with their lord.'
'They rode from Ringlond, Sire, but they are not the men of Anfalas.'
'Not Anfalas? Then who are they, Romach? Stop stammering and…'
Suddenly a high shrill wail cut through the babble of voices. It was a woman's scream, full of grief and terror, and it chilled the hearts of every man there. All fell silent in amazement.
Even as they wheeled to look, six riders thundered into the village under a white banner of truce. They were tall and dark, with swarthy, sun-darkened skin. Their raiment was black and red, and their leader wore a helm in the likeness of a sea eagle, its great hooked beak mirroring his own.
Ohtar gasped. 'Sire!' he exclaimed. 'Those are no Uialedain!'
Isildur stared, his jaw set hard. 'No. We saw enough of their like at Anglond to ever forget them. The Corsairs of Umbar!'
A man came running up from the camp, sword in hand. He was followed by another, then another — the men of Ethir Lefnui. Isildur's people grabbed up their weapons and came running as well.
'Stop!' shouted Isildur. 'There will be no fighting until we know what game Romach is playing.'
The men stopped beside the king, but they glared at the riders, now calmly dismounting by Romach's hall. Their eyes were cold and hard, and their knuckles were white on their sword hilts. Ohtar called some of the Ithilien men to join them, but whether to attack the Corsairs or to restrain the men of Ethir Lefnui, no one was sure. Isildur stalked over to Romach's hall, his eyes blazing.
'What means this, Romach?' he roared. 'Do you then betray us to our enemies?'
Before Romach could reply, the leader of the newcomers turned to Isildur.
'I am Malithor,' he said in a smooth unctuous voice. 'Ambassador of his Imperial Majesty Herumor of Umbar. And well do I know you, Isildur Elendilson. But I must point out to both you and my friend here,' and he nodded toward the white-faced Romach, 'that your enemies, Isildur, are not necessarily his.' The ambassador glared insolently at the king. He was nearly as tall as Isildur, but thin and narrow-shouldered, with a long face and high cheekbones. He stood drawn up to his full height, head thrown back proudly. Dark eyes glittered as he peered down his long nose. 'My lord Romach must first choose his friends before he may know his enemies,' he said.
'The slaves of Sauron are the enemies of all free peoples,' replied Isildur through clenched teeth.
The cold eyes kindled. 'The Men of Umbar are slaves to no one! We are our own agents, acting for our own ends.'
'Your ends are murder and pillage,' growled Isildur. 'I was at Anglond when your ships attacked that city and slew many peaceable farmers.'
The ambassador of Umbar gave a grim smile. 'Peaceable farmers, were they? And what was your errand to Anglond, Isildur? We captured a few of those peaceable farmers alive, and upon questioning they told us you were there to turn them from farmers to soldiers.'
'Questioning? You mean torture.'
The ambassador shrugged. 'They required some persuasion, of course, but what of that? We needed to know why you were there and they were at first reluctant to tell us. We could learn nothing from their silence or their lies. In the end of course they told the truth, as they all do eventually. You're a soldier, Isildur. You know torture is the quickest and surest way to learn the truth.'
Isildur glared, his eyes full of hatred. 'We do not torture prisoners we capture. It is barbaric.'
'Then you are fools. I am sure you took a few of our people during the fighting at Anglond. They were brave and loyal men, I'm sure, but I have no doubt that torture, skillfully applied, would have induced them to tell you we planned to sail to the River Lefnui next. If you had known that, perhaps you could have saved that city.'
Isildur's face went red with anger. 'The sack of Ethir Lefnui is an outrage and a crime,' shouted Isildur, his voice shaking. 'Those people had done nothing to you. They were no threat to you.'
The ambassador's face remained calm, even careless. 'That's quite true, of course. They were completely unimportant. The people of Lefnui have always been peaceful and trusting. But we needed to set an example, and burning Lefnui would cost us little trouble. We wanted the people of all lands to know that the hand of Umbar is long, and neither high walls nor the promised protection of Gondor will stay that hand when people insist on allying themselves with the wrong side.' He glanced meaningfully toward Romach.
'You have a strange way of enlisting allies in your cause,' said Isildur. 'Do you seek to make your friends by killing them?'
'We do not seek friends,' snapped Malithor. 'Umbar is so mighty it has no need of allies. But when a city threatens to rise up against us, it could give others ideas. And so we crush it, as we would a disobedient dog. Other lands that might have thought of wavering soon find new resolve to avoid a similar fate.' He smiled at Romach. 'Might we go into your hall, my lord? We have much to speak of.'
Romach started. 'Yes, of course. Come in.' He glanced at Isildur's face, now dark with fury. 'Both of you, come into my hall.' He led the way under the low door. Isildur turned to Ohtar.
'Keep a close eye on the Umbardrim. And keep the Lefnui people away from them. They are under a flag of truce.' He turned and entered the hall behind Malithor.
'You have no right to threaten these people,' he said as soon as the door was closed. 'They are free to choose their friends as they will.'
'We have every right to do whatever we want!' replied Malithor, showing signs of anger for the first time. 'Herumor is the rightful lord of all these lands, not your Elendil. Umbar was founded long ago by the mighty kings of Numenor, and we have ruled this land for long ages before Gondor existed. What would the Uialedain have been without us Dunedain? We brought the first corn and wine to Middle-earth. We taught them farming and shipbuilding and constructing in stone. We have been their teachers, their protectors, their lords, for over two thousand years, while your forefathers sat in Andunie and mooned after their friends the Elves. Where were your noble Elves when fair Numenor was torn asunder? Drinking, no doubt, with their allies the Valar, they who cast our homeland under the sea!
'We have lived with the men of Middle-earth for centuries. We know each other well. They have always looked to the mighty fleet of Umbar for their protection. They are our grateful wards. It is you, Isildur, and your father that have stirred them against us. We are merely bringing them back to their senses.'
'Does slaying them bring them to their senses, Malithor? Do you truly believe that it is in their interests to bend their knees to Sauron?'
'Of course it is in their interest. It is always in one's interest to be aligned with a victor. It is fruitless to stand against Sauron. Do you think to defeat him with your puny weapons? He is not a man such as we, nor is he yet like to the Elves. For he is one of the Maiar, the mighty ones who were present when the world was made. You cannot dream to defeat him. Not all the Elves and Men in all of Middle-earth could so much as approach him. Why, he learned his powers at the feet of Melkor the Vala himself.'
'Speak not that name!' spat Isildur. 'He forfeited his right to bear a name and shall ever be known only as Morgoth, the Black Enemy. Like his lackey Sauron, he too, once thought to set himself to be Lord of Middle-earth. Infinitely mightier than Sauron was he, and yet Elves and Men cast him down and he was driven from the circles of the world, and thus the Elder Days passed away and the New Age began.'
'He was overthrown only by the might of his fellow Valar, not by puny men nor Elves. Now the Valar have withdrawn from the world and they have sworn never to enter it again. And Sauron has grown much greater since his master's downfall.'
'You defend Sauron as if you spoke for him instead of your Emperor. Are you then Herumor's creature, or Sauron's?'
Malithor's eyes flickered at that. 'I am a loyal subject of his Imperial Majesty Herumor of Umbar. His Majesty bows his knee to no one, not even Sauron. I was only pointing out the futility of your struggle against Sauron.'
'Sauron is bent on enslaving all the peoples of Middle-earth. Does your Emperor think to become one of his slaves? Or does he plan to stand against him when he moves to bring Umbar under his dominion?'
'Umbar will never be ruled by Sauron! But he is a great power to be reckoned with; it is not prudent to openly oppose him. Yet he can be appeased, placated. And when he is victorious over the Elves and you Gondorrim, he will remember his friends.' With another significant glance at Romach, he added, 'As he will remember those who fought against him. And if you think Ethir Lefnui's fate hard, tempt not Sauron's anger.'
Isildur made a sound of disgust and abruptly broke off the debate. He turned to Romach.
