Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
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Chapter 19- Celebrations
Jakan watches as Eowyn walks up to Theoden, carrying a goblet of wine. Jakan is sitting on one of the many benches in the main hall of the Meduseld. The company that had travelled to Isengard had returned to Edoras the day before. Theoden had decreed that a feast be held to honor the dead. Jakan and the other three Mandalorians had gone with a hunting party earlier that day to hunt wild boar on the plains surrounding Edoras. The benefit of their blasts was that it didn't really harm the meat and could be used at greater ranges than arrows or spears. Needless to say, all four Mandalorians had enjoyed it.
Jakan glances to the side, where Gar, Fel, and Mirta are sitting, all holding mugs of ale themselves. Some of the Rohirrim had made it known that they found it strange for a woman to be attending the feast or participating in the toast. At least with Eowyn, she had a reason to be there to perform her duties, and as she had organized the feast. However, when Eomer heard this, he quickly came to Mirta's defense. He and some of the other leading Rohirrim, including Theoden, had gotten to know the new Mandalorians well, and connected well with all of them.
As Theoden takes the goblet from Eowyn and stands up, everyone else stands up as well, silently waiting for the king to speak.
Theoden takes a deep breath and declares, "Tonight, we honor those who gave their blood to defend this country." He then holds out his goblet and declares, "Hail the victorious dead!"
"Hail!" Everyone in the halls echoes as they hold up their mugs. Everyone then lifts their mugs to their lips and drinks the toast to the fallen.
As Jakan lowers his mug, he looks over at his three friends. "Well?" he asks quietly.
"I like it," Gar says in reference to the ale.
"Yeah. These Rohirrim make good ale," Mirta says.
With the toasting done, the night quickly shifts to the festivities. Within minutes, the Rohirrim are spread across the hall at the various tables, talking and laughing with each other as they eat and drink. The four Mandalorians spread themselves among the crowd, mingling with the Rohirrim.
Gar soon ends up at a table with Gimli, Legolas, and Eomer, drawn into a very interesting competition.
"No pauses. No spills," Eomer says as he hands mugs of ale to Gimli, Legolas, and Gar.
"And no regurgitation," Gimli says.
"So, it's a drinking game?" Legolas asks.
Gimli turns to the elf and says with a grin and a chuckle, "Last one standing wins." He then begins to down his mug of ale.
Gar looks to Legolas. "Cheers, elf," he says before he starts to down his own mug of ale.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the hall, Mirta grins as she sits across the table from Gamling. "Anyone want to take wagers before I beat this guy?" she says, a little cocky. Several Rohirrim quickly take wagers.
Mirta extends her hand, resting her elbow on the table. Gamling does the same, and the two grasp hands. They grin as one of the Royal Guards serving as referee says, "3, 2, 1, begin!" And the arm wrestling contest begins.
As the two struggle against each other, across the hall, Jakan walks up beside Gandalf. After a moment of silence, he asks Gandalf, "What do you think Saruman meant by Sauron's greatest servant being my doom?"
"The greatest servant of Sauron is the Lord of the Nazgul, the Witch-King of Angmar. There is a prophecy that no living man can kill him. And he is a fierce warrior. If anyone on this world could kill you, besides Sauron himself, it would be the Witch King," Gandalf says.
Jakan nods, wondering if that is Sauron's plan. To destroy him and his three friends with the Witch King.
Suddenly, he hears a thud. He and Gandalf both turn around and see Gimli, fallen to the floor. And, as they watch, they see Gar fall off his bench, completely drunk.
Jakan chuckles. "Well, I guess that's game over," he says.
Meanwhile, Mirta and Gamling are still in their arm wrestling contest. More Rohirrim have gathered around them, and they're all cheering the two on.
Mirta grins as she says, "You're strong, Gamling."
"So are you. I'm surprised a woman has such strength," Gamling says.
Mirta smirks a bit, deciding that this has gone on long enough, and that it's time to end the contest. "Then I guess this should be a lesson to never underestimate women," she says as she slowly begins pushing Gamling's arm down. She continues slowly pushing his arm down, before summoning one final burst of strength and slamming Gamling's arm down.
Everyone round them starts cheering. Many of the Rohirrim feel bad that they doubted Mirta simply because she was a woman. The few Rohirrim that wagered on her begin smugly collecting their winnings from their comrades.
Gamling, despite his previous belief that Mirta wouldn't be as strong as him because she was a woman, takes his loss well. He extends his hand to shake and says, "I look forward to fighting beside you again, Mirta Vizsla."
Mirta smiles as she takes the offered hand. "You as well, Gamling. And maybe before then, I can teach you and your men a thing or two," she says. Gamling smiles in response.
As Mirta is congratulated by the surrounding Rohirrim, across the hall, both Jakan and Fel, who are standing next to Gandalf, are watching and clapping in amusement as Merry and Pippin dance on a tabletop and sing a drinking song from the Shire, much to the delight of the surrounding Rohirrim.
"I think we need some traditions like this," Fel says with a laugh.
"Can't disagree with you there," Jakan says with his own laugh. However, he notices that as Pippin turns to face Gandalf, he stops singing and just stares at Gandalf. It takes Merry calling his name to get Pippin back into the song. Jakan muses on what that could have been about.
Right then, Aragorn walks up to them. "No news of Frodo?" he asks Gandalf.
"No word. Nothing," Gandalf replies.
"We have time. Every day, Frodo moves closer to Mordor," Aragorn says.
"Do we know that?" Gandalf asks Aragorn.
Aragorn looks at the wizard and asks, "What does your heart tell you?"
Gandalf looks back at Aragorn in silence for a few moments before he says, "That Frodo is alive. Yes. He is alive."
"You know those Hobbits better than I do, Gandalf. But from the time I knew them, I know that those two Hobbits will make it through just about anything together," Jakan says.
"Do you truly believe that?" Gandalf asks.
"I have to," Jakan answers simply.
(Later that night)
Jakan slowly walks through the Meduseld. He, Fel, and Mirta had volunteered for guard duty that night, as they were some of the few people present that were sober. The three of them had laughed when they had to drag Gar out of the hall and to a side room where he could sleep, all of them joking about Gar and how he was going to have a terrible hangover the following day.
As he reaches the doors leading out of the Meduseld, Jakan sees Aragorn walking up to the doors as well.
"How is your friend?" Aragorn asks.
Jakan smirks, knowing he's referring to Gar. "Drunk as h***. He's gonna have the mother of all hangovers tomorrow morning," he says. He and Aragorn share a chuckle before they walk out of the doors.
As they emerge at the top of the stairs, they glance to the side and see Legolas standing at the corner of the patio, looking out over Edoras. Silently, the two of them walk over to the elf. In his mind, Jakan knows, from Legolas' posture and lack of movement, that something is bothering the elf.
As they walk up to him, Legolas says solemnly, "The stars are veiled. Something stirs in the east. A sleepless malice. The Eye of the Enemy is moving."
Jakan looks up at the stars. He can't see too much of a difference. Maybe they do look a tiny bit dimmer. But, then again, he knows Legolas' senses are far better and more attuned than his own.
Right as he looks back at Legolas, Legolas turns to him and Aragorn, eyes wide, and says urgently, "He is here!"
Jakan's heart freezes a bit, knowing exactly who Legolas is referring to. The three of them turn and dart towards the doors, with Aragorn throwing them open. As they rush in, Jakan's mind is racing, wondering how Sauron could have somehow teleported himself all the way to Edoras, especially when he's still trying to regain his physical form. As they race into the Meduseld, Jakan removes the Darksaber from his jetpack and ignites it, ready to take on Sauron if he was indeed there.
As they burst into the room where many people, including Gandalf, Boromir, Merry and Pippin are sleeping, Jakan realizes that while Sauron was not there in person, he was there. Jakan sees Pippin, lying on his back in silent agony, holding the palantir that had been Saruman's, which is glowing a fierce orange-red color.
Jakan reacts quickly, dashing over to Pippin and grabbing the palantir out of his hands. Instantly, he froze, his vision drawn into the palantir. All he is able to see is the Eye of Sauron. He starts shaking violently, still holding the palantir, as the burning of the Eye seems to grow in intensity. Then, he hears the voice of Sauron, so loud, evil, and terrifying it would be enough to give him nightmares for weeks.
"YOU DARE STAND AGAINST ME, WARRIOR FROM THE SKY? YOU AND YOUR MANDALORIANS ARE AS NAUGHT BEFORE ME! YOU WILL DIE A TERRIBLE DEATH AT THE HANDS OF MY GREATEST SERVANT, AND YOUR WEAPON OF DARKNESS WILL ONCE AGAIN BELONG TO DARKNESS!"
Jakan stands there for a moment longer before he finally gathers the strength he needs, and throws the palantir away from him. As it rolls on the ground, Gandalf throws a blanket over it as Jakan collapses to his hands and knees, panting from his encounter with the Dark Lord.
"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf shouts as he turns to face Pippin. However, as he does, he sees that Pippin is lying perfectly still, his eyes still open, where he had been struggling with the palantir. Gandalf rushes over to the hobbit and places his hand over Pippin's face, muttering words in Elvish.
As Gandalf is doing this, Boromir, now wide awake, hurries over to Jakan and helps him to his feet. "I'll be okay. I'll be fine in a few minutes. I'll have nightmares for weeks though," he gasps out.
As Jakan turns to face Gandalf and Pippin, Pippin seems to snap out of whatever trance or daze he's in, breathing heavily.
Gandalf tries to calm Pippin. As Pippin seems to ease up a bit, he says, "Gandalf, forgive me."
He closes his eyes, looking like he wants to cry, but Gandalf says, "Look at me. What did you see?"
Pippin looks at Gandalf for a moment before he says, "A tree. There was a tree in a courtyard of stone. It was dead. The city was burning."
Boromir's eyes widen. "Minas Tirith!" he exclaims as he realizes what Sauron's next target is.
Pippin looks back at Gandalf, even more fear in his eyes, and says, "I saw…I saw him! I could hear his voice in my head!"
"And what did you tell him? Speak!" Gandalf urges.
Pippin is quiet for a moment before he says, "He asked me my name. I didn't answer. He hurt me."
"What did you tell him about Frodo and the Ring?" Gandalf demands.
Pippin looks back at Gandalf fearfully for several moments before he manages to say, "Nothing, Gandalf. I said nothing."
Relief passes through everyone for a moment, but it doesn't last.
The war with Sauron is about to enter its climax.
And, I'll end there. Hope you liked this chapter.
Next one will be up soon. Until then, leave a review, and stay tuned!