The Elf, the Hobbit and the Dwarf - Book 1 NEW VERSION

The Necromancer

The steed Beorn gave Míriel was beautiful, and Míriel could sense his loyalty to his master. This horse would carry her faithfully and Míriel made sure to pet him before mounting his back. Her curiosity led her to eavesdrop on Beorn's conversation with Gandalf who seemed very concerned about something.

"You will leave my ponies before you enter the forest," Beorn told Gandalf.

"You have my word," Gandalf said to Beorn.

Suddenly the sound flapping wings above them gained their attention and Míriel saw that a pack of ravens were flying over their heads. It did not seem to be friendly birds, though.

"We are being watched," Gandalf said bitterly.

"Yes," said Beorn and nodded. "The Orcs will not give up. They will hunt the Dwarves until they see them destroyed."

Beorn did seem to know more of what was growing and festering in Middle-Earth, the same growing darkness that Gandalf was most aware of. Gandalf had told Míriel about the Necromancer dwelling in Dol Guldur and his suspicions that this quest had turned into something more than the mere mission to reclaim Erebor. The darkness of the Necromancer was spreading and Gandalf believed that the dark side was searching to recruit the dragon Smaug if he was still alive in the mountain, but what they planned to do with him was a mystery.

"Why now? What has made the defiler crawl from his hole?" Gandalf asked Beorn with a deep frown.

Míriel had been wondering the same thing for very long now, and perhaps Beorn could confirm her suspicions about the Pale Orc. He was hunting them for a reason, wanted them destroyed for a reason bigger than revenge for losing his arm to Thorin Oakenshield. The way Azog had glared at Thorin back by the Misty Mountains had been more than hate - it had been pure abhorrence toward Durin's line. Even if he did want them all dead, it had to be for a reason that meant that he could gain something out of it.

"There is an alliance between the Orcs in Moria and the sorcerer in Dol Guldur," Beorn said, making Míriel gasp slightly.

Gandalf had received a Morgul blade from the Wizard Radagast the Brown before Míriel joined the company. At the White Council in Rivendell, Gandalf had tried to convince the members that the Necromancer was someone to fear. Saruman had not believed him and neither had Elrond or Galadriel until he displayed the evil blade. It bore a dark omen. Now Gandalf seemed to understand that this Necromancer had Orcs under his command.

"Are you sure of this?" Gandalf said and a frown of concern was growing on his face.

"Packs have been seen gathering there," Beorn told Gandalf. "Each day more and more come."

Míriel tried to ignore Fíli and Kíli while she listened, for the two young Dwarves were trying to gain her attention. The last time they had wanted to show her when they juggled with their knives, it had not ended well, and it was Míriel that had gotten a scolding from Thorin for encouraging them. Now Míriel hoped that the Dwarves could let her be since she was listening curiously to Beorn and Gandalf.

"What do you know if this sorcerer, the one they call the Necromancer?" Gandalf asked Beorn.

"I know he is not what he seems," Beorn said with a bitter voice. "Foul things are drawn to his power."

What he meant by this they did not know. What could the Necromancer be, if not a dark sorcerer who stayed in a place where Sauron had once established? The Necromancer was dark enough to make Galadriel trust in what Gandalf had been suspecting, and Galadriel was rarely ever wrong. Something was going on, and if they didn't do anything about it, this could turn out to be a foul story.