“The catapults!” Astalder cried, turning from his captain’s unspoken command. Fluidly the archers changed their target and rained a barrage of arrows upon the soldiers manning the monstrous war machines. The Haradrim warriors fell but where quickly replaced with others. Astalder realised that they would soon run out of arrows if their enemies continued to replace their fallen, which of course was providing the wall on which they stood did not give way first. He thought quickly, looking behind him as another flaming ball sailed over head and crashed into the stables of the Poros Crossing Inn. The settlement was a blaze; below he could see men frantically trying to put out the flames. The Main gate too was breached; the Roquen and a vast majority of the Poros Guards struggled to fight back the advancing flood of Haradrim warriors. The urge to leap down from the wall to help them was overwhelming, but his concern for now was the machines that hammered at their defences. Heat and smoke stung his eyes, and then it came to him, “Fight fire with fire!”
“Oil… I need oil!” he cried spinning round to face one of the Archers next to him.
The tall fair haired man crouched down behind the wall and looked at him, and then reaching for his belt he pulled away a dark coloured flash and thrust it into his hands, there was no time for explanations as the wall again violently shook under the Haradrims attack. Quickly he ripped the sleeves from his shirt and tore them into strips, Dousing them with the oil he then wrapping them about the tips of his arrows. Rising to his feet he knocked one of the oil soaked arrows, passing it briefly over the flickering flames of the torch that was mounted to his left. He pulled arrow and bow string back to his ear, narrowing his eyes and adjusting his stance to find his mark, then released. The fletching brushed his cheek as the arrow left his bow; he held his breath in anticipation as he watched it sail through the air to find its mark. The arrow as hoped imbedded itself in the arm of the nearest machine and flames began to lick up the wooden structure. He let his breath go in a resounding whoop of victory, then knocking another and another he continued to rain fire on the Haradrims machines. The other archers seeing his success followed his lead and soon the first Catapult was completely ablaze. A loud cheer rose from the archers as the structure finally gave way and crashed to the ground, but their victory was short lived, so intent were they in destroying the machine nearest them they had failed to see their enemy repositioning the second until it was to late!
“In coming!” someone cried and before any of them had a chance to react a volley of rocks and boulders hit the top of the wall on which they were standing, Throwing them back in a shower of dust and rock. Astalder landed with a sharp thud that temporarily knocked the wind from him, he struggled to his feet then gaped, the wall on which he had just been standing was now no more than a pile of rubble it was a miracle that any of them had survived and as the walked forward he saw that very few of them had. The bodies of archers who had just been celebrating a victory over their foes now lay half buried in the wall they fought to defend. Guilt washed over him, but he hardened his resolve.
“Their deaths will not be for not!” he muttered through clenched teeth. Then drawing his sword he gathered as many men as he could to him and charged over the wall.
“For the honour and glory of Gondor!” He cried as he charged headlong into the first wave of Haradrim warriors. His eyes glittered with fire and determination, his new home was ablaze and it’s defences in ruins, but he would fight, he would give the women and children the time they needed to escape. Even if it meant giving up his own life, if that was Eru’s will then so be it, he would die with honour.
His movements were quick, precise and his thoughts focused, the first few attackers, inexperienced in the art of battle fell to his sword like defenceless children, but all too soon he met the challenge of more experience warriors and then real battle began.
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