The Return of the King Page #2

"That mortal death has kissed

"The bearer of the Ring

"The wearer of the Ring

"Beware who wears the Ring"

Hail Samwise the Strong!

Hail the Conqueror!

Hail the War-King!

Hero of the Age!

To the Dark Tower!

To Barad-dur!

I claim thee, Barad-dur!

You are Sauron's no more!

Hail Samwise the Strong!

The sun shines for thee alone!

And now I claim all

of the Vale of Gorgoroth!

Now let this foul desolation...

...this cursed plateau

of the Dark Lord, Sauron...

...this Orc-infested,

desert of nameless horrors...

...let it blossom forth, and live!

Let it live for Samwise the Strong!

Samwise the Strong!

Behold!

The gardens of my delight!

So I shall transform the world!

All could be mine...

...if I but claim thee, Ring!

No!

What brought me back?

Plain Hobbit sense.

I know in my heart I'm not

enough to bear such a burden.

One small garden of a free gardener...

...is all my need and due.

My own hands to use...

...not the hands of others to command.

No, such a quest is not for me.

Frodo lives.

And only he knows

how to destroy the Ring...

...in the Cracks of Doom.

Only he can find the fire.

Dear Master Frodo.

I will find you.

Somehow.

An ancient world of towered fortress cities.

Cirith Ungol...

...guarding the entrance

to the lands of Mordor.

Barad-dur, palace of the Dark Lord, Sauron.

And now, look you to yet another.

Minas-Tirith, chief city of Gondor...

...last bastion of hope

for the powers of light and good.

From the battlement atop the citadel,

like a mariner in a mountainous ship...

...one could look sheer down

upon the gate 700 feet below.

And still this was not the top.

Behold! The White Tower.

At the top, the banner of the stewards

who governed the city...

...its silken arms embracing

a domain more fitting Gwaihir...

...Lord of the Eagles

than those whose emblem it bore.

All this, Minas-Tirith was.

But now, under siege,

the sparkling gem of Gondor...

...had become dull and flawed

with the hell of war.

The once-lush fields of Pelennor,

now a wasted battleground...

...upon which Sauron's forces of evil

celebrated their victories.

Far superior in number

to the battle-ravaged Gondor forces...

...they mounted their monster oliphaunts...

...to ride in the rocking, armored towers,

to their almost certain victory.

And in the heavens,

where no living thing dare now venture...

...Sauron's phantom lieutenants,

the Nazgul, astride their devil steeds...

...scream battle cries

of vile encouragement.

High in the White Tower, Lord Denethor,

Chief Steward of Gondor...

...his mind broken

as his city crumbled about him...

...had succumbed

to an eerie fire of the brain...

...and, in his madness,

ordered his own execution.

- You must stop him!

- His word is law!

I'll find Gandalf!

The Hobbit, Pippin, who had proved

a most valuable assistant for me...

...rushed to the battlement.

Where I, Gandalf...

...and the Gondor generals searched

the distance in vain...

...for a sign of our rescuers.

For we awaited Theoden...

...a valuable ally,

lord of the friendly nation of Rohan...

...for whom we had dispatched

Pippin's Hobbit friend, little Merry...

...to inform him of our perilous condition

and to beseech his aid.

For we wondered, would he

and his armies come to our rescue?

Forward! To Minas-Tirith!

Forward!

For only Theoden could save our city...

...and make it safe

for the return of Aragorn.

But we feared he would come too late.

- What? Denethor?

- He's gone loony, I tell you!

Come quickly.

You cannot do this!

Soon all shall be burned.

The West has failed.

It shall go up in a great fire...

...and all shall be ended.

Ash and smoke blown away on the wind.

All shall not be ended.

Theoden's forces are on their way!

Pride and despair!

Pride and despair!

Didst thou think the eyes

of the White Tower were blind?

I have looked inside my palantir.

- What is that?

- Palantir. The stuff of wizards.

A crystal ball to see the future.

I have seen more than thou knowest,

gray fool.

Thy hope is but ignorance.

Even with the forces of Theoden,

there is no hope.

Go forth and fight!

Vanity!

For a little space you may triumph

on the field...

...for a day.

But against the dark power...

...that now rises, there is no victory.

To this dying city,

only the first fingers of its hand...

...have yet been stretched.

All the East is moving!

And even now,

the wind of thy hope cheats thee...

...and wafts up an enemy fleet

with black sails.

Up the Great River, Anduin they come,

even now.

The river which leads to the edge...

...of the Pelennor Fields.

A black fleet? A devil's armada?

- Do those palantir things ever lie?

- Never!

The West has failed!

It is time for all to depart this life...

...who would not be slaves!

Servants, come hither!

So passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion.

And so pass also the days of Gondor.

For good or evil they have ended.

You must take charge, Gandalf.

You must lead our forces now...

...until Aragorn returns

to claim the throne of Gondor.

If he returns.

Gandalf, you...

I saw the vision in the palantir.

A dark fleet.

- Is there no hope?

- None.

Unless the Ring be destroyed.

But alas, it is lost with its bearer, Frodo.

All is gone.

I, Gandalf was without hope.

For I did not know

that at that very moment...

...at that other towered fortress...

...the future of all good in the world...

...rested upon the wits

and the tiny shoulders...

...of poor little Samwise...

...who, still undetected

by the Orcs within...

...approached the gates

of the Tower of Cirith Ungol.

But to get through those gates...

...he would have to pass

the Two Watchers.

Though carved

from huge blocks of solid stone...

...some dreadful spirit of evil vigilance

abode in them...

...and they were aware.

My imagination's running away with me.

They're made of stone.

What harm can they do?

Don't get too cocky, Samwise.

Orcs aren't made of stone,

and they have ears.

Though where the blazes are they?

I thought the tower was full of them.

But they give me the shivers.

Forget about them.

Get past as quick as I can!

Bless my soul.

Like some invisible gate.

That's how the Watchers keep guard.

Blast!

How do I get through, or climb over,

or under something I can't see?

How?

Ouch!

Something's burning me.

What's this? A phial?

And what magic is in it

to make it glow so?

They're opening up!

Thank you, old boys.

It was bad manners you showed me before.

Handy, this thing.

An alarm! That's done it.

I'm ready for you.

Tell your captains

that a great Elf warrior has called...

...with his Elf blade!

They're all dead.

Why?

The tower was crawling

with them just a few hours ago.

Looks like they were

fighting among themselves.

But what for?

There's a lot less of you left

to attack Minas-Tirith!

Goodbye and good riddance!

The whole tower climbs backwards-like.

I'll follow these lights.

This must be the entrance to the top tier.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes