Bringing Trouble to Barad-dur by Aiwen

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Gil-galad stopped in to check on Celebrimbor and the prisoners. "How is everything?" he asked Celebrimbor. "I trust you have everyone?"

"Yes, all present and accounted for," said Celebrimbor. His mouth twitched. "If any of them accuse you of being lord Aule it's not my fault," he said. "I think I've corrected the confusion but the dwarves aren't any too keen on being rescued by elves and the others also looked a bit disappointed."

"You didn't tell them who we are?" said Gil-galad. "If Sauron does capture any of them despite everything the less he knows about who he is facing the better."

"I didn't give them our names," said Celebrimbor.

"Just what did you tell them?" asked Gil-galad.

Celebrimbor told him, and Gil-galad sighed and shook his head.

"There are elves here who are going to be able to guess exactly who you are at the least," Gil-galad said, "although some of them may at least get me confused with Finrod Felagund, Orodreth, Elu Thingol or various of Galadriel's other relations. Never mind, what's done is done. Just don't tell them anything else about us, please." He grinned suddenly. "Do you think you can leave them long enough to come up and watch Sauron's reaction to the orcs trying to explain this?"

Celebrimbor recoiled. "You're a bloodthirsty one," he said. "No I don't."

Gil-galad blinked. "I was just thinking his expression of surprise would be amusing. I was also wondering about finding one of his own gauntlets to throw in his face. In any case, one of us has to go up there if we are to start distracting him immediately as planned. I've got multiple things that I have been putting off until the prisoners were safe."

"So have I," said Celebrimbor, "but I think I'll wait down here with them for the next few hours to deal with any questions or panics. I don't think we should leave them alone yet."

"You're probably right," said Gil-galad. "Newly rescued prisoners are often not the most rational people to be found in Arda."

Gil-galad went up to the top of the Barad-dur and into Sauron's private chambers. There was no sign of any orcs, and Sauron was in the palantir room staring intently into the palantir watching fighting amidst ruins of what looked like it had probably once been Osgiliath. From what Gil-galad could see, Sauron's troops seemed to be winning. Gil-galad pursed his lips. He couldn't say he was surprised, but it still hurt to see it. He had to be able to help them somehow!

He reached down and untied Sauron's shoelaces before tying them together. Then he went down into Sauron's office and started disarranging everything and dumping it all over the table. Then he dumped the contents of Sauron's inkwell onto the mess. It was unfortunately the wrong time of day to introduce the altered and forged orders still hiding up in the attic. Still, this mess ought to announce their presence nicely.

He heard footsteps, and the voice of Kelas talking to an orc outside. Apparently the sacrificial orc had now arrived. Kelas then walked past the door of the office and up to the palantir room. Gil-galad followed her closely, clutching one of Sauron's gloves. After some five minutes of waiting she gained entrance, Gil-galad hiding the glove behind her.

"Yes?" said Sauron, still not taking his eyes from the palantir. "I'm in the middle of directing a battle, so keep it quick."

"You ask to be informed about any weird stuff," she said.

Sauron kept his eyes on the Palantir, gesturing irritably with one hand. "Kill one of the hostages," he said to the orc. "What have my invisible enemies done now?"

"Lord Zigur..." said the orc, visibly gulping, "all the prisoners have disappeared."

"What!" Sauron looked up, eyes narrowed to thin slits within the shadows of his hood. "Explain to me how your company managed to fail so thoroughly in their charge, and why your commanding officer isn't here to explain it in person."

Gil-galad stepped out from behind Kelas and threw the glove in Sauron's face with all the little strength Namo had allowed him in this form. The glove barely touched Sauron's shoulder before landing limply in his lap. Gil-galad winced. He really hadn't got the hang of throwing things in this form yet.

Sauron gave a quick exclamation of something anatomically unlikely before standing up, falling over the chair and knocking it over. There was an unpleasant snap. Slowly, Sauron disentangled himself from the broken chair and his snapped shoelaces and stood. "As for you, invisible ghosts, this will not help you. The prisoners will be found and tormented the worse for your interference."

He turned to the orc. "As for you, little orc, I want you to go and fetch me Khazir. Once you've done that, go and get your commander. Tell him I will have his head here immediately, whether or not his body is attached to it at the time. Be quick about it, and you may yet keep your skin in one piece." He then turned to Kelas and added "and bring me another chair."