Chapter Five
The Doctor flew round the control room of the Tardis, floored the helmic regulator and fired up the flux capacitor. Then, with a bang, he slammed on the handbrake and sprinted out of the doors. He emerged from the Tardis into a room of about a hundred square foot. Standing in the corner was a woman, tending the flower box on the outside of the window. The Doctor stopped at the sight of her preparing to clear his throat to announce his arrival, confused as to why she hadn't noticed the Tardis noise when he stopped short. He recognised the woman, which was impossible. Any human woman he had met the last time he'd been here would be long dead, and this woman was no elf nor was she a dwarf. That was of course the moment she turned round.
"Hello sweetie."
Aragorn paced to and fro in the throne room, the dwarf scout that had scampered in earlier seated in front of him. His brow was formed into a permanent scowl at the news he had just heard.
"So, you're telling me that we face a new threat, lead by one of the Blue Wizards?" he asked.
"Yes, my lord, that is correct. The Goblin king has ordered eight thousand sets of armour and eight thousand various weapons, all made of mithril. The only problem is, my lord, the armour will not dent, nor break however badly it is formed. You are facing an unbeatable army," replied Korglaf. Aragorn once again frowned before sending one of his guards to fetch Gandalf and the Doctor. As the guard scampered from the room, Korglaf pulled a scroll from inside his tunic and offered it to Aragorn.
"What is this?" he asked.
"A written order, my lord, delivered by the Blue Wizard, to King Agrak of the Goblins" came the reply. Aragorn unrolled the scroll and his frown increased. He was getting more and more confused by this story.
"River?" said the Doctor, incredulously. He stared as his friend with such shock on his face that she laughed.
"Of course, my dear. I have to keep track of you sometimes, make sure you don't make any huge mistakes," she said. At that moment the door banged open to reveal a scarlet faced, out of breath guard.
"King Elessar requests your presence, my lord Doctor," he said, panting. The Doctor nodded once and beckoned at River to follow him. The guard lead them though the streets of Minas Tirith, with learned ease, until they met Gandalf at the huge double doors to the throne room. The sun was setting in the west, and casting its warm glow across the courtyard. The Doctor shuddered as the wind changed direction suddenly, bringing with it a feeling of unease, and a distinct smell in the air that the Doctor couldn't place. He turned back to Gandalf and after introducing him to River, pushed open the doors and marched inside. Aragorn turned to see him striding along as though he owned the place and yet found that he didn't really mind, as though the Doctor would make a better King. He shook him self to rid his mind of such thoughts and turned back to the scroll he had unfurled on the table. The Doctor joined him and Korglaf, introduced River to them then turned and engaged Gandalf in conversation without a second glance or question as to why he was there. River shook her head and spoke to the King in his place.
"He is so full of his own importance at the moment! It is infuriating! Anyway, enough about him, what have we got here?" she exclaimed. She turned here head in order to read the scroll then let out a gasp of recognition.
"Doctor!" she shouted. He spun away from Gandalf, hearing the urgency in her voice. He strode over to the table, and read the scroll. When he had finished he recoiled in horror, stumbling back from the table. Gandalf gave a cry of recognition also, for he had been reading over the Doctor's shoulder. What had elicited such reactions was not the content of the letter, but who had signed it. Gandalf recognised the name Pallando, which was written in brackets underneath the other name on the page, while the Doctor and River recognised the other name he had used. The scroll was signed by the Master.