Stories of Arda Home Page
About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search
swiss replica watches replica watches uk Replica Rolex DateJust Watches

In the Hands of the Enemy  by meckinock 10 Review(s)
lindahoylandReviewed Chapter: 8 on 9/7/2005
Poor,poor Aragorn,this is just dreadful for him and he is so brave!I'm wondering if Roly is asking questions when he is delirious at the beginning ?How dare that monster beat him so ?Beautifully written and compulsive reading.

Author Reply: Yup, Rolly is a sly creature and Aragorn is having trouble telling which way is up! You're a sweetheart - thanks for reviewing.

fliewatuetReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/10/2003
Now I don't know who's meaner! Teburic is frighteningly aware of what he is doing. And I am not so sure as to whether Aragorn is fit enough to dig out that pole.

But I loved Aragorn's reflections on his relationship to Gandalf, of not being given orders by the Wizzard, but ending up doing what Gandalf wants to be done. A very apt characterization of Gandalf's ways.

And I am not yet willing to relinquish my suspicions about Rolly. I fear that Aragorn's dream (if that was a dream) at the beginning of the chapter was a foreshadowing of what he might face.

fliewatuet (glad that her wish for a new chapter to be found on Monday had been granted)

P.S.: Yes, I had a lovely, if somewhat cold, weekend. Flying a kite in the stiff eastern wind at the Baltic Sea was much fun but let me wonder how the poor Rangers survived winter in Eriador without such nice inventions as fleeze- and goretex-jackets;)

Author Reply: Yeah, you're right, I'm gaining on you. But don't worry, Aragorn and his sad little horse hoof-pick will come through!
Wow, that sounds like a fantastic weekend. I can almost feel the Baltic wind in my hair - although I, too, don't know how the heck humans survived until the advent of central heating, or at least gas logs.
Doesn't everyone wish they had a Gandalf - he doesn't actually tell you what to do, but somehow you just KNOW.
Aragorn's dream - was it a dream??

EledhwenReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/9/2003
Owch, I felt that. But it's right that Aragorn should not give up, where a lesser man might. Teburic is a nasty piece of work. (Well, a good piece of writing but you get what I mean!)

Author Reply: He's not only not giving up, he's going after him!

Strider's GirlReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/9/2003
Wow! Great characterisation once again. It's amazing how Aragorn is resistant to anything and that he won't give in to anything. Hopefully.

Besides if he does I will always be there to help him recover - because I am his girl!

Author Reply: You go, girl!
Thanks for the continued support, S.G.! The thing I love about Aragorn here is that he doesn't think of himself as a victim - he saw even his own death as a victory over Teburic, and now, even with a crappy hand to play, he is on the attack again.

Caro;ineReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/9/2003
Wow! I just love this story more and more wth each passing chapter. I was sorry that there was no Halbarad in this chapter, I shudder to think what he is going to have to say to Aragorn when he finally catches up with him though!
I'm afraid that I have a bad cold and so can not think of any appropriately eloquent wordsto sum up just how amazing this story is, and how much I love all the characters and what you have done with them....though I do feel so sorry for poor Aragorn I can only hope that Halbarad turns up to save he daysooner rather than later!!
Take care.....

Author Reply: Sorry about no Halbarad in this chapter - I was wondering if anyone was going to call me on that. He'll be back in chapter 9 (because I miss him, too). Hope you feel better soon, and thanks for reviewing even though you're under the weather - your kind and genuine comments are much appreciated!

grumpyReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/8/2003
great chapter 9, I love it every time i see another chapter pop up.
sure do hope Strider can dig his way out of there, or Gandalf and Halbarad show up before there is nothing left of him to rescue.
very interesting about Gandalf, him not really telling one what to do, but you end up doing things his way. Like keeping watch on the Shire
Also think it was a very interesting dream that Strider had at the beginning, with the rangers only knowing Gandalf by that name. I think I shall have to go back and check something out.
As always love this story and can not wait for more


Author Reply: Hi, Grumpy, good to hear from you! Strider will manage with his pathetic hoof-pick, don't despair! I might have given myself too much rope with the Mithrandir reference, but I actually do believe that it was mainly the Elves who referred to him as such. I'm sure someone will be kind enough to correct me if I'm wrong!

The KarenatorReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/8/2003
Well, the shop-worn ranger figured he'd finally bought the farm...and it had a view...the bright shiny face of a dead kid that he felt as responsible for him biting the bullet as if he had plugged one slug into a six shooter and showed him how to play a game of red chance. Being a learned man, he knew how to swear in all the known languages of the land, but you never knew how those fluttery beings in charge of these kinds of places would take to such colorful expressions so he let it go as reluctantly as he did Arwen in a night gown and went on to the next problem. There was nothing that stuck in his craw worse than finding himself at the end of the last tunnel and then having to tell some other shade that he's as dead as a doornail, too. The kid didn't seem too surprised that he was now share-cropping on the paid-in-full fairey farm, but he did seem to be stuck in the long rows on the subject of the Shire. Not that Srider had any real objection to talking about the flat footed hole moles, but it didn't exactly seem like headline news when one just found out that they've gone down the yellow brick road. And what's with the name dropping? Nobody had called Gandalf Mithrandir since he got busted years ago for running a scam on the squatters at Dol Guldur. Strider might be dead, but he brought along his tackle box for the boat ride. Something was fishy here and he didn't think they served Arthur Treacher's in the aferlife. The kid had the nerve to laugh when he called him on it and then things turned so black that he thought he was trying to follow Halbarad's directions to the bathroom after a night that would make Hugh Hefner blush.
Disappointment hung on him like smoke on the barbie when he woke to find that he hurt in more places than AOL was on cable. It would have been nice to find out he wasn't any deader than the dollar bill, except for the fact that he was chained up tighter than the Righteous Brothers. This bad scene made him figure he might have been better off as a celestial dirt digger than a live caged hamster. Not only was he staked out like bait for a hungry warg, he was in Freddy Kruger's guest room. Dead was definitely looking like a trip to Fantasy Island while life looked no better than being the irritating skinny guy on Survivor. There was little he could do to get himself out of this pickle so he took stock and decided to take his mother's advice and use 'elbow grease.' Deep down inside he had always suspected his mother was one doughnut shy of a dozen and Elrond had covered it up so the gossip would be kept to a low buzz, but now it was as obvious as the hang nail on his big toe. It was going to take a F-350 with a 15,000 pound Warn Winch to pull this headboard out of the wall to wall dirt. If all this wasn't enough, Strider found that the weird Rolly kid was hanging around in the shadows like Christmas Past. He turned out to be about as useful as a lightswitch before Edison. Since the kid looked like Tubby Teburic had used him for punching practice, Strider sent the kid off to find help in the way of rangers with swords, Elves with Uzis or wizards with Love Potion Number Nine. By this time, it didn't matter who showed up. Anybody with half a brain and a battalion of wits would do.
Of course, the dim bulb got himself caught and hauled back to the Bates Motel and offered no help when Tubby T held batting practice on the ranger's back. Sure, the kid looked like Rocky Balboa after taking on Apollo Creed and Strider couldn't help but feel a sloshing in his gut, but he was beginning to wonder if the kid and Tubby were playing a sick game of good-cop/bad-cop. It wouldn't work on him. He and Halbarad had invented the game, set the rules and changed them whenever the reluctant slob with information got to thinking he was actually a player. But the kid knew his role well and Strider, far smarter than the average flatfoot, set him out on a quest. Now with a sad little horse hoof pick in his hands, Strider would do the work of a two ton pick up and then run down Tubby T before he could rap out anymore street tunes on his back.

Okay...I admit it...I felt a little guilty twisting your wonderful chapter this time. Poor Strider. But you did throw down the gauntlet. Now I'm wondering will I get a single cheeseburger from Mickey D's or a ten course-er at a four star? As for the worshipping....none of this one knee kneeling thing that one does before Thranduil....being a Valar and all..I want both knees and...you may kiss my ring. How'd I do? Well, while you're thinking this over, I'll tell you how you did. This chapter was so good! I hated to poke fun at Aragorn's dream when you did such a wonderful job of tugging at the heart strings. He's such a good guy, but he, also, carries such a huge burden. Carrying the weight of the dead....oh, Boromir...you were so right. Teburic is such a slug and you write him so well. (I'm sure it's just insight and not experience.) And Rolly, the orphan...you have given him such a distinct personality, but one that's quite an enigma. Each chapter just gets better. I find myself looking for your updates on the assigned days....several times, as a matter of fact. Carry on, my wayward friend. I love your writing....I love the story...and I love that you let me be your nemesis. You have done me more good than you will ever know. Thanks, my lady. You and your story are special. :>) Karen

Author Reply: Yes, I did.

I surrender unconditionally.

Name your terms.

Author Reply: By the way, after this story is finished, how much would I have to pay you to get you to keep up your Johnny Halbarad, P.I. series? I think I'm hooked and I fear withdrawal symptoms...

AMReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/8/2003
I checked in on the off chance that there would be a new chapter ... and there was. YEAH!!! I absolutetly love this story.

Author Reply: Thanks for letting me know! It's great to hear that if I'm crazy, I'm not alone...

daw the minstrelReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/8/2003
Oh, oh, don't be fooled, Aragorn! It's a trick.

This is a great line: "To know Gandalf was ever to wander paths of one's own choosing, only to find oneself arriving at destinations of Gandalf's."

The beating was really horrific to read about. I too thought about whether Rolly would be beaten instead to get Aragorn to talk. But then I also wondered if Rolly was a plant to get information from him. How can he know??

Author Reply: I'm glad you think Aragorn is in a really bad position - that's exactly where I wanted him to be!

NilmandraReviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/8/2003
They are beating my ranger! Oh, Teburic is a little too skilled in how to inflict pain without mortal injury. I am afraid he will start beating on the boy to get Aragorn to talk, and Aragorn will have to watch a second child die.

Aragorn remains pretty much fearless, though. Even after a beating like that, he still keeps working towards his escape. Ok, Halabarad can show up any time now. But I like how Aragorn doesn't even consider that help might come....he knows he has to do this alone, if need be.

Author Reply: What I like about this situation is that both guys are goal-oriented. It's Teburic's job to get certain information out of Aragorn and it's Aragorn's job to make sure that doesn't happen. And both will look in their respective toolboxes and use whatever means they have at their disposal (or will they?) to further their goals. You hit it right on the head - Aragorn's weakness, and he knows it and Teburic also knows it, I suspect, is that he does not want to watch another child die.

Return to Chapter List