As the travelers approached the mouth of the Morgul Vale, they beheld two tall mountains which faced each other across the narrow valley like towering doorposts flanking the portal to the Dark Land. Evergreen trees and shrubs clung tenaciously to the crumbling gray rock which lay exposed on the slopes of the brooding summits. Their angular sides scored with deep crevices, the cliff faces scowled down disapprovingly like stern old men from ancient days of yore.

The road headed straight for a rocky spur which angled down from the northern mountain like a root from a gigantic tree. Skirting around the rugged outcropping, the road disappeared beyond the flanks of the mountains. The air crackled with a tension that was more than just the mounting power of the encroaching storm. It seemed to the travelers that they were being watched from all directions, and eyes peered out at them from behind the boles of firs and pines, out of the darkened openings of caves, and from the stony peaks of the mountains.

Elfhild shivered, her senses heightened by an instinctive dread of what lay beyond... and a peculiar anticipation which she could not explain. As much as she was afraid, she was equally fascinated, and the same brooding stillness of the valley which made her skin prickle also compelled her to venture forward. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Surely all the rumors which she had overheard were making her imagination run away with her.

Heavy black clouds shrouded the skies like the billowing cloak of Death. As though flung from the staff of a powerful sorcerer, two forked bolts of lightning rent the heavens with brilliant white light. Twisting their way down like serpents, they struck the peaks of the two brooding mountains. Thunder crashed and boomed, shaking the very earth. Angry winds growled menacingly as they nipped at the travelers like hungry dogs arguing over a piece of raw and bleeding meat.

Unleashing all its pent-up fury, the storm slammed into them with a blast of power and might. Hail poured from the skies, pelting the riders and their horses with icy pellets which bounced off them and rolled across the road, dancing along the ground to collect in little white mounds. The hot-blooded mounts snorted anxiously, skittish and shying as the cold shards of ice plummeted their sensitive skin. Shivering, the travelers pulled their burnooses around their faces and bowed their shoulders under the storm's relentless onslaught.

As the hailstorm spent itself, the winds lessened, and a tense hush fell over the land. The elements gradually quieted, and there was welcome respite from nature's icy tempest. "This sweet peace will not last long," Ganbar wagged his head knowingly.

Scarcely were the words out of his mouth when the belly of the heavens opened again, unleashing a torrent of rain sweeping in sheets across the land. On the slopes above them, the trees swayed and twisted, the force of the winds threatening to uproot their mighty trunks and send them crashing to the ground. His bearing calm despite the storm, Esarhaddon led the entourage forward, past the rocky projection which rose dark and gloomy above them. The world became a dreary realm of hazy gray streaks as blinding curtains of rain obscured the path ahead. The rain beat at their backs like a thousand pounding fists, leaving them shuddering and gasping for breath.

Riding at a distance behind the three Southrons and the captive orc, the twins could barely see the figures ahead of them. Occasionally, one of the sisters would look behind her, searching through the rain for the sight of Inbir. When they saw him and the pack horses coming up the road behind them, the girls breathed a sigh of relief. They knew that without his protection, they might become lost and never found again.

After snaking around the escarpment, the road straightened out to resume its eastward path. The riders felt their horses straining beneath them as the animals climbed the steadily rising road. Suddenly Ganbar cried out in fear. "What is happening?!" He blinked his eyes, refusing to accept the horrifying vision before him. Then when he realized the full terror of what he had seen, he made the sign against evil. "May the mercy of the Gods be upon us!"

Horrified, disbelieving their own senses, the horsemen drew their animals to a quick halt as they beheld a strange vision materializing in front of them. Wiping the rain from their faces, the travelers attempted to shield their eyes with their hands as they peered through the cascading torrent.

Taking form and shape out of the rain and mist, a wan ghost ship appeared through a storm-tossed sea. The vessel's prow cut through the churning waves as a knife slices through flesh, coming closer and closer with each heartbeat. Glowing all over from its stem to stern with a soft luminescent light, the ship beckoned to them with promises of sanctuary from the driving rain. Formless shapes stood upon the deck, their spectral arms welcoming. Crystal raindrops danced upon the dark waves, and soft voices sighed and moaned in the rain. Elfhild and Elffled screamed, long terrified wails which rose above the din of the storm. In the blink of an eye, the ethereal craft vanished as lightning filled the sky.

Elfhild shrieked again. Horribly shaken by the apparition, she trembled all over and feared her bladder might release. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, Elffled cringed in her saddle, whimpering softly. Oh, how she wished she could hold her sister's hand for comfort and protection! She felt as though evil presences were all around her, closing in on her, threatening to crush her in their oppressive grasp.

"Hold steady, men! What you saw was an optical illusion, nothing more than a mirage!" Esarhaddon boomed out over the strife of the storm. Though his voice was strong as he attempted to encourage them, he had begun to doubt his ability to control his mare. The terrified beast was in complete panic. Snorting and pawing, she tossed her head up and down, fighting the bit and jerking on the rein as she struggled to turn back on the narrow trail. "Be gentle, Ka'adara!" he cooed softly as he brought her back under control and patted her neck.

"Never knew horses saw mirages, too," Ganbar muttered in Haradric. He kneed his mare forward, but she refused to move. Irritated at her stubbornness, he whacked her several times with his riding crop. She neighed angrily and clamped her ears back against her head. When he felt her muscles bunching, he knew in the next instant that she would rear. "Oh, damn!" Taking no chances that the angry mare would fall over backwards and roll on top of him, he leaned forward and hung onto her neck. As the mare's hooves rose off the ground and flailed the air, Ganbar was off her back. When her feet had returned to the ground, he was swiftly in the saddle again. "I guess maybe they can see mirages after all," he chuckled sheepishly.

"Ganbar, if you cannot ride that horse of yours, maybe you should walk!" Esarhaddon remarked jovially, but there was a bite of sarcasm in his voice. "Come on! What are all of you waiting for? Move forward!" he shouted as he urged his mare into a trot.

"Masters," Elfhild choked out, her voice constricted with fear as she urged her horse to keep up with the others, "what just happened? I saw a great ship appearing out of nowhere and floating above the mountains!" Terrified, Elffled nodded a squeaking whimper. She could not bring herself to say what she had seen, and was more than glad to let Elfhild be the spokesman for both of them.

"You saw nothing but a mirage, girl!" Ganbar looked around impatiently and cut her short. "Nothing but lightning playing upon the mists in the valley! You are wet, tired and hungry, and are making far more of this than you should! Unless you want to be left here, you will cease speaking about such trivial matters! Now make haste!" Turning his head, he slapped his reins over his horse's neck and sent the balking animal into a rapid trot.

"The girl is not a fool!" Unnerved by what he had seen, Ubri shouted out in Haradaric above the noise of the storm and the rapidly moving horses. "You know she saw the same thing that we all did, and it was no mirage! We must turn back now or be doomed! The vision of the ship was an omen, a warning! The Guardians of this valley have betrayed us! If we stay here, we are dead men!"

"No!" Esarhaddon bellowed, his patience with the captain wearing thin. "We were promised safe passage through this valley, and never yet have I known the Lords to break their promise!"

"Aye, Shakh," Ubri feigned acquiescence at the reprimand, but inside he smarted at Esarhaddon's words. How could the man be such fool? His trust of the Valley Lords would get them all killed, and for what? Only his driving greed! The urge came over Ubri to strangle the fat pig in his sleep some night, and for a moment he plotted how he would commit the crime. He would never have the courage, though, for the others would kill him when they found out. Always frustrated in whatever he did! He needed to make someone suffer for all the contemptuous treatment which he had endured. The orc! The bastard was doomed anyway.

Ubri's eyes narrowed as he gripped Talûn's rope tighter and jerked the orc's neck hard. Groaning in pain, Talûn stumbled forward. Ubri smiled. Inflicting pain always made him feel better, but still it was not enough to compensate for the humiliation which he felt...

And then up ahead was the city, rising before them pale and wan like a fading beauty, her colorless lips a scornful seduction. Ubri's mind writhed in torment when he thought of what lay within those pallid walls...

Treacherously beautiful, the city of Minas Morgul stood across the valley like a shimmering opal in all of its terrible splendor, the paleness of its walls accentuated by the towering forms of the dark mountains all about. The city gleamed and shone like a jewel enshrined in a crystal globe, illuminated by captured moonlight and the candles of wandering spirits who were helplessly drawn to its aura like moths to a flame. The party drew closer and closer to the pulsating heart of the realm of the Nazgûl.

In spite of her fear, Elfhild was captivated by the shimmering beauty of Minas Morgul. She could not take her eyes from the cedar-clad slopes which led up to the City of the Nine Kings. As a dazzling burst of lightning illuminated the entire valley, the reflected light turned the silver domes and spires of the tall towers to shimmering silver. Riding beside her, Elffled gasped, delighting in the raw, feral beauty of nature in contrast to the measured, orderly harmony which men had wrought.

"By the gods who rule the Southern lands! Never was there a city more desolate and gloomy!" Ganbar called over the clamor of the tempest. Perhaps they should have heeded the Captain's dire warning and turned back.

"A city of djinns cast down from grace!" Inbir cursed. "A black and evil place!" The words were scarcely out of his mouth when lightning lit up the sky and another crash of thunder rocked the earth. Both Inbir and Ganbar scowled as they made the sign against evil.

As the horses climbed the slight grade, their hooves often slipping on the wet pavement, the rain buffeted them, whipping their tails and sending them streaming around their flanks and legs. Soaked to the skin and utterly miserable, the riders hunched their shoulders lower and bore the fury of the storm. Clouds drew darker still, and though it was only the middle of the morning, the valley was filled with the shadow of evening, lit only now and then by a fierce burst of lightning. But still the white city shimmered, glowing with unearthly loveliness, a luminescent beacon in a sable nether-darkness.

A strange scent, acrid and unpleasant, crept over the murky valley, and noses wrinkled in protest at the stench. Far above the small party, lightning rent the sky along the top of the ridge. The thunder rattled and shook the ground beneath them. Their attention riveted upon the fierce display of lightning, the riders stared at the mountainside as a tree burst into flames. As the thunder rumbled far away, the tree toppled to the ground with a mighty crash. Panic-stricken at the ominous sound, the horses plunged and skittered towards the right. Though the slavers were all experienced horsemen, still all their skill was required to quiet their panicky animals. Quiet control on the reins and gentle words at last had the beasts moving forward, though they were cautious, their ears pricking forward and back, all senses on the alert for danger.

The thunder faded into the distance, but a new sound - one far more ominous - had replaced it. At first, mud and small rocks oozed down the side of the hill, creeping slowly, but as the moving mass gained momentum, larger rocks and small trees were ripped from the slope. Suddenly a whole section of the mountainside tore away, sending a devastating mixture of earth, rocks and trees sliding down the hill.

"Men! The whole mountainside is breaking loose! Flee, damn it!" Esarhaddon shouted as he kicked Ka'adara in the sides, sending her plunging forward into a canter. Total pandemonium reigned as men yelled and cursed, concerned only with saving themselves from the surging mass that poured down the hill.

"We are all going to die!" Ubri screamed. His eyes wide with terror at the moving wall of mud, he lashed his horse with his riding crop, frantically spurring the animal forward. In his wild flight, he dropped the orc's rope on the ground.

Dismayed at the Captain's behavior, Ganbar bent low in the saddle, reached down and caught the orc's rope. "Make speed, you mangy bastard!" Ganbar yelled as he led Talûn beside his horse, whipping the orc when he faltered.

The twins shrieked when they looked up the slope and saw great trees ripped from the ground and borne down by the seething maelstrom. Terrified, they urged their horses forward, trying to keep up with the others. Screaming out his frustration and fear, Inbir tried to maneuver the bucking and pitching pack horses up the road. He had to make them move faster, for he knew that if he could not, the sweeping fury of the mud slide would tumble down upon them all and sweep them away. "Run, you blasted beasts!"

With a great roar like that of surging water, a flood of sodden earth poured down upon the road below, covering the pale pavement with mud and debris. Struggling to pull the terrified animals out of the path of the destructive slide, Inbir had managed to get most of them to safety. Just as he was about to congratulate himself on his skill as a handler, a large boulder tumbled down the hillside and struck the last horse in the column. As the animal fell, whinnying and struggling, over on its side, the whole line of pack horses came to a lurching halt, their ropes held by the weight of the downed animal. The beast shrieked in fear and agony as it tried to struggle to its feet, but one of its front legs was hopelessly mangled. Inbir growled out an oath as he slid from his saddle and slashed the rope through, freeing the rest of the pack horses. Terrified, the beasts tossed their heads and galloped up the road. They passed by the line of slavers, who could do nothing to catch them. Riding his steady mare, Inbir was right behind the runaway steeds.

Out of harm's way, Esarhaddon drew up his horse and looked back over his shoulder as the others caught up with him. "By the fates! That was one hell of a storm!" he remarked excitedly as he gazed through the gently pattering rain and watched the clouds which scudded towards the eastern horizon. "Is anyone hurt?" he asked, concern filling his face.

"No, my lord, but from the looks of it, the road behind us is now blocked," Ubri replied, glancing fretfully over his shoulder.

"Appears no one will be leaving here anytime soon," Ganbar added nervously, his eyes darting from side to side. The unsettling thought came to his superstitious mind: what if there had been no landslide at all... and maybe not even a storm? Perhaps both had been illusions of no more substance than the ship. Men said that nothing was as it seemed in this bizarre valley. Perhaps if they went back the next morning, they might discover that the mountainside was perfectly intact and all the trees which had been uprooted during the storm were magically restored to their former places on the slope above. He could not allow himself to think this way, for such thoughts would surely turn a man into a frothing maniac.

The sounds of rapidly approaching hoofbeats brought a comforting reality back to Ganbar's mind. Breathing hard with exertion, Inbir raced up with the remaining pack horses and halted alongside Esarhaddon.

"Ho, Inbir, what happened back there?" the slaver asked.

"Part of the mountainside came down over the road," Inbir replied, catching his breath as his lathered mount panted beneath him.

"A short rest here will not hurt any of us," Esarhaddon announced as his eyes settled on the sisters, who had just ridden up. "My gentle doves, tell me you are unhurt." He paused as he looked into their faces. "Ah, I can see by your eyes that you are both well and unharmed." He smiled back at them, and both girls were certain that his smile held a kindly sympathy that they had never read in him before. "Bring your horses up on either side of mine. I want you closer to me so I can keep a watch upon you. The Captain and Ganbar have enough on their hands in dealing with the orc."

"Yes, my lord," Elfhild responded with downcast eyes and a blush upon her cheeks. Still shaky from their harrowing experiences, she was glad for Esarhaddon's protection. The kindness in his words made her feel warm inside, and she forgot for a moment that he was an unscrupulous slave trader.

"Certainly, if you wish it, Lord Esarhaddon," Elffled gently murmured, the corners of her mouth turning up in a shy smile. Taking a deep breath, she clenched and unclenched the reins, trying to calm her still trembling hands.

Esarhaddon turned his face towards Inbir. "I understand that one of the animals was injured in the mud slide. Were any others hurt?"

"No, my lord, no others were lost and those remaining are in good condition." Inbir returned his gaze. "I was able to get all of them to safety, save for one, which was felled by a boulder. Unfortunately, I had to put the poor beast out of his misery." The slaver looked pained as he calculated the worth of the animal. "Now, my lord, if the rest of you will ride ahead, I will take the other animals to the back of the line."

"Certainly," the slaver nodded his head. With a slight bow, Inbir touched his fingers to his chest and then waited as the rest of the column rode by. Esarhaddon shifted his glance back to Ubri, who looked uncomfortable under the slaver's scrutiny. An unsettling thought filled the Captain's mind, and he wondered if the slaver were about to criticize him for abandoning control of the orc. He relaxed when Esarhaddon remarked casually, "It looks like the storm has passed. Now we need to be getting on with the journey."

"Yes, my lord," Ubri replied, unable to keep the relief out of his voice.

As the column headed out, they heard a low, muffled wail. The sisters glanced over their shoulders to see Talûn, who, in spite of the hood over his face, seemed able to look right at them. Elfhild wondered whether the orc had some strange ability to sense where they were, and even read their minds. Then she remembered tales of the amazing ability of orcs to track men over any type of terrain and even through blinding storms. Laughing inwardly at her foolishness, she looked over at Esarhaddon, who gazed at her with an unmistakable gleam in his eye. Blushing, she averted her gaze, her heart beating a little faster.

Elfhild gave the orc one last glance and was struck by the hideous appearance of the miserable, hooded creature. She whispered over to her sister, "With that ghastly hood over his head, the wretch looks as though he is heading for the gallows!"

"Poor thing!" Elffled murmured. "May the Gods have mercy upon him!"

NOTES

We imagine Minas Morgul looking very similar to Minas Tirith - a semicircular city with multiple levels and concentric walls which is built into a mountainside. However, most artists choose to depict the city the way it appears in the 2001-03 trilogy. The artwork chosen for this chapter depicts both Minas Ithil and Minas Morgul. The enchantments which lay over the city influence one's perception of the city and how it appears to the eyes.

Art Credit:

Ghost Ship - Artist unknown

Minas Ithil, City of Isildur by LePtitSuisse1912

Minas Morgul, WETA Workshop concept art