Disclaimer: I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.
05/01/2013
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and input as to how the story should develop. If only to state the obvious, there are some very creative people in the Fan Fiction community.
CaketinTheHobo: I liked the challenge of building the dialogue between them. Although she appeared in the adverts more than 20 years ago, my father still calls Cate Blanchett the 'Tim Tam girl' (a brand of chocolate biscuits for those readers outside Australia).
Dan man: Writing a credible role for one of Marvel's villains within Sauron's ranks is beyond my abilities at the moment (though I can see just about all of them having interesting demarcation disputes with the Witch-king and The Mouth of Sauron). I agree with your observation about the Red Skull.
Chapter 12 – Down the River
It had been the third day since the Fellowship had left Caras Galadhon and had well moved beyond the borders of Lothlorien. The Fellowship's destination was the Falls of Rauros that were a few days journey south by boat. Rauros was a great waterfall of the Anduin, where the river fell from Emyn Muil to the wetland of Nindalf. Once the Fellowship had reached Rauros, they would then continue their journey on foot to Mordor. The Anduin's current flowed in the Fellowship's favour as the Galadhrim boats seemingly glided along the Great River.
Rogers observed the terrain the Fellowship passed through on their journey. It was largely heavy forest occasionally broken by sharp cliff faces. He grimly thought this was ideal terrain to use as cover before ambushing any passing river transport. He hoped the keen senses within the Fellowship would give enough warning of any approaching hostiles. Nerves had already been frayed by the sound of eerie crow caws throughout the journey. They could have simply been normal crows. But the Avengers had been told that Saruman possessed a breed of birds similar in appearance called 'Crebain' that acted as long-range spies for him.
If this was not enough to worry about, Rogers couldn't stop thinking about the images he saw in Galadriel's Mirror. Part of Rogers felt he'd been dragged into A Christmas Carol with him being Scrooge and Galadriel playing the Ghost of Christmas Future. Like the old miser in the story, Rogers hoped predicted events could be prevented as there were infinitely more lives at stake his own.
We struggled to contain the Other Guy when came out in Heli-Carrier, Rogers pondered. How could we even fight him if he had the One Ring?
Rogers had not told any of the Fellowship of what he saw in the Mirror. He did not want to tell them that the quest could be all but doomed. And Rogers did not want to mention to his two other Avengers that Earth's destruction was likely the result of their absence from it. Especially as Thor and Captain America had been killed by an evil Hulk in the service of Sauron. No one else in the Fellowship knew about these images, but somehow the Ring had picked up his thoughts. Rogers heard it speak to him for the very first time the previous day. It told him that only by taking the ring as his own and using its power could he prevent the events he saw in the Mirror from taking place. Rogers remembered the lessons about the Garden of Eden that he learned in Sunday school. He thought the Ring's beguiling voice must have been how the serpent sounded to Adam and Eve. Rogers resisted the ring's temptations as being just another version of the 'Voice of Evil'. But to his shame, the Ring made a small part of him consider that maybe it had a point.
To Rogers' mind, Galadriel allowed him to look into the Mirror as some form of a warning. But she was cryptic as to whether he was supposed to keep what he saw a secret. He would really like to discuss it with someone as his introspection was driving him crazy. However, Galadriel allowed him to look in the Mirror in the form of a private viewing.
Whatever he eventually chose to do in this regard, Rogers hoped his choice would not disappoint the Lady of the Golden Wood.
The Fellowship stopped their journey for the day when it was near sunset. They had come to stop on a small island in the middle of a wider section of the Anduin. The island was quite bare except for boulders, stones and sand. Fortunately the river was quite deep around it so there was little to no chance the Fellowship could be ambushed from the western or eastern banks of the Anduin without warning. After they had pulled their boats onto the island's shore, the Fellowship set camp for the night.
As always, Frodo and Sam were close to each other with the latter making preparations for the evening meal. Aragorn had crafted a pair of crude fishing rods when the Fellowship stopped at a woody bank the previous evening. Right now he, Merry, Pippin and Boromir were trying to catch fish for the Fellowship's dinner. Gimli, Legolas and Thor passed the time by telling their old war stories. Thor had just finished describing the battle against the Asgardian Destroyer when it attacked Puente Antiguo. Needless to say, both the Elf and Dwarf were incredulous at what Thor had told them.
"Are you honestly saying, Odinson," Gimli checked with barely concealed doubt. "That it took just you and your four friends to defeat an indestructible suit of walking armour? A suit taller than a troll and could shoot fire like a dragon?"
"That is correct, son of Gloin," Thor humbly replied.
Inwardly, Thor was enjoying the confusion his two friends exhibited. Prior to his forced exile from Asgard, Thor would have challenged anyone to a duel that doubted his word on his deeds in battle. The God of Thunder's greatest victory in Puente Antiguo was not over the Destroyer. It was gaining a strong sense of humility that allowed him to place remarks like Gimli in their proper perspective. Just like my father planned, Thor suspected.
"And you say the key to your victory was telling your sorrow to your traitor brother?" Legolas voiced his own doubts. "Your sorrow that he felt the need to send this metal beast to kill you because of how you may have slighted him in the past?"
Thor smiled nodded in response.
"I am sorry, Thor," Gimli stated with a polite grin. "I allow what you told me of Mjolnir's creation to be the truth. But I can't oblige you here."
Thor responded with a jest of his own. "Gimli, just because you think the Destroyer beyond your to defeat, does not mean it was the same for me."
Legolas gave a wide smile at Thor's comeback but Gimli put on a serious face even though his eyes twinkled.
"If you don't starting wearing the Lady's gift soon, laddie," Gimli mock threatened Thor. "Your pretty head will find out just how strong my axes are."
Banner had overheard this conversation and was amused by the by play of the trio. However, as he was not a warrior he did not really feel a connection to the conversation. Banner began walking to the four Fellowship members who were fishing. He wanted to see if like home, tall tales in Middle-earth applied to fishing just as recollections of battles. Banner stopped when out of the corner of his left eye, he noticed Rogers standing with his back turned throwing stones into the water. He thought the grey Galadhrim cloak that Rogers was wearing did not really go with the red, white and blue colours of his uniform. Banner walked up just to the left of Rogers and looked at him.
"After what happened at Moria," Banner playfully scolded Rogers, "I would've thought throwing rocks into water to be a bad idea."
Rogers did not even turn his gaze to Banner as he calmly replied, "Aragorn said these waters are fine."
Banner was puzzled by his friend's coldness. Not just now, but ever since the Fellowship had left Lothlorien, Rogers had become quite serious and withdrawn. For that matter so had Frodo. Maybe both were expressing delayed grief for Gandalf, but Banner felt there was more to it. Banner felt it wasn't his place to ask the Ring-bearer what was bothering him. Rogers though was a fellow Avenger.
"What's wrong, Cap?" Banner asked. "You've been like this since Lothlorien."
Rogers gave Banner a sideways glance. Banner could see in his eyes a look of concern and fear which was very unlike Captain America.
"Come on, man," Banner politely insisted. "You helped me when we left Moria. I want to do the same for you".
At Banner's words, for Rogers the choice of whether to tell him what the Mirror had revealed became clear. Since coming to Middle-earth, Banner had twice honestly confided his problems to Rogers. Banner referred to the time outside Moria. But there was also when he told Rogers of the voices he was hearing before any of the Avengers knew anything of the ring.
Don't I owe Bruce the same trust? Rogers's conscience argued. Do I have more fear or faith in how I believe he'll react?
Rogers wondered if the Ring's strategy was to destroy the Fellowship from within by sowing mistrust and fear among its members. Even if it were the only victory of Sauron's he could prevent, Rogers would not let the Dark Lord destroy the trust he had his friends.
"When we were in Lothlorien, Galadriel let me look into her Mirror," Rogers quietly began explaining. "It's sort of like a crystal ball. I saw the forces of the Free Peoples having been annihilated by Sauron." Rogers then slightly jerked his head back towards the rest of the Fellowship. "Including many of them". Seeing Banner's face harden at this, Rogers took a breath before continuing. "I saw the Other Guy wearing the Ring and fighting for Sauron. Thor and I were dead at his feet and it was pretty obvious he was the one who'd killed us."
Given what he had just revealed, Rogers was surprised by his friend's reaction.
"Is that all what's worrying you?" Banner quizzically responded. "When we first entered the woods, Galadriel's voice said not to let the Ring get to me." He then almost casually added, "Given what we know about it, I understand the concern if the Other Guy were to wear it."
"It's worse than that, Bruce," Rogers said after a sigh as he believed Banner was not taking the threat revealed in the Mirror seriously enough. "I also had a vision of New York utterly destroyed. The three of us weren't there but Tony, Natasha, Clint and Director Fury were. This huge evil being had killed them all. The power this being radiated made Loki look like the naughty little brother Thor tries to make him out to be."
Banner paused to consider his answer to this. He understood why Rogers was reluctant to discuss what he saw and wasn't angry because of it. In fact, Banner was grateful that Rogers trusted he could keep Hulk under control after what he had just been told. At the same time, he was glad Rogers had shared this information. Its content was too much for even one of Earth's mightiest heroes to bear alone.
"Look, Galadriel's mysterious even by Middle-earth's standards," Banner dryly observed to Rogers. "But she doesn't seem to be the type to crush people's spirits just for the hell of it. I don't think she would have let you see those events unless she believed we could stop them from happening."
Rogers considered Banner's reply for a few moments before conceding, "You're right, Bruce." He then began to apologise. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. It's ju– "
"Don't think you're an orphan." Banner interrupted before looking over his shoulder to the rest of Fellowship. "Ever since we left Lothlorien, I've noticed the feeling around the group. Nearly everyone seems to be more on edge."
"The last thing we need is everyone at each other's throats before we reach Mordor," Rogers grimly commented. He changed his tone as he began to feel a weight coming off his shoulders. "Thanks for listening, Bruce."
"No problem," Banner simply replied. He then spoke to Rogers in a more upbeat tone "Look, as long as we are trading favours."
"Anything, Bruce," Rogers kindly offered.
Banner ran his hand over his chin. "Do you mind if I use Galadriel's razor once in a while?"
At the same time in Caras Galadhon, Celeborn noticed Galadriel looking to the horizon from the southern balcony of their house.
"Is all well my love?" he simply asked.
Galadriel turned to her husband and replied, "Yes, milord." She then gave a small smile before saying, "There's greater hope for Men than I first thought."
Banner's observation of the behaviour of the Fellowship was to be validated later that evening. Boromir and Thor hid behind a large on the island, peering at a large log floating along the Anduin. The silvery strands of moonlight reflecting on the river revealed a pair of small clammy hands gripping the log. A pair of large round eyes peaked over the log, blinking at the Fellowship.
"What is so miserable a creature?" Thor quietly asked Boromir.
"It's Gollum," another answered.
Boromir and Thor turned to see that Aragorn had joined them.
"He's tracked us since Moria," the Ranger said.
"Gollum?" Thor repeated. "The creature Gandalf said the Ring drove into madness?" Seeing both men nodding to confirm his observation, Thor then asked, "He still seeks the ring despite what it did to him?"
"Indeed he does!" Aragorn answered with intense seriousness. "I'd hoped we would lose him on the river - but he's too clever a waterman."
"And if he alerts the enemy to our whereabouts it will make the crossing even more dangerous," Boromir added.
"Perhaps our company should consider alternate routes to protect ourselves from that possibility," Thor suggested.
"Yes, Thor," Boromir agreed. "And fortunately, such a route is close at hand." Boromir turned to Aragorn and said to him, "Minas Tirith is the safer road. You know it".
Denethor would no doubt still argue for the Ring to be given to Gondor. But Boromir was confident he could change his father's mind and persuade him to give what aid the Fellowship needed to complete its quest. Boromir tried to persuade Aragorn of this.
"From there we can regroup, strike out from Mordor from a place of strength," the Gondorian continued his argument.
Aragorn wasn't moved the slightest.
"There is no strength in Gondor that can avail us," he flatly told Boromir.
By the tone of Boromir's response, Thor could tell how appalled he was by what Aragorn had just said.
"You were quick enough to trust the Elves!" Boromir exclaimed in a slightly raised voice. "Have you so little faith in your own people? Yes, there is weakness. There is frailty. But there is courage also, and honour to be found in Men." Boromir gestured to Thor. "Despite knowing nothing of Middle-earth, three Men volunteered without hesitation to aid our quest and have faced its dangers with their very lives. But even with that happening before your own eyes, you still refuse to concede nobility in the Race of Men!"
Thor knew Boromir was technically incorrect to count him as a 'Man' as such. Even Rogers and Banner were not normal human beings by any stretch. But inwardly, he agreed with the spirit of Boromir's argument. Loki had thought himself so superior to humans that somehow he believed it was in their best interests for him to be their tyrant. What his brother failed to see was that despite their short lives and many limitations, one human being could have a more profound impact – for good or ill – on the course of events than many powerful immortals could. Thor felt his time with the other Avengers as well as with Jane, Darcy and Erik proved this observation beyond doubt. Thor wondered if Isildur's fatal choice of his ancestor made Aragorn cynical about all Men. The Crown Prince of Asgard thought this was just as bad as a person who believed his race to be perfect and without fault (like Loki he had to admit). Aragorn and Boromir had not finished their current argument around this subject as the former turned his back and the later grabbed his arm.
"You are afraid!" Boromir declared seemingly unconcerned if the other members of the Fellowship heard him. "All your life you have hidden in the shadows. Scared of who you are, of what you are!"
Aragorn strongly shook his arm from Boromir's grip.
"I will not lead the Ring within a hundred leagues of your city!" the Ranger shot back before storming back to the rest of the Fellowship.
After Aragorn had gone, Thor came up to comfort Boromir.
"He knows you are right, Boromir," the Asgardian softly counselled. "Just give him time."
Even though the God of Thunder was a good three inches taller than Boromir, the glare the Gondorian gave him made Thor feel significantly shorter.
"Not only was my father was right about Gondor not needing a king," Boromir bitterly stated. "Aragorn's unworthy to rule its people in the first place."
Boromir left Thor behind as he went back to the large rock to continue his watch. Frodo was the only member of the Fellowship who heard the Ring give what sounded like a satisfied murmur.
Those of the Fellowship had heard Aragorn and Boromir's argument from the previous evening opted not to raise it the following morning. A tense silence reigned over the Fellowship as it continued to move southwards along the Anduin. This silence was only broken by late afternoon when many in the group saw another of Middle-earth's architectural marvels for the first time.
Ahead of them the Anduin snaked through a narrow gorge formed by the sides of two sheer cliff faces. On each side of the gorge entrance were two majestic white statues each three hundred feet tall. They both looked like a king, each wearing a robe and a crown placed on their head. The king on the right had a beard and his right arm rested on a long sword. The king on the left was clean-shaven and his right arm rested on a battleaxe. Both kings had their left arms thrust aloft with their palms facing outwards.
"The Argonath!" Aragorn told the rest of the Fellowship in reverential awe the name of the structure they were looking at. "Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old. My kin."
As the Fellowship rowed between it, Banner thought the Argonath was nearly the equal of Moria in terms of design. Two vast quarry lines in the face of the cliffs gave some indication how the stones may have been cut for this structure. If the Statute of Liberty were taken off its pedestal, it would reach about halfway up one the Argonath's statues. Banner thought the gesture the statues gave with their left hands was to warn travellers of the waterfall that sounded to be imminently close. But he could not help feel that their gesture and facial expressions had a touch of defiance in them.
"Hey, Steve," Banner called to him. "I think these guys would give Lady Liberty a good run for her money".
Although a proud New Yorker, Rogers conceded, "You got a point, Bruce." After a thought he then added, "Though they'd be midget-sized if Stark built a statue of himself."
As the three Avengers laughed, the rest of the Fellowship wondered what this 'Tony Stark' had done to make such a noble man as Rogers continue to make jokes at his expense.
As the Fellowship passed through the gorge, they entered into a natural lake that appeared to be two or three kilometres at its widest point. Its eastern and western banks had a narrow pebble beach that led into to dense forest. At its southern edge the roar of rushing water and the sight of mist indicated the presence of a mighty waterfall. Rogers assumed that the Fellowship had reached the Falls of Rauros. Rogers noticed on both sides of the falls there was a hilltop crowned with what appeared to be more ancient ruins. Even though he was on a quest to save Middle-earth, Rogers thought it had a lot of people and landscapes with which he could draw some wonderful illustrations.
At the direction of Aragorn, the Fellowship paddled towards the lake's western shore. They ended up beaching their boats on a gravel shore close to where the falls were. As the members of the Fellowship began to disembark, Rogers noticed that Boromir was still in his boat. The Gondorian was slightly slumped forward as he rested his hands on his knees, his eyes closed as if being inflicted by some inner torment. To Rogers, his friend looked even worse than their private conversation in Caras Galadhon. Rogers walked over and placed a supportive hand on the shoulder of his fellow soldier. The gesture pulled Boromir out of his thoughts.
"I know you must be sick of me asking this, Boromir," Rogers said. "But are you sure you're alright?"
"I apologise that I keep concerning you, Steve," Boromir replied after a polite sigh. "It's just I'm very anxious about how things are in Gondor at present."
Boromir technically wasn't lying. But he was too ashamed to mention to Rogers all the reasons for the said anxiety.
"Well, get some rest first and have something to eat," Rogers suggested. "After that, I'd be happy to listen if that would help."
Boromir stood up and got out of the boat.
"During your war, you're men were fortunate having Captain America as their commanding officer," he sincerely complimented the First Avenger.
A touched Rogers humbly replied, "Our army had a pretty good general leading it. So does Gondor's."
Inwardly, Captain America felt the unity of the Fellowship would surely hold as it headed into Mordor.
Given that I start my new job on Monday, I think this shall be the last chapter of this story for at least a week. I suspect it to be a lengthy chapter given what I plan to happen around the slopes of Amon Hen.
All I will say is that although the loss of powers that Thor and Hulk have experienced is temporary, both are still very much under the effects of the vortex.
[RD: The banter around the Agornath takes on a whole different complexion in light of the end credits of AoU]