It seemed night had swept over the land; the sun in the very act of rising was struck down in darkness. Gandalf froze, watching the shadows fuse together. (This is no Nazgul sorcery… this is something far darker… gaining strength…) Faramir to stopped in his tracks, "Gandalf… what sorcery is this?!" The wizard shuddered, a feeling of dread invading his thoughts, (the gate to the shadow has begun to open, and this is a warning that must not be ignored!) "Faramir, Frodo, Bilbo and I must leave soon, time is of the essence now, and I fear we have already overstayed our welcome." The steward nodded with a cold stiffness to his jaw, his eyes worried. "I will not let you go alone; Aragorn told me not long ago that I was in need of traveling."
Gandalf shook his head, "We need no more assistance! I fear the other hobbits may already trail us despite my efforts to dissuade them! Faramir, you understand not what we face! No, you cannot even comprehend it... we travel to the dark roads that even the nine would not willingly ride, and from there it is all dark and dark and midnight forever… we go to the cell of the dark lords master, do you understand?! We fly for Morgoth's realm! I cannot allow any more involved in this than I must!" The steward seemed shaken, his hand clenching reflexively at his side.
"I… I will still ride with you, for the hobbits will follow, and someone must keep them safe. And I fear if you are not swift and wise in your wording than we will also have a Dwarf and an Elf added to our party." Gandalf sighed, "You are resolved to this?" Faramir nodded. "I will follow where you go whether you will it or nil it, of that much you can be sure." The wizard turned and sat beside the great tree, his eyes clouded. "And you realize steward, that I can give you no safe passage? That you will probably never gaze upon this city and those who dwell here again? Your wife, your children, all will probably be forfeit." Faramir said nothing, only stood still and watched darkness sweep over the land.
…. …. …. ….
Indur relaxed his hold, allowing Khamul to seek his own footing. …You realize you cannot try that again, it will prove too much for you… The esterling turned away, his eyes watching the light fade, And now it seems my mind has gone, a moment ago I saw dawn… Indur nodded, As did I…the dark has come for us even here…
Khamul laughed, We will not escape it… this is our fate Indur, here is our reward for our many lifetimes of service, of loyalty, of trust… and I dare say, it was well earned. The other stood silent, his eyes sweeping the city again, listening as the wind brought the sound of panicked people over the ledges. This is not our fate anymore; it is now theirs as well… The face turned to regard his fellow wraith. …Khamul… what was it all for? I knew once… but I've forgotten… Khamul smiled …What was it for? Oh don't play Indur, don't be a fool, you know as well as I what it was All For! …For life! It was all for life…to live a little longer, for men live only so long…
Men live only so long… and I, I was afraid to die… (I remember a time…a time when I was a man, a man of flesh and blood; I had hopes, goals, dreams… I had a land of my own, not a kingdom I looked over for my lord's convenience. I had… I was… once…
…A king of men…
But that was not enough, was it? I had to be greater than that, never content, always eyeing what others had, and even Murazor's lands were not safe from my hungry eyes…) Khamul bowed his head, his hood falling to cover his face. Ji Indur reached out, almost timidly, and lay his hand on his brethrens shoulder. Never had he extended a sign of comfort, always Indur had been the quiet one, the dark one in the shadows, distant even among his own. Sauron had approved, watching as the separation had caused the Scourge of the skies to master different skills then the other wraiths. Eventually even going so far as to make Indur the champion of Mordor instead of The Witch King, preferring to let the lord of the Nazgul handle the land of Angmar and raise an army for him there. Khamul had always in his heart held this against the other, scorning the attention that their lord invested in him.
If Murazor had minded he showed no sign, he had no will at that point other than his lords. If the nine had been the Lidless Eyes fingers, than The Witch King had been the thumb, his entire being dedicated to the largest and smallest of tasks, to the very whims of their lord…
No, The Witch King had held no grudge, nor it seemed had many of the others, but it had always set the black esterlings teeth on edge to see Ji Indur become a symbol of their lords might. He pulled away, Touch me not… I wish nothing from you; do not lay hand on me… I will follow the wizard if he leads to our brethrens freedom. But I have no love for you Indur… and were you there still I would not bring you out, not even if Murazor asked it of me. I would leave you to suffer, the way our lord left us to suffer…Indur removed his hand, his eyes cold. (I should have expected this from Khamul…we no longer share the link the one ring held us to threw our own…I feared that without that link… it matters not now.) …If that is your wish.
A crumbling of rock from above drew both Nazgul's attention; a small face peered down at them in fear, wide eyes revealing his surprise. With something akin to a cry he flung himself away, the small hand dropping an elaborate Elvin dagger at their feet. Khamul's eyes flashed red, few blades could do them harm, but Elvin steel had proved perilous in the past. To be tied up by a dwarf, then stalked by a child! He leapt up upon the stone and grabbed for the child's tunic. (I have not been insulted this way before! And never will I be again!) A fell shriek echoed off the rocks, magnifying the sound so that the city below trembled in fear.
Indur's eyes were alight, burning from blue to blood as he echoed the others cry. The sword he drew, and the ground about them crackled and frosted. The blade sang in the air as he advanced on the child who lay curled into a ball to hide from the echoing shrieks and burning eyes. Soft cries escaped tightly closed lips; the small body shaking in terror, Ji Indur raised the blade high… A bellow more like a roar echoed off the mountain, and the king of Gondor leapt upon the wraith with blade drawn. Khamul drew back with a hiss and Indur collapsed under Aragorn's weight as the two tumbled from the platform and onto the crumbling slabs of rock below.
"Fa…No! Father!!" Eldarion gazed over the edge, but the blackness had swallowed the struggling figures from sight. Khamul did not move, something akin to blind panic had gripped him and frozen him like a stag looking into a wolfs eyes. Slowly, the rigidness left his limbs, and he too moved and looked over the edge.