Tolkien Fan Fiction
| 15 |
| Chapter Fifteen |
| Tuor was in the main garrison tower in Pelargir which offered a panoramic view of the city, the city’s defences, its harbour, and just beyond, the renowned shipyards of Gondor. Having suffered severe damage in the battle for Pelargir, Tuor had taken the opportunity to extend both the harbour and the shipyards as part of the rebuilding. Such was the demand for new trading ships, the shipyards were now operating at full capacity, building the kind of vessels for which Pelargir was rightly famed. Tuor had long been working on a new ship design, which he preferred to keep discreetly hidden from all visitors arriving by land or sea. The old shipyard, just out of sight of the garrison tower, as well as the city, was located further along the coast below the cliffs of the River Sirith away from prying eyes. He had been quick after the victory the year before to resurrect the undamaged site and it had been operating at full tilt both night and day ever since. As he reviewed the designs of his new ship, he was informed of a visitor from Lamedon, one who had fought valiantly with him at the Battle of Pelargir. One who wore the scars of his valour on his face and neck. ‘Turambar! What brings you here? What news from Calembel? Is Lord Angbor well?’ Tuor greeted him warmly. ‘Yes, my Lord Tuor. All was well when I left, thank you. I have, however, most recently been in Minas Tirith, where some disturbing news came to me by chance. You know the family of Lady Hannedriel, I believe?’ Tuor became suddenly attentive. ‘I do indeed. What of it?’ he asked warily. ‘I courted her youngest daughter, Margelith, for a while many years ago, before the war hit Gondor hard. I knew the family well. I heard a rumour that they were in some kind of trouble. I was hoping you might be able to give me some insight as to what that was and if I could be of any assistance. Whatever the trouble is, I can assure you that Margelith would have had nothing to do with it. She is a very sweet girl, much put upon by her family, particularly by her uncle, Hannemor. I thought her mother was bad enough, but I saw him strike Margelith just as I had left their house after a visit. I made a complaint against him to Lord Denethor, and I was surprised to have been barred from seeing her ever since then. Surprised and not a little disappointed. I had hoped to… well… be more than a friend to her, he said candidly. ‘I saw a man, here in Pelargir when I arrived yesterday, who reminded me of her uncle and it prompted me to make the presumption to enquire about Margelith. I am still very fond of her and I hoped you might be able to help me.’ ‘You know what Hannemor looks like? Would you be able to draw him for us?’ Tuor asked carefully. ‘I’m afraid I have no such artistic talent,’ came the immediate reply. ‘How did you come to know the family?’ Tuor probed. ‘My family sold hers some property in Calembel. Margelith accompanied her uncle and mother. I reacquainted myself with them when my father sent me to Minas Tirith for training in the law for a few years. But regrettably after my brother died, my family business has passed to me and I have to assume my responsibilities rather than follow my heart. If you could get a message to Margelith to let her know that Turambar enquired after her, I would be most grateful.’ ‘Where are you staying?’ Tuor asked. ‘At the Rising Star Inn. I will be here all this week and possibly next, depending on business. If her uncle is in any kind of trouble and I can help you find him, I would be only too happy to help bring him to justice.’ With that, he bowed in the traditional parting, leaving a thoughtful Tuor to sit down and write to Gallend and Faramir. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Some days later Tuor requested Turambar’s presence at the Citadel of Pelargir. He had received noteworthy replies from both Gallend and Faramir, corroborating all Turambar’s claims. Margelith had almost swooned on hearing his name and was clearly hopeful that at least someone of their acquaintance was still ready to acknowledge friendship and possibly more. She had been uncharacteristically effusive in her praise. ‘Thank you for coming by, Turambar. Is business going well?’ Tuor asked politely. ‘I lost all my remaining family to the war, Lord Tuor, so building back the business almost from scratch on my own has been challenging, I won’t deny it. I was never intended for a life in trade. The law is my passion, although to my surprise, I did rather enjoy the fighting we did…’ ‘Yes, you proved yourself more than capable in that respect, as I recall. Although, it was lucky for us both that my men turned up as that last group of Astari attacked. I had feared there was a pocket that had survived the Army of the Dead and we needed to continue to protect Pelargir after Aragorn left for Harlond, even if we had only one boat left in the harbour to escape if the battle had gone against them!’ Tuor reminisced. ‘Do you remember the address of the property your family sold to Hannemor’s business?’ ‘Of course! It was one of the best properties we had, and they overpaid to get it. It was more of a warehouse than a house, the storage space was all underground, it had huge cellars. It was on White Horse Lane on the riverfront, seventh on the right from the west. They never seemed to use it, to be honest. We always wondered if they had bought it more for property speculation, which going into a time of impending war was very risky. We were glad to be rid of it at the price they offered, that I do remember. Now, of course, I’d be very pleased to get it back…’ Tuor stroked with his beard between his thumb and his fore finger, which he did when he was mulling over his next move. ‘We have reason to believe that Hannemor is alive and is possibly in Pelargir. We need to find him and we will pay you a large reward for your services in helping us do so. If we catch him, we may very well be able to return the property to you. Hannemor is not just wanted by King Elessar. He is being hunted by men who are followers of Sauron, particularly by one who calls himself Dwola. They are more ruthless and even more dangerous than the Astari of Sennebar and this will be a perilous task. If you find him, I do not want you to approach him but to come straight to me and we will find a way to trap him.’ ‘How do you know all this? It seems inconceivable that someone like Hannemor could have become such a threat. I always thought of him as just a bully.’ ‘Do you think you would recognise him, even if he were to change his appearance considerably?’ Tuor replied deliberately ignoring Turambar’s question. ‘Better than most probably. Do you not have anyone in Pelargir who knows what he looks like?’ ‘No. Margelith was kind enough to attempt a drawing of him, but she hadn’t seen him for such a long time, she didn’t trust her memory of him.’ ‘I see. Well, I do remember him, very distinctly. I am happy to help and need no reward, other than to make sure Margelith is looked after. Are all your men in the citadel from Pelargir originally or have you had any new recruits from other parts of Gondor or even Umbar? Or any other industry where you have hired men in from outside?’ Tuor quickly went through in his mind all the men he had brought in to man the Citadel. It was true, many had not been originally from Pelargir, but all had been known to him personally for years if not decades. However, the old shipyard, and the workers there… a number had certainly come from outside Pelargir. ‘I will think on that and get back to you. In the meantime, if you have the time and armed with this knowledge, keep a closer eye on those around you. I might need you to stay in Pelargir a while longer if possible?’ |