Chapter XXXIV: Pelargir
When Aldamir awoke to Aragorn�s horn-blast, he thought for a moment that he had not fallen asleep at all, for the sky was still covered in darkness. But as he got to his feet, he realized that it was no ordinary darkness of night. This was a great, dark cloud which came out of the East and spread itself over the sky, blotting out the light. He gazed at it in mingled dread and hate. It seemed to seethe and boil like poison, like the bearer of a great storm, but no rain fell from it and no thunder sounded from its depths; it was a sorcerous black cloud put forth by Sauron to darken men�s hopes. It filled him with a sort of dreading fear, but his resolve grew in a strange way.

They rode forth that day under the deadening darkness, punctuated with blood-red streaks of lightning. Aldamir glanced backwards as they rode. The Dead host had become clearer and more terrible in the darkness; the shadowy shapes seemed to have gained strength. Now they swept after Aragorn�s company at a great pace. Aldamir saw that some rode on grey horses and some strode with long steps, but all moved at the same swift pace.

Then on the third day they reached Linhir above the mouth of the river Gilrain. As they rode down they saw a great seething mass at the fords, and shouts and cries and the clash of steel floated up to them. A great battle was taking place; as far as they could see, the men of Lamedon were engaged in desperate battle with strange, foreign men of Umbar and Harad. Their ships, upon which they had sailed North to assault the forces of the West, rested nearby on the river.

Aragorn drew his sword quickly, and cried in a loud voice to his company to go to the aid of the defenders. As one they drew their sword, and rode down towards the battle. But none crossed blades with an enemy that day, nor even drew near one, for as they rode down like the wind with the Dead in their wake, both defenders and foe cast away their weapons and the foe fled in fear, crying, as others had before them, that the King of the Dead was come.

The corsairs fled to their ships and were away before Aragorn reached the site of battle, but the defenders stood firm, though they were pale with dread at what they thought was their doom approaching. When the corsairs had scattered they had gathered together, those that remained, and now stood strong with their leader at their head. He was a tall man, with dark blue eyes and black hair; a bloody gash stained his forehead with red, but he stood fearlessly as Aragorn approached. The Dead hung behind him as he rode up, misty and grey, and though the man paled, he stood his ground.

�Be at peace, my friends, I will do you no harm,� Aragorn assured them, lowering his sword. �I wish only to speak to your leader. Where is he?�

The tall man stepped forward and gazed sternly up at Aragorn. �I am their leader, and my name is Angbor of Lamedon. Who are you, and why do you ride across our lands with these ghosts in your wake? Why would a living man ride with the Dead?�

�I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, and I am riding now to the defense of Minas Tirith,� replied Aragorn. The men�s eyes widened, and they whispered among themselves. Angbor looked stunned.

�Then it is true?� he said at last. �The sword has been reforged, and Isildur�s heir has come?�

�He has, and he has need of your aid,� said Aragorn, and he dismounted, extending his hand. �I ask only for your friendship and aid, and I will give you the same. I ride now to Pelargir, to thwart the corsairs on their march to bring down the White City. If you dare, I bid you to gather your men and ride after me when the Grey Company has passed. At Pelargir the Heir of Isildur will have need of you.�
  
Angbor was still gazing at him in astonishment. Reaching forward, he grasped Aragorn�s hand. �You need only ask and I will do it, Lord Aragorn,� he said. �When you have gone I will gather my army and we will ride with all speed to Pelargir. Look for us there!�
  
�Thank you, my friend! I cannot tarry now, for I ride in the greatest of haste. I will look for you at Pelargir!�
  
And with that he leapt upon his horse, and wheeled about, calling to the company. Sheathing their swords they leapt after him, and then they were gone from that place.


  
And so the Company rode onwards and onwards, and crossed the Gilrain. There they rested a while, but Aragorn urged them to continue soon again, saying that already then Minas Tirith was assailed. He feared that it would be too late if they did not hurry, and so they mounted again before the night was over and rode as fast as their horses could manage over the plains of Lebennin.
  
In this way they rode down to Pelargir, after a day and a night of hard, unrelenting riding. Aldamir had grown very weary when finally the Great River came into sight.
  
Then suddenly, he saw the river and heard a sound he had heard only in troubled dreams before; the crying of the sea-gulls. He forgot all else as they rode down toward the great shining expanse of water, and for a moment he thought they had come to the sea. He experienced a strange sensation, as if he were waking from a dream into a reality he never knew existed. The gulls� cries filled his ears, and his heart jumped in a strange way. The sea.... the water!
  
But when they reached Pelargir all thought of the Sea was banished for a short while. In the harbor there and great fleet of fifty black ships rested, their black sails bound at the masts. Smaller vessels lay about them beyond count. Some of the corsairs that had fled before them at Linhir had reached the fleet before them, carrying tidings of a grey terror pursuing them and coming to utterly destroy them. Now some of the ships had put off, seeking to escape down the river, and many smaller craft were afire. Trapped now, the Haradrim stood at the bank, but they laughed as Aragorn rode down, for they were still a great army.
  
Then Aragorn turned to the Dead, and called to them in a powerful voice. �Now come! By the Black Stone I call you!�
  
Then the shadow-army, which had hung back, rushed suddenly forward, drawing their pale blades. All about Aragorn�s company they swept, and Aldamir felt something like a cold wind blow through him. He wondered if the shadowy blades could cut, but he never found out, for they needed no other weapon than the fear they carried for every living man. All fled before them; none would stand against them.
  
To every ship they went, a ghostly shadow of a dreadful army. The men aboard the ships were seized by a mad terror and fled in all directions, many throwing themselves heedlessly overboard, trying anything to escape. Not one dared to stand and fight, and when the D�nedain had ridden among them, driving them away, and the Dead had rushed through every ship, there were none left save for the terrified slaves at the oars, who were bound to their seats. Their cries of terror filled the air, until Aragon sent one of the D�nedain to each ship to calm them.
  
Then the Dead stood arrayed on the shore, a terrible, grim army, and their eyes shone red in the firelight from the burning ships. Aragon spoke to them in a loud voice. �Hear now the words of the Heir of Isildur! Your oath is fulfilled. Go now back and trouble not the valleys ever again! Depart and be at rest!�
  
To Aldamir it seemed that they bowed, and he saw their King step forward and break his spear on his knee. His army cast their weapons away, yet nothing remained on the ground where they threw them. They turned, and like a grey mist that is blown away like the wind, they dispersed and were gone.
  
To Aldamir, standing on the deck of one of the black ships, it felt as though he awoke from a strange dream. He became aware of pain in his side and shoulder, and a great weariness overtook him. Almost stumbling, he grasped at the railing of the ship to keep his balance.
  
�Aldamir! Are you all right? What�s wrong?� Lindir was at his side in an instant, supporting him, his eyes anxious.
  
Aldamir shook his head. �I�m all right, don�t worry about me. I�m just tired.�
  
Lindir looked worried, but didn�t press the matter. He too looked pale and tired. Glad that he did not have to tell Lindir about his wounds and burden him with another worry, Aldamir leaned against the railing and tried to relax.
  
Aragorn chose the largest of the ships for himself, and set the slaves free. In a frenzy of joy they cast themselves at his feet and praised him. And though they had been set free, they offered now their service, and as free men took again their place at the oars. Also a great gathering of men from Ethir and out of Lebennin came to look upon Isildur�s Heir and aid him, for now the fear of the Dead was removed, and the rumour of his name had run like fire. Many of them had a great knowledge of the sea, and Aragon gave them places on all the fifty ships of the fleet.
  
That evening Angbor of Lamedon rode into Pelargir with all the horsemen he could muster. Aragon welcomed him as an old friend and spent some hours in council with him. It was decided that Aragon would sail as swiftly as possible to Minas Tirith in the black fleet, and that Angbor would ride after him with his men, hoping to arrive soon after.
  
And so that same day they set forth, even though it was forty-two leagues from Pelargir to the landings at Harlond near Minas Tirith. Aragon would not start later, driven by fear that he would be too late. �We must come to the Harlond tomorrow, or it will be too late and we will fail utterly.....�
  
Aldamir, too weary almost to stand, had stumbled to a small room on the ship and lain down in exhaustion. Now he lay there, eyes closed, rocked gently in the swaying motion of the ship. When the ships drew away from the harbor and set out on their race up the river, he lay tired and worn in the small room, his side aching as he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep....
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