"RING OF DARKNESS" by Nick Perumov
A continuation of J.R.R.Tolkien’s "Lord of the Rings" – Middle-Earth 300 years later.
Book 1: "The Elven Blade"
Summary by Nadya Neklioudova. Version 1. Free translation; I tried as best as I could to keep up with the style but I apologize if it doesn't match or sound right... And please excuse all spelling mistakes, they will be corrected.
This is only a translation-summary of the book by a fan, for fans. It is written by Nick Perumov, as stated above. Published in Russian by "Severo-Zapad" ("North-West") in St-Petersburg, Russia in 1993. Please don’t sue me, I gave all the credits and I’m not copying the work, I’m only translating/summarizing it. But if anyone finds any copyright infringement on this and wants this offline immediately – please send email to kaoru-k@usa.net and I will take it off immediately unless some great disaster happens, but please don’t sue me. I AM NOT MAKING ANY MONEY OF ANY KIND OFF THIS. This is only a free translation/summary for fans, by a fan. And please don’t copy my work and say it’s yours either, or I’ll sue you. :)
Part 1
Chapter 4: "Lessons in Bree"
Thorin and Folco arrive in Bree, go to the Prancing Pony (Translator’s Note: of course), and get a room – a hobbit-room, no less - in the inn from Barliman Butterbur (Translator’s Note: 300 years and they still haven’t come up with new names around here. :) ) Folco only now notices how hungry and sleepy he is, but he is more hungry than sleepy – so he and Thorin order lots of food "and hurry, before we eat someone". :) They settle in, and Nob (Translator’s Note: a hobbit... gee how’d you guess? :P) brings food, and stays to talk. The hobbit and dwarf find out from him that trouble is indeed brewing in the area – bandits attacking people on the roads, a village (named Addorn) burning to the ground... Folco tells Nob of the body he found, and Nob offers to collect a bunch of people to bury the poor fellow. Nob also says that apparently these attackers are from Angmar. By the time they listen to all this, the supper is finished and Nob leaves.
As the dwarf and the hobbit decide to sleep, Thorin remarks on how nice it is that Folco really did decide to follow him into an adventure, and that it would be boring without him. Folco says that not only boring... and digs out of his backpack the copy of the Red Book! An extremely thankful Thorin decides to call off sleeping, and starts reading, as a tired Folco dozes off.
The next morning after breakfast, Folco decides to take a walk to explore the rest of the inn. The hobbit does some people-watching in the big common-room, and finds that very different people visit here. But a group sitting in a far corner catches Folco’s eye – they are a group of men in dark-green clothing with no emblems at all, and different kinds of weapons are recklessy lying under their table.
The hobbit decides to take a drink, but is interrupted by an icredibly serious Butterbur entering the common-room. The room falls silent, as Butterbur announces that the hour in which they remember Elessar the King has come. The innkeeper points somewhere into a corner, everyone rises and looks that way as he starts talking:
"He, King Elessar, had visited here many times, honoring us with his presence. In the years when few heroes battled the Cloud of Darkness, this inn of my ancestors often offered him shelter and food. [pause] He was great and shining, his wisdom was deep and all-seeing. May all people remember him well, and tell good tales of him to their children! Let his every step be light in the other life beyond the Thundering Seas!" (Translator’s Note: dang, I know that isn’t right...was the afterlife thing named in "LotR" (besides "halls of waiting"?)? ‘Cause "Thundering Seas" is the closest translation I can get from this book.)
Folco notices that a lot of people are wiping off tears or sighing. But the strange half-smiles exchanged by the people in green perplex the hobbit.
"Let us drink, my friends!" the innkeeper continues. "May the grass forever be green on his grave, the grave of the Great King Elessar the Elfstone!"
Everyone drinks, then sits down and continues their conversations, and now Folco can see what Butterbur was pointing out earlier. A small table covered with a white tablecloth, protected by an intricate fence, stands near the fireplace. Near it is a chair, with a grey-green cloak draped over ir carelessly. A carved cane is propped up against the table, and on the table, beside a mug, lie a tobacco-pouch and a pipe. "It seems that the owner of these things has left, but will appear at any moment." Above the table, in a frame, is a parchment written by King Elessar telling that these things were given by him to Butterbur and his descendants, "and may they live and trade freely and untaxed as long as the White Tree stands." (Translator’s Note: what a touching tribute to Aragorn..err, King Elessar!)
The hobbit looks at these relics for a moment, then resumes watching the people in green. He notices they are of different ages, and one boy of that group made an art of parodying and mocking everyone around him, as well as Folco himself. The boy aproaches, and it turns out the Folco, the newest object of his fun, was "sitting in his chair", so he threatens the hobbit to get off it or else. This strikes a nerve, and Folco can’t stand being ridiculed anymore, so he hurls an oak mug at the boy, which hits him right in his head. The boy loses consciousness and falls, as a small pool of blood forms on the floor before a lost and sorry hobbit. Folco doesn’t notice everyone else’s questions, as the men in green, after helping the boy get up, advance toward Folco. One of them, a hunchbacked man, not much taller than the hobbit, comes forward, says a speech of "rudeness (referring to how the hobbit hit the boy) deserves punishment", discards his weapon, and hits Folco hard so he rolls away on the floor. Bets are being made as to who’ll win, as the hobbit gets up, brandishing his blade from Gondor. But the blade turns out useless to an unskilled hobbit who is getting beat up from all sides, until Thorin interferes. The dwarf proves to be a match for the hunchback as far as strength goes, and the hunchback asks for his sword – then the people in the inn realize that this isn’t a joke anymore and try to stop them.
Deeply ashamed of himself, the hobbit suddenly hears someone’s calm, but commanding voice speak to the huchback, as everyone falls silent: "Stop, Sandello! This isn’t worth your time. And it is time we left. Pay the innkeeper for the disturbance and make peace with the honorable dwarf."
"Hidden strength and power, the right to rule and to punish was heard in the voice." Sandello the hunchback, surprisingly, obeys his master like a dog. He pays Butterbur, and speaks very politely to Thorin asking for forgiveness, however Thorin says that "Never shall I forgive you! We will meet again, and you will receive your payment for today! We will see what else you can do besides beating the weak! Get out of here, I have nothing more to say to you!" Then Sandello leaves with the rest of the company of people in green.
Folco is carried back to his room by Thorin. The hobbit clenches his teeth in complete and utter shame and embarassment – he imagined himself as an experienced warrior, and got such a beating from only a man with a stick for a weapon. The hobbit wonders just why he decided to go off on this adventure, as back in the room Thorin tries to treat Folco’s badly bruised back.
Folco almost decides to stop this adventure foolishness, apologize to the dwarf and go back to his comfortable life in the Shire, when someone knocks on the room door.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please email me at kaoru-k@usa.net.