Sam and Ashgaz Say Farewell
May 10, 3019

Quiet Wraith: *It is the night of May 10th and on the next day the armies of Mordor will be advancing towards Edoras*
Quiet Wraith: *Preparations to leave will continue through the night*
Quiet Wraith: *Before dawn, all the tents will be taken down and packed up for the journey*
Quiet Wraith: *Khamul and Madurz will be riding with the advance party. Angmar stays behind*
Quiet Wraith: *Eowyn is assigned to a cavalry company led by Lomin, an Easterling*
Quiet Wraith: *Ashgaz, who will be riding with her on a pony, has been given an ample quantity of "medicine" to give her*
Quiet Wraith: *But we know where the thoughts of the wraithlings will be on this night*
Quiet Wraith: *Making their last contacts with each other, for soon it will be no longer possible to do so, because of distances*
Ashgaz: *Ashgaz cannot sleep tonight. He needs little sleep anyway*
Ashgaz: *He lugs the bag of potion bottles with him, but they feel worse than Angmar's glowing red wine*
Bughrakh: *sam stays under angmar's chair..... unable to move... for he was commanded not to*
Ashgaz: *He dreads giving the lady this potion and guilt clutches at him*
Quiet Wraith: *Angmar is on a nighttime journey in the South of Gondor and will not be back until dawn*
Bughrakh: *sam feels lonely... he is all alone.... though angmar brought him no comfort*
Bughrakh: *he wonders if ashgaz will communicate with him by thought tonight*
Ashgaz: *Sam enters Ashgaz' thoughts and he realizes that Sam will not accompany him on the journey*
Ashgaz: *He realizes that on such a long journey he will not be able to communicate with Sam*
Ashgaz: *What if he fails and is sent to Lugburz? Then he will never see Sam again*
Bughrakh: *mr. peter sir? i am still under this chair, and i have been commanded not to move out from under it*
Ashgaz: *Peter hears Sam's voice in his head and runs toward Angmar's tent*
Ashgaz: *He cannot enter the tent as he has been commanded not to*
Ashgaz: *But he is wearing his robe and he hopes Sam will see his shadow through the tent wall*
Ashgaz: *He waves*
Ashgaz: *He knows this is a huge risk but Sam has become a good friend, and his only friend now.*
Ashgaz: *And they will probably never speak together again.*
Bughrakh: *sam can see peter's shadow... although he cannot wave or do much of anything he feels comforted*
Ashgaz: *Peter sits down beside the tent wall*
Ashgaz: *They communicate with silent messages of thought*
Ashgaz: Hullo Sam
Bughrakh: *hullo mr. peter*
Ashgaz: *Are you feeling any better in there?*
Ashgaz: *Peter tries to make his voice sound cheerful*
Bughrakh: *no, mr. peter, im afraid not. im miserable in here*
Ashgaz: *Peter sighs*
Bughrakh: *i cant get out from under this chair... i cant move... i cant do anything. at least i got to feel the feel of grass beneath my toes for a change*
Ashgaz: *That must be awful, not to be able to move*
Ashgaz: *Is there anything I can do for you?*
Bughrakh: *oh its cruel hard, mr. peter.... and it is worse when he's around... i hate his presence... he tried to stab my master*
Bughrakh: *no mr. peter, dont try, or we'll both be in an even greater fix, and no mistake.*
Ashgaz: *Peter thinks to himself: If I can give an army of orcs Black Breath, maybe I can send Sam a feeling of comfort.*
Ashgaz: *He squeezes his eyes shut and concentrates very hard on sending Sam comforting thoughts.*
Bughrakh: *sam sees the shire, back when everything was all right...*
Ashgaz: *He feels bad now that he was so upset when he last talked to Sam. Sam has enough to worry about with his own problems*
Bughrakh: *when he was the gardener at bag end, working for mr. frodo... the green dragon inn... rosie cotton.. he feels better*
Ashgaz: *Sam, do you feel better now? Because I have to tell you something and it isn't going to be easy*
Bughrakh: *though he remembers his last vision of the shire and the horror it inflicted him*
Ashgaz: *I hope you can draw some strength from these good memories*
Bughrakh: *yes, mr. peter, i feel a bit better. i thank you*
Ashgaz: *Peter smiles* *You're welcome*
Bughrakh: *i hope so too. i shall try to remember the shire as long as i can, so i wont become cruel like them*
Ashgaz: *I don't think you could become cruel*
Quiet Wraith: *The camp is noisy tonight with the sounds of preparation*
Ashgaz: *You are even harder for them to break than I was...am*
Bughrakh: *i would rather die first, mr. peter, sir*
Bughrakh: *dont give in mr. peter... keep fighting as much as you can... remember the shire!*
Ashgaz: *Peter nods...he thinks: I never thought it would be this hard*
Ashgaz: *I will remember, Sam*
Quiet Wraith: *Angmar and Eowyn gave their farewells to each other before he left and he hopes that will be the last time he ever sees her... alive anyway*
Ashgaz: *As long as I can help it, I will never forget*
Ashgaz: *And I want you to remember, too. Remember all the good in this world, and the good things that don't change*
Bughrakh: *i never want to serve them willingly sir considering all the things that theyve done to mr. frodo*
Bughrakh: *yes, mr. peter.... i hope the shadow is only a passing thing*
Ashgaz: *I hope so too*
Rune of Westhaven: *thinks to self..poor hobbits..how they struggle on when they know they are doomed to fall totally into shadow*
Bughrakh: *there are still the sun, and the stars, mr. peter.... they cant touch them yet*
Ashgaz: *Yes...Now Sam, keep thinking about all those good things*
Ashgaz: *That they can't touch*
Ashgaz: *Because I'm going to tell you now*
Bughrakh: *and when this shadow passes, and i pray it does, the sun will shine out all the clearer*
Ashgaz: *He says it fast, to avoid dwelling on it*
Ashgaz: *As you probably know, everyone is leaving for Edoras in the morning*
Ashgaz: *and I have to go with Lady Maltriel*
Ashgaz: *and you...have to stay here...I'm really sorry*
Ashgaz: *and when I'm that far away I won't be able to talk to you anymore*
Bughrakh: *i overhear angmars conversations being stuck here under his throne so i know*
Ashgaz: *So this...*swallows*...might be the last time we can talk to each other.*
Bughrakh: *feels sad....*
Ashgaz: *He waits for Sam's response, his heart racing*
Bughrakh: *oh mr. peter, i hope not. you're the only friend i have now with me... poor mr. frodo in the dungeon and all*
Ashgaz: *And you're the only friend I have too*
Bughrakh: *how did two.... halflings from the shire end up here with these awful people, mr. peter? i often wonder at the story we've gotten ourselves into*
Ashgaz: *It's a stranger tale than any I've ever heard*
Bughrakh: *oh yes, mr peter, stranger than any mr. bilbo used to tell*
Ashgaz: *It was a strange fate that brought us here*
Ashgaz: *But still I'm glad to have met you again, at least for a little while*
Bughrakh: *as am i, mr. peter... i wish we could all go back to the shire, and all this never happened*
Ashgaz: *struggles to keep it together* *Yes...I do too. I keep saying that but I can't put into words how much I wish it*
Bughrakh: *we all do mr. peter... mr. frodo, you and myself... but still our story continues. i do hope it has a happy ending*
Ashgaz: *Did I ever tell you how I got here?*
Bughrakh: *no, mr. peter, you never did.... but i know it was by the same cruel knife that got me*
Ashgaz: *When Frodo left the Shire, I was given some clothes he left behind*
Bughrakh: *listens to peter tell his story*
Ashgaz: *I was wearing them when my master Khamul and two other Black Riders came into the Shire. I saw them.*
Ashgaz: *Now, I know I didn't know you and Frodo all that well, but you were still dear to me and I didn't like the thought of that Rider following Frodo*
Bughrakh: *we all were afraid of the black riders, mr. peter... always following mr. frodo wherever he went*
Ashgaz: *I'm sure you were afraid. What a fearsome sight they were!*
Ashgaz: *But I was very foolish*
Ashgaz: *I told them to leave the Shire*
Bughrakh: *alas now we are just like them.... he muses*
Bughrakh: *you were brave, mr. peter*
Ashgaz: *I told them Frodo had left...they said they were looking for "Baggins"*
Ashgaz: *smiles*
Ashgaz: *You think so? I'm not sure...it seems more foolish to me*
Ashgaz: *one hobbit against three nazgul*
Ashgaz: *But I didn't want them to get to Frodo.*
Bughrakh: *one talked to me old gaffer... inquiring of mr. baggins of bag end. that was the evening we left on our journey, i believe*
Ashgaz: *I still don't like the thought of them in the Shire*
Ashgaz: *Anyway, I made them angry and my master Khamul stabbed me without thinking*
Ashgaz: *He used his morgul blade, probably by accident*
Ashgaz: *so here I am.*
Bughrakh: *i wish it hadnta happened to you, mr. peter... i think what you did was brave*
Ashgaz: *There is a smile in his voice* *Thank you Sam*
Ashgaz: *But I told you all that because...well, I don't want to sound sentimental*
Ashgaz: *but I didn't know you very well back then, and we've only been together here a little while*
Ashgaz: *and right now you need to know how much I really care for you.*
Bughrakh: *and now we are to be separated*
Ashgaz: *So I'm telling you in hopes that it will encourage you after I've gone*
Bughrakh: *thank you, mr. peter... the thought does encourage me*
Bughrakh: *will you ever come back?*
Ashgaz: *We will be separated but you will know I'm out there and you and mr. Frodo will still have a friend*
Ashgaz: *his voice starts to quaver* *I don't know*
Ashgaz: *If I'm successful in my mission, probably*
Ashgaz: *But if not...if Eowyn survives, I will go to Lugburz*
Bughrakh: *surely they would not send you away forever? it would be just like those devils just to keep you around to torment you, like they do to poor mr. frodo*
Ashgaz: *Yes it would, but I don't know what they will do*
Ashgaz: *I don't know what I will do about Eowyn*
Ashgaz: *If I fail, I hope they don't send you to Lugburz too*
Bughrakh: *i hope she survives... it is a horrible doom that has been placed upon you*
Ashgaz: *It's cruel hard, Sam. Cruel hard.
Bughrakh: *i would dearly like to see mr. frodo again but i know that they would probably torment him before my eyes*
Ashgaz: *I would like to see him too. But I'd like it more for him to be able to see you*
Bughrakh: *those fiends havent ordered you to out and out murder her, have they?*
Ashgaz: *Not out and out*
Ashgaz: *But I have to give her the poison that makes her forget who she is*
Bughrakh: *maybe we will all yet see mr. frodo.... i do not believe they can conquer forever*
Ashgaz: *and it will make her fight for Mordor*
Bughrakh: *though all might seem otherwise*
Ashgaz: *I have to turn her loose to her own people and they will probably kill her*
Bughrakh: *oh i hope not, mr. peter!*
Ashgaz: *There is a group of soldiers who will make sure of that*
Ashgaz: *Peter sighs heavily and Sam can hear it from under the chair*
Ashgaz: *the wall of the tent sags a little where Peter leans his head against it*
Bughrakh: *there might be something that you could do that could mess up all their plans....*
Ashgaz: *What could I do?*
Ashgaz: *But they can read our thoughts...*
Bughrakh: *but we both know the consequences for rescuing those captives*
Ashgaz: *and they will send me and probably you to Lugburz if I mess up their plans*
Ashgaz: *and they'll beat Frodo*
Bughrakh: *im afraid you're right, mr. peter*
Ashgaz: *Peter pulls handfulls of grass out of the ground*
Bughrakh: *sam wishes he could move*
Ashgaz: *So you have to stay there the whole time?*
Bughrakh: *until angmar releases me, sir*
Ashgaz: *I wish I could get you out of there*
Bughrakh: *at least he hasn't put a collar and a leash around my neck like a dog! that would make a strange sight indeed!*
Ashgaz: *smiles* *That it would!*
Ashgaz: *marvels that Sam still has a sense of humor*
Bughrakh: *my old gaffer always said i would come to a bad end*
Ashgaz: *Now don't say that, Sam. Don't even think that.*
Ashgaz: *Don't you even think that this is your fault.*
Bughrakh: *he would think it odd that i traded my weskit for a leash and collar*
Bughrakh: *i wish i could see mr. frodo again.... i made a promise that i wouldnt leave him*
Bughrakh: *that promise has been broken but not by my own doing*
Ashgaz: *Right, not by your own doing*
Ashgaz: *You stayed with him as long as you could*
Ashgaz: *and maybe you'll see him again*
Ashgaz: *and maybe we'll see each other again*
Ashgaz: *I hope so*
Bughrakh: *oh i hope so.... though not beaten by the enemy*
Bughrakh: *i hope that the lady somehow makes it through*
Ashgaz: *Yes*
* Quiet Wraith * Hobbitness is really sad that Sam got the Morgul blade
Ashgaz: *I hope I figure out what to do*
* Rune of Westhaven * maybe she wants to undo it?
Bughrakh: *i hope you do too, and dont get in too much trouble*
Ashgaz: *I think I'll always be in trouble*
Ashgaz: *sigh*
Ashgaz: *unless I give in to them and think like them*
Ashgaz: *but I don't want to do that*
Bughrakh: *don't do that! remember the shire!*
Ashgaz: *Peter closes his eyes and thinks of the Shire. He pictures Bilbo's last birthday party*
Ashgaz: *when Sam was dancing with Rosie and he was dancing with Mary*
Quiet Wraith: *The night hours pass quickly*
Ashgaz: *He sends this vision to Sam*
Quiet Wraith: *But in the East somewhere above the smoke of Mt. Doom, Arien the sun begins to shine upon the world*
Ashgaz: *hoping it will stay with him and give him strength*
Bughrakh: *sam smiles mentally.... he likes peters visions far better than those of angmar*
Quiet Wraith: *The army will soon be on the march. There is but little time for last farewells*
Bughrakh: *like mr. bilbo said... the road goes ever on and on... and i hope that the road will lead us back to the shire... and to peace at last*
Quiet Wraith: *Khamul is not yet ready to leave but when he is he will be taking Ashgaz and Maltriel with his party*
Quiet Wraith: *Khamul will be "supervising" Ashgaz and Maltriel for most of the journey*
Quiet Wraith: *They can hear the sounds of the army... the horses neighing, the tinkling of harnesses, the orcs cursing, the men talking in many different languages*
Ashgaz: *Peace...I wonder if we can know that again.*
Bughrakh: *sam hears the noises.... they are making an awful bussel out there, mr. peter*
Bughrakh: *i hope that someday we may find it... as well as the rest of the world, if you take my meaning*
Ashgaz: *Yes, Sam. We may yet find it...we still have some of our old selves left*
Ashgaz: *and the world has some green and good left.*
Bughrakh: *there is still good left in the world, and it is worth fighting for.... even though we get punished for it*
Ashgaz: *Peter trembles, remembering the punishment that hangs over his head*
Ashgaz: *softly* *Yes, it is worth it*
Ashgaz: *I wish I could come in there*
Quiet Wraith: *In Edoras, the Rorohrrim that are not fighting in the South are well aware of what is going on in Minas Tirith, for they too have spies*
Ashgaz: *I wish I could see you before I leave*
Quiet Wraith: *They will be prepared*
Quiet Wraith: *But they do not know about Eowyn... They assume that she is dead, for rumor has spread that she was taken to Lugburz*
Ashgaz: *I wish I could give you a farewell hug*
Bughrakh: *as do i, mr. peter... but do not try it... for angmar would torture us both with visions... and possibly more horrible things than that!*
Ashgaz: *gloomily* *I know*
Quiet Wraith: *In the south of Gondor a strange thing has happened. The invading forces from Harad and Umbar have retreated for no apparent reason that can be determined*
Ashgaz: *Peter chafes under all these restraints. Even their thoughts are watched.*
Quiet Wraith: *The men on foot and horse have marched away, and the men in ships have weighed anchor and set sail*
Ashgaz: *Under the calm surface he projects there is anger boiling, and hatred, and great sadness, the only emotion he ever lets escape*
Bughrakh: *i wish we could share another drink together! and pretend we were back in the shire eating mushrooms and drinking ale at the green dragon*
Ashgaz: *Sadness now overcomes him as he rises and faces the tent*
Quiet Wraith: *Gandalf and Aragorn, leading the remaining forces of the West, have discussed this strange thing*
Ashgaz: *Oh yes! That was wonderful. Do you still have the ale?*
Quiet Wraith: *Gandalf says... "This is something strange that Sauron must be planning."*
Bughrakh: *i dont know for sure, mr. peter. i cant do anything for i am still under this chair*
Ashgaz: *When you are freed, you can find the ale, and pretend you are drinking it with me*
Quiet Wraith: *Aragorn nods in agreement, and Legolas says, "I can sense something..... something very wicked, but I do not know what it is."
Ashgaz: *and whenever I have anything to drink I'll drink to you and the Shire.*
Bughrakh: *sam smiles in his mind.... i do hope so! i shall drink and remember of our time in the wine cellar*
Bughrakh: *to the shire, to mr. frodo, to me old gaffer.... and may the darkness pass from all middle earth!*
Ashgaz: *Aye*
Ashgaz: *Peter lifts his hand in farewell*
Bughrakh: *sam thinks of a drinking song of the shire and has fond memories*
Ashgaz: *Remember all that, Sam, and let it all make you happy in the days to come*
Ashgaz: *I hope I see you again*
Quiet Wraith: *Gandalf says, "The enemy wants us to think that he has retreated. It is a ploy!"*
Bughrakh: *farewell mr. peter my dear friend... i do hope we shall... perhaps under better circumstances, if you take my meaning*
Ashgaz: *Thank you for your friendship in these past weeks. You'll never lose my friendship, you or Frodo.*
Bughrakh: *strands of ..... ho ho ho to the bottle i go to heal my heart and drown my woe.... come to his mind..*
Ashgaz: *The song comes into Peter's mind too*
Ashgaz: *He smiles as he waves and then lowers his hand*
Ashgaz: *Farewell my dear Sam*
Bughrakh: *...rain may fall and wind may blow, and many miles be still to go. but under a tall tree i will lie, and let the clouds go sailing by.*
Bughrakh: *sam wishes he could wave back but he cannot move underneath the chair*
Ashgaz: *May you be happy*
Bughrakh: *thank you, mr. peter, sir. until we meet again...*
Ashgaz: *Until we meet again!*
Ashgaz: *With a great effort he turns and begins to walk away*
Quiet Wraith: *When dawn comes, Sam has a surprise... Number Three has come on his fell beast to take Sam.....*
Quiet Wraith: *.....To Lugburz*
Quiet Wraith: *A few minutes remain before he will give the order to Sam*
Quiet Wraith: *And there will be no denying that order*
Quiet Wraith: *They can hear him, cursing in Black Speech at everything except Sauron under his breath*
Bughrakh: *as ever sam remains under angmars chair.... paralized to the floor*
Ashgaz: *Peter has moved like a ghost through the bustling crowd, hugging himself, deep in thought*
Bughrakh: *mr. peter, sir.... as a friend of mine once said..... he was an elf... his name was legolas.... "there is a fell voice in the air"*
Ashgaz: *He hears Sam's voice again and smiles*
Bughrakh: *you should hide mr. peter, sir, before he finds you*
Quiet Wraith: *Number Three calls Bughrakh's name and suddenly, he is no longer bound to the ground*
Ashgaz: *Alarm fills Peter, for Sam and for himself*
Ashgaz: *Be careful Sam!!*
Bughrakh: *sam finds that he can move once again.... he wonders what is to be his fate*
Ashgaz: *He sends a last comforting vision of the Shire to Sam*
Ashgaz: *and settles between some thick bushes*
Quiet Wraith: *Two words....* "Come, snaga!"
Rune of Westhaven: *perches on Sam's shoulder and snickers in his ear*
Ashgaz: *He takes his robe off and hides it under the branches*
Bughrakh: *sam smiles mentally and thanks peter... wishing him a final farewell*
Bughrakh: *sam gets out from under the chair and walks towards the wraith*
Quiet Wraith: *He is greeted with a hiss*
Ashgaz: *Peter puts a hand over his eyes and his shoulders shake a little*
Bughrakh: *sam bows before him.... quite shakily and unnerved*
Ashgaz: *then he hugs his knees and rests his head on them and closes his eyes*
Quiet Wraith: *Number Three grabs him by the hair and drags him out of the tent*
Bughrakh: *bites his lip at the rough treatment he receives*
Quiet Wraith: *Number Three drags him along behind him until he gets to the fell beast*
Quiet Wraith: *The beast turns its head around and squawks and hisses at Sam*
Bughrakh: *sam falls backwards to the ground startled*
Quiet Wraith: *Number Three picks him up, cursing as he does so, and throws him unceremoniously on the beast's back*
Ashgaz: *Peter still feels the connection with Sam and senses that Sam is afraid*
Bughrakh: *sam lands on the beasts back, trembling in fear of what will happen to him next*
Ashgaz: *He concentrates on sending comforting visions to Sam for as long as he is able*
Quiet Wraith: *with a command from Number Three, the beast moves its wings and flies into the air*
Bughrakh: *sam looks down and is horrified.... he holds onto the beast with a death grip*
Bughrakh: *feels sick... moans in fear...*
Quiet Wraith: *The beast goes higher and higher and soon disappears from sight*
Quiet Wraith: *then becomes just a speck in the distance*
Ashgaz: *Loses the connection with Sam*
Ashgaz: *Peter searches frantically in his mind for Sam's voice but cannot find it*
Ashgaz: *He panics, wondering what happened to Sam*
Bughrakh: *squeezes his eyes closed tightly, gritting his teeth.... feeling more wretched than before. at least there were no heights to worry about under angmars throne!*
Ashgaz: *He runs out from under the bushes and sees the speck of the fell beast just before it disappears*
Ashgaz: *Then he crawls back despairingly under the bushes*
Bughrakh: *the only thing on sams mind is the tremendous height at which the fell beast is flying, so he does not sense peters thoughts*
Ashgaz: *sure that they will never see each other again*

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