Chapter 15
Loki was most certainly not impressed in any way whatsoever. If he had known that they would be forced to go running into a full-blown ambush, he would have fought more valiantly for them not to be randomly rushing through some ruddy cave. Nothing which he could do about that now, however, he was stuck dealing with the aftermath. Had to admit, this aftermath was not something that he did not foresee. There was a large possibility for them being ambushed, he just hoped for the best as he normally did.
Okay perhaps he did not normally hope for the best. In his experience, the best was overrated. It rarely ever actually happened and therefore there was really no point in hoping for it.
Everyone began to panic. Granted he would too, if he had not faced worse odds than a couple of millions of goblin creatures. The hobbits were flushed with fear, and panicking, the Dwarf was being stupidly valiant once again stating that he would stand and fight no matter what. Even Boromir was more level headed than that Dwarf at this moment. Then again, he supposed it was slightly understandable given the fact that this was his ancestor's burial grounds at this moment. He had to admit the other was taking the fact that this entire clan was wiped out and nobody knew about it quite well, therefore he supposed he should have expected something similar to this.
Legolas was incredibly calm, as should be expected from the warrior elf. Legolas was someone who had seen many battles, and come out alive in all of them. Of all of them, it was perhaps Legolas and himself that had seen the most of war and fought more fiercely for many things which they could no longer attain.
"What do we do?" Sam was panicking, breath coming fast. Loki sighed heavily, as he gathered the initiative since nobody else was saying anything, he supposed that he would have to take control and calm everyone down.
"Stop panicking. That is the first thing that you should do given the fact that it will be the exact opposite of helpful, which is not what we need right now." Loki stated sternly, casting his eyes across those which gathered before him at the moment. Even Gandalf looked up from reading that stupid old tome which was currently placed within his hands at the moment. Loki breathed, breaths coming out in slight pants from his nervousness.
While one may think that he had done this multiple times, he had not had anyone actually listen to him before, when trying to calm people down. Usually, they freaked out, or rushed forwards, rather than actually doing what he told them too. That was something which he was used to, but the utmost silence and calming breaths which everyone took, to calm themselves, and steady their racing heartbeats was not something which Loki had expected. The hobbits were looking at him expectantly and waiting for what seemed like his next orders. Even Legolas was watching him and waiting for him to state something to aid the situation.
"Next, we need to barricade the door," Loki stated. It seemed like something which was obvious, but it never really was. The most obvious things were always overlooked when people were panicking and that was why it was paramount to keep one's calm when dealing with such things as an impending ambush of millions of goblin creatures slowly heading towards them with killer intent.
Aragorn, Legolas, and Boromir slowly moved forwards and attempted to barricade the door with everything that they could think of to slow the impending army force. Once they began to start on the barricade Loki turned to the others.
"Hobbits, try to stay out of the fighting unless necessary. Or keep to a section and fight that off. There are corners, go to them. Stay there, unless necessary. I do not want you getting hurt because you were attempting to fight something and you got caught in the crossfire. Be careful, and man your stations valiantly." Loki stated calmly, the look in his eyes daring them to disobey. None took him up on that dare, and they all instantly grouped together in the corners as he had ordered.
"Legolas, stay in the high ground. I trust you know how to fight, just do as you normally would." Loki said. Legolas briefly glanced back, and smirked, nodding eagerly.
"Of course." Legolas stated, Loki nodded and smiled, a bit stiff. He hated this situation.
The entire thing could have been avoided if Gandalf was not so pathetically insistent that they go a fast route. Sometimes the fastest route was the worst thing to do. He hated the ones that rushed things just for the sake of being panicked. Gandalf had panicked, and therefore they were now stuck in this situation. Not a good one either.
Loki minutely flicked his fingers, and the barricade shimmered slightly. He sighed silently. The ward was not a strong one, and barely one at all, if he was being honest, but it was better than nothing. It would not hold for long, and Loki was not stupid enough to believe such things, and he dared not use more magic than that, not wanting to draw too much attention to the use of his magic, but he knew that there was little chance that he was going to be getting out of this without such things.
Loki carefully arranged them into a fighting formation. With the Hobbits within their own sections, it would be easier for them to pick off enemies one by one, which would keep them just a little bit safer, though not by much. It was the best thing which Loki could do in the circumstances, however, and so he took what he could when it came to that.
With Gandalf in the middle, Aragorn, Boromir, and the Dwarf in the front, and Legolas along with himself holed up in the back, it was the best formation that they could manage. Loki could not do much with this terrain, nor could he do much about the fact that he was not really aware of just how much magic which this so-called wizard could do, other than the fact that he was not very good, nor very talented with his magic. Still, the wizard would be of some use. At the front, were the fighters, sword fighters that were, which meant that they would headlong into the crowd of oncoming goblins. Gandalf, well, he would be of some use, stuck in the middle of them. Legolas and Loki, both were distance fighters, Loki with his magic, and Legolas with his arrows. Though they would fight and could fight closer up if it became necessary to do so.
Loki took a deep breath as the wards on the barricade notified him of the presence pushing against it.