wanted it now. He leaped to his feet and sprinted toward the threshold which lead to the deeping wall. The great roars and cries which he could not hear in such overwhelming volume from inside the keep, did neither frighten him nor inspire even a thought of hesitation, but rather fed the flame of his rage. As he ran down the stairs, he strapped his bow to his back, and unsheathed his sword. His wrath had been incited, and his body was piloted by vengeance itself.
Nick
Berk kicked back up onto his feet after taking a good, solid kick to the chest by an Uruk Soldier. Side-stepping the pike, he slid his right dagger directly into the Uruk's throat, ending the momentary duel.
"Behind you!" a nearby soldier shouted at Berk.
Spinning as fast as he possibly could, Berk found an Uruk sword swinging right as his legs. Berk leaped up and landed on the Uruk's head, bringing him swiftly to the ground, unconscious. Berk made sure he'd never awake by removing his head from his body.
Looking down below the deeping wall, Berk saw the soldier he had met earlier, swinging wildly and taking out Uruks right and left. Determined to help his new friend as much as possible, Berk began fighting his way down the stairs to try to aid his friend. Three Uruks lost their lunch, and various other necessary organs, as Berk eventually reached his friend.
"You usually fight alone?" Berk attempted some sort of humor during this incredibly dark and dreary night. He lodged one of his daggers in a nearby uruk, then lost the other one in a heap of three uruks that were just slain by the soldier of Rohan. A raging, yelling uruk created the need for a weapon and Berk began searching for any sharp object nearby. The uruk landed a strong kick into Berk's face, laying him flat out on the ground. Berk rolled over and watched, almost in slow motion, as the uruk raised his weapon for the final blow...
((Save me? lol))
Micah
"When your fighting an army you never engage a single soldier" Theodred's uncle had taught him. Theodred hadn't really understood what that meant then. He got it now. The minute you stopped moving in a fight like this you were dead. You fought everyone, you parried or dodged and attacked only when you had the time. You never engaged an orc you swung or he swung and then you moved. Orc bodies we're piling around him as he fought but he never stayed in one place long enough to notice. He parried and stabbed, dodged and lunged, spun and attacked, he never stopped. The scout from the wall reappeared to his right. Brave man, he thought shaking his head. The scout held his own but fell under an orc blow and lay on the ground stunned. Theodred rolled forward and buried his sword in an orc gut and on one knee turned to face the scout. In one motion his hand whipped up drew his ax and launched it. The blade whirled through the air and with practiced precision buried itself in the orcs chest.
"You always fight without a blade?" He shouted at the scout as the Uruk fell to the ground. Theodred turned just in time to grab his sword and parry another blow and then was off again. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a large group of torches gathering at the causeway. Time to start moving with purpose.
Riley
With tears of immortal pain rushing down his cheeks, Avelen rushed down the stairs to vent his hopeless fury on the first unfortunate orc that happened to make it passed the wall guards. To his dismay, none had. His brother would yet be avenged with the blood of many an Uruk. He ran farther to see that this whole section of the wall was a perfect void of orcs. Apparently his Lorien friends had been standing their ground quite well. He looked down the wall and saw blackness; He looked over the wall and saw torches laying all around two men fighting with desperate vigor. He quickly sheathed his sword and pulled out his bow again. He then began killing every orc that came into the light of the torches in an effort to assist these two unfortunate, but gallant souls.
After consistently firing for over two minutes, which seemed like mere seconds to Avelen, he noticed scores of orange lights in the sky moving towards the fort. They then came down upon the deeping wall and burnt everything they came in contact with. Screams rose up from the distant flames. Avelen could see profiles of men backed by these flames. The men seemed to be making a futile attempt to run back to the keep. A mighty herald called from the keep, "More incoming! Fall back! Fall back to the keep!" Avelen was reluctant to comply, for he wanted to continue helping the two men on the ground. Eventually, however, he ran back into the keep, but not to his former post; Avelen turned to the gate. Justice had not yet been done. He walked over to Maylon's body, which was unmoved, and reverently drew his brother's elegant sword. Now wielding two elven blades, he stood before his brother and the gate fearless, and impatient. Avelen spoke to himself, "Bring your fury, beasts; Your wages are yet to be paid."
Nick
"Only when I get bored..." Berk attempted a chuckle. He stood, found his daggers and continued to fight. After a few seconds of more fighting he looked over at the Warrior of Rohan and said, in an almost embarrassing fashion...
"Thanks."
Then the fire came. Berk yelled to the Warrior...
"Back to the keep!"
Slicing two more orcs' chests, Berk began to back up the stairs towards the keep.
"You coming?!" Berk yelled. As he just finished the word, a huge sphere of flaming fury hit the wall not more than ten feet away from him. Two shards of the rock flew off and slammed themselves against Berk. One to the head and one embedded itself into Berk's left leg.
Suddenly everything went black.
Berk's unconscious body slid down a few stairs then stopped... motionless.
Micah
The explosion rocked Theodred from his feet. Chunks of wall spun in every direction. Black dots swarmed in front of his eyes as he came to a rude collision with the ground. Through a dark tunnel he saw the world around him erupt into chaos. The scout lay motionless to his left, an Uruk warrior bore down on him with it's sword raised, and Theodred came to the groggy realization that his own sword had been lost in the explosion. The orc got closer... desperately he searched the earth around him as his senses slowly gathered. The orc stood poised to strike... with a sudden upward motion Theodred heaved one of the scouts fallen daggers from the earth and from his knees buried it in the Uruks chest. The beast let out a grunt and fell away just as one of it's brethren reached the fallen scout and raised it's sword high for a killing blow. The dagger shot from Theodred's hand and buried itself in the back of the Orcs neck. With a heave the Warrior was on his feet again and scooping up the Uruks sword knelt next to the scouts body. There was no time to feel for a pulse... With one decisive motion Theodred hauled the Scouts limp form onto one of his shoulders. The man was light enough and even with a nights worth of battle Theodred didn't doubt his ability to carry the man. The questions that now arose we're where exactly was he going to go? And when he got there would the Scout be alive.
Riley
Avelen began sweating in anticipation of blood. He wanted the enemy to breach the gate; He wanted chaos to ensue, and for his rage to exact its outlet. Avelen's eyes widened as he realized what he was actually thinking. These emotions reflected neither honor, nor decency. He decided to calm himself. He layed his own sword against the wall and sheathed his brother's. He then knelt and closed his eyes in an attempt to settle the raging fire of his malice. Now, he wished the besiegers would take their time while he took his. But now he was calm in his heart and of a sober mind. Everything began to become clear; He stood and unstrapped his bow.
Habe still lay frozen in fear in the cold, wet grass. Unable to overcome his cowardice, he had lain in the tall weeds behind the deeping wall for the entirety of the battle. Most of the Uruk-Hai had never come within even thirty feet of him. He clung to his sword and cried in his shame. "How could they ask this of me?" he moaned to himself, "I'm not a warrior; I'm just a farm boy! It isn't fair!" Weeping, he dropped his head back down into the grass whispered to himself, "None of this should've happened." Though still trembling in fear, and completely soaked, he followed through with what he had dared himself to do countless times throughout the rage of the battle; He stood up.
Nick
((I'm going to keep Berk unconscious whilst being carried by Theodred)).
Kru'fan limped along, cursing and muttering under his breath. It would be his luck to, as he's charging towards the wall with flaming torch in hand, trip and fall flat on his face, pushing the four or five arrows that were already lodged in his body deeper in. Much cursing and beating the ground ensued after that. His torch was out. Kru'fan rose back up again and grabbed a nearby sword. Furious from the embarrassment, Kru'fan climbed the wall and looked for the closest human or elf that he could destroy.
Seeing most of them retreat discouraged Kru'fan, but he looked to his left and saw one lonely human stand up. Kru'fan smiled.
Micah
Theodred's back gave a constant throbbing pain as he carried the scout through the muck that formed below the wall. For now the Orcs we're too busy rushing towards the causeway to notice the two Rohirram but it wouldn't be long before they were spotted. Rain poured onto Theodred as his mind raced. It was suicide pure and simple, he should just put the body down and... lightning struck briefly illuminating the wall above him... and outlining the door. A secret door built into the sidewall of the deep, smoothed and well blended Theodred had forgotten about the doors existence until that moment. Theodred had come to the deep as a child often and had seen the door many times a trigger hidden within the wall would open the door and if he could sneak inside... it was a long shot to be sure... a climb up slippery rocks in the dark wouldn't be easy put simply it was a bad plan. But bad plans are better than no plan at all. Slowly Theodred moved towards the wall.
Riley
It sounded like the orcs dropped the battering ram several times on the others side of the gate. While trying to imagine what could be transpiring out there, Avelen's elven intuition was triggered. It was as though someone said in his mind, "Someone needs help. Go!" So Avelen left the men of Rohan to defend the gate to look over the wall. He sprinted up the stairs next to the gate and looked over the outermost wall of the keep. Nothing but blackness, save for the scattered torches on the field and the high concentration of them on the causeway. Just as Avelen looked down the wall, a fiery projectile from a catapult smashed into the ground about forty feet short of the wall right in front of him. The small explosion illuminated the to men Avelen had seen before on the ground. His heart leaped at the thought that they were still alive, but he wasn't sure what to do. He wondered why one was carrying the other and also why they were walking directly towards the highest part of the wall of the entire fort. Avelen assumed that the carrier had a plan, and Avelen would watch him until he understood.
Habe regretted ever standing. "You fool! You fool! You fool! Why would you stand?! It was almost over! This thing is going to kill you for sure!" he screamed in his mind. This great Uruk warrior seemed to have about five arrows sticking out of him in all directions. He was the only orc in sight on the wall and was looking in Habe's direction. Habe predicted this orc was not going to kill him in any sort of merciful fashion, so he broke into a sprint toward the keep. He was farther from the keep than the Uruk was, but he hoped he'd be able to outrun it due to its injury. Somehow, it frightened Habe even more that the Uruk only watched him run. "Oh, he's going to start running for the door any second!" Habe cried inside. The Uruk still stood on the wall, a mighty, glaring sentry.
Nick
Kru'fan continued smiling until he realized that the stupid human was running for cover. Poor fool was running away from him! 'Hah.'
Kru'fan broke into a dead sprint, full-force towards the human...
He gained on him...
Continued gaining on him until he was practically upon him...
Then the arrows decided to kick in and they actually hurt pretty terribly. Kru'fan fell under the pain of them and let out a loud moan of pain which was quickly muffled by the muddy ground into which his face slammed. Many words which are not appropriate for anyone's ears, let alone children, were uttered and thought by the Uruk at this time. As fast as he could he rose to continue his pursuit...
((Where in the world are we? Are we catching up to where Theodred and Berk are? That'd be kinda fun))
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Slowly blinking out the throbbing pain of his head, Berk realized that he was upside down... being carried. 'URUKS!' he thought and began wriggling and writhing to get free as best as he could with his slightly delirious state...
Micah
Theodred finally reached the shadows of the wall and managed to make it to the start of the rocks. Now for the hard part, there were some handholds and footholds on the wall but scaling it with a passenger while worrying about being shot or stabbed would be... difficult. He raised one hand to begin his climb when the scout started struggling. Well at least he's alive. Theodred thought. He gently, or at least as gently as possible, laid the scout down in the shadow of the wall. "Easy friend." He whispered. "You are still outside the walls. Can you walk?"
Riley
Avelen watched as the man of Rohan seemed to observe the side of the wall and then set down his friend. "There must be a secret entrance!" Avelen said to himself. He turned and half ran-half slid down the steps down to the gate. The gate seemed to be holding for now so Avelen decided to go find the access to this door. He ran past his old post, which was now reinforced with archers from the deeping wall, and into the door leading to the caves. He found a clandestine entrance to the side leading back to the keep, but underground. As he ran down small corridors, he wondered what the builders of this stronghold were thinking. He came to what seemed to be a dead end. "It must be a door." he thought. He rapidly felt around for keystones that may trigger this door to open. Suddenly, to his surprise, he found it. He shoved a stone back until it clicked, and the door swung quickly inward and nearly crushed him. He avoided this mischief and stepped up to the edge. There was about a twenty foot drop, and as Avelen looked out, he could see the two men, one crouching over the other. He softly to them as to not draw unwanted attention, but they couldn't hear him. As he looked for a rock to throw at them, he noticed at least twelve orcs running nearby. They might run by without noticing, but they would pass by very near the two men. Avelen rushed back a few feet and doused the wall-torch that he figured he should've doused before even opening the door. He came back to the opening with bow ready and shot the last orc in the line square in the head. The goal was to eliminate all the orcs before they reached the two men. Avelen thought as he was firing, "These men owe me many drinks."
While all this was happening, Habe ran for his life and screamed wildly in an unashamed panic, as this giant Uruk kept charging, falling, getting up again, and cursing all the while. The Uruk hadn't fallen in about five seconds, so it couldn't have been two feet behind Habe. He made a quick right turn, in an attempt to avoid a killing blow, but missed the stairway leading into the keep. It was a very good thing that he took this turn, for the warrior had come with a downward swing of his sword and struck the stairs. Unfortunately for the Uruk, his sword met the second stair and due to the monster's great momentum, it jabbed him in the stomach, pole vaulted him head over heals, and onto his back. He stopped moving upside down on the stairs. This turn of events caused all the arrows that had been pushed through his chest, to now be pushed back out. As Habe was sprinting toward the deeping wall, he heard the most ferocious roar he had ever imagined coming from behind. As he ran up the stairs of the wall he said frantically, "Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!" Several Uruks were on the wall between him and the keep, so Habe climbed down one of the ladders leading in front of the wall. As he climbed down the ladder he asked himself frantically, "Where are you going? Where are you going? Where are you going? I'm insane!!" He got to the bottom of the ladder and barely any orcs were around. They were all about two hundred yards back from the wall, just standing. Habe thought this strange, but more importantly, terrifying. He started running to some rocks over by the keep, and an explosion, much larger than any he had heard this, came from the middle of the deeping wall. The explosion sent Habe more than fifteen feet through the air and pelted him with rocks of all sizes.
Nick
Berk swiftly drew his dagger and held it to the soldier's neck in front of him. Then his mind was flooded with the recent memories of this soldier's face and the fights that they had just been in together... He shook his head and apologized.
"Sorry... not quite myself yet."
Berk tried to move his legs... but they were both numb. His left arm suddenly began panging with pain which caused him to moan which, even though muffled by his closed mouth, still created a bit of noise. Berk whispered to the soldier.
"Can't feel my legs. My arm... oh my arm. It's hurt real bad. Go ahead without me. I'll manage."
Berk attempted to begin tending to his arm when he heard the nearby orcs approaching rapidly. He drew his dagger in his good arm and attempted to push the soldier a little bit...
"Go on! I'll handle these guys..."
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Kru'fan was mad. So mad. What luck to get shot about eight times, then fall on his own sword! 'Where did that little--' Kru'fan got up and roared as loud as he could... Then saw his fellow Uruks nearby. A couple of them were looking at him, wondering why he wasn't dead yet. They all knew he was supposed to be a torch bearer. Enraged at his situation, Kru'fan picked up his sword and began charging up the stairs and along the wall away from the keep. He figured, which was the first wrong step, that the stupid little human would have been a coward and run away from the keep, so he took off along the wall in the wrong direction. He noticed... after a few seconds, that he was all alone on the wall... and that something was quickly approaching the wall in the air. Looking up he saw the flaming boulder of something flying towards him.
There was one word... and it was not a word that is repeatable...
Then Kru'fan was no more.