Mo: No, thank you. I really appreciate the suggestions that people give me for stories.
Kitty: Gandalf won't give the news to Elrond until the next installment, soooo, you're going to have to remain in suspense. Mwah hah hah!
Dragonfly: In a way, Saruman is the closest that Gandalf has to 'blood kin'. They are both Maia, both wizards, and both have been sent into a sort of exile in Middle-earth.
K'lara7: Yes, Gandalf never picks up on the clues until Saruman reveals his hand (pun intended!).
Joee: That 'boring' story comes straight from the appendix to the LOTR, so I am being a bit cheeky, aren't I!?
Karri: You are correct. Things look bad for Anomen and his friends.
Terreis: Yep, Saruman. Dum dum dum DUM (cue ominous music). As for Gandalf's answers, I should mention that in the section about the roundness of the earth, I was making liberal use of the medieval 'travel' narrative Mandeville's Travels, which is a really good piece of evidence that puts the lie to the old legend that Columbus had to convince his potential backers that the earth was round. Everybody who was anybody knew that the earth was round. Heck, the ancient Greeks knew the earth was round, for crying out loud!
Andi-Black: You won't need those tissues very much just yet. But watch out for the cliff! (Mwah hah hah!)
Beta Reader: Dragonfly
The Grief of Gandalf the Grey: Part 2
The moment Gandalf rode out through the Ring of Isengard, Saruman set about on his campaign to seduce Anomen into his service.
"Now, my dear boy," he began unctuously, "I want you to take delight in your stay here. I am sure Mithrandir must be very strict with you—he can be quite grim, can he not?—but you needn't fear—I will not have you do anything you don't like. Mithrandir has set you to studying each day, hasn't he?"
"No, my Lord."
"Anomen, you don't need to dissemble. I know that you have spent several hours each day in the library. It is a pity that Mithrandir is such a hard taskmaster."
"It is true, my Lord, that I have spent several hours each day in the library, but by choice. Mithrandir said that there were several volumes here that were not in the library of Imladris, and I begged him to point them out to me. They contain fascinating tales, my Lord, and I have been enjoying myself immensely whilst reading them!"
Saruman was, of course, exceptionally learnéd, perhaps even more so than Gandalf (although not by much!). The concept of reading for pleasure was, however, foreign to him. He read only to glean the knowledge with which to manipulate people and objects. Still, if Anomen wished to read, then read he would.
"Very well," Saruman said briskly. "You may spend as much time in the library as you desire." He began to think to himself what volumes he could point out to the elfling that would predispose him to remain at Isengard.
"Something about the power and grandeur of wizardry would be good, I think," he murmured to himself. "I can think of several volumes that might do."
Try as he might, however, the Lord of Isengard could not interest Anomen in those volumes that he would have preferred the elfling to read. Instead, Anomen had a most disconcerting preference for immersing himself in tales in which Elves and Men joined forces to drive back the forces of darkness.
"It is so grand, Lord Saruman," Anomen was enthusing one day over the noon meal, "how Elves and Men combined during the Last Alliance to defeat the evil Lord Sauron!"
Saruman tried to look interested while at the same time redirecting Anomen's thoughts to more sobering reflections.
"True, they did defeat Sauron, but mayhap the price was too high. Elendil and Gil-galad both perished in that battle, and Isildur did not long survive the victory. And for what? The power of Men dwindled until now few remnants of their glory remain. And your kinsfolk, Anomen, I fear that they have suffered from having cast their lot with Men. They would have done better to have stood aloof from those mortals."
"But if they had," Anomen protested, "then perchance Sauron would have triumphed."
"And what if he had, Anomen? Sauron, like the Elves, is an immortal. He is a greater being than any Man. Perhaps the Elves would have done well to have allied themselves with him."
Suddenly Saruman realized that he may have said too much. Things likely would go ill if Anomen repeated any of his words to Gandalf. The wizard forced himself to laugh.
"Of course, I speak merely hypothetically, as one who is a logician. It does grieve me, however, to see how the Elves have dwindled since they entered into that Last Alliance with Men. I would see the Fair Folk choose their friends wisely. I know that I for one shall always be eager to have them as allies. I hope that Elrond understands this."
"I am sure that he knows you are powerful, my Lord," replied Anomen. This answer struck Saruman as more than a little equivocal, as well it should have.
Since Saruman had failed to interest Anomen in the books that he wished the elfling to read, the Istar decided that it was time to herd him away from the library.
"Anomen," he said, "tomorrow the tapestries in the library are going to be removed for cleaning, as well as the carpets, and all the furniture is to be dusted and polished—aye, and the floor, too. It will be no fit place for you. You must accompany me on a ride in the environs of Isengard. You do like to ride, do you not?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Good. I will see that you are provided with a suitable mount."
"I did not know you kept a pony, my Lord."
"A pony? Oh, yes, of course."
Saruman remembered that Anomen had not arrived on a horse of his own but had ridden with Gandalf.
"No, I don't keep any ponies, but you may ride with me as you rode with Mithrandir."
"Oh, no," exclaimed Anomen. "I mean, no thank you, my Lord. I can keep my seat on a horse."
"Nonsense. I would not want you to come to any harm."
"Truly, my Lord, I have ridden horses many a time. I would very much like to demonstrate to you how skillful a rider I am. Please, my Lord."
Anomen looked so anxious that Saruman decided he had better give way. Besides, perhaps it was a good sign that the elfling wanted to prove that he was a good rider. Saruman flattered himself that it was because Anomen was desirous of earning his good opinion. Of course, it was nothing of the sort. For Anomen, sharing a horse with Gandalf was one thing, sharing a horse with Saruman quite another thing altogether! He had been thrilled to ride with Gandalf because it gave him an opportunity to endlessly badger the wizard with questions. With Saruman, however, he would have felt awkward. It was thus fortunate for Anomen that the Lord of Isengard had decided to humor the elfling.
Early the next morning, Istar and elfling rode out through the Ring of Isengard, Saruman mounted upon a grand stallion, for it pleased him to dominate a powerful being rather than a lesser creature. Anomen rode the smallest and most docile of the steeds kept in the stables of Isengard, but even so he was hard put to maintain control over the snorting beast, for the horses of Saruman were bred for viciousness. He almost wished that he had agreed to ride with Saruman. Perhaps Saruman guessed at his discomfort, for he smiled a trifle maliciously.
"Anomen, how does your mount please you?" he asked after awhile. "Surely the horses of Imladris are not as spirited!"
Anomen thought carefully before he answered.
"The horses of Elrond are as spirited. Body and soul, they do their utmost to serve their riders."
"How then are they spirited?" scoffed Saruman. "What you have described is servility, not spirit."
"No," protested Anomen. "Mithrandir has told me that one who freely aids another is not servile, for his actions are not constrained but come from a generosity of spirit."
Saruman smiled, but condescendingly.
"You should know that Mithrandir is my subordinate. No doubt his words reflect his desire to convince himself of his worthiness. Of course," the Istar added hastily, "I do not say that he is unworthy; pray do not mistake me!"
"I understand you perfectly," replied Anomen. His face was impassive, but something about his tone of voice both nettled the Istar and put him on the defensive.
"Do you doubt me, Anomen?" he said frostily.
Anomen was now on his guard as well.
"I am sure," he said cautiously, "that you believe in the truth of what you say."
This was not a satisfactory answer, and the two rode on in silence for a time. At last Anomen broke the silence, although what he said was not to Saruman's liking.
"Do you suppose," the elfling said hopefully, "that Mithrandir will be back soon? It seems to me that he has been gone a very long time!"
Saruman inclined his head slightly, but did not speak.
"Yes," he thought to himself, "Mithrandir has indeed been gone a long time, long enough, it seems to me, for this elfling to have benefited from my tutelage. Yet he shows no sign of developing an appreciation of what I have to offer. Either he is stupid or stubborn—or both!"
Becoming furious, Saruman decided that, if he couldn't possess Anomen, then neither would Gandalf have him.
"The little brat has had his chance," the Istar raged to himself. "I have indulged him in every possible way, yet he is oblivious to the great favor that I have shown him."
Having tired of Anomen, Saruman did not wish to waste any more time on him. Instead, he would dispose of him as quickly as possible. The river Isen would do, the wizard decided. It had rained heavily in recent days, and the waters of the river were exceptionally swift and high.
"I need a witness," Saruman murmured to himself, "so that I may be free of any imputation of blame."
As soon as Saruman and Anomen had returned to Orthanc, Saruman dismissed Anomen to do as he pleased until the noon hour and summoned one of the most inoffensive of his servants, a man not so much wicked as stupid, and whose account of the matter would therefore be told with great sincerity.
"I am taking our young guest on another excursion, and we will eat our noon meal by the banks of the Isen," Saruman told this servant. "You will accompany us, to convey the hamper that shall be packed with food."
Anomen was pleased when Saruman told him that they would take their meal outdoors. After their awkward conversation during the morning ride, Anomen had not been looking forward to being closeted inside with the Istar. Now, as the elfling walked beside the wizard down to the banks of the Isen, he felt tolerably happy, although he still wished that Gandalf would return to Orthanc and whisk him back to Rivendell. He thought wistfully of the twins, especially Elrohir, and wondered what they had been doing during the past several weeks.
Saruman was of course very well acquainted with the banks of the Isen, including several perilous patches where loose rocks might roll under a heedless foot and cast the unwary person into the cold, rushing waters. It was only necessary for him to find a way to draw Anomen to one of those dangerous spots.
The servant lowered the hamper to the ground when directed to do so by Saruman, and the Istar rested his staff upon the hamper. Later, if he were ever asked why he had not saved Anomen, he would be able to say that his staff was not to hand. With Anomen at his side, he strolled toward the Isen, stopping well back from its edge. He stood silently, gazing upon the roiling waters. Anomen waited patiently for a time, but at last he grew restless.
"May I go closer?"
"Of course, my lad, but do not venture too near. The river is much too dangerous for a little fellow like you."
Saruman in his cunning knew that Anomen would now wish to get as close as possible to the edge of the river because the wizard had suggested that he was too small to do so.
In this one matter Saruman was wise—or at least shrewd. Anomen did indeed draw ever closer to the edge of the torrent. At last, just as Saruman had hoped, the elfling stepped on one of the more treacherous rocks. It tilted, and with a cry and a surprised look, Anomen tumbled into the raging water. Within seconds he had been dragged under and swept away.