The Brothers Grimm
Pinnath Gelin sat amongst the gently rolling green hills of western Gondor. A modest town with its rough stone walls and squat towers, most homes were made of the same stone as the wall with steeply sloping roofs covered in thick thatch. A small keep sat in the centre of the town surrounded by a second wall of the same rough grey stone.
Beleg Grimm stood there staring with a blank look on his face. He could smell smoke and a sickly sweet smell wafting on the gentle summer breeze coming up and over Pinnath Gelins wall. Hands resting on the rough stone of the wall the smell brought his eyes back into focus and he looked across at his brother, Belegorn, who stood next to him looking across at the distant army camped on the fields and farm land of Pinnath Gelin.
‘Their eating people’ mumbled Belegorn as the smoke drifted past on the breeze.
Beleg looked across at the camp and could hear the faint screams as the poor farmers and the families from the outer settlements were used for the midday meal, he turned back to the hulking form of his brother, towns folk would often describe him as a bear who thought he was a man, and chose not to reply to his obvious statement.
The two brothers were to very different men, one who looked and smelt like bear and the other slim and looking like a stork who had taken to human form. Both brothers were part of the town’s militia and had been for most of their adult lives. Both had found at an earlier age that they had a certain skill with violence. In the larger cities of Gondor the militia were often discounted as nothing more than bullies and thugs, but the militia in the frontier towns of Gondor were hard men often serving for life in defence of their home town’s when the need was there.
Belegorn started to scratch, again, under the heavy chain mail coat, Beleg wondered if his brother bothered to wash at least once a month he wouldn’t have to spend so much time hunting lice. Beleg saw the captain heading towards them.
‘Once the filthy Uruk Hai have finished their meals they’ll come at us.’ he warned before heading along the wall to ensure the rest of the men were ready.
‘Let em come.’ mumbled Belegorn.
‘They will come and won’t stop until they over run us and eat us’ Beleg told his brother
‘Well you should be ok; they won’t want to eat you considering how bad you smell.’ Beleg remarked to Belegorn.
‘True.’ mumbled Belegorn, finally managing to find one of the many lice that called him home, popping it between his fingers.
Horns sounded from the Uruk Hai’s camp. Slowly the Uruk Hai started to form into large blocks of roughly thousand Uruk Hai, each block bristled with long pikes and the hooked sword axes the Uuk Hai loved to use. Smaller groups with the heavy crossbows they favoured moving to the front just out of range the archers on top of the walls.
‘Remember to keep your head down when they start to fire those damn crossbows. Your skull is thick but not that thick.’ Beleg told his large brother.
‘Ok.’ he mumbled.
The Uruk Hai started forward, Beleg ready his sword and shield, his brother the large axe the only weapon from the armoury that suited his style and size. Crossbow bolts started to fly past and into the wall as the Urak Hai came into range. With a sudden jolt Belegorn’s helmet twisted to the left.
‘What did I tell you?’ Beleg asked his brother.
‘Sorry.’ mumbled Belegorn, ducking down and righting his helmet so it sat straight on his hairy face.
Arrows started to streak back in reply landing amongst the massed Uruk Hai seeming to do little so slow the advance. Beleg risked a look over the wall to see ladders appear and pulled towards the front ranks. Beleg could hear the captain yelling for the archers to concentrate their fire towards to ladders hoping to slow down the Uruk Hai’s advance. Beleg could see that it would soon come to vicious hand to hand fighting. More men of the militia started to ready weapons and shields knowing what was to come. With a loud crunch a ladder locked onto the wall, large metal claws holding it in place, Beleg risked standing and using the hilt of his sword, he tried to hammer the claws off the wall, but to no avail. All along the wall ladders locked into place the battle begun in earnest.
The first Uruk Hai over the wall was met with a blow to the face by Belegorn’s axe crushing its face in, with no face left, it fall backwards onto its fellow Uruk Hai knocking several from the ladder.
‘Ugly’ Belegorn mumbled.
More Uruk Hai started to pore onto to wall and Beleg found himself facing a large brute with a sword axe. The Uruk Hai made a wild swing at his head whist screaming something about more man meat for dinner. The swing went wide, Beleg neatly slashed the Urak Hai across the throat, watching black blood flow down it’s front, as it fell from the wall it was replace by an even uglier Uruk Hai who smashed his sword axe down onto Beleg’s shield causing him to stumble back from the force of the blow, a second blow shattered the shield ‘This is it.’ thought Beleg as the brute ready another powerful blow. The shattered shield hanging useless from his arm, numb from the shock of the blow, the Uruk Hai smiled bits of meat hanging from its rotten teeth, a stupid look suddenly rippled across its face as it toppled forward a large hole in its back, spine and muscles showing, Beleg looked up seeing Belegorn standing there looking happy with the work he’d done.
‘What kept you?’ Beleg asked.
‘Busy’ mumbled Belegorn.
Horns sounded signalling the walls were about to be over run and the troops were to fall back to pre arranged areas. The battle now moved to the cramped streets of Pinnath Gelin were numbers matter less and only the skill and swords of the militia mattered.
End of part one.
Fan Fiction - Third Age
almost forgot, please be kind and leave feedback.
Reply With Quote
