Silverhelm: A Tale of Two Enemies

Fool of a Took, Episode Two

After a somewhat awkward conversation, I was given a bed in the same room where the rest of the warriors slept, in two long rows along the walls.

Around dawn, I woke to a start. The rest of the men were snoring away, but I sensed something. Staying still, I saw that Legolas's bed was empty. Aragorn was carefully tiptoeing over the sleeping warrior, pipe in hand, heading outside. I did not call out but continued watching. Softly opening the door, he went out.

"Pippin! Are you mad?" someone hissed from behind me. Inconspicuously turning, I saw that it was Merry, talking to Pippin. A feeling of dread settled into my stomach. 'He will... probably try to take it from Gandalf.' I watched Pippin replace the Palantir in Gandalf's hands with a pot.

Gandalf slept with his eyes open, slightly creepy for our little hobbit. Oh, no. Pippin picked up the wrapped Palantir and unwrapped it. I instinctively shielded my eyes.

Shortly, Pippin began screaming. Risking a glance, I saw that his body was spasming, trying to rid itself of the evil that had entered. I threw back the covers and ran to his side just as Aragorn and Legolas came running in. Gandalf, a light sleeper, also woke and rushed to Pippin. Aragorn took the Palantir from Pippin's hands, but unprepared, he fell to his knees. I swatted at his hands to make him drop the orb, which he did. Gandalf threw his Lorien-cloak onto it as it rolled across the floor, flashing red lightning. The mayhem in the room gave way to silence.

"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf said sharply. By now the rest of the people in the room (bar Gimli) were awake. Glancing back at Aragorn and Legolas, I saw that Legolas had his hood half-up, looking panicked and disheveled, while Aragorn had a stony look as he shakily stood up, rubbing his wrists.

"Look at me," Gandalf said, crouching by the young hobbit's side.

"Gandalf! Forgive me!" Pippin cried out.

"Look at me," the wizard repeated. "What did you see?"

"A tree..." Pippin faltered at the look on Aragorn's face. Panic. "There was a white tree in a courtyard of stone... it was dead." The White Tree of Gondor. "The city was... burning." Burning?! Minas Tirith, burning? Ill news, indeed. I shared a worried glance with Aragorn. He looked... scared. I had never seen him scared before.

"Minas Tirith?" Gandalf inquired sharply. "Is that what you saw?"

"I saw... I saw Him!" Sauron. Not good. "I could hear His voice in my head!"

"And what did you tell him? Speak!"

"He asked me my name..." Oh, Pippin. Why must you be so foolish... "I didn't answer." Gandalf drew such a grim face that Pippin quailed. "He hurt me!"

"What did you tell Him about Frodo and the Ring?"

This interrogation went on until morning. Finally, Gandalf spoke before the throne as the golden light filtered in through the roof. "There was no lie in his eyes. A fool... but an honest fool he remains. He told Sauron nothing of Frodo and the Ring." Gandalf paced back and forth while we stood to the side. Merry stood beside a frightened-looking Pippin, and the four of us- Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and I- stood on Gandalf's other side, with Theoden standing nearby.

"We've been strangely fortunate," Gandalf continued. "Pippin saw in the Palantír a glimpse of the Enemy's plan. Sauron moves to strike the city of Minas Tirith. His defeat at Helm's Deep showed our enemy one thing: he knows the heir of Elendil has come forth. Men are not as weak as he supposed; there is courage still, strength enough perhaps to challenge him. Sauron fears this. He will not risk the peoples of Middle-Earth uniting under one banner." I looked at Aragorn. He stood tall, taller than I had seen him before. Elendil's Heir... I had never seen him in this light before. "He will raze Minas Tirith to the ground before he sees a King return to the throne of men. If the Beacons of Gondor are lit, Rohan must be ready for war."