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Fairborn (PG) Print

Written by Paul Price

26 August 2011 | 24652 words

Title: Fairborn
Author: Paul Price
Rating: PG
Pairing(s): Faramir

This is a sixteen chapter short novel detailing curious events and various adventures in the twentieth year of Faramir and Eowyn’s marriage. The adventures and events concern them, their children, their friends, the countries of Gondor, Rohan, Dunland, and Harad, and enemies they did not know they had.


[ all pages ]

Chapter 3: Beregond and Damrod

In North Ithilien, Beregond rested as his men were piling up orc bodies for burning. Sometimes, he thought he was getting too old for field command. Actually, he wasn’t that old, as his family was long-lived, but after each battle he felt like a very old man. He would be taking back the bodies of six of his dead comrades. Another ten had been wounded. All of the dead were rangers, while most of the wounded were Rohirrim. He knew all of the rangers who had been killed, and wished that he did not have to tell their families of their deaths. He was pleased that his son, Bergil, had survived the battle unscathed, and was relieved that his youngest son Bergrond was on guard duty at the fortress. At least Bergrond was safe from harm.

He thought back to the battle. He had divided the Rohirrim into two battle groups of about 35 men, and sent five riders out as scouts. After the scouts had located the orc band and counted about 200 orcs in it, he picked a spot for an ambush. The rangers, numbering about 50, set up a line at the edge of a woods that the orcs were approaching. The two groups of horsemen were to each flank of the rangers, but about 100 paces away. As the orcs approached, the rangers fired their bows. The inexperienced orc leader had not sent out scouts, and the orcs were completely surprised. As the orcs began to recover from their surprise, the Rohirrim emerged from the woods and charged. Most of the orcs started running with the Rohirrim in their trail. Few orcs survived. However, one group of about 40 orcs charged ahead and into the rangers. He had not expected this bravery in the face of Rohirrim cavalry. Without that orc charge, he likely wouldn’t have lost any of his troops. The thought made him angry. He had done everything right, but still six of his friends had died. Again, he felt aged.

After burning the dead orcs, Beregond’s little army began its march home. Unlike his recent foe, he sent out scouts ahead of his force. Unlike his recent foe, he did not need to, as no enemy was near. His troops arrived home early the next morning.

At the time Beregond’s little army was marching home, the White Company in Dunland was trying to find the Dunlending army. The King wanted to bring about a decisive battle to end this war; however, the Dunlending King was trying to avoid a battle. He was hiding his army in the forests of Dunland. Damrod was commanding the White Company in Dunland in Beregond’s absence. This was an absence caused by legal issues. Since Beregond had been banished from Minas Tirith, he could not serve with any Gondorean Army which the King led, according to an ancient Gondorean law. This could be resolved, if the King pardoned Beregond; however, if the King pardoned Beregond, then Beregond must resume his position in the Citadel Guard, according to another ancient law. A third ancient law stated that the King must reign for twenty years before he could change the laws. The King had reigned for twenty years now, but was too busy with the war in Dunland to change any of the ancient laws. While the men of the White Company knew Damrod was a capable commander, they knew Beregond was better. They thought his absence was absurd, but they performed their duties well despite their disgruntlement. Still, they were not finding the Dunlending army, and the thought persisted among the White Company that Beregond would have found it by now.

Damrod, like most of the army, had been surprised by the amount of woodlands in Dunland. All of their maps showed Dunland to be a land of rolling plains with few wooded areas. They now found that their maps were based upon information that was over 100 years old, and the woods were now a significant portion of Dunland. The King had expected the Rohirrim and Gondorean cavalry to quickly find and overthrow the Dunlending army on the plains, but it had not happened as the plains were no longer a significant feature of Dunland. Now it was Damrod’s responsibility to find the Dunlending army in the woods, and he had not yet done so. He felt the pressure from the King and the other commanders to complete his assignment.

NB: Please do not distribute (by any means, including email) or repost this story (including translations) without the author's prior permission. [ more ]

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