| StarOfTheDunedain |
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| eldir |
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| StarOfTheDunedain |
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| Vanwaelen |
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| Vanwaelen |
 RE: The Lord of the Rings *Please read! Slightly scripted. PM to join!*
on: April 06, 2004 01:13
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Part Two
~*~
Smoke clouded the air as the once proud city of Minas Ithil stood broken within the mountains that enveloped it. A dark cloud loomed overhead, giving the lands enveloped within a grim air, making one feel strangled in its grasp.
It was from these ruins that the king of Gondor, Isildur, son of Elendil, King of Arnor, fled to the city of Osgiliath with all of his family. It was within the walls of the ancient city that he thought they would be safe, but yet they were not.
From there, they sailed away on the river. In his absence, Isildur entrusted his brother Anarion to defend his realm.
After leaving Gondor, it has been whispered in myth that the King of Gondor went by Edhellond and continued northwards to Erech to call for aide from the King of the Mountain, whose predecessors had sworn an oath of allegiance to. In any event, he continued westwards through his father’s realm, eventually making it to the realm of the starlit king.
Back in Gondor, Anarion received little trouble from the men of Ered Nimrais but even that did not stop him from setting up a watch against any possible assault from the east. It may have been the mere presence of the elvish haven of Edhellond nearby that gave comfort to the restless Dunedain protecting Isildur’s realm.
While Anarion and his men stood within the borders of Gondor, Sauron the Deceiver continued to amass all allies to him into the shadowy realm of Mordor. It may have been this action that kept the forces of Herumor and Fuinor from attacking from the south of Mordor. Some say they had passed North into the realm of Mordor through the Nargil Pass. Others have said they had marched northwards along the Ephel Duath to aide in the attack on Osgiliath. Where these men really went shall forever remain shrouded in mist.
After the disturbing news of Sauron’s assault on his son’s realm of Gondor in the south, Elendil went to hold council with the High King of the Noldor, Gil-galad of Beleriand, son of Fingon. It was Gil-galad whose power and influence had spread across the land in the days of Sauron’s escapade in Numenor. It was he along with Cirdan the Shipwright who aided the Faithful in their flight from the Valar’s destruction of Numenor after those who were seduced by Sauron the Deceiver broke the sacred law that kept them from setting foot on Aman. It was because of this that the Valar sunk the island along with the inhabitants that remained and changed the world so that only those with the grace of the Valar could sail into the west to Aman.
In the year 3430 of the second age, a council met in the realm of Lindon and was hosted by Elendil the Tall of Arnor and the High King of the Noldor Gil-galad, who was also known by his childhood name of Ereinon.
At this council of legend, many came to discuss what should be done about the Lord of Mordor.
Lords from the realms of Arnor, Gondor, Lindon, and from other lands were in attendance at this council. Although it remains uncertain, we can assume that both Cirdan the Shipwright and Isildur, son of Elendil the Tall, were in attendance along with Elrond of Imladris, Herald to the High King, Celeborn and Galadriel from the eastern lands, Gildor Inglorion and Glorfindel, both heralding from Imladris. It was also rumored that Isildur’s sons Elendur, Aratan and Ciryon were present at this great council. Other emissaries that may have been present were Thranduil, son of Oropher, Lord of Greenwood and Amroth of Lothlorien. Most have agreed that at this great council, only Lindon, Arnor, Gondor, and Imladris agreed to make an alliance against the growing darkness in Mordor.
It was at this council where the true military purpose of the Alliance would be to march upon Mordor and accomplish a complete and total victory against the Dark Lord in Mordor. They all knew that the only way that this goal could be achieved was to beat the Dark Lord on the field, for this strategy had succeeded in past wars. Although this plan appeared failsafe, questions rang out amongst them. Issues like what they would do once they had breeched Sauron’s defenses and how long could the Dark Lord hold out against them. The thought of what would the Dark Lord be able to come up with against his foes while they besieged his tower of Barad-dur. They all knew that the Dark Lord commanded not only Orcs and Trolls but Men also, with his chief servants being the Nine.
It was not until the year 3431 did Cirdan and Gil-galad march east from Lindon. By this time, Elendil the Tall had already gathered his troops at the great watch tower of Amon Sul and was here her where he waited for the Elvish host to come. Instead of marching straight to where Elendil waited, the elves stopped in Imladris for three years to allow themselves time to train and equip their men. It has been whispered in myth that it was during this time that the elves of the west of the Misty Mountains may have persuaded Oropher, Lord of Greenwood, Amdir, and Durin of the Dwarves of Khazad-dum to join their alliance.
During these three years, the Dark Lord of Mordor began to amass his forces in the lands between his realm of Mordor and Oropher’s realm of Greenwood. A development such as this would be the driving force that would eventually persuade Oropher into joining the alliance despite his strong dislike for the dwarven race. While he waited at Amon Sul, Elendil may have sent some of his troops to aide his son Anarion in the defenses at Gondor.
It remains a mystery which path the Alliance marched when they finally began to move in 3434 of the second age. They say that it was Oropher of Greenwood and Amdir of Lothlorien who moved down the eastern shores of the Anduin, while Elendil, Gil-galad, and Durin went west by Lorinand towards the Parth Celebrant. Others have told tales where Elendil and Gil-galad crossed the Anduin by the Men-I-Naugrim, where they used the ford that had once been an ancient bridge. It had been possible for Oropher to either go before the main host of elves, men, and dwarves or he may have gone afterwards down their southern road while Amdir and Durin would have crossed the river via boats. The exact path they took shall forever elude us to the ends of the world.
It has been said that in an attempt to slow the oncoming forces from the West, the Dark Lord Sauron met them head on in an area near the Undeeps. It was not until after the battle had begun did he realize that his forces were currently outnumbered by the Allies of the West. He then commanded his forces to fall back, destroying the old Entish domain located north of the Emyn Muil, which later became known as “The Brown Lands”.
Mordor’s retreat may have been quick but it was not fast enough to evade the Western Allies that were soon able to overtake the Dark Lord’s forces on the Dagorlad. Many have said that it was the cavalry force from Lindon that had forced Sauron’s forces to halt and dig in north of the Udun and thus the two forces set themselves up for battle over the course of one or more days.
The dusty on which both forces stood lay just northwest of Mordor, immediately below the Black Gates of Morannon.
Although no written record of the Battle of Dagolad itself exists even to this age, it is possible to infer some probable alignments. It might be safe to assume that the High King, being the most senior of the four “equals”, commanded the center. Because Elrond Peredhil was the High King’s herald throughout the campaign, it was possible that the High King’s flanks were lead by Celeborn and Cirdan. It is not at all unlikely that Glorfindel or Gildor Inglorion to have commanded the “Noldorin” flank.
One thing we do know for sure is that over the course of the prolonged battle, Amdir’s troops were cut off from the main allied forces and were therefore cut to pieces in the nearby marshes. These bodies over time were engulfed by the marshes, thus they became known as the Dead Marshes.
If what happened to Amdir was true, then we can assume that Oropher had taken the right side of the field with Amdir holding the outer flank. With this in place, the “independent-minded” Silvan Elves would be in a position to support the High King without being hemmed in by his own forces. Therefore, Durin and Elendil may have stood upon the left or eastern side of the field.
One thing that will forever remain uncertain throughout the ages is whether or not Anarion, with the host of Gondor, was present at Dagorlad. Had the Dark Lord divided his troops during those preceding years to keep the younger son of Elendil the Tall occupied? The young dunedain’s only allies would have been the Elves of Edhellond, who were said to be mostly of Nandorin and Silvan origin. If they had come, the elves would not have constituted a fair sized force and would have been only a contingent of Anarion’s host.
The Dark Lord’s main forces would be made up of Orcs and Trolls, who most likely had been dwelling in the land of shadows at the time; Easterlings would have been quite primitive at the time of the battle; the Haradrim that were ruled by the Black Numenoreans; and whatever Men that had resided in the land of shadows. Some dwarves may have fought for the Dark Lord in this battle also although there exists nothing that tells where these creatures might have come from.
Now assuming that Elendil’s youngest son was delayed from joining the main forces by an army in the south, the Dark Lord may have had only a few of the Haradrim at Dagolad. So therefore, he most likely had only two main troops, the first one consisting of the primitive Easterlings, the Harad, and the other of his own men from Mordor.
The Dark Lord’s left flank was most likely the strongest portion of his army for he was able to push back Amdir’s Silvan Elves into the deadly marshes, therefore, the Easterlings might not have been standing on the Dark Lord’s right but instead may have come against the eastern flank of the Allies from the West, which may have been consisted of the armies form Arnor and Khazad-dum. If this strategy did occur, then it would of afforded the left flank the opportunity to annilate the Silvan Elves while the main forces held Gil-galad’s attention in the center.
Holding back from attacking the Dark Lord’s line was the cautious strategy that Gil-galad may have played. It was either a sortie or even a direct attack that drew Amdir’s forces from the main group. One important advantage of launching a direct attack would lie within Sauron’s opportunity to spilt apart the Elven host and get rid of the Silvan Elves. Because both Amdir and more than half of his army were killed, the Dark Lord’s armies would have been very effective, but since his right flank must have fallen apart under the assault of the other Alliance armies, the Dark Lord lost the field and thus retreated to his to Mordor. It is not unlikely that the forces that had cut down the Silvan Elves in the marshes were abandoned in this retreat.
All in all, the Battle of Dagorlad that took place on what is now known as “Battle Plain” lasted for several months but no more than a year.
It is safe to assume that after this prolonged battle, Sauron’s forces had been greatly diminished.
Because of his unwillingness to be placed under the flag of the High King, Oropher, Lord of Greenwood, lead a great army before an order of advance was issued by Gil-galad, to assault the Dark Tower of Barad-dur. He may have lead this group in hopes of seeking revenge for the elves that were slaughtered earlier in the marshes. This great host fought valiantly against their foes although they were considered ill-equipped when compared to the Elves of the West. In doing this premature charge, Oropher thus separated both himself and his men from the main forces, This rash attack on Mordor lead to having Oropher and his men meeting the same fate as those before them. Fortunately, Oropher’s main force, which included his son Thranduil, was left behind.
Although the Silvan Elves had again suffered grievous losses, Gil-galad and the Alliance managed to break into Mordor, thus forcing Sauron out of the Udun and into his Dark Tower of Barad-dur. This attack began the seven year Siege of Barad-dur. It was around this time when Elendil’s youngest son Anarion may have brought Gondor’s army into Mordor, most likely passing through Ephel Duath to ensure the Alliance that Sauron could not flee to the south.
The Dark Lord’s defenses at his tower of Barad-dur were not fluid. He sent out multiple sorties against the Alliance. The main fortress itself used missile weapons to inflict greater damage on the Western Alliance, including the taking of Anarion’s life in the sixth year of the seige (3440).
It is through the tale of Lord Elrond of Imladris of the final struggle between the Dark Lord and his foes suggest that the High King had taken up a position on Orodruin. Although it is quite a distance from the Dark Tower, it may have been that during the years of the seige, the High King had to deal with forces outside the Barad-dur in the lands to the south and east. If that is true, then the slopes of Orodruin would have made an effective command post except for that this would imply that the forces of the Alliance that had been weakened by battles in the north must have been spread thin.
Pausing, the cloaked figure put down the aged book she had been holding and picked up a smaller book with a faded blue cover with stars on it. Opening the aged book to an early page, the enlightened figure read a passage.
“Together they stood on steep rocky slopes of Orodruin. The dark shadow of Mordor looming over the field as they clashed. No one knew how or why the starlit king fought with all his valor against the flaming darkness that stood before him. The great spear Aiglos gleamed like white flame, blinding those who dared to oppose the High King of the West.
The fight that ensued would forever be remembered in tale.
Suddenly, the dark flame of Mordor swallowed up the light, dimming the hopes of the West.
The closest to the High King was Elendil the Tall, Lord of Arnor and the one who lead the Faithful to Arda from Numenor after Sauron, disguised as Aulendil, had seduced their king.
With all the valor that was gifted to the Faithful, Elendil dealt the Deceiver a mortal blow of which cost him his life.
The light of hope for the Freepeople seemed to fade with the passing sun.
The sword fell back upon the earth, its light faded with that of its master. The fruit of the White Tree of Aman known as Narsil, the one sword that kindled fear in the hearts of its opposers had fallen.
Isildur watched with grief strickened eyes as he saw both his father and the Great Elven King fall before the creature that stood blazing before them. In a sudden rush of anger at the loss of both his brother Anarion and father, Isildur made a grab at his father's sword. The dark lord of Mordor saw this and with flaming eyes, made to stop it.
With a loud crunching sound, Narsil was shattered into multiple pieces. Momentarily stunned, Isildur was knocked down upon the earth next to his father's non-living form. As the darkness crept up to him, he made one last attempt at killing the madness that aimed to claim his life also. In doing so, he sliced the finger off the hand of the Dark Lord that bore the One Ring.
His eyes widened in amazement as he stared at the gold object that glittered before his eyes. Suddenly, it felt as if all the air around him seemed to be disappearing. Turning to face the looming shadow before him, he became aware that all the wind was being drawn towards the shell of the beast, its flame slowly diminishing.
Then suddenly, with one earth shattering bang, the dark flames erupting into the endless sky above, the darkness that was Sauron faded into nothingness.”
The figure than placed the smaller book back on the table and picked up the book she had been reading from earlier.
The last combat must have ended with an almost complete loss of will amongst the surviving Orcs and Trolls. If any Haradrim or Easterlings still lived outside of Barad-dur, they most likely fled or continued to fight until they were killed off. The Alliance then lay to ruin the Dark Tower of Barad-dur.
Once the battle had ended, Elrond of Imladris lead Isildur, son of Elendil, to the heart of Orodruin, the one place that the Ring of Power could be unmade. When the time came for Isildur to cast the Ring back into the fires below, he refused, turning his back on the elven lord. To itself, the ring must of felt quite proud, for it had survived near death and would now consume the minds of those it choose to possess it.
Time passed. It was now the second year of the third age. It was at this time when Isildur, along with some of the Dunedain, were riding through Gladden Fields, which is between Mirkwood and the River Anduin, by the River Gladden, which originates from the Misty Mountains and in Sindarin, its name is Sîr Ninglor. Isildur was marching north to take up the High-kingship of both Arnor and Gondor after having spent the past two years tutoring his nephew Meneldil, son of Anarion, in kingship.
Isildur’s small party, including his three eldest sons, was waylaid on the banks of the Anduin south of the River Gladden by Orcs.
The Dunedain were too few in number to fight against so many enemies and many were slain in defense of Isildur. It is said that only three Men ever returned home.
During the fight, Isildur lost hope for the survival of himself and his men, so in a desperate attempt to escape, Isildur slipped on the One Ring and while he was invisible, swam away. But then the Ring slipped off Isildur’s finger of its own accord, making Elendil’s son visible to all.
After spotting Isildur in the river, some orc archers shot arrows into the man’s vulnerable back, killing him instantly.
It was in this very spot where the Ring lay quiet waiting until, when chance came, it would ensnare a new barer.
Closing the cover on the aged book, the cloaked figure said, “And so ends the tale of Arda’s Last Alliance between the races of Men and Elves and of the fall of Gondor’s last king until the dawn of the Fourth Age.” As she watched the others get up to leave, she concluded with,” For your next tale, you shall hear of the wretched creature Gollum and of his relationship with the One.” With that, she became silent and alone once more, appearing to fade like a shadow that hovered in the tales of old.
OOC- My apologies to the Mods for my "machine gun" posting. Hope it won't be too much of an issue. Hope everyone else liked it. Let's posts any comments about what we're writting on the OOC thread.
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| Dolenaglar |
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| StarOfTheDunedain |
RE: The Lord of the Rings *Please read! Slightly scripted. PM to join!*
on: April 07, 2004 01:07
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[i]The figure looked up, glancing at her listener's reactions to this horrid tale of murder and lust.
"But there is more to this tale," she continued. "For the Ring was not content to stay hidden forever - nor was It content to keep the creature whom It had long ago corrupted. Gollum was of no use to It anymore." The figure picked up another book with a red leather cover, nearly as worn as the second. "The story of The Ring and Its first finder in many years is best told by the one who found it. So I read to you now from the words of the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins himself, recorded by the Elves of Rivendell prior to the War of the Ring."
The figure glanced around again, and began to read:[/i]
Bilbo opened his eyes and groaned. Where was he? Oh yes, he remembered, he was running from goblins – wait? Where were all the dwarves and Gandalf? He looked around wildly and groaned again. Gone. He was left behind, in a dark tunnel somewhere under huge mountains.
He stood up, groping about him, truing to find the sides of the tunnel. In doing so, his hand touched something smooth and cool. Bilbo felt it wonderingly. A ring, He realized. How did something such as this come down here? With that, he put it in his pocket without really thinking about it. It was the turning point in his career, but he did not know it yet. Groping about once more, his hand found one wall. There’s one. The other? He took four steps to the right before reaching the other side. Bilbo gulped. Best be careful in here. One so small as him could easily get lost. He put his left hand to the wall, and drew his little sword with his right. It still flickered sky-blue on the edges. Steeling himself, he took his first step forward in search of his friends. There would be many more.
After some walking, though finding many side turns, and deciding not to follow them, Bilbo began to feel more confident. He began to hum softly as he walked, and it was for this reason that he did not here the drip-drip of water until after he put his foot in it. Ugh! It was icy cold. Bilbo stopped, perplexed. He took six steps to the right and found the other wall. “Oh!” Bilbo worried aloud. “It must have been one of the turns back there! But which one?” Hopelessness edged into his voice.
Suddenly a whistling hiss sounded off to his right. Bilbo jumped, and turned towards it, but could see nothing except the glow of two large strangely lit eyes. “Who are you?” Bilbo demanded, with more confidence then he felt.
“What iss he, my preciousss?” the Thing hissed. “Is it tasty? Is it scrumptiosly crunchable?”
Bilbo waved the little sword, still sparkling blue. “I am Bilbo Baggins. I have lost the dwarves, and I have lost the wizard. I don’t know where I am and I don’t want to know, if only I can get away.”
“What’s he got in his handses?”
“A sword, a blade from Gondolin!”
“Sss… does it like riddles, preciousss? Praps it sits with us to play for a bitsy, my preciousss, ” the Thing asked.
Riddles? What kind of creature such as this had an interest in riddle playing? Bilbo wondered. Still, he was anxious to agree. He was far away from his friends, under a goblin-infested mountain. He didn’t exactly have the upper hand. “Very well,” Bilbo agreed. “You go first.”
So the Thing hissed:
“What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees,
Up, up it goes,
And yet never grows.”
“Easy!” Bilbo exclaimed. “A mountain!”
The Thing hissed in a way that would almost be mistaken for a chuckle. “Does it guess easy? It must have a competition with us, my preciousss! If precious asks, and it doesn’t answer, we eats it, my preciousss. If it asks us, and we doesn’t answer, then we do what it wants, eh? We shows it the way out, yes!”
“All right,” said Bilbo, not daring to disagree. I must think of some terribly hard riddles, Bilbo said to himself.
“Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
And them they stand still.”
“Chestnuts, chestnuts,” the Thing hissed. “Teeth, teeth! My preciousss, but we only has six!”
And so it went on, one riddle after another. The Thing – Gollum, Bilbo had decided to call him, for he kept making a noise such as that in his throat - Gollum’s last riddle was dreadfully hard:
“This thing all things devours,
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers,
Gnaws iron, bites steel,
Grinds hard bones to meal,
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountains down.”
Poor Bilbo sat thinking of all the names of the monstrous evil creatures he had heard of in tales, but none seemed to meet all these qualifications. Gollum began to move around him, again muttering: “is it tasty? Is it crunchable?” Bilbo began to get frightened, and that is not good for thinking. Gollum came closer.
“Give me more time,” Bilbo wanted to shout. Then his eyes widened, and he gasped out: “Time, time!”
Gollum seemed horribly disappointed. But now it was Bilbo’s turn, and he was so flustered from the Time Riddle that he could not think of any himself. As he gripped his sword tighter with one hand, he put the other in his pocket, as he had a habit of doing when thinking. His fingers touched the cool, hard metal of the ring he had found earlier.
“What have I got in my pocket?” he wondered aloud.
“Not fair, my preciousss!” Gollum hissed.
Bilbo’s eyes widened again. Gollum had mistaken his innocent question as a riddle! He nearly laughed aloud. Why, here was his chance to get out! “What have I got in my pocket?” he asked louder.
“Sss, it must give us three guesses, preciousss.” Gollum demanded.
“Very well, guess away!”
“Handses!”
“Wrong,” said Bilbo, thanking his lucky stars he has just taken his hand out of his pocket.
“Sss… knife!” Gollum said after a long pause.
“Wrong!” Bilbo exclaimed, his hopes rising even further. “Last guess!”
Gollum seemed even more flustered than Bilbo had been with the Time question.
“Come on,” Bilbo said. “I am waiting!”
Gollum continued to stall.
“Time’s up!”
“String – or nothing!” shrieked Gollum.
“Both wrong!” cried Bilbo joyously. He stuck out his sword, and said to Gollum: “Now you lead me out.”
“Impatient it is, preciousss,” muttered Gollum wrathfully.
“You promised,” insisted Bilbo.
“We can’t go up into the tunnels so hasty. We must go and get some things first, yes, things to help us,” Gollum hissed finally.
“Well, hurry up, then!” said Bilbo, secretly relieved at the prospect of Gollum leaving. But will he truly come back?
Bilbo was waiting when he heard Gollum’s shrieking, whistling cry: “Where iss it? Where iss it? Lost it is, my preciousss, lost, lost! Curse us and crush us, my preciousss is lost!”
“What’s the matter?” Bilbo Called back. “What have you lost?”
“It mustn’t ask us,” Gollum shrieked back. “Not it’s business, no, gollum! It’s losst, gollum, gollum, gollum!”
“Well, so am I!” Bilbo yelled back. “And I want to get unlost! I won the game; you promised you would lead me out. So come along! Lead me out, and then go on with your looking!” Gollum did not return, and strange groveling, blubbering noises were now coming from across the water. “Come along!” Bilbo yelled again.
“No, no, not yet, preciousss! We must search for it, it’s lost, gollum!”
“You never answered my last question,” Bilbo protested. “You promised!”
“Never guessed…?” Gollum’s tone of voice had changed suddenly. Bilbo heard a sharp hiss. “What has it got in its pocketses? Tell us that. It must tell first.”
There was no particular reason that Bilbo shouldn’t tell Gollum, but something made him balk at the idea. He fished around for an answer. “Answers were to be guessed, not given.” Bilbo said finally.
“But it wasn’t a fair question, not a riddle, preciousss, no.”
“Well, if it’s a matter of ordinary questions,” Bilbo replied, “then I asked one first. What have you lost?”
“What as it got in its pocketses?” the hissing had grown louder, and Bilbo saw the two lamp-like eyes appearing out of the darkness again.
“What have you lost?” Bilbo asked again, trying to keep his growing nervousness out of his voice.
With another hiss, Gollum sprang at him, and Bilbo turned and fled. What have I, I wonder? He thought fleetingly.
Bilbo had been running for some time when he suddenly realized that he was wearing the ring on his finger. He nearly screeched to a stop upon this realization. How… suddenly he fell forward, tripping over a snag in the floor. Bilbo cowered against the wall, hoping he would be missed when Gollum ran by. It was a foolish hope, he knew. Gollum could see well in the dark. He would stick out like a sore thumb.
Before he had a second more to think, Gollum came around the corner, hissing and muttering to himself. Bilbo tensed, waiting for the vile creature to spot him and spring. But Gollum never did. He simply ran on by, muttering: “Cures it, curse it! Curse the Baggins! It’s gone! What has it got in its pocketses? Oh, we guess, we guess my preciousss. He’s found it, yes, he must have. My birthday present!”
Bilbo sat up in astonishment. Gollum had not seen him! What could it mean? In a flash he was on his feet and following after Gollum – perhaps if he followed him Gollum would inadvertently lead him to the way out. He hurried along, close enough behind Gollum to be able to follow him, but not close enough to be easily spotted or heard.
“Sss, sss, gollum!” Bilbo heard him saying. “Goblinses! Yes, but if it’s got the precious, our precious present, then goblinses will get it, gollum! They’ll find it, they’ll find out what it does. We shan’t ever be safe again, never, gollum! One of the goblinses will put it on, and then no one will see him. He’ll be there but not seen. Not even our clever eyeses will notice him; and he’ll come creepsey and tricksey and catch us, gollum, gollum!”
Bilbo stared down at the plain golden band on his middle finger. His head was a whirl of hope and wonder. It seemed that the ring he wore was a magic ring: it made you invisible! He had heard of such things, of course, in old tales; but it was hard to believe that he had really found one, by accident. Still, there it was: Gollum with his sharp eyes had passed him by, only a yard to one side.
Bilbo continued to follow Gollum for some time, becoming more and more disgusted withthe creature as he ran behind him, listening to his incessant mutterings. But suddenly, Bilbo heard, the mutterings had become rather relevant. “Seven right, yes. Six left, yes!” Gollum was saying.
He is counting side-passages, Bilbo realized.
“This is it. This is the way to the back door, yes. Here’s the passage!” Bilbo peeked around the corner in time to see Gollum shrink back from the last passage after looking in. “But we dursn’t go in, preciousss, no we dursn’t. Goblinses gown there. Lots of Goblinses. We smells them. Ssss! We must wait here, preciousss, wait a bit and see.”
Bilbo slumped against the wall, dismayed. Here was the way out, and he could not get in! But an idea was quickly forming in his mind. As quietly as he could, he crept away from the wall. Bit it was not enough. Gollum sat up straight and hissed, his lit eyes peering into the darkness. Bilbo stopped breathing, and went tense himself. He needed to get out, and Gollum stood in his way. He must fight, and kill it. Not a fair fight, though: He was invisible now, and Gollum had no sword. Suddenly, Bilbo felt a strange compassion for the creature; he saw a glimpse into Gollum’s life; days unmarked without light or home of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering. Another idea came to his mind, and lifted by a new strength and resolve, he took a running start and leaped.
No great leap for a man, but a leap in the dark. Straight over Gollum’s head he jumped, seven feet forward and three in the air, and if he had known it, he just only missed cracking his skull on the low arch of the passage.
Gollum threw himself backwards, but he was too late. His hands snapped on thin air, and Bilbo landed steadily on his feet and made a mad dash down the tunnel. All at once there came a blood-curdling shriek, filled with hatred and despair from Gollum. He had lost, lost his precious, the only thing had ever cared for. The cry brought Bilbo’s heart to his mouth, but he did not turn around. Now faint as an echo, but menacing, the cry came from behind: “Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!”
Then there was silence. But the Goblins were near enough for Gollum to smell them. But nothing could be see. He kept running. Suddenly, as he turned a corner, he saw light up ahead. Light! It was really only a crack in between the wall and door, but after all his time underground, it seemed dazzlingly bright to Bilbo. Bilbo stopped, and blinked. Then he saw them. Goblins. They were in full armor with drawn swords, sitting just inside the door and watching. They saw him sooner that he saw them sooner than he saw them. With a yell, they rushed towards him. Bilbo yelped incredulously, and looked down at his finger. But either by accident or by a last trick of the ring before it took an new master, it was no longer on his finger.
A pang of fear an loss came over Bilbo, like and echo of Gollum’s misery, came over him, and forgetting to draw his sword he put his hand in his pocket and the ring slipped on his finger. The Goblins stopped short and yelled again, twice as loud but not so delightedly as before.
“Where is it?” they yelled.
“Go back up the passage,” some shouted.
“Check the door!” bellowed the Captain.
A frightful din followed, and Bilbo was dreadfully frightened, but there was only one thought in his mind: I must get to the door!
Dodging screaming goblins is not the easiest thing to do, but Bilbo succeeded, for the most part. The poor little Hobbit dodged this way and that, was knocked over by a Goblin who could not make out what he had ran into, scrambled again on all fours, slipped between the legs of the captain, and dashed to the door.
The door was slightly ajar, just enough for a small Hobbit to squeeze through with an effort. But Bilbo, though thinner than he had been prior to the start of his adventure, was still not quite small enough to fit through the crack. Still, he had to try. He squeezed and squeezed, but he stuck. It was awful. He continued to struggle, but to no avail. His buttons began to pop out in all directions.
Suddenly one of the goblins gave a cry: “There is something by the door! There is a shadow outside!”
Bilbo’s heart jumped into his mouth, and he gave a terrible squirm. Buttons burst off in all directions, and suddenly he was through. He kept running, until the Goblins were left far behind, and he was alone in the warm, familiar sunshine.
[i]The figure looked up again, and said: "Here ends my tale, for the rest you have heard not long ago, at King Eldarion's coronation." A sigh of regret ran through the small number of listners, so enchanting were the Lady's tales. They filed out of the room, leaving the Figure alone. She smiled a secret, bittersweet smile, knowing that few people would soon know or care about the truth. "Oh, Illuvatar," she whispered. "I pray I never live to see those days."[/i]
[i] OOC - Well, here's the End of the Prolouge. Eruwaedhiel, as the Ringbearer, you get to post first.
One note: since we're now into the story, we don't have to use the historian sequence anymore. Just post normally, like in other threads, but try to stay in third preson. Thanks, and let's have some fun![/i]
[Edited on 8/4/2004 by StarOfTheDunedain]
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Author
One of my main worries in rollplaying has always been that I won't be able to get online and I'll hold up a thread. I don't want this thread to be a hassle for you. It's just for fun. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me!
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