T.A. 3019, Citadel, Minas Tirith
Denethor walks into the room and looks at all those who are present. He smiles pleased. The entire council of Gondor has actually gathered. Well, entire? As much as is possible considering where the others are. He nods to those gathered and walks towards the table. As he does so, he sees where everyone sits. On the left side of his chair, Imrahil sits. On his right, Faramir. The other lords and captains have sat down in order of their importance to the council.
"Good morning. I am sure you all know why we are here."
"Oh, it is difficult to miss, my lord steward."
He glares at the lord of Anórien. He has no time for this. They have more important work to do. The only response he gets is a tilted head. Is the lord baiting him? He will not fall for it and looks away. Sighing, he decides to start the meeting. Hopefully, without any further interruptions.
"I have called you here to determine what the best course of action will be in the face of the siege on our city."
"Well, there is little we can do. The siege is not something we can avoid. There are too few men available to hold the forces of Mordor at bay. Considering what we are facing, it will be hard on our defenses."
"Then we need to ensure the people still in the city have a chance to escape."
"How do you think we will do that, captain. There are no escape paths beside the great gate. I doubt you will send the people out there. They will be slaughtered."
"I know that. What other choice do we have? None. We need to give the people a chance to escape."
"I fully agree with you both, Nathalon, lord Bírion. But you need that what you said, Lord Bírion, is not true. There are a few escape paths in the higher levels."
All eyes instantly turn towards Faramir. Denethor smiles for he knows which paths Faramir is referring to. At the same time, all he sees is the confusion which he fully understands. And like Faramir, he agrees with both. The great gate offers no escape but the people need to have a way out of the city. But the escape paths do. And they are called escape paths for few know about their existence.
"What do you mean, captain Faramir? I know of no other paths besides the great gate."
"That is not surprising as the paths I referred to are not known by the people. Only a handful of people know about them."
"Then we should use them. Any spies from Mordor will have been unable to discover the location of those paths."
Nathalon smiles eagerly. The lords and captains all nod in agreement. Denethor nods also. The secrecy of those paths is an assurance they will need for else the people who need to flee will be slaughtered. The only thing left to do is keep their plan from the spies. Something they need to plan right now. He looks everyone in their eyes but before he can voice his decision, Imrahil speaks up.
"If we plan to use those paths then we need to ensure we can keep the spies from knowing about them and our plan."
"How do you propose we do that, Prince Imrahil?"
All eyes turn towards Imrahil. Yes, Imrahil, how do you plan to do that? Or more importantly, have you already made a plan? Denethor tilts his head. Looking everyone in their eyes, he sees their determination to uncover the reason behind Imrahil's words. Everyone eagerly awaits Imrahil's answer.
"Simple. By only telling a few about the paths and our plan. And those we tell are the ones whose loyalty we are ensured of. This also means none of us can talk about our decision. If I do not overstep my bounds by giving this order, Lord Denethor."
Imrahil looks uncertain at him. Some lords look with glee at him. Do they expect him to berate Imrahil? He would never. But then he remembers how often he has berated others who have done similar things. Looking back over the assembly, he sees some hopeful looks. One of them comes from Faramir. The longer he stays silent, the more Imrahil's uncertainty increases. He sighs and decides to end the feeling which hangs over the room.
"You do not overstep your bounds, Prince Imrahil. It is a necessary consequence of our decision to use the secret paths. Does anyone have a problem with being unable to talk about it?"
A sigh falls over the room. Any feelings that were present evaporate. He looks over the assembly again. He sees everyone shaking their heads. Denethor nods and decides to get their conversation back on track. They have made a decision which they need to ensure sees fruition.
"Than that is agreed to. We will only tell those who we know are loyal about the location of the paths. For everyone else, we keep our plan close to our chest. That way we ensure the people will have a way to flee from the city. What remains now is planning the defense of our city."
Everyone turns to look at Faramir. Denethor smiles eagerly awaiting Faramir's response. Faramir's next words will determine what they can do. And also how much problems they might be faced with. It all depends on the men they have available at this time.
"We have but few people available. Our defense will not hold long enough to prepare a defense. The Rammas Echos will not hold long enough. Not with how many are present there."
What Faramir said makes sense. He knows the state of the defense and it is not good. And then he expresses it lightly. But then there are a few options they can use. They will have to do with what they have. And to plan, he needs accurate numbers.
"How many men do we have actually, Faramir?"
"Only a few thousand. It is far less than the force of Mordor."
He can imagine it is. But then he knows how large the force from Mordor normally is as compared to now. A few thousand is by far not enough. Denethor scratches his head. How to solve this problem? He is considering it when Nathalon speaks up.
"And weapons? How many do we have of those?"
"Why do you ask? Do you have a proposal, Nathalon?"
"I do. We can arm all the men in the city. It will give us a few hundred more. Not enough to stop the siege but enough to hold out for a while longer."
Denethor looks around the room to see everyone's' reaction. The only thing he sees is nodding. Do they all agree with it? It seems like it. He looks back at Nathalon who is looking smug. He narrows his eyes. Even though he agrees with the plan he disagrees with Nathalon's look. Suddenly, Lord Bírion speaks up.
"My lord, there is another problem we need to discuss. We need to secure the paths?"
"How do you intend to do that without giving their location away?"
Oh, Faramir, you must have some ideas to do just that. So why ask? What are you planning? Faramir's expression is neutral so he cannot learn anything from it. He looks at Lord Bírion who looks offended. Denethor keeps his face neutral even though it amuses him a lot.
"How? By not placing men directly in their vicinity but still near enough that the paths are protected. What did you think, captain?"
Denethor looks sternly at Lord Bírion. He does not condone such a tone in this room. Lord Bírion looks at the ground with sufficient repentance. He decides to leave it at this. They have lost already too much time to his liking. All the officers need to return to the field as soon as possible. Preferably within thirty minutes. As such, he will bring their attention back to the matter on hand. But first, they need to decide on the matter on hand.
"That is a good plan, Lord Bírion. Everyone in agreement?"
All hands are raised except one. Denethor frowns. Who is this? Looking at the hand which stayed down, he is not surprised. Lord Lathron is always the one to make problems. And why? Oh, he has some ideas. Ideas he will look deeper into when this is all over. Just wait, you will have plenty of problems coming your way. Do not increase them now.
Denethor struggles to keep his face neutral. All he does is narrow his eyes slightly. He refuses to do further. But now it is time to bring their conversation back on track.
"Well, as nearly everyone agrees, we will do it as you proposed, Lord Bírion. But back to the weapons. Will we arm all men in the city?"
"I am not sure, my lord. They will only create problems for the trained warriors if we mix the men. But if we put them in the first line then it might work."
Denethor narrows his eyes at the gleeful smile. What is Lord Lathron even thinking to gain with this? He wants to rip that smile off his face but knows he cannot. All he can do is talk to him which he intends to do. But Faramir speaks up faster.
"I disagree with that. We will not sacrifice men for nothing."
Lord Lathron flees out of the chair. The chair falls over with a loud bang. Everyone looks to Lord Lathron with barely concealed irritation. Denethor sighs and has a feeling what will be coming in a moment.
"You coward! Your brother would not have made an issue of it. Mark my words, we will do as I proposed, captain Faramir."
"Are you the ruling steward, lord Lathron? I doubt it as that is what I am. You do not have the authority to make such a decision on your own. And you should not threaten anyone in this room. As for right now, you will sit down right now. While you do, allow me to inform you that Boromir would also have made an issue of your plan. Just like Faramir does."
Nodding comes from all around the table. Lord Lathron glares at everyone. What the other do, Denethor does not know but he glares back. He will not let the threat stay. It takes some time but Lord Lathron sits down. Denethor takes a deep breath before bringing the meeting back to what they were discussing before the interruption.
"If we do arm every man then we need to determine when to give the order to flee the city."
"I agree, father. We need to give the people word ahead that the people need to flee. But then it should not be done so early that Mordor will catch wind of it."
"But when? Captain Faramir, you did not say that. I ..."
Nathalon, really Why does he have to be so impatient. Why does he not allow Faramir to finish? Denethor sighs. He is getting very annoyed by the way the meeting is going. He looks at Nathalon with a frown before mentioning with his hand for Faramir to continue.
"I propose we give the order to evacuate the lower levels once this meeting is over. The order to flee should be given when the fifth level is breached. The people will have sufficient time to flee."
"That might not be enough to time as they need to pack everything."
"That is not true as I have already given the order to prepare to evacuate. And besides, there are not many women left. All the men who stay behind will ensure Mordor does not learn of the escape. While those armed protect the people."
"I agree with you on that. It will allow for the safest way out of the city."
Denethor smiles. Imrahil just said what he is certain everyone is thinking. Well, everyone? Not really. The frowns tell him something else. Why does their suspicion not surprise him? Oh, yes he knows why. But he better thank Imrahil for his words. Then they can focus on another matter of importance.
"Thank you, Imrahil. There is one matter left to discuss. We need to discuss what to do with the war machines."
"I would advise against preparing them at this time. I propose to prepare them only when the Rammas Echor is about to be breached. It will be sufficient time to have the machines ready."
"Why, captain Faramir? The Rammas Echor will not be breached easily."
"Why? It will only be a matter of before it is breached. We do not have enough men to defend the city. So how will we be able to keep the Rammas Echor from being breached."
"That is worrying."
Really? Worrying? Why would they discuss escape routes if the Rammas Echor would hold? Denethor sighs. He does not understand Nathalon at all. Normally, Nathalon is not like this. So why now? It does not make sense. Faramir has just allowed him to direct their topic of conversation. He will use it.
"How long do you think it will be before the Rammas Echor is breached, captain Faramir?"
"I am not sure but I suspect it will only be at least a few hours from now. At most, the Rammas Echor will be able to hold for another seven hours."
Mhh, he doubts the last. It sounds optimistic to him. He sees the doubts on the faces of the lords. But how to work with this knowledge. How will they know when the Rammas Echor is breached. There is only one way he can think of; by sending someone to the Rammas Echor. A voice pulls him from his thoughts.
"My lord, we do need to ensure that the men in the lower levels can flee if they are lost."
"Do you have a plan?"
"Yes, my lord, I do have a plan. As it takes time to prepare, I propose to give them time."
Giving the men time is a good plan. But how? Denethor considers the available options. He cannot find many. He can only come up with two. But how do others look at it? He looks over the table and only sees thoughtful looks. He nods to himself and decides to voice his thoughts.
"There are a few options we have available. We could put more men in the lower levels until the way out of the lower levels is secured. Or we could reinforce the Rammas Echor to give the needed time. Whatever we choose, we have a high risk of losing many good men. Though with the first option, we might lose more than with the second option."
"I think the last one you mentioned would be the best option we have available."
"What do you mean, Imrahil?"
"I mean the last option you mentioned, my lord steward. It is the best we have available."
Nodding comes from around the room. Denethor nods showing his consent. It means now they should focus on how to get this plan executed. Securing the lower levels will require little to no discussion; it is a straightforward matter. But sending men to the Rammas Echor is not. This will require some more thought and discussion. With that in mind, he looks at the gathered lords before speaking up.
"Who will we send then to the Rammas Echor?"
"I do not like to say it but captain Faramir is the best man we have for the task."
Denethor looks at Imrahil with a neutral expression. He does not like the suggestion. At the same time, he has to agree with Imrahil. There is no one more suited to look after this task than Faramir. But before he will order Faramir he wants to know Faramir's opinion.
"What do you say about this, Faramir?"
"I accept the task if it is the council's decision."
Faramir appears calm to him but he doubts it is what Faramir is feeling. When he looks around the room, he sees worry on nearly all faces. Except for Lord Lathron who is smiling pleased. Denethor narrows his eyes. Everyone, except Lord Lathron, is aware of the risks involved. At the same time, it is clear this needs to be done.
Minas Tirith, Faramir POV
"My lord, am I dismissed? I would like to select the men who will accompany me to the Rammas Echor as well as informing them about their next assignment."
"You are, Captain Faramir. This meeting is over as it is."
Faramir stands up, bows and leaves the room. Behind him, he can hear the sound of chairs moving and boots hitting the floor. He does not turn around as he knows what he needs to do right now. He has no time to waste by interacting anymore with the members of the council.
As to what he needs to do, he needs to do just as he said. But besides that, he also needs to prepare himself. As he does not know how long it will take him to do all, he needs to begin as soon as possible, With all that in mind, he walks to the barracks to find his lieutenant, Eithoril.
Arriving at the barracks, Faramir looks for Eithoril but cannot locate him. Sighing, he decides to ask the men who are at the barracks if they know where Eithoril is. It becomes quickly clear no one has seen Eithoril for the last few hours. Just as he is about to leave, he hears some men talking about Eithoril. They mention something about the training fields. Based on this, he decides to visit the training fields next before he will go through the entire city. Something he hopes to avoid. It will cost him too much time.
Walking to the training fields, he sees the preparations being taken for the higher levels. Just as they are being taken for the lower levels. Once he reaches the training fields, he looks for Eithoril but cannot find him. As such, he goes around to ask the men who are training. But this time, he will question the men more deeply. What he wants to find out is who has seen his lieutenant last.
Minutes later, he talks to a guard who remembers where he saw Eithoril last. This was near the gates on the third level. And more importantly, it was not so long ago. Faramir smiles and thanks the guards. He, of all the guards he talked to, has given him the best information.
Faramir leaves the training fields and walks towards his destination. As he walks, he sees the preparations for the upcoming siege taking shape. Men hurry around him with tools or materials. It is a sight he is pleased to see. To every officer he meets, he nods. The closer he gets to his destination, the more crowded it becomes. It does not surprise him; around this area, most defenses need to be placed.
Reaching the gate, he looks around. Initially, he cannot find Eithoril. It is just too crowded to recognize who stands where. Faramir knows there is only one way to decisively determine if Eithoril is here. He pushed himself through the crowd when people do not move out of his way. As he nears the back of the crowd, he finally finds Eithoril. Eithoril is talking to captain Bíron, the captain in charge of the third level, while keeping an eye on what goes on around him.
"Captain, what is the matter?"
Eithoril looks at him with surprise. Captain Bíron, on the other hand, quickly straightens up. Faramir nods to both men and walks closer to them.
"Eithoril, I could ask you the same thing. Why are you at this gate meeting with captain Bíron?"
He clearly remembers Eithoril telling him he would stay in the higher levels to keep an eye on the placement of the men. To now be in the third level and at the gate is surprising. It makes him wonder if there is a problem he should be aware of.
"Oh, it nothing really of importance. Captain Bíron wanted to know what he could expect. As far as he told me, he has not been out of the city for a long time. Also, he wanted to know if his early experience under captain Thorongil will serve him still. Or if the tactics changed. So I decided to accompany him to explain what he could expect here. It makes my explanation better to see the environment."
"And have they changed?"
Faramir tilts his head and looks at Captain Bíron. He is interested in learning what Eithoril has said. Seeing captain Bíron's smile, he gets a feeling what the answer will be.
"No, my lord. The tactics have not changed if Eithoril speaks the truth. As such, my experience will be sufficient to prepare me for what is to come."
"Oh, I am sure Eithoril speaks the truth. Could I speak with you alone for a moment, Eithoril?"
"You can. Excuse us."
They leave the gate behind but not before Faramir notices the confused look on captain Bíron's face. This look lasts but moments before captain Bíron turns around towards his men. Faramir guides Eithoril through the third level towards the barracks. Reaching the barracks, he guides them into the captain's office. He knows captain Bíron will not mind. Besides, the captain will most likely expect them to be here. Faramir sits down behind the desk and mentions for Eithoril to also sit down. Once they both sit, Eithoril does not hesitate with asking what is on his mind.
"What do you wish to discuss that cannot be said out in the open?"
"You know I attended the Council of Gondor. It was there we discussed how to handle the situation which is before us."
"I know captain but what do you want to tell me?"
"We decided to strengthen the Rammas Echor. The task was given to me."
Eithoril nods but frowns at the same time. Faramir smiles. He can imagine what Eithoril will tell him soon. It will only be a reminder of what he already knows. When Eithoril takes a deep breath, he knows he will hear it.
"Captain, you are aware it is a dangerous assignment? And do you know why the Rammas Echor needs to be strengthened? Should that not happen to the city?"
"I am aware of both. The city will be strengthened but needs time to do so. My task is aimed at giving the city the time it needs. I need your help in selecting the men who will accompany me."
"I will help you. But just so you know, I will come with you no matter what. I will not abandon you. No matter what."
"I would expect nothing less. But let us now select the men who will accompany us."
Eithoril nods and brings paper and writing utensils to him. Faramir smiles bit knows Eithoril will be able to grasp the full plan. Even if he did not explain it. It takes a moment but then Eithoril has gathered everything, he stands next to him. The next hour, they spend on discussing who will be coming with them. And who will be ordered to stay behind? They both know strong warriors will most likely be needed to defend the city. Just like they need those warriors themselves. It results in them making consideration which gives them the men they need without risking the cities defense. It is hard work but at the end of the hour, they have a list ready with the names of the men they selected.
"I will inform the men we selected, captain. You should go prepare yourself."
"Thank you, Eithoril. You know when we will march. Inform the men but make sure you will also be ready in time. If you are not then I will leave you behind.
Faramir stands up and leaves the barracks. He does not allow Eithoril time to respond. He walks back to the citadel where he changes his clothes and puts on his armor with the aid of his esquire. Only three hours after he left the Council of Gondor, Faramir meets up with Eithoril in the first level. There all the men who will accompany them are also gathered. A short while later, they are marching on Osgiliath.
Denethor POV
Denethor enters his study and sits down. He leans back and looks at the ceiling. The meeting has left him feeling tired. After a few minutes, he looks out of the window. Outside, he can hear how Faramir leaves the city. He sighs. Faramir is doing his duty but he still fears for his safety. If it could be avoided then he would not have allowed Faramir to take this task. All these worries have him remembering Faramir as he grew up.
Faramir has always been a thoughtful child who has a love for lore. Faramir has shown the same love for lore as he has. Due to this, they have worked a lot together in the past. Work he has alway greatly enjoyed doing. It made it very clear to him how much Faramir has come to resemble him. And also Finduilas. Their love for lore brought them together.
All these thoughts bring some concerns back to his mind. The concerns are about what would become of Gondor after his death and when Boromir rules. Boromir has always been a warrior and not a politician. But then his concerns were not too great. He simply was the most concerned about how Boromir will handle everything. Faramir's promise to aid Boromir in any way possible and accepted was the reason his worries were not too great. Even if the promise was made in the privacy of his office without Boromir's knowledge. Or more clearly without Boromir's knowledge for as far as he knows.
His mind starts to drift. As it drifts, he starts to consider the latest assignment once more. He hopes Faramir will succeed but is fully aware of the risks involved. Faramir and his men will be largely outnumbered. Besides, there are not many places they can flee to. All those places can easily be ambushed. It makes the assignment dangerous and wakes an urge in him. He wants to see how Faramir is doing. But how should he do that?
Denethor thinks about watching from the seventh level but quickly dismisses it. It will not give him a good enough overview. He will not be able to see anything of importance. Maybe the Palantíri will be a good choice? But what about Sauron? Sauron has assaulted him in the past. But he managed to resist him. But will he be able to do the same if he watches over Faramir?
Still, the palantíri gives him the best chance of watching over his son and knowing how he is doing. Besides, this way he will also know how long the city has to prepare itself. Yes, he will use the palantíri. Looking out of the window, he hopes for Faramir will return to him alive with his men. They will need every man to survive the upcoming battle.