Chapter 16 ~ Conquest

As the golden light of dawn crested the mountains and danced across the sea on the fourth day, the armies of King Elessar stopped and stood before the eastern gate of Pelargir.  Éomer and the Rohirrim were massed on one flank, Thranduil and the Elves on the other.  The latter had been reinforced by a tireless contingent of infantry who must have marched night and day from Ithilien to join them.

The city seemed strangely quiet to Imrahil.  There were so many open waterways that it had been decided not to attempt to secure them all with their small force.  Better to let the guilty flee if they would and so accuse themselves.  

The royal heralds blasted the King’s call on their trumpets.  Even if the entire city were hostile, it was strange that Elessar had not yet been so much as acknowledged from the walls.  “Elessar Telcontar has come and would enter his city!”

A moment of heavy silence was followed by a disorganized scuffling from the ramparts.  Then the large gates groaned open.  An unexpectedly formal honor guard bearing ornamental banners of both Gondor and Pelargir emerged, followed by a young mounted soldier with a conspicuous flag of truce.  He offered an excessively low bow over his horse, obviously quite anxious to demonstrate the loyalty of those present.  “King Elessar,” he said, “I am Heledir, acting captain of the City Guard.  I welcome you to Pelargir.”

Elessar seemed intrigued rather than perturbed.  “It is true that I hardly expected Lord Erellont to welcome me in person,” he said dryly, “but I find it difficult to believe I have truly caught this city and all its officials unawares.  What has become of your captain, Heledir?”

“His absence is what forces me to take this duty upon myself, my lords,” Heledir apologized, “and I beg pardon if I have behaved presumptuously.  Although this city is as dear to me as my own blood, I must admit that its honor has been sorely tarnished.  My captain has fled rather than face the King’s justice, as have many others.  I and those who would remain in your service have stemmed the tide by securing all notable personages who remain in the prison to await your judgement.”

“You have imposed martial law upon the entire city?” Imrahil gaped, equally aghast and impressed.

“I would not have dared attempt it were I not confident that I would soon be able to surrender it to the King himself,” Heledir assured him.  

“Peace, Heledir,” Elessar said.  “Such decisive loyalty, however rash, must not be condemned.  Escort us to the governor’s palace so that we may see just what has been brewing here in Pelargir.”

Heledir saluted briskly and turned his horse.  “Make way for His Majesty, Elessar Telcontar, King of the Two Kingdoms, Chieftain of the Dunedain, Companion of the Fellowship of the Ring!”

“Heledir, peace.”

When they arrived at the governor’s palace it also seemed to be in considerable disarray.  Elessar marched directly into the great hall, ordered the arms of the ruling family torn from the wall, and seated himself in the lord’s throne.  “Bring to me all the nobility you currently have your custody,” he instructed Heledir, “and every servant who remains in these halls, from the chamberlain to the last drudge.”

The motley assembly began to gather in the hall, and so did the plunder as the servants attempted to outdo one another in presenting tribute to the King from their absent lord’s reserve.  By the time Captain Heledir returned, a sumptuous albeit disorganized banquet had been provided for the occupying force.

The disheveled noblemen who had spent the night in the prison were herded into the hall in a confused cacophony of insulted pride as each tried to protest his outrage and innocence.  Elessar disdainfully tolerated the commotion for a moment while he savored a goblet of exotic wine.  Then he motioned sharply with his hand and the King’s Guard began slamming the butts of their pikes into the floor, scoring the polished stone and reducing the supplicants to silence.

“Recent events,” Elessar began icily, rising to slowly pace before the assembly, “have made it clear to me that there are a great many things I should question here in this city.  At this moment, however, I have but one question for all of you.   Where are Falathar and Erellont?”

The demand fell like a hammer.  The anxious silence grew heavier; even the shuffling of feet had ceased.  The haughty prisoners were suddenly rendered mute.  

“I ask again,” Elessar said with growing impatience, “I trust for the last time, where are the Lords of Pelargir?”

People were still arriving at the doors, and it was one of them who pushed his way to the front and threw himself on his knees.  “I beg your mercy, my lord!” he sobbed breathlessly.  “I know where they have gone.”

The look and smell of him betrayed him as a sailor, and Imrahil immediately knew there was no longer any hope of apprehending their quarry in the city.

“What is your name?” Elessar asked him.  “And what do you know?”

“Forgive your servant, my lord!  I am Malugail, in the employ of Dolmed, captain of a ship many times pressed into evil service by Lord Falathar.  I fled three days ago when Lord Falathar came by night and seized Dolmed’s ship with Lord Erellont and his mistress.  Their intention was to sail immediately for Umbar.”

Now a soft rumble of talk did ripple through the crowd.  Elessar looked disappointed but not entirely surprised.  “Very well,” he said.  “No further flight from this city will be permitted, and any who attempt it will be considered guilty of treason.  Until I decide otherwise, Captain Heledir will act as marshal of this city.  All of you,” he said, addressing the noble prisoners, “need not return to the cells, but you must remain in the governor’s palace until your innocence may be proven.  Anyone with knowledge of Falathar’s crimes would do well to bring it to me.”

An investigation into the activities of the lords of Pelargir began immediately.  Elessar ensconced himself in Falathar’s study with Imrahil as the palace was thoroughly searched, secret records discovered, and a steady stream of official denunciations made.  Ships were pressed into service to blockade the harbor, commanded by whatever loyal soldiers could be found.  The rest of Elessar’s army had entered the city to help Marshal Heledir’s men to maintain public order.  

The truth which began to emerge of Falathar’s secret kingdom was decidedly grim.  As Draughâsh had suggested, the misconduct seemed to have begun with Falathar’s father, Lord Helegaer.  Deliberate withholding of due taxes, illicit contact and trade with Umbar, even allowing passage of Gondor’s enemies into Ithilien and thence into Mordor.  To this list of crimes Falathar had added the reprehensible trafficking of hapless Gondorian citizens to the slave markets in Harad, and what appeared to be a highly irregular relationship with the ascendant and hostile realm of Khand.  The crimes he had orchestrated at Cormallen in a futile effort to conceal all this from the King had only sealed his fate.  It was unclear how involved Erellont had truly been in his father’s vices, but many offenses had been committed in his name and so he too would be required to face the penalty.  

The warrants against the former lords of Pelargir were amended to include a list of the charges brought against them.

As Imrahil had predicted, the mounted company of Swan Knights four hundred strong arrived in Pelargir six days after Elessar.  They, too, were distributed throughout the city and as a guard outside the walls.  The ships from Dol Amroth also arrived and easily choked the harbor in all directions, carrying onboard an additional six hundred soldiers.  

“I cannot stay to complete this assessment,” King Elessar confessed the following morning.  The mountain of incriminating evidence only continued to grow day by day, and it would require much more careful study.  “I have guests awaiting me at Cormallen, and now that Falathar has fled we may yet salvage the festival with good grace.  I am afraid I must charge you with the task in Faramir’s absence.”

“I will endure the disappointment as best I can, my lord,” Imrahil said with a wry and cheerless smile.  He was not in a festive mood, and would not much mind being excused from the pageantry to continue weaving the rope that would hang the traitors.

“I will recall Thranduil and Éomer with me, but you may retain the army with your knights and your ships.”

“As you wish, my lord.”  He could send for his sons and for Nerdanel and Ivriniel.  Beleg could at last have an honorable burial in his own city.  It would do them good to be together, to grieve as a family.

Elessar nodded and rose to take his leave.

“My lord!”  A guardsman entered from the far corridor, his face white.  “My lord!  An emissary has arrived and demands an audience with you.”

“Demands?” Elessar asked, incredulous.  “Whence does he come?”

“It is I, King Elessar.”  A Variag entered without waiting for an introduction.  He was well-dressed but dirty, as though he had only just come off his horse after a strenuous ride.  Despite this, he carried himself with a haughty confidence that was at once respectable and offensive.  

Elessar’s eyes narrowed.  “You,” he said.  “Gustîg of Khand.  Why did you follow us here?  I have already given you an answer for your master.”

“I did not follow you,” Gustîg explained.  “I returned to my master many days ago, and now I have returned to you with another purpose.  Karzik, Lord of Khand and of all Harad, now announces to you his conquest of Harondor.  It would please him if you would acknowledge it peaceably, but if you will not he is prepared to meet you in battle.  He awaits you at the Crossings of Poros.  What answer shall I return to him?”

The hall was absolutely silent for several long moments, and Gustîg seemed to relish the disconcertion he had unleashed.   Elessar sat motionless, but Imrahil saw and shared his disbelief and indignation.  The latter would only grow worse with that Variag standing there triumphing over them.  “Leave us while we consider our answer,” he said icily, and Gustîg obligingly bowed and returned into the corridor.  The heavy doors closed behind him.

Still Elessar did not speak, or perhaps could not.  There was a maelstrom of thoughts behind his eyes.  “Am I to understand,” he said at last in a poisonously even tone, “that we have lost an entire province before ever receiving word of the invasion?”

Imrahil had no answer.  It was all happening so suddenly that it was impossible to be sure of anything, but he doubted the Variags would be so foolish as to declare their purpose prematurely.  Harondor was indeed sparsely populated, but it was by no means deserted.  He wondered what had become of the inhabitants in the wake of Karzik’s conquest.  The silence did not bode well.

Elessar was not waiting for an answer.  He turned over a piece of paper on the desk and began scribbling with a quill.  “How many men do we have with us?” he demanded.

“We have twelve hundred from Minas Anor and Lossarnach,” Imrahil answered, recalling the count to mind, “six hundred from Dol Amroth.  Perhaps more may be gleaned from this city.  Éomer and the Dúnedain made one hundred horsemen, and my knights another four hundred.  Thranduil commands one hundred Elves on horse, another five hundred on foot.”

Elessar frowned.  “Less than three thousand,” he said.  “We have not yet had a chance to recover our numbers since the war, and I doubt Karzik’s messenger will be so obliging as to declare to us the strength of his army.  I know my own mind, but what is your opinion of the matter?”

“We must call out the rest of Gondor’s forces at once,” Imrahil said without hesitation.  It will only become more difficult to reclaim Harondor if we allow the Variags to entrench themselves.”

“I agree.  Summon Éomer and Thranduil immediately.”  

The other two kings presented themselves within the hour.  “What news, my lord?” Éomer asked.  “Is the city sufficiently secure to allow us to return north?”

“I was just prepared to leave the details of the task to Imrahil,” Elessar began, “but at that very moment an emissary from Khand informed me that Karzik has seized all of Harondor and asks that I cede the province to him.”

Both Éomer and Thranduil drew themselves up, piqued on Elessar’s behalf.  “What outrageous scheme is this?” the Elvenking asked.  “I trust you have considered the only reply this request deserves.”

“I have,” Elessar assured him, “but for any action of mine to succeed I fear I shall require your assistance.”

“You have it,” Éomer said at once.  “Send word to Minas Anor and light the beacons.  Another hundred horsemen will ride from Cormallen at once, and the others will join us as soon as they may.”

“Your enemies are mine,” Thranduil said simply.  “I do not care for the thought of Variags upon Ithilien’s borders.”

“Very well,” Elessar said.  “The rest of Gondor’s army will be summoned from the other provinces.  There may be enough of us here to make a stand this side of Poros while we wait to be reinforced.”

“Why would Karzik take the risk?” Éomer wondered aloud.  “Why now?”

“Presumably he knows that neither Falathar nor Erellont have any influence in Pelargir any more,” Elessar explained.  “Piracy in the Bay of Belfalas can be quite lucrative, perhaps enough to compensate for their allies falling from favor.  Also, if what I have surmised about Karzik is accurate, he simply could not help himself.  After subduing all Harad, he could not resist taking a jewel from the crown of Gondor as well, no matter how rough and undervalued it may have been.”  He turned to Imrahil.  “Dispatch couriers as soon as possible, to Minas Anor empowering Faramir to light the beacons, to Cormallen to summon the Rohirrim, to each province summoning the army, to Caras Ernil and Emyn Lasgalen to explain the circumstances.  We will all gather at the Crossings of Poros.”

“Consider it done,” Imrahil said, gathering a sheaf of fresh paper and taking it to the scribe’s desk.

“In the meantime,” Elessar continued, “let us give Karzik our answer.”  He gestured to the guard at the door, who left to recall the Variag.

Gustîg returned after only a few moments, which could only mean he had been lurking nearby until he should be given an answer.  No doubt he intended to get back on his horse and return south before nightfall.  They could prove to be formidable enemies.

“You may take this answer to your master,” Elessar said from the governor’s throne.  “Gondor does not recognize his claim to Harondor, and it is our wish that he quit our dominions and return to Harad at once.  If he will not, we shall be compelled to remove him by force.”

Gustîg smiled and nodded.  “We await your army, my lord.”