Sword and Arrow

Chapter 38

It was late afternoon the next day when Legolas sensed a change in the air. He was riding beside Beruthiel as he had been for the past few days when he spurred on his horse, riding past the King's Guard toward a large spur of rocks that jutted out toward the cloudy sky. Legolas glanced around, trying to make sense of what he was feeling. It wasn't a smell, nor was it a sensation. It was something... different.

Gamling, one of the King's guards, turned to the man at his side. "What is it?" With no response, he prompted, "Hama?"

Hama shook his head. "I'm not sure."

Their horses were restless for some reason, skittish where Rohirrim horses should not be. Something was definitely wrong, Legolas knew it. But what exactly, he did not know.

Which meant that his elven skills definitely needed honing, since in the next moment or two a warg scout appeared at the top of the outcropping of rocks. It bounded down the jagged rock, leaping onto Hama's horse. The Guardsman died with one fell slash of the demon wolf's huge claws, and Gamling, in panic, frantically slashed at it, not dealing much damage.

With a well-placed knife, Legolas killed the scout atop the Warg, but not before it had managed to release an ear-piercing death scream. "A scout!" Legolas shouted toward the King and Aragorn, who swiftly rode toward them. He waved an arm toward Beruthiel, trying to get her to back away from the two dead bodies and get behind him. She did so, but not before retrieving the knife and sliding it back into Legolas's sheath.

"What is it?" Théoden shouted as he rode closer, beholding the dead Warg. It was a monstrous being; like a wolf but much, much larger, with a skeletal frame, a head too big for its body, yellow fangs that dripped with saliva, and claws as long as knives. "What do you see?"

"We're under attack!" Aragorn sharply said by the King's side.

"All riders to the head of the column!" Théoden ordered. The king rode ahead as his soldiers fell in line behind him.

"C'mon, get me up there!" Gimli said from the back, struggling to get on his horse. "I'm a fighter, argh!"

Théoden drew his horse in as he passed the line of villagers, who were panicking in their haste to get away from the aggressors. He leaned down as he passed Éowyn, who was herding people through the trail. "You must lead the people to Helm's Deep," he told his niece. "And make haste!"

"I can fight!" Éowyn insisted, grabbing onto Théoden's saddle.

"No," the king said with a decisive shake of his head. "You must do this. For me."

Éowyn looked at him, her face a mask of pain and fear. Then she nodded and gathered up her skirts to dash after the villagers fleeing the scene of the impending battle. Théoden watched her go for a moment, then turned his horse toward the group of soldiers facing the hill in front of them.

"Follow me!" Théoden King ordered, urging Snowmane toward the outcropping of rock.

"Make for the lower ground!" Éowyn ordered in the background, taking a basket full of blankets from an elderly woman as she helped her step down a pile of rocks. "Stick together!"

Aragorn, who had reached the dead Warg and had re-mounted upon having inspected the body, glanced back at the long trail of townspeople, then at their princess. That was when Éowyn turned, making eye contact with him. They shared a glance for two long, uncomfortable seconds before Aragorn turned his attention to the battle.

Legolas stood alone at the top of the hill, shooting off into the distance. Orcs fell from their mounts as he picked them off one by one, and the Wargs skidded across the plain as the weight on them shifted. As he turned slightly, he saw the column of riders approaching from the column of riders. Near the back, Gimli was doing his best to control his steed - it wasn't going well.