Artíre's Revenge by WendWriter

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Chapter 5

Artíre hid within the form of a beetle, sheltered in a dark crevice between the steps of the temple of Moko and the wall. The Watcher was surprised to discover that he could hide in the smallest of places, hidden even from the view of the rebel Maiar who sought to find him. His attempts at spying on Sauron had failed because he had been thinking on too grand a scale. His attempts at possessing even a willing Man had not succeeded because he had gone about the business of trying to spy on Sauron in entirely the wrong way.

If he had come openly to Rhûn and told Sauron that Melkor had sent him, Artíre would not have had to hide himself. If he had made attempts to possess others before he had come to this place, he would have known what would or would not have been effective as a host for his essence. The fact was that whether the Men he had possessed were willing or not, entering them altered their behaviour and this drew the attention of others.

Now he was hiding in a beetle in a dark corner, having been declared the enemy of Moko. If word of this got back to Melkor, he would have to go underground once again. The Watcher could not bear the thought of it.

Perhaps Melkor did not yet know what had happened here in Rhûn. If Sauron was too busy hunting the Watcher to send word to his master, maybe all was not lost. Artíre's new disguise would conceal him as long as the other Maiar did not look directly at it. The advantage of hiding in a beetle was that people were unlikely to pay attention to its behaviour. The creature could not think for itself, and had no will of its own. The Watcher could control it as he wished, and its death would be of little consequence. He could slip back into the temple unnoticed and spy on the proceedings if he so desired. Artíre opened the beetle's hard forewings, spread its back wings and bade it fly into the temple.

Inside the temple, Sauron, who had entered the High Priest, was teaching the other priests the spell that would bind Artíre to whatever host he inhabited. Sauron knew it was Artíre who had possessed Eshtun, the High Priest's servant, because the impressions left in Eshtun's mind as a result of Artíre having been in there evoked in Sauron the same feelings he experienced whenever he was in the presence of the Watcher, as if the Man were a garment that the Watcher had worn and left his scent on. An entity who sought out drama for its own sake because he enjoyed observing conflict and destruction had inhabited the Man for a little while.

The spell Sauron taught to the priests was one that included Artíre's name. This was necessary, because the other Maiar risked being fastened to the bodies of any Men they might possess if the name of the being to be bound was not specified.

When Artíre flew in, the priests were repeating the words of the spell that the High Priest was teaching them. Luckily, since he entered as they were repeating the last few words, the spell had no effect. He landed on the ledge of the window nearest to the altar.

The High Priest, wishing to ensure that his priests knew all of the words of the spell, bade them to repeat it. They did, and Artíre suddenly felt a horrible sensation of being tightly wrapped all over. It was just as well he was sitting on the window ledge, else he would have fallen to the floor. When the final word was intoned, Artíre's essence was bound to the beetle's tiny body.

Sauron was completely unaware of what had just happened because he was occupied with teaching the binding spell to the priests, and Artíre was still on the window-ledge. Still inhabiting the High Priest, he continued to repeat the spell, adding layer after layer of binding to Artíre, who was fastened to the body of the beetle he was currently sitting inside.

"If you see a Man you suspect of harboring this evil spirit," the High Priest said, "and speak the words of this spell, he will be bound to that Man until he is killed. There is a way to fasten a spirit to a Man who is dead and to keep him there, but it is not fit that I should tell you this, else all who offend you would find themselves bound thus, and the order we desire to maintain here would descend into chaos. It is a terrible thing to bind a spirit to a body to which it does not belong, and an even more terrible thing for that spirit to be brought before Moko for judgment!"

Sauron dismissed the priests and they left the temple in search of the evil spirit. Once they were gone, Sauron the Deceiver left his host and gathered the other Maiar around him. "These Men will search the city for signs of Artíre," he told them, "but they will not find him unless he takes another form. He who loved to observe has learned nothing from his observations; for he sought not to learn, but to be entertained. Now his lack of knowledge counts against him, for he can be caught more easily now. He will not flee far, for he knows he is being hunted. Search every grating, every hole in the ground, and you will find him with the insects and the maggots, where his kind can always be found."

Narcawë arrived at the temple at that moment and Sauron stared at him, surprised. "Did I not order you to find Artíre before I left for Rhûn?" he asked the Maia.

"Indeed you did," Narcawë replied, looking confidently back at Sauron as if he knew something the Deceiver knew not.

"Then why are you here, as bold as a wolf in front of a flock of sheep?" Sauron asked him, annoyed at his manner.

Narcawë grinned slowly, his smug expression infuriating Sauron, as he knew it would. "I sought the Watcher in every place I could think of, and then it occurred to me to look in a place that you might not have considered. I went to Angband, the stronghold you kept in trust for our lord Melkor. I explained that you had ordered me to seek out the Watcher, and that he was considered an enemy of Melkor. Do you know what our lord told me?"

Sauron was outraged by the sheer impudence of this Maia, but he decided that nothing would be gained by challenging the authority he pretended to have, so he answered, "Tell me."

"He said," Narcawë paused briefly for effect, "that Artíre the Watcher was ordered to come here to Rhûn to observe the work you do and to report back to him about it. Furthermore, if you attempt to obstruct him in the course of his duties, he is to send you back to our master at once."

Sauron was furious. "Who do you think you are, Narcawë, strolling in here as if you were the chief lieutenant of Melkor?" he shouted. "Did you keep a stronghold in Middle-earth for Melkor when the Valar came and destroyed Angband? Did you continue the work of our master, ensuring that there were Balrogs, Orcs and monsters of every kind waiting to serve Melkor on his return? Did you gather the scattered servants of Melkor and reorganize them after the War of the Powers? Did you? Did you? No! Then be very, very careful how you speak to me, Narcawë, or when my wrath falls upon you, my friend, it will fall hard."

Narcawë smiled gently back at Sauron, infuriating him even more. "So I have been told. Nonetheless, you must submit to the will of our master, and it is his will that Artíre the Watcher should be permitted to observe the work you do here unhindered. Where is he?"

Sauron stared back at Narcawë, unwilling to answer him, but afraid of the consequences of ignoring him. "I do not know," he replied.

"Rautanor, your aide, has told me that you have declared the Watcher to be an enemy of Moko," Narcawë persisted.

"Yes I did," Sauron admitted. "It is because he disrupted the inauguration of this temple."

"Is Moko supposed to be Melkor?" Narcawë asked politely, as if discussing the weather.

"Indeed," said Sauron, pleased to be able to report on the progress of the religion he had created to persuade Men to worship Melkor.

"But," interrupted Narcawë, "when the voice of the High Priest changes, is it not the voice of Sauron that issues forth?"

"Well, yes it is," said Sauron, upset at being interrogated in this fashion.

"So then, it is reasonable to assume that Moko is actually Sauron, and it is he who is being worshiped in this place," Narcawë asserted.

"I am not disloyal to Melkor!" Sauron shouted, convinced that Narcawë was trying to put him in an untenable position.

"Well, to the... untrained eye," said Narcawë in reasonable tones, "it might look that way."

"I suppose it is possible," Sauron replied sullenly, convinced that he knew where this conversation was going.

"It looks even worse, of course, that Artíre has been declared an enemy of Moko, and that a spell is being taught to Men to bind him to any body he may see fit to possess," Narcawë explained.

'This has gone far enough,' Sauron thought. 'I will not take orders from some mere minion who thinks that taking orders from Melkor makes him a favorite.' "Your friend Artíre," he said firmly, "caused a riot by putting into action an ill-conceived plan to possess the body of a Man. He killed this Man and caused him to walk into this temple during the inauguration. Other men panicked when the dead Man touched them, convinced that he was an evil spirit intent on devouring them. The riot killed seventeen Men and severely injured many more. Do you mean to tell me that Artíre did all this simply because he had been ordered to come and observe me?"

"Why are you so certain that Artíre caused the riot?" asked Narcawë. "Did you see him?"

"Well, no," Sauron said, "but I did look into the mind of another Man whom Artíre possessed, and detected a trace of his presence there."

"Did you detect a trace of the Watcher's presence in the body of the Man who allegedly started the riot?" asked Narcawë.

Sauron went quiet. If he argued about this, Narcawë would tell him to go back to Melkor at Angband. If he refused, Melkor might well come to Rhûn to deal with him personally. He could lie to another Maia, but never to Melkor, for though he had depleted his essence by making Balrogs and other monsters, he was still a Vala, so Melkor much more powerful than the Maiar.

"How do you know it was Artíre who started the riot, then?" asked Narcawë.

"Why would the Watcher enter a Man's body at all?" asked Sauron, trying to rescue his reputation.

"That is not an answer to my question," Narcawë declared. "Where is the body of this Man, that I might examine it and see for myself whether Artíre possessed it or not?"

"All of the bodies of the Men concerned have been burned," Sauron told him, frustrated.

"If all of the bodies of the Men involved have been burned, how can I examine them?" Narcawë asked him.

"You cannot," Sauron spat, his fury simmering.

"Then I have only your word, Sauron, and no proof," said Narcawë.

Chapter End Notes

Thanks to Epilachna, my beta, for helping me with this detail. Beetles have hard forewings that open up to allow them to fly. They use the back wings to do the actual flying.

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