Chapter 22: Rivendell Meeting
"Tell me, Gandalf. Did you think these plans and schemes of yours would go unnoticed?" Saruman asked as he, Gandalf and Selindra were seated at the table of the White Council. "Unnoticed? No. I'm simply doing what I feel to be right." Gandalf said. "The Dragon has long been on your mind." Galadriel said. "That is true, my Lady. Smaug owes allegiance to no one. But if he should side with the enemy, a dragon can be used to terrible effect." Gandalf said. "What enemy? Gandalf, the enemy is defeated. Sauron is vanquished. He can never regain his full strength." Saruman assured. Selindra grew worried at that, hoping that was true.
"Does it not worry you that the last of the Dwarf rings should simply vanish along with its bearer?" Gandalf asked. "Gandalf's right. Of the 7 Dwarf rings, 4 of them were consumed by Dragons, 2 were taken by my father, Sauron, before he fell in Mordor." Selindra said. "Yes. The fate of the last Dwarf ring remains unknown." Gandalf said. "That ring was worn by Thrain the day he went missing after the battle of Moria." Selindra said. "Without the ruling Ring of Power, the seven are of no value to the enemy. To control the other rings, he needs the One. And that ring was lost long, long ago. It was swept out to sea by the waters of the Anduin." Saruman explained. Gandalf and Selindra looked at each other, knowing that it wasn't true.
"Gandalf, for 400 years, we have lived in peace, a hard-won, watchful peace." Elrond assured. "Are we? Are we at peace? Trolls have come down from the mountains. They're raiding villages, destroying farms. Orcs have attacked us on the road." Gandalf said. "Hardly a prelude to war." Elrond said. "Always you 2 must meddle, looking for trouble when none exists." Saruman said. "Let them speak." Galadriel said. "There is something at work beyond the evil of Smaug. Something far more powerful. We can remain blind to it, but it will not be ignoring us, that I can promise you. A sickness lies over the Greenwood. The woodsmen who live there now call it Mirkwood. And they say…" Gandalf explained, but paused himself. "Gandalf?" Selindra asked in concern. "Well? Don't stop now. Tell us what the woodsmen say." Saruman said. "Well, they speak of a Necromancer living in Dol Guldur. A sorcerer who can summon the dead." Selindra said. "That's absurd. No such power exists in this world. This Necromancer is nothing more than a mortal man. A conjurer dabbling in black magic." Saruman said. "I thought so too. But Radagast and Folina have seen-" Gandalf tried to say. "Radagast? Folina?" Saruman asked, interrupting him. "Do not speak to me of Radagast the Brown and Folina the Emerald. They are foolish fellows." "Well, they're odd, I grant you." Gandalf said. "Yes, they live a solitary life." Selindra said. "It's not that. It's their excessive consumption of mushrooms. They've addled their brains and yellowed their teeth." Saruman said in disgust. "I warned them. It is unbefitting one or even 2 of the Istari to be wandering the woods…"
"You carry something. It came to you from Radagast and Folina. They found it in Dol Guldur." Galadriel said, speaking to Gandalf and Selindra through her mind. "Yes." Gandalf said. "It is something very dark, my Lady." Selindra said. "Show me." Galadriel said. "…listen to me. I would think I was talking to myself with all the attention they paid. By all means…" Saruman continued talking until Gandalf brought out the parcel Radagast and Folina gave him and Selindra, and placed it on the table. "What is that?" Elrond asked. "A relic of Mordor." Galadriel said. Elrond unwrapped the parcel and revealed it to be the very blade that the spirit used to attack Radagast and Folina. "A Morgul Blade." Elrond said. "Made for the Witch King of Angmar. And…buried with him." Galadriel said. "Tell us, my Lady. What happened after the fall of Angmar?" Selindra asked. "When Angmar fell, the Men of the North took his body and all that he possessed and sealed it within the High Fells of Rhudaur. Deep within the rock they buried him, in a tomb so dark, it would never come to light." Galadriel explained. "This is not possible. A powerful spell lies upon those tombs. They cannot be opened." Elrond assured.
"What proof do we have this weapon came from Angmar's grave?" Saruman asked. "We have none." Gandalf said. "Because there is none. Let us examine what we know. A single Orc pack has dared to cross the Bruinen. A dagger from a bygone age has been found. And a human sorcerer who calls himself 'The Necromancer' has taken up residence in a ruined fortress. It is not so very much after all." Saurman explained. "The question of this Dwarvish company, however, troubles me deeply. I'm not convinced, Gandalf. I do not feel I can condone such a quest. If they'd come to me, I might've spared them this disappointment. I do not pretend to understand your reason for raising their hopes." "They are leaving." Galadriel said through her thoughts. "Yes." Gandalf said. "You knew." Galadriel said. She smiled at Gandalf, knowing his knowledge knew no limits. "No, I'm afraid there is nothing else for it." Saruman finished. Just then, Lindir walked up to the council. "My Lord Elrond. The Dwarves, they're gone." He said. "Varder?" Selindra asked. "Gone too. As well as the Halflings." Lindir said.