(A.N. I have returned. My first year of college is over and I have until August off. Hopefully, I'll update more regularly. Enjoy the latest.)
It didn't take long for word to travel to us. The Uruks had caught up with the party at Amon Hen. That was the good news. The bad news was, they only caught two of the halflings.
"What? There were four!" I snapped when I got the news.
"They said they only found two," Baghrat said. I picked up the nearest thing and threw it. He ducked.
"That means they've got a fifty percent chance that they found the one that carries it," I couldn't believe the utter stupidity of Saruman's creatures.
"Maybe they got the right one," he suggested.
"I wouldn't bet on it. Those things have all the brains of rocks. They wouldn't have thought to search the area. The others were probably hiding and one of them probably has the Ring," I said. I paced angrily around the room for a good five minutes not saying anything. Baghrat just stood there, waiting for instruction.
"Find out where they are," I said.
"Yes, my lady," he said and left. I couldn't believe what they'd done. Now our great hope had been dashed again. It was beginning to take a toll on my nerves. All of these near misses. I was half tempted to go out and hunt down the Hobbit on my own. Sauron would never allow it and the odds I actually found him were slim. Instead, I settled for pouting some more. I think the last time I had a good pout was sometime early in the Second Age.
"They're in Rohan," Baghrat's voice jerked me back to reality. "The ones with the Hobbits are nearing Fangorn. Other bands are sacking and burning the Westfold. Saruman has taken a great interest in the fall of Rohan. He's possessed the king, or so I was informed."
"What does he want with Rohan? Men are weak, why not just let them be?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Okay, yes, if we kill the entire race of men then we have no competition. The elves have been leaving for…wherever…for centuries. They offer the last threat," I said, thinking out loud.
"As you said, my lady, they are weak," he said. I thought about it for a moment.
"The weak can be made strong if united under a leader. Someone they would all pledge their allegiance to, but men are distrusting. Such a leader would have to be someone powerful. Do they have anyone with such power?" At this point, I had stopped talking to Baghrat completely. I was absorbed in my own thoughts. This called for some research.
"I'm going to the study. If you hear anything else, come get me," I said. He nodded. I rooted through everything I could find. I read about kings, stewards, heirs, and anything else that looked like it might provide some insight. As I was flipping through what felt like the hundredth book, I came across something.
"Aragorn?" That name triggered something in my mind. Then it hit me. The ranger traveling with the party had been named Aragorn. I ran down to the throne room and pulled the cloth off the palantir.
"I have discovered something, my lord," I said quickly.
"What have you discovered?" he asked.
"The man, the ranger with the party from Rivendell, his name is Aragorn," I said. That seemed to get his attention.
"Aragorn, son of Arathorn?"
"Yes," I said. "He's the sole heir of Numenor."
"I am aware of that fact. And you say he was with the ones who carry the Ring?" he asked.
"But the party splintered at Amon Hen, thanks in no small part to Saruman's oafish Uruk Hai. There is no way of knowing where he is now," I said.
"We shall worry about that soon enough. Let me take care of it," he said. I was insulted. I had gone to all this trouble to figure out who we needed to kill and he was brushing me off.
"As you wish," I said.
"Azra," he said, as I was leaving.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Your time will come," I had no idea what that meant. As if I hadn't done enough for him. I had slaved to create the greatest army in Middle Earth for three and a half millennia. I had been his loyal servant for an equally long period. It was irritating to be pushed to the back. Saruman appeared to have taken my place. I cursed him and his Uruks as I walked back to the study.
"You don't look happy," Baghrat said.
"I'm not," I replied shortly. "I've been replaced."