Citadel, Minas Tirith
A knock on his door has Denethor looking up. Who could it be? Looking out of the window, he sees how only a few hours have passed since the council of Gondor met.
Another knock on the door. He sighs. Whoever is on the other side of the door is clearly determined. He better let the person is. He is certain another knock will come of he does not allow the person to enter. And truthfully, he has become quite interested in whoever is on the other side. With all that in mind, he decides to allow the person entry into his study.
"Enter!"
The door opens and he looks out of the window. From the side of his eyes, he can see the shadow of the person. The person is not an adult but a young boy. He turns his head and sees Bergil scuffling his feet. A small smile appears on his face momentarily.
"What is the matter, Bergil?"
"The captains asked me to summon you, my lord. They would like your advice on the planning of the defenses for Minas Tirith."
"Did you tell me exactly what they told you?"
"Yes, my lord."
Denethor narrows his eyes. This results in Bergil scuffling more. He does not pay attention to it. It is of no importance to him. What is important are the feelings he has. These feelings are annoyance with the captains. The audacity of them to summon him. They should have requested his presence. This is an outright disrespect. He will deal with them.
"Where are the captains now?"
He can hear the harshness in his voice. Bergil looks him in the eye scuffling around. Denethor narrows his eyes further when Bergil does not immediately answer. Does Bergil not know where the captains are? Unlikely. Seeing his response, Bergil swallows before speaking up.
"In the council room, my lord."
"Then let us go there."
He stands up and walks towards the door. Bergil hurries after him. He walks towards the council room while not paying attention to Bergil. It does not matter to him if Bergil follows him or not. Bergil could leave for all he cares. He does not need Bergil to be around or to guide him. He knows the way. But what he needs is to have the captains to be present so he can tell them what he thought about their 'summon'.
Reaching the council room, he opens the door. The door slams into a wall. The captains look up and stop their discussion immediately. He looks sternly at all those present and puts the names by the faces. The captains look to the table or the wall. Anywhere but at him. He narrows his eyes and is about to berate them only to hears steps behind him. He turns around annoyed at whoever is coming to disturb him now. Imrahil walks towards him with an amused smile which disappears when seeing his annoyed look.
"So they summoned you as well, my lord steward."
"Oh, yes, Prince Imrahil, they did. Something they know they should not have done."
Imrahil smiles again. This time Imrahil's shoulders shake. Denethor narrows eyes deeper. He does not appreciate the response. He will not be made fun of. Imrahil does not react to it at all. It annoys him even more. After a moment, Imrahil straightens his face.
"Shall we go see why we were called here."
Denethor nods and turns around. The captains still look anywhere but at them. He smiles pleased. Now, he has calmed down a bit he can enjoy the result his words and actions have. The captains know what they did wrong. He looks at them once more before deciding it is time for them to explain themselves.
"Why did you summon us?"
"Nathalon summoned you, my lords. He insisted on it regardless of our protests."
The captains save Nathalon nod. They all give Nathalon a hard look. Nathalon does not seem to be affected by it. Nathalon lifts his chin and looks them in the eye. Denethor turns towards Nathalon. Nathalon begins to squirm in front. He hides his smile in a cough before addressing Nathalon.
"Why did you have us summoned, Nathalon?"
"We were preparing the defense of the city and we would like your input."
"On what do you want our input?"
This question has the captains turn their attention back to Nathalon. Now, he gets an impression of what their desire is about. He already knows he will not like the answer. Nathalon squirms once more. Denethor coughs once which causes Nathalon to jump.
"Well? We would like your input on where to precisely place the troops. As well as who is ultimately responsible for which part of the defense. There was some discussion about it."
He frowns. What discussion? It should be a simple matter to determine who is responsible for which part of the defense. No responsibility has changed. At least, he has not made a change. And Faramir would have informed him had he done so. So where does the discussion come from? He looks around the room and sees everyone looking away once more. What is going on here? He sighs and decides voicing his thoughts is the best course of action. Maybe he will get more information this way.
"I do not think it requires much thought that each of you is responsible for your level or area. Or does it?"
"No, my lord. But what about the cavalry? No one is in charge of them at present."
So that is what the discussion is really about. Well, the cavalry? Where do they come from? He knows Imrahil brought his cavalry with him but are there more around? He walks towards the table and looks at what the captains put on the map. He picks up a list detailing all the troops present in the city. He cannot find any more cavalry present than those from Belfalas.
"Is this list complete?"
"Yes, my lord. It is complete for as far as I know. I received this list from Eithoril before he left with captain Faramir."
Captain Bíron looks him in his eye. Denethor nods. It is just as he thought. There is no more cavalry in the city than those who came from Belfalas. It makes the decision who to place in charge of the cavalry easy. He has only one person in his mind. Looking up, he is met with confused and hopeful looks. He frowns. Do some of them want to be in charge of the cavalry? And why? None of the captains except Imrahil have experience with leading a cavalry. He decides it is best to remind them about the origin of the cavalry before telling them who he will place in charge of them. Hopefully, his reminder will give them a hint who will be in charge of the cavalry.
"Who does the cavalry consist of? They are nearly all men from Belfalas. As such, it is Imrahil who has command over them. He bright the only cavalry unit to this city and should continue to lead them."
"Will more come?"
He turns his head to Imrahil. He is not at all surprised by the question. Knowing if more will come will allow Imrahil to adapt his plans to their arrival. But knowing the state of the road he doubts they can come. They have deteriorated quite severely in a short time. If any come they will lose many of their own to the attacks from orcs. Imrahil frowns which prompts him to react.
"I highly doubt more will come. They cannot reach the city as it is. Those men will be kept in their province. Somewhere where I suspect they will be needed."
"And Rohan? They have a large cavalry unit."
"Ahh, yes they do. I have already sent someone to ask Rohan for aid. If we get their aid time will tell. For them also counts it will be difficult to reach the city. As such, I advise everyone to make their plan without the possible aid of Rohan. I do not know if they come. And if they do then I do not know when."
Everyone nods and looks at the table. Everyone but lord Bírion looks him in his eyes. He frowns hoping to prompt lord Bírion to speak up. He wants to know what is on the lord's mind. Lord Bírion smiles calmly before speaking up.
"That is certainly true for Anórien, my lord. All the roads have orcs camped on the side. Anyone trying to get over them will be attacked."
"What have you done about it, Lord Bírion?"
He did know the roads were dangerous but not so dangerous that everyone gets attacked. Especially larger groups. He would expect them to be relatively safe. In his opinion, they should be able to fight their way through without too many losses. But Lord Bírion's words make him doubt that. So what has been done about the threat? To strengthen his words, he frowns.
"I have sent men to regularly clean the roads. So far, we have paid heavy prices for our attempts. My steward has orders to continue it. This so should Rohan decide to come to our aid, they will be able to use the roads. I know I risk lives with it but deem the potential aid from Rohan to be more important."
He nods. This is indeed a suitable solution. And naturally, it comes at a high price. He agrees it should be continued so Rohan can aid them. But now that he has the answers he needs, it is time to move back to the topic on hand.
"Back to the placement of the troops, what have you all come up with?"
"Not much, my lord. Some of the captains want to take my men away. I will not allow it! I need them more than they do. How else will I be able to protect those who stayed behind? I cannot do that if I lose men to the other captains."
This results in shouting all over the room. He hears the explanations from the captains why they require the men. Regardless of what he hears, Denethor does not pay attention to it. He knows who the men are who stayed behind. It is the healers and brave lats. They are nearly always in the higher levels. So why would it be a problem if the higher levels lose some men? In the lower levels, more men will be needed once the siege is in front of the great gate.
He looks at the map. How many men will be needed in the higher levels? He does not believe the higher levels need as many as the lower levels will need. The lower levels bring their men with them as they are abandoned. He knows just how to solve the problem and looks up. Shouting still happens and he frowns.
"Silence!"
The captains fall silent instantly and look at him with a shocked look. Most look abashed a but some eyes burn with anger. It makes him wonder what they have been screaming at each other. But regardless of his wondering, the captains need a berating once more. Even though, he had felt hope they had learned their lesson after his initial berating. He takes a deep breath.
"You are captains of Gondor! Not some roundabouts young boys. Each of you should behave according to your position. As it is obvious you cannot make a suitable decision on your own, I have made them. Before I will inform you what my decision is, I want to make it clear that there will be no discussion about my decision."
The captains nod while Imrahil raises an eyebrow at him. Denethor smiles amused. Imrahil lightens his mood a bit. Looking back at the captains, his mood sours once more. He takes a deep breath before continuing.
"I have decided that the majority of the troops will be placed in the lower levels. In case a level is lost, all the surviving men should join those of the next level. Imrahil, you need to keep yourself, your sons and men ready on the first level for when you are needed. I will issue the order for you to move out."
"Of course, my lord steward."
He nods towards Imrahil while the captains nod. In the next thirty minutes, they go over the actual assignments of the men. They make a list of which men are needed at which level. From time to time tempers flare but in the end, Denethor manages to assign the men where they are needed. All without much regard to the protests of the captains.
Denethor looks around the room as he places the papers on the table. Everyone is leaving and he sits down on a chair. Well, sits down? It is more like falling into the chair. He does not know what else he can do. All he knows is that the preparations are more likely not enough. Seeing Imrahil walking towards the door, he frowns.
"Prince Imrahil, stay for a moment. I have to need to discuss a matter with you. Please close the door once everyone else has left. I do not want for us to be overheard."
Imrahil stops and turns around with a raised eyebrow. He faces the stare with one of his. It is only then Imrahil nods. Imrahil turns around. From how Imrahil stands, he is watching the captain's leave the room. Once the last captain has left, Imrahil closes the door.
A squire walks towards Imrahil after a hand movement. Denethor cannot hear what is being whispered. It intrigues him. What he does notice is the quiet discussion taking place. A few minutes later, the discussion is over and the squire leaves. Imrahil turns towards him. He allows his intrigue to show and frowns.
"What were you discussing with the squire?"
"I asked him to seek out Elphir to make the necessary preparations. As you wanted to talk to me I cannot do so myself."
"Why would you do that?"
He frowns without meaning it. Imrahil's reason will not be a surprise for him. He would have done the same were he in this position. All he wants to know is if his suspicion about the reason is correct.
"Because I need for my sons to be informed of the plans as soon as possible. Preparations need to be made. My men need to be gathered. All this, I know Elphir can look after."
"Oh, I do not doubt Elphir can look after every preparation. I am confident Elphir can handle the pressure."
"Thank you for your confidence, Denethor. But why did you want me to stay?"
Imrahil smiles calmly at him. Still, Denethor cannot let it go Imrahil did not mention everything. Just like he wants to know why Imrahil would change the topic so fast. They could have talked some more about the preparations. Imrahil looks at him. He sighs. He just knows he will not be able to change Imrahil's mind. With all that in mind, he knows the only thing he can do is answer Imrahil's question.
"I wanted to talk about Rohan with you. I want to know what your thoughts are. Especially if you believe they will come to our aid?"
Imrahil frowns and looks away. Denethor watches how Imrahil raises his shoulders. He frowns. Did Imrahil not expect the question? Rohan was mentioned during the meeting. So why the confusion? He shakes his head. As he does, Imrahil turns around.
"What do you want to know? If Rohan will come to our aid?"
"Among others, yes. When you were traveling, did you notice anything about movements on the borders of Rohan?"
"Now that you ask, no I did not notice anything. But then I was not paying much attention to it, to be honest. I was more focused on reaching Minas Tirith. Have you not received a response yet?"
So, Imrahil remembers the mention of Rohan during the meeting. But then, it is not surprising Imrahil did not pay attention to Rohan's border. It is understandable. Imrahil frowns and stares. He shakes his head in response before speaking up.
"No, not yet. It makes me worry that the messenger was either attacked or our request denied. But then, it will be too dangerous for the messenger to return alone. You know the state of the roads. What is more, my informants do not have any information on movements."
"How recent is the information?"
"Not really recent. You have heard about the situation with the roads, just like I said earlier."
"Yes, I have. Do you want to say that when the roads got too dangerous you received no more information from your informants?"
"Yes, I mean to say that. But everything combined it does not give me much confidence that Rohan will come to our aid."
"I urge you to keep the hope up. If not for yourself then for the men. They need us to show hope even if we do not feel ourselves. And as you said, you have not heard anything yet and the roads are too dangerous. Maybe Rohan is preparing to come to our aid. We do not know. So I ask you to keep hope. No matter how small the hope will be."
"I wish I had your confidence for I do not feel any hope. Everything considering the siege looks bleak to me. How I wish my sons would be here. Boromir would know what to do."
He looks out of the window with longing. He misses his son so much now. He sighs and feels a hand placed on his shoulder. The hand squeezes a bit in comfort. He places his hand for a moment on the other.
"Is there anything you need from me, Denethor?"
Does he need anything? Well, he needs his son. He needs the situation to become more hopeful. In other words, he needs Mordor to lose many troops. And quite suddenly at that. Or he needs to receive signs. Sings, he will have the men needed to fight off the forces of Mordor. He smiles grimly. No, there is nothing Imrahil can aid him with. He shakes his head.
"No, Imrahil, there is nothing you can do for me. You are dismissed. You should check on your men to see if Elphir has everything prepared."
He does not turn around. He feels justified to send Imrahil to his sons. Knowing the bleakness of the situation, he would not be surprised would they all die. Imrahil should be with his family while they are all still alive.
As he does not turn, he does not notice how Imrahil reacts. All he hears is footsteps walking away from him. A door is opened and closed. The room is quiet except for the sound of his breathing. He looks up to the sky knowing he is all alone. He feels how tears stream down his face.
His solidarity has his mind moves back to the possibility of Rohan coming to their aid. He has not much hope of it occurring. Imrahil's words did not change it. He snorts. How can he even think about the potential aid of Rohan? The entire situation is not hopeful. Rohan's potential aid might not even aid them to a victory. Besides, Imrahil's words just acknowledge what he believes to be the case. Another thing which plays a part is the lack of information from his informant and about road safety. There are mere factors which play in his belief. There are many more. But these few are, in fact, the most important ones. Except for what he saw in the Palantíri before Bergil sought him out. This is, by far, the most important factor.
In the palantíri, he saw what Theoden looked like. It did not give him any hope. It still fills him with dread thinking about it. The sight he saw makes him believe Theoden to be of no use for him or Gondor. It made him clear that Grima had become more powerful in Rohan. And Grima has never been positive towards Gondor. No, Grima is fully under the sway of Isengard. His informants told him this. As such by being under Grima's sway, Gondor will be under Isengard's. It means the oaths binding the lands have clearly been diminished. If not broken. But about that, he cannot be certain.
As for Isengard. Saruman should have never received the keys. It is a shame his ancestors did so. Saruman has made it clear where he stands. He does not care for Gondor at all. He never has. If he cares for the other lands is another question he has no answer to. But it is a safe assumption for Denethor to believe Saruman does not care for those lands also.
This assumption, he bases on some of his latest discoveries. It became clear to him that Saruman supports Mordor. He saw the factories and orcs. He saw Saruman's breeding. All contribute to the forming of his opinion. And with Isengard breeding a new kind of orcs, Rohan has a large problem on hand. At the same time, he knows Grima will not deem it much of a problem. If he considers it a problem at all.
He tilts his head. Maybe others will see it as a problem. If they do then they will be facing more problems than the new breed of orcs. Grima will have banished these people. Because of this, it will make it impossible for those men to come to Gondor's aid. Who knows where these men will be.
He looks out of the window. Rohan has abandoned them. He is certain if it. Everything points to it. He just hopes Mithrandir will pose no problem with him being in the city. He cannot be fighting two battles at once. It would be disastrous for his city.