Fellowship of the Ringwraiths

[CrazySquirrel]

The fact that Khamul was not hissing anymore proved that he was scared almost out of his wits.

Wikkie's figure suddenly blurred, the flames of the torches went out with a hiss, deadly cold gripped all. A strange hum assailed all ears, punctuated by creaking of static.

Fur away in the Palantir of Barad-Dur the fiery letters appeared
"Connection interrupted due to technical problems".

Sau kicked his Palantir angrily and roared in frustration. Orodruin flames leaped up.

After some minutes, Gor asked in a small voice "What was that, Wikkie?"
"It is called Palantir shrouding", the Witch-King replied dryly.

Turning his gaze to shaking Khamul, Wikkie continued, "And now, Master Khamul, I would like a few words with you"

[Lotesse]

With that, The Witch King of Angmar put his hand to the back of Khamul's neck, and steadily steered him outside the cave's entrance to have a private talk with him, to the visible relief of all the others in the room. Witnessing Wikkie's rage was no treat, especially when so close.

Viv, Lily and Gor huddled together, and Gor broke the silence.
"So, what should we do now, girls?" she ventured in a lowered voice.

"I say we grab a magnum each of this Nurn '68 and explore this cave together, find out what our rings do without the guys around, y'know?" offered Lil.

"Yeah! Sounds like a great idea; it's been quite awhile since I've been here, so I've half forgotten what-all might be back there," Viv responded; and with that, they slunk away, down the huge gleaming black hall leading into the depths of Mount Gundabad.

The men were having their own huddle, speaking in terse sotto voce with one another, and hardly noticed the girls slipping away.

[CrazySquirrel]

Wikkie's armored fingers felt cold and ungentle on Khamul's neck. Thoughts were flying through the Second's head like frightened black crebain. He was not looking forward to the talk with his Captain. Memories of previous times he had earned Wikkie's displeasure were not pleasant, to say the least. Only one thought was slightly reassuring, Wikkie was much nicer when drunk. He tried to remember how many bottles he has seen Wikkie imbibe during the meal, but fear made him unable to concentrate.

Outside a strong wind was blowing, one strong icy gust made Khamul loose his balance and threw him against a wet black rock near the cave entrance. Flattened against the rock face, Khamul found himself unable to move, bound by invisible icy chains. The Lord of Morgul was towering over him, eyes like burning coals and the tall crown gleaming with a fell light.

"Where did you get this Stone?" asked Wikkie levelly.
"The Masster... he gave it to me."
"That is not the stone of Ithil. Where has he got another one?"
"It is one of thossse that Arvedui losst at Forochhhel" replied Khamul reluctantly. "It is thisss Rhad-a ghassstie who has bred a giant Octopusss, or found one in Moria. We usssed it to dive in Anduin, searching for the Ring firssst, then when the Massster learned that the Ring wasss not in the river, he sent the Octie downstream, to the Sea and all the way up the coast to Forochel. Octie fetchhhed the Palantir easssily, it was near the ssshore". After that, as a reward, the Masster let Octie return to hisss pool mear Moria.
"Why was it kept secret from me?" asked Wikkie with a razor-sharp edge to his voice.
Khamul's eyes turned bright-red with hardly concealed glee, "The Massster doesss not trussst you anymore, My Lord of Morgul".
The reply was not long in coming. Pain shot through Khamul's brain, clouding his eyes. With terrible clarity he saw himself standing on the icy peak of Gundabad facing a thousand-feet drop to the valley below. He was steadily slipping towards the precipice. Suddenly he lost his footing and plunged down head-first, screaming. He hit the pool below and screamed again in his terror of the water, when something cold and slimy grabbed him and pulled down. Khamul was screaming as an abused hamster now. The wraiths in the main cavern shuddered and huddled closer to each other. Beware of the wrath of the Morgul-Lord!

[Grey_Wolf]

The snake S Sau wrapped himself around Khamul in an attempt to pull him up out of the pool, but he wasn't strong enough so they ended up at the bottom quite near the drain outlet.

[CrazySquirrel]

Some hours later Khamul came to himself lying in a pool of melted snow outside the cave entrance. SSau was coiled tightly around his body. Gasping in relief, Khamul understood that the terrible nightmare was just another dark dream that the Witch King was so good at projecting. Shaking from weariness, Khamul shuffled to the kitchen to get a drink and to dry his clothes.

[Grey_Wolf]

"Early drinker, I see." said Mor as he and the girls entered the kitchen through the corridor leading to the dormitory.

[Lotesse]

"Man, you'd be needing a drink, too, if you had the kind of night I just endured," muttered Khamul, bleary-eyed and absently scratching his head.

[CrazySquirrel]

Suddenly Khamul choked on his drink. All heads turned to the door, where Wikkie was standing, apparently still in a very foul mood.

Lily was the first to react. She promptly poured a generous portion of Dorwinion '45 in a golden goblet and offered it to Wikkie.

"Please, My Lord", she said with one of her brightest smiles

[The Witch-King of Angmar]

He took it from her and threw it on the ground.

"I have not come to drink" Said the Witch-King

"I see it will take more than that to kill you"

He moved towards Khamul and stood above him...

[CrazySquirrel]

"From now on", said Wikkie to the trembling Khamul,"you will do exactly as I say. No more games behind my back".
"Now, all of you, this evening we are moving from here. I am sick of this Gundabad"
Where to?" piped Gor
"We are going back to Mordor. There is no Ring in the Vales of Anduin"

Khamul choked on "I told you so from the beginning", and decided to remain silent. Sober Wikkie was not somebody you can argue with unpunished.

[Grey_Wolf]

The morning of the last day at Gundabad dawned and the Nine had hearty breakfast.

The spent the day packing their stuff and the rest of the afternoon loafing and drinking wine.

Evening came and....

[Lotesse]

The last day in the cave waned long and slipped smoothly into twilight, giving the Nine time to recharge their minds and spirits and prepare for the journey that lay ahead. A calm air of solidarity seemed to galvanise the group once again, and for the first time in ages the whole day went by without a single bad vibe.

Wikkie, Khamul and Gothmog spent the afternoon sequestered in an antechamber warroom which conveniently branched off right next to the liquor-and-miruvor storeroom. Ideas and suggestions for future courses of action were shared between the three men, as they re-established the old bond of dark camaraderie they had so long shared together.

Five and Lily, who oddly enough kept making each other laugh uproariously as if they shared a particularly hilarious inside joke, grabbed three magnums of ancient champagne from the wine cellar then sneaked off together to have some fun.

Mordocar and Haradmurath discovered that they now had much in common professionally, and together they raided the kithen's enormous pantry for exotic poisons and strange kitchen implements.

Gordis and Viv buddied up and went off to plunder the library rotunda for rare maps and manuscripts. Gordis kept her eyes peeled in the hopes of finding herself a new com' u-tir, and Viv wracked her brain trying to remember where she'd stashed her collection of stolen Numenorian crown jewels. The two women ended up involved in an impassioned debate concerning the nature of absolute evil, and the importance of using subversive tactical deception as a means to gain world domination, finally just agreeing that the noblest aspiration of the modern Ringwraith was to be very good at being very bad.

As evening deepened into early night, the Nine trickled back to meet at the grand foyeur entrance of the Gundabad cave. Wikkie broke open a rare bottle of miruvor, poured a glass for each of them, and toasted "To the Shire!", which was a rather odd toast coming from the Witch King of Angmar, but nobody seemed to pick up on the irony.

With that, they left Gundabad with their spirits dark and high. They were so charged with evil optimism that, as they passed through the forest the leaves of the trees near them grew black and dropped off, and birds unfortunate enough to have been flying above them dropped dead right out of the sky.

[Gordis]

The merry wraith cavalcade rode South along the West bank of Anduin. The mood was cheerful, as the mission was seemingly over and they were going home. Not that the report was going to be brilliant, but that was Wikkie‘s problem not theirs. Wikkie rode in front, flanked by now obedient Khamul and Goth, entrusted with the Palantir. The Stone was now mute, shrouded in spells and layers of black cloth. Eight was explaining to his newfound friend Mor the best ways of dissecting frogs. Mor listened politely. With happy hoots, Lily and Five raced their horses against each other. The looser was to kiss the winner. Viv laughed at their antics, fingering her treasure bag happily.
Gor sat stiffly in her saddle lost in dark thoughts. She was silent ever since Viv has shown her the cave. There was one dark room filled with treasures rescued from old Angmar Castle. Gor recognised crown jewellery, goblets and silverware. But that bothered her little. In the corner, Gor spotted what she thought was a big doll. Coming idly closer, she saw that it was not a doll, but a perfectly preserved stuffed hobbit-child. Gor froze on the spot. Her memory took her more than a millennium back instantly. She saw again the lush halls of Carn Dum Castle, the Angmar Museum... The third floor of the museum contained the exposition: "Peoples of Middle-Earth". There was a Variag camp with horses and camels and swarthy Easterling warriors, Far Harad with Mumakil and dark people clad in red and gold, an Elven ship equipped with a whole stuffed crew and... YES, there were the fabled halflings. The baby, now lying in the corner was one of them. There was a whole halfling family having breakfast on the lawn at the door of their hole. Gordis saw again the golden script "the Shire" above the entrance to the hall. Hopefully, Viv was far too occupied with crown jewels to notice anything unusual and Gordis managed to lead her away from the cave. Later, shaking from excitement and dread, she has found some old angmarian maps. One of them with "the Shire" labelled in bold script was now concealed in the bodice of her black dress. The map burned the skin like fire. Gordis‘s mind raced. What to do? She could confide in no one...Yet , she had to warn Wikkie somehow. Gor knew from past experience that the talk was not going to be easy...

[CrazySquirrel]

In the middle of the night the horses were left to graze and the company assembled on a green lawn near the river.

Gor approached Wikkie and whispered something into his ear. Lily bristled wisibly and watched with rapt attention. After some hushed discussion, Gor resolutely dragged the visibly annoyed Wikkie beyond the bushes away from the company.

Lily, much interested, climbed a large oak tree to watch.

"Do not meddle in Wikkies affairs, Lil, for he is subtle and quick to wrath" advised Five. But Lily did not listen. With burning eyes she watched as Gor unfastened her bodice. However, a surprized whistle escaped her lips, when Gor produced a large folded paper.

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

....

[Gordis]

When Wikkie took his eyes from the Shire map to look at Gor, his gaze pierced her like a dagger. Gor shuddered and drew back a little.

"Who else knows?" hissed Wikkie.
"No.. Nobody, I hope, I told no one..."

Wikkie turned his head sharply in the direction of the Fellowship. Lily's figure, perched on a tree, was outlined against the moonlit sky. Suddenly, the solid branch she was standing on collapsed with a loud crack. Lily landed atop all the others. A chorus of Black Speech curses drifted to where Wikkie and Gor stood.

Wikkie turned his head back to Gor, the eyes burning right through her soul.

"And now, name your price, Lady Gordis, said Wikkie icily.
"For that map?" asked Gor, shaking, "I give it to you freely, Wikkie..."

The map suddenly burst into green flames and burned, leaving no ashes.

"I mean, what do you want for your silence?" continued Wikkie, not a bit warmer.

Gor was crying now. "My Lord, I want nothing! I have always stood by you, have I not?... But, My Lord, I am so very afraid! He will find out, He will destroy you, destroy us!"
"He will not find out", said Wikkie sharply, "unless YOU tell Him".
"I am not sure that I can keep my mind shut from Him... IF He puts on my Ring", whispered Gor.

Wikkie was silent for a long time. Finally he took a shining mithril ring from a string on his neck and put it on Gor's finger.
"That is one of Viv's rings, it will help you to shield your mind from Sau".
Turning abruptly, Wikkie disappeared in the night.

[Grey_Wolf]

The remaining Eight (following in Wikkies' horse's hoofprints) continued south towards Mordor - going back to Home after the fruitless chase all over the northern part of Middle-Earth.

[CrazySquirrel]

Lily reined her horse alongside Viv's and whispered "What do you think were they talking about, Vivvie?"
Viv merely shrugged.
But Lily was not going to stop. "I really think Gordie should leave Wikkie alone and find someone nicer... Mor will do fine, or Goth"

[Lotesse]

Viv abruptly brought her fell horse to a stop, and fixed Lily with a dangerous, steady glare.
"Do not play games with me, Lily," she said to her well-meaning yet slightly nervous friend. "You know full well that Mor and I are in love, and neither him nor I will be on the open dating market any longer, so drop it, will ya?"
"O.k., o.k., I was just sayin'," muttered Lily, and they left it at that, and resumed the long, slow walk through the night.

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

Khamûl rode up behind Wikkie and Gor, who were still deep in conversation, but seeing Khamûl beind Wikkie quickly ended the conversation.
"My Lord," muttered Khamûl as Gor trotted away. "I need to tell you about my usssse of the palantir."
"Go on," said Wikkie slowly looking Khamûl up and down.
"The Dark Lord gave it to me and assssked me to use it to report to him on our progress and your dealingssss," said Khamûl.
"You mean you are a traitor," said Wikkie spurring his horse.
"Yessss, but not to you. I still serve you m'lord, but Ssssau threatened me, sssaying if I did not do asss he sssaid he would kill you and I. This way I find out Sssssauron'ssss wishessss and thoughtssss, giving ussss, I mean you, the upper hand."
"I see," replied Wikkie.
"It issss becausssse of thissss I need the ssstone back, or Sssau will ssssussspect ssssomething," said Khamûl.
"Ok," answered Wikkie, drawing the palantir from his cloak. "But if I find out you are lying to me, there'll be hell to pay."
Khamûl took the stone and rode back alongside Viv.
"I have it back," said Khamûl.
"How?" said Viv in astonishment.
"Now, never you mind. But I say again join me, and you will rule alongside," replied Khamûl.