Things are picking up! And look at that, a quick update! XD

Now, read on!

Chapter II: Returning to Reunite

"It's going from bad to worse. It's very worrying. It's a kind of shadow war." - Erik Solheim

|SOUNDTRACK|

Where is the Horse and Rider? - Two Towers Soundtrack

Inconnu took a deep intake of air as Sverundr slowed down to a complete stop, dancing side to side a little as he did so. She could still feel the tinglings of magic around her and she shivered as though it was a particularly cold winter wind. After a few more moments spent readjusting to the world, the huntress looked around her and her eyes widened in shock.

She was on the North-South Road, almost at its end.

Sverundr snorted and Inconnu then looked to what was ahead of them. The Pelennor Fields were spread before her and the land was split between shadows and light. To her right was the grandeur of Minas Tirith, gleaming white and a sheer pillar of light that stood steadfast against what lied further east. Mordor lied there at her left, the sky was darkening ever more, pushing against the light and only ever growing.

Indeed, much had changed since she had last been in this part of the world. Inconnu looked to Minas Tirith again, and she remembered Oromë's guiding words to her.

"Minas Tirith, and there you shall ally yourself with friends again."

A burst of excitement flooded her veins, and with a light tap of her heels to Sverundr's flank the large stallion burst into a gallop. They ran for the gates and in quick time they were there, having dashed along the North-South Road. The massive double-doored wooden gates loomed above her. They did not open however, and Inconnu had a feeling as to why that was. War was soon to be upon them after all. Sverundr pranced along the width of the gate, too energized to remain still.

"Who goes there?!" A guard then shouted and Inconnu declared, "It is I, Inconnu Naeril, Huntress of the North!"

After a few more moments of silence, the gates groaned as they opened and they only opened wide enough for her and Sverundr to ride through. Then they were shut again, heavy wooden beams laid across the bar further entry into the city of Minas Tirith, and what she found in the city brought back the memories of the last time she had been in Osgiliath.

The faces were haunted, and the fear that she had seen in the people of Osgiliath had now found its way into the heart of the people of Minas Tirith.

Inconnu took in a ragged breath as she dismounted and then began to walk through the city and up the steep streets, Sverundr's reins in hand. Many people took a pause in the appearance, a new individual in the city and after a moments pondering hope began to show in their eyes. Another champion had come after all, one that had been isolated in the far north now come to aid the Men of the West against the Dark Lord's revival. Inconnu did not meet many of their gazes however.

She did not know what to do with their hope placed in her, and so she wondered as to how Frodo could bear such a burden on his own shoulders. Inconnu saw herself as a protector all those things good in the north, but here and seen as a champion? This was a new level of expectation she never though to bear. Her shoulder was then nudged by Sverundr and she stopped walking in order to focus on her companion. Sverundr's brown eyes held a warm light in them and he nudged her again. Inconnu rubbed his nose, accepting his comforting gesture, and they then continued on their journey to the upper levels of Minas Tirith.

Soon enough Inconnu handed Sverundr's reins to a stablehand, a nervous young man, before entering a simple-designed courtyard. Her eyes widened a little at the scene before her. Important looking individuals were crowded around something on the ground by the White Tree… that made her pause.

The White Tree.

Inconnu couldn't help but be captivated by it, as he had heard the stories of this very tree. The symbol of the Gondor, the center of power for the Men of the West. Her awe was interrupted by a cry of joy however.

"Inconnu!"

Looking towards the source of the cry she saw a Halfling running towards her, dressed in the attire of a Gondorian apprentice-warrior. The Hobbit ran into her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug, and it is then that Inconnu recognizes the Hobbit and returns the hug.

"Pippin!"

"You're back! You came back!"

Inconnu patted his shoulder in comfort as she replied, "Of course I would come back. I couldn't simply miss the excitement going on around here!"

"No you could not, Huntress."

'It can't be..'

Inconnu froze momentarily, not daring to believe the sage voice she now heard. Slowly, she looked up and saw the wizened face of Gandalf the Grey. Though not so grey anymore, as she noted that he carried a new staff of a smooth white wood and his robes were of the same color.

"Gandalf…?" She asked, still not quite believing what her eyes were seeing. The old wandering wizard smiled kindly as he nodded, and Inconnu began to tear up.

"You died in Khazad-dûm, I watched you fall as the Balrog took you!" Inconnu cried, and Gandalf then made his way to the Half-Elven wanderer, the butt of his staff thumping along the stone of the white courtyard.

"Like you, Inconnu Naeril, I could not stay away when I was needed."

Inconnu releases Pippin from her hug so she could stand, and she stood before Gandalf. They stared at each other for long moments until Inconnu held out her arm to him, and Gandalf grasped it in a warriors clasp. Inconnu smiled.

"Welcome back my friend."

"And to you as well Inconnu."

The clasp was released, and then Inconnu gestured to the now-smaller crowd by the White Tree.

"What has happened here Gandalf? All this is too similar what I saw in Osgiliath three years ago."

Gandalf too looked to the crowd, then gestured for her to follow him. She, as well as Pippin, did so but as they exited the courtyard she saw a stretcher being carried away from the White Tree. Inconnu did not have time to ask about it however as Gandalf eventually led them to a much smaller courtyard not too far from the one that held the White Tree itself. They stopped here, and Inconnu repeated, "What had happened here to mirror the people of Osgiliath?"

Gandalf took out his pipe, lit it, and puffed out a smoke ring before replying, "That is precisely it Inconnu. Osgiliath has fallen again to the Morgul Host, and I suspect that the main army even now marches towards Minas Tirith. They for them is now clear and the sky darkens more every passing day. It won't be long until the shadow of Mordor reaches us.

"And Denethor has done nothing?" She asked, shocked at what she was hearing, and then it was Pippin who spoke up.

"Faramir had been sent," The young Hobbit then nervously looked in the direction of the white courtyard. "He only returned barely half and hour before you arrived, one of the few survivors from the attempt to take back Osgiliath, and now he's caught a heavy fever from his wounds."

Her eyes widened. "And what of Boromir?"

Pippin cast his eyes downward. "He died trying to protect Merry and I from the Uruk-hai."

Inconnu's voice trembled a little as she asked, "When did this happen?"

"A few days after you had left Lothloríen."

This created a few moments of silence between the three of them, Inconnu working to fully process the news of the death of a good friend, despite his faults. Gandalf then put a hand on her shoulder, gently gripping it and she looked at him, meeting his gaze.

"It is not your fault for deciding to follow your Hunt, Inconnu. Boromir died a warrior's death, a honorable way to pass from this life."

Inconnu nodded, and Gandalf's tone then turned frustrated. "Unfortunately however, Boromir's death has brought a dark cloud of grief to Denethor that he refuses to move on from."

The huntress raised a fine eyebrow, as this was not the Steward of Gondor that she had met at the beginning of all this.

"What do you mean?"

"Denethor had lost his mind, and now I fear he will do something far more stupid than what he has already done."

The present situation suddenly made sense for Inconnu and she whispered. "That was Faramir in the courtyard."

Gandalf nodded and puffed more smoke from his pipe before saying, "Yes, and I believe that what has happened today will be the start of many mistakes that Denethor will make."

"What are we to do then?" Inconnu asked and Gandalf calmly replied, "Have hope, and pray that all we have accomplished so far has not been for naught."

The Huntress of the North sighed, then spied a carved stone bench. Tired from the True Hunters Path, she took a spot on it. Gandalf too decided to join her, nursing his pipe in the interlude of calming silence. Pippin's face then lit up and he asked Inconnu, "So what happened after you left the Fellowship at Lothloríen? Galadriel said your Hunt had taken a new direction and you were meant to follow the new path"

This made Inconnu smile, and her eyes seemed to shine brighter with an inner light.

"I picked up his trail in the Fangorn Forest, where I saw the ashen remains of a great fire. He had been caught in a fight with a being that looked to be made from the forest itself. From what I gathered, at some point the creature had caught on fire from something and somehow the Witch-King became trapped underneath it. He had eventually escaped and fled north, where I followed him until I found him in the High Fells of Rhudaur, deep in the Nazgûl Tomb."

Gandalf raised a thick grey eyebrow. "The Nazgûl Tomb? Why would he go there?"

Inconnu shrugged lightly as she replied, "I do not know, but when I found him he was… weaker, and the fires had done great damage upon him. And now," She paused for a moment, her eyes a little distant as she seemed to be remembering a happy memory. "The Witch-King is almost free from Sauron's grasp now. His mind and heart are now his own, all that is left is his soul."

Gandalf's aged features took on a interested look as he inquired, "So he is with us?"

Inconnu nodded. "He is, and has returned to the Tower of Sorcery as so to keep Sauron distracted from the changes I have brought to him."

"He returned to protect you?" Pippin looked a little confused, and Inconnu nodded. "I do not know what he told Sauron of myself, but considering the vile creatures that had been sent after me, I assume that Er-Murazor has told the Dark Lord that I am dead and wishes to keep me hidden from Sauron's sight."

"Er-Murazor?" Gandalf mused aloud, "That is his name?"

"Yes," Inconnu confirmed. "What interest does it bring to you?"

The old wizard gave another puff of his pipe. "I am certain I have heard that name before, 'Twilight Son' is the translation of it from Adunaic, but I cannot be for certain."

Both of them digested the information that the wizard had put forth for long minutes. Pippin shifted a little uncomfortably, and upon noticing this Inconnu shifted her attention to the young Hobbit and asked him, "So Pippin, what has become of the Fellowship?"

"A lot of things actually, but were split after Boromir's death. Frodo and Sam continued on to Mordor, while Merry and I had been captured by the Uruk-hai. Old Treebeard, one of the Ents, rescued us and that was when we found out that Gandalf was back. Eventually, we managed to convince to Ents to go to Isengard and stop what Saruman plans."

At this, Inconnu glanced at Gandalf and he nodded.

"Saruman is dead now, no longer will he continue to bring such treachery again."

Inconnu gave a slight nod, not really able to bring an honest conclusion to the fate of Saruman the White as she had never met the wizard, but it was a relief to know that there were now less foes to face in this war.

"And what of our other companions? Are they also here in Minas Tirith?"

"With luck, they ride with King Theoden of Rohan. I hope that he has answered the fires of Gondor and comes to our aid." Gandalf answered, and Inconnu questioned with a slight worry in her voice, "Why would he not aid Gondor?"

"Because Gondor had not come to the aid of Rohan," Again, that frustrated tone laced Gandalf's words, "And Theoden was bitter about it."

Inconnu nodded. "And you and Pippin arrived here ahead of them?"

"Yes, to make sure that Gondor could last until aid arrived."

"So we just have to make sure that Minas Tirith remains standing against the Morgul Host?"

Gandalf nodded and puffed his pipe. "Yes, we must remain standing."

Again, Inconnu felt the pressure of war begin to close in. Only now, there was no escaping it. The Wanderer of the Misty Mountains would stand with the Men of the West against Sauron.

She now fervently hoped that Er-Murazor would find her in the chaos of battle to come.

Now everyone is caught up on what everyone else has been up to! And oh my, it seems the Witch-King's name, and it's meaning, has struck a chord with our dear wizard. What knowledge does Gandalf have of that name? I see research in his future, and plently of fact-checking. But the final battle draws ever nearer, and who honestly knows what could happen in the chaos of battle?

So remember to drop a review in the donation box, and know that I do not own LOTR only the original stuff I'm putting in it!

Until next chapter!