The Stranger in Middle Earth

AN: I am still sorry for the delay of this chapter. I would also like you to know that if you haven't read my alteration to chapter four a key part of this chapter will not make sense.

Chapter six

The Council of England

Following our victory Theoden King, Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, Eomer and the Kings guard journeyed to Isengard to accept Saruman's surrender. That left the remainder of us to journey back to Edoras. Many of the refugees at Helm's Deep had lost their homes to the assault unleashed by the armies of Isengard so they were temporarily re-housed in Edoras or the surrounding villages. Not only the refugees but the English had to be temporarily housed as well. The total number of people from my world came to fifty seven. That was fifty three English knights, three men-at-arms and one Priest named Father Harold. The older knights, such as my uncle and Father Daniel, were given rooms in the Golden Hall. Many of the knights had tents which they set up outside the city wall and those who didn't such as Rickard and I, were temporarily housed in the city with the residents. I still remember the day I was housed in the city.
Theoden had just returned from Isengard. Rickard and I were walking towards the house we had been put in for the time being. We both carried our packs and wore our cloaks. In my hand I held a piece of paper with orders for the people who lived there to allow us in. Markus was busy outside the city setting up his tent.

'I hope they don't mind us intruding on them,' I said to Rickard.

'Well Lady Eowyn did sign the order,' he reminded me. 'Let's just hope we're not moving in with a butcher.'

'Especially after your last encounter with a butcher,' I said and we both chuckled.

'Don't remind me of that,' he then told me as we came to a small house with wooden walls and a thatched roof. It appeared to be only five by six meters and next to it was a shed with some wooden cart wheels leaning against it. 'Is this the place?'

'I think so.'

'You go first.'

'Alright.'

I then stepped towards the door, nervous at essentially invading a person's home. I knocked on the door and then waited for a response. A few moments later the door was pulled open and I recognised the person who answered it. Her eyes were no longer red with crying and she looked much calmer. She was dressed in a brown dress with a white apron. Sunniva looked at me and her eyes widened in surprise at seeing me.

'Oh. Can I help you?' she asked me.

'Yes, my cousin and I have been temporarily housed here.'

'I beg your pardon?' she asked me.

'I have the order here signed by Lady Eowyn,' I then handed her the paper and after she examined it she let us in.

'You'll have to sleep on the floor I'm afraid,' she told us as we entered. 'You'll find some spare blankets in the wardrobe over there.'

Once we were both in I saw the inside of the one room house. Near the back wall was a large bed with a chair next to it. On the floor of the room was a hearth with a griddle on it, near the hearth was a table with a little meat on it next to a knife. The wardrobe was next to the bed which Rickard walked to.

'Where's your brother?' I asked Sunniva as she walked to the table and picked up the knife to prepare the meal.

'He's buying some bread,' she answered.

'I see. Well is there anything I can do to help you?'

'I don't think so.'

Sunniva continued preparing the food for a few minutes while Rickard and I prepared our bedrolls.

'How do you know her?' Rickard whispered.

'I conscripted her younger brother to fight at Helm's Deep,' I whispered back.

'Ah. Well I hope that won't make things awkward.'

'I think it's too late for that.'

'Too late for what?' Sunniva asked from the table.

I silently cursed that she overheard the conversation.

'I was telling Rickard that it's too late for him to get out of the meeting at the Inn tonight,' I quickly made up.

'What meeting?'

'Everyone from England is meeting at the Inn tonight. It's to discuss what we're doing for the remainder of the war.'

'I see.'

The door then opened and Cenric walked in carrying a loaf of bread.

'I've got the bread Sunniva,' he said as he walked in but when he saw Rickard and I he looked a little confused. 'Why are they here?'

'For the moment they have to live with us.'

Sunniva took the bread and put it on the table.

'Wait a minute,' Cenric said when he looked at me again. 'You saved my life at Helm's Deep!'

'No he was the man who conscripted you,' Sunniva reminded him.

'And during the battle when an Uruk-hai tried to kill him I killed the Uruk and got him to the Hall.'

Sunniva looked at me for a second, clearly surprised.

'Oh.'

For a few seconds we were silent while Rickard drummed his fingers on the shaft of his mace.

'John,' Rickard said, breaking the thick silence, 'I think we should be getting to the Inn soon.'

'I think you're right,' I said and then followed Rickard out of the house.

The meeting wasn't supposed to start for another hour but Rickard guessed correctly that we needed to get out of there quickly.

'Well that could have gone better,' Rickard said as we walked towards the Inn.

'Well that's the absolute truth.'

'Hopefully when we get back tonight the tension will be gone.'

'Or maybe I could sleep outside?' I suggested.

Rickard laughed at me when I suggested that.

'No. You faced down the Uruk-hai. You're not going to be intimidated by the thought of a woman who used to hate you for conscripting her brother.'

The Inn was a large room with a bar at one end and many tables were scattered around the room. A staircase led up to some rooms upstairs, all of which were occupied by refugees. A few knights were already there and were sitting at the counter drinking something. My uncle had become the de facto leader of our group and had managed to arrange it so that the English had sole use of the Inn that night for our meeting. Rickard and I sat at a table with a beer each. After a while Father Harold stepped in. He wore a black cassock and had a golden crucifix hanging from his neck. He bought a small mead and then sat alone in the corner. As time went on the Inn filled up quickly. Markus sat down with Rickard and I with a beer.

'Well, now is the hour,' he said to us.

'The hour of what?' Rickard asked him.

'We will now find out what is going on,' Markus clarified. 'We all have questions that need answered.'

'I suppose so. We need to find out how we will win this war.'

'No,' Markus said to us. 'We need to find out how to get home,' he then looked at Rickard who had just finished his beer. 'What do you think?'

'Me? Well, I'll just stay where I am and react to whatever happens.'

'Not a bad plan,' I said with a smile knowing that wouldn't go down well with Markus.

'No. We need long term goals to reach.'

The door of the Inn opened again and in walked my uncle and Gandalf. Gandalf was carrying a four foot long scroll of paper under his left arm and held his staff in his right hand. When they stepped in the idle chatter amongst us, all of us where there by then, died down as my uncle took his seat at the opposite side of the room from the bar. Gandalf however un-scrolled the paper and then pinned it against the wall revealing a map showing Rohan and two other countries called Gondor and Mordor. Gandalf then sat down in his seat. After a few moments my uncle stood up and cleared his throat.

'Gentlemen,' he started, 'we are here tonight to discuss our plans for survival while we are here in Rohan. Theoden King has been

generous enough to allow us to stay in Rohan. However, there is still a war to fight.'

'Against who?' asked a young knight.

'I believe that Gandalf is more qualified to answer that question,' my uncle answered and gestured to Gandalf.
Gandalf stood up and pointed his staff at Mordor on the map. The country was surrounded on three of four sides by mountains.

'Mordor is our enemy.'

'No, your enemy,' said Markus. 'We have no reason to be in this war.'

'As I was saying,' Gandalf said, obviously annoyed at being interrupted, and then continued, 'Mordor is our enemy. To know the full reasons for this war I will have to take you back thousands of years into the past. This war begins with the forging of the great rings. Three were given to the Elves, Seven to the Dwarf Lords and Nine to the Kings of Men. Within these rings was the strength and power to govern the Free Peoples of Middle Earth. However, another ring was made. In the land of Mordor, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret the Master Ring. Into this Ring he poured his cruelty, malice and will to dominate all life. One Ring to rule them all. The people off Middle Earth one by one fell to the power of the Ring and the armies of Mordor. Then a Last Alliance of Men and Elves marched against the armies of Mordor and on the slopes of Mount Doom where the Ring was forged, they fought for the Freedom of Middle Earth. But not even they could resist the Rings power. Even the Elendil, the Greatest King of Men, was slain by Sauron and his sword was broken. Then, at their darkest hour, Isildur, son of Elendil, took up the broken sword and cut the Ring from Sauron's hand defeating the Dark Lord.'

'No offence Gandalf,' an older knight named Robert of Essex said loudly, 'but what does that have to do with this war?'

'Everything,' Gandalf answered. 'Isildur did not destroy the Ring but within the Ring the spirit of Sauron lived on. The Ring betrayed Isildur to his death and the Ring was then lost in the River Anduin for thousands of years. During those years Sauron corrupted the nine rings made for men and turned their owners into the Ring Wraiths. Neither living nor dead they were tasked to search for the Ring. Eventually the Ring was found by a creature named Gollum who took it into the Misty Mountains where the Ring kept him alive for five hundred years. But the Ring slipped off his finger as well coming to the hand of another named Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. Sauron cannot take physical form without the Ring but will soon unleash an army that will overrun all of Middle Earth.'

'As you can see,' my uncle added, 'we have no choice but to fight.'

'Then I say we march straight into Mordor and get them before they can strike us,' Rickard said loudly and some of the others nodded in agreement.'

'No,' Gandalf said loudly. 'At Helm's Deep we defeated the armies of Sauron's ally, Saruman. We have given hope to the Free Peoples that perhaps we can win. I believe that Sauron will strike soon.'

'What about Gondor?' I asked Gandalf. 'Gondor is right next to Mordor so shouldn't we go there?'

'No we should stay here,' argued Robert of Essex.

'You are all missing a more important issue,' said Father Harold. His voice was gentle but held authority and knowledge. 'Gandalf, please understand that I do not want to see this world fall to a man as evil as Sauron but I must ask one question. Can we return to England?'

Gandalf was silent. He looked at the floor for a moment before he looked at us all and said one world.

'No.'

An uproar started and I closed my eyes to block out the noise coming from all of the other knights. This went on for what felt like forever until I heard Gandalf's voice, now dark and booming, roll like thunder through the room.

'SILENCE! I DO NOT SAY THIS TO DISENHEARTEN YOU. I have had this conversation before, many years ago the last time a man from your world came through to this world.'

'And who was that?' the oldest of the men-at-arms, an old soldier with two scars crossing his face, one of which over his blind left eye, named Jason Bridge asked the wizard.

'What?'

'Who was the last person who came through to this world and where is he now?'

Again Gandalf remained silent for a moment and I thought that he looked at my uncle once or twice.

'He is an Englishman who is over ninety years old now. He resides in the Kingdom of Erebor for to the north of here. His name,' he paused again before telling us, 'is Bartholomew Harris.'

I choked on my beer and both of my cousins said at the same time, 'WHAT?'

My uncle's jaw dropped. The look on his face was shock.

'Impossible,' he said to Gandalf. 'Bartholomew Harris is dead. He died at Agincourt decades ago.'

'No. He was taken from your world during the Battle of Agincourt and taken to this world.'

'But, I don't believe it,' my uncle stammered out. 'My father is alive.'
Needless to say that surprised everyone who heard it. My uncle sat in his chair motionless for a short time until he snapped back to the present. 'I want to go to Erebor to see my father. But there is a war to fight. Make no mistake, once this war is over I will go to Erebor to see my father.'

'And we'll go with you,' Rickard loudly declared and gestured to Markus and I.

'Good,' Gandalf said and smiled. 'I suspected you were related but I know now for certain.'

'What next then?' I asked them both.

'Well,' my uncle said with energy which he never had outside of a battle, 'for now I believe we should remain in Rohan. Then, once we learn more of Sauron's plan we shall react in the best way possible.'

'My plan,' Rickard whispered to me and I chuckled at that.

'For now I intend to form a council,' my uncle told us. 'This council shall represent all Englishmen in Middle Earth and our interests here. I have selected the five members of the council. They are myself, my eldest son, Markus, Robert of Essex, Father Harold and Jason Bridge.'

'There is one last thing to be done,' Gandalf then told us. 'What will the name of your council be?'

'The Council of England,' my uncle answered.

'Good,' Gandalf then rose from his chair and leaned on his staff. 'Tomorrow there will be a feast to celebrate our victory. I shall see you all there.'

AN: HA! Was anyone expecting that? If you were let me know. The point of this chapter was to establish the motivations of the characters from this point on. I hope you didn't find this one to be like the Senate scenes in Phantom Menace. By the way I'm still hoping someone can help me with a cover image.

Review responses:

Kiya: Yeah, I try to keep my battle scenes realistic and gory. By the way, you can actually see Arwen at Helm's Deep in the theatrical cut. When Eomer and his men arrive you can see her wearing pink and riding a white horse in the background.

TimC34: Thanks for your review and that was a really good idea you suggested.

Certh: Thanks for your reviews. Originally John Harris was going to be a British Tommy from WW1 but I changed it to a knight because I thought it would be more interesting. And he was also originally going to be in Rivendell, to be exact, the part where Arwen is racing to Rivendell with injured Frodo. I'll keep in mind what you said about the paragraphs again.