Ten Years Later
Captain Tigkiz made sure we arrived at the council chambers precisely on time. I suppose that kind of iron discipline had been beaten into her in the Celestial Emperor's military training. Quite possibly in a process that involved literal beatings, considering what she'd told me about her training there. The rulers of Rhun believed harsh discipline 'ensured absolute obedience and instilled fighting spirit.' Considering we didn't use those methods to train any local militias, I don't think she agreed with them.
A lot of things had changed in the last ten years. Crude slave hovels had been replaced with proper homes, and while they probably still looked simple compared to a grand city like Umbar it was a massive improvement on what we'd had before. We'd even decided on a proper name for the town to replace just calling it Man-Filth Pit in a language that I doubt any other inhabitants understood. Mayor Leofyn renamed our community Hamfæreld, derived from an old Rohirrim word for a long journey home.
We even had a few proper stone buildings, like the Council Hall. Though calling it a hall might have been a bit of an exaggeration, it was really just a single large open room for Council meetings and village feasts, and a few smaller rooms like a storage area for our records and an armory for Hamfæreld's militia. It still only had a thatch roof instead of proper stone tiles, but at least it was good-quality thatching.
Despite all the progress, there were a lot of things we hadn't settled yet. From the way Captain Tigkiz was impatiently pacing back and forth across the stone floor of the council chambers, I could already guess one of them would be coming up again. "Let me guess, you think someone's going to bring up The King Issue again?"
The captain let out a resigned sigh and idly scratched at the scar on her face. "It's sure to come up, just like it does every season."
She was probably right about that. I'd been coming to council meetings with her ever since the village and community leaders throughout Nurn agreed to establish the council. It had started as an informal thing, everyone just getting together to discuss matters of mutual interest and how we would all work together to help each other out. After Gondor freed the slaves and chased out any remaining Orcs they'd been content to leave the people of Nurn to manage their own affairs.
In the years since then, complications arose.
Once everyone else arrived, we got started. I made sure I had a fresh sheet of parchment ready along with my quill and ink. Ten years ago I was just taking notes for Captain Tigkiz, but by now they were for everyone in the Council of Nurn. Having someone right down what happened was a lot safer than counting on people's memories.
It all started off innocuously enough. Leaders met and exchanged idle pleasantries, talking about their families, their crops, and their crops of children and grandchildren. Wheat planting season was coming up, so naturally there was all kinds of talk about how the weather looked for that as well as discussion of the winter potato harvest. I didn't bother taking notes about all of that, it was all just social small talk.
Eventually one of the people from a northern village put an end to the idle chatter. "We lost half our crop to bandits. We kept enough potatoes buried to keep our people fed, Orcs don't have the patience to dig them up, but it'll be lean times until the wheat harvest comes in. Assuming we can stop them taking that, too."
Everyone around the council table grimaced and murmured sympathetically. After all, plenty of them had gone through similar. Winters were always hard. Not because of the weather, winters in Nurn were mild, but because hunger drew out far worse things than cold winds and snow.
"The orcs are getting bolder," one of the other village leaders declared with a grim scowl. "We've seen more of them this year than we have any year since the liberation."
"No, it's not more of them," one of the others immediately snapped back. "It's that they're coming in bigger, more organized groups. In the early days there were more of them, but we were dealing with half-starved scavengers and deserters. Now it's proper warbands, with real weapons and leadership. The last few years weren't quiet because the Orcs were dying off like we hoped, they were just fighting amongst themselves to find a new leader."
"There's no proof of that," Captain Tigkiz cut in calmly. "Let's not start a panic over baseless speculation. The Orcs might have had a lean winter, or we could be dealing with more of them being pushed out by Gondor's cleansing of Ithilien."
"But it does seem like we're facing more raids than usual," Mayor Leofwyn pointed out. "Whether it's because the Orcs are more organized or just more desperate, we have to do something to stop them."
Captain Tigkiz thought it over for a second before nodding. "I'll ask for volunteers from Hamfæreld's militia. We're far enough into Nurn's interior that we don't need to worry about bandits or Orc raiders, we can spare some forces to help other communities."
The outlying village leaders weren't as grateful as they should've been for the offer. "Hamfæreld's safe from Orcs because
our villages are a shield taking the worst of the raids."
"How many volunteers will you send?" one of the others demanded. "Which villages will they protect, and how long will they stay before they insist on returning home to tend to their own crops?"
"And what if trouble comes to Hamfæreld? Will you abandon us to the Orcs to protect your own?"
The Captain let out a frustrated growl as more and more objections flowed in. By the time she could've answered any one of them, three more would've been voiced.
Assuming all of their worries even
could be answered. The village leaders weren't wrong to worry about the reliability of our militia. Asking the militia to protect other communities meant them away from their homes, farms, and families. Eventually they would want to go home. And if any threat to Hamfæreld did somehow manifest… asking a volunteer militia to prioritize the safety of other men's homes over their own would probably end in mass desertion.
"We can't keep relying on volunteer farmer militias to keep us safe!" One of them concluded. "It was a fine system in the early days, but it's past time we started organizing. We need a proper standing force to deal with the Orcs once and for all."
"An army," Mayor Leofwyn concluded with a scowl. "We rely on our militia for a reason. I trust weapons in the hands of our people, but put them in the hands of a group who aren't common farmers…"
"Standing armies cost money," someone else pointed out. "The only way to pay salaries for soldiers is to start appointing tax men. And what happens when the army needs more soldiers, but nobody else wants to volunteer to join it?"
"Who would lead it?" Another angry voice called out. "And what guarantee do we have that they wouldn't use their army to put a crown on their head?"
"If they can stop the Orcs and bandits, perhaps that wouldn't be such a terrible thing!"
That tore it completely, and I set down my quill with a resigned sigh as the meeting devolved into little more than a shouting match. It was all the same arguments that had come up a dozen times before, and would probably keep coming up in the next dozen council meetings.
"We just got our freedom, and now you want to give it up to some king who will tax your crops, conscript your sons for his armies, and take your daughters for servants and concubines?!"
"What good is this freedom you speak of if the only thing we are free to do is perish on the swords of Orc raiders?! Better to pay a tithe to a king than have everything stolen by bandits!"
"Until that tithe becomes a quarter, and then half, until we're back in chains again laboring away so our new king can build a golden palace to his own glory!"
Captain Tigkiz slammed her fists down on the council table and rose to her feet. "Silence! I tire of hearing the same arguments every time we gather, and I think we can all agree that nothing will come of it, just like nothing came of it the last several times!"
Mercifully, everyone actually listened to her. Or perhaps they'd all just been stunned into silence by her outburst. Whatever the case, she took the opportunity to continue speaking her mind. "Rather than continuing old arguments, I propose another solution. When King Elessar of Gondor freed the slaves of Nurn, he promised us that Gondor would guarantee our freedom. We should send an envoy to Minas Ithil or even Minas Tirith if need be, asking him to honor that promise."
Mayor Leofwyn frowned in thought for a moment before slowly nodding. "There is merit to that. King Elessar is an honorable man, he freed the slaves of Nurn and asked for nothing in return. If we spoke of our need I do not think he would leave us unprotected."
"He's an expansionist," one of the others countered. "Just look at a map of Gondor's lands before his reign and where they stand now. Rumor has it he's in the midst of reclaiming all the former lands of Arnor as well. If we want a king so badly, I'm certain Elessar would be happy to offer us his protection so long as we agreed to bend the knee to him."
"He's not just an expansionist, he's a conqueror," I felt the need to point out, even though I was technically supposed to just be taking notes rather than participating in the meeting. It was hard to stay completely silent, though. One of Elessar's first conquests after claiming Gondor's throne had been Umbar. That made two homes I'd lost to Gondor's armies, Umbar and Barad Dur. The thought of it happening a third time...
"Peace!" Captain Tigkiz snapped out, holding up a hand to forestall the argument. "I am not saying we should blindly accept whatever terms he requests in exchange for aid. Only that we should at least see what he would be willing to offer. Gondor has no love for Orcs or the remnants of Sauron's armies and has every reason to want this problem nipped in the bud before the raiders become powerful enough to trouble their lands."
"If they aid us and ask for nothing or little in return, then we would be fools not to act on it," Mayor Leofwyn agreed. "And if it is as some of us fear and they only offer us aid in exchange for harsh terms or try to use the situation as a means to annex us into their kingdom, we can always refuse. The only thing we stand to lose by asking for aid is a small measure of pride, and I would gladly sacrifice that to save the lives of our people."
After a few more minutes of discussion, the council found a reluctant consensus on the matter. I didn't love the idea of asking Gondor for help, but their rangers were already hard at work cleansing Orc nests from Ithilien and sent occasional patrols across the Gorgoroth Plateau to protect their trade routes. Militarily, it made sense to reach out to them for assistance. It was everything aside from the simple military logistics that was the problem.
"So we're agreed," Captain Tigkiz concluded. "That just leaves the matter of who we will send to treat with the Gondorians. As I see it, there are three essential requirements. First, we need someone with enough martial knowledge to speak with authority on how best to address the Orc threat so we can be certain we actually receive effective aid and aren't taken advantage of. Second, we need someone who has at least a passing familiarity with matters of highborn protocol and society so we don't spoil our petition. Finally, we need someone who won't take Gondor's claims at face value, and we can trust to zealously represent our interests instead of immediately bending the knee to a foreign king. Are we all agreed on that?"
A chorus of "ayes" answered her question, and I duly noted down the results of the vote. After that, a strange silence fell over the room, instead of the discussion I'd expected. After all, now that Captain Tigkiz had laid out what they were looking for in an envoy, everyone should've started talking about who was the best fit for those requirements. Once it stretched out long enough to be awkward, I looked up from my parchment to see what was going on.
Why is everyone staring at me?
Oh.
Will Arphazêl Serve as Nurn's Envoy to Gondor?
[ ] Agree to be the Envoy
As much as it galls me to be forced to beg for aid from the heirs of Elendil's kingdom, Mayor Leofwyn and Captain Tigkiz are right. We need help, and Gondor's in the best position to provide it. Giving up our people's lives just for the sake of my pride would be inexcusable. Plus if it's not me, whoever they send instead might mess it up.
[ ] Refuse to be the Envoy
I will not bow to the usurper line of Elendil and the man who twice destroyed my home, even if it means risking our annihilation. Better to die free than submit to Gondor's yoke. And if we must send an envoy to the Gondorians, it might be wiser to send someone with less history, even if they don't know the military situation or court protocol.
The King Issue
[ ] Arphazêl the Monarchist
I understand why everyone is wary of a strong leader after being enslaved by Sauron, but without someone providing leadership the Orc problem is just going to get worse. If people are worried that whoever our ruler is will become a tyrant, then we just need to make sure we pick the right person for the job.
[ ] Arphazêl the Anarchist
A king isn't a solution to our problem, it's just trading it out for a different problem. The people of Nurn shouldn't sacrifice their hard-won freedom just for the illusion of a little temporary security. We can find a better way to handle the Orc problem.
[ ] Write-in
Best to do what Gandalf and Tigkiz both advised and forget lineage and titles for awhile. As Aragorn was Strider for decades Arphazêl should maybe be just plain Arphazêl, and strive to be the best swordswoman and rider in what's left of Mordor.
