(A.N. Thank you so much for the great reviews. I apologize for the severe diversion from the text, but that's just my style.)
One would think finding the One Ring was not that difficult. The Naz-gul were good at what they did. Why else would Sauron have kept them around for as long as he did? But for whatever reason, the Ring remained hidden. Some suggested the Ring did not want to be found. I was thinking more along the lines of the nine refusing to ask for directions. Either way, another five hundred years passed without the Ring. Five hundred fifty years may seem like a lot, but when one has lived for over two thousand, it was little more than an inconvenient wait.
Finally, after two and a half millennia, we got our hands on the creature who had kept the Ring for those crucial five hundred years. Sharuk and Lughak, my two latest orc henchmen, brought the creature Gollum to me. He was a pathetic sight. Bald, skinny, and malformed, he elicited almost the same reaction as the first time I saw an orc. They threw him down at my feet and leaned over to look in his eyes.
"You have something that does not belong to you," I said.
"No. They stoles it from us!" he insisted.
"Who stole it from you?" I asked. In reply, he unleashed this terrible wail.
"She asked you a question," Lughak jabbed him with his foot.
"The pwecious...the pwecious has left us," he wailed. I was quickly losing patience with this cryptic creature.
"Take him to the dungeons and see if you can't get anything out of him there," I said. "I am in no mood for games." They picked him up again and dragged Gollum kicking and screaming down the stairs. At least it was a break. We'd gone so long without having any idea where the Ring was that this was at least something. If Gollum didn't have the Ring anymore, as he claimed, then maybe he knew who did.
Gollum proved to be a challenge for even our methods of persuasion. He was steadfastly refusing to say who the mysterious 'they' were that took the Ring. It was frustrating Lughak and Sharuk to no end.
"'e's a tough nut to crack, that one," Sharuk told me. "'e keeps refusing to say anythin'."
"And you've tried everything?" I said.
"We've even made up a few things," Lughak said. I got up off the throne.
"Let me try," I said.
"We took 'im to Minas Morgul. Thought the Witch King would 'ave better luck," said Sharuk.
"Have him brought back here and throw him in the dungeons. I want to have a round with him," I said.
"Absolutely," Lughak said. They ambled out to go retrieve Gollum. I doubt the Witch King had done any of the work himself. He usually pawned it off on one of the lesser Naz-gul or the orcs. He gave Sauron a run for his money when it came to ego. I would have minded it more if I hadn't had the luxury of secluding myself in Barad-dur. Fortunately for me, Sauron liked to keep me close and make sure I was properly carrying out his orders. After all that time he'd spent disembodied, most considered me the more capable of the two. Of course, Sauron wasn't stupid. He knew how the slaves felt about their master. That was the whole reason he'd chosen me. Beauty can inspire allegiance that brute force cannot. Then again, brute force is more likely to give you the answer you want to hear. It was time for me to prove I was more than just a pretty face.
"They're returning him as we speak," Lughak reported.
"Excellent," I said.
"What'd you have in mind for 'im?" Sharuk asked.
"A few of the old ways," I smiled. They looked at each other, clearly having no clue what I meant. "Go get the rack ready."
"Yes," they grinned. Nothing got those two motivated like the prospect of torture. I had bred them all that way. They were born to kill and show no mercy and I was quite proud of my work. I had no idea I was about to be usurped.
"Azra," Sauron shook me from my vile daydream.
"Yes, my lord," I said.
"I am ready," he said.
"But we have not yet gotten the Ring," I said.
"I do not need it. The power has grown enough," he said.
"If the tower is ready then I shall take you up there," I said.
"Excellent," he said. "All is in place." I picked up the palantir and made my way to the top of Barad-dur. Sauron's power had been steadily growing since the Ring resurfaced. Now he was ready to return to a somewhat physical form. He would need the Ring to become fully regenerated, but this was close enough. Even I had no idea what he had in mind as I walked up to the top. Between the two prongs of the tower I put the palantir down. A blinding orange light shot out of it and up into the center. I covered my face until the light stopped. When I looked up, I was staring at a larger version of what had been in the palantir. A great eye wreathed in flame looked back at me. I was speechless for a few moments and then he spoke.
"Return the palantir to its place. Learn what you can from the creature," he said. I nodded and made my way back into the tower. I replaced the palantir on my way down to the dungeons. Lughak and Sharuk were waiting for me.
"Everything is ready, just like you asked," Lughak said.
"Then let us see if Gollum has changed his mind," I said. I picked up a hot poker and walked over to the rack. Three other orcs stood around him, waiting for me. He looked worse than when I saw him last, if that was possible.
"I believe you have something to tell me," I said. He shook his head. I jabbed him in the ribs.
"Speak quickly, give me two words, and I will release you," I said. The orcs looked among one another. They were wondering why I only asked for two words. I poked him again. He shrieked. In those shrieks, I got my two words.
"Shire! Baggins!"
"Let him go," I said, smiling to myself. Sharuk and Lughak followed me out of the dungeon.
"Get me the maps. I want the most recent ones," I said. "And send out the Naz-gul. We have work to do."
"Yes, Master," Lughak said, struggling to keep up with me.
"Sharuk, send a pair to follow Gollum. It may prove useful later," I said. Lughak spread out the maps in the study.
"The Shire is here," I pointed to a place in the upper left of the map. "But we are here."
"That's a long way," Lughak observed.
"The way the nine rides, I'd say eight days," I said.
"And what of the other word? Baggins?" he asked. I shrugged.
"I don't know what that means," I said. "Maybe it is a road or something."
"Or a name," Lughak said.
"That could work," I said. "The nine will know soon enough. Our job is finished."
"This time maybe they'll come back with it," he said.
"We should be so lucky," I said wryly. I rolled up the maps and put them back on the shelves. Lughak went back down to the dungeons. I decided to watch the Naz-gul ride out. As I walked outside, I noticed something odd toward the gate. In a land where everything is black, other colors stand out a great deal more. There was a gray spot moving on the left side of the gate. I walked closer and could see it was a horse. How a horse had gotten into Mordor was beyond me. Why it wasn't dead yet was also beyond me. Usually the gate orcs shot anything on sight. It came toward me when it saw me approach. We met somewhere in the middle. I reached out to touch it and heard my sister's voice.
"He was lonely," I had not heard Angath's voice for centuries. I had long ago assumed I would never recall it. But the moment I touched that horse, I could hear her as clearly as if she were standing next to me.
"Angath," I said. The horse's ears perked up.
"Is that your name?" I asked. She bumped my shoulder. I rubbed her ears and smiled. From that moment on, Angath would become my closest friend. I had to believe she had come to me for a reason. Nothing happened by chance and there are no such thing as accidents, especially in the land of the shadows. I could only guess my long dead sister who so loved horses had sent me a companion to carry me through the dangers that would come.
I found a spot for Angath near the tower. I went back inside only to hear the voice of my lord giving me another order.
"I need to you to ride to Isengard," he said.
"Isengard? What's there?" I asked.
"A wizard named Saruman. Go and see what kind of army he is building me,"