The Battle for Helm's Deep

March 3, 3019 TA

Theoden retreats to Helm's Deep to assist Erkenbrand.

"'Erkenbrand of Westfold has drawn off those men he could gather towards his fastness in Helm's Deep. The rest are scattered.'"

And then they arrive to find that Erkenbrand didn't make it to Helm's deep, and no one is entirely sure what became of him.

"At Helm's Gate, before the mouth of the Deep, there was a heel of rock thrust outward by the northern cliff. There upon its spur stood high walls of ancient stone, and within them was a lofty tower. Men said that in the far-off days of the glory of Gondor the sea-kings had built here this fastness with the hands of giants."

Then the battle for Helm's Deep begins.

"Branched lightning smote down upon the eastward hills. For a staring moment the watchers on the walls saw all the space between them and the Dike lit with white light: it was boiling and crawling with black shapes, some squat and broad some tall and grim, with high helms and sable shields. Hundreds and hundreds more were pouring over the Dike and through the breach. The dark tide flowed up to the walls from cliff to cliff. Thunder rolled in the valley. Rain came lashing down."

Then we must not forget the rivalry at Helm's Deep between Legolas and Gimli. I can just see Legolas standing there smugly caring for his knife and gloating.

"The elf was wetting his long knife. There was for w while a lull in the assault, since the attempt to break in through the culvert had been foiled.
    'Twenty-one!' said Gimli.
    'Good!' said Legolas. 'But my count is now two dozen. It has been knife-work up here.'"

Ha ha, Legolas, knife-work. Veeeeerrrry funny. 

"'That must be my hope,' said Legolas. 'But I wish that he had come this way. I desired to tell Master Gimli that my tale is now thirty-nine.'
   'If he wins back to the caves, he will pass your count again,' laughed Aragorn. 'Never did I see an axe so wielded.'
   'I must go and seek some arrows,' said Legolas. 'Would that this night would end, and I could have better light for shooting.'"

While this is happening, the Ents are busy at Isengard. I had forgotten, until I was rereading just now, that the entire fall of Isengard was done in flashback. 

Narrated by Pippin. I love the addition of the saucepan comparison at the end, its so hobbity. 

"'Isengard began to fill up with black creeping streams and pools. They glittered in the last light of the Moon, as they spread over the plain. Every now and then the waters found their way down into some shaft or spouthole. Great white steams hissed up. Smoke rose in billows. There were explosions and gusts of fire. On great coil of vapour went whirling up, twisting round and round Orthanc, until it looked like a tall peak of cloud, fiery underneath and moonlit above. And still more water poured in, until at last Isengard looked like a huge flat saucepan, all steaming and bubbling.'"

 

(Lest there should be any confusion or matter of rights and whatnot, all quotes in this post are from The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, unless otherwise mentioned. There may be slight errors, misspellings, or alternate punctuation in the quotes, and if you notice such, please inform me so that I can speedily remedy them. But I think the fact that I made this blog proves that I would never intentionally change something of Tolkien's in the transcribing of it.)