The Silmarillion TV Series by AndyC

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Season 1, Episode 1, Part 4

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PART FOUR

 SCENE SEVEN 

 

 INT. UTUMNO 

  It appears unchanged. There’s a flare of light and a torch is lit. It burns dully. Elf 1 (Neru) is staring at it. 

 Neru: 

Huh. It actually worked. I thought that was how they were doing it. You had to sort of sing it into existence.   

 [He pauses, looking at his fellow captive] 

 Car? I said – never mind. Hard to even think of singing in this place. Still – at least we haven’t seen the Master in – what, a few hundred sleeps, now? Maybe that’s what made me relaxed enough to- 

 Strange Elf (suddenly looms into the circle of light from the torch): 

[He’s more deformed and twisted than before. His teeth have become almost like tusks; his white eye has a black dot in the centre and he has tufts of fur-like hair over his face] 

Relaxed? Relaxed? Stupid, stupid Elf! 

 [Neru sees him and scrabbles backwards, a look of horror on his face] 

 What? Don’t you like how I look now? - My children look even better than me, you know. So do yours. I saw them. 

 Neru:

My – my children? You – and you look – what? 

 Strange Elf: 

Funny. You’re so funny. Can’t you feel it? 

 Neru:

Feel what? 

 Strange Elf: 

The Master’s back. He’s back at last. Back for us. Back for you. 

 Neru:

No. No. No! 

 [As he scrambles away from the Strange Elf, he scrabbles over Elf 2 (Carmo), who watches with a calm air. As if he’s not really there any more. It can be seen that his face is now mottled and his hair is falling out] 

 Strange Elf: 

He’s here! He’s here! Yes! Yes! No! No! Yes! 

 Sauron: 

[His voice is heard first – soft and mellifluous. His face comes- just – into view in the firelit area of the torch. Behind him, we can catch a glimpse of deformed and twisted babies] 

 Which is it? No? Or Yes? 

 Not that it matters, of course. Oh, my precious ones. I have missed you. 

 And you – my star subject. I hear the others have given you a new name? 

 Strange Elf: 

Oh yes, Master. They call me Gorkh 

Sauron: 

Gorkh? Hmm. Discordant, jangling, harsh – yes. I like it. 

 [He seizes Gorkh under the chin and examines him. Gorkh winces but endures it] 

My. How well you’ve done for an original generation. We do have to watch your line closely. I have great hopes for it – as long as we have time. 

 [There is a distant booming noise and some dust falls from the ceiling of the cavern] 

 Hmm. Well, we’ll have to see how it goes. And you… 

 [He turns to Neru] 

 You did this? 

 [He indicates the torch] 

Neru (stammering in fear): 

Y-y-yes. Yes, master. 

 Sauron: 

That’s possibly very useful. Or worrying. I haven’t decided yet. Either your line will be very important – or swiftly extinguished. It may depend on how things turn out here. 

 [he pokes Carmo with his foot] 

 This one, however – I can see his line being useful cannon-fodder. Him, though – well, we’ll see how many more we squeeze out of him before the end. 

 [He tilts his head] 

 Ah. I must leave you. Gorkh! Make sure you and this one get enough to eat. Some other thralls died last night, I am told. They will do. 

 

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SCENE EIGHT 

EXT. CUIVENEN. NEAR THE WATER FRONT, BUT A BIT FURTHER BACK 

 Finn (rubbing his nose): 

Moru, I understand, I really do. But the guards are there for our protection. 

 [Before the Elf who’s talking with him can reply, the earth shakes. They ignore it] 

  Moru: 

I’m just saying I could go all the way up the Red Stream to the springs before, and now I can’t. We were looking for a good place to build out the next group of flets – this whatever-it-is that these 'Powers' are doing won’t last forever.  

 Finn: 

Well, exactly. We’re just going to have to wait. The Valar will defeat Melkor and the threat from his minions will be gone. Then we’ll be able to go as far as we like. In any direction. 

 [There’s a series of booming rumbles from far in the north. They both glance over to it for a moment and then ignore it again] 

 Moru: 

Assuming they win, of course. Anyway, the – whatever-it-was – that spoke to me out of the shadows wasn’t very respectful. It just said I had to turn back now and couldn’t go any further. 

 Finn: 

What did you expect? An invitation to dinner? 

 Moru: 

I’m saying there doesn’t seem to be much difference between being protected – and being prisoners.   

 [He chews his lip for a moment] 

 We were doing fine before this Oromë turned up. All right, there was the Dark Hunter, but we’d just found out about him and we were starting to take steps to protect ourselves against him. Who’s to say we wouldn’t have been able to protect ourselves – without need for these ‘guards’? 

 [There’s a series of bright flashes coming from the north, and sheets of light illuminating the sky] 

 Let’s be honest – this Melkor person sounds like he’s going to be more occupied with what’s going on where he is than where we are. So why can’t we go to the springs? 

  Finn (exasperated): 

Because the Maiar guarding us can’t be everywhere. If they expanded their perimeter to the springs in that direction, they’d have to take guards from the other direction – and you’d just complain you can’t go that way instead! 

 [The ground shakes again] 

 Moru: 

There’s no use talking to you, sometimes. 

[He glares at Finn and stalks off] 

 [Finn glares after Moru. He scowls and shakes his head as El joins him] 

 El: 

Moru being a pain? 

 Finn: 

Of course. He’s awake, isn’t he? 

 El (snorts): 

I can guess what he’s complaining about. Let’s see:  

 [Affects a nasal whine as sheets of light flash to the north again] 

 ‘Why can’t I go wherever I want? It’s not fair that there are now spirits actually protecting us against the embodiment of Evil, rather than leaving us to be swept up in the War! Why can’t things be as they were before – or as we thought they were and never actually were’ 

 [pauses, before resuming his normal voice] 

 Of course, he’ll probably not say that last bit out loud, but it’s the truth. 

 [The ground shakes again, this time worse than before] 

 Okay, that was a big one. 

 Finn: 

I wish it was over. It’s been going on forever. I mean – Ingar’s sister was unwed when this all started and now her daughter is about so tall. 

 [He holds out his hand at waist height] 

 El: 

You’re behind the times, Finn. She’s now this tall. 

 [Holds his hand at chest height] 

 Finn (straight faced): 

How long was Moru arguing with me? 

[They both laugh and start to walk towards the water’s edge] 

 El: 

It’s not just him. Nurweg’s said similar things – although in a far nicer way. Lenn’s muttering about it. Even Oro’s quietly saying people are unhappy about it. Personally, I think fear’s behind a lot of it. 

 Finn: 

You’d have thought people would be used to it by now. 

 El: 

They are. It still scares them, though, deep down. Basically, they’re used to being a bit scared, and really wish it would all go away. 

 Finn (shakes his head): 

And with all this going on, Ingar manages to get wed and take time to relax. 

 El: 

He can get away with it. I know we banter with him over it, but the Minyar are fewer than half the number of Nelyar that look to Nurweg, alone. 

 [Another sheet of light in the north, together with the Earth shaking] 

 Finn: 

And the Minyar will just put up with it. If I were to take time off, we’d have armed fights going on within six sleeps. How much longer is this war of theirs going to take? 

END OF PART FOUR