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Chapter 7:The Council of Lorne

Disclaimer: Joss and Tolkien own this stuff, not me.

The next day, Caritas was in complete disarray. The representatives gathered on the terrace, as did Giles and Buffy. Lorne entered wearing a bright yellow robe, accompanied by his cousin and chief guard, Landok.

“Hello and welcome to Caritas.” Lorne greeted the Council. “Many of you know me, and know that I’ve called you here to discuss serious business. As you are all aware, Mordor has been getting strong again. And anyone who knows anything about Mordor knows that equals a not fun time. The apocalypse is right around the corner, and nobody is gonna be safe from it. So we have to stick together in this or we stand as much chance as a plate of cocktail weenies with Oprah Winfrey. As I understand it, many of you have news of Sauron’s activities in your homes, so I’m opening up the floor.” Xander stood up, addressing the Council.

“A few weeks ago we got a visit from a weird guy on a horse, he said he was from Mordor and had a message from Sauron himself. He wanted us to join with them; he said if the Dwarves joined Mordor there’d be a lot in it for us. After we said no he left, two days later we found the bodies of our friends hung at the gate, with a note that said ‘you had your chance’.” Xander finished and sat down, as Willow stood up.

“Mirkwood has been infested by evil spirits and creatures for years, but it got better after we got rid of Cyvus Veil, one of Sauron’s warlocks. But recently Orcs and dark magic have overrun the forest, we’ve been able to hold them off so far but it’s obvious they’re getting stronger. My cousin Amy led an assault on the dark forces and she was turned into a rat; we’re still trying to change her back.” Lindsey, one of the men from Gondor, stood up, as Willow sat down.

“I just got through a big battle when I was called here. The city Osgiliath was under siege for weeks and we lost more than half our men before we were able to drive the Orcs back. I barely got out alive myself, and it was obvious they would be back when they got reinforcements. The next time they attack, we won’t be able to stop them from taking over the city.”

“I was afraid of that, it seems Sauron means serious business. But there is something that we know that he doesn’t; we have what he’s looking for. Buffy, be a dear and set the Ring down here.” Lorne asked, motioning to the stone pedestal. Buffy stood up and walked over to the pedestal; she set the Ring on it, feeling like she just set down a hundred pound weight and sat back down.

“Well, I’ll be damned. It’s true.” Lindsey whispered. The members of the Council, shocked at this development, looked uneasily at each other and Ring. “I had a dream, but now I think it was more of a premonition. The sky in the east was dark, and a small light shown n the western sky. I heard a voice screaming ‘you’re doomed, Riley’s Bane has returned.” Lindsey never looked away from the Ring as he spoke, he seemed mesmerized by it. He slowly walked closer to the pedestal and reached for the Ring.

“Lindsey no!” Lorne said loudly. Giles took a deep breath and began speaking.

“Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul,” Giles said in a deep and powerful voice. The sky grew dark and a crack of thunder was heard. The Council members became confused and scared as Giles continued. “Ash nazg thrakatuluk, agh burzum ishi krimpatul!” When he finished, the sun came back out, and Giles looked ready to collapse.

“No one has ever used that language in Caritas.” Lorne said, still regaining his strength.

“I’m sorry, but unless we do something it won’t be the last time it’s used here. It will only be a matter of time before the Black Speech of Mordor is heard everywhere in Middle Earth. We can’t use the Ring, it’s completely evil.”

“It’s a gift. It’s a chance at winning on silver platter. Why don’t we use it? My father, the Steward of Gondor, has been keeping the armies of Mordor in line for as long as I can remember. Our people’s blood, sweat and tears have been keeping all your homes safe from their troops. This is Sauron’s weapon, I say we use it against him.”

“You can’t use it! No one can wield the power of the One Ring.” Strider said indignantly. “Sauron is the only one who the Ring answers to, anyone else who thinks they can control it is deluding themselves.”

“Well what do you know about it, you’re a ranger and last time I checked rangers weren’t experts on the Ring.” Lindsey said, liking this Strider guy less and less.

“He isn’t just a ranger!” Cordelia said angrily, standing up. “He’s Angel, son of Angelus, and you owe him your respect and allegiance.”

“Angel? The Angel?” Lindsey said in disbelief. “This guy is Riley’s heir?”

“And heir to the throne of Gondor.” Cordelia said, pride swelling. Buffy’s eyes widened as she realized he was a hottie and an honest to goodness king.

“Gondor doesn’t have a king, and it doesn’t need one.” Lindsey said coldly to Angel as he sat down.

“That aside, Angel is right. We can’t use it.” Giles said, trying to get back to the real issue.

“Then we only have one option, we gotta destroy this baby.” Lorne said looking at the Ring with hatred. Lindsey sighed in exasperation; these idiots were throwing away their best chance at beating Mordor.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Xander asked standing up. He picked up his axe, walked over the Ring and swung it down on the Ring as hard as he could. Buffy gasped as a vision of the Eye of Sauron flashed in her mind. The axe blade shattered to pieces, the handle swung back and hit Xander right between the eyes, but the Ring didn’t even have a scratch. The Council was stunned, an axe Dwarf’s was one of the most dangerous things on earth, but the Ring was still in one piece.

“It can’t be destroyed that way.” Lorne said to the stunned dwarf.

“I got it.” Willow said standing. She chanted and her eyes turned completely black. “DESTROY IT!” Willow sent a wave of magic at the Ring; it hit the Ring and flew back at Willow sending her flying into the wall.

“Everybody stop and listen to me!” Lorne called as they revived Willow. “The Ring can’t be destroyed by anything we do to it. This evil knick-knack was made in the fires of Mount Doom, and that’s the only place it can be destroyed. It must be taken into Mordor, to Mount Doom, into the Hellmouth itself and thrown back into the fires where it came from. Someone here has to do it.” The silence of the Council was deafening. Everybody looked at each other, no one wanting to be the one who did it. It stayed quiet for a while till Lindsey spoke up.

“Are you nuts?! You don’t just walk into Mordor. The Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs, there’s evil in Mordor none of us can imagine. Sauron’s Eye watches everything that goes on there, every minute of every day. The place is a desert wasteland, infested with every type of evil creature you can think off, it’s full of fire, ash and dust from Mount Doom. Evil isn’t just in the inhabitants, it’s in everything in Mordor, the ground, the sky, the air you breath is poisonous and evil. You couldn’t do it if you had 10,000 men and even then it’s suicide.”

“Haven’t you heard what Lorne’s been saying? The Ring must be destroyed!” Willow said angrily, standing up.

“I suppose you think you’re the one to do it? And what happens if we fail? What happens when Sauron takes back his Ring cause we were stupid enough to bring it to his back yard?!” Lindsey said harshly to the red head Elf.

“Hey, don’t talk to Will that way!” Xander said, getting in Lindsey’s face.

“No one’s doing the ‘I’ statements.” Willow said as she saw the Council degenerate.

“Do you people realize while we bicker amongst ourselves, Sauron’s power is growing?” Giles said angrily, standing. “We have to do something, or we’ll all be wiped out!” The entire Council proceeded to become an all out yell fest.

Buffy sat in her seat, staring at the Ring. She felt like she could hear the Ring laughing as the Council argued. She remembered all she saw since she and her friends left the Shire; the Nazgul looking for them as they hid, the ear splitting screech, being stabbed by the Morgul blade, and nearly dying. She had seen what real evil could do, and she could only imagine what it could do to the people and places she cared about. She wanted nothing more than to let someone else deal with this, go home and forget this ever happened; but she couldn’t turn her back on what was obviously her responsibility. She took a deep breath and stood, her mind made up.

“I will take it!” Buffy called out, not getting anyone’s attention. “I WILL TAKE IT!” Giles heard her this time, his heart sank. He felt like a father who just found out his child was going to war, but he knew, deep down that Buffy was the only one who could do this. He turned to her, a mix of sadness and pride in his heart. “I’ll take the Ring to Mordor.” Buffy said, getting the attention of the Council. Everyone looked stunned, this little hobbit girl was volunteering to take on the biggest evil in the world. Lorne, Angel, Cordelia, Willow and Xander looked at her with amazement, speechless at her courage. “But, I kinda don’t know the way.”

“I’ll help you through this Buffy,” Giles said, standing next to her. “No matter what.”

“If I can protect you, even if I don’t make it, I will.” Angel said walking over. “You have my sword.

“And my bow and magics.” Willow said joining the group.

“And my axe.” Said Xander taking his place by Willow.

“All our lives are in your hands now. If this is the way it’s gonna be, I’ll make sure it’s done.” Lindsey said as he walked over.

“One bloody minute!” came a familiar voice from behind a bush. Spike sauntered from behind his hiding place and stood next to Buffy. “Buffy’s not goin’ anywhere without me!”

“I guess not, Spikester” Lorne said, amused. “It seems it’s impossible to get you away from her, even when she’s summoned to a secret council and you aren’t”

“Hey, we’re coming to!” Came a voice from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Dawn and Andrew running to the group. “And you’ll have to knock us unconscious to stop us.”

“Yeah, and besides, you’re gonna need people of intelligence and bravery on this sort of mission. Quest. Thingy.” Andrew said, unconvincingly.

“Well, that rules you out Andrew” Dawn said giving Andrew a look.

“Nine companions.” Lorne mused. Buffy, Spike, Giles, Angel, Willow, Xander, Lindsey, Dawn and Andrew. “Ok then, you shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!”

“Cool!” Andrew said grinning. “So… where are we going?” Andrew asked, receiving a slap on the head from Dawn.

"Middle Earth is doomed." Giles mumbled under his breath.





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