Chapter seven

Welcoming campers and introductions

The final preparation hours dwindled down until there was only a half-hour until the campers would arrive. The beaches had been raked again, the camper dorms had been checked over for any problems, the infirmary was fully stocked (Kisha had a pretty good idea that the infirmary would be used more then ever this year), and the kitchens and dining hall had gotten a good cleaning. Now all that there was left to do was wait. Ten minutes before one o'clock Kisha drove down and unlocked the gate. The rest of the staff sat around in reclining beach chairs in the great lawn. The sun was shining brightly and the day looked like it would be a beautiful one.

"Oh I could take a nap right now," Nerdanel commented.

"So could I," Amarië agreed. The two looked like they really did need a nap.

Morgoth's eye still had not swelled down enough for him to see and Sauron was using the opportunity to crack very evil eyeball jokes. Morgoth vowed that he would kill Sauron when the time was right. Gwen was just glad he wasn't threatening her at all. She did know that under different circumstances Morgoth probably would have beaten her to a pulp and then killed her. Kisha walked back to the reclining staff and sat down.

"Campers should be coming soon," she said. She downed a Long Island ice tea and sagged in the chair.

"Is she drinking alcohol?" Aragorn asked.

Gwen nodded.

"It's a pre-camp ritual. We call today 'thunder in the Glin' as a joke but it always hits the staff hard. Kisha always has two or three Long Island ice teas," Gwen replied.

Legolas looked appalled.

"Does she actually get drunk before these campers get here?" he asked.

Gwen shook her head.

"Kisha holds her liquor pretty good. It takes a good seven or eight of those to make her drunk. She just needs to get a little buzzed before welcoming campers," Gwen replied. She checked her watch and saw that it was five minutes to one. She stood up and stretched.

"Okay, we better put the chairs back and get into our places. Everyone knows what they're doing right?" Gwen asked.

Everyone nodded. During the two hours before one the staff had decided on who would do what when the campers got here. For instance, one group worked in the arts and crafts room for registration and another group showed where each camper was sleeping.

They put the chairs back on the beach and went into their positions. Kisha, being camp director, had the job of checking over everyone's paperwork in the arts and crafts hall and Gwen, with the help of Legolas, Manwë, Bregolas, Aragorn I and Nerdanel showed which dorm building they were staying in and told them which room and floor.

Kisha had also thought it would be wise of certain characters, such as Morgoth, Fëanor, and Ar-Pharazôn should stay in the staff dorms. She also had a different, and very special, job for them once the campers got settled in and she wanted to give them time to prepare.

At around one-ten the first of the campers arrived. Aulë and Faramir were in charge of directing traffic and they motioned for the first car to park. When the chatty teenagers exited the car and saw that they recognised one of the staff members, Faramir did look slightly like the Faramir from the movie and the teenage girls saw this, they squealed in delight.

"Oh my Ilúvatar," Faramir said.

"I think that's going to be a favourite expression of the staff for these six weeks," Aulë concluded.

--

Mrs. Robinson turned the car down Camp Glingal road and the girls in the backseat began to get jumpy. They had been waiting all summer for this and now that it was almost here; they were ecstatic. Mrs. Robinson turned the radio on to give the girls something to listen to. Her thought was that maybe music would calm them down. She turned the radio to the local AM channel.

"Good afers cats and kittens, my name Kit McMantree. It's a bright and sunny day near the lake and there's no chance of rain for at least a week. The local camp, Camp Glingal, opens its doors today for six-weeks in the sun. The camp director, Kisha Daystar, has sent down the clue song for this year's clue. So now I present the song 'War of Wrath' by Blind Guardian. This song actually is spoken but the staff at Camp Glingal said it would give a great clue as to what the theme of this year's six-week. So all you campers have fun and have a great, safe, and adventurous six weeks!"

"Mom, will you please turn it up?" Chrisy asked.

"Sure thing dear," Mrs. Robinson replied.

She turned it up and the song by Blind Guardian began.

"The field is lost, everything is lost. The black one has fallen from the sky and the towers in ruins lie. The enemy is within, everywhere. And with him the light. Soon he will be here. Go now my lord while there is time. There are places below.

And you know them too. I release thee; go. My servant you'll be for all time.

As you command, my king.

I had a part in everything. Twice I destroyed the light and twice I failed. I left ruin behind me when I returned. But I also carried ruin with me. She, the mistress of her own lust."

The two girls made a face at the radio.

"What kind of song was that? It like lasted a minute!" Kat exclaimed.

"That was Blind Guardian's 'War of Wrath'. I saw them in New York City three years ago," Mrs. Robinson replied.

"Do you know what the song was about?" Chrisy asked.

Mrs. Robinson nodded.

"Of course I do."

The car was getting closer to the camp but the girls weren't paying attention. They wanted to know what the clue meant.

"Well what does it mean?" Kat asked.

"You saw The Lord of the Rings right?"

Both girls nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh Legolas, so dreamy…" Chrisy sighed.

Kat thought about it.

"But that doesn't fit anywhere though. Destroyed the light? That would mean an evil character right?"

Mrs. Robinson nodded and smiled.

"But Sauron didn't have a servant," she concluded but then hastily added, "like that right?"

The car was almost at the parking lot. Mrs. Robinson could see two figures directing traffic up ahead.

"That's right. But he did have a master. Did you read The Silmarillion Kat?"

Kat thought for a moment and then dawning recognition hit her. She squealed in delight.

"It's going to be a Middle-Earth theme this year!"

Mrs. Robinson laughed and pulled up to the two figures directing traffic. The two girls in the back of the car almost swooned when they saw Faramir. Both didn't know who the other one was though. Mrs. Robinson leaned out her car window and smiled.

"Good morning… Aulë is it?" she asked.

He furled his eyebrows.

"How did you know that?" he asked.

She shrugged behind the wheel.

"I had a hunch that's all. Great costume by the by, Faramir, you look exactly as I pictured him," she said.

"Oh why thank you," Faramir replied.

Mrs. Robinson pulled ahead and parked the car. The two girls flew the car doors opened and stepped out.

--

"Okay you're in room nineteen. It's on the first level of the dorm room labelled Mordor," Gwen said directing another camper into the proper building. They had decided to give the dorm rooms different names to make things easier. The first two choices were Angband and Valinor but the Valar said they did not want campers saying that they were living in Valinor and the characters from the War of the Ring said that they at least wanted one name from the third age. After much debate it was decided that the names of the dorms would be Mordor and Numenor. Sauron was not happy with the choice of Numenor as he was still afraid of water after it's sinking but everyone, including Morgoth, voted on it just to tick him off.

"Wow, cool! I'm living in Mordor!" the camper exclaimed as he headed off to the dorm room.

"Great, another evil soul dwelling in Camp Glingal for six-weeks," Aragorn I said sighing.

Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry about it. There will be fans of the pansy side too," she replied with a smile.

"Pansy side?" Legolas exclaimed.

"Um, sorry, I meant good side." Gwen said still smiling.

"One would think you were partial to the evil beings of Middle-Earth," Manwë announced.

Gwen shrugged.

"Meh, both sides are cool," she replied.

Manwë, Legolas, Aragorn I, and Gwen heard a scream of 'no not Mordor!' coming near Bregolas.

"See," Gwen said pointing to the distraught camper, "there are some campers who don't like the evil side at all."

"Yeah one out of fifty," Legolas replied.

"Well its better odds then I would expect," Gwen said.

Manwë rolled his eyes.

"When you die I'm asking Ilúvatar if I can throw you into the void," he said.

Gwen shrugged again.

"You win some, you lose some," she replied.

"You've gone along way since yesterday," Legolas said, "From being almost killed by Morgoth and Fëanor, to admitting you worship Sauron, and then trying to kill Morgoth with a baseball bat at eight in the morning."

"Sorry, I'm bi-polar," Gwen said with a shrug.

"Bi-polar?"

Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Never mind."

--

Two hours later, around three o'clock, all the campers had arrived and were seated in the Great Hall. Now the Great Hall was built like the dining hall in which it could hold five hundred people easily. But the Great Hall was, unlike the dining hall, built for comfort. It had crimson red plush carpet and the walls were painted a similar colour. This room also had a big screen TV for movie nights. There were also couches and comfy chairs everywhere throughout the room. The rule at Camp Glingal was that the staff got first pick of the couches and chairs and any left-over could then be fought over by the campers. The Great Hall was situated by the lake and looked over it. Every morning, after breakfast, the campers and staff would assemble in the Great Hall for the day's announcements. Today everyone was gathered in it for the rules of the camp and introductions.

The staff had all settled down on the couches and chairs and within five minutes every other space available on the furniture was taken up. Gwen and Kisha stood at the front of the Great Hall and waited for absolute silence. When they had gotten it Kisha began speaking.

"Welcome campers to another great summer at Camp Glingal! If you haven't figured it out already, this year's theme is Middle-Earth! And so we have characters from Valinor, the First Age, the Second Age, The Third Age, and the Fourth Age ready to give great lessons and projects about Middle-Earth. Since not everyone is familiar with Middle-Earth, or only parts of it, I thought it would be best if every staff member from Middle-Earth would introduce themselves one at a time."

The volume in the Great Hall began to pick up as more then ninety percent of the camper population knew, and loved, The Lord of the Rings. Out of that ninety percent only fifteen percent knew about the different ages of Middle-Earth and so it was a good idea that Kisha decided on introductions.

"First we'll start with the Fellowship of the Ring," Kisha said. She then took a seat next to Gwen on a couch reserved for the camp director and listened.

Frodo was the first to stand up and walk to the front of the Great Hall. There were lots of chatter from the campers but Morgoth took care of it.

"Shut up or I'll turn you all into orcs!"

This threat seemed to work on everyone and they listened to Frodo.

"Hello, my name is Frodo Baggins and before I was sent here I was carrying the One Ring of Sauron to be destroyed in the fires of Mt. Doom. I like pipe-weed, food, and long walks on the beach…"

"Oh what-ever Frodo, long walks on the beach my arse," Sauron exclaimed in a huff, "You didn't want to take one with me yesterday!"

Frodo's eyes went wide and he put his hand around the ring.

"Yeah well I don't like them with you! You were going to take the ring from me!"

"Was not."

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

Kisha rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Okay that's enough from the delightful Hobbit. Next can we have Samwise Gamgee?"

She sat back down on the couch and Sam stood at the head of the Great Hall. There was much swooning for the second time and all Morgoth had to yell was 'orcs!' and everyone promptly shut up. After that, excluding Legolas, Aragorn, and Boromir, the Fellowship introductions passed very smoothly. To give contrast to the Fellowship, Kisha then asked if the Nine Nazgul would introduce themselves to everyone. The Witch-King was the first to talk.

"Um, hi, I'm the Witch-King but you all can call me Tim. You know, it's a lot easier that way. I've taken a very fond liking to pizza while I've been here so, if you tick me off make me a pizza and all will be well again."

A few of the campers could not help but laugh at the pizza comment and Morgoth threatened turning everyone into orcs again. The rest of the Nazgul went to the head of the Great Hall and introduced themselves. Instead of being called a number for six-weeks they all came up with names for themselves. Nazgul number two became Barny, number three became Bert, number four became Benny, number five became Bill, number six became Bob, number seven became Barnhart, number eight became Boris, and number nine became Sir Bedevere. He was rather fond of Monty Python and the Holy Grail after Kisha showed it to him this afternoon while the campers arrived.

After that Fëanor, his sons, and his wife, Nerdanel, introduced themselves to the crowd. The only main thing to say about Fëanor was that he made the Silmarils and he and his sons crossed the ocean in a quest to get them back. Morgoth then promptly scoffed at him saying that even if he could have touched his Silmaril again it would have burned him. Fëanor countered the comment saying that it burned Morgoth as well, and that there was no point in history where he could actually touch it and not get burned. After that Morgoth threatened to gut him like a fish and it probably could have happened but Manwë elbowed him and hinted about another talk on the lawn. For the rest of the introductions Morgoth remained silent until it was his turn to talk.

After Fëanor and his family the rest of the characters introduced themselves to everyone. Most of the campers had never heard of some of the characters such as Amarië, Anborn, Araglas, and Bregolas. Some of them, like Amarië, did not play any important role in anything. The only thing she did was she did not go into exile with Finrod, who loved her. Others, like Aragorn I, led exciting lives that no one knew about. The most exciting introductions were by the Valar and Maiar who told of exciting adventures they had in Middle-Earth. By the time Thuringwethil (who is a vampire and servant of Sauron) and Tom Bombadil finished their introductions the campers were dead tired. But as luck would have it the night was not done yet and Kisha took the floor.

"Well campers that was fun! Now I thought we'd kick off the six-weeks with a movie but before we do that I would just like to go over the schedule of events and the rules. Firstly the schedule, breakfast is served at eight-thirty every morning sharp. If you sleep in then it's your own fault. After breakfast, which ends at nine-thirty, everyone is expected to gather in the Great Hall for the day's announcements. Then, until one, you will be doing a morning activity. At one lunch will be served and from two to four you have free time. When you registered you were asked if you wanted to be a part of the camp play. If you answered yes, the two hours of free time will be used for play practice. If you are doing the play then at two meet in the theatre. From four to five-thirty everyone will then gather at the beach for swimming. You will then have a half hour to dry off and change for dinner which will start at six. Dinner will last an hour and then everyone will gather together in the Great Hall for evening activities. Bedtime is always a guesstimate but it usually falls between twelve-thirty and one o'clock in the morning. Are there any questions?"

Nobody raised their hand and Kisha smiled. She walked to the door of the Great Hall.

"And now would everybody follow me? We will be going over the rules outside."

--

It was now four o'clock in the afternoon and the entire camp was standing at the water front. Fifty feet away from the shoreline sat a boat with Eärendil in it. Standing in front of the boat was Ulmo.

"And now we will go over the rules. Watch," Kisha commanded.

The campers gaze switched to Eärendil and Ulmo in the water. Eärendil began speaking.

"Sailing, sailing, over to English Isle…" he made rowing motions with his arm. Then Ulmo raised his hand.

"Stop! What do you think you're doing?" he asked in a voice that everyone knew he was trying to remember lines from a script.

Eärendil gave him an innocent smile.

"Why I'm going to sail to England in a rowboat!" he exclaimed.

"You can't do that. It's against the rules. Only with an experienced boatman during an organised activity can you row past the green floaties," Ulmo explained to him.

"But I'm an experienced sailor! I sailed all the way to Valinor!" protested Eärendil.

Ulmo shook his head.

"I'm sorry but it's not allowed. Even if you were…" he trailed off, "I'm not saying this!"

Kisha rolled her eyes; the script had been working so well. Until now.

"Just say the bleeding line already!"

Ulmo rolled his eyes and continued his lines.

"Even if you were Ilúvatar himself come down from Valinor I would not let you sail past the green floaties. While you're at Camp Glingal you're our responsibility and we will be very sad if you get hurt."

Kisha smiled.

This is Oscar material. She thought as she laughed in her head.

"Oh alright," Eärendil replied. "I will keep my boat within the green floaties."

Ulmo smiled.

"That's a good lad."

Morgoth turned to Sauron and whispered in his ear, "This is stupid."

Sauron nodded in reply and the two watched Eärendil and Ulmo bring the boat back to its proper place.

"So does everyone remember the rule?" Kisha asked.

The campers nodded and replied back to her, "No sailing your boat past the green floaties."

Kisha nodded and smiled.

"Good, now let's head over to the dorms. There are a few rules we have to go over there."

--

The campers watched as Gwen and Varda walked down the hallway talking.

"Man that dance last night sure was fun!" Gwen exclaimed.

Varda nodded.

"Oh it was wonderful! I can't believe Tulkas asked me to dance! I was so touched!"

Gwen smiled.

"Oh defiantly, that was so awesome!"

As the two continued their idle chitchat Sauron stood at one end of the hallway and Morgoth on the other. Morgoth held a football in his hand.

"Hey Sauron, see if you can catch this!" he yelled as he launched the football down the hallway. Now when they practiced this a few hours earlier Morgoth threw the football so it grazed past Gwen's head. This time it hit her squarely in the head. Gwen fell over and crashed into Varda and the two fell to the floor. Kisha ran over to Gwen.

"Damnit Morgoth you weren't supposed to actually hit her! Is this revenge for this morning?" Kisha asked.

"I'm going to kill you with a baseball bat tonight!" screeched Gwen.

Morgoth smiled evilly and Manwë grabbed him by his neck and pulled him out of the dorms. On his way out he shouted, "Sauron! You get your butt out here too!"

Gwen, who only had a massive headache, stood up and Varda walked her out of the dorm and to the infirmary. Kisha rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I knew I should not have let Morgoth be the one to throw the football," Kisha said.

Kisha then turned to the bewildered campers.

"So everybody, what did we learn this time?" she asked.

"Throwing footballs in the hallway will end in beatings with baseball bats at night time."

--

The next skit took place in the hallway again but this time they used one of the staff member's dorms. The campers crowded around the doorway and others went outside and watched from the window. In the dorm room Arwen sat reading a magazine and popping chewing gum. Aragorn then walked into the dorm room.

"Arwen my love! It is so good to see you!" he exclaimed.

Arwen looked up from the magazine and her eyes lit up.

"Aragorn! How long I've waited for you! Kiss me my love!"

He leaned over and gave her a huge kiss. Then Legolas walked into the room as the staff member. His eyes bulged in his head.

"What is going on in here? You know the rules! There are to be no members of the opposite sex in the same dorm room at all times!"

Arwen frowned.

"But we love each other!" she protested.

"There is no place for love at Camp Glingal. This place is designed so that everyone gets to hang out with everyone. That is how it should be. Now if this happens again I will send Gwen and Morgoth in here and let them attack you with bats and footballs," Legolas warned.

Kisha chuckled to herself as the scene finished.

"So, what did you learn from this one?"

"That baseball bats have a predominate place at Camp Glingal…"

--

The final rule that was to be acted out was on the Great Lawn. The campers gathered around Morgoth and Fëanor. Morgoth, who was able to take the eye patch off an hour after the campers arrived, had it back on when Manwë was finished with him. Both Sauron and Morgoth looked subdued again and Gwen was getting afraid for bed time even though it was five o'clock in the evening. Fëanor and Morgoth began the next rule skit.

"You stole my Silmaril! You must die!" screamed Fëanor.

Morgoth laughed.

"You can never defeat me, for I am all powerful!"

The two lunged at each other and began a mock fight. Though the camp staff all knew that it more then likely was an actual fight and they really were punching each other. After thirty seconds of fighting Gilrean, Nimrodel, Amarië, Galadriel, and Lúthien walked by chatting like gossipy teenagers. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not see the two fighting and the group walked into the middle of the fight.

"Ow my face!" screamed Nimrodel.

The skit promptly ended when Lúthien tripped on her dress and fell into Fëanor. He then knocked over Nimrodel and she in turn tripped up everyone else. While they were on the ground nursing injuries Kisha asked the 'what did we learn now?' question.

"That fighting attracts pretty ladies," some wise guy in the back said.

Kisha rolled her eyes.

"You know, I don't think these skits are actually working…"