Notes: Yay, more of Pippin's diary! Oddly, I find his diary entries the easiest chapters to write. It's also kind of therapeutic, for whatever reason. Anyway, thanks for reviews, and here's some replies:

NewtandZaneFanGirl: You changed your name! Actually, no the nazgul are still around. (In zombie voice): "We're coming!" OneSizeFitsAll: Yes, Barad-Dur is the best! It would be cool to do a tv series called Barad-Dur; kind of like Downton Abbey, or something. Rousdower: Eomer is fun. He's a little bit like he was in the movie... maybe a little bit... In a different fanfic I tried to make Sauron like Benedict Cumberbatch. I wish he was played by him in LOTR. Lily Lindsey-Aubery: *Shakes fist at Galadriel* Actually, she's not to blame in this instance.

Chapter 12: Attack of the Nazgul

Pippin's diary:

I've got my notebook back at last.

Gandalf confiscated it because he didn't like me writing down incriminating things about everyone else. What else are we supposed to do to pass the time on a road trip? I ran out the battery on my phone hours ago and there's no reception to speak of in this part of Rohan anyway.

Gimli said he heard a nazgul scream and that kept Gandalf busy looking around for a few minutes so I was able to slip my notebook out of his pocket. I had to rip out several pages of phone numbers and grocery lists that he had written in it and also a page of very bad drawings that looked like Merry had drawn them, although I don't know how he got hold of this notebook.

Oh, well. I guess I'd better catch up on what's been happening to us. As I said, Gimli thought he heard a nazgul so everyone was really scared for a while. But Legolas had a look round and his elf eyes didn't see anything, so we all concluded that Gimli was just paranoid.

After twilight fell we started out across a bare and desolate flatland that looked like a bombsite but that someone said was a minefield and hadn't we better turn back. Gandalf said to keep going and Gimli said that it was suicide, what with the mines and the darkness and being out in the open with nowhere to hide if the nazgul attacked. Erestor said that it would be the death of the hobbits.

It's a funny thing about big people: they're always so worried about hobbits all the time. I mean, us hobbits are very hardy folk - we were the only type of life form that didn't have at least one of its representatives killed during the period now known as The Attempted Destruction of the Ring. This fact is so remarkable that the saying "the hobbit never dies" has now passed into general use. In spite of all this, whenever there is any danger about, instead of telling the truth and saying, "It's cold and freezing;" or, "I'm scared stiff; let's get out of here;" big people like to say instead, "This will be the death of the hobbits." Sometimes they tack on, "Not that I'm at all afraid of anything and actually welcome danger in its worst forms at any time, but I wouldn't want the hobbits to get hurt." I'm beginning to understand why they take us on their quests with them.

Anyway, to get back to the conversation about the minefield: Gandalf said that it was a very safe place to cross because if the nazgul did attack, they were more likely to hit a mine than we were (because the fell beasts they rode were so big) so that if there were still any mines there, (and Gandalf said he didn't think there really were) they were more of a protection for us than a danger. Nobody seemed to agree, but nobody had any better suggestions for another road to take, so on we went.

Eventually we arrived at Edoras, which is now basically a smoking ruin. Merry was very upset about this, but as far as I'm concerned, Edoras isn't anything to Minas Tirith and Minas Tirith is in much worse shape, which is much sadder. We had a fierce argument about it (we seem to have a fierce argument every time Rohan and Gondor are brought up in the same conversation - I don't know why; Merry is just touchy, that's all) and Gandalf had to hit Merry with his staff to make him be quiet and stop attracting the notice of any nazgul that might be lurking around. Gandalf hit me as well, which was completely unnecessary as I wasn't causing the commotion.

We finally reached the place Gandalf had been taking us to, very late at night - or rather early in the morning. Now, I must admit that Gandalf is rarely welcome wherever he goes, but none of us were prepared for the sort of reception we received at this place. First we fell into a moat that appeared to be filled with sharks, jellyfish, saltwater crocodiles, and who knows what else, and barely managed to climb out on the other side without being eaten. Then we encountered a chain link fence topped with razor wire. After climbing over that two of our company accidentally stepped in man traps, and finally we were beset by a lot of angry wargs.

We made it to the door of the house (reinforced steel with a combination lock and retina scanner) with the wargs on our heels and banged and shouted (there was some screaming involved, too) for what seemed a terribly long time before someone came and opened the door. We all tumbled inside breathless, drenched, bleeding, and extremely annoyed.

The owner of the bunker was Gamling, now one of the few Rohirrim left and so sort of in charge of Rohan by default. Gandalf had apparently thought it would be safer to take shelter at his house for the night, not realising that it was more dangerous getting into Gamling's house than it was taking one's chances outside it. Gamling showed us over his impressive defence system and explained that it was proof against marauding orc bands of any numbers. He did mention however that in spite of all his attempts it was not nazgul proof.

We had an early breakfast and settled down for a quiet rest after a traumatic night. I took the opportunity to write this entry and was just about to close up the notebook when suddenly we heard a knock at the door. Gamling is freaking out because nobody's even supposed to be able to get to his door and in fact we freaked him out when we did. Nobody wants to open the door, so we're all sitting here now feeling frightened and wondering what to do.

Suddenly there is a horrible noise that shatters all the glass in the room and then a sound like an explosion that I think is the door breaking down. All the lights have gone out and I can't see to wridfl sdie ofpos...

Ok, that's probably not what it looks like when you try to write in the dark, but I can't do slant writing on the computer.

And next time...

What will happen to Pippin and the rest of the Fellowship?

Who is attacking? (Duh, you already knew from the chapter title. :P)

Tune in again... next week!