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Chapter Four: The Edge of Night
"What are your orders, captain?"
"Search the city. The enemies of Minas Tirith must be destroyed, for they are too dangerous to be kept alive." The whispers of the guards barely penetrated the silence of the night. "We must dispose of them before he comes," the captain, Velith, said to himself as his troops dispersed from him.
The soft, easy breaths of Boromir and Thormir mixed with the rain and could have, on any other night, lulled Elendacil into slumber. Thormir had quickly been overwhelmed by exhaustion despite his distrust for Naurmor, but the lady was not as easily caught off guard as he. She was uneasy, not because of their new companion who accompanied her in her vigil, but because of the guard at the gate who had refused to acknowledge either her or Boromir's identities. Moreover, he had accused them of being spies of Mordor. No doubt he would have regained consciousness by now and he would seek them out. It would not take him long to find them, for Alaksul and Rumil would betray their location, which could not be avoided. she would have to solve his riddle before he arrived. Why had he claimed not to recognize her? Beside her, Boromir stirred, but soon returned to his silent repose. Naurmor approached the lady, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"We will have to fight them when they arrive," he whispered. Elendacil nodded, hearing him, but urgently pondering the guard's actions. He had acted as if he were under a spell, but surely not an enchantment from Mordor. Sauron had not yet gained such power yet as to seduce such a strong willed man as the captain. Studying the memory of his face, Elendacil found he was familiar, a close associate of the steward and his family. He had fought beside her on many an occasion, but now he knew her not. This must be some witchcraft of Sauron's, but Elendacil vowed not to allow it to continue.
"Listen," she hissed to Naurmor. An armored footfall from the distance reached their ears. Elendacil's hand went to her sword just when Naurmor's and in that brief instant, a faint flash of gold flickered around Naurmor's neck. The footfalls were coming nearer and, by the sound of it, were nearly upon them. the flickering light of a torch shone just outside the barn shelter. This was the time for action. Naurmor and Elendacil sprung up and their swords were instantly met with metal. Elendacil's sword made contact with all three guards, meaning the odds were nearly equal for now, but a quick scan of the guards' determined faces revealed that Velith, their captain, was not yet among them. He would arrive soon and he would bring as many soldiers as he could find. Even now, Elendacil could hear the clamor of their armor as the foray approached. They fell upon Elendacil and Naurmor.
"Thormir!" Elendacil's voice woke the young soldier. Drawing his sword, he sped to her side, but he could tell instantly that they were hopelessly outnumbered. Then the lady brought something from Alaksul's back and a red light filled the eyes of those present. To Thormir, it brought peace and hope, but the soldiers opposing Elendacil fell into disarray. Some fled, while others froze in their steps, seemingly blinded. One collapsed on the ground, seemingly dead. A few of the strong continued to fight, enough of them so that the trio was quite occupied. Suddenly, they heard a groan behind them and three heads turned to see that Boromir's left arm had been struck by an arrow. Elendacil's eyes sparkled in anger and the red light seemed to grow in intensity. Fear was struck into the hearts of even the boldest and all of them fled, save for Velith and the limp body that lay on the ground. Velith gazed at Elendacil as if sizing her up and Thormir thought he might attack, but after a few moments, he slunk away, Elendacil gazing after him. Naurmor had left her side to attend to Boromir. When he met her eyes, his face was grave.
"The arrow was poisoned with a fast acting toxin. We must get him to the Houses of Healing immediately."
"The guards will come back if we leave now," Thormir said.
"We have no choice," Elendacil determined, guiding Alaksul into the shelter. Suddenly, the body on the ground, which had been presumed to have been dead, twitched and let loose a slight groan. Thormir went to the fallen soldier's side and helped him up, receiving disapproving glances from Elendacil and Naurmor. He rolled the man over so his face was visible.
"I know this man," Thormir whispered. "I grew up with him. My lady, it's Araiss."
"We don't have time to make sure he's fully conscious and we can't be entirely sure he can be trusted," Elendacil stated, wasting no time loading Boromir onto Alaksul's back.
"You can trust me, my lady," said Araiss, awakening. "I didn't realize it was you and my lord Boromir. I was only following the orders of my captain." Elendacil eyed him suspiciously, but before she reached her conclusion, Thormir spoke.
"My lady, I will be responsible for his every move. If he does any wrong, let it be on my head."
"Very well. He will ride with you, Thormir," the lady conceded. Naurmor mounted the steed behind Elendacil and Boromir and on Rumil road Araiss and Thormir. They set off toward the seventh level of the city.
The storm was dying down slightly as Faramir made his way to the best place for watching the grounds surrounding Minas Tirith. Nonetheless, he was drenched by the time he arrived at the beacon. There were no stars to guide his eyes and he wouldn't light the beacon lest allies send their soldiers needlessly, so he achieved a torch and a light from the shelter nearby, used by the tower guard for their own purposes. He positioned himself under the shelter of the beacon, his right arm holding the torch high enough so as no to light the herald of war and woe. His eyes scanned the terrain, but he saw no sign of either Lady Elendacil or his brother.
It seemed as if he remained there for hours. Faramir's arms, which alternated the duty of holding the torch, were both going numb and chills were running down his spine. He shivered from the chill, though the water that had plagued him on his venture to the beacon was drying. Then, just as he was about to surrender to the elements and return to shelter, he saw a moving shape in the distance. As it grew closer, Faramir could distinguish a horse and rider from the seemingly endless terrain. The figures were as one rapidly approaching the great gates. The steward's youngest son let out a frustrated sigh, however, when he saw that the steed bore only one rider. His grey cloak flew behind him in the wind and Faramir could make a guess at who the rider was. For a moment, the gate concealed him from view, but presently it inched open and Faramir saw that the grey pilgrim had indeed come again to Minas Tirith. He was delayed for a few moments by the guards at the gates, but then disappeared from Faramir's vision. The son of the steward scurried from his watch place as quickly as he could, hoping Gandalf would head for the throne room as he suspected he would.
Araiss dismounted Rumil and opened the door for the rest of the sopping wet group. They had finally made it to the Houses of Healing. Had the weather been fairer, Thormir would have estimated it to be about dawn. He and Araiss tethered the horses to a nearby pole as Elendacil and Naurmor bore Boromir into shelter.
It was a large room, with nearly every kind of plant imaginable. By the time Araiss and Thormir entered, Naurmor was treating Boromir on the bed furthest from the draft of the door as Elendacil gazed outside. Thormir had to wonder why she trusted this man, who, as to his knowledge, she'd never met before today, but had been so hesitant to allow Araiss to accompany them. As he recalled, she had even aided in the instruction of the regiment in which both he and Araiss had been enrolled.
"Close the door," the lady's orders interrupted Thormir's thoughts. He quickly did so, expecting to be met with darkness, but Elendacil must have been holding a torch, for a dim light filled the room. Thormir sat on one of the nearby beds, while Araiss, looking slightly uncomfortable, rested on the floor near the door. After a while, Araiss removed his helmet, unveiling his light brown hair and young face.
Gathering his courage, he broke the silence. "Milady, what was that light that seemed to emanate from you as the soldiers attacked you at the barn? It made me feel as if I were about to die, or as if I was dead." Thormir looked at his companion in surprise, but Elendacil's passive expression remained unchanged. She said nothing, though, her attention focused on Boromir.
"Milady?"
"I heard your question, Araiss, but I cannot answer you at this time."
"May I ask why not?" her silence answered his question. At length, she spoke again.
"Go and tell Lord Denethor that his son, Lord Boromir is alive and resides here in the Houses of Healing. Go now, both of you." Thormir hesitated, but followed Araiss through the door. Once they had left, Elendacil took up her post beside Boromir and Naurmor.
"I saw your ring, mellon nin. Thormir has been wondering why I trust you, just as I sometimes wonder why you make your friends work so hard to discover that it is you under your disguises."
"I would not have let you wonder long," Naurmor said, without even glancing up from his work.
"Have you had any progress?" she asked, placing her hand on Boromir's brow.
"Some. I've been so busy trying to cure the poison that I've not heeded its acceleration." Boromir murmured something in his sleep, his face glowing red, whether due to the light, a natural course of the poison, or both was impossible to guess. Elendacil slowly withdrew her hand from his head.
"His fever is getting far worse. The need for haste is becoming greater," she whispered worriedly. In the light clothing he wore, Boromir shivered violently. "Easy, easy," the lady whispered, her arms steadying him. As his body calmed, she retrieved a cloth and dampened it, stepping outside in the rain. Closing the door, barely audible, she returned to Boromir, who had grimaced at even that slight sound. "Keep fighting, Boromir," she whispered, her head close to his as she placed the cloth on his brow. "We're not going to lose you. Gondor needs you."
As it happened, Faramir, Gandalf, and the two messengers of the lady encountered each other in the throne room. Faramir, the first to arrive, had simply thrown the doors asunder and, seeing that his father was indeed wide awake, had alerted him that Gandalf was in the city. Denethor had time to holler a few choice words such as "wizard's pupil" and "foolish infant" at Faramir before Gandalf as well entered the room, a flustered young guard trying to keep up with the wizard and attempting, in vain, to announce him to the steward before the Istar invaded more of the throne room.
"I must speak with the Lady Elendacil immediately," Gandalf declared, without so much as greeting Denethor or Faramir. The guard, no doubt believing the wizard completely lacked any social courtesy or respect for authority, surrendered and returned to his post, the door slamming loudly behind him.
"Where she is, I know not," Denethor replied, glancing coldly at his son.
"I do not know either, Mithrandir." Just as Faramir finished speaking, the doors swung open a third time and two armored soldier clanked into the throne room.
"I need your names!" the guard hollered, out of breath, yet running on their tails. "Surely you know that!" Araiss halted, but Thormir proceeded rapidly toward the trio that now was accumulated at the front of the room.
"I am called Araiss and my companion is Thormir." He then resumed his trek following Thormir. The guard had to sprint to catch up with them and hardly stopped before colliding with the steward's throne. He dusted himself off as the two messengers knelt before the steward.
"My lord, I present to you Araiss and Thormir," the guard said, standing erect, though faltering on the last part of his statement as he comrades lacked both heritage and impressive titles. Denethor waved his hand and, bowing to the steward, he returned once again to his post.
"Now, what is your purpose here?" Denethor asked.
"Please, my lord, lord Boromir is alive in the Houses of Healing," Thormir reported. With more speed than either messenger had thought possible, Denethor was gone from the throne room, Faramir following at his heels.
"So I just wait until some miracle brings Elendacil to me?" Gandalf grumbled.
"No, my lord, she sent us. She is with lord Boromir in the Houses of Healing," Araiss said. Instantly, Gandalf flew out of the throne room. Araiss turned to Thormir.
"Shall we follow them?"
"Most definitely," Thormir replied.
Author's note: What did you think of the chapter? Opinions on Elendacil, Naurmor, Araiss, and the guardwould be most helpful. I need to know what you are thinking. As always, reviews are always greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading.
MornieGalad
