Chapter Twenty
Village of Henneth Annûn
Lord Valthaur posed no difficulty at all. Few knew of the incriminating note found in the slain Margul's personal effects. Fewer yet were present when the order came placing Valthaur under house arrest pending further investigation. There was but one authority in Henneth Annûn to whom the law lord would bow, and Valthaur conceded with frigid grace.
When word came of Lord Goldur's declaration to recommence the hearing, hasty though the assembly seemed, the news flew through the village as only gossip can. Even before Goldur appeared, the rumbling of many voices filled the dining hall of the Ranger barracks where court would resume. Most of the spectators were simply villagers and local folks, who came to see if their speculation about the hearing's delay would approach the actuality.
Nonetheless, sharp-eyed Rangers lined the walls, watching the gathering crowd for any signs of mischief. Outside, stern Gondorian soldiers stood guard at the gates of the compound. With Margul and his orcs slain, the clerk, Khint, in custody and Valthaur under guard, there seemed little chance for trouble, but Captain Tarannon would take no risks. He paced the yard and watched spectators as they arrived, stern as steel in his regard.
Tarannon's attention sharpened when he noticed a minor commotion at the gate; the little Uruk-hai and his comrades had arrived. People spilled aside from Russ' stolid path like water peeling from a ship's prow, while following him were the most curious assortment of folk any citizen of Gondor could ever hope to see. In the huge Beorning's wake walked diminutive Nik, misshapen old Gubbitch and hulking, simple-witted Lugbac, accompanied by Erin the hobbit, Sevilodorf of Rohan, Celebsul the elf and Horus of the House of Narâk, the latter exotically resplendent in a wine-hued tunic with a black cotton hattah wrapped about his head. The Men who trailed them, Halbarad, Anardil, Darien and the rest of the lads from Silverbrook, appeared almost mundane by comparison.
Nonetheless, all eyes followed their entrance into the improvised courtroom, for around this small company would once again blow the winds of unlikely change.
"Remember, Lugbac," said Sev, as the cavernous space of the hall closed about them, "touch nothing and sit quietly."
"Yes, Mistress Sev," the big orc answered with a dutiful nod. He clasped his gnarled paws carefully before him, hunching his shoulders as if somehow he could make his hulking body appear less ominous. "No touch, sit quiet."
Gubbitch beamed a startling, multihued grin and cackled merrily. "Might add sit gentle to that. Great lummox, tha could break furniture just plantin' thy fat hams."
Lugbac's eyes widened in alarm while he scanned the benches placed neatly about the room; before he could respond, Nik exclaimed, "Oh, look at everyone in here!"
Grinning with astonishment as the guards at the door cleared a path through the crowd for them, he added, "Why, half the country must have come to watch."
Nik's excitement could be attributed to his faith in the kindly Lord Goldur, for equal numbers had attended the first, failed hearing. However, not everyone shared his enthusiasm.
"Yes," said Russ, slanting dour looks to either side. "Flocking to stare like chickens at a bug."
Nik laughed and twisted to smile up at his huge friend. "It will be all right, Teach. They just want to see what the truth really is, that's all."
Russ grumbled a reply that no one could distinguish and none cared to pursue. One of the Rangers stationed to keep order in the hall beckoned, and the group followed him amongst the chattering crowd of spectators and shop-owners towards a certain section of benches and chairs.
The Ranger halted to indicate seating. "Those viewing may sit here. The witnesses will please sit over there to be called."
Then he left the company to its own devices. Evidently, the powers-that-be trusted that the mere presence of Captain Tarannon's men would suffice to keep order despite the surprising crush of onlookers. And indeed, people milled comfortably about the seating areas, greeting friends and neighbours with the air of attending a however-curious picnic.
"The mood at least is good," observed Erin as she hopped to sit on a bench. "Well, everyone but old sour puss, there."
The hobbit lass cast a severe glance past Darien towards Osric, who slouched among his comrades with a sullen glare. Of note was the fact that Ham and Tom now stood apart from him, talking cheerfully with Darien and Evan, clearly simple men who had come to terms with themselves.
Sev settled beside the hobbit with a sigh, not yet ready to part from the company of Anardil and her friends to go to the witness seating.
"Let us hope it bodes well," she said. Looking down at her tightly clenched hands, she spread them to rest on her knees. "I keep telling myself Lord Goldur is no Valthaur."
"Yes, just a giant hobbit," Erin replied with a dimpled smile.
"Where?" blurted Lugbac, stretching to peer about the room.
"Daft chuff." Gubbitch whacked him on one meaty arm. "Not yet. Now sit thee – and mind tha does it careful."
"Reet. Careful." The big orc shuffled backwards at the bench, then lowered himself as if he were made of glass.
Anardil edged warily about Lugbac - not for fear of what he might do intentionally but from practiced concern for what the orc might break or tip over - and came to sit beside Sev.
"Nervous, love?" he asked with a gentle smile.
"Of course not. I always have sweaty palms and chattering knees." Sev exhaled a quick gust. "I just hope my tongue doesn't stick to the roof of my mouth and I sound like a complete dullard."
"Now, Sev, I have faith in you." Anardil leaned to brush a kiss to her cheek. "Lord Goldur simply wants the truth and I have every faith he will make it as easy for you to tell as possible."
Sev nodded and took another deep breath and let it go. Beside her, Erin gave a quick smile and reached to squeeze her friend's hand.
"You'll be fine, Sevi. Just tell what you know. Things are looking up already, you know. Poor Cullen is finally safe home with his family – and I dare say he will never want to leave the farm again. And we last saw Sira positively wilting in Ted's arms. In all, I think matters are ending rather well."
Sev snorted in amusement, for their last glimpse of Sira at The Whistling Dog did indeed appear that her swain had set himself to coddle the barmaid to the limits of human endurance.
"The poor man," said Sev dryly. "Next she'll have him bringing her breakfast in bed with flowers on her tray."
Erin arched her eyebrows. "And this is a bad thing?"
The two women chuckled together ere Lugbac sat up with a jolt that shook the entire bench. "Look! He's here! The giant hobbit!"
The pitch of conversation changed and shifted as Lord Goldur's rotund figure heaved itself through the open door. Amidst a wave of greetings and bows, the portly law lord stumped his way inside and among the crowd, rosy-cheeked and smiling. His scribe, thin, dark-robed young Kerwin, hovered at his master's elbow with a sheaf of papers under his arm, while the equally thin but contrastingly severe Willelmus followed.
Midway across the room, Goldur stopped to exchange words with two local merchants, whereupon he abruptly burst into laughter at some jest or joke. The vigour of his hilarity was such that his belly and chins all jiggled in merry symphony. At the sight, Lugbac gave a gurgling sound one might presume was amusement and clapped his knotty hands.
"Giant hobbit!" he burbled happily, oblivious to Nik's hiss of warning and Gubbitch's clout on the shoulder.
Despite or perhaps because of Lugbac's cheerful foolishness, Sev's posture relaxed and Anardil threaded their fingers together. He dared at last to hope that all this truly would end as well as Nik and the hobbit lass supposed. A second stirring at the door cast a moment's pall, however, when a man even vaster than Goldur filled the entrance.
Lord Valthaur had arrived, escorted by two solemn-faced soldiers. Without a look either right or left, he sailed through the throng like a battleship entering harbour, noble, aloof, composed.
"A baby Oliphaunt!" exclaimed Lugbac, and winced when Sev sharply pinched his ribs. In lower tones the great orc added, "Don't look very nice, though."
"Look at 'im," muttered Gubbitch. "Butter don't melt in that mouth, I can tell thee."
Erin frowned primly, while Sev studiously averted her eyes. "Appearances are everything, I'm sure," the hobbit said. "Anyhow, all he can do now is stare at people, and we're certainly not afraid of that."
"You may not be," retorted Sev, the dark splotches of new bruises standing out sharply along her cheek, "but the man scares me rigid."
She inhaled shakily but then squared her shoulders to watch Valthaur make his ponderous way towards his seat.
"That's my lady," murmured Anardil in approval.
Most would assume that the two accompanying soldiers were an honour guard for Valthaur, for knowledge of his complicity with Khint and Margul remained privy to only a select few. All the ordinary folk knew was that his clerk had been embroiled in some sort of irregularity which rendered the first proceedings void. Now Lord Goldur had come to assure a fresh, untainted resumption of the hearings.
While Valthaur took his place in an opulent chair near the head of the room, studiously ignoring his escort, Lord Goldur began wending his way towards his post with Kerwin at his heels. His course took a slight detour when he caught sight of Nik and his companions.
Feet shuffled and benches scraped as Sev and Anardil stood, the rest of their friends scrambling up when they saw whom it was. Goldur's plump cheeks bunched in a warm smile as he drew near and halted to scan the group.
"Mistress Sevilodorf," he said jovially. "You are looking particularly well."
Blinking back her surprise, Sev bowed. "Thank you, sir."
"And Mistress Erin – I have missed the excellent hobbit cooking of The Burping Troll. Speaking of food, how fares your mighty friend, Warg?"
Kerwin smiled at Goldur's side, for he had also met the Troll's giant lupine resident.
Erin's dimples deepened and she replied, "Furry as ever and possibly even a little fat."
"Oh, splendid. I can tell you I have looked back on my visit many times with great fondness." Goldur's eyes twinkled while he regarded both women, his chubby fingers laced across his belly. "Where else would I take breakfast with a talking warg, or find three hobbits singing to help the hens resume laying."
The Rohirrim woman stared in bafflement before Erin leaned to say in a stage whisper, "After Lugbac tried to peek at the baby chicks."
Sev's mouth formed a silent O of comprehension as Goldur shifted his attention to one side, still smiling. "And good afternoon to you, Nik. I trust you are well?"
The little Uruk bounced on his heels, grinning from ear to ear. "Yes, I am, lord. How do you do?"
Again, Goldur's belly jiggled around a warm chuckle. "I am very well, thank you. Are you ready to speak in front of this teeming horde?"
"Oh, yes, I am. Tom and Ham have promised to behave now, and I know Master Horus and Mistress Sev will be with me. I'm not nervous at all."
"Splendid. I will do my best to assure that proceedings go as smoothly as possible."
Russ stirred and spoke, looming over the law lord like a tree. "What of the troublemaker?"
"Troublemaker?" asked Goldur, looking up at the bearded giant with equanimity.
"That one, who clings to his untruths like his favourite coat," Russ rumbled. He jerked a thumb towards Osric, who now sat over on the witness bench with a black scowl on his face and a dour-looking Ranger standing close watch. "Any man of wit can see he has no intentions of telling the proper tale."
"Ah, yes." Goldur lifted a podgy finger to rub his equally round nose. "The legacy of Master Khint's manoeuvring still haunts us."
A sudden loud clearing of a throat jarred the murmur of surrounding voices, and heads turned to see Willelmus standing at the presiding table.
"Places, ladies and gentlemen," the chamberlain intoned. "This hearing will soon be called to order."
As people began jostling around them and moving towards their seats, the law lord met Russ' gaze squarely, though he had to tilt his head back to do so. Like drawing a hidden blade, sudden steel underlay his tone.
"I assure you, Russbeorn, there will be no quibbling, double-talking, duplicity, chicanery, deception or just plain foolishness in my court room. I am here to delve into the truth of a matter which carries a person's life and freedom in the balance. Does this please you?"
Russ looked down at the rotund man, who abruptly bore the severe expression of a stern father, and he slowly scratched his beard. "If all those words mean you'll recognise a lie when it slaps on the floor in front of you, yes."
"They mean just that, sir."
"Teach," whispered Nik urgently. "I got to go."
Glancing down at his diminutive friend, Russ swallowed and nodded. Sev and Horus were now already halfway across the room with Bevin and Evan, while Tom and Ham ambled behind. Flashing a last, encouraging grin, Nik scampered to join them in the witness seating.
With a sigh, Russ returned his attention to Lord Goldur. One of the ubiquitous Rangers drifted near to stand waiting at Goldur's elbow, a fine looking fellow who might have been a captain by his bearing. There was something vaguely familiar about him; though truth-be-told, most Númenoreans were alike as close kin. However, the Ranger's attentive presence underscored the fact that the time when Russ could have any affect on all this was vanishing swiftly.
"It is hard to know who to trust," the giant said slowly. "The world is changing and things happen in it that sometimes I feel move too fast for me. Another man also promised to hear the truth, and he has proven false. But Nik trusts you, Lord Goldur."
Soberly Goldur replied, "Then I shall endeavour to be worthy of that trust, Russbeorn. This day the truth shall be heard."
The watchful Ranger leant to whisper in Goldur's ear, and the law lord abruptly chuckled and cast a glance towards his table, where Willelmus stood waiting with his mouth tightly pursed.
"Ah, yes, our Willelmus abhors laxity, especially in matters of scheduling and decorum. Very well, let us take our places." Looking at Russ once more, Goldur added, "I will not ask you to trust me, sir. I will simply hope I have earned your trust by the day's end."
With that, he turned, Kerwin at his side, and walked across the now-empty floor. The Ranger, however, paused to meet Russ' troubled gaze and offered a grave nod.
"Truth, Master Russbeorn," he said, "is the only coin by which honourable men negotiate. Be at ease, for Lord Goldur is an honourable man."
Before Russ could respond to that curious statement, the Ranger had gone, striding after Goldur. The Beorning sighed and lowered himself to sit between Celebsul and Halbarad, dwarfing them both with his bulk.
"I just wish your Steward had kept your promises, Captain Halbarad," he said.
Startled, Halbarad stared at him. "What promise was that?"
Russ' look was dark. "To come and hear Nik."
"But he -."
Whatever Halbarad might have said was lost when Willelmus' voice rang out once more.
"Hear ye, hear ye! Court is now in session on this, the twenty-ninth day of October, the third year of rule by our Lord King, Aragorn Elessar, long may he reign in justice and mercy. Rise now for Lord Goldur and our Lord Faramir, Prince of Ithilien and Steward of Gondor."
Amidst the shuffle of shoes and rustle of clothing, Nik's smile nearly illuminated the entire room. Russ could only stare as Goldur's Ranger companion took a tall chair behind the law lord and shed his plain brown cloak. Thus revealed were fine clothes of black and royal blue and a jerkin blazoned with The White Tree. Now, only now, did Russ recognise the man he had met briefly many months before.
Faramir of Gondor had come. He would hear the truth of the matter of Nik the Uruk-hai. Russ' grin grew slowly, but when it came, it stayed.
xxx
Under Goldur's succinct but kindly questioning, the events of that awful January day nearly a year past came at last to light. First he read a brief report setting the scene. The spare words tautly detailed how Darien and his men arrived in Ithilien on their self-appointed crusade to eradicate dangerous fugitive orcs. In an effort to locate the hardscrabble little band of orcs with whom Sev sometimes traded, he and his men confronted her on the road. Thereupon events spiralled out of control. Grady's impulsive rage rendered Sev an unconscious prisoner, while Nik appeared doomed for a speedy death. Yet nature and fate conspired against that doom. Sev's and Nik's friends pursued them through the storm, and then the very mountain in which Darien and his men sought refuge collapsed.
As with the initial hearing, Nik gave the first testimony, relating clearly and simply how the situation had appeared from his point of view. When the landslide stopped, Darien and half his men stood outside with Sev's friends, whilst the other half – and Nik and Sev – were trapped inside the buried cave. Nik's voice grew sombre but no less steady as he told of Grady's madness and subsequent death at his hands.
From there, the narrative of events passed to others. In low tones Sev confirmed the uruk's matter-of-fact recollections, and added details of her own. She described the fear and tension within the cave, a man dead, others injured, the survivors gripped by terror of more cave-ins and the very real threat of a slow death by suffocation. Grady, a man already prone to violence, swiftly became unhinged by the closeness of conditions and the terrible uncertainty of survival. He labelled Sev a witch, he cursed Nik and at last, he sprang to the attack with a naked sword in his hand.
But Darien's friend and second-in-command, Landis, intervened. Almost faster than words could tell, his attempt to stop violence exploded into a quick, brutal fight that left him mortally wounded. Grady in his madness murdered Landis. Only Nik's swift interference stopped the crazed man from continuing his attack and turning on Sev. The little Uruk broke his bonds and killed Grady with the only tools at his command - bare hands and a jagged stone.
When Sev's voice failed, the others took up the grim tale. Horus spoke in steady, liquid tones of all that befell them in the cave, his dark eyes glistening as he told of Landis' slow death and how Sev kept vigil by the dying man's side. Next, Bevin's brisk narrative confirmed the stated facts. A much-sobered Tom and Ham followed, each giving their accounts in their own plain fashion.
When Ham had done, he said, "Landis was a right good man. He shouldn't have died like that. Not after making it through the war and all. And not killed by one of his own men."
Evan testified as well, his youthful voice only cracking once as he spoke of his own fears, his broken leg, and Sev's kindness to him.
"Grady was often trouble," the lad said. "He argued with Lord Darien at every chance and he didn't listen to what he was told."
Goldur leaned forward with his elbows to either side of his page of notes, his plump fingers clasped before him. "Am I correct in believing that your parents were killed in an orc raid?"
"Yes, lord."
"Did Nik's actions with Grady frighten you?"
"Oh, yes, sir! It was an awful thing to see - all of it was, sir. Landis took a long time to die."
"Yet you bear no animosity towards Nik for what he did?"
Evan scowled, his glance flickering briefly to his brother watching from the gallery. "Nik saved Mistress Sevilodorf's life, sir. Once Grady stabbed Landis, I don't know what else would have stopped him. Fact is, sir, if it weren't for Grady, I bet none of this would have happened."
Throughout, Lord Faramir listened from his high seat and spoke not a word. His keen grey eyes studied each witness' face as if gauging their veracity, but the calmness of his expression suggested a gentle empathy, and perhaps only Sev knew any disquiet beneath his gaze. Valthaur meanwhile sat as if graven in stone, showing nothing, moving never save to muffle an occasional cough or wheeze.
Last of all, Lord Goldur called Osric to present his account. By now, lanterns had been lit around the hall as the sun sank towards the west. Succulent odours of cooking wafted from the kitchens, but the cook laboured only for the Rangers who must dine elsewhere in barracks, so the stomachs of spectators growled without relief.
Osric sat up cockily, and grinned towards the audience, but when he spoke, his version of events rang in such striking discord to all previous evidence that it fell into chilly silence. Nor did he exhibit the same sureness as before, several times repeating himself or losing the train of his thought. In each instance, Lord Goldur simply redirected him by saying, "Please continue your testimony," and reading back his last phrase from Kerwin's quickly sketched notes.
Frustrated, Osric's face grew flushed and he hunched in his chair, spewing with ever-growing venom. "It wanted Grady to go mad – it wanted us all mad. I saw it in the creature's eyes. It scared us into putting out most of the lights and when the cave was nearly dark, the creature plotted to turn us on each other. It -."
"The facts, Master Osric," Goldur repeated firmly. "I need to hear facts, not supposition."
At a cool-eyed look from Faramir, Osric's vitriol began to falter, his voice sharpening. He shot several nervous glances towards Lord Valthaur, who simply watched the proceedings with the unblinking stillness of a serpent. The room remained painfully hushed while Osric painted Landis' death as a tragic accident and then detailed Grady's demise as the brutal murder of an innocent, desperate man.
In closing, Osric sat with fists clenched on his knees, eyes bright with anger. "And there we all sat in the stinking dark, with Grady's head smashed on the floor and Landis dying. I saw that orc's face - I saw it, and I tell you he smiled! The orc sat with that witch woman and watched Landis die too, and it was glad - glad at what had happened! And not a one of us dared fight back, because we knew all its friends waited outside to murder us, if we did."
In the silence that followed, Russ' visible ire seethed like steam and Sev's glare could have melted glass. Lord Goldur, however, simply reached for the sheaf of documents Kerwin handed to him and thumbed the pages slowly.
Then the law lord looked over the top of his papers and asked, "You are quite certain, Master Osric, that you have given truthful testimony here today?"
"Of course I am!"
"Hm." Goldur briefly pursed his mouth to a small 'o' between rosy cheeks. "I find it curious that your evidence differs so markedly from … goodness, that of six other people." He looked up again. "Can you explain the discrepancy?"
Osric slouched sullenly in his seat. "No accountin' for some people, I reckon."
"Ah. I see." Goldur's gaze sharpened as he looked upon this final witness. "Then you have nothing further to add? No clarification of any statements to make?"
Scowling, Osric replied, "I said my piece."
"Very well. You may step down."
Osric left the witness seat with a dour, heavy tread and looked neither left nor right when he resumed his place among the other witnesses. Ham made a point of curling his lip and edging away from his erstwhile comrade. Meanwhile Goldur spread the papers across the table and settled into a whispered conference with Kerwin and Willelmus, the latter two pushing various pages of notes forward for his examination.
As the minutes passed, the spectators began to whisper and shift in their seats, creating a rustling undercurrent of sound.
Evan leaned to whisper, "Is he going to adjourn or something? It's past supper time."
Sev shook her head and surreptitiously wiped her hands on her knees. "I don't think so. He would have said so by now."
The rumble of conversation grew as Goldur continued to ponder and brood. Numerous eyes shifted to Faramir, but the steward simply sat with his elbow on one arm of his chair, his chin in his hand, and projected the very essence of detached patience.
At last, Kerwin gathered the papers together and Lord Goldur leaned back in his seat to sweep the gallery with a glance.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the hour is quite late and I thank you for your tolerance." He laced his chubby fingers across his ample belly. "Today we have heard the testimony of witnesses to a most extraordinary and unfortunate series of events. Crowning the affair is the matter of an orc, an Uruk-hai, slaying a man. Too many times in the deeps of history this sad occurrence has taken place, but this time, there was one fundamental difference."
Goldur pushed his bulk forward and propped his elbows on the table once more. His forthright gaze suggested that he spoke to the entire room as if chatting with dear old neighbours.
"This time … Nik, formerly of Isengard, struck a fatal blow to save a life other than his own. He fought to defend a woman." Goldur's hand tapped the quill pen lying at his fingertips. "Having listened to all the evidence and weighing these several accounts against each other, it is my considered belief that Nik is innocent of any malice. Furthermore, it is the ruling of this hearing that he be hereby exonerated of any suspicion. He will face no charge of murder and is therefore free - ."
A rumble of sound swept the room and Goldur raised his voice. "Free as a citizen of this realm, subject to all the laws, rights and appurtenances thereof inherent to a free man."
The rumble burst into an uproar when a babble of voices and exclamations filled the room, punctuated by a smattering of cheers and even a piercing whistle - which proved to be from young Jasimir, beaming widely beneath an absurdly plumed hat while his father, Cameroth, grinned wryly at his side. Nik meanwhile sat stiff as could be with a grin nearly dismounting his ears from his head.
"We did it, Teach!" he crowed, but his small voice was nearly lost in the tumult.
Goldur smiled warmly and raised both hands, patting the air until the racket subsided. "I have further stipulation in the matter of Osric of Silverbrook."
The thickset man jerked upright in astonishment as Goldur spoke on. "Proof has been given to my satisfaction that one Khint, late employed as clerk to Lord Valthaur, did wilfully and maliciously tamper with the testimony of witnesses prior to these hearings. Whereas said witnesses, save one, have recanted previous testimony and indicated remorse … I must find Osric in contempt of these proceedings. He is hereby sentenced to thirty days labour, duties subject to the discretion of Captain Tarannon."
A Ranger's heavy hand clamped Osric's shoulder and sealed his temper behind his teeth. But the wave of chuckles and grins surely churned in his belly.
Meanwhile Goldur said, "Nik, would you please come forward?"
The little Uruk-hai fairly bounded from his seat and hastened to stand before the portly law lord. Goldur looked at him, eyes twinkling.
"Nik, I would ask you one thing. What will you do with your freedom, now that it has been confirmed?"
The room grew perfectly still and Nik fidgeted as he realised all eyes were again fixed on him. He glanced aside towards Russ, who nodded slowly in encouragement. With a quick nod in reply, Nik faced Goldur once more.
"Well, I'd like to learn more about bees. Teach - that is, Russ, has been showing me all about his bees. And I want to see how our winter wheat does, since I've never planted any before. Plus there are some loose shingles I need to replace on the barn." He tapped his fingers thoughtfully against his mouth and added, "And I think I would like to go fishing. It's been a while since we went fishing."
Grins and murmurs rippled about the room at the idea of an orc, even a very undersized one, going fishing. Yet there was earnestness to his simple ambitions, which those with open minds could not miss. Goldur certainly did not.
"I confess I've thought of a second question, Nik. Do you think you will ever know violence again?"
Nik's expression sobered and he heaved a sharp sigh. "I hope not. I'd rather just be happy with my friends. I never really knew what happy was, before."
Goldur's round face softened in an almost paternal smile. "Then I wish you many years of happiness, Nik."
"Can I say one more thing?" Nik shifted from one foot to the other, glancing at Goldur and down again.
Goldur lifted an open palm permissively. "Of course."
Taking a deep breath, Nik squared his shoulders and lifted his eyes to Faramir's chair. The steward gazed steadily back.
"Lord Steward," said Nik, "I want to thank you for coming to hear the truth for me. My friends Halbarad and Anardil said you would come and listen, and you did. So thank you."
Only now did Faramir stir, rising from his seat and rounding the table in long, silent strides. He halted before the diminutive orc and looked down at him with a kindly air.
"We have seen the world change, have we not?" he asked.
"Yes." Nik nodded as he peered up at the tall Man. "But it's all getting better now. Even if bad things still sometimes happen."
"Then you and I must strive to keep bettering our world." Faramir turned the full force of his keen grey Numenorean gaze upon the small being before him. "Can you do that, Nik formerly of Isengard?"
"I'll try. Teach - that is, Russ is helping me learn. And now I have other friends, too."
A small smile touched Faramir's lips as he followed Nik's quick glance towards Russ, and the elf, hobbit, orcs and men seated with him. The steward's quick scan likewise touched on Sev and Horus at the other side of the room.
"Indeed you do," he replied. "And thus we both have our tasks. I'll do my best at mine, and I hope you'll do the same with yours."
A smile flashed onto Nik's face. "Oh, I will!"
"May you dwell long in peace and plenty." Then Faramir of Ithilien lifted his gaze to encompass the entire hall and announced, "Now let us call this day's work good and retire to enjoy our suppers!"
Chairs and benches scraped the floor and voices babbled excitedly as people rose to their feet, where one huge figure towered above them all. Russbeorn, late of the Misty Mountains and now of the Wetwang, eased through the crowd to stand over the table where Goldur gathered the last of his papers. The portly law lord looked up, his expression warmly welcoming despite the anxiety suddenly on Kerwin's and Willelmus' faces.
"Nik was right to trust you," rumbled Russ. "I am glad my suspicions were unfounded."
"Thank you, Master Russ," replied Goldur genially. "It pleases me to have passed the test."
Russ looked down for a beat then asked, "Do you like mead?"
Lord Goldur positively beamed. "As a matter of fact, I have sought long for a source of truly fine mead. I find a glass aids my digestion. Do you know where some may be had?"
During their conversation, a queue of chattering people assembled in the aisle. As the tumult flowed towards the door, one voice rose above the others. In the most plaintive tones possibly ever to emit from an orc's mouth, Lugbac's grating baritone cried out:
"But what just happened?"
xxx
TBC ….