CHAPTER 2 - THE JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH
"Hurry up!" said Jimmy, already in the passenger side seat of Uglakh's car.
"One second." answered Uglakh. He put a coin into a vending machine and got a bag of Lembas Krunchies. "For the road."
They set off early in the morning, just as the sun was beginning to peak over the majestic Misty Mountains to the east. They took the main highway south, along the edge of the mountains. After a few hours, Uglakh slowed down and took a left turn onto a two-lane eastward road.
"What are you doing?" asked Jimmy.
"Trust me." said Uglakh. "This is shortcut."
Jimmy peered out the window at a sign.
Caradhras pass - 3 miles.
"Caradhras..." Jimmy said slowly. "I know there's something about that in the Tolkien books... I dunno."
"You really believe the Tolkien books?" asked Uglakh.
"For the most part, yes. I know that there is significant archeological and recorded evidence that the battles described in the books took place, though maybe they were more dramatized in the books."
"What about ring?"
"That's where I'm much more skeptical. The idea of such a little ring having so much power seems a bit ridiculous to me, I have to admit. But if it's true, and you have the ring, we have to be very careful. That's why I brought this."
Jimmy pulled a Sting 9mm pistol out of a holster in his jacket. It was a relatively small gun, but looked large in his hobbit hands.
"I not like guns." said Uglakh.
"Sorry." said Jimmy, holstering the Sting again.
They drove along the eastward road until they were on the slopes of the snow-capped Caradhras mountain. The road was long and winding, and the further they drove, the colder and fiercer the weather became. Little by little, the snow started to fall. The snow and the wind increased with time until it was a blinding blizzard which piled up on the windshield faster than the wipers could push it off, forcing them to cautiously slow down. After a slow and very white half hour, the form of a wooden road block emerged out of the snow, a police car with flashing lights next to it. Uglakh brought the car to a stop. A policeman in heavy winter clothing walked up to Uglakh.
"Excuse me, sir, but you're going to have to turn around. There's been an accident."
Uglakh strained to look through the snow and managed to see the crumpled taillights of a wrecked car, and the lights of several emergency vehicles pale in the distance.
"Is there another pass through Caradhras?" asked Jimmy.
"No, and I wouldn't advise it either. Even without this in front of you, the conditions are much too dangerous for driving. I'm sorry, you'll have to find another way to get wherever you're going."
Uglakh muttered an orcish swear word and turned the car around. Almost instantly, the weather began to clear up. As they drove back, Jimmy remembered the first Lord of the Rings book, and how Caradhras had not let the first fellowship pass through. It seemed that the mountain hadn't quite forgotten in the thousand years that had passed. Whatever story the ring would tell, Caradhras would have no part in it.
After an hour of driving along the edge of Caradhras, Uglakh squinted his eyes and looked at a line of headlights in the distance, eight of them moving toward them.
"Who can be that?" asked Uglakh.
As the headlights approached, Jimmy's eyes went wide. Eight figures dressed in black, forms that he had seen in numerous books, both historical accounts and fictional works, forms that signified all that is evil. The Nazgul, but with black horses replaced by black motorcycles. The Nazgul in the lead drew a sword and pointed it at the lone car, letting out a hideous shriek that chilled them to the bone.
Uglakh yelled out an orcish swear word, then turned to Jimmy.
"What we do?"
The Nazgul pulled even closer, their dark cloaks flying behind them in the wind. The other seven pulled swords. Half of them seperated to one side of the road, with the other half on the other.
"Uhhh... I... uh..." Jimmy stuttered, grasping the Sting 9mm in its holster. "Ram them!"
Uglakh floored the gas. Jimmy pulled out his Sting, and started to roll down his window. He lifted himself up and leaned out the window. He aimed as well as he could and tried to shoot the lead Nazgul. At the moment he pulled the trigger, the rush of adrenaline hit him and the world slowed down. He saw the flash from the muzzle slowly form and saw the impact in the middle of the Black Rider's body, which knocked it off its motorcycle. He felt the recoil of the gun almost yank it out of his hands, something he was unprepared for since he had never shot a gun before. Midway through the Nazgul's fall it threw its sword toward the car. It spun through the air sideways and smashed into the windshield. Uglakh ducked to avoid the spinning sword and the glass fragments, slamming on the brakes out of instinct. The tires screeched on the icy ground and the car started to spin out of control. It veered off the road, up a slight incline on the side of the mountain and crashed sideways into a tree. Jimmy and Uglakh were pushed into their seats by two airbags that popped up on impact. Outside the car the seven Nazgul on motorbikes suddenly turned around and sped away from them.
"Why they leave?" asked Uglakh, pushing the airbag away from his face.
The answer was riding towards them on a motorcycle of its own. It was an elf with long blond hair and a long white leather jacket who was now accelerating and letting out a battle cry. He popped the front wheel of his motorcycle into the air, and when the first Nazgul came close, he swung the wheel, smacking it in the head and sending it off the edge of the mountain with a squealing sound. He put his front wheel down again and accelerated through the other Nazgul, weaving left and right, ducking under them as they swung their swords at him. Finally, when he broke through the Nazgul, he swerved around, bringing his motorcycle to a stop. The momentum of the turn sent the back of his jacket flying out behind him, exposing two hand-held semi-automatic crossbows in holsters strapped to his side. He planted his feet on the ground and pulled out the two crossbows, flicking on the laser sights, which painted red dots on the black cloaks of the Nazgul. He opened fire at them with both crossbows, sending a barrage of explosive-tipped darts that knocked them off their motorcycles. All but one who was now only a few feet away and gaining fast. The elf hopped onto the seat of his bike and jumped into the air, over the swinging sword of the fast-moving Nazgul. He spun around and landed on the ground just as the final Nazgul started to turn. At that moment the elf fired one shot and the explosive-tipped dart hit the engine of the Nazgul's motorcycle. The motorcycle exploded, sending the Nazgul down the side of the mountain in flames, shrieking madly all the way down.
Uglakh crawled out of the car wreck and helped pull Jimmy out. The elf rode up to them.
"Get on." said the elf.
Uglakh and Jimmy hopped onto the motorcycle with him, Jimmy in between the two.
"Who are you?" asked Jimmy.
"My name is Mayathir, and I work for the fellowship." he said.
"How did you know how to find us here?"
"Gandalf sent me, although you had already left the Rivendell Motel when he called, so I took a guess as to where you would go. A lucky one, by the looks of it. I'm here to protect you."
He sped off down the road westward. Looking back, Jimmy was shocked to see that the Nazgul on the ground were getting back onto their feet as if nothing had happened.
"That's right" said Mayathir, looking at the rear-view mirror. "Those are the real deal. The Nazgul. And you can bet we'll be seeing them again."
-
On the western side of Arda, on the other side of the ocean, was the city of Valinor. The fabled destination of the elves departing from the Gray Havens. The majestic glass skyscrapers towered almost into the clouds over the overlapping streets and highways. A helicopter was approaching the roof of one of the highest skyscrapers, one that stood out from the others mostly because of the giant letter "M" engraved on the side. This was the headquarters of Mithrandir corporation. Just about every house and office in the world contained some of Mithrandir's products, and just about every computer in the world ran Mithrandir's operating system: Mithra 3.1. And every year the corporation grew in power.
On the 105th floor of the building, an old man with a long gray beard stood at a window, looking at the traffic down below and gathering his thoughts. Only this was no man. This was Gandalf, a wizard who played a key role in almost all the events in Arda's history since the third age. And the fourth age, it seemed to him, would be no different.
"Gandalf," came the voice of his secretary over an intercom. "Milo Sandybanks is here to see you.
"Let him in."
A hobbit wearing a business suit and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses walked into Gandalf's office.
"E...ex...excuse me, sir... but..."
"Yes, what is it, Milo?" Gandalf was always annoyed by Milo's stuttering, but put up with it because he was a great accountant.
Milo shifted nervously in place and pushed his glasses up. "I... I was l..l..l..looking over the... uh... ac..c..ccounts and I noticed something... uh.. weird. You're making... uh... some kind of major expenditure that looks like... uh... a total liability w..w..without any kind of potential payoff."
"Don't worry, Milo. I know what I'm doing."
"Y...you're setting us back thousands of dollars... tens of thousands of dollars without any apparent g..good reason. W..what are you doing?" Milo pushed his glasses up.
"I'm sorry, Milo, but it is quite important that I keep this completely top secret. More is at stake here than the company. Just get the accounting department working on whatever they can to minimize our losses. I know you can do it."
"Y..yes sir, Mr. Gandalf, sir." Milo pushed his glasses up again.
"And it's just Gandalf, I've told you this before."
Milo pushed his glasses up once more, then quickly scurried off back to work. Gandalf walked back to his desk and pushed the intercom button.
"Sally?" he said.
"Yes?" came his secretary's voice.
"I'm leaving now, so direct any important calls to the cell phone. And I mean REALLY important."
"Yes, Gandalf. Have a nice trip."
Gandalf opened up the top drawer of his desk and grabbed the Foehammer .50 pistol that rested inside. Magic was usually good enough for personal protection but it was a hell of a lot easier just to pull a trigger. He put on a long grey trenchcoat, and put the Foehammer in the right pocket. He waved his right hand and magically pushed open a secret door on the far end of his office, which led to a stairway. He walked up the stairway and emerged on the roof of the building, the bright morning sun assaulting his eyes. He pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his coat pocket and put them on, bringing into his view the waiting helicopter. The wind blew Gandalf's beard and his coat out behind him as he stepped toward the helicopter, its blades periodically interrupting the sunlight.
When he reached the helicopter he said to the pilot, "Take me to Middle-earth, Jeff."
"Hurry up!" said Jimmy, already in the passenger side seat of Uglakh's car.
"One second." answered Uglakh. He put a coin into a vending machine and got a bag of Lembas Krunchies. "For the road."
They set off early in the morning, just as the sun was beginning to peak over the majestic Misty Mountains to the east. They took the main highway south, along the edge of the mountains. After a few hours, Uglakh slowed down and took a left turn onto a two-lane eastward road.
"What are you doing?" asked Jimmy.
"Trust me." said Uglakh. "This is shortcut."
Jimmy peered out the window at a sign.
Caradhras pass - 3 miles.
"Caradhras..." Jimmy said slowly. "I know there's something about that in the Tolkien books... I dunno."
"You really believe the Tolkien books?" asked Uglakh.
"For the most part, yes. I know that there is significant archeological and recorded evidence that the battles described in the books took place, though maybe they were more dramatized in the books."
"What about ring?"
"That's where I'm much more skeptical. The idea of such a little ring having so much power seems a bit ridiculous to me, I have to admit. But if it's true, and you have the ring, we have to be very careful. That's why I brought this."
Jimmy pulled a Sting 9mm pistol out of a holster in his jacket. It was a relatively small gun, but looked large in his hobbit hands.
"I not like guns." said Uglakh.
"Sorry." said Jimmy, holstering the Sting again.
They drove along the eastward road until they were on the slopes of the snow-capped Caradhras mountain. The road was long and winding, and the further they drove, the colder and fiercer the weather became. Little by little, the snow started to fall. The snow and the wind increased with time until it was a blinding blizzard which piled up on the windshield faster than the wipers could push it off, forcing them to cautiously slow down. After a slow and very white half hour, the form of a wooden road block emerged out of the snow, a police car with flashing lights next to it. Uglakh brought the car to a stop. A policeman in heavy winter clothing walked up to Uglakh.
"Excuse me, sir, but you're going to have to turn around. There's been an accident."
Uglakh strained to look through the snow and managed to see the crumpled taillights of a wrecked car, and the lights of several emergency vehicles pale in the distance.
"Is there another pass through Caradhras?" asked Jimmy.
"No, and I wouldn't advise it either. Even without this in front of you, the conditions are much too dangerous for driving. I'm sorry, you'll have to find another way to get wherever you're going."
Uglakh muttered an orcish swear word and turned the car around. Almost instantly, the weather began to clear up. As they drove back, Jimmy remembered the first Lord of the Rings book, and how Caradhras had not let the first fellowship pass through. It seemed that the mountain hadn't quite forgotten in the thousand years that had passed. Whatever story the ring would tell, Caradhras would have no part in it.
After an hour of driving along the edge of Caradhras, Uglakh squinted his eyes and looked at a line of headlights in the distance, eight of them moving toward them.
"Who can be that?" asked Uglakh.
As the headlights approached, Jimmy's eyes went wide. Eight figures dressed in black, forms that he had seen in numerous books, both historical accounts and fictional works, forms that signified all that is evil. The Nazgul, but with black horses replaced by black motorcycles. The Nazgul in the lead drew a sword and pointed it at the lone car, letting out a hideous shriek that chilled them to the bone.
Uglakh yelled out an orcish swear word, then turned to Jimmy.
"What we do?"
The Nazgul pulled even closer, their dark cloaks flying behind them in the wind. The other seven pulled swords. Half of them seperated to one side of the road, with the other half on the other.
"Uhhh... I... uh..." Jimmy stuttered, grasping the Sting 9mm in its holster. "Ram them!"
Uglakh floored the gas. Jimmy pulled out his Sting, and started to roll down his window. He lifted himself up and leaned out the window. He aimed as well as he could and tried to shoot the lead Nazgul. At the moment he pulled the trigger, the rush of adrenaline hit him and the world slowed down. He saw the flash from the muzzle slowly form and saw the impact in the middle of the Black Rider's body, which knocked it off its motorcycle. He felt the recoil of the gun almost yank it out of his hands, something he was unprepared for since he had never shot a gun before. Midway through the Nazgul's fall it threw its sword toward the car. It spun through the air sideways and smashed into the windshield. Uglakh ducked to avoid the spinning sword and the glass fragments, slamming on the brakes out of instinct. The tires screeched on the icy ground and the car started to spin out of control. It veered off the road, up a slight incline on the side of the mountain and crashed sideways into a tree. Jimmy and Uglakh were pushed into their seats by two airbags that popped up on impact. Outside the car the seven Nazgul on motorbikes suddenly turned around and sped away from them.
"Why they leave?" asked Uglakh, pushing the airbag away from his face.
The answer was riding towards them on a motorcycle of its own. It was an elf with long blond hair and a long white leather jacket who was now accelerating and letting out a battle cry. He popped the front wheel of his motorcycle into the air, and when the first Nazgul came close, he swung the wheel, smacking it in the head and sending it off the edge of the mountain with a squealing sound. He put his front wheel down again and accelerated through the other Nazgul, weaving left and right, ducking under them as they swung their swords at him. Finally, when he broke through the Nazgul, he swerved around, bringing his motorcycle to a stop. The momentum of the turn sent the back of his jacket flying out behind him, exposing two hand-held semi-automatic crossbows in holsters strapped to his side. He planted his feet on the ground and pulled out the two crossbows, flicking on the laser sights, which painted red dots on the black cloaks of the Nazgul. He opened fire at them with both crossbows, sending a barrage of explosive-tipped darts that knocked them off their motorcycles. All but one who was now only a few feet away and gaining fast. The elf hopped onto the seat of his bike and jumped into the air, over the swinging sword of the fast-moving Nazgul. He spun around and landed on the ground just as the final Nazgul started to turn. At that moment the elf fired one shot and the explosive-tipped dart hit the engine of the Nazgul's motorcycle. The motorcycle exploded, sending the Nazgul down the side of the mountain in flames, shrieking madly all the way down.
Uglakh crawled out of the car wreck and helped pull Jimmy out. The elf rode up to them.
"Get on." said the elf.
Uglakh and Jimmy hopped onto the motorcycle with him, Jimmy in between the two.
"Who are you?" asked Jimmy.
"My name is Mayathir, and I work for the fellowship." he said.
"How did you know how to find us here?"
"Gandalf sent me, although you had already left the Rivendell Motel when he called, so I took a guess as to where you would go. A lucky one, by the looks of it. I'm here to protect you."
He sped off down the road westward. Looking back, Jimmy was shocked to see that the Nazgul on the ground were getting back onto their feet as if nothing had happened.
"That's right" said Mayathir, looking at the rear-view mirror. "Those are the real deal. The Nazgul. And you can bet we'll be seeing them again."
-
On the western side of Arda, on the other side of the ocean, was the city of Valinor. The fabled destination of the elves departing from the Gray Havens. The majestic glass skyscrapers towered almost into the clouds over the overlapping streets and highways. A helicopter was approaching the roof of one of the highest skyscrapers, one that stood out from the others mostly because of the giant letter "M" engraved on the side. This was the headquarters of Mithrandir corporation. Just about every house and office in the world contained some of Mithrandir's products, and just about every computer in the world ran Mithrandir's operating system: Mithra 3.1. And every year the corporation grew in power.
On the 105th floor of the building, an old man with a long gray beard stood at a window, looking at the traffic down below and gathering his thoughts. Only this was no man. This was Gandalf, a wizard who played a key role in almost all the events in Arda's history since the third age. And the fourth age, it seemed to him, would be no different.
"Gandalf," came the voice of his secretary over an intercom. "Milo Sandybanks is here to see you.
"Let him in."
A hobbit wearing a business suit and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses walked into Gandalf's office.
"E...ex...excuse me, sir... but..."
"Yes, what is it, Milo?" Gandalf was always annoyed by Milo's stuttering, but put up with it because he was a great accountant.
Milo shifted nervously in place and pushed his glasses up. "I... I was l..l..l..looking over the... uh... ac..c..ccounts and I noticed something... uh.. weird. You're making... uh... some kind of major expenditure that looks like... uh... a total liability w..w..without any kind of potential payoff."
"Don't worry, Milo. I know what I'm doing."
"Y...you're setting us back thousands of dollars... tens of thousands of dollars without any apparent g..good reason. W..what are you doing?" Milo pushed his glasses up.
"I'm sorry, Milo, but it is quite important that I keep this completely top secret. More is at stake here than the company. Just get the accounting department working on whatever they can to minimize our losses. I know you can do it."
"Y..yes sir, Mr. Gandalf, sir." Milo pushed his glasses up again.
"And it's just Gandalf, I've told you this before."
Milo pushed his glasses up once more, then quickly scurried off back to work. Gandalf walked back to his desk and pushed the intercom button.
"Sally?" he said.
"Yes?" came his secretary's voice.
"I'm leaving now, so direct any important calls to the cell phone. And I mean REALLY important."
"Yes, Gandalf. Have a nice trip."
Gandalf opened up the top drawer of his desk and grabbed the Foehammer .50 pistol that rested inside. Magic was usually good enough for personal protection but it was a hell of a lot easier just to pull a trigger. He put on a long grey trenchcoat, and put the Foehammer in the right pocket. He waved his right hand and magically pushed open a secret door on the far end of his office, which led to a stairway. He walked up the stairway and emerged on the roof of the building, the bright morning sun assaulting his eyes. He pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his coat pocket and put them on, bringing into his view the waiting helicopter. The wind blew Gandalf's beard and his coat out behind him as he stepped toward the helicopter, its blades periodically interrupting the sunlight.
When he reached the helicopter he said to the pilot, "Take me to Middle-earth, Jeff."