This is the third part of my The Other Two series, and I hope that it is as good as the others! And if ur reading this one, u might want to consider reading the other two parts first, because if u don't, then this will make just about absolutely no sense. Ok, and if u can, then could u please review my story? Ok, thanx if u do, and if u don't, well, please rethink and review. Ok, I'm done. And does anyone kno anything about where u can find the unfinished tales? I'm at a loss. I cant find it at any book store so far. I haven't tried borders yet, but I don't kno if its there. If u kno someplace that sells that book, please let me kno in ur review. Ok, thanx! Elf of the Wand

The Other Two: Part Three

Pallando ran as fast as he could towards his camp. He glanced warily behind him. No one was following him yet, that he could tell. He eyed his campsite, in case of an ambush, and he crept inside his tent. Nothing he could tell had been displaced. He shoved some old texts to his side, and he stuck his head outside. Still no one. If anyone was following him, it sure wasn't showing.

He stuck his head back into the tent, and he huddled amidst his blankets. This was the first time that he had ever been scared. While Pallando had been hiding behind the boulder, listening to Saruman and Alatar talk, Saruman had glared into his eyes. The hatred and anger that shined in those eyes burned Pallando, and his mind was scarred with a red eye. Pallando shivered, and brought the blankets closer to him. The eyes were burning his mind.

At the main camp, Saruman was looking down the hill from the hilltop camp. Alatar yawned and put his finished coimas pack by the fire. Saruman glanced at Alatar, and slowly asked, "Alatar, are you really good friends with Pallando?"

Alatar frowned, and said, "Of course! What do you think? I've known Pallando since," he laughed, "Since the beginning of our lives! We were of the same thought, you see." He laughed some more, took a keg of malta, and drained it all. Saruman winced.

Alatar laughed tipsily. "Ah, nothing like a cold keg of malta to cool you down on this warm day!" Saruman raised his eyebrows. He was in his warmest robes, and he was still cold.

Alatar noticed his strange expression, and he giggled and said, "Don't you know? Today is the start of summer!" Saruman did not tell the drunk Istari that it was Solmath, and that was in wintertime. He let Alatar sway and giggle until he fell down snoring.

Saruman looked in disgust at Alatar. What a fool, he thought, and he laughed as well, his haunting tone displacing the cheerful giggle of Alatar. Pallando heard that laugh, and he shivered once more. He crept out of his tent, and tiptoed onto the slope of the hill. He saw Saruman, laughing on the top of the hill, with his robes billowed out of the wind, and the gaping hole of a mouth stretched to its limit, as Saruman let out a great cackle. Pallando gasped when he saw Alatar snoring by the fire. What had Saruman done to him to make him sleep so soundly? Then, Saruman glanced down upon the hillside, and he saw Pallando looking horridly at Alatar. Saruman put down his arms, and shouted to Pallando, "Nothing happened to him, only that he drank too much malta."

Pallando sighed. How typical Alatar was that? Although Alatar was Pallando's sole companion on many journeys, he also tended to be a fool. A powerful fool, but a fool nonetheless. He looked around the camp. Saruman was right. A keg of air stood where once the keg of malta had been. He sighed again. Would Alatar never learn anything?

Saruman beckoned for Pallando to come up to the hilltop. Pallando hesitated, but then climbed up anyways. Saruman smiled warmly, and said, "I had a little talk with Alatar, and he told me that he was trying to study the Dark History of Middle Earth. Is that true?"

Pallando froze. Alatar had told him to never speak of his strange hobby, and yet Saruman was talking about it right in front of his eyes! He gazed at Alatar, and then his eyes shifted onto Saruman's sweet smile. He shuddered. It was almost as perceptive as his eyes.

"Well?" Saruman was growing impatient. The Blue Istari was just looking at him in a frozen way. Saruman sighed, and said, "You know, I am not that patient, so you should just hurry up and tell me. Either way, he is going to be put in the Halls of Mandos, whether you will it or not." Pallando's mind was stuck on one thing; Will he ask me about why I eavesdropped? Will he?

Saruman sensed this, and said, "By the way, why were you listening to Alatar and my conversation?" He leaned forward, and smiled again at the quivering Pallando.

Pallando's mouth quivered. "I was listening by mistake, sir! I didn't mean to over hear your conversation. It was just, well, Alatar doesn't bring up the topic of his interest in the Dark Lords a lot, not even with me. So, I just wondered what was going on, and why Alatar was talking freely with someone about this interest besides me."

Saruman nodded, and motioned with his hands for Pallando to go on.

Pallando told Saruman everything he knew about Alatar and his strange interest. "I didn't know about it until I saw this manuscript. It had this strange jewel on the cover, so I became curious, and started reading. I never meant to find out, but I did. I read the entire book. It was all about Morgoth and how he came to be. It told of how he took over Middle Earth, slowly and surely, until the Elves, Men, and Valar finally fought him and won. But, that book really didn't highlight how Morgoth lost. It highlighted how Morgoth came to power, and how he eluded the Valar, and how he destroyed everything the other Valar worked for. The book also talked about how Morgoth destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor, and how Feanor worked to create these beautiful jewels, and how the Silmarils were taken to protect Morgoth's lair. I cornered Alatar, and asked him about it until he would say no more. I got all that I could about this topic from him and that book. He told me that he was fascinated by Morgoth because compared to the Valar, he led a much more interesting life, and that if he had a choice when he was created, he would've liked to be in the same thought as Melkor. I asked him why, and he told me because to have this sudden power, and to be able to control other beings, well, he told me that was enough to make him want to join the Dark Lord that is rising right now."

Saruman looked at Pallando with a great interest. "There is a new Dark Lord now?"

Pallando gulped. "Yes, sir. Alatar spoke of one that the Elves call Gorthaur the Cruel. He said that Gorthaur once was Morgoth's servant, but Morgoth came out of power, and he was captured. Gorthaur was put under trial, but he persuaded his captors to let him go. He traveled Middle Earth in the guise of a lost soul, but in the end, he turned back to his dark roots. Alatar said that on this trip, he was going to leave to find the Dark Lord. I don't know if that is truly the case, but I told him not to join. The Istari are not supposed to ally themselves with this new dark force!"

Saruman's eyes shimmered. He turned to Pallando, and whispered, "You are right when you say that. I have to tell someone of higher status than I of what you just said. You were a good person to tell me. I will have you higher ranked when this is over with."

Pallando looked at Saruman with fear. "Oh, no! You cannot do that! That would lose me the trust of Alatar and of any living creature that believes in honor and trust! Oh, no, you cannot tell anyone a single word that I just told you!"

Saruman smiled. "Maybe you won't tell anyone, but I most certainly will. And I don't think that anyone is going to stop me."

Pallando stepped back in horror as Saruman laughed again, and then he stumbled down the hill, just realizing what he had done to his best friend.

TO BE CONTINUED...