Having met up at the entrance of the houses, Faramir, Éowyn and Lord Halbarad are waiting for their escort to arrive. They are all looking at each other in confusion. Halbarad is certain the guards would know to be here now. So where are they?
"Lord Faramir, do you know where the guards are? I assume they should be here by now."
"Your right, they should be. I do not know where they are. If they do not show up soon then I will send someone looking for them."
After another five minutes without sight of the guards, Lord Faramir leaves them for a moment. When he returns, he is accompanied by a runner who leaves immediately. Halbarad knows which assignment the runner has. the runner is to find the missing guards. He is pleased with this. Hopefully soon, they will learn where the guards are and what is taking them so long. In the meantime, they talk about what they might expect to see on their visit. Or in his case, what he hopes to see.
Ten minutes after the runner left, the sound of boots hurrying over stone can be heard. Halbarad looks up and notices the others doing the same. He hopes it is the sign their escort will soon arrive. Especially as from the sound of the boots he knows not one person is coming their way. It sounds as if the group is hurrying toward them. He smiles amused. The guards must know they are late and not want to let them wait any longer than is necessary.
But there is one thing which confuses him. It is the sound of what accompanies the guards. The sound of horses moving across a stone walkway. Why would they bring horses with them? Will they go down by horse? If so why was he not told about it? Could it be Lord Faramir forgot to tell him? Turning his head into Lord Faramir's direction, Halbarad noticed the lack of surprise or any other emotion on Lord Faramir's face. It has him convinced they will be riding out of the city. Lord Faramir must have forgotten to tell them. Or has he missed something?
The sounds steadily have grown louder. From the sound of it, Halbarad can tell when he will see the guards. His prediction is right when he sees a group of ten guards leading horses can be seen turning a corner moments later. Three guards, he sees leading two horses at the same time. Halbarad turns to Lord Faramir to see how the lord will react. Lord Faramir smiles pleased. The extra horses are for them to ride. Just like he thought they would be. The guard who wears the most elaborate armor steps forward and bows to Lord Faramir.
"My lord, I apologize for being late. Some horses took longer to ready than expected. They seemed quite restless to the stable hands and stable master. I have made arrangements to ensure you and your companions will not be riding those horses. My fellow guards volunteered to ride them."
"Oh, but that is not necessary. I am sure I can manage to handle such a horse. I riding since I was small."
Halbarad has to smile amused. Éowyn's words certainly fit with what he knows about the Rohirrim. They learn to ride at a young age. As such, he is confident she can handle a restless horse. The guards, in the meantime, all frown. Some look a bit relieved and anxious. Those guards were the volunteers the leader mentioned. Of that he is certain. Well, volunteers? He suspects they were ordered to ride the restless horses. Without a thought to their wishes. It is the only way their expression can be explained.
Looking to Lord Faramir, he sees the lord smiling calmly. It tells him it is not a surprising occurrence. Else Lord Faramir would have reacted differently. But how it is not surprising he does not know. He knows the guards not well enough to tell. Not that he knows them at all. He has not been out of the houses much. He only had a meeting with Lord Húrin which occurred outside the houses. Since then, he has not left the houses until right now.
"Thank you for your concern, Captain. We appreciate it. As Princess Éowyn said, you did not have to make such an arrangement for her. She can handle a restless horse easily enough as all Rohirrim can."
Lord Faramir turns to him with a frown. Halbarad nods. He expects to know which question Lord Faramir wanted to ask him. He is confident he can handle such a horse. Else, he would have shaken his head and not nodded. He received a smile as an answer. Now, he only needs to wait. Then he will hear what Lord Faramir will further tell the captain.
"The same counts for Lord Halbarad and myself. We can also handle a restless horse. There was no need to make the arrangements. Nevertheless, we appreciate your thoughtfulness."
Well, he was right in what Lord Faramir wanted to ask him. And his answer was correctly received. Halbarad sees the captain nodding before mentioning with his hand. Clearly, this conversation is over and no changes will be made. No matter, he does not mind. He sees three horses being brought forward. It is clear what this means. These horses are meant for them to ride.
Looking at the horse which is lead towards him, he recognized him immediately. It is his horse. He smiles at the guard who still holds the reins before taking them himself. Halbarad pats his horse and mounts him carefully. As he mounts, he pays close attention to how his wound feels. As he places a foot in the strap and pulls himself up, he feels some pressure from his wound. The pressure turns to stretch as he swings his other leg over his horse's back. From the feeling he got from his wound, he knows he did not pull anything to strenuously for which he is thankful. He is also grateful to know he did not stretch anything too strenuously.
Looking to his side, he sees Lord Faramir and Princess Éowyn have done the same thing. They have also mounted the horse which was lead towards them. He smiles towards them. Then he turns his attention to the guards. He wants to know if they have also mounted. Then he will know if they can leave. He is met with a pleasant surprise when he sees nearly all the guards have mounted their horse.
Once the last guard has mounted, they set out for the first level and the great gate. It is their only way out of the city. The ride down is a quiet one. Halbarad uses the time to observe the city. The city looks fine to him the first few levels they ride through. These levels see little to no damage. But the further down they come, the bigger the damage becomes. The damage he can see from where they are riding. He is certain he has not seen the full measure of the damage done to those levels. The damage he sees is a saddening sight. But what eases his mind a bit is the cleanup which occurs. He looks around to see who does the cleanup. He smiles at the sight of the guards he sees clearing the rubble away with the help of the few peasants present. The few children he can be seen are either running around or helping out.
Reaching the gate, Halbarad is surprised to see its destruction. But then he berates himself. It should not be of any surprise to him. Some of the damage caused in the first level is only possible by actual fighting orcs. Not by fighting from the wall with war machines. The forces of Mordor must have broken through the gate. An event many of the men inside the city would have been horrified about. He would have been had orcs broken through the gates of one of their villages.
Looking back to where the gate was, he tries to see what kind of replacement was made. He sees a wooden gate. The construction of it is not strong. Based on this, he knows the replacement is but temporary. Once the war is over a new gate will be ordered. Aragorn will do so. Just as he suspects Lord Faramir will also do from the way he knows him. He looks to see who is at the gate. It is then he sees the guards clearing a path for them. They do so by opening the wooden gate and removing some blocks from the ground.
It takes the guards some time to clear a path. As they have to wait a while longer than he expected he directs his attention elsewhere. He can hear the stamping of the horses. They are restless from having to wait. Their escort moves seem to indicate the same. If the way they are moving in their saddles is anything to go by. Princess Éowyn and Lord Faramir are silently talking to each other when he glances at them. Well, talking silently? They are more whispering with each other. About what he cannot hear.
Looking over the courtyard, he sees a few Dúnedain looking worriedly at him. They must be worried about what he is doing. He smiles calmly at them and nods to the gate. Hopefully, they understand what he tries to say. Their nodding tells him they do. Having sorted it out, he looks for what else he can see. On the other side of the gate, he can see a group of people waiting. Are these citizens of Minas Tirith? They could be. Or the could be traveling elsewhere and seeking their rest here for the day.
Suddenly, the sound of running feet pulls his attention back to their group and the gate. The gate, he sees is fully opened up. The captain of their escort is talking to one of the guards. At the captain's sign, the other members of their escort line up. Sharing a look with Lord Faramir and Princess Éowun, Halbarad confirms they know the same thing as him. They will ride out of the city in a matter of minutes.
Riding out of the city is done slowly. Halbarad does not know when it was agreed to meet with the captain of the prisoners' guards. Or even if said captain knows they will come. He has the feeling they have the time to travel slowly. He does not mind. It allows him to look around. He sees what was not long ago in the fields of Pelennor. He can see a significant amount of damage has been done. He tries to see how large the damage has been. How much has already been repaired? And how much still needs to be repaired.
As he looks, he sees how nearly the entire fields were destroyed. It will be hard for the farmers to make a living for at least a year. Their valuable crops have been destroyed. An easing thought is seeing the rebuilt buildings. And those being rebuilt. In the distance, he can see hills. They have clearly been placed in such a way as to not limit the farmers' future. It makes him smile. But then he frowns. Where do the hills come from? Have they been built by someone after the siege? Or were they there before? Either is possible as he has to admit he did not pay much attention to the fields when he arrived here with Aragorn. As he considers the hills, he begins to get the strange feeling he has seen something like them before. But where?
Shaking his head slightly he makes it look as if he is looking around. He turns his head to his left side. There he sees Lord Faramir riding and next to him rides Princess Éowyn. Seeing Princess Éowun, he remembers his travels through Rohan. He can vividly remember seeing similar hills there. Are the hills here made for the same reason as in Rohan? The only way to figure it out. And that is by asking.
"Princess Éowyn, do you know what the hills are which are scattered across the fields?"
"Not for certain, Lord Halbarad. All I know about are the rumors. Rumors of how our men and horses were buried according to our traditions. If they are true then the hills you see are burial mounds. If they are not true then I do not know what you are seeing."
Éowyn lifts her shoulders. She clearly does not know. Or she is u willing to share her belief with him. Well, no matter. Now, he has something to work with. Once they meet with the captain of the prisoner guards, he can ask. Or listen to what is being said about the hills. Listening if the captain begins to talk about the hills, or burial mounts if Éowyn is right, on his own.
"Lord Halbarad, if you want to know for certain then we should ask the captain who oversees the prisoner guards. I am certain he knows what the hills are. He must have been around when they were constructed. Or have talked to the people who did. But to be honest, I am highly interested in the reasons these hills exist. The fields have always been flat. So for someone to construct them, it must have been for an important reason. Burying your people, Éowyn, is one of those reasons I mentioned."
"Faramir, the hills look like the burial mounts we use in Rohan. Hopefully, the captain will be able to confirm it. Or explain why the hills were constructed."
Halbarad nods for he hopes the same thing. If the hills are indeed burial mounts then they cannot have been used to bury everyone individually. There are just too few mounts for that. He knows from reports that many more people were killed. As such people must have been buried in groups. And now he also knows his earlier feeling was correct. Éowyn was not willing to share her belief with him. On contrary to Lord Faramir with whom she was willing to do so. Something he can understand because of their shared feeling for each other. It will make them feel safe to discuss the matter they do not discuss with strangers such as he. He has experienced this with Annel. But as to their feelings, he does not believe they are acting on them or intending to do so shortly. He finds it sad but knows it is not his place to encourage them. They need to decide if they want to do with their feelings on their own.
As they ride further through the fields, he sees prisoners working. Now he sees up close just what they are doing. Something which is difficult to do from the gardens of the houses. Something else he can see now is what the prisoners look like. It also allows him to get a feeling for the atmosphere. The feeling he gets is not one he likes. There is hostility among the prisoners. But to who it is directed, he does not know. The hostility and the prisoners do not give him any indications. By not having any indications, he begins to speculate. The hostility could be directed towards the guards. Or there could be hostility between groups. He has never interacted with these groups. They do not travel into Arnor. The identification of these groups, he makes based on the clothing they wear. The decorations on them as well as the material the clothes are made from. Well, he has something to ask the guards now. Where does the hostile come from? And where is it directed to?
They ride for another few minutes when Halbarad sees a guard looking a4 them before running off. He shares a look with Lord Faramir and Princess Éowyn. They all have the same idea. The guard ran off to seek out the captain or another higher-ranked member. He mentions with his head into the direction the guard ran. So far they moved into another direction. He feels they will find whoever is in charge sooner when they ride in the direction the guard ran off to. And not by moving into another direction or even waiting here. At Lord Faramir's nod, they turn and ride into the direction he indicated. Now, they only need to wait to see where the captain is. They do not have to do wait for long. Soon they can see the guard hurrying back followed by another one.
"Is that the captain who comes our way?"
Halbarad has been wondering the same thing. Is this the captain. The closer the men get, the better he can see them. The man following the guard wears more elaborate armor. But that is not all, he also has a better appearance. As if he takes better care of himself than others. But is that true? Looking at Lord Faramir, he awaits an answer.
"I know it is the captain. I recognize him as a trusted friend and companion of Boromir. But as to his name, it eludes me at this time."
Lord Faramir grimaces slightly while lifting his shoulders. Halbarad does not mind. The captain will hopefully introduce himself soon. Besides, he clearly understands how Lord Faramir feels. No one likes it when they cannot place a name with a face. It just happens. Even to those who always know people's names.
He keeps his eyes focused on the guard and the captain. He wants to know when they will reach them. From what Halbarad sees he knows they will reach them soon. At the same time, he can see how much they are hurrying. They are running. Is their presence so strange or important it justifies running? Halbarad doubts it but smiles at the same time. It certainly appears as if the captain is eager to talk to them. The guard suddenly turns and hurries over a field. He does not know what is in that direction. The captain still running to them requires more his attention than where the guard has run off to. Moments later, the captain reaches them and bows to Lord Faramir.
"My lord, I apologize for not meeting you and your company earlier. I was not informed you would be visiting the fields. Beleg was the one to inform me of your and your company's coming. How may I be of service to you?"
Well, now he knows the guard's name is Beleg. Only the captain's remains. Halbarad did notice how the captain frowned at Princess Éowyn and him. As well as the captain tilting his head when the captain looked at them. The captain must not know why they came with Lord Faramir. He is certain the captain identified him as a Dúnedain. If the captain can tell he is from the north, he does not know. Identifying Princess Éowyn as coming from Rohan will not have been difficult.
Halbarad smiles amused. What he has learned about the Dúnedain of the south so far is they nearly all serve the army as Ithilien Rangers. But a few are part of the regular army. Not do they visit the city much. They nearly always stay in the wild or towns and villages. So it would not be strange to assume the captain believes the northern rangers to the same. Which they are because there are no cities in the north. Lord Faramir speaking up pulls him from his thoughts.
"It is true I did not send word ahead. I wanted to see the fields as they are. Not as how you want me to see them. As for my guests, their names are Princess Éowyn, sister to Éomer king, and Lord Halbarad, steward of Arnor."
The captain's eyes widen as he hears their names. Or is it princess Éowyn's name and his title which evoked his reaction. If their escorts' reaction is anything to go by then it will be the latter. Princess Éowyn's name, he suspects, is recognized for they must have heard of her here. As for his title, the reaction is of no surprise to him. There has been no contact between the north and the south in years. So it is possible they forgot there is a steward in the north. Besides Lord Faramir's questions from earlier confirm knowledge of his duties has been lost or forgotten.
It takes the captain some time to recover from his apparent shock. But once he does, the captain bows to them. Halbarad can tell it is a deeper bow than Lord Faramir received. But why? No not important right now as he can see the captain is about to speak.
"It is an honor to meet you, Lord Halbarad, Princess Éowyn. How may I be of service to you?"
Well, how? Lord Faramir did say he does not remember the captain's name. If he asks for it then it will save Lord Faramir's face. Something which he knows from Aragorn can be quite important right now. Besides, no one will mind if he asks. It is considered understandable for he never met the captain before. He makes up his mind.
"You can help me, captain, by telling us what your name is."
"My name is Berior, Lord Halbarad."
Halbarad smiles at Berior to thank him. He gives a glance to Lord Faramir. As he does so he sees how Lord Faramir does the same. Hopefully, Lord Faramir is grateful for the help. Well, hopefully? No, the look he received was one of thanks. Lord Faramir knows it. Maybe even understood what he was trying to do earlier. He nods to Lord Faramir. Now it is the lord's time to ask a question.
"Berior, we have come to inspect the progress you and the prisoners made for ourselves. I would like for you to tell us how far you have come with repairing the fields of Pelennor."
Berior's eyes widen. Is he surprised by the question? No, Halbarad doubts it. Berior must have known this is why they came to visit. But then why did his eyes widen? Was he shocked to be able to talk about something like that in front of strangers? It could be. He does not know how things in Gondor are done. Aragorn will know it better than him. Still, he does not think it to be something so sensitive it cannot be talked about freely. Halbarad frowns as he looks at Berior. Berior, in turn, smiles shyly at him. What is the reason for this?
"Of course, my lord. I should have known. I am sure you and your companions could see how far we have come in some parts. We have been cleaning the field of corpses, weapons and other things. The way you came has already been largely cleared. Some small pockets remain to be cleared. We are in the progress of doing. Those areas which are fully cleaned are in the process of being rebuilt."
Now is as good as any time to asks about the hostility. Halbarad knows he has been given an opening to work with. It is something he appreciates. If he was not given the opening then he would have needed to find another way to ask. Even then would this have been a good opportunity. But he better asks his questions before he loses the opportunity.
"Captain Berior, those areas which still need to be cleaned. Could it be because you cannot place groups together? When we rode through the fields, I clearly saw the hostility among prisoners. Do you know where it comes from?"
Captain Berior flushes and bows his head. Halbarad smiles to himself. He touched a sensitive subject. Or something the captain either forgot to mention. Or the captain does like to talk about. Either way, it is a success for him. He knows captain Berior knows what it is he saw.
"You are right, Lord Halbarad. I cannot put more people there. It would mean mixing groups. And when I did one time, it resulted in violence. As for the reason for the hostility? I do not know what it is. We do not understand their language. As such we do not know what they talk about. All I have is speculations."
"You have problems with the prisoners, captain Berior?"
Halbarad knows he does not need to look at Lord Faramir to know his reaction. His voice was more than enough. Lord Faramir is worried and concerned. Halbarad understands these feelings completely even though he does not feel them himself. Or feel them as much as Lord Faramir most likely does. But were this to be the case at home then he would feel them like Lord Faramir does.
Keeping his eyes on captain Berior, he waits for the answer he knows will be coming. If he is honest then he is highly interested in the answer. What are exactly the problems captain Berior has with the prisoners? And what has the captain be doing about it?
"Yes, my lord. I do have problems with them. The problems are not exactly similar. They are of a wide variation. Some prisoners have to be pushed for they do not work as fast as the others. They seem all to be slacking. If not then I do not know how to describe it. Some prisoners are daydreaming or something like it for too long time. There were even some fights among the prisoners as I mentioned earlier. Because of these fights, we had to drag them away from each other. To prevent further fights, I have decided to keep those groups separated. This I also told you earlier, my lord."
"And how do you punish them?"
"Well? They… Uhm… we punish them by… by taking away their food. Or by… having them work till late in the evening. If both do not work then we punish them by trying them up. Or giving them the worst tasks there are. It depends on what works best for them."
Berior does not want to discuss it. His hesitation hints at that. He almost sounds embarrassed to have to say this. Halbarad smiles amused. Did Berior think no one would ever ask about the punishment he uses? It is not something to be embarrassed about. Other captains would have done the same. Even though he does not like the punishment which the captain uses, he is aware that he might have done the same. Just like he is aware others might do.
But still, better to talk about something else. It will put the captain more at ease. Maybe they might even learn more by talking about something else. Captain Berior might let something slip or hit at something. And Halbarad just knows what they can talk about. Captain Berior mentioned they had speculations about the fights. It is just what they might be able to talk about.
"Captain Berior, what are the speculations you have?"
"You mean the speculations I have about the reason those fights broke out?"
Halbarad refuses to vocally answer so he nods. He thought captain Berior would know what he meant with speculations. Evidently not. If captain Berior had then he would not have received the question. This has him wondering what other speculations captain Berior thought he might mean. He has no idea what it could be.
Captain Berior looks into the sky. Is he thinking about the speculations? Halbarad is certain of it. He cannot figure out any other reason for captain Berior to look at the sky. It gives him the impression captain Berior needs to think deeply about the speculations. How long ago have they been uttered? And when were the fights? Clearly, both happened quite some time ago. Else, captain Berior would certainly remember the speculations easily.
Suddenly, captain Berior looks them in their eyes. Halbarad turns his head a bit while keeping his eyes on captain Berior. Will they now hear the speculations? But when captain Berior does not speak up, Halbarad narrows his eyes. Why is captain Berior waiting? He does not know. Shaking his head, he knows he needs to wait for captain Berior to speak up. A few minutes later, captain Berior finally speaks up.
"Well, some groups were quite peaceful. They do not resist us when we give them orders. Other groups are not like that; they resist us at any opportunity they have. One of the main speculations we have about why the fights broke out is that those groups are rivals.
"Or it could be that they were allies so long as they were under Mordor's orders. If that is the case then the groups who resist still feel loyal to Mordor. The other group does not feel it. Another speculation is that the groups disagree on how to handle Mordor's defeat. Some might think they need to continue the fight while others want to accept the defeat."
Captain Berior shrugs. He does not know which of the speculations is true. Which is no strange if one does not understand what is being said. Looking around, Halbarad sees everyone frowning. Just like him, they do not know what to think of the speculations. But thinking about the speculations, two call questions to his mind. These two question the loyalty of those groups to Mordor. Suddenly, Lord Faramir speaks up.
"If they do not want to continue to fight then I have my questions about why they joined Mordor's side. They clearly do not show the loyalty, I expected they would. So, why would they even fight alongside Mordor?"
Lord Faramir just said what he was thinking. But as to Lord Faramir's question, he does not know. But he doubts it would have been willingly. Following this train of thought, he begins to consider coercion, threatenings and other means of forcing people to fight with him.
"There are prisoners who do not give you problems?"
Princess Éowyn either did not consider Lord Faramir's question or wanted to think about something more pleasant. Those prisoners, she mentioned are more pleasant to think about. Halbarad already looks forward to the answer he will receive.
"Yes, Princess Éowyn. One group in particular. They do not fight us, stay mostly to themselves and work hard. I am certain that their leader is a high ranked person. He brought his wife with him. That is the impression your men have."
Halbarad frowns. The wife, if she is, will be one of the few women who came with the group. But determining if she is the leader's wife has priority. And the only way to do that is by asking the captain if he knows why the Rohirrim thought it. He opens his mouth to ask the question when Éowyn speaks up before he can.
"Why did they have that impression?"
"Well, the men respected her a lot. This was due to her being seen She healing them. Any instruction they received from her were followed without protest. Even the leader followed her instructions. Well, some of your men, Princess Éowyn, even think her strong. When one of them grabbed her, she fought back and managed to free herself. The leader was quite worried about her. Later, she was seen spending the entire nights in the leader's tent. As for the said leader, he called for a surrender of his men. If they have problems they always turn to him."
Berior walks up next to Faramir's horse while giving his explanation. Once there, he mentions with his head to the road. Halbarad knows what he means to tell them. They should not longer here much longer but they should move forward. Lord Faramir nods. Their escort moves to take up positions around them. Moments later, their group is slowly moving across the fields.
"I do not think she is the only woman who comes along with that group, am I right?"
"You are right, Lord Halbarad. There are other women around. But according to the Rohirrim, they are not very interesting. The men have not the same respect for them as they have for the leader's wife."
Just as he thought. The healer came along to look after everyone. The other women to keep her company. As well as looking after the camp by doing chores the men do not have time for with them preparing for the battle. A battle they ultimately lost.
With all this in mind, Halbarad looks over the fields. He can see how far they cleanup has come. A large part of the fields is cleaned. Just like he saw before meeting captain Berior. There are some areas which still need a lot of work. They are one of the groups which captain Berior has problems with must work. Considering the hostility he saw and heard off, he understands why not more men are assigned here. Men from other groups, he means. It would only have reignited the fights the guards broke up earlier. Considering the entire situation captain Berior is faced with, the situation looks great on the fields.
Looking ahead, Halbarad can see one of the prisoner camps appearing in the distance. Or more likely, multiple prisoner camps. There are multiple groups of tents. Each group has its specific design of the tent. Seeing the differences from afar makes him look forward to seeing the camps up close. And maybe interact with the prisoners. Which will only be possible if captain Berior allows it. As well as their escort. Of one refuses then he cannot interact with the prisoners. He will have to wait to learn if it will be possible. Wait until they reach the camps.