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Meanwhile in Isengard…

Saruman stood outside on the balcony and stared moodily at the bare strips of land that were a ways away. He had received no news about the 'fellowship' for the past month, not since they had entered into Moria. He had sent a group of Orcs to Moria at least three weeks ago, but so far they did not report back. He scowled to himself in frustration; he knew that the lack of news he was getting would soon make him grow mad. He stomped back inside as the night air grew chilly, and remembered that winter was nearly over. Sitting down at his desk, he snatched a book (for the one hundredth fiftieth time that day) on Moria. He quickly flipped the pages and stopped when he reached the picture; the picture of the balrog. He gnashed his teeth and gripped onto the edges of the book until his knuckles turned white. "Kill him!" he hissed as he stared into the red flaming eyes of the Balrog, "Kill them all!"

Part of his wish was answered as the doors were pushed open, and a terrified Orc dashed inside. "Master!" he called out urgently as he nearly crashed into Saruman's desk. "I'm sorry that we didn't report back sooner, but-,"

"But what?" Saruman said in a light tone to hide his cold anger. "What could possibly be the reason for not giving me any messages for the past three weeks, and yet crash into my dwelling at this hour without knocking? Tell me Gàrbang!"

Gàrbang trembled with fear but cleared his throat. "Well…" he began, "We searched for the group of travelers into Moria like you asked, but we never found them there. Instead, the Balrog was somehow awakened and we had to flee out from the eastern gate. There we found some tracks of foot prints that seemed to be theirs that led south, so we followed them until night fell…. But then…." His voice shuddered as he remembered. "But then there was this monster that came and chased us! No one knew how big it was or what it looked like; all you could see was its eyes! They were like giant flaming torches that shone red like blood! It chased us north for about a few miles, and then it told us to stay away from its territory. And just like that, it disappeared! The reason why it took so long for us to return is because we fled further up north, crossed into the western side of the Misty Mountains, and made our way to Isengard from there. We wanted to avoid the monster's territory the best we could."

Saruman had his eyebrows raised, but made a deep frown; he obviously didn't believe a word of what the Orc just said. He was about to say something, when the doors burst open a second time and a tall and muscular Orc marched in. "We have returned, Master Saruman," he growled.

"Ah, yes," Saruman sighed with relief. "Gàrbang," he said, standing up and turning towards him, "After you were gone for two weeks, I decided to send another group of Orcs up north; but not just any Orcs. I would like for you to meet one of my fighting Uruk-hai, the greatest breed of Orcs in Arda so far."

Gàrbang looked up and gave a slight nod. The Uruk-hai Orc growled and showed his fangs in return.

"Well, now that we've introduced ourselves…." Saruman said with a slight smile, "What have you to report to me?"

"The Fellowship was in Moria for five days and thirteen hours," the Uruk-hai Orc growled. "They entered in through the western gate and left through the eastern gate, and made their way north. We lost track of them for three weeks because they traveled into the Elf-lands, so in the meantime we searched the borders to see if we could find any signs of the previous Orc scouts you sent."

"And what did you find?" Saruman asked, glaring at Gàrbang.

"On the northern border we found many weapons lying around, which were all made in Isengard because they all bore the white hand."

"We all dropped our weapons by accident!" Gàrbang blurted out.

"Silence!" Saruman snapped. "Please, continue," he said after he appeared to have calmed down.

The Uruk-hai Orc nodded. "The other signs we found were not by the Orc scouts, and were much stranger. About two and a half miles northwest we followed a trail of paw-prints; though they were very small, it was obvious that they belonged to a young Warg. The tracks stopped at a small clearing in the forest, where we found two burnt torches, but no other signs that there were men or Elves. What we also found was a pair of new tracks that paced around the clearing for a few steps; I'm convinced that the foot-prints belonged to an Orc, because foot-prints that belong to an Orc usually have a very distinct shape. The strangest part is that the Orc-prints disappeared, and the Warg-prints turn right back around and head straight back around from whence they came. We couldn't follow them any further because they crossed over the Elven border."

Saruman scratched his beard and tried to think. "It seems obvious that this Orc was riding on the Warg, which would explain why its footprint's disappeared. But why would it need two torches..?" he thought aloud. He turned back to Gàrbang. "Did you say that this 'monster' that you saw had red, flaming eyes?"

Gàrbang nodded quickly. "Yes! They were like torches….." His face turned pale as he said the last word.

Saruman slapped a hand to his forehead and muttered something inaudible. "That explains the 'monster'. The Orc must have rode on the Warg and held the torches up as it chased you. He wanted to scare you away." He sighed.

Gàrbang's eyes widened in shock. "But why would he want to do that?" he gasped.

"Because…" Saruman said slowly, "He must be helping the enemy. This Orc must be a traitor!"

In frustration he grabbed a book that was the closest to him within reach and threw it at the wall. "There is one more thing that we found, Master," the Uruk-hai Orc growled. Out of his pocket he drew out a small knife. "We found this right next to the border," he added. Saruman stared at it in confusion. "But why would that be of any concern?" he asked.

"This weapon was not made near the mountains, because the wood on the handle is made of beech tree. It was made in Mirkwood," the Orc said. "And there is a name carved on here," he said, and he held it up for Saruman to see. On the hilt was carved:

GORLUK.

"That knife must have belonged to that traitor of an Orc." Saruman muttered. He turned around and opened the doors to the balcony. "Is there anything else to report?" he asked over his shoulder. The Uruk-hai Orc nodded. "Five days ago we found the Fellowship riding on boats down the Anduin River. We spotted all of them on three boats, but a few scouts reported that there was a fourth boat half a mile away that seems to be following them. They couldn't see who or what was in the fourth boat. It seems like they're making for the Falls of Rauros."

Saruman seemed pleased with the news. "With them traveling on the Anduin River, it will make them vulnerable and easier to find."

Saruman stepped out onto the balcony. "Gàrbang? Come here for a moment." Gàrbang obeyed, and stood in front of Saruman with his full attention. The wizard bent down and put a hand on the Orc's shoulder. "Gàrbang, for a while now you have been the captain of one of my best groups of Orc-scouts… But now since I have created the Uruk-hai, it seems that I no longer have any more uses for you. With the actions that you have performed as a leader recently, they make my decision about what to do with you much more certain. Goodbye."

Before Gàrbang could scream, wonder what Saruman was talking about, or even blink, the Wizard grabbed him by the throat and threw him effortlessly over the balcony. A soft thud was heard from below as his body fell to the ground, along with a few of his last gasping breaths before there was silence.

Saruman stared amusingly at the dead Orc before he stepped back inside. "Take twenty of the best Uruk-hai scouts to the Anduin River and kill the Fellowship…. Except the Halflings. Bring them back to me alive, for one of them carries something very important."

"And as for this 'Gorluk'….. Find him and his Warg, and burn them alive."

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Well, sorry for taking a long time to update. I planned on having this evil-villain chapter posted on Halloween, but I got pretty caught up in things that I needed to get done first.

I hope that all of you liked this chapter; I was a little bit nervous at first about doing something different, but I'm liking so far how it turned out.

~Tatharwen