Written by Sunni
It was a quiet night in Edoras once the townsfolk had returned from Helm's Deep. Everyone lay sleeping peacefully inside the Golden Hall except for Pippin whose mind was consumed by the though of the palantír found in the waters around the tower of Orthanc. The ents had put a stop to Saruman's treacherous project of aiding in supplying the Dark Lord with an army. Pallets were spread all through the Hall and finally unable to contain himself any longer, he set out to look for Gandalf. His feet softly tread upon the floors of the Hall when he heard a voice say, "What are you doing?"
Turning back, he saw Xander sitting up on his pallet, watching him intently. However he was close enough to see Gandalf's pallet upon the ground and saw that the wizard's eyes were wide open, holding the concealed orb next to his chest wrapped in a cloak.
"Pippin?" Xander asked again as he watched him move before the wizard.
Waving his hand in front of Gandalf's face several times and getting no response the hobbit concluded that the wizard was indeed asleep but in somewhat of a trance like state. He jumped when he heard his kinsman's voice but continued on with what he was doing. Grabbing a vase and taking the cloaked orb and switching the two he heard Xander exclaim, "I think you've lost it!" as he watched what was unfolding before him.
"Just once more. All I want to do is look at it," the hobbit replied holding the now unveiled orb in his hands.
A light began to float through the inside of the orb as the hobbit peered into the stone, his face smiling at seeing the object once more. Xander watched with uncertainty and said pleadingly, "Leave it alone."
In a blink of an eye the stone begins to glow as if it were made of fire and Pippin fell to the floor and began to writhe uncontrollably since he could not release the orb in his small hands. He saw the great eye of Mordor as it began to question him but in fear did not answer. The hissing voice wanted to know the identity of the one who bore the ring but again he voiced no response as he saw portions of the plan that the Dark Lord was using in the upcoming battle. Cries of anguish filled the room as Xander stood over him, scared at what was going on he screamed out, "Pippin! NO! Pippin!!!!!"
Gandalf began to feel that something was wrong and woke up instantly, tossing the vase aside that had taken the place of the orb he once held. Xander grabbed the stone from the hobbit trying to help, but wasn't prepared for the overwhelming force the orb put upon him. He dropped the orb onto the ground and it began to roll like a great ball of fire across the floor. Striding forward swiftly, Gandalf tosses the cloak over the rolling orb and ceases its movement. Xander dropped to the floor beside Pippin when Gandalf headed towards them. Brushing Xander to the side the wizard said, "Fool of a Took!" as he looked at Pippin's frozen and shocked form. Softly chanting, Gandalf placed a hand upon Pippin's forehead when the hobbit snapped out of whatever state the orb had put him in and began panting heavily after the horrifying images he'd witnessed.
"Look at me!" Gandalf commanded.
The hobbit cringed and pleaded in a frightened tone, "Gandalf... forgive me..."
"Look at me," the wizard said once more when Pippin turned his head away.
Taking his hand and turning the hobbit's head to look at him he asks, "What did you see?" Shuddering momentarily, the hobbit began to say shakily, "A tree.... A white tree, in a courtyard of stone. It was...."
"It was what?" Gandalf prodded as Xander and the other men who'd awoken stood around them.
"D.... d...dead..." Pippin replied as Gandalf has a vision and sees some of the images that the hobbit had seen when the frightened hobbit's voice continued; "The city was burning."
"Minas Tirith? Is that what you saw?" Gandalf pried.
"I... I... I saw... Him!" Pippin said in terror, seeing an image of the great eye of fire before him. Shuddering he continued by saying, "I can hear his voice in my head...."
"What did you tell him?" The wizard demanded, causing the hobbit to be silent.
"Speak!!!" he said urgently as Pippin began to say slowly, "He asked me my name but I didn't answer... He hurt me..."
"What did you tell him about Frodo and the Ring?" Gandalf asked.
Xander watched as Pippin never answered, traumatized by the events that had occurred as a result of the palantír.
The next morning the air was tense as the people gathered inside the Golden Hall as Gandalf spoke to Théoden as everyone around them stood silently.
"There was no lie in Pippin's eyes. A fool, but an honest fool he remains. He told Sauron nothing of Frodo or the Ring. We've been strangely fortunate though for Pippin has seen in the palantír a glimpse of the enemy's plan." Gandalf said.
Buffy, Anya, Willow and Éowyn stood near Éomer when the slayer spoke up and asked, "So what is his plan?"
"Sauron moves to strike the city of Minas Tirith." Gandalf said, facing the blonde, "His defeat at Helm's Deep showed our enemy one thing... He knows the heir of Elendil has come forth, that men are not as weak as he thought. There is still... strength perhaps to challenge him and Sauron fears this."
Willow slightly unsure of why Sauron would fear this person asked, Why would big bad Sauron be afraid of anything?"
"He will not risk the peoples of Middle Earth uniting under one banner. He will raze Minas Tirith to the ground before he sees a King return to the throne of men." Gandalf said turning to look at Théoden and saying, "If the beacons of Gondor are lit, Rohan must be ready for war."
Cocking his head at the wizard's words, Théoden asked, "Tell me; why should we ride to the aid of those who did not come to ours? What do we owe Gondor?"
Upon finishing up the deliberations with the King of Rohan, Gandalf strode towards the barn with Pippin and Xander following him.
"Of all the inquisitive hobbits, Peregrin Took, you are the worst!" Gandalf said looking at the hobbits that followed him and then said to Xander who was about ready to speak, "Don't even get me started on you... Hurry!"
As the hobbit heads into the stables, his thoughts are consumed by the loss of his kinsmen Merry. Not having seen him since leaving Helm's Deep, he had no idea who had taken him or why. But the one thing he hoped for his friend was that he was safe and that no harm had befallen him. Normally Pippin wasn't one of courage but when it came to his friend, he would risk his life to save him. As he entered the barn he saw Xander readying his horse, as was Gandalf.
"How far to Minas Tirith?" Pippin asks the wizard he stood next to.
"Three days ride, as the Nazgûl flies," Gandalf replied while hoisting Pippin onto Shadowfax's broad back. While mounting the white steed himself he continued by saying, "and you'd better hope we don't have one of those on our tail."
"Run Shadowfax! Show us the meaning of haste!" Gandalf called as the white horse tossed its head and thundered out of the stables, past Xander's waiting horse and towards the main gate of Edoras.
Anya stepped onto the landing of the Golden Hall, just in time to see the two horses racing for the gates. Running as fast as she could towards one of the outposts near the wall she bounded up the stairs and yelled, "Alexander Harris! You get your butt back here right now!" as the two horses raced across the plains of Rohan towards Minas Tirith.
It was a quiet night in Edoras once the townsfolk had returned from Helm's Deep. Everyone lay sleeping peacefully inside the Golden Hall except for Pippin whose mind was consumed by the though of the palantír found in the waters around the tower of Orthanc. The ents had put a stop to Saruman's treacherous project of aiding in supplying the Dark Lord with an army. Pallets were spread all through the Hall and finally unable to contain himself any longer, he set out to look for Gandalf. His feet softly tread upon the floors of the Hall when he heard a voice say, "What are you doing?"
Turning back, he saw Xander sitting up on his pallet, watching him intently. However he was close enough to see Gandalf's pallet upon the ground and saw that the wizard's eyes were wide open, holding the concealed orb next to his chest wrapped in a cloak.
"Pippin?" Xander asked again as he watched him move before the wizard.
Waving his hand in front of Gandalf's face several times and getting no response the hobbit concluded that the wizard was indeed asleep but in somewhat of a trance like state. He jumped when he heard his kinsman's voice but continued on with what he was doing. Grabbing a vase and taking the cloaked orb and switching the two he heard Xander exclaim, "I think you've lost it!" as he watched what was unfolding before him.
"Just once more. All I want to do is look at it," the hobbit replied holding the now unveiled orb in his hands.
A light began to float through the inside of the orb as the hobbit peered into the stone, his face smiling at seeing the object once more. Xander watched with uncertainty and said pleadingly, "Leave it alone."
In a blink of an eye the stone begins to glow as if it were made of fire and Pippin fell to the floor and began to writhe uncontrollably since he could not release the orb in his small hands. He saw the great eye of Mordor as it began to question him but in fear did not answer. The hissing voice wanted to know the identity of the one who bore the ring but again he voiced no response as he saw portions of the plan that the Dark Lord was using in the upcoming battle. Cries of anguish filled the room as Xander stood over him, scared at what was going on he screamed out, "Pippin! NO! Pippin!!!!!"
Gandalf began to feel that something was wrong and woke up instantly, tossing the vase aside that had taken the place of the orb he once held. Xander grabbed the stone from the hobbit trying to help, but wasn't prepared for the overwhelming force the orb put upon him. He dropped the orb onto the ground and it began to roll like a great ball of fire across the floor. Striding forward swiftly, Gandalf tosses the cloak over the rolling orb and ceases its movement. Xander dropped to the floor beside Pippin when Gandalf headed towards them. Brushing Xander to the side the wizard said, "Fool of a Took!" as he looked at Pippin's frozen and shocked form. Softly chanting, Gandalf placed a hand upon Pippin's forehead when the hobbit snapped out of whatever state the orb had put him in and began panting heavily after the horrifying images he'd witnessed.
"Look at me!" Gandalf commanded.
The hobbit cringed and pleaded in a frightened tone, "Gandalf... forgive me..."
"Look at me," the wizard said once more when Pippin turned his head away.
Taking his hand and turning the hobbit's head to look at him he asks, "What did you see?" Shuddering momentarily, the hobbit began to say shakily, "A tree.... A white tree, in a courtyard of stone. It was...."
"It was what?" Gandalf prodded as Xander and the other men who'd awoken stood around them.
"D.... d...dead..." Pippin replied as Gandalf has a vision and sees some of the images that the hobbit had seen when the frightened hobbit's voice continued; "The city was burning."
"Minas Tirith? Is that what you saw?" Gandalf pried.
"I... I... I saw... Him!" Pippin said in terror, seeing an image of the great eye of fire before him. Shuddering he continued by saying, "I can hear his voice in my head...."
"What did you tell him?" The wizard demanded, causing the hobbit to be silent.
"Speak!!!" he said urgently as Pippin began to say slowly, "He asked me my name but I didn't answer... He hurt me..."
"What did you tell him about Frodo and the Ring?" Gandalf asked.
Xander watched as Pippin never answered, traumatized by the events that had occurred as a result of the palantír.
The next morning the air was tense as the people gathered inside the Golden Hall as Gandalf spoke to Théoden as everyone around them stood silently.
"There was no lie in Pippin's eyes. A fool, but an honest fool he remains. He told Sauron nothing of Frodo or the Ring. We've been strangely fortunate though for Pippin has seen in the palantír a glimpse of the enemy's plan." Gandalf said.
Buffy, Anya, Willow and Éowyn stood near Éomer when the slayer spoke up and asked, "So what is his plan?"
"Sauron moves to strike the city of Minas Tirith." Gandalf said, facing the blonde, "His defeat at Helm's Deep showed our enemy one thing... He knows the heir of Elendil has come forth, that men are not as weak as he thought. There is still... strength perhaps to challenge him and Sauron fears this."
Willow slightly unsure of why Sauron would fear this person asked, Why would big bad Sauron be afraid of anything?"
"He will not risk the peoples of Middle Earth uniting under one banner. He will raze Minas Tirith to the ground before he sees a King return to the throne of men." Gandalf said turning to look at Théoden and saying, "If the beacons of Gondor are lit, Rohan must be ready for war."
Cocking his head at the wizard's words, Théoden asked, "Tell me; why should we ride to the aid of those who did not come to ours? What do we owe Gondor?"
Upon finishing up the deliberations with the King of Rohan, Gandalf strode towards the barn with Pippin and Xander following him.
"Of all the inquisitive hobbits, Peregrin Took, you are the worst!" Gandalf said looking at the hobbits that followed him and then said to Xander who was about ready to speak, "Don't even get me started on you... Hurry!"
As the hobbit heads into the stables, his thoughts are consumed by the loss of his kinsmen Merry. Not having seen him since leaving Helm's Deep, he had no idea who had taken him or why. But the one thing he hoped for his friend was that he was safe and that no harm had befallen him. Normally Pippin wasn't one of courage but when it came to his friend, he would risk his life to save him. As he entered the barn he saw Xander readying his horse, as was Gandalf.
"How far to Minas Tirith?" Pippin asks the wizard he stood next to.
"Three days ride, as the Nazgûl flies," Gandalf replied while hoisting Pippin onto Shadowfax's broad back. While mounting the white steed himself he continued by saying, "and you'd better hope we don't have one of those on our tail."
"Run Shadowfax! Show us the meaning of haste!" Gandalf called as the white horse tossed its head and thundered out of the stables, past Xander's waiting horse and towards the main gate of Edoras.
Anya stepped onto the landing of the Golden Hall, just in time to see the two horses racing for the gates. Running as fast as she could towards one of the outposts near the wall she bounded up the stairs and yelled, "Alexander Harris! You get your butt back here right now!" as the two horses raced across the plains of Rohan towards Minas Tirith.