Chapter Text
The camp of human, elven and dwarven soldiers was located right at the edge of Forodwaith. Sure it was still cold, nearly freezing, but the tents had been put up on the border of the grasslands. Gil-Galad had been wise enough to realize that exposing his human and dwarven allies to the snow would have been detrimental to the army’s health and well-being. A prolonged stay in the icy cold snow was even not recommended for the elves. Galadriel remembered all too well how her previous company of soldiers had rebelled against her after her search for Sauron within the frozen wastelands of Forodwaith had pushed the elves past their limits.
Elrond had halted in his tracks ever since the large camp was within their sights. He remembered the conversation that he had with his King shortly before departing on this important mission. The ring Ereinion had entrusted him lay heavy in his pocket at the threshold of this entire adventure. It would have been all too easy to lead Sauron straight into the hands of the army, especially with two of the three rings in their midst. Yet at the same time, he had seen that the Deceiver was wielding one himself and he did not dare to trust these trinkets to decide the future of Middle-Earth.
Should he continue to march on towards the camp with Sauron in their midst? He would be apprehended immediately once the King heard that the threat of Morgoth has been dealt with. Sauron has caused so much grief amongst them in the past year, yet he had the Deceiver to thank for his life and that of Galadriel. There had been absolutely no reason or advantage for Sauron to have saved their lives. In fact, it would have made things much easier for him if he would have just let all of them die within the ruins of Utumno yet here they were still very much alive.
“There is something I wish to discuss with all of you.” Elrond spoke up while turning around to face his company who by now looked more like a sorry bunch of stragglers in the cold than a group of warriors with a dwarven King and a Maiar in their midst.
“What is it what ye want to say laddie?” Durin replied feeling much better than he did at the start of their journey despite his rather painful and incapacitating injury. He knew that the end was within their grasp and they had accomplished that what had seemed impossible mere months ago. He could not wait to leave these lands behind and to return to his Mountain, his wife and children.
“I wish to ask for your opinion about a matter concerning him.” Elrond continued while pointing his finger towards Sauron who was standing beside Galadriel still shivering from the cold wrapped in the Half-Elf’s cloak. The Deceiver never had the chance to properly dry his clothes after his dive in the cold sea water to save the Noldor elf and his human disguise made it hard to function in this cold.
Sauron’s eyes lifted at the sight of the Half-Elf pointing at him. Like Elrond he knew they had come at a crucial crossroad. Physically he knew he was incapable right now of defeating all of them to make a quick getaway. The endless cold and the altercation with his former master had left him temporarily weakened. He knew it would have been smarter to have abandoned them down in Utumno when he had the chance but something had compelled him to save the life of Galadriel and the Half-Elf. He knew not what force had driven him but surely this couldn’t be the end. Elrond could not expect of him to walk meekly into the arms of the elves, to be taken to Valinor for his final judgement. There was still so much work he wanted to do here in Middle-Earth.
Elendil had placed an arm around his son’s shoulder and looked over at the rather pathetic form of the Maiar. He had seen Halbrand like this before, when he discovered him unconscious on a small piece of driftwood together with Galadriel. Yet he had witnessed what the Deceiver was capable of as he had tormented Elrond so in Númenor. But without the Deceiver in their midst, Elrond would have died and so did Galadriel. It did not feel right to him to hand Halbrand over like this, there was no honour in it.
“As you all might have realized, High-King Gil-Galad has been tailing us with our combined armies all the way to the edge of the frozen wastelands with a single purpose. To apprehend Sauron after our business within Utumno had been concluded.”
Both Vorohil and Beriedir looked uncertainly at each other. Revealing such information right in front of the Deceiver could only mean one thing, Elrond had doubts. Adar’s eyes still appeared to glow like a dark fire when he looked upon his former master but he did not speak up, rather he remained side by side with Arondir who at this point couldn’t care less what would happen right now. The only thing he wanted was to return to Rivendell with the former Uruk at his side and decide how their future would look like.
“What will be your decision son of Earendel?” Sauron asked with a straight voice. He knew that the Half-Elf’s next words would decide whether they would part in peace for now or a last great fight, that would certainly not go unnoticed by the scouts of the large camp in the distance, would break out among them. Everything, his entire future, now depended on the mercy of one who had all the reasons to destroy him, it was a deeply uncomfortable position to be in.
“I’d say give the lad a one day head start and then we shall chase him again.” Durin joked weakly.
“As much as I hate to admit, it feels almost dishonourable to drag him back into camp after all we just went through.” Elendil admitted with his son nodding in agreement. Isildur had been the one who had barely seen anything of Halbrand’s true nature. In fact, he had been working closely with the Deceiver at Pelargir for months. If letting the Deceiver go meant that he could return to Númenor with his father then so be it.
“I do not care what happens right now. If he promises to return to the Southlands and leave its people in peace, then I am willing to let him go.” Came the reply from Arondir. Adar looked like he was about to protest but refrained from saying anything at all. He was too tired to make a decision that would end in a physical fight. Besides, if Arondir was willing to let go, maybe he ought to as well.
Galadriel had been quiet so far. In fact she had barely spoken a single word ever since Sauron pulled her from the water once more. Her thoughts were conflicting as never before. She had spent many centuries hunting for her brother’s killer and now he was here, an easy picking to finally complete her revenge. But her life had been saved twice by the one responsible for Finrod’s death and hadn’t he declared himself that he deeply regretted killing him? Her thoughts on the matter had her mind in doubt ever since coming across Halbrand on that raft. What would she do with her life once the hunt for Sauron was over? Would she finally be able to find the rest that she had sought for such a long time or would that nagging feeling never go away?
Only Vorohil and Beriedir seemed still willing to complete their original objective to catch Sauron. They could simply not believe their ears when they heard their companions falter in their will to apprehend the Deceiver once and for all. They would never get such a golden opportunity again to deliver Sauron to the Valar. He was weakened and even Beriedir was convinced that the relentless shivering was real. Now was the time to pull through and deliver him to their King.
“Ereinion’s scouts have probably already spotted us. It is hard to miss anyone in this white landscape. If we are willing to grant him a day to get away from here, we need to be smart about this.” Elrond replied feeling relieved that none of the others seemed willing to take Sauron by force. “We will continue and enter the camp to give a briefing to the King while Durin and Elendil can take Sauron to the back of the camp and give him a horse to get out of here.”
Sauron had to exert all of his willpower to not appear all too relieved at the news that these people were willing to grant him a head start before they would turn into enemies once more. He did not want to seem that desperate to them even though the situation had been that dire. “I am grateful for this opportunity you are giving me.” Came the shivering reply from the Maiar.
Elrond however walked up to the Deceiver and looked at him with his steely eyes. “I do however hope you plan to leave our minds alone and no longer bring the lives of the Southlanders in any danger. If I hear so much a whisper or rumour of any misdoings, I will hunt you down once more and then you will have to face all of us.”
Sauron just stared back at the Half-Elf who dared to speak to him in such a manner. Now was not the time for rash actions, he needed to keep his cool. “I will keep your words in mind when I get out of here.” Came the conceding reply.
“Good. Then that is settled.” Elrond turned away from the Deceiver and once more placed himself at the head of the group. “Come on then, the sun will set soon and I want to use the cover of darkness to get him out of here before Ereinion discovers what we have done.”
And so they set off again but this time they were about to do something that none of them expected to do, help the Deceiver escape. Elrond had been correct about his assumptions, barely a few minutes had passed before one of Lindon’s scouts approached them with enthusiasm. The scout was on horseback and initially looked surprised at the state of Elrond and his company. He however quickly composed himself and announced his message.
“High-King Gil-Galad requires for your presence immediately, all of you.” The scout spoke while looking at them all in turn. “He is, we all are, very curious what happened exactly within the ruins of Utumno.”
“Of course, we will do so immediately.” Elrond replied while nodding at the scout. “But we must first visit the healers within the camp, a few of us are wounded and require immediate attention.”
“Certainly, I will pass on your reply to the King.” The scout answered before turning his horse towards the camp and setting off again.
Elrond breathed a sigh of relief. They had bought themselves some time before they needed to see Ereinion. Having to visit the healers hadn’t been a lie, both Durin and Isildur required medical care and the elves were the best option to have them treated. He could use this very moment to make sure Sauron could sneak off with a horse and use the guise of being distracted to explain to Ereinion what had happened.
The group arrived at the large military camp only moments later. Sauron used Elrond’s cloak now to conceal his identity though still most of the soldiers there were unaware of Halbrand’s true nature. They came across the improvised stables on their way to the healing tents and as expected in a temporary camp, many of the horses were untethered and unguarded at the moment. Sauron wasted no time in picking out a horse and thanked the others for their discretion once more promising that there would be no need to chase him down any longer.
With a small pang of guilt, Elrond watched Sauron leave the camp on horseback without any of the other soldiers batting an eye at him. He had done it, he allowed the Deceiver to escape from their grasp and he fiercely hoped that this would not be a fatal decision. He forced himself to continue towards the healers who had made a separate small camp on the outskirts in the back. There they delivered Durin and Isildur into the capable hands of the elven healers though Durin argued first that he wanted to be seen by his own people. Elrond had assured him that he would be back among his own people within no time and it would be best if his leg had been properly treated by then.
Begrudgingly Durin gave in and allowed himself to be treated by the elves who rarely had a dwarf as one of their patients. Elendil remained behind as well with his son whose injured arm was carefully unwrapped and being taken care of as well. Now with four of their party less, Elrond started to guide the remainder of his party to the big familiar looking tent in the middle of Lindon’s army, Ereinion’s temporarily place of command. Galadriel grabbed Elrond’s hand and squeezed it firmly as to give him the courage he needed to bring out the report on all that had happened in the past few weeks.
The guards in front of the tent stood aside to let them through without question. Elrond and Galadriel were first to enter and saw Ereinion sitting behind that familiar looking desk. The last time they saw him inside his tent, things had gotten wildly out of hand which eventually resulted in Vorohil and Beriedir physically assaulting the King with the backup of the Dwarves. Granted, Ereinion’s mind had been under dark influences and he had been healed of his affliction since but still the memory made Elrond nervous.
Ereinion looked up from his travelling desk to gaze at the rather beaten-up looking company standing in front of him. “Dear Eru, you look like you have been through the mangler. Where are the others. Where is King Durin, your human companions and most importantly of all where is Sauron?”
Elrond tried to keep his breath even as he thought of a good reply to explain how the Maiar went missing from right underneath their noses. “They are with the healers, some of us have sustained injuries my King.”
Ereinion’s eyes softened as he stood up from his desk and moved over to stand in front of his Herald. “What has happened? Did you reach the ruins? Did you manage to stop Morgoth?”
“We did my King, and we have managed to stop Morgoth from breaching the veil.” Galadriel interrupted. “It had nearly cost both of our lives but Hal...I mean Sauron brought us back from the brink of death and guided us out of the ruins before one of the lost Balrogs could get to us. King Durin has suffered from a broken leg while Isildur has an injured arm. But Elrond here, he took a dagger through his heart directly from Morgoth himself while I nearly lost my life during our escape.”
Ereinion placed a comforting hand on his Herald’s shoulder. “Dear Lord, I want you with the healers this instant as well, all of you in fact. But before you go, can I have a word in private with you Elrond?”
The Half-Elf nodded somewhat uncertainly while Galadriel, Arondir, Adar and the brothers bowed politely before making their way out of the tent towards the healers. Galadriel’s hand briefly touched Elrond’s cheek before she left and with it came the assurance that she would storm back inside any time when he needed her. Elrond was grateful for her support but hoped that it all wasn’t necessary. Even though his King was no longer under the influence of the ring that lay in his pocket, he couldn’t help but still feel somewhat nervous in the presence of Ereinion.
“Please, have a seat Elrond, you must feel exhausted.” Ereinion pointed towards his chair behind the desk that he had just vacated. The Half-Elf had a moment of doubt but walked over to the chair and sat down on it, he had the strange feeling that his King was already aware of the decision that he had made concerning the Deceiver.
“No doubt your recent extensive travels with Sauron might have clouded your mind of the situation we are all in but I do hope you remember why we have all gathered here under one banner.”
“What do you mean, my King?” Elrond replied while refusing to look him straight in the eye.
“My scouts have reported that a lone rider wearing your distinctive cloak has left the camp before your company had visited the healers. Please do tell me that Sauron acted out of his own accord, that this wasn’t your doing.”
“I…it wasn’t my decision alone but I carry the blame…” Elrond replied softly looking down at the ground. A few carpets decorated the otherwise frozen ground and its patterns were more bearable to stare at than the disappointment in his King’s eyes.
Ereinion merely sighed and placed his arms on his hips. “I do not know why on earth you let Sauron walk free after all we have been through. Granted Morgoth posed an even bigger threat to our security and survival but to let the Deceiver go while we have all gathered here for the sole purpose of defeating him…” Ereinion stopped himself from speaking any further before his emotions threatened to overtake the conversation.
“Is it true what Galadriel has said? Did Sauron save you after you got stabbed through your heart?”
Elrond swallowed before replying, “yes my King, it is true. I do not know why he decided to save me or why he pulled Galadriel from the water, or why he didn’t let just all of us die back down there but he did save us.” Elrond finally raised his eyes to look at his King directly. “After what he has done for us, it felt dishonourable to drag him back here like a trapped sheep waiting for his final judgement. My conscious could not live with such a decision so I gave him a one-day head start.”
Gil-Galad pinched his nose at the words he was hearing. Sauron, saving lives and honour were words he never hoped to hear in the same sentence but here he was at odds with his own Herald who made the decision, which was apparently supported by the others, to let their greatest enemy go. He wasn’t angry at the Peredhel, he could not be after seeing and hearing what he went through. Apparently Morgoth himself had stabbed him and the Half-Elf’s sunken eyes, pale face and exhausted look told him that more had happened than his Herald let on.
“We will speak of this matter later.” Ereinion finally spoke after a long pause. “I want you to join the others with the healers and get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow, I shall order for our armies to march back towards Rivendell and from there we will make a plan on how to deal with the Deceiver. For now, I want you to take your rest and I hope you shall not once more disobey my advice and run off towards the Southlands.”
Elrond couldn’t help but smile a little at the memory of his previous daring task. He had sneaked away from underneath the watchful eye of his King in order to help Elendil find his son. His King had rightfully been quite angry at him but Durin had promised shelter within Khazad-Dum if Gil-Galad had the idea to banish him for his antics. The fact that he wasn’t getting punished for deliberately letting Sauron walk free, set his mind at peace. Though he wondered how the future would look like. Could he ever face Sauron again as his true enemy? Is there a way in which all could live in Middle-Earth in peace? Or would the greatest battle of their age still come?
The Half-Elf got out of the King’s chair and bowed. “Thank you my King, I shall return towards the healers immediately and I promise you that I shall take my rest.”
Ereinion nodded but added before the Half-Elf left his tent, “be mindful of the ring I gave you. It will grant you the means to protect Rivendell but be aware of the whispers.”
“I shall.” Elrond replied, unconsciously feeling the ring in his pocket with his fingers before he left the tent. The King had no desire to wield the ring and so it apparently had become his burden. Something, he promised to himself, he would use only to help others never himself.
He returned to the tent where he had left Durin behind and saw that his entire company was seated inside on different cots, some were lying down and others were sitting up but they all looked up at him when he entered. “How did the meeting with ya King go lad?” Durin asked with his head propped on some pillows and his leg carefully wrapped and properly treated by the elven healers.
Elrond sat down on one the remaining empty cots and ruffled a hand through his hair before replying. “He knows, Ereinion knows that we let Sauron go.”
“How did he react?” Elendil asked tentatively while Galadriel took a seat next to the Half-Elf and placed her hand on top of his.
“As you can imagine, he wasn’t exactly happy with the news but for once he did not become mad at me. I think he understood why we have chosen to do this even though it goes against all his wishes. Tomorrow he will order us to march back towards Rivendell and from there we will think of a plan on what to do next.”
“Ah that’s wonderful news lad, I cannae wait to return to my wife and give you all a proper feast within my halls.” Came the rather enthusiastic reply from Durin.
“Perhaps our King wants us to march straightly into the Southlands itself to apprehend the Deceiver.” Vorohil remarked with some amusement in his voice. “Anyway, we agreed to this task because we wanted to prevent Morgoth’s return and so we have. What will happen next is something to worry about another day.”
“Well spoken Vorohil. Be careful, you might actually turn into a wise and capable warrior.” Beriedir jested which resulted in a playful poke from his brother.
“Know that you will always have the support of Númenor and Queen Miriel.” Elendil replied. “But I wouldn’t say no to a few weeks of rest at your refuge.” He blinked mischievously. “Anyway, any decision is better than to stay here in the cold. Even the volcano within the Southlands sounds rather inviting compared to the icy hell we just escaped from.”
“Perhaps we could set up a proper supply line to help the Southlanders.” Isildur suggested. “They still desperately need our help and it will provide an excellent chance to spy on the Deceiver and see if he has kept his word.”
“That sounds like a good plan.” Arondir nodded at the young human. “I know the Southlanders very well and Adar here can help to mitigate the threat that the orcs pose to them. I will travel with the Númenoreans if you allow me.”
“Of course.” Elendil smiled at the Silvan Elf. “I will have a word with our Queen tomorrow.”
Elrond simply shook his head in slight disbelief before lying down on the cot with his head seated on Galadriel’s lap. “Here they were, barely escaping from the horrors they went through within Utumno and his faithful company was already making plans for the future, plans that made more sense than Ereinion’s suggestions. He would accept Durin’s invitation and then decide whether to follow the Númenoreans back to Pelargir. But first, he would take his King’s advice and take a well deserved rest while the remainder began discussing the details of their new plan.