We camped for a day and then set off again. Boromir looked troubled by the rumors about his father.
After riding for a long ti, we crossed the plains and finally arrived at Minas Tirith. We went straight to the highest level of Minas Tirith, and the soldiers recognized Boromir and let us all pass.
Thus we entered the great hall. There, Denethor was sitting in the Steward's chair, wolfing down food. Beside him was a pale man dressed in black, fine-looking clothes—who, no matter how I looked at him, seed to be Gríma.
'So this bastard was here…'
Denethor stopped eating, saw his son, stood up, and welcod him warmly.
"You have finally arrived. You must have had a hard ti. But who are these people?"
When Denethor asked, looking at us, Boromir answered, "This is the wizard Gandalf, Father."
At that, Gríma, who was beside him, whispered sothing in Denethor's ear. Denethor then greeted Gandalf.
"It's an honor to see the famous Gandalf."
Gandalf bowed his head in return.
"Steward Denethor II, it is good to see you. The reason we have co is…"
Gandalf tried to tell Denethor about the danger from Mordor, but Denethor cut him off imdiately.
"First, you must be tired from your long journey. I will have you shown to your quarters. We can talk tomorrow. I also have matters to discuss with my son."
Then Boromir, looking at Gríma beside Denethor, said, "Father, who is this person?"
"He is an envoy from Rohan. He has brought fine gifts as well."
At those words, Boromir looked dumbfounded. From Denethor's words, it seed Gríma had brought a palantír as a gift to Denethor.
"That can't be. We just ca from Rohan, and…"
Then Gríma said to us, "I arrived here so ti ago."
Denethor also supported Gríma's claim. "That's right. He arrived shortly after you left."
After speaking, Denethor called a soldier and ordered him to show Gandalf and to our quarters. Gandalf and I had no choice but to head to the lodgings for now. The lodgings in Minas Tirith were fairly well-kept and clean. Unlike other lodgings that were dirty and crawling with insects, this was definitely different. Normally, when I ca to places like this, I would cast a [Barrier] to keep insects out and use [Life Magic] to clean first, but it seed unnecessary here, so I was quite pleased.
'This is definitely the best place among human civilizations.'
I opened the window of my lodging and looked outside. Mount Doom was clearly visible, almost making feel like I was at a tourist spot with a volcano. Of course, the problem was that it was a den of evil.
'The view is nice too.'
The next day, Boromir ca to us and we ate together. Over the al, we told Boromir about the conversation we had with his father the previous day.
"My father is acting strange. When I spoke with him yesterday, he kept asking only about the Ring. He also said strange things like, 'We may have to make a choice now, since Mordor cannot be stopped.' And that man beside my father kept whispering into his ear—I couldn't tell whether he was giving advice or receiving orders. That man is clearly not an envoy from Rohan, but a spy of Sauron."
Boromir seed to sense that sothing was wrong. Then Gandalf said, "Hmm… This is no ordinary matter. It's still too early to say for certain, but I fear your father may have already fallen into Sauron's grasp."
At Gandalf's words, Boromir tried to argue, but perhaps seeing it himself, he wiped his face and sighed.
"Huh… I will try to persuade him sohow. He is an ambitious man, but he has always upheld the line of right."
Gandalf looked at and asked, "What will you do?"
"As for , I'll wait here. The Ring issue is close by now, so I can handle it quickly. And even if Sauron attacks again, he'll strike here first."
"I see."
Just then, there was a commotion outside. We went out to see what was causing it. Then we saw Boromir's younger brother, Faramir, hurrying toward us.
"Faramir!"
When Boromir called out, Faramir saw him, approached, and embraced him.
"Brother, you've co."
"Yes, I arrived yesterday. What in the world is going on?"
"A large number of Orcs launched a surprise attack on Osgiliath. We couldn't stop them."
"What!!!???"
At Faramir's words, Boromir looked utterly shocked. Osgiliath was the old capital of the kingdom of Gondor, and ever since Minas Morgul fell to the enemy, it had been Gondor's frontline.
The broad River Anduin flows through the center of Osgiliath. The Orcs control the eastern bank, while Gondor holds the western bank, so small-scale skirmishes were constant there. Though it lay in ruins, there were many places to take cover, and because Minas Tirith lay directly beyond Osgiliath, it was strategically vital for both Gondor and Mordor.
"First, we must report this to Father."
We hurried to the great hall. Faramir inford Denethor that a large Orc army had launched a surprise attack. Denethor beca furious and said to Faramir.
"You worthless fool! To lose such a strategic point that your brother defended for so long so easily! Retake it! That is an order!"
Then Boromir stepped forward to defend Faramir.
"Father, are you telling your son to die!? A great Orc army has crossed over. They are clearly trying to occupy Osgiliath to set up a forward base for attacking Minas Tirith. Countless enemies will already be encamped and waiting in Osgiliath."
Gandalf also stepped forward and said, "Steward!! This is madness!"
"Wizard, do not ddle in family matters!"
Denethor snapped at Gandalf. Then Gríma, who was beside him, whispered sothing to Denethor.
"I would prefer it if the wizard left now. The conversation was pleasant."
"Huh…"
Gandalf had no choice but to go outside, and I followed. From inside the great hall, we could hear voices raised as Boromir tried to persuade Denethor, but it seed to be going poorly.
"This is grave… War is upon us."
"Haha, humans are truly interesting, aren't they?"
When I said this with a laugh, Gandalf frowned. "This is no ti for that kind of talk!"
As we waited outside, Boromir and Faramir ca out of the great hall. Boromir grabbed Faramir and tried desperately to stop him.
"Faramir, if you go there, you'll die! Father is making a mistake."
"Brother… It is Father's command. I have no choice."
Gandalf also went to Faramir and tried to dissuade him.
"Faramir, your father's demand is excessive. Do not throw your life away recklessly."
I also added a word. "The fact that the enemy has deliberately invaded Osgiliath ans they intend to attack Minas Tirith soon. If you waste our forces there, you'll only hasten Minas Tirith's defeat."
At that, Boromir agreed with and said, "That's right, this is no ti for stubbornness! If we waste forces here, Minas Tirith won't be able to stop the enemy and will fall."
"Then I will go alone."
At Faramir's words, Boromir was greatly shocked.
"What?! Why in the world would you do that?"
"Because Father wishes it."
This guy was truly stubborn. Because Boromir had monopolized their father's love, Faramir had a deep desire to earn his father's approval—even at the cost of his own life.
Faramir put on his armor, mounted his horse, and rode out. Seeing this, Gandalf said, "Your father loves you."
"I wouldn't know…"
With those words, Faramir then told Gandalf news of Frodo and Sam.
"A few days ago, I t so hobbits. Their nas were Frodo and Sam."
"Is that true? Where did they go?"
"The hobbits were going toward Minas Morgul, guided by Gollum. They said they would take the mountain pass there."
"You don't an… they went toward Cirith Ungol?"
"Yes. I tried to stop them, but they said there was no other way into Mordor, so they had no choice."
Gandalf sighed. "Huh… This too must be their fate. May they be safe…"
Just then, Boromir also ca out wearing armor and riding a horse. Faramir looked quite surprised.
"You don't need to co, brother."
At that, Boromir patted Faramir on the shoulder. "I can't let you go alone. Let's go together."
Boromir returned the shield and sword to .
"Arkadzin, I used your weapons well. And…"
He handed his horn to Gandalf. "This is an heirloom of our House of Húrin. If I do not return, please give it to my father."
"Why are you doing this too?"
At Gandalf's words, Boromir smiled. It seed he was prepared to die.
"I can't send my brother alone."
Gandalf could no longer stop them; he could only watch them with sorrowful eyes.
The two brothers rode slowly down to the city gate. When word spread that both brothers were going to Osgiliath, the citizens of Minas Tirith ca out and laid flowers on the ground. The two brothers rode over the flowers the citizens had laid, passed through the gate, raised the banner of Gondor, and began galloping toward Osgiliath.
Naturally, the Orcs entrenched in Osgiliath weren't about to leave them alone. Once they were within range, a rain of arrows poured down on them. The two brothers tried to deflect the arrows with their swords, but unlike the original story, there were only two of them, so the arrows concentrated on them. Unable to deflect them all, arrows began sticking into their bodies one by one. Faramir lost consciousness and fell from his horse, and Boromir, still holding his sword atop his horse, died right there.
Then, for so reason, the Orcs sent the two of them back to Minas Tirith. Probably, they did it to spread terror in the city. One horse had died from too many arrows, so both bodies were tied onto the surviving horse. Boromir had been hit by so many arrows that his face was unrecognizable. Faramir, perhaps because he had fallen from his horse, hadn't been hit nearly as badly as Boromir.
I thought that maybe Faramir might still be alive, so I checked, but unlike the original story, both were dead. Hearing the news, Denethor rushed out, embraced his two sons, and wept bitterly. He had sent them there himself—I couldn't understand why he was carrying on like this.
'I want to slap the back of his head.'
While I was thinking this, Gandalf handed the horn to Denethor.
"Your son Boromir asked to give you this."
Denethor received the horn from Gandalf with trembling hands and wept again.
"Pull yourself together! War is upon us! Do you intend to lose not only your sons but Minas Tirith as well?"
Either Denethor couldn't hear Gandalf's words, or he didn't care—he just hugged his two sons and wept.
"This is maddening… You, look here for a mont."
Gandalf said that to and went sowhere, so I followed. The place Gandalf went was a beacon: a small building attached to a cliff, with firewood stacked inside. The building was made of stone and open on all sides, designed so that if the wood caught fire, it would be visible from anywhere. The beacon building was guarded by soldiers, so getting in looked difficult.
"Do you see that? That is the beacon of Amon Dîn. It was built so that Rohan and Gondor could warn each other when attacked by enemies. Persuasion will take too long, so I need you to use a fla spell on it."
"Hmm? Can't you do it yourself?"
"Well, you see… I can do it too, but it draws too much attention."
"Co now, practice a bit."
I simply snapped my fingers. The beacon burst into fla. The soldiers beca flustered at the sudden fire. Whether they panicked or not, I could see flas on the peaks of the distant White Mountains, so it seed the request for aid would be delivered properly. Seeing that, Gandalf smiled and said, "I just hope it's not too late…"
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