章 12: Legolas VS Narzug

Legolas watched Narzug with cool determination. The Orc warrior charged at him, his axe raised, ready for the deadly blow. Legolas let the first arrow fly, but Narzug dodged at the last moment, and the arrow only grazed his shoulder. With a powerful leap, Narzug closed the distance between them and swung his axe in a wide arc.

Legolas elegantly sidestepped, the blow missing him by a hair. Swiftly, he drew another arrow from his quiver and fired. This time, the arrow hit Narzug's leg, but the Orc warrior was undeterred. With an angry roar, he charged at the elf again.

The two fighters were locked in a deadly dance. Every strike and blow was delivered with precision and deadly intent. Narzug swung his axe with relentless strength and bestial speed, but Legolas was quick and skillful, every attack rebounding off his agile defense. Time seemed to stand still as they clashed, the sounds of battle echoing through the forest.

Legolas seized every opportunity to weaken Narzug. His arrows flew in rapid succession, each shot precise and penetrating. But Narzug was a tenacious opponent. He shook off the pain and continued fighting, driven by his insatiable rage. Legolas wondered how the mighty armor on his opponent's body could not deflect any of his arrows, but he was too busy protecting his life to ask.

With a mighty blow, Narzug finally managed to knock Legolas' bow aside. The elven warrior staggered back, but only for a moment. Instantly, he drew two daggers from his boots.

Both stopped briefly, took a deep breath, and than Legolas went on the offensive. The daggers flashed in the sun as Legolas moved swiftly, parrying every attack from Narzug and delivering precise strikes of his own.

Narzug felt the blades cut into his skin, but the pain only drove him on. He began weaving Legolas into small illusions. Sometimes Legolas had to dodge an imaginary arrow coming out of nowhere, then suddenly another Orc would rush at Legolas, only to disappear the next moment. Narzug couldn't fully concentrate on his illusions and consequently, they were simple and short-lived.

Nevertheless, they helped him push the elf onto the defensive. Then everything happened quickly. With an angry roar, he grabbed Legolas by the hair with one hand and threw him to the ground. Raising the axe, he wanted to deliver the final blow, but Legolas rolled skillfully to the side and kicked Narzug hard in the leg, causing him to stumble.

The fight raged on as minutes passed. The sun stood high in the sky, its light shimmering on the fighting figures. Narzug and Legolas were both badly wounded, but neither was willing to give up.

Legolas sprang to his feet and threw one of his daggers, which hit Narzug in the side. The Orc warrior groaned in pain, but his eyes burned with hatred. With one last, desperate attack, he charged at Legolas, his axe ready for the decisive blow.

Legolas sidestepped and stabbed with his daggers. The blades pierced Narzug's illusion-armor and hit his flesh. Narzug roared in pain and fury, but he didn't let go. With one last effort, he grabbed Legolas and tried to force him to the ground.

The two fighters grappled with each other, their strength waning. But Narzug, driven by his boundless greed, managed to overpower Legolas. He threw the elf to the ground and sat on him, the axe raised, ready for the deadly blow.

But Narzug hesitated. He looked into the eyes of his defeated opponent, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. In Legolas' gaze, there was no fear, but a deep sadness and determination.

Narzug's thoughts suddenly cleared, and he considered the consequences of Legolas' death for the entire story.

Narzug couldn't deliver the final blow. His doubts held him back.

Suddenly, a loud call sounded, and Narzug looked up. Tauriel, the beautiful and brave elven warrior who looked like Evangeline Lilly, an absolute teen crush of Jacob, hurried over, her weapons drawn. She shot an arrow that narrowly missed Narzug and struck the ground next to him. Narzug knew he had no chance now to defeat both Legolas and Tauriel.

With an angry growl, he jumped up and ran into the forest. The darkness swallowed him, and his heavy footsteps soon grew quieter until they disappeared altogether. Tauriel knelt beside Legolas and helped him to his feet. The dwarves had fled, and the battle for the elves was lost. They had paid a bloody toll to the Orcs.

Legolas breathed heavily and leaned against a tree. Tauriel watched the darkness where Narzug had disappeared with concern. In her mind, the Orc had narrowly won, but he had been unable to kill Legolas because she had appeared. Legolas thought differently. At that decisive moment, he had already resigned himself to his fate; he knew the Orc could have killed him and then fled. But then something else had appeared in the Orc's eyes besides rage and greed—it was a mix of recognition, kindness, and hesitation. Not something one would expect from an Orc. This moment stayed in Legolas' mind, and he wondered and pondered much about this Orc.

---

Back to Narzug, who was sprinting through the forest. He decided not to continue pursuing the dwarfs with Bolg but to return to the camp instead.

His thoughts were clearer than they had been in a long time, and he noticed how he was increasingly influenced by his greed and the ring on his finger.

"The ring changes me more than I want it to. Above all, I don't even notice when it influences me! But I defeated Legolas, though only very narrowly. So, I should have approximately the strength of Frodo's companions, namely Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli, although the latter is somewhat difficult to compare... only Gandalf is still miles ahead of me, but he's also an undercover Maia...but that still means I'm no longer a random cannon fodder-ork! I'm not going to die that easy anymore!"

"I will try to meet Azog before he disappears back into Dol Guldur. Now that I have one of the rings, I'll keep a good distance from Sauron. How much information should I share with Azog... Hmmm," he pondered as he headed toward the orc camp.

An hour later, he arrived and caught Azog just as he was about to ride off. Shortly afterward, they were both sitting in a tent with a jug of beer in hand, and Narzug reported on the failed raid.

"I hate dwarves, but they can really brew the best beer," said Azog, licking the foam from his lips. "So, Bolg is pursuing the dwarfs toward Lake-town?"

"Yes, but one thing has changed. I overheard the dwarves' goal during the battle. They want to go to Erebor to free the dwarf city from the dragon and breathe new life into it!" Narzug replied, drawing from his otherworldly knowledge.

"We can intercept them before and..." started Azog, but Narzug interrupted him.

"Let them have the mountain. At best, they die in dragon fire, and at worst, we have a dead dragon and 13 dwarves trapped in a mountain with no prospect of support. I say we let them take the mountain and then attack. First, we give them their dreams, and then we take away everything they have fought and bled for.

But one thing we should keep in mind: I overheard an elf saying that the Elvenking also wants a part of the treasure and would do anything for it. He will probably send an army to the mountain. So, we need enough troops to be prepared for anything. And we shouldn't forget the greedy humans in their lake-town. They too will surely want a piece of the pie."

Azog pondered, and the longer he thought, the more he liked Narzug's plan.

"I will gather all my orcs that I can spare in Dol Guldur. If you also gather the Misty Mountain orcs, we will have a mighty army that we can throw against anyone who stands between us and the dwarves. So, Narzug, we will follow your plan. And in the end, the treasure in the mountain will belong to us. Or we will delight the mighty Smaug. We can't lose any way!" Azog decided excitedly.

"Except for your life," thought Narzug.

They discussed the plan a bit deeper and decided to first mobilize all the troops they had under their command.

Then Azog said goodbye and set off for Dol Guldur, and Narzug also took a warg and made his way back to the mines of the Misty Mountains.

Once there, he took a deep breath. He didn't want to go back into the tunnels, and the ring on his finger also seemed to have an aversion to re-entering the mountain.

"I'll probably soon be befuddled and needlessly cruel again, but I can't help it," Narzug thought and entered the tunnels.

The guarding orcs immediately fell silent and bowed deeply. Narzug ordered, "Summon Morgash to me so he can tend to my wounds. And also call Tragar, we have work to do... the fires of war will soon burn, and we orcs have knife work to accomplish!"