Capítulo 23: Escape!
"How should I continue my journey? Further west to the Grey Havens or the Blue Mountains? North to the 'Lost Realm of Arnor' and maybe explore the abandoned cities of the Kingdom of Angmar? I could also head east again towards the Misty Mountains... or south towards Enedwaith and finally Gondor..." Narzug pondered, uncertain how to continue his journey.
"I'd rule out east and west for now... too many Elves between Rivendell and the Grey Havens... I think I want to head to the warm south," he finally decided and set off. But after only a few kilometers, he stopped abruptly when he saw a lone wagon on the road, drawn by a large white horse. On the wagon sat a tall man in grey clothing with a grey pointed hat and a long grey beard.
It was Gandalf the Grey, who was just coming from a meeting with Saruman the White in Isengard, on his way to visit his friend Bilbo in the Shire.
POV- Gandalf
I was just outside of Bag End when I saw a small hobbit stop on the road ahead of me. My mind was still on Saruman and our last conversation. It was about the rings, especially the One Ring. According to Saruman, it had been washed into the sea by the Anduin, but I couldn't get the ring Bilbo had found out of my mind. It was neither one of the Elven rings nor one of the Dwarf rings. Bilbo's ring made his body wander into the spirit world, a trait known only to the rings of men and the One Ring. "Could it be one of the men's rings..." I murmured before I stopped and looked at the hobbit in front of me again. My eyes clearly saw a hobbit, but my heart saw a fearsome orc I knew all too well.
"Narzug the Mist Demon..." I said aloud, and the hobbit in front of me looked at me with wide eyes. Then, out of nowhere, the hobbit figure dissolved into mist, and now my eyes could clearly see the orc.
"Hello Gandalf, nice to see you again..." Narzug replied and took his axe firmly in his hand, ready to defend his life if necessary.
I drew Glamdring and prepared myself internally for a fight. But then my eyes widened. The song of the orc in front of me was still the same as before at the Battle of the Five Armies, with a few small changes, of course, but that was to be expected from experience and Narzug's shamanism. What surprised me was the incredible intensity of the song.
"Boldug..." I murmured, the only explanation I could find that Narzug was one of the Maiar in orc form. "What is a Boldug of Melkor doing here in the Shire... consider your answer carefully, or the green ground will be soaked red today." Then, to be sure, I sang: "By the Flame of Arnor, you will not escape me. Servant of Utumno. I banish you to this circle!"
A circle of runes glowing with sunlight with a diameter of 500 feet immediately surrounded me and the Boldug.
"Gently Gandalf... gently. I have not come with evil intentions..." and then with a grin that seemed almost wolfish to me: "Moreover, I was never a slave of Morgoth. I was just here to visit your friend Bilbo. I am just on a journey in..."
The vilest things painted themselves in my mind, and I could see poor Bilbo in a pool of blood in his hobbit hole. Anger burned in my head, and I shot a bright silver lightning bolt from my staff towards the Boldug, interrupting his words. "What have you done to Bilbo?!" I shouted and followed my spell with drawn sword.
POV- NARRATER
Narzug first split Gandalf's spell with Ira, and shortly afterwards, Ira and Glamdring clashed together. A powerful shockwave bent all the grass within the magical circle and even tore up part of the ground.
"HEY GANDALF! WHAT THE HELL, I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT!" yelled Narzug, but Gandalf did not stop and attacked with a combination of sword and staff strikes. Gandalf had come at him like a whirlwind, and Narzug had to stop talking and focus entirely on defense.
"I need to get out of here!" thought Narzug, realizing he was outmatched by Gandalf's combat skills. Narzug was stronger and faster than the wizard, but nearly 2000 years of experience in swordsmanship were not easy to overcome. It got worse when Gandalf repeatedly shot powerful lightning or shockwaves from his staff at Narzug to turn the rhythm of the battle to his advantage.
Narzug wasted no further thought and transformed into his hybrid form, allowing himself to be hit by a spell in the chest. This had no effect on his strong armor, and Narzug struck with Ira at full force. Gandalf, surprised that his spell had no effect and of course by Narzug's transformation, could only block with Glamdring at the last moment. However, the force behind the blow was so great that Gandalf flew almost 2 meters backward.
"I am definitely not ready to fight one of the Istari," Narzug thought, and took to his heels. As fast as he could, he ran towards the barrier of the magical circle.
"Gandalf banished all creatures of Utumno, but I am not one of those beings! Please let me out!"
The greed for freedom flared up in Narzug, and his song sang very loudly from his heart. With a courageous leap, Narzug jumped over the magical circle, which did not even try to stop him, and Narzug ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction, northwards.
"Shit, he's fleeing to Bag End. I must protect the hobbits... fuck! What if he came for the ring!" thought Gandalf and started the chase. In the heat of the moment, he didn't even consider why his barrier didn't stop Narzug.
Only months later, as he replayed the battle in his mind, did he notice this detail, causing him years of relentless headache.
As fast as his legs could carry him, Gandalf ran after Narzug, but noticed he wasn't nearly as fast as him.
"Oh you winds that watch over Ennor, hasten my steps!" sang Gandalf in Sindarin and immediately doubled his speed. He caught up second by second and was soon back within Narzug's reach. With a mighty leap, he threw himself onto Narzug and struck with Glamdring.
Ira flashed in the sunlight and axe and sword clashed again. Neither of them stopped running, and a path of destruction led from the south towards Bag End.
The hobbits in Bag End heard a mighty rumbling approaching them.
"The sky is falling on our heads! The world is ending!" screamed some panicked hobbit voices, and many wondered why it thundered with no storm in sight.
The battle between orc and wizard raged on. Gandalf saw them getting closer and closer to Bag End and struck with all his might. The world seemed to tremble in fear of his power and supported his desires.
Narzug noticed Gandalf's power growing stronger while his own strength waned from exhaustion.
An incredibly powerful bolt shot from Gandalf's staff towards Narzug, and he barely managed to hold Ira defensively in front of him at the last moment.
Still, the force of the spell was so strong that Narzug was literally blown away. He flew through the air and landed among frightened hobbits.
Ira could deflect the worst of the spell's power, but Narzug still had a smoking wound, lightly burning with silver fire, on his shoulder. He quickly picked himself up and dashed through the gathering of hobbits standing around Narzug's impact crater.
"I must flee!!!" was the only thought in Narzug's mind; he knew he would die if Gandalf found him now. He ran as fast as he could northwards. He quickly left Bag End behind and sprinted across meadows and fields, which sparkled in the sunlight and scorned him. But Narzug didn't turn around, didn't stop, and just kept running.
Gandalf stood at the edge of Bag End, pondering whether to continue pursuing Narzug.
"BILBO!"
With this shout, however, Gandalf turned away and ran to the latters hobbit hole.
Without knocking, he tore the door open and then embraced a bewildered hobbit.
"I feared the worst! Do you still have it?! What did the mist demon want from you! What did you discuss with him?!"
Bilbo, completely perplexed, just stared at Gandalf and wondered if the wizard had finally lost his mind.
Narzug ran and ran until finally the darkness of the night overtook him. He looked behind him, but there was no Gandalf in sight, so he stopped in a small wooded area and examined his wounds. Smaller cuts and wounds had already begun to heal, thanks to his body strengthened by the dragon heart. However, the burn hole in his shoulder, a parting gift from Gandalf, still burned slightly with silver fire.
"Fucking Istari! This is going to hurt!" cursed Narzug and, with suppressed screams and curses, used Ira to cut the burning pieces of flesh out of his shoulder. What remained was a fist-sized wound that resembled a hole. With some rough strips of cloth that Narzug tore from his pants, he bandaged the wound.
"Damn, this will never heal like this... and now I'm really in the North. Should I just continue my journey here? Explore the fallen realms of Arnor and Angmar?"
Finally, Narzug resigned himself to his fate and began to explore the surroundings. He found a small cave where he first lay down to rest.
The next morning he traveled further north when he could hear muted voices speaking to each other in the language of men. Narzug wove his Jacob-illusion and approached the voices.
He quickly came upon a group of men and women dressed in simple leather clothing and all with dark hair. All but the last man were armed with swords, daggers, bows, and arrows. A twig snapped under Narzug's foot and the group was immediately ready. Five arrows were aimed at his head and eight swords pointed at his heart.
"Who walks in the lands of the Dunedain?!"
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