Chains
One moment he and Boromir are tugging frantically on the chain that confines the
cave troll. Even all their combined strength may not be enough to pull the
creature away from Sam, and Aragorn cries out wordlessly as he strains.
In the next instant, Sam has escaped, the troll has turned, and the wrist that
Boromir has wrapped through the links to give him a more secure grip is ensnared
by the twisted metal. He is caught as though he and not the troll were meant to
be held prisoner by the chain.
Before Aragorn can move, Boromir flies across the chamber, far above the floor,
slamming into the far wall with a sickening thud. Sliding downward, he crashes
onto his shield on the high ledge that circles the chamber, hitting his head.
His body does not move as he tumbles from the ledge to the floor, where he lies
unmoving.
A single, terrifying instant passes, as already the orcs begin to close in. In
the noise of the battle, Aragorn cannot hope to shout the other man's name
loudly enough to bring him back to awareness. Nor can he reach Boromir's side in
time to protect him. The passing time grants Aragorn only awareness of how
afraid he is, and how badly he wants to save the other man.
Suddenly Boromir shakes his head, trying to toss the hair from his eyes. He
starts to sit up but an orc looms over him with a knife poised to stab him. The
man does not recoil from the blade, just as he did not flinch from the cave
troll. He meets the eyes of his attacker steadily, and the orc hoots in triumph,
preparing to strike.
In those moments, Aragorn seizes his nearest weapon and hurls it. The sharp
point slices through the orc's skull, killing it instantly, making it crumble to
the floor already littered with bodies and filth.
Boromir's eyes reverse the flight of the blade, following its path to meet
Aragorn's gaze. For the first time Boromir looks momentarily startled, as though
he cannot grasp why in the midst of the battle Aragorn has chosen to defend him,
rather than the Ringbearer.
At once Aragorn is glad that there is no time to talk, nor even to think, and
that the noise of the fray would bury any words he might speak. He nods once at
Boromir—a gesture meant both to reassure the other man that he is well and to
forestall any need for expressions of gratitude. Then he turns, heart pounding
with the brutality of the battle, leaving Boromir to defend himself.
Now he knows that he will face more than one conflict; now he knows that he must
redouble his guard.
by Your Cruise Director
verything happens too quickly for Aragorn to think; he can only react.
