He helps the freedwoman board a ship to the River Kingdoms and that's it, they can't catch her anymore, and he can bask in the uncomplicated high of a Good deed done.
The nearer Wound is almost familiar ground, by now, so he crosses the Warstone line on his way back. No-one will pursue him here and he'll be fine, as long as he's careful and ready for a fight.
So of course it's not a fight that gets him.
An Abyssal rift opens up at his feet and spits him out - elsewhere.
The harmony of Middle-Earth is already building upon discord; what is one more abyssal rift to deal with?
Not that anyone notices it, or that it stays open for long. That's what Music does to discord - it builds it up as a leading tone to greater harmony.
When Gord falls or steps through, he's on a flat hilltop, with a wide ring of ancient stonework now crumbling and overgrown with grass. But in the center, there's a new cairn of broken stones, blackened as with fire, and the grass around it also scorched.
If he looks around, there're a lot of other shorter hills round about, with a narrow ribbon of Road running across, skirting the hill he's on to one side. Far off, there are mountains.
It's evening, or maybe morning - the sun is near the horizon, on the side opposite the mountains.
(And the rift has already closed behind him.)
Gord spends several turns turning around and rapidly scanning for danger, but nothing immediately attacks him.
That didn't feel like a teleport or plane shift, so maybe it really was one of those Abyssal tears, he's never seen one up close. And the 'ancient ring of stones' setup is obviously suspicious. But this place doesn't look like anything he's heard about the Abyss, either; in fact it looks suspiciously wholesome.
Maybe he is in the Abyss and it's all an illusion. But they say the Abyss touches on all worlds and planes, so maybe he just ended up - elsewhere? He certainly doesn't recognize anything he sees. And this is either much farther south than he was, or it's locally summer.
Are there any people he can see in the distance anywhere? Settlements or signs of habitation? A sign conveniently saying where the road goes? Recognizable writing on any of the local stonework?
If he looks closely at the stonework, there're things that could be writing - but worn too much over the years; they're probably not in any alphabet he knows, but he can't even be totally sure.
No one's moving on the Road. He can't see any farmed fields, except maybe on the other side of the marshes to the sunward - it's too far to tell there.
But he can see some people in a hollow on one flank of the hill - what might be one man and three halflings, with a pony.
Have they seen him? Does he have a way to approach them stealthily without being seen? What are they doing, can he hear anything from over here?
(These questions are instinctive; he doesn't need to decide to hide from and/or spy on a party of strangers in the wilds, it's simply always one of the options to take.)
It doesn't look like they've seen him yet, but they might soon - the man and two of the halflings (there were three of them? No, now he can see four) are just starting to climb up. He'll be really visible if he stays here pretty soon, or if he starts climbing down toward them, unless he wants to hide behind the stonework.
That means he has to reveal himself right away, if he wants to present himself as a peaceful stranger.
Or he can hide behind a remote bit stonework and eavesdrop, in a place where he can hope to sneak away later, but if they're competent they'll sweep the hilltop and probably find him. And then he could still burn spells to get away without a fight, probably, but he'd be disadvantaged at diplomacy.
He needs to learn where he is, possibly on a scale of 'plane, planet and continent', and he's unlikely to overhear it by accident. Diplomacy it is, then.
He stands where they can clearly see him as they come up.
To non-magical senses, Gord looks like a tall, well-muscled Man. He is wearing chainmail leggings and sturdy boots but no shirt, gloves, or headgear. There are many bags, pouches and implements hanging from all around his belt, and he is holding a two-handed greatsword in one hand. (He holds it in an open and friendly manner, as coded between northern Avistani adventurers; it has no obvious sheath or baldric to be carried on.)
To magical senses, some of his equipment would stand out, but nothing terribly inappropriate for a reasonably leveled martial adventurer, and no spells one wouldn't want to approach when hung on a stranger.
Frodo is momentarily excited when someone stands up at the top of Weathertop - but a moment later, he sees he isn't Gandalf. In fact, he's a Big Person, but he isn't dressed like any sort of Big Person than Frodo's ever seen before.
He's more cautious now after Bree, but - Bilbo did describe meeting strange people on the Road, even though he didn't mention anyone like this Big Person. He still raises his hand in greeting and says in the Common Speech "Hello!"
(He and the other Halfling are wearing what were good clothes originally, though with a lot of stains that might've come from the nearby marsh. No shoes.)
The Man, who looks like he's been adventuring for a while (in these clothes, too) nods in greeting. If Gord doesn't respond to the Westron, he'll follow up after a moment with a "Greetings!" in Sindarin.
He's wearing muddy high leather boots, with a travel-stained green cloak that he has drawn close enough to hide any items carried under it.
He casts *Comprehend Languages* in time to catch the Sindarin.
(It's normal to prepare Comprehend Languages when crossing the Wound alone, there's no knowing who you might meet. It's not worth it to prepare Share Language; that's what free slots are for, once you've established good intent.)
For now he'll repeat the man's greetings back to him (phonetically, and with a bad accent) and add his greetings in Taldane and Hallit. If they don't understand either of those, he'll mime that he can understand them but can't speak to them right now. Who knows, maybe one of them also has a Comprehend Languages, or something fancier.
(This is a common thing to mime in places where foreign adventurers are common, and may be harder to get across to people unused to the idea of one-way language spells.)
...Why aren't the halflings wearing any shoes? Is this a weird slavery thing? They look well-fed and uninjured, but Gord mentally settles into a more wary ready stance.
Strider frowns momentarily with curiosity at the ?two? languages he doesn't recognize. This stranger must have traveled very long distances to speak languages he hasn't even heard before.
But - good, the stranger speaks Sindarin. That means he's probably an educated man, or he's spent some time with the Elves, and not serving Sauron. "What brings you here, in these troubled times?" he asks, still in Sindarin.
"And what is your name?" Frodo asks, also in Sindarin.
(He's about to add that he's "Frodo Underhill," but then thinks better of it. That barely worked at Bree, and their enemies might have heard that name from Bree by now.)
Gesturing time! "Name", point to self, "Gord". Point at ears, nod, point at mouth, shrug. Mime praying (folded hands, closed eyes), sun moves a *little*, point at mouth, nod. Will they wait for him to prepare a spell to talk to them?
He both can't and doesn't want to explain "what brought him here", yet, but he takes note of the "troubled times". (It doesn't particularly occur to Gord that people might habitually say "in these troubled times" even in times and places that are not as troubled as living on the Worldwound border.)
Oh, he doesn't know Sindarin well, so he can understand a lot of what he hears but can't put the words together just yet. Strider, remembering his own studies of Quenya and Adunaic and a bit of Taliska in his youth, knows that feeling well.
"Strider," he says, pointing to himself.
Oh, they're doing introductions? (He doesn't speak any Sindarin.)
"Merry. I don't suppose you've seen Gandalf here? We're hoping to find him."
"Not seen Gandalf." True, as he hasn't seen anyone. (His facility with spoken Westron, as with Sindarin, is pretty atrocious but he can repeat the words he hears in the right combination, if not necessarily the right order.)
If they want to tell him about themselves first, Gord's happy to oblige! "What brings you here?" he mimics, in Sindarin.
"We're heading east from the Shire," Frodo says, truthfully enough. "We wanted to see if Gandalf had been here."
"We're going to Rivendell." It's obvious enough, once you're headed east from Bree. "I need to speak with Elrond - we all do. And you?"
Apologetic shrug. He doesn't have the words to tell them the truth even if he wanted to, which he isn't sure he does yet, because "I've come from the Abyss" probably sounds bad.
He'll mime about praying again, and if no-one stops him, he's going to sit down in an out-of-the-way corner and meditate on his sword for fifteen minutes. Can he get across that they shouldn't interrupt him for a little while? They must have seen a cleric praying before, right?
But one of them has seen an Elf lost in osanwe, which is enough of the same thing for him to shake his head and whisper to the hobbits not to bother him.
Merry, bored, starts picking up some of the fire-blackened stones and finds one with some scratches on it:
|” |||
"Huh, I wonder what left these."
Strider is instantly over peering at it. "That might be a G-rune with thin branches..." he says thoughtfully. "Which could be a sign left by Gandalf - though one cannot be sure. The scratches are fine, and they certainly look fresh. But they could be different - Rangers use runes, and who knows what our new companion here might have done."
"Then - 'G3' - would be a sign Gandalf was here October the Third; that's three days ago now. And also, he was in a hurry, so he had no time to write anything longer or plainer."
He looks around the scorched stones.
"For myself, if it were not for our new companion, I would believe he was here and in danger... The light that we saw in the eastern sky three nights ago comes back to my mind. But he is here no longer; we must now look after ourselves as best we can."
They all stand gazing pensively for a while, around the hilltop and the land around.
Then Gord can finish preparing a spell in peace! Now, who to cast it on? The human stands out but only because he's human. Oh well, any of them can presumably translate, and he's not going to be able to guess at any distrust between them but if there is any then it might be better to be talking to one of the halflings.
"Merry," he says to get the attention of the one whose name he knows, and then offers him his hand in the 'may I cast a touch spell on you' gesture.
The Big Person looks like he's offering him something, but there's nothing in his hand?
Merry comes over, confused, and holds out his hand mirroring him.
Share Language (Hallit)! (Gord says a few unfamiliar words, makes a gesture, and lightly touches Merry's hand.)
"Now we can talk properly. Hello again, I'm Gord. I hope you're willing to translate for the rest of your group, I had to choose someone and the spell lasts for a day and a night."
"Oh, hello! I'm Merry Brandybuck. How come you suddenly speak the Common --"
He suddenly realizes they're not speaking the Common Tongue, and yelps.
Strider, on suddenly seeing Merry speaking in an unknown tongue, concludes that Gord has cast hostile magic on him and jumps forward between him and Gord.
Gord backs up in a defensive stance. "The spell only shared my language with you. I mean you no harm and thought you had agreed to it." He'd prayed for a spell and clearly offered to cast it on him!
"You can do that with magic --"
Merry pauses and repeats in Westron. "You can just make me speak a new language with magic!?"
... at least he's speaking normal Westron again???
Aragorn glances back at him with concern while keeping an eye on Gord. He says (in Westron, since Merry doesn't speak Sindarin (or at least he didn't two minutes ago)) "I've never heard of magic doing just that..."
"They're normal cleric spells where I come from. I can understand all languages - that's a different spell, a shorter lived one - but I can't speak in them so I cast this one to let you understand me. It doesn't do anything else - well, you could learn information about the language separately from me speaking it, but it doesn't do anything besides make you know the language for one day."
"Where are we? I seem to have traveled here from far away, and don't recognize any of the place-names you mentioned earlier." The common spells being different reinforces that. At least it really doesn't seem like the Abyss.
"We're at Weathertop - east of the Shire - east of Bree -"
Merry glances around, as if he might see some other familiar landmark to mention. "And, uh, what's a cleric?"
Yeah you already said that --
...um. Is the spell not working right? "A cleric is someone who is granted magic by a god. There are other words for other kinds of mages who also get powers from gods but clerics are the most common. Just now I needed the spell to share my language with you so I prayed to my god for it." Is Merry translating all this for the benefit of the others, Strider looks tense.
Merry is still confused! But he's so confused he doesn't know what to ask next, so - yeah, it's time to translate.
"He says he's got some magic from a 'god' -" (he uses the Hallit word since he's not familiar with the Westron ones it feels like it might vaguely map to) "- and it's pretty common where he's from. And it just let me speak his language just for today but nothing else. And he says he thinks he's from really far away -"
Another question jumps to his mind. He turns back to Gord and asks in Hallit, "Wait, you say you aren't sure how far off you're from? How'd you get here?"
That... sounds concerningly like what Sauron does for some of his servants.
Gord didn't use any cursed objects, or any rituals besides just meditating, so Aragorn isn't stopping him just yet. But he's not really reassured.
He takes a step back, next to Merry.
"Who is this 'god'?" he asks (in Sindarin, repeating the Hallit word Merry used.)
Gord didn't precisely say clerics are common where he comes from! They are, so he's not going to correct Merry about it, but he makes a mental note that he might not be the best translator if the stakes ever get much higher than this.
"I'm not sure how I got here. It didn't feel like a normal spell and I didn't cast anything or see anyone who might have. I'm thinking it might have been a planar rift (*), they're said to exist in the area I was in though I never saw one myself."
To Strider, "my god is called Gorum. He's the Chaotic Neutral god of striving and fighting for what you believe in." Among other things.
(*) 'Plane' is a normal Hallit word, not a loanword or phrase. This is to say you can't figure out what it means by analyzing its structure. What the translation spell makes of it is anyone's guess.
"A 'rift' in a 'plane'? Like... a hole in the burrow's floor that lets you climb down into the cellar?"
(Also Merry repeats about this "Gorum" person to Strider.)
"I've never heard of this 'Gorum'..." Unless... he can think of at least two people that description might fit... "What's he 'neutral' between? Does he ever go by the name 'Tulkas'? Or 'Sauron'?"
"I suppose. Except I fell through and it closed behind me and I can't easily climb back out."
To Strider, "I haven't heard either of those names but gods have different names in different countries. He's Neutral between Good and Evil, that's what 'Chaotic Neutral' means in this language" - he's not keeping close enough track of the translation to say if Merry misworded that somehow - "and His symbol is a giant-sized sword stuck in a mountain, at least back home. What gods are worshipped around here?"
"Oh no! So you can't get home?
"And - what sort of person doesn't care about good and evil?"
Merry makes a face while translating, and adds that addendum.
Strider frowns and shakes his head. "I've heard that from all too many people who just want to be left alone. But for someone powerful enough to give people magic... If someone that powerful told me that, I would think he wasn't telling me the truth."
Gord likes these people! They jumped straight past "so where do you actually come from" and on to the philosophical and moral implications of getting power from gods and trusting Pharasma's alignments about morals.
"Well, I don't know His mind. In my experience, most Chaotic Neutral people do care about Good and Evil, often quite a lot. It's just that they end up doing some of both, sometimes by accident or while pursuing other goals, so they can't be said to be entirely Good or entirely Evil. But that's people logic, it's not as if I can talk to Him to ask about it. I don't think He's telling me the truth, exactly, because He isn't telling me anything, He just gives me magic as long as I don't do anything he hates. That's how most of the gods are." And it's much preferable to the Lawful ones who do actually tell people what to do.
"I don't think He wants to be left alone. I'm not sure what I said to give you that impression. Gorum likes striving and growing stronger and fighting for what you believe in. He seeks out righteous fights and he gives power to mortals who do the same."
"Oh, so that's how people turn out Neutral? That makes sense!" Merry laughs. "I guess most of us hobbits would be Neutral, then."
That's when Sam shows up, puffing from his run up the slope of Weathertop.
He still doesn't totally trust Strider, and now a second Big Person is up there with them too. He's been worried ever since they vanished over the lip of the hilltop... and then he heard a hobbit's yelp, pressed Bill the Pony's bridle into Pippin's hands, and ran all the way up there.
He's relieved to find everyone looking fine, and Merry even laughing.
"What happened?" he exclaims. "Who is he?"
"His name's Gord. He's a wizard, or something like that - he says someone named Gorum gave him magic. And he used some magic to let Merry speak his language!"
Frodo looks excited but also dubious.
(The Westron word 'wizard' translates as 'mage'.)
"I can't do it again today, I prepared different spells. I could give it to more people tomorrow, but not all of you at once - not for twenty-four hours, anyway, I could do all of you for a few hours."
"What gods are worshipped around here? If I don't recognize any of them, then I'm probably not from this world." (The Hallit word, like the English one, isn't precise enough to mean 'planet'.)
Merry answers in Hallit without bothering to translate. "I don't think we worship any 'gods'. Unless the king counts; we invoke him sometimes? At least, not us hobbits.
"Er - there isn't an actual king around here, not since before my grandfather was born. But we still name him at the Free Fair and put him on our coins and things."
No gods, no kings? How very Rahadoumi of them. Strider was firmer on the idea of gods, though, so Gord isn't going to just take Merry at his word.
"Worship can be very different, depending on the god and the people. But it's always about being and doing the kinds of things that god cares about and wants to see more of in the world. Whether that's singing, painting, fighting evil, perfecting yourself, fighting for a cause, enforcing the law, trading, travelling to see the world, selflessly helping others, getting rich, raising your family - there are many gods out there. And then they choose people who are, or are doing, what that god likes to see, and give them magic, and those are clerics. Sometimes the gods intervene themselves or send messengers, but that's very rare in comparison - a historical event, not an everyday one."
"Can you keep translating for the others? Strider looks like he had something to say," he nudges.
Merry purses his lips. "Oh, like the god's your patron?... And he just wants more painting or traveling or something in the world?..."
But then, yes, he translates. "Gord wants to know what gods are worshipped here. I said I didn't know of any, except maybe The King, but he says worship can be any sort of thing about doing the kind of things the god wants to have done..." (He gives a more-or-less faithful translation of the rest of the paragraph.)
Strider has to suppress a chuckle.
"There are the Valar, the Powers, but few except the Elves worship them. Manwë Aran Einior King of the Skies, Varda Elbereth Star-Kindler, Ulmo Ylmir Lord of the Waters, Tulkas whom I thought might be the same as your Gorum... And there is also the One, All-Father, who made them. He hardly ever clearly acts in the world, though Gandalf thought he might have had a hand in some recent events. And none of them give magic the way your gods do."
He pauses and frowns. "But some worship the Dark Lord, Sauron of Mordor. He... sometimes does pretend to give magic, though it almost always hurts the person he gives it to."
(If Gord is watching very closely, he'll see Strider's eyes flicker to Frodo at that last line.)
Hmm.
"I wouldn't be surprised to hear of gods with such names and domains, back home. Desna is the Chaotic Good goddess of stars and safe travel and helping strangers. And She likes butterflies. Gozreh are the dual gods of sky and storm and nature; people who live in and care for the wilderness often worship them."
"And yes, there are Evil gods too, almost as many as Good ones. They're fighting each other, and their mortal followers are often fighting. I'm not sure if I should tell you about the Evil ones, if you don't know them already."
"But our gods all give out magic. Or, I suppose maybe there are many who don't, and that's why I haven't heard of them. They don't live among us, and I'm sure they do other things at home, but giving out magic and maybe visions is how they usually interact with mortals."
"I don't know how a world without clerics works. Do your gods do anything? Do only wizards have magic? Are you sure this goes for your whole world, and not just this country or continent?" Although it's hard to imagine how powerful clerics could stay contained to a single continent.
Merry makes a face at the evil gods. "Well, I've never seen any gods do anything. And it isn't just the wizards who have magic; the Elves have it too! And also - er -"
Frodo looks thoughtful. "Bilbo once said that the Elves said the power of Elbereth was in all the starlight, and the power of Ulmo in all the rivers. I don't know about the rest of the world.. The Undying Lands aren't really part of the world anymore, are they?"
Strider shakes his head. "Not anymore. I haven't traveled through all the world, but I've traveled a long ways, and I haven't seen any 'clerics' with given magic except the Dark Lord's servants. There are still a few Elves who learned magic from the Valar, but they learned it from them like a pupil from a teacher."
"We call people who learn to do magic on their own by studying with other mages wizards. They have to be very cunning and study a lot, to understand how the magic actually works, and they can teach others or even invent new spells. I can only use what Gorum gives me, and I understand what it does because He gives me that understanding too but I have no idea how it does it. There are many more clerics than wizards where I come from, though, because few people are smart enough and have the time and money and opportunity to study with another wizard."
Strider certainly looks and moves like a trained warrior. If he's traveled a lot, he must be a seasoned adventurer. It would be slightly weird for someone like not to carry anything even a bit magic on them. And most magic items are made by wizards, not clerics.
Half on instinct, half on a whim, Golrd casts detect magic. Are they all as unmagical as they claim to be?
"Can anyone learn magic like that!?" Merry exclaims, before (at Frodo's sharp look) translating.
"I have learned some things from the Elves," Strider says thoughtfully, "but very little I would properly call 'magic'. I wonder if magic works differently where you are from. Though, your translation spell still works..."
(He has a magical sword on him, and a few slightly-magical things in a pouch, but nothing else.)
The hobbits all have magical daggers... and one of them has a very, very magical ring in his pocket.
Aaagh that thing is blinding! He almost flinches before he can suppress the reaction, but his eyes dart involuntarily to Frodo's pocket before he drags them back to Strider's face and dismisses the spell.
What in the Nine Hells was that thing?! Gord saw a Wardstone once and it wasn't as bright! His body automatically goes into fight readiness, even as he (also automatically) tries his best to suppress any tells.
He was prepared to see a few magic sword daggers, sure, something that might mean they'd been holding out on him, or that was maybe a misunderstanding, or just understandably keeping back some of their abilities from a stranger.
He wasn't mentally prepared to see a halfling walking around with an artifact in his pocket. Unless it's - a spell meant to blind people who cast Detect Magic?
"...anyone can learn, in principle," he says, trying to conceal his shock. "Enough for little cantrips, like this - Light!" His sword lights up. Maybe he shouldn't have drawn attention to his sword? But he had it in hand already.
"But like I said, most people aren't smart enough to learn it. And the few wizards who are looking for students choose the brightest ones, the ones who might become the strongest wizards one day. So most people never get a chance to try, either, unless they're so rich they can pay a wizard to tutor their children."