Gandalf and Pippin were riding Shadowfax while Raynor's Raiders fleet and the Dalaam Protoss fleet were keeping up.
"Hierarch, you're entering into the realm of Gondor," said Rohana as she was keeping an eye on things from the Spear of Adun. Finally, a city made of stone was being seen. "You're closing into Minas Tirith, known of as the City of Kings."
The people could not believe their eyes seeing flying objects they had never seen before when Gandalf and Pippin on Shadowfax were passing through the streets.
The special operations dropship that had Jim and the warp prism carrying Artanis, Karax, Alarak, and Talandar followed Shadowfax all the way to the top level. Gandalf and Pippin dismounted while Jim, Swann, Stetmann, Artanis, Karax, Alarak, and Talandar were unloaded.
They went through a courtyard where there was a white tree that Talandar saw and it appeared to be withered. "It's the tree. Gandalf. Gandalf," said Pippin.
"Looks like this tree needs some water," Stetmann muttered.
"Yes, the White Tree of Gondor. The tree of the king. Lord Denethor, however, is not king. He is a steward only, a caretaker of the throne. Now listen carefully. Lord Denethor is Boromir's father. To give him news of his beloved son's death would be most unwise. And do not mention Frodo or the Ring. And say nothing of Aragorn either. In fact, it's better if you don't speak at all, Peregrin Took," Gandalf gave out what he knew and precautions.
"I heard about that steward a bit back in the Council of Elrond. What makes him so great?" Jim thought.
Gandalf, Pippin, Jim, Swann, Stetmann, Artanis, Karax, Talandar, and Alarak entered the throne room passing the statues of previous kings. Below the throne there was a man in his mid-50's sitting on a chair.
"Hail Denethor, son of Ecthelion, lord and steward of Gondor. I come with tidings in this dark hour, and with counsel," said Gandalf.
"Perhaps you come to explain this," Denethor showed them a broken object that Pippin found familiar. "Perhaps you come to tell me why my son is dead."
"Boromir died to save us, my kinsman and me. He fell defending us from many foes," the hobbit recalled what he remembered.
"Pippin," said the wizard.
"What do you think you're doing?" Artanis demanded.
"I offer you my service, such as it is in payment of this debt," Pippin kneeled.
"This is my first command to you. How did you escape and my son did not? So mighty a man as he was," Denethor demanded.
"The mightiest man may be slain by one arrow and Boromir was pierced by many," Pippin replied causing the steward to sob.
"Get up," Gandalf tapped Pippin. "My lord, there will be a time to grieve for Boromir but it is not now. War is coming. The enemy is on your doorstep. As steward, you are changed with the defense of this city. Where are Gondor's armies? You still have friends. You are not alone in this fight. Send word to Theoden of Rohan. Light the beacons," the wizard turned to Denethor.
"You think you are wise, Mithrandir. Yet for all your subtleties, you have not wisdom. Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind? I have seen more than you know. With your left hand you would use me as a shield against Mordor. And with your right you'd seek to supplant me. I know who rides with Theoden of Rohan. Oh, yes. Word has reached my ears of this Aragorn, son of Arathorn. And I tell you now, I will not bow to this Ranger from the North, last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship," the steward glared.
"Authority is not given to you to deny the return of the king, steward."
"The rule of Gondor is mine! And no other's!" Denethor stood up and then pointed at Gandalf's allies. "These strangers will never take that away from me!"
"You would rather fight Mordor alone than calling in reinforcements from Theoden because of Aragorn!" Jim spoke in an angry tone.
"You're underestimating Sauron's army. The Dark God, Amon, is backing him. Your primitive army won't stand a chance unless you call Theoden for assistance," Artanis stated the fact.
"You would rather let the enemy win than letting Aragorn rule Gondor by taking the throne!" said Talandar in an angry tone.
"Enough!" Gandalf stood between them. "Come," he ordered and they turned to exit while Denethor returned to his seat continued grieving. "All has turned to vain ambition. He would even use his grief as a cloak."
"I'm starting to hate that steward. He reminds me of someone that I've known," said Jim. "Denethor is no better than the Master of Laketown," he thought.
"A thousand years this city has stood. Now, at the whim of a madman, it will fall. And the White Tree, the tree of the king, will never bloom again," said Gandalf.
"Why are they still guarding it?" Pippin asked regarding the men wearing armor, cloak, helmets with wings, and wielding spears.
"They guard it because they have hope. A faint and fading hope that one day it will flower. That a king will come and this city will be as it once was before it fell into decay. The old wisdom born out of the West was forsaken. Kings made tombs more splendid than the houses of the living and counted the old names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls, musing on heraldry or in high, cold towers, asking questions of the stars. And so the people of Gondor fell into ruin. The line of kings failed. The White Tree withered. The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men," Gandalf gave out a history.
"Mordor," Pippin muttered as he, the wizard, and their allies watched the horizon.
"Yes, there it lies. The city has dwelt ever in the sight of its shadow."
"A storm is coming."
"This is not the weather of the world. This is a device of Sauron's making. A broil of fume he sends ahead of his host. The Orcs of Mordor have no love of daylight so he covers the face of the sun to ease their passage along the road to war. When the Shadow of Mordor reaches this city, it will begin."
"Well, Minas Tirith, very impressive. So where are we off to next?"
"Oh, it's too late for that, Peregrin. There's no leaving this city. Help must come to us."
Jim, Swann, Stetmann, Artanis, Karax, Talandar, and Alarak established a command post in the courtyard of the citadel.
"Raiders, take your positions in the city," Jim ordered as the special operations dropships and medivacs unloaded the ground forces into the safe zone inside the city. Marauders, thors, and science vessels were added this time. Marauders were heavy-assault infantry armed a pair of anti-armor grenade launchers and were given kinetic foam for enhanced durability. Thors were heavy-assault mechs armed with a pair of cannons and long-range missile launcher that launched projectiles inflicting extra damage against light armor. The immortality protocol was installed into the thors enabling them to be rebuilt from wreckages. Science vessels were equipped with a detector along with abilities of irradiate and nano-tech repair.
"Warriors, hold your positions with Raynor's men," Artanis ordered. The warp prisms began unloading ground forces and warped in additional reinforcements.
"This is kind of awkward," said a marine when the soldiers and civilians of Gondor were staring at Jim's men that were on foot and commandeering vehicles.
"Just ignore them. To them, we're weirdoes with all these tech," said a reaper.
"Not to mention that they're still primitives," said a stalker pilot.
"This is what I call an ancient kind of city," a goliath pilot muttered.
"At least this city looked prepare for battle," an immortal pilot muttered.
"They got siege engines," an Aiur zealot saw stationary machines.
"These are trebuchets, they're quite defensive," said a marauder.
"But they have low accuracy," said a siege tank commander.
Jim's men and warriors camped out near the battlements of the city.
Later at night, Gandalf smoked and Pippin was about to try a new outfit. Jim and Artanis were present looking into the horizon. "So I imagine this is just a ceremonial position. I mean, they don't actually expect me to do any fighting. Do they?" said the hobbit.
"You're in the service of the steward now. You'll have to do as you're told, Peregrin Took," said Gandalf.
"Boromir's death is not your fault. Now you signed up to serve his father," said Jim.
"Ridiculous Hobbit. Guard of the Citadel," the wizard coughed a bit and Pippin prepared a mug of water for him. "Thank you."
"There's no more stars. Is it time?" the hobbit went out to the balcony joining them.
"Yes."
"It's so quiet."
"It's the deep breath before the plunge."
"Or calm before the storm," Jim muttered.
"I don't want to be in a battle, but waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is even worse," said Pippin.
"We don't want to be in a battle either. What else can we do when evil lives? We don't have any other choices," said Artanis.
"Is there any hope, guys, for Frodo and Sam?" the hobbit asked.
"There never was much hope. Just a fool's hope," Gandalf replied.
"There is still hope for them when Tosh is with them," Jim attempted to reassure them.
"Vorazun is with them too. I'm sure Frodo and Sam will complete their quest together," said Artanis.
"Hierarch," it was Rohana calling from the Spear of Adun. "I should bring this to you earlier."
"What is it?"
"During the battle of Helm's Deep, Sauron had gathered human allies of this planet. They are the Easterlings from the eastern lands of Rhun and the Southrons or Haradrim from Harad a region south of Mordor. The Mordor army has grown larger by now."
"How did you know about this?"
"Vorazun along with Tosh, Frodo, and Sam saw the Easterlings entering the Black Gate. They also saw Haradrim marching past Ithilien."
When everyone looked at the fire from Mount Doom, Gandalf stated the fact. "Our enemy is ready. His full strength's gathered. Not only Orcs, but Men as well. Legions of Haradrim from the south, mercenaries from the coast. All will answer Mordor's call. This will be the end of Gondor as we know it. Here the hammer stroke will fall hardest. If the river is taken, if the garrison at Osgiliath falls, the last defense of this city will be gone."
"But we have the White Wizard, Jim's army, and the … Protoss. That's got to count for something," said Pippin.
"Even so, Amon has forces to back Sauron on this coming battle," Artanis stated the fact.
"Not only Amon will deal with you, Jim, Artanis. Sauron will send his deadliest servant to kill you first," the wizard was concerned.
"Who is Sauron's deadliest servant?" Jim asked.
"The one who will lead Mordor's armies in war. The one they say no living man can kill. The Witch King of Angmar. You've met him before. He stabbed Frodo on Weathertop. He is the lord of the Nazgul, the greatest of the Nine. Minas Morgul is his lair," Gandalf gave out what he knew.
"Wait a minute. You're saying that the wraith who stabbed Frodo was the Witch King?" Artanis spoke in disbelief.
"All nine wraiths look the same," said Jim.
"He was not in his full power when he encountered all of you. He was searching for Frodo and the Ring. The Witch King has become stronger since the encounter and will not look the same as before," the wizard stated the fact.
"No matter how powerful the Witch King is, he still has a weak spot," said Artanis.
"This leaves either the Zerg or Protoss to exploit the Witch King's weakness," said Jim.
Gollum led Frodo, Sam, Tosh, and Vorazun to the outskirts of another settlement. There were statues of hideous creatures near the one end of the bridge. "The Dead City. Very nasty place. Full of enemies," said the creature. "Quick. Quick. They will see. They will see." Frodo was staring at those statues while the others were going to cover. "Come away. Come away. Look, we have found it. The way into Mordor. The secret stair. Climb." Stairs in the rock wall of the mountain were visible to the small group.
"No, Mr. Frodo!" Sam shouted as Frodo began walking towards the city.
"Not that way!" Gollum shouted. "What's it doing?"
"There's no way the Ring will lead you to enemy territory," said Vorazun as she and Tosh grabbed him.
"They're calling me," said Frodo.
"There's activity in the enemy base," said Tosh as the ground shook a bit and green light shot into the sky from the tower.
"Hide! Hide!" Gollum ordered as everyone took cover.
They had a glimpse of a Ringwraith on flying steed wearing a crown-like helmet perching above the gates. There were cries from the Fellbeast and blood-curtailing screeches from the wraith.
"I can feel his blade," Frodo touched his shoulder.
The city gates opened and thousands of orcs began marching. The Fellbeast took off, flying above the orcs, and did not notice the small group luckily.
"Come away, everyone. We climb. We must climb," said Gollum. The hobbits went ahead while Tosh and Vorazun waited until the coast was clear of hostiles. The spectre and Dark Templar watched Sam questioning the creature. The two took it as a warning that Sam was giving to the creature.
Meanwhile in Minas Tirith, everyone saw the green light. "Did you see that?" a marine asked.
"What is that light?" a Nerazim centurion asked.
"Is it some sort of signal?" a viking pilot asked.
"Gandalf, what's going on?" Jim asked.
"We come to it at last. The great battle of our time. The board is set. The pieces are moving," the wizard replied.
Author's Note
The next chapter will be on the campaign in the North.