chapter 44

Almost immediately in from the darkened side caverns swept a hoard of orcs, clearly intent on protecting their captives.

Lightning flickered around the dwarf and over the bobbing helm of the elf maiden, Radagast's staff began blasting the lead orcs into their stinking component elements.

"Cover me!" Gamli cried as his anger overcame his natural cautiousness and he dived into the midst, his glittering axe turning orc flesh into ground meat, his great hobnailed boots sliding slickly in the gore covered cavern floor.

With a shout Melda joined him and side by side they surged through the attacking mass, a whirlwind of flashing steel and great gouts of black blood as they hurled themselves up the main corridor.

After what seemed like hours they finally reached the end of the cavern, now silent except for the forest-like rustling behind them. Gamli stopped and bent over, trying to catch his breath as he watched the elf make last quick work of the last quivering orcs, leaning against his axe handle and gasping for breath. "I'm too fat for this," he muttered, panting.

Melda barely glanced at the dwarf. All of her attention was returned to the entwives and their plight. She darted off to loose the bonds of the other entwives, hacking with a violent fervor. Tears of anger leaked from her eyes as she did so, but the anger on her face was clear. Gamli caught his breathe and went to help her, lending the power of his axe. The entwives stirred and their branches groaned as the stretched them out. They were incredibly weak due to being isolated from the life giving sun for so long. How long had they been here anyway? Why? There was no time to ask questions...

"You two keep breaking these chains. I'll be back." With that she took back off the way they came, a hand on the wall to make sure she didn't lose her way. Gamli and Radagast kept the work up until all the chains fell to the floor. Gamli looked over the stacks of beings and the devices that had been used to remove their life force. He could only imagine the heartbreak that Melda was feeling. At that thought, the giant doors at the end of chamber were blown from their hinges. Through the jagged edges came the ents in all their glory. Melda had roused the ents from above and even more. At the promise of the entwives, they had come from all directions. A cry went up like the sound of a tree groaning in the wind. The ents moved quickly to the sides of the females, picking them up one by one and passing them back out through the doors, up through the fortress and into the life giving sun.

As the last of the entwives were being removed from the prison that they had been trapped in for so long, Gamli spied Melda over the still form of the first wife that she had tried to save. At first he thought she was just grieving but as he moved closer he heard the lyrical elvish language she was muttering. Gamli felt a warmth spread through his body as her words surrounded him. The strength returned to his limbs and his energy returned. As he watched, he was amazed to see a fluttering of the already drying leaves of what he could now determine to be a willow wife. With so many of her limbs missing it had been hard to tell from a distance. They started to return to a lush green color the longer the small elf whispered her spell.

Suddenly he realized the circle of ents surrounding them. As they moved in he felt a jolt of fear for his beloved. But one rather large ent gently picked the willow with Melda balanced carefully on top, her voice never faltering. A procession was formed as they carried the two out towards the outside. There Gamli saw various entwives standing upright, stretching towards the sun and celebrating their freedom. It was sight of victory, among the carnage that was war. The willow was laid on the ground and the circle was reformed. Gamli watched in wonder as Melda's chanting grew stronger and the missing limbs from the willow slowly started to grow back in. She was alive! The willow was alive!