Chp. 37 Mobile Fortress (1)

[Rivendell]

"Of course I was going to tell you, I was waiting for this very chance. And really, I think you can trust that I know what I am doing." Gandalf walked with Elrond after the two had a discussion of the real essence of the Dwarve's quest, while Paul followed behind listening to their conversation with no sign of interest. He looked at the side and saw Bilbo listening to the conversation of the two and smiled.

"Do you? The Dragon has slept for 60 years. What will happen if your plan should fail if you wake that beast?" Elrond was serious as he asked Gandalf this.

"What if we succeed? If the dwarves take back the mountain our defenses in the east will be strengthened." Gandalf refuted.

"It is a dangerous move Gandalf." Elrond said as he looked back imperceptibly to Paul who followed in silence.

"It is also dangerous to do nothing. Oh, come the throne of Erebor is Thorin's birthright. What is it you fear?" Gandalf reasoned as he looked at Elrond.

"Have you forgotten? A strain of madness runs deep in that family." Elrond stopped and looked at Gandalf as he said this. "His grandfather lost his mind. His Father succumbed to the same sickness, can you swear that Thorin Oakenshield will not also fall?"

Gandalf was silent as he looked at Elrond unsure what to say, Elrond sighed and continued.

"Gandalf, these decisions do not rest with us alone. It is not up to you or me to redraw the map of Middle-earth." Elrond then continued walking forward while Paul paused a bit and looked at the face of the dwarf prince behind Bilbo but he just kept silent and followed behind.

"With or without our help, these dwarves will march on that mountain." Gandalf followed along the stairs towards the pavilion with Elrond.

"Their determined to reclaim their homeland. I do not believe Thorin Oakenshield feels that he is answerable to anyone. Nor, for that matter am I." Gandalf said looking at Elrond with a stubborn face.

"It is not me you must answer to." Elrond said as he looked inside the pavilion along with Gandalf as Paul stood behind still silent for the meantime. As currently he was mentally giving commands to the robots he has waiting outside Rivendell to give the dwarves their lost ponies along with extra gifts.

But he still observed as the form of Lady Galadriel turned around and Paul felt that the movies could not really capture the ethereal nature to the Lady of Lorien.

'She looks better in person.' Paul thought as he looked at the reunion of the three ring bearers while some sort of Elvish hymn is playing in the background.

"Lady Galadriel." Gandalf was stunned as he looked at the beautiful flawless face of the Lady of Lorien.

"Mithrandir." Galadriel answered as she then greeted in Elvish "It has been a long time."

"Age may have change me… but not so the Lady of Lorien."Gandalf answered which garnered a smile form the beautiful Elf.

"I had no idea Lord Elrond had sent for you." Gandalf looked at Elrond behind him but the one that answered is another person.

"He didn't, I did." Then Saruman appeared behind the grey wizard with all his whiteness all over.

"Ah, Saruman." Gandalf smiled as he turned around and bowed a bit to Saruman along with Elrond while Paul also did give a small bow of courtesy.

"You've been busy as of late, my friend." Saruman said as he smiled towards Gandalf.

"And you must be the Iron Lord I've heard of recently as well, your fame has reached the lands of Gondor and places far away." Saruman turned his eyes towards Paul as he scrutinized him but his eyes showed a bit of shock and gave Galadriel a small look of question. The elven just shook her head slightly making Saruman pause and look at Elrond.

"The Iron Lord is here because he says he has news that might need be heard of the guardians of Middle-earth or so he says, so far he has shown enough conviction that what he knows must be heard by all of us here in private." Elrond said as he looked at Paul behind them.

"I see, so be it but first let us talk with the matter concerning the dwarves." Saruman nodded as he looked at Galadriel and looked for her confirmation.

Then the two wizards sat on the table while Elrond and Galadriel listened to the side as Paul waited by the side.

"Tell me Gandalf, did you think these plans and schemes of yours would go unnoticed?" after as few pleasantries Saruman started the conversation with this question as the sun rose from the east sky.

"Unnoticed? No, ugh..ah, I'm simply doing what I feel to be right." Gandalf said.

"The dragon has long been on your mind." Galadriel said as she looked at Gandalf.

"That is true, my lady. Smaug owes allegiance to no one. But if he should side with the enemy a dragon could be used to terrible effect." Gandalf reasoned.

"What enemy?" Saruman asked in confusion. "Gandalf, the enemy is defeated. Sauron is vanquished, he can never regain his full strength."

"Does it not worry you that the last of the dwarf rings should simply vanish along with its bearer?" Gandalf said while Paul listened and showed a simple frown but Elrond was able to notice.

"Of the seven dwarf rings, four were consumed by dragons two were taken by Sauron before he fell in Mordor. The fate of the last dwarf ring remains unknown." Gandalf words made the others thoughtful as he continued.

"The ring that was worn by Thrain." Gandalf leaned over the table as he said the name of the dwarf king.

"Without the ruling ring of Power, the seven are of no value to the enemy. To control the other rings he needs the One." Saruman said the last part with emphasis as he looked at Gandalf. "And that ring was lost long, long ago. It was swept out to sea by the waters of the Anduin."

"Gandalf, for 400 years we have lived in peace, a hard won watchful peace." Elrond was also trying to have Gandalf understand the state of the current world.

"Are we? Are we at peace? Trolls have come down from the mountains, they are raiding villages, destroying farms. Orcs have attacked us on the road." Gandalf said.

"Hardly a prelude to war, besides have you not heard of the Exploits of the Iron Lord besides us, he has hunted these Trolls and run down Orc packs with his company of Adventurers." Elrond pointed at Paul but he saw that there was still a thoughtful frown in the guy's face.

"Always you must meddle, looking for trouble where none exist." Saruman said as he looked seriously at Gandalf.

"Let him speak." Galadriel interfered as she walked around the pavilion while giving Paul a curious look.

"There is something at work beyond the evil of Smaug, something more powerful. We can remain blind to it, but it will not be ignoring us, that I can promise you." Gandalf said in utmost stoic fashion as he looked at the people listening to him. "A sickness lies over the Greenwood, the woodsmen who live there now call it Mirkwood and they say…ehmm" Gandalf looked unsure what to say.

"Well? Don't stop now, tell us what the woodsmen say." Saruman gave Gandalf time to explain.

"They speak of a Necromancer living in Dol Guldur, a sorcerer who can summon the dead." Gandalf said which made Saruman frown but before he can refute Paul's voice was heard.

"I see, so that was why those graves looked the way they were…" Paul's words made those present look at him.

"Graves?" Elrond asked as he looked at Paul.

"My men and I have found traces of weird sightings reported by locals saying the dead walked in the shadows, so I investigated and found a deep tomb carved within a mountain and was somehow bound with weird looking runes but it was broken. Not by someone from the outside, but rather the way the break looked it was like something inside crawled out…" Paul said as he looked to be in serious thought.

"That's absurd, now such power exist in this world. This necromancer is nothing more than a mortal man, a conjurer dabbling in black magic." Saruman still refused to believe as he waved of the words of Paul.

"And so I thought too, but Radagast has seen-" Gandalf was about to explain bbut Saruman reacted hearing the name of the Brown wizard.

"Radagast? Do not speak to me of Radagast the Brown, he's a foolish fellow." Saruman frowned as he remembered the wizards associated to them by name.

"Well, he's odd, I grant you he lives a solitary life." Gandalf said in defense of his friend.

"It's not that, it's his excessive consumption of mushrooms. They've addled his brain and yellowed his teeth, I've warned him. It is unbefitting one of the Istari to be wandering the woods…" Saruman went on about how Radagast was not acting like the other Wizards like him and Gandalf.

Paul noticed Galadriel shift her attention from him to Gandalf as her face showed she felt something within Gandalf's cloak. Paul knew she was talking to him telepathically as Gandalf also silently nodding at what Lady Galadriel said in his mind but his senses picked up on the Dwarves who were now ready to leave Rivendell in silence.

"…listen to me, I would think I was talking to myself for all the attention that he paid. By all means-" Saruman was about to continue ranting about Radagast when Gandalf placed an item wrapped in Leather on the table.

"What is that?" Elrond asked as he looked at the item on the table about to reach out to open it,

"A relic of Mordor." Galadriel said in obvious horror in her voice which made Elrond stop his hands from reaching the item in the table. Even Saruman was silent as he looked serious for once in the entire meeting, Elrond reached out again to open the leather wrapping the item.

As soon as the item was showed the air chilled as the darkness within the blade radiated outwards. Saruman frowned at the sight of the blade while Galadriel closed in towards the table to look at it.

"A Morgul Blade." Elrond realized what the blade was.

"Made for the Witchking of Angmar and buried with him…" Galadriel then looked towards Paul as she seemed to realize something, Saruman and Elrond also noticed this as they looked at Paul.

"When Angmar fell, the men of the North took his body and all that he possessed and sealed in within-" Galadriel could not continue as Paul said where the Witchking was buried.

"The High fells of Rhudaur, the place where I found tombs that were broken and empty…" Paul's words made those present have shocked faces.

"This is not possible. A powerful spells lies upon those tombs they cannot be opened…" Elrond said but Paul answered again.

"From the outside maybe but like I said, the dead crawled their way out from the inside… whoever this necromancer of yours is he is a bigger deal of trouble than that oversized lizard in Erebor." Paul looked serious as he said that not showing that he knew who was the one responsible for raising the dead.

"What proof do we have that the graves you mentioned are the ones that Angmar was buried in?" Saruman asked as he still looked unconvinced.

"I saw those tombs Lord Saruman, but if it was the grave of the Witchking then I have no idea. Yet it still comes to show that a necromancer was successful in raising the dead, if it even creates an army of the numerous dead of every town then the safety of the people will be at risk if no actions are to be done." Paul said as he tried to at least show a nercromancer is probable.

"But has there been reports of other places where the dead was raised? None, it seems whoever this necromancer is he still cannot make an army of dead people and thus cannot warrant an action of war. I'm pretty sure the famous Iron Lord could deal with this matter entirely, I've heard of you exploits and if those are true then you have no worry for a small time conjurer…" Saruman insisted as he continued.

"…and of the orc packs, they proved to be no problem to you as well so there is no reason to worry. They dared cross the Bruinen but not enough to warrant drastic actions, even this dagger from as bygone age is not substantial proof for us to break the watchful peace. This Necromancer, who has taken residence on a ruined fortress is not so very much a threat after all." Saruman said as he gave good reasons since evidence still is not enough for him.

"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." Saruman change the topic of concern as he talked. Paul was even suspecting this guy was already a turn coat but he just let it be. "If they'd come to me, I might have spared them this disappointment."

"I do not pretend to understand your reason for raising their hopes…" Saruman then again went to his longwinded rants as Paul saw that the dwarves were now out of Rivendell, Galadriel also noticed this as she looked towards Gandalf who looked back at her as they conversed in their minds.

"…no, I'm afraid there is nothing else for it…" Saruman looked at Lindir walking towards them looking troubled.

"My Lord Elrond. The Dwarves, they're gone." Said the Elf.

"I see…" Paul said as he looked at Gandalf with a knowing look.

"Like I said, with or without our help they will still march towards Erebor…" Gandalf smiled as he left the blade and stood up patting his robe.

"So this was your plan all along my friend…" Saruman said as he too stood up and left while Elrond was standing there along with Lady Galadriel looking at Paul curiously.

"You, your mind is silent…" Galadriel said as she looked at Paul curiously.

"I chaotic mind is of no use surviving the world where many perils lay, my Lady." Paul answered.

"But you have no need to survive Iron Lord as there is nothing I know of that could best you when you can even best a troll in strength by yourself easily." Elrond said.

"Dragons, Lord Elrond. They can, the reason my banner is a chained Dragon is because I have fought with many in the Grey Mountains for years." Paul said as he walked down with Galadriel and Elrond.

"I see, but since you stand fine here then that means you have indeed survived." Elrond nodded as he looked at Paul's large physique.

"I have seen many great men Iron Lord and never have I known anyone quite like you." Elrond said as he wondered about the words Paul said, thinking how a great coincidence his matter has a connection to what Gandalf is worried about.

"That is because there is no man like me Lord Elrond, I always like to dare myself in impossible situations." Paul walked in calm composure as he watched the scenery around him.

"And what are these impossible situations Iron Lord?" Galadriel asked as she got curious.

"Taming dragons, my lady. I was able to do it after many years of understanding their nature…" Paul's words made the Elves stop in their tracks.

"Taming dragons? Impossible, no man was able to do such a thing since all dragons were spawn of the Master of Sauron's design." Elrond said as he looked at Paul unsurely.

"Dragons existed for so long Lord Elrond that the nature of the first beings used to breed the first dragon Glaurung has surfaced in some types of drakes. The first one I was able to control was a wingless Icedrake, it took some time but I did it Lord Elrond. I have tamed dragons, and since one is worrying the wizard I thought that maybe I should try to see if a great Drake can also be subdued." Paul left the two elves stunned at his words. He did not wait for anyone as he took his Great Ram and rode out of Rivendell.

"Farewell Lord Elrond, I hope we meet again in the future. I you decide one say you want to visit my keep then I shall welcome you with all of the hospitality I can give." Paul then rode out as he took another direction towards west.

As he left he knew that Gandalf and Galadriel will have their talk alone as he saw her leave and go back to the pavilion for the grey wizard. They talked about the riddle of the Morgul Blade and how Gandalf should be careful in his journey.

[Edge of the Wild]

"Would Gandalf be able to catch up?" Bilbo asked Balin as they walked out of the borders of Rivendell.

"You don't have to worry about him laddie, he has lived far longer than any of us can think of and it be better if we went on our way just like we've planned."