Ch. 16: Decisions
Soon the remaining twenty five horses
and twenty-seven riders departed. Merry rode with Aragorn, and Gimli
with Legolas. Soon they became aware of riders behind them.
They turned and all readied their weapons. The approaching party
was at least as large as the king's party. Aragorn dismounted, Andúril
ready, and Éomer challenged the riders.
The leader dismounted and walked forward.
"I am Halbarad Dúnadan, Ranger of the North. We are seeking
one Aragorn son of Arathorn."
"You have found him!" Aragorn cried,
before embracing the man.¹ The ranger had brought thirty of
the Rangers, Aragorn's kin from the North. With them, too, were Elrond's
twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir.
Having no time to waste, they set
off at once. Aragorn rode with the Dúnedain and caught up
on news as they rode. Elrohir spoke to him a message from Elrond:
"The days are short. If thou are in haste, remember the Paths of
the Dead." Halbarad brought not a message but a tall staff wrapped
in black cloth, sent by Lady Arwen. Galadriel had sent word to Rivendell
that Aragorn had need of his kin.¹
The next day, they came to the Hornburg,
where Aragorn disappeared, accompanied only by Halbarad. Legolas,
Gimli, Merry, and Worf were left to wander on their own. When they
returned for lunch, Merry surprised them all by offering his service to
Théoden, becoming the king's squire. At that moment, Worf
began to feel lonely. The last few months had been so busy he'd scarcely
had time to think, much less feel anything of the sort. Now, though,
even little Merry, far from home and scarcely capable of protecting himself,
much less fighting a battle, was sworn to the service a great lord.
All the others had homes or goals to return to, but Worf had none of that.
He almost offered his service to Théoden then, but held back, not
wanting to be disloyal to Aragorn and the remnants of the fellowship. Another
memory rang in the back of his mind, a promise made to a dying man: I
will do all I can to help the Hobbits. You have my word of honor.
After lunch, five hundred of Théoden's
men prepared to ride, following the thousand who had left in the night.
The Rangers stood apart, wearing no adornment save a silver brooch in a
rayed star design. Merry was given a pony. Éomer went
after Aragorn, and soon they emerged, along with Elladan and Elrohir, dark
haired Elf-lords. Legolas, Gimli, and Worf followed. Aragorn
looked wearier than any had ever seen him.
Aragorn spoke to Théoden.
"How long will your muster require?" When Théoden told him three
days before they could come to the Hold at Dunharrow to begin the muster,
Aragorn seemed to make a decision. "By your leave, lord, I must take
leave of you. The time for stealth has passed. I will ride
east by the swiftest way, and take the Paths of the Dead."
Théoden trembled at the very
mention of this, and Éomer thought he would never see him again,
but Aragorn replied, "In battle we may yet meet again, though all the hosts
of Mordor should stand between."²
When questioned, Aragorn told them
that he had used the palantír from Orthanc, and held a battle of
wills with the Dark Lord himself, barely able to wrench the stone to his
own use. The knowledge that Isildur's heir walked the green earth,
carrying the Sword that was Broken, that defeated him once before, was
a heavy blow to the Enemy. It might cause him to act more hastily
than he might have otherwise. In the stone, Aragorn had seen a grave
danger to Minas Tirith—an army that would arrive within ten days and, without
defense unlooked for, would take the city. It was the cause of the
great haste.
Merry was left to ride with Théoden,
and Worf faced a decision: with whom would he ride? Aragorn, weary
though he was, seemed to see Worf's debate with the same almost telepathic
clarity he had shown in Rivendell. Walking over to Worf, he clasped
the Klingon's wrist and said, "Worf, you are welcome to go with whomever
you will. I would be honored to have you ride with me, but so would
Théoden. Go where your heart leads you."
Worf bowed his head in a sign of respect,
then said, "Thank you, my lord. Know that I would gladly ride with
you, but…"
"Say no more. Nai tiruvantel
ar varyuvantel i Valar tielyanna nu vilya.³ May the Valar
protect you on your path under the sky. I will look for you in Minas
Tirith. Until then, farewell!"
Worf turned to Théoden, who
had watched the conversation with some interest, then knelt before the
king, laying his bat'leth before the king. He spoke, "You have my
service, lord, and my blade, if you will accept them."
"Gladly will I have you ride at my
side, warrior Worf. Join my troops with honor, knight of the Mark."
Worf mounted his horse beside Éomer, who clasped his wrist for a
moment before they rode out.
¹ p. 51, Return of
the King
² p. 56, Return of the King
³ p. 31, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship
of the Ring Visual Companion