Part Twenty-Eight
Orophin leapt to his feet from where he had been sitting next to Amroth when Rúmil came
running into the clearing to tell them that they were about to be attacked by orcs. In a
moment he had his bow readied. His heart raced in his chest but he forced away any traces
of fear. He had fought orcs at the border many times. Every elf here was skilled. He had
only to keep alert.
"How many, Rúmil?" Haldir demanded.
"Several dozen. I think they have been tracking us across the fields."
"Impossible," said Erestor. "One of us should have known. What of the rear guard?"
Everyone turned and looked at Orophin. He felt his ears turn red. "There was no sign of
them!"
"I believe you," said Haldir, and immediately Oro felt better.
"Arwen, into the trees," Elrond commanded his daughter. "I want you to hide while we
deal with this."
"Legolas, to the fray!" Thranduil cried joyfully. "Tonight we shall prove our mettle."
"I will stand and fight, Father," Arwen said. "My bow and my blade are as strong as any
here."
"There is no time to argue," Haldir said. "Rúmil, you will keep to her back."
"Perhaps we should all take to the trees," Erestor said nervously. He had drawn a bow
with the rest, but he looked as if he would be more comfortable with a book in his hand.
"Have heart, Erestor," Thranduil said, his eyes sparkling. "The King of Mirkwood hides
not from orcs."
"Will you keep to my back, Orophin?" Amroth said in a low voice. "I fear it has been too
long since I have waged battle. I am out of practice."
Orophin nodded. "I will not allow anything to happen to you," he said vehemently. It had
not escaped him that Amroth had clearly not been honing his fighting skills while floating
in the Bay of Belfalas. He would die before he let anything happen to the lost king.
"Quickly," said Haldir. "Leave everything, and let us cross the stream. We will have a
clear shot at them across the water."
"We shall take out the bridge after we cross," Thranduil added. "Most orcs cannot swim."
"I saw no archers among them," Rúmil added. "They have swords only. But they have
numbers we do not possess."
Haldir turned and they hurried across the small bridge that spanned the stream of
Nimrodel, which was near deep enough to be called a river, but not very wide. The bridge
was little more than a rough-hewn board laid across and they had to go slowly one by one
to reach the other side. Erestor followed Haldir, then Arwen, Rúmil, Elrond, Amroth, and
Orophin followed. As he reached the far bank, Oro turned to see the orcs pouring into the
clearing. Thranduil and Legolas were still on the other side of the water.
"Thranduil! Legolas! Hurry!" Haldir called. He turned to everyone else. "Prepare your
arrows -- we will fire as soon as they are out of the way. Erestor, Amroth -- destroy the
bridge once they have crossed it."
But Thranduil turned and fired into the orc hoard instead of crossing the bridge. Orophin
gasped. The King of Mirkwood was too eager for battle. Oro heard his brother curse
roundly. He called again for them to cross the bridge, but Thranduil told Legolas to fire
and the prince followed his father's orders.
"Thranduil! Cross the bridge, now! You are putting us all in danger," Elrond shouted
commandingly.
"Forget it! Give them a volley," Haldir said.
Aiming into the fray and hoping Thranduil would stay out of range, Orophin fired his
arrow, watching the arrows of the others fly with his own.
"We should take out the bridge," said Erestor.
"No!" said Haldir. "Leave it for them."
"We will all be lost," the Advisor said with frustration.
"Keep firing! Just be wary of hitting Legolas and Thranduil," Haldir hissed.
"Fools," Elrond muttered, shaking his head.
Orophin set his mouth grimly and stood with Amroth, shooting their arrows together, one
after another. Soon they would be out of ammunition, he thought, and then all they could
do was wait. If Thranduil and Legolas did not ford the stream, they would all have to fight
by sword.
Amroth was no poor shot. In fact, he rather seemed to relish the target practice, which
was safe enough for the moment as these orcs truly had no archers among them. Orophin
was glad. Orc crossbow bolts were thick and dangerous. He had taken one in the arm
once and had a small scar to show for it.
Haldir was firing arrow after arrow, but he still called for Legolas and Thranduil to cross
the bridge. They had felled at least a third of the hoard by Orophin's estimation but there
was no way that the Wood-elves could handle the rest on their own. When Haldir's quiver
was empty, he cursed and threw it down. He drew his sword and ran across the bridge to
join Thranduil and Legolas.
"Haldir, what are you doing?" Arwen screamed.
"We should go after him," Orophin said grimly.
"We should destroy the bridge!" said Erestor. He ran to the board and pushed at it, but he
could not move it alone.
"Leave it!" cried Elrond.
"I am going back," Rúmil shouted, but Arwen seized his arm.
"No!"
"Let go of me!"
"If you go back, so do I."
"You should go up into the trees like your father told you," Rúmil snarled. "Oro, come on!
We cannot let Haldir do this alone."
"You will all stay here!" Elrond boomed. He turned and went to help Erestor with the
bridge.
Orophin watched with horror as Thranduil, Legolas, and Haldir were nearly surrounded by
orcs. They fought back to back, each protecting the other. Beast after beast was easily
slaughtered by the trio, but one slip could mean the end for all of them, Orophin knew. If
anything happened to Legolas, Haldir would follow. Thranduil appeared to be enjoying the
fight far too much.
"Hold, Elrond, hold!" Haldir shouted as he saw the Lord of Imladris making for the
bridge. "I will get them back."
Oro saw a blade come down inches from Legolas' face. Haldir parried the blow with his
own sword, then grabbed Legolas by the back of his tunic and pushed him onto the bridge.
Legolas tottered as if he would fall, then kept his feet. Elrond, on the far side of the
bridge, shouted for him to cross it. Legolas obeyed. Haldir moved to Thranduil's back, as
if he did not dare to leave him there.
"There are but few left, Haldir!" Thranduil said jovially. "I have slaughtered nearly two
dozen!"
"We must retreat," Haldir insisted. "Fall back, Thranduil!"
"Archers!" Arwen screamed. "A second wave is coming into the clearing. They have
crossbows!"
Orophin heard Thranduil curse and he and Haldir crossed the stream at last. Haldir,
Elrond, and Erestor pushed the board from the bank and it fell into the water as a volley of
crossbow bolts came flying towards them. Orophin dropped flat to the ground. He saw
Rúmil fling himself in front of Arwen.
"To the wood!" Haldir called. "The trees will block their bolts. Hurry!"
Orophin expected Thranduil to protest, but he followed Haldir's directive. Erestor had
already disappeared into the trees, with Elrond close behind him, shouting for Arwen.
Rúmil and Arwen dashed into the trees, and Amroth pulled Orophin up. They ran.
Orophin heard someone cry out, but he did not know who it was.
"Come, Oro, quickly."
The bolts followed them, thunking into the wood of the trees in which they took their
shelter. The trunks were thick, easily sheltering three elves, so they were split only into
trios. Orophin found himself with Erestor and Amroth. From where they were they could
see Haldir, Thranduil and Legolas, but not Arwen, Elrond and Rúmil.
"Are you hurt?" he said to the two who shared his shelter. "I heard someone cry out."
"It was Legolas," Erestor said grimly.
The bolts continued to thud into the trees for several impossibly long minutes, but then at
last, silence fell. They heard not even the battle cries of the orcs. Haldir emerged from the
shadow of his tree. He motioned to Orophin not to move or speak. Soundlessly he saw his
brother creep forward to see what had happened.
"Their arrows are spent," Haldir called. "Barely a dozen survive, and they are on the far
side of the stream."
"You and I alone can handle a dozen, Marchwarden," Thranduil said as they all began to
emerge from the shelter of the trees.
"We will have to, in a moment," said Haldir grimly. "They are restoring the bridge.
Prepare to fight. They are a small number, and we may handle them easily if we keep our
wits about us."
Orophin followed the others as they moved forward out of the trees. All drew their
swords and every elf except Thranduil looked to Haldir expectantly. Haldir's eyes went to
Legolas and Orophin saw him frown.
"Legolas, you are bleeding."
"I took a bolt," Legolas said shamefully. He clutched at his shoulder and Orophin saw the
red stain on his tunic.
"Why said you nothing of it?" Thranduil demanded.
"I--"
"Lord Elrond, will you take him back into the trees?" Haldir asked. "See to his wound.
The rest of us may handle this."
Orophin looked back at the orcs, who almost had the bridge in place.
"I am fine, Haldir," Legolas said angrily. "I will stay and fight."
"I will have you out of harm's way," Haldir hissed.
"Haldir is right," Thranduil agreed. "Go with Elrond."
"I will not, Father."
"Haldir knows the healing of wounds well enough," Elrond said quickly. "Perhaps he
should look at Legolas instead. I will stand and fight."
"Absolutely not," said Legolas.
Haldir turned grimly towards the Prince of Mirkwood. He seized him by the elbow and
began to propel him back into the trees despite Legolas' protests. Orophin had no further
time to speculate as the first of the orcs ran over the bridge.
Oro saw their error at once. They could only cross the bridge one at a time, and Thranduil
was chopping them in half before their feet even touched land. Elrond moved to help him,
kicking one orc squarely in the chest and knocking it into the water, where it drowned.
The few that remained of the hoard were quickly dispatched without much effort from the
two Elven kings.
At last everyone began to calm. They sheathed their swords, and all turned to stare out
over the water to wait for signs of another attack.
"We must take watches," Thranduil said.
"We must clear away the bodies from this place," Elrond said. "The Stream of Nimrodel
must not be allowed to become a tomb for orcs. I will not let it be tainted."
"I agree," said Amroth softly. "But Elrond, we must wait until morning."
"Rúmil and I will take the first watch, Father," said Arwen. Elrond only nodded briefly.
"Come, I would see to my son," said Thranduil as they all went into the woods in the
direction that Haldir had propelled Legolas.
"We must rest," said Amroth. "Orophin, you are tired."
"Yes," Orophin agreed. He realized then how exhausted he really was. He hoped
desperately that there would be no more orcs tonight.
