In An Age Before – Part 65
Upon that same day, Helluin and Beinvír were in the western part of that province of Gondor then called Calenardhon. They were walking south, some three days' journey northeast of Angrenost, the Iron Fortress, which in later days was called Isengard. When they finally arrived on 10 Lothron, the commander of the garrison welcomed them, for they were known in the South Kingdom by many of the captains.
Now Helluin inquired after the state of the war, and learnt that for the past year King Anárion had indeed held back the enemy, denying them Osgiliath and the Vale of Anduin. Many had come to their aid from Lebennin, fiercer fighters than the Men of Gondor had expected, and such was their stealth and prowess that they had largely been deployed in Ithilien as rangers, harrying the enemy from forward positions with hit and run tactics and staying e'er on the move.
"But this I wager thou know," said Captain Barahir, "for were thou not upon a time, Chief Guardians of that realm? So 'tis said in the lore of that land, or so I have heard."
"'Twas so indeed," Beinvír replied, proud that the lessons she and her partner had once taught the Men of Lebennin had been passed down faithfully and now served the current generation well. "For well 'nigh 16 centuries has that land been defended thus."
"I see now thy garrison reduced, O Captain," Helluin observed.
"Indeed so, for 'twas deemed that the watch upon the Enedwaith was less pressing than the need of troops in the east. So far the Men of the Enedwaith have made no forays against us, yet we art e'er watchful of the enemy at our back. Whether they art in league with the Great Enemy, or simply act on their hatred of us we know not for certain, yet we trust them not in either case. We have not forgotten upon whose side they marched into Eriador long aforetime."
Helluin nodded in agreement. Though most of the strength of the Enedwaith of old had perished at the hands of Ciryatur's forces from Lond Daer, those who remained were bitter in their hatred of the Dúnedain.
"Though thou art e'er welcome, I should ask thee, what brings thee hither?" Barahir said, looking from one elleth to the other. "For many art the places wherefore the need exists for warriors of thy prowess, and hither we art yet at peace."
Helluin sighed and spoke, sorry to put in such a position the honorable captain of Gondor.
"I have need of thy palantír, for word has come to me of the fall of the Ithil Stone into the hands of Mordor. He can now see 'aught that passes in the west, much to his advantage. I deem it time to take action and assail him, thereby forcing him to place himself into great jeopardy." She paused a moment as the captain began to shake his head.
"Thou know'th that only the king may give thee leave to view the stone, Helluin," he said gravely, "and such authority lies not with me to change this decree."
"This I know well, Captain, and therefore thou hast my apologies," she said as she looked him squarely in the eyes.
In a moment his will was constrained by her gaze and his initiative was lost. He sat still and unmoving in his chair, a blank and dreamy expression taking hold upon his features. Helluin sighed and rose from her seat, gesturing Beinvír to join her. The Green Elf stood and passed a hand before the Man's face, receiving not a bit of reaction. She shook her head and gave her partner a mildly disapproving look.
Shortly later, when the custodian of the palantír was similarly rendered motionless and staring dreamily off into space, Helluin bid Beinvír sit out of sight of the stone, and then she approached it. As she had in Elostirion, she grasped command of the Angrenost Stone and at once directed its sight to the Black Land. The image flared into existence.
O'er the dismal pinnacles of the Ephel Dúath and the inner fences of the Morgai did her sight speed, bypassing Udûn for Gorgoroth and the far walls of the Ered Lithui. There upon the jutting spur of black rock that she had first seen in 1125 stood the Barad-dûr, the Dark Tower of Sauron Gorthaur. Her eyepoint climbed the heights of that fearsome edifice, up that damned façade to the chamber in which the Dark Lord skulked and plotted and kept his most coveted treasures. Herein she had espied him aforetime, newly come from the wreck of Númenor and 'naught but a vapor of malice.
Now she made contact and penetrated the Enemy's innermost sanctum with her sight. In a moment he was aware of her, as the Palantír of Angrenost called forth to the Ithil Stone that was now in his possession, and he spun to face her presence. In that moment he perceived her clearly 'cross all the miles between. The palantír delivered an almost tangible vision to his mind; there stood Helluin Maeg-mórmenel, come to taunt and challenge him again. The blast of hatred he projected in return was well 'nigh stifling; upon his finger she marked his Ring. Shadows moved behind him and she knew they numbered nine. Now from a distance and projecting thus her will through the Angrenost Stone, Helluin's power was attenuated and she stood at a disadvantage. Still she put forth a half-hearted attempt to assail him with her will, vying as if to wrench his own stone from him, and was rewarded with a vicious ethereal bludgeoning. In answer, Sauron attempted to take control of the Orthanc Stone. As e'er, he was predictable.
In the high chamber of Angrenost, Helluin reeled 'neath the assault. Had she been face to face with him she would have well 'nigh swooned. Then she recovered and for a time engaged him in a see-saw battle of wills o'er the mastery of the Ithil Stone. Yet she had not come to take it, and so she checked her efforts, and at the last she abruptly relinquished her claim to it such that the force Sauron expended against her rebounded to pummel him with much the same effect as when one party releases suddenly the rope in a tug of war. The effect was that for a moment, Sauron's eye was blinded by a brilliant flaring of power.
When he regained his sight, he saw an image of Helluin amidst the forest of Calenglad i'Dhaer, training an army of ill equipped and undisciplined Moriquendi. He knew that place and he knew those Elves. They were from the barbaric tribe in Greenwood. He was tempted, sorely tempted.
To the west his enemies in Gondor fought with skill beyond the measure he had expected of them, and they were much more numerous than he had guessed. Little progress had his forces made since taking Minas Ithil o'er a year ago. For all practical purposes his western front was a stalemate. Now to the north he saw a weak force, and they lay 'cross a flat and uncontested land. The bully in him contemplated the gains in shifting his strategy and destroying them simply because he could. In a few years he would hold all the eastern bank of Anduin right up to the Ered Mithrin. T'would place him in an excellent striking position against Lórinand and Khazad-dûm. And the forest itself would provide countless cords of fuel…he would relish leveling the forest to feed his furnaces. All he need do was assign sufficient troops to keep Anárion occupied in Gondor and he could then command the remainder of his host north, 'cross undefended farmlands and pastures. Scarcely 100 leagues' march lay 'twixt the Cirith Gorgor and the southern border of Greenwood.
A cold chuckle escaped him. He could always return later to finish with Isildur and Anárion. For now he would summon Herumor and Fuinur, the generals of his loyal Black Númenóreans, to march forthwith from Harad with their armies. They could enter his realm unmarked through the Nargil Pass, traversing Nurn and Gorgoroth more easily than Ithilien, ere they issued from Udûn. Mentally he ticked off the time required.
When he returned his gaze to the present, he marked Helluin drilling Nandor infantry in mock charges, and the clumsy and uncoordinated performance of her troops. He noted the Noldo's exasperation and the Elves' low morale. His armies would crush them all and he would hold the survivors as thralls fore'er. This outcome he reveled in. In fact, he would force them to chop down their beloved trees and denude their home in Greenwood! Upon this day Helluin's impulsive act in trying to assail him through the Seeing Stones had gifted him intelligence of great worth. He resolved to thank her ere he enslaved her and tormented her for Ages with the knowledge. With a bark of laughter he slammed shut the contact 'twixt his mind and Helluin's and his palantír went dark.
In the high chamber of Angrenost, Helluin saw the palantír abruptly go blank and she ceased her song. A song of power such as she had woven required much concentration and expended much energy, and now she felt fatigue. But she knew she had succeeded. Sauron had been so receptive to her imagery that he had ne'er even noticed her melody. Rather he had merely sat as a thrall and listened as the pictures she wove came into his mind. After his contests with Finrod Felagund and Lúthien Tinúviel he should have been wiser, Helluin thought, yet oft greed blinds, and so t'would seem such truth has held true this day, thank the Valar.
Helluin had let him perceive his false victory in mastering the stone, and then she had offered him a prize. Predictably, her enemy had taken the bait. Helluin's visions would draw him out of the safety of his bastion of Mordor. Sauron would eventually march north, and there meet the Host of the Alliance, a vastly stronger enemy than she had shown him, and upon the Dagorlad his army would be destroyed. T'would be a far easier victory for the Alliance than if they should besiege the guarded Black Land straightaway.
Helluin sighed and gave Beinvír a tired smile.
"Come, let us away," she said offering her hand to her partner. The Green Elf clasped it and pulled herself to her feet. She looked o'er at the custodian, still staring off with eyes unfocused and the hint of a grin upon his lips, a trickle of drool edging from the corner of his mouth.
"And what of him, pray tell?"
"I am sure he shalt recover completely," Helluin said, offhandedly, "trust me."
Beinvír regarded her critically for a moment, then shrugged and followed her lover to the stairs, taking a last glance at the enchanted Man.
In the meeting room, Captain Barahir yawned as they retook their seats, and he gave them a self-conscious grin. He seemed completely oblivious to the lost time.
"Pray excuse me," he said, "more wine? Some more bread and cheese?"
"Thy pardon, Captain, but I believe we shalt be going," Helluin said.
"But thou hast only just arrived," he said in confusion.
"Good Captain, art thou well?" Beinvír asked with concern. "We arrived in the mid-afternoon and 'tis now just ere sunset. I fear we must be on the road."
The Captain looked at them in disbelief; the two ellith eyed him curiously. The view out the window behind them included long shadows darkening and purple streaking the sky. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes.
"I…I…"
"'Tis perhaps thy boredom, O Captain?" Helluin suggested. "Mayhaps thy mind has simply glossed o'er such hours as art tedious to thee, thy attention returning only now for our farewells?"
"I confess I know not," he said in mortified amazement, "I considered thee not boring I swear; much the contrary…"
"Sometimes the mind plays tricks," Beinvír suggested. "But in any case, we art not offended by thy lapse."
"My lapse…? But I suppose thou art correct, though I know not how…indeed I am now confused," he admitted with a sigh. "If thou feel 'tis time for thy departure, then of course I shalt wish thee well and safe upon the road. Perhaps thou would care to take with thee this wine? I believe I shalt stick to cider for some time hence…"
"A noble notion, my good Captain," Helluin agreed, "and our thanks for thy offer. The wine is quite good, I deem. We shalt enjoy it and we shalt say 'naught of thy…absence."
"For that I thank thee, for indeed I am on duty. I still do not understand…"
"Pray worry thyself not o'er it," Beinvír told him, "I am sure thou dost not habitually doze whilst in command. Perhaps t'would be best if indeed none of us mentioned this visit at all, then no questions could arise from it?"
"Very well," Captain Barahir gratefully agreed, "I have had no visitors and have 'naught to report for this day. Indeed it hath passed much like yesterday and the day afore."
Helluin nodded in agreement and they took their leave quietly, drawing up their cloaks and hoods to attract less attention from the other soldiers of Gondor.
Now in the weeks and months that followed, Helluin and Beinvír kept a watch upon the Black Land, utilizing the stealth they had mastered to come close to the encampments of the enemy. At times they joined themselves to the Men of Lebennin, now called the Rangers of Ithilien, and wrought destruction upon their foes. At other times they climbed high into the Ephel Dúath to spy upon Gorgoroth and Udûn, and much profit did King Anárion find in their ventures. Indeed 'twas oft by benefit of the intelligence they supplied that he was able to hold Gondor during the four long years ere the Host of the Last Alliance took the field. In return, Helluin made one request of the King of Gondor and he granted it willingly. The watch of Helluin and Beinvír continued through 3431, 3432, 3433, and early 3434.
To Be Continued