Adulas' Tale
A revision of the Tale of Adulas by Dinledhwen
Part 1
Back in my earlier days with you all when we were still on the old boards I had written a story entitled "The Tale of Adulas" .
It was my first attempt at writing something that was meant to be
shared with other Ringers and as such it was a bit rough since I had
never done it before. Anyway to make a long story short I've decided to
rewrite the story much like someone who guts out an old house in order
to make room for the new so this version will not be like the first at
all except for one central key idea which will be revealed in the
second chapter.
And I would like to thank Varda again for helping me with this by
giving me the inspiration for the rewrite when I read the scene where
she had Legolas confronting the Witch King in her entertaining story
"The Ring Will Come to Gondor".
I hope you all enjoy this as much as I have while writing it!
Adulas’ Tale ~ The Tale of Adulas Rewrite
One: The Reenactment of the Death of the Witch King
Every fall the residents of the small mountain town of Thrush Creek put
on a fair which celebrated the colorful season as well as the literary
work of a famous writer since fall marked the start of colder weather
which had many wanting to curl up with a good book before the fire. Now
this year’s literary work was JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings which had
been met with much approval due to the story’s many fans. However the
choice to reenact the scene where Merry and the Lady Éowyn bring about
the death of the Witch King of Angmar that second afternoon of the fair
didn’t set well with the only elvish appearing resident who now stood
frowning next to his much shorter Aunt Liz in front of the eager crowd
that had gathered behind a simple rope barrier on the south side of the
pasture outside of town which had been renamed “The Pelennor Fields”
with a homemade sign on a post by its entrance.
“Honestly Adulas will you lighten up! Or are you now pretending to
be like your identical twin brother before he warned Aragorn about the
approaching Uruk-hai while they stood by the lake?” his Aunt softly
chided with a mischievous smile while she poked her nephew in the ribs
with one gloved index finger in order to get his attention for he was
now staring intently at the dark gray storm clouds gathering over the
mountain pass in the east since it was unusual for storms to move from
east to west.
“Hey stop that!” Adulas replied with a chuckle while he gently took
a hold of her now tickling finger within one hand. Then he looked down
at the petite gray haired woman who had raised him as if he were her
own son after his real mother had abandoned him when he was a newborn
babe because of his “devil ears” the name she had given for their
pointed elvish tips. “So now I’m Legolas’s identical twin brother
instead of being him? That’s an interesting idea you have there Auntie
but it doesn’t lighten me up for my fear over Bill’s participation in
this reenactment turning his recent interest in the Witch King of
Angmar into a full fledged unhealthy obsession is growing. Briefly I
had hoped that the approaching storm would postpone this reenactment
long enough so I could try and speak with him again about not going
through with it. But I see that the entertainment committee isn’t
worried what the weather is fixing to do and will go on with the show,”
he added with a sad sigh while he glanced at the open pasture before
him which was now being populated by the male actors who were to play
the “corpses” of the fallen Rohirrim and Orcs.
“I had no idea that Bill was so interested in such a dark
character,” a now serious Aunt Liz said. “When last did you speak to
him about it?”
“The last time I tried was in his apartment shortly before you and
I came here. But I’m afraid all it did was to anger him so much that
I’m now nothing more than a meddlesome elf to him instead of a friend.
And while I don’t take his words to heart since they were said in the
heat of the moment I couldn’t help but notice how his choice of them
was Witch King like as if he was already acting like the feel being.
Then I got the strangest impression for several seconds that we were
not alone. Why I felt that way I don’t know since there was no one else
there.”
“I would try and speak with Bill again when this reenactment is
over,” Aunt Liz firmly suggested. Then she smiled up at him in pretend
innocence. “Can I have my finger back now?”
“Yes you can if you promise to not poke me with it anymore!” Adulas
replied with a big grin while he emphasized his words by squeezing his
Aunt’s finger for each one.
“You know I can’t make that promise! It goes against the code.”
“And what code would that be?”
“The code which gives me the right to poke you in the ribs whenever
and where ever I choose because I’m your aunt!” the older woman said
with a merry laugh.
“I see! Well then I guess there is nothing I can do but to release
your finger and hope that you will be merciful with it in the future!”
a still grinning Adulas said with a pleading sideways look while he let
go of his Aunt’s finger.
“Don’t worry! I’ve decided that you’ve been poked enough for one
day!” she reassured him with a smile while she slipped one arm around
her nephew’s slender waist so she could give him a motherly hug and
lean against him at the same time since she had been standing for a
while now which made her older bones protest at the absence of seating.
No doubt the stingier members on the current entertainment committee
had a hand in there being no bleachers set up.
In the meantime a pretending to be relieved Adulas had whispered
back in her ear “I’m glad to hear that! I do bruise easily you know!”
while he had slipped an arm around her shoulders so he could hug her
back all of which made her laugh again.
~~~~~~~
Meanwhile in the re-enactor’s prep tent behind the crowd Bill was
slowly lowering upon his ski masked face the exact replica of the Witch
King’s spiky dark helmet. Now this part of his costume as well as the
matching pieces of brutally elegant body armor and hefty mace had
drained his bank account dry due to his now unrelenting desire to have
everything worn by the fell being in The Return of the King movie. And
once he had the helmet down on his head he instantly knew that the
money had been well spent when he finally saw his tall muscular frame
now transformed into the perfect likeness of the Witch King when he
looked at himself in the full length mirror. Then Adulas’s words of
warning about this becoming an unhealthy obsession came back to him.
“Don’t listen to that meddlesome elf’s words! He is lying to you!”
the deep disembodied voice of someone long parted from life suddenly
whispered in Bill’s right ear.
Now the voice sounded exactly like the Witch King’s fell one so the
young man quickly whirled around since he first thought that someone
was now trying to have some fun by messing with his mind. But when he
saw that he was the sole occupant in the tent he was some what spooked.
Then he became even more spooked when he remembered that his earlier
conversation with Adulas had taken place just between the two of them
in his nearby apartment. So there was no way that anyone else could
have known about it since he hadn’t mentioned it to another living soul
and he doubted that Adulas would have gone and told everyone about it.
Still he clung to his first idea that this was just a prank as his mind
refused to let him start believing in the impossible which was the real
Witch King now being in the tent with him.
“Alright you’ve had your fun! Now who are you and how did you know
that Adulas was being meddlesome?” Bill demanded back while he looked
about him again.
“Is it not obvious as to who I am?” the Witch King’s disembodied voice continued along with a dry hollow laugh.
Suddenly Bill felt the cold malevolent essence of the Witch King
envelope him and when he next felt it briefly touch his soul his whole
body flinched. However it wasn’t out of fear at being so close to such
pure evil that had made him do it. Instead it was from the thrill it
gave his unrelenting desire to also know all he could about his
favorite Lord of the Ring character since he sensed he now had the
golden opportunity to do so although there was a part of him was still
spooked by what was going on and was starting to question if continuing
this contact was prudent.
Instantly the Witch King knew that he had finally found the perfect
man who he could easily possess when he sensed Bill’s desire. Something
the fell being needed to have in his favor if he was to swiftly as
possible carry out his plan for revenge back in Middle-earth. The fact
that he had boldly crossed over into this strange plane of existence
through a rift in time created by the Valar wasn’t a significant enough
reason in his revenge driven mind for him to rethink his idea of using
Bill. And it was that not rethinking which would ultimately doom his
plan later on.
“Now that you know who I am this is how I learned of that
meddlesome elf’s words,” the Witch King continued while before Bill’s
eyes he saw himself standing in his sun lit living room earlier that
day with Adulas who was urgently trying to get him to pull out of the
reenactment so his interest in the Witch King wouldn’t become an
unhealthy obsession. However this time he wasn’t facing his concerned
looking friend but instead he was now seeing everything through the
fell being’s ghostly eyes from off to the right. And after Adulas had
glanced in that direction Bill saw the brief flare of an elvish “light”
awakening from dormancy within those searching blue eyes and the
puzzlement which filled them next. Then the man was seeing only the
interior of the tent again and feeling an even greater thrill at having
experienced a small taste of what the Witch King could do all of which
left him momentarily speechless.
“I could help you with your reenactment if you will allow me to
abide within you,” the fell being then slyly offered as he wasted no
time in taking advantage of Bill’s desire to know more about him.
“You will do that for me?” an incredulous Bill was finally able to
reply. “After all I will be reenacting your unfortunate death.
Something I would think that you wouldn’t want to relive.”
“There were some details about it that have been overlooked and
this reenactment will be the perfect time to let everyone know about
them,” the Witch King replied as he now used his sly lying words to
entice the young man further much like someone dangling a carrot in
front of another.
“There’s more?! Wow! Alright you can abide in me!” Bill eagerly
agreed while his unrelenting desire to know shoved aside the part of
him that was screaming at him about this being a bad idea.
Suddenly he was loudly gasping out several times in surprise and
shock when he felt the full force of the Witch King’s dark and powerful
essence flow into him like a super charged rush of adrenaline. Then he
sucked in a deep breath before slowly letting it out as he began to
accustom himself to now having another “soul” inside him.
As for the Witch King he held off from possessing the young man
fully for the moment since his plan for leaving this time on the back
of the fell beast that had been following him around like a faithful
dog obviously would require far more space for the beast to land in
then what was inside the tent. So he felt the best way to accomplish
that would be to let Bill move on his own until he had reached a
suitable place where the possession and leave taking could occur.
“Welcome Ladies and gentleman to Thrush Creek’s reenactment of the
demise of the Witch King!” the male emcee’s voice now greeted everyone
over the loud speaker which brought out a loud and boisterous cheer
from the crowd. “Will Lady Éowyn, the Witch King of Angmar, and
Meriadoc Brandybuck please come and take your places so we can start!”
“Maybe you should tell me now what those overlooked details are so
I can work them in,” Bill suggested out loud since he wasn’t sure how
else to speak with the fell being inside him while he picked up in his
right hand his hefty mace which seemed to be lighter in weight. “Are
you making me even stronger?” he than asked while he savored this new
wonderful feeling.
“The details can wait until its time to reveal them. As for me
making you stronger yes I am so you can experience what my strength
feels like. Does this please you?” the Witch King replied but this
time directly to Bill’s mind. But his words were a lie for the added
strength wasn’t a beefing up of the young man’s. Instead it was the
fell being’s own strength as he placed himself at the ready for a swift
possession when the time came.
“Yes it does!” an impressed young man said while he took a few practice swings with the mace.
“Good! Now the time has come to let everyone else know more about me.”
So Bill left the tent his long stride purposeful and his bearing
almost imperious as his newly acquired “strength” suddenly made him
feel invincible.
~~~~~~~
By now the dark gray storm clouds had blotted out the warm fall
sunshine and the deep blue sky above the pasture which gave this
recreated Pelennor Fields the appropriate gloominess. It also added to
Adulas’s growing uneasiness so he didn’t clap and cheer along with the
eager crowd when a young woman clad and armed as a male Rohirrim and a
curly haired barefooted boy similarly clad took their places amongst
the “corpses”.
“Those are the Peterson’s oldest daughter and their adopted son.
That’s the family who moved into the old McPherson’s house in town this
summer. I hear that Donna, the young woman, has expressed an interest
in meeting you. But she is extremely shy so you may have to break the
ice since she hasn’t worked up the nerve yet to do it herself,” Aunt
Liz said to him with a big matchmaker’s grin while she gently elbowed
him in the ribs this time.
“That’s nice,” Adulas replied absentmindedly while he closely
watched as Bill made his appearance and continued his purposeful stride
towards Donna and her brother. Then when his dormant elvishness
suddenly awakened fully into existence and became like a steady beacon
of pure white light in his soul he now could sensed that Bill wasn’t
alone out there and it had nothing to do with his friend being
surrounded by the other re-enactors but instead by the fact that the
foul presence of the Witch King of Angmar was out there too! Now this
caused Adulas to swear softly to himself as his original fear over
Bill’s interest in the fell being becoming a full fledge obsession
quickly grew by leaps and bounds into a fear for his friend’s life at
this unexpected turn of events.
“Auntie I want you to head for the car and go home now!” he then said to the older woman in a low and urgent tone of voice.
“Why ever for?!” she protested with a perplexed look on her face
which was being made rosier by the cold wind that was now beginning to
blow from the storm in the east. Then she noticed the elvish “light”
within her nephew’s eyes and this set her woman’s intuition into a
tizzy as it tried to convince her disbelieving mind that what she was
seeing was real. “Adulas you’ve changed into an elf! How is this
possible?!”
“I don’t know! But I do know that the fell spirit of the Witch King
of Angmar is out there with Bill and I don’t want you here for I now
sense something more than just that storm is about to happen!”
~~~~~~~
In the meantime the fell being was also aware of Adulas’s emerging
elvishness. And while this didn’t worry him since he was confident that
there was nothing the meddlesome elf could do in stopping him from
possessing Bill he still decided to go ahead and make his move now
which left the young man suddenly feeling no longer in control of
himself. Then the Witch King’s dry hollow laugh filled his mind.
“I don’t need to keep your mind and soul alive in order to use
your body for my plans of revenge against the Lady Éowyn. But you have
impressed me with your desire to know everything about me so I will let
you abide within me for the time being!”
Now this chilling bit of information from the Witch King paralyzed
Bill’s mind with a numbing fear when it made him realize belatedly the
deadly predicament he had gotten himself in.
~~~~~~~
At the same time Adulas’s mind was a whirl of activity as he
desperately tried to come up with a quick idea that he could use to
save his friend only to discard them just as quickly as being
unworkable. Fortunately Aunt Liz had not protested any further about
her leaving for home and was now making her way back through the
cheering crowd towards their car just as the emcee began the
reenactment by starting to read a short narration to set the scene.
Suddenly the ear splitting screech of a Nazgûl which sounded more
like thousands upon thousands of finger nails being slowly dragged down
a blackboard rent the air behind Adulas. Now this evil assault on
everyone’s hearing had him and the entire crowd clamping their hands
over their ears at nearly the same time. However he didn’t shrink back
from the fear it instilled like everyone else was doing. Instead he
quickly spun around on one heel with his hands still over his ears and
saw Bill now standing with his arms held out in a gesture of summoning
while he faced the storm darkened mountain pass in the east. And when
the faint roar of a fell beast answered from there in the eerie silence
that followed after the screeching Adulas needed no further proof to
know that the something more that he had felt was about to happen had
and that his friend was totally caught up in it.
Suffice it to say that none of the re-enactors wanted to be
anywhere close to this new Bill after that. So a mad scramble ensued
and during that time the curly haired barefooted boy tripped over his
own feet which left him face down on the ground with a mouth full of
the fall browned grass. But it wasn’t until Donna had quickly come over
to him and was starting to pull him back up as he spat the grass out
did the Witch King move his new set of eyes onto her.
“Since you want to be so much like that Rohan woman who brought
about my death in Middle-earth then you will now share her eventual
fate!” the Witch King ominously declared in his own fell voice while he
swung his mace above his head as he prepared to strike the horrified
woman down with one mighty blow where she stood as if rooted there.
Without hesitation Adulas had nimbly jumped over the rope barrier
and had swiftly covered the open ground between him and Donna. Then he
placed himself between the fell being and his prey before he quickly
reached up so he could firmly grab a hold of the mace bearing forearm
with both hands after which he used the weight of his entire body and
his elvish strength to pull it away while it was still up in the air
and then down. Now this caused the blow from the spike covered ball to
harmlessly pass over Donna’s head with several inches to spare before
it hit the ground with a dull thud off to her left side.
“Run!” he then yelled at her and her brother which they quickly did
now that her brother was on his feet and together they headed for the
make shift parking lot which had become a noisy traffic jam as everyone
was trying to leave at once while honking their car horns. However
Adulas didn’t get the chance to see if his Aunt Liz had made it out of
there since he was forced to hastily back peddle out of the way of the
mace blow now aimed at his own head after he had let go of Bill’s
possessed arm.
“You have meddled for the last time elf!” the fell being said
angrily while he tried to hit Adulas in the head again only to be
foiled when his target simply ducked down under the swing.
“Get out of Bill’s body now!” Adulas demanded right back his own
anger clearly evident in his voice and in his eyes which darken their
blueness.
“Your friend is mine! Now you will die!” a suddenly triumphant
sounding Witch King replied while he looked up at the sky behind the
elf.
Now this had Adulas quickly turning around and looking up as well.
And when he saw the much closer dark leathery body of the fell beast in
a steep dive towards him with its fanged maw at the ready he silently
swore under his breath about forgetting about it.
“Not this day!” he replied back more confidently than he was
feeling since nothing in his life had prepared him especially for this!
Then he suddenly darted off to the north where there was an extension
of a large and healthy grove of golden aspen trees making in roads into
the pasture. Now he hoped that the beast wouldn’t be able to make the
tight aerial turn needed in order to follow after him which fortunately
was the case and it left the fell beast roaring out its frustration as
it could only land where he had been standing. Then he paused to see
what the Witch King and beast would do next.
“Hunt down your prey!” the Witch King then ordered which the beast
promptly started to do by walking surprisingly fast on all fours after
Adulas while using both of its clawed front wing joints and hind feet.
“That is so not good!” the elf muttered in a worried tone before he
darted towards the trees again. Fortunately they effectively barred the
fell beast’s body from entering in after him despite it slamming
violently against them which then showered them both with golden leaves
in the process.
But its long neck could snake in amongst the tree trunks and Adulas
had to duck and dodge for several heart pounding minutes the beast’s
salivating and fetid jaws when he found himself trapped up against a
denser group of trees that were growing too close together for him to
slip between. Eventually he was able to escape when the beast sank its
fangs deeply into the trunk of the tree directly behind him instead of
his chest after he had ducked down at the very last minute. Then from a
safe distance he watched as the infuriated beast easily ripped a huge
chunk of the trunk out as it pulled back in a mighty effort to free its
fangs.
Suddenly the fell beast grew quiet and it tilted its head to one
side like a dog would as it listened to something that Adulas couldn’t
hear. Then it slowly began to back up till its neck and head were clear
of the trees while it glared back at him since it clearly wasn’t happy
about having to leave its prey behind.
Meanwhile the elf had realized that the Witch King must be calling
the fell beast back to him and while that was a very welcoming turn of
events it also was a worrying one too because it could mean the fell
being had set his sight on someone else. Now this thought had him
rushing back towards the edge of the aspen grove despite his self
preservation screaming at him to stay deep within the safety of the
trees. And when he saw that only he and the Witch King were the only
ones left from those that had originally gathered in the pasture he
sighed in relief.
After that all Adulas could do was to stand and watch helplessly
while the fell being took a seat in the crook created where the fell
beast’s neck met its shoulders and wings. Then it used those wings in
conjunction with a mighty leap upwards to quickly become airborne
during which time the elf could hear the Witch King’s triumphant laugh
as he at least succeeded in keeping Bill’s body. The fact that the elf
was still alive did bother him but his revenge driven mind soon
dismissed it while he ordered the fell beast towards the stormy and
dark mountain pass to the east.
“If you think you’re now free of my meddling you had better think
again for I will not leave Bill to whatever fate you have in store for
him!” Adulas loudly and boldly countered while he continued to watch
the Witch King and his mount head for the pass. And when both
unexpectedly vanished in a blink of an eye while above it he realized
that he had no idea as to how he would go about backing up his words.
It was at that moment when the aspen tree behind him began to
“speak” although to the mortal ear it only sounded like its golden
leaves were softly rustling. But to Adulas’s he heard an intriguing
snippet about there being another elf that would be waiting for him
within the same pass later that night when the stars were at their most
brilliant. Now this subtly delivered message startled him into
remembering that the strange goings on that afternoon wasn’t limited to
Bill and that he too had been affected.
“How is it possible that I can now hear and understand you?” he
asked in a low voice his confusion about it quite evident in it after
he had turned to face the tree. Then he lightly laid the palm of his
right hand on the tree’s smooth white bark while he gazed far up into
its branches.
Instead the aspen would only urge him repeatedly to leave for the
pass now so he let out a loud sigh of frustration while he removed his
hand. “Alright I’m going. If I’m to help Bill I will have to go through
that pass anyway. Perhaps this other elf you spoke of can help me
figure this whole thing out,” Adulas said the latter part more to
himself as his curiosity began to grow as to who this other elf was.
Then he turned back around and looked towards the make shift parking
lot and when he didn’t see his Aunt’s car in amongst those that had
been jammed up and then abandoned he sighed in relief since he took
that as a good sign that she had gotten safely away.
By now he could hear the faint wail of sirens coming from the town
and this sent him on a quick but stealthy course for home within the
concealing grove of aspens since the last thing he wanted to do now was
to waste time in the answering of the numerous questions the
approaching law enforcement were sure to have about what had happened a
short while ago in the pasture. So when the Sheriff and his three
deputies finally arrived there they found it totally deserted while the
cold wind from the east ushered in a few snowflakes.
