The Stranger in Middle Earth

I do not own the rights to Lord of the Rings

Chapter Twelve

Gathering forces

When we left Edoras Theoden sent out riders to rally every man who could ride to Dunharrow. When the force from Edoras arrived there thousands of Rohirrim had already mustered there ready for battle. Hundreds of tents, wagons, carts, men and horses crammed into the valley of Dunharrow. Everywhere I looked all I could see was a sea of tents. I, along with the Council of England, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Theoden, Eomer, Eowyn and a force of the Kings Guards were riding through the centre of the camp.

'Have you ever seen such a force of cavalry?' Markus asked Robert.

'Never,' he answered. 'In all my years and my travels from England to Rome I have never seen such a large number of horsemen.'

'You've been to Rome?' I asked him.

'Yes I have on a pilgrimage with my father.'

'He's a lucky one that Robert is,' Jason said from his horse, still carrying the banner.

'How many do you think our numbers are?' I asked Markus.

My cousin looked around and thought it through his head.

'I'd say at least five thousand.'

'I do not claim to be an expert at war,' Father Harold entered the conversation, 'but I'm not sure if we have enough men.'

'We'll deal with that problem later,' Robert told the priest in a way which said that "this conversation is over."

We, as the leaders of the English Company, followed Theoden up a narrow path in a cliff wall to a space of flat ground next to another cliff wall with a path cut into it. That is where we set up our own camp. Soon large tents were erected for Theoden, his family, the Council and his guards while we all tied our horses reins to posts in the ground. After all the hard work was done I stood on the edge of the cliff looking over the army. More soldiers had arrived from across Rohan to join their kings army but I still didn't think it was enough. After a while I decided to return to the tent Markus and I were sharing where I found him cleaning his sword. The tent was large enough for two beds with some space to move around.

'Ready for the battle?' I asked him.

'Of course I am,' he answered. 'We've been training for war our entire lives. Why shouldn't we be ready for the battle?'

'I don't know about you but I'm ready for a long peace after this war is won,' I told him as I fell onto my bed and I sighed. It was good sleeping on something that wasn't Sunniva's floor.

'If this war is won,' he reminded me.

'I'm glad to see you're optimistic.'

'I'm realistic John. Even with this army it will either be total defeat or a sad victory.'

'I know but I'm hoping for the best.'

'Now you're the one turning into Rickard,' he said with a smile as he put his sword back into its sheath. 'Have you seen the quality of the men in our company? I mean the commoners.'

'Not really. What do you know about them?'

'Well there's that merchant who must have spent a fortune engraving his armour. There's Jason and his friend Anthony. Then there's a criminal in our ranks.'

'A criminal?'

'A man named Isaac Turner. He's spent his life conning people with weighted dice and cards hidden up his sleeves. He got barred from the Inn at Edoras for trying his tricks there.'

'What was he doing in the army then?'

'Apparently he was a camp follower and got caught in a portal by accident. He spent most of the money he had on a shirt of mail and a sword in Edoras.'

'A priest, some knights, a merchant and a conman,' I said to myself. 'Not much of a legendary company. Sounds more like the start of a joke.'

'Actually the best legends are about those who aren't suited to their mission,' he told me. 'Then again legends are just that. Legends.'

'Sadly they are.'

Unconsciously my hand rubbed my cheek as I thought about the battle to come. I didn't have any idea how large the garrison of Minas Tirith was and I didn't know what Rickard and my uncle were doing.

'Do you think they're alright?' I asked Markus.

'Who are you talking about?'

'Rickard and your father.'

'Of course they are,' Markus assured me. 'My father is a brilliant warrior for his age and Rickard, I'll give him credit here, is a fantastic soldier. They'll be fine until we arrive.'

'I hope you're right.'

Later that night I was standing by the edge of the cliff looking at the army which was getting ready for sleep. We were going to ride out the next morning so all of the men were trying to get as much sleep as possible. I couldn't sleep though. As I stood there and let the cool night air clear my head I couldn't help but feel worried that we were going to lose the battle to come. I knew Markus was right and we were facing death in the face but I knew I couldn't abandon my uncle and Rickard. I sighed, frustrated as I turned away from the edge of the cliff and I then walked back towards my tent. As I walked back towards my tent my thoughts turned to Sunniva. She kissed me on my cheek.

She was just being polite you idiot one part of me said.

Maybe it was something else?

No it wasn't. Don't be an idiot.

What is she doing now?

She is just your friend!

Will she care if I fall?

Of course she will. She's your friend.

Not in that way.

I shook my head as if to shake away the thoughts in my head. I was getting close to my tent when I noticed something. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas were on their horses and were leaving. I briskly walked towards them like everyone else close by to see what was happening.

'Aragorn where are you going?' I loudly asked him.

None of them answered. Instead they just rode down the path in the side of the mountain as we all watched.

'Why does he leave on the eve of battle?' I heard someone ask.

'He must have a good reason,' I answered the soldier even though some doubt was creeping into my mind.

'He leaves because there is no hope,' said Hama.

'He leaves because he must,' the strong voice of King Theoden answered as he stepped through the group of soldiers.

'Too few have come,' said Hama. 'We cannot defeat the armies of Mordor.'

'No,' Theoden answered. 'We cannot. But we will meet them in battle none the less.'

He said what we all knew. We all knew that we probably wouldn't survive the battle and all our talk of looking forward to the battle was a mask to hide our fear. But we were going to fight anyway. I had to walk away from the group and I went back to my tent where I tried to sleep peacefully but my dreams were filled with the fire of war.

The next morning the scene in the camp was chaotic. Every soldier was getting their horses ready and they were packing their supplies of food and dousing the camp fires. I was wearing my vambraces and mail while the rest of my armour was in my pack. I jumped onto Julius and waited for the rest of the Council members. Even Father Harold had joined us saying that it was his duty to be there. The first to join me was Robert on his horse. He looked eager to get going.

'Are you ready for war John?' he asked me.

'As ready as ever Robert. Are you?'

'Of course I am. I've been fighting in wars since before you were born.'

'I know but before a battle I always have the same feeling.'

'We all feel nervous. Now we're going to fight the largest battle I have ever been in if the stories of Mordor's numbers are true.'

'We'll need more numbers to win,' Jason said as he rode over to join us. 'I see that Aragorn and his lackeys 'ave jumped from the sinking ship.'

'He must have had a reason to leave,' I argued.

'Nay. Those three 'ave legged it. We won't see them come back.'

'Let's not focus on them leaving,' Robert said to silence us. 'Here comes Father Harold.'

The priest walked towards us with his ambler just behind him.

'Should we have a word with the rest of the company before we go?' he asked Robert.

'Aye why not?' Jason answered. 'I just want to get going.'

'We'll go down to see them as soon as Markus joins us,' said Robert.

'Wait no longer,' said Markus as he rode towards us. 'Shall we go now?'

The five of us rode down towards the main camp and then we made it quickly to the English Company. They were ready to go and when they saw us they thought that it was time to ride out to war.

'Gentlemen,' Robert loudly said to get their attention, 'Father Harold wishes to speak to you.'

At that all of their eyes focused on the old priest.

'My brothers,' he said to them, 'as our forefathers rode out to liberate the Holy Land in the Crusades we too ride out to wage our own holy war. We are Gods chosen ones and in His name we fight the hordes of Mordor!'

At that every man mounted their horse and we set off. Thousands of horses thundered out of the camp like a river surging out of the mountains.

'Ride!' King Theoden's voice roared over the sound of the army. 'Ride now to Gondor!'

In Minas Tirith preparations were underway for the attack which was about to come. So much had happened since he had taken command of Minas Tirith. He had ordered that the first four levels of the city were to be evacuated and everyone who could walk was ordered to assist in the defence. All men between the ages of fifteen and fifty five was conscripted into the defenders ranks while all the others would help in supporting roles such as making bandages, stretchers, preparing food, assist in the Houses of Healing and making arrows. Anyone who refused to help faced imprisonment. While some in the city would have seen these orders as tyranny many of the soldiers agreed with them so the people had no choice but to comply.

My uncle stood in the top level of the city at the very edge of the courtyard, wearing his full plate armour and a scarlet cape so everyone would recognise him, leaning on the wall looking at Osgiliath so far away. He could already see columns of Orcs marching into the city. They came each day and each night. If the reports from the rangers active behind enemy lines were accurate then the enemy force could number between two hundred and fifty thousand and half a million. He had never imagined that he would see an army that large.

'High Commander,' Faramir said to my uncle.

My uncle turned around to face the man named as his second in command.

'Yes Captain.'

'I have bad news. It appears that no more men will be coming to aid us.'

'What's the good news?' my uncle asked him, not allowing the worry he felt to creep into his voice.

'The evacuation of the lower levels is complete and the men are making good progress on the barricades.'

'Excellent. How long will it take to build them all?'

'At least another day sir.'

'What about the special weapons?'

'Unfortunately we don't have enough supplies to create all that you wanted but we should have half the amount ready by the morning of the battle.'

'It's better than nothing. We'll just have to fight all the more harder.'

'Yes we will sir.'

'I'll inspect the barricades myself,' my uncle told him.

'Will you require an escort?'

'No. I may be old but I can still fight.'

'Very well sir.'

My uncle left the citadel and walked through the upper levels of the city. They were impossibly crowded and many had set up tents in the streets. Soldiers who my uncle passed saluted him and my uncle saluted back. When he reached the lower levels he found no one but soldiers. As he walked on he came upon one of the barricades being built. Each barricade was being built in the middle of the street but on each side of the barricade was a four foot gap. The barricades were seven feet high ramparts made of wood reinforced with shields on the front. Each rampart was topped with spiked poles and behind them a space which men could stand on. Behind that was a ramp leading to the street. The first one he found was half finished with only the shields and stable flooring to add to the barricades.

'How long until this one is finished?' my uncle asked the captain in charge of the soldiers building that barricade.

'A few hours sir,' he answered. 'We'll start work on the next one once we're done.'

'Excellent. Keep up the good work.'

'We will sir.'

As my uncle walked further down into the city he found new barricades every fifty yards along the city, each one the same as the last one. He knew that the barricades wouldn't be able to stop Trolls but against Orcs they would do fine. When he reached the lowest level he found barricades which were complete. The one which was closest to the gate went straight across the middle of the courtyard in front of the gate and was the largest one. He also planned to position a few of his special weapons on the barricade here. My uncle stepped onto the barricade and nodded his head. Archers would have a brilliant field of fire from there while the Orcs would have to literally rip the barricades down to advance. Or use Trolls to destroy them. He grimly thought to himself.

'Father,' Rickard, who had been at the gates with the company of soldiers he'd been given command of, asked his father, 'how's everything up there in the Citadel?'

'The local aristocrats have stopped causing trouble but I still have to be careful. How's your tooth?'

Rickard rubbed the side of his face and flinched.

'Not too bad father but that dentist wasn't very gentle.'

'Well now you know not to steal the Stewards meal and bite down hard on the chicken bone.'

'Don't worry. I won't.'

'What about your company, Captain?'

'They're not completely happy with someone who isn't Gondorian as an officer but I think I'll manage to lead them.'

'Good. I wouldn't want to be one of the Orcs that come through those gates.'

'Neither would I father.'

'Get back to your company, Captain.'

'Yes father.' Rickard then saluted him before hurrying back to his company which was setting up obstacles in the space in front of the barricades.

My uncle was alone on the barricade, looking at the hundreds of men who were going to be fighting there soon. Occasionally an officer or messenger would speak to him about a problem they had.

'One wonders how you were able to do all of this,' said Gandalf who had stepped next to him on the barricade.

'Common sense,' my uncle answered. 'When I was in Edoras I spoke with King Theoden and learned about Boromir. Theoden described him as a great general and brave warrior who would fight for even the lowliest soldier in his army. When we got here and I learned that Boromir had a brother I realized that to gain credibility with the army here I would need to gain the respect of Faramir. Finally when I realized that the only way to save this city was to usurp Denethor I had to get Faramir on my side. As the brother of Boromir he had the credibility to give me the power I needed to get rid of Denethor.'

'I see,' Gandalf agreed. 'So in a way you used Faramir.'

'It was a necessary evil,' he defended himself. Will you condemn me for doing all I can do to stop the greatest evil since Satan himself?'

'No I will not,' Gandalf answered as he looked down. 'Sadly war makes a villain of many men.'

'Gandalf, I beseech you to not condemn what I have done here. In the end I am the one who will be remembered for whatever happens here be it good or evil and I will take the blame for the deaths of every man, woman or child who falls here. But I know that I will be welcomed into the kingdom of God with open arms for I refused to let this city fall because of a madman.'

'I am not condemning you James. Just know that I wish war need not come here.'

'No one wants war apart from those who desire chaos.'

'Good. You are just like your father.'

'I am?' my uncle asked, a small smile creeping onto his stoic face. 'How so?'

'In even the darkest moments that I knew him he always kept his faith as the greatest source of comfort to him.'

'It's something that runs in our family,' he told Gandalf. 'I remember when my sons and John were young,' my uncle was interrupted by a messenger.

'Supreme Commander sir,' he was barely fourteen years old, 'I have a message from the forges,' he then handed my uncle a sheet of parchment.

Supreme Commander, the first batch of special weapons has been completed and awaits your inspection in the city barracks.

'Excellent,' my uncle said under his breath. 'Gandalf, would you care to see what I have come up with?'

'Of course. Although I wonder why you want to keep it such a secret.'

'You'll see,' my uncle said and then they walked towards the barracks.

The barracks in Minas Tirith were large and had a massive courtyard where men could train and practice military drill. However, set up in the middle of the courtyard though was a device which looked like a metal tube attached to a wooden pole. At one end of the metal tube was a hole but the other end was closed and there was another small hole in the top of the metal tube. The device was resting on top of a crate and next to it was a barrel and a small pile of what looked like metal crossbow bolts. Next to the device was a short metal pole with a thick string on the end of it.

'Excellent,' my uncle said when he looked at it. 'Now to see if it works.'

'Sir,' the Chief of the Forge who was standing next to the device, 'it's ready for the test. Who do you want to test it?'

'I will,' my uncle told him and then picked up the device and pointed his hand at a nearby soldier. 'You, pick up that pole and put hold the string over a fire until the string smoulders but do not let it catch fire.'

'Yes sir,' the soldier said and then hurried to follow the order.

Against the closest wall of the courtyard was a target made up of four breastplates wrapped together with cloth.

My uncle opened the barrel and Gandalf looked at what was in it and then the wizard gasped.

'I know that powder,' he said in surprise.

My uncle ignored him as he poured some of the black powder in the barrel into the metal tube. Many of the soldiers around him looked on curiously as Gandalf stared alarmed at the weapon. After he poured in the powder he put in one of the bolts and then added a little more powder into the small hole in the top of the tube. Then he carefully held it on the box and aimed it at the breastplates.

'Soldier,' he said to the soldier holding the pole and smouldering string, 'hold the string onto the powder on top of the tube.'

Nervously the soldier followed his order and pressed the string into the powder. For a moment there was nothing but then a loud crack filled the courtyard and a flash of light erupted from the tube. The bolt in the tube was launched from the tube and was thrown towards the breastplates. Everyone in the courtyard took a step backwards and some covered their ears. The only two who didn't were Gandalf and my uncle. When everyone looked at the breastplates they saw that the bolt had cut straight through them and hit the wall behind the plates.

'What in the name of the Valar is that?' asked one of the soldiers nearby asked as he looked at the weapon.

'This is the Hand Cannon,' my uncle said as he put down the Hand Cannon. He then turned to the Master of the Forges. 'How many have you made?'

'Six,' he answered.

'I want a dozen made by the time the battle starts. Is that clear?'

'Yes sir,' he answered, exasperated.

'Good. Soon our enemy shall learn that no one can stand against the might of Gondor!' he declared to the men who cheered him.

AN-I hope you enjoyed this one.

Review responses:

Kiya-Thanks for your review. I'm glad you thought that the conversations were well written. Last chapter I may have gone a little deep into the religious side. By the way, I'm an Anglican for the record.

Star-Of-Radiance-I might get to Saurons back-story later on.

ATP-I'm not sure about a lot of people converting in Middle Earth. Thanks for your review.