"How could there be such a terrifying creature, gollum..."
While Garrett was delving deep into the underground caverns in search of Shelob, Gollum seized the chance to flee.
"Can't go back that way, gollum... Those orcs at the gate have already betrayed the Dark Lord. If they catch us, we'll never escape. They'll hand us straight over to him..."
"We should run the other way. Mordor... compared to the outside, Mordor is actually safer, gollum..."
After a brief argument with his other personality, hr resolutely ran eastward, slipping through the mountain pass and onto the scorched black plains of Mordor.
He had officially entered the interior of Mordor.
Cough, cough...
As soon as he stepped inside, he couldn't help but cough twice.
The environment here was dreadful. The air was thick with pollution, far beyond any normal limit. Only the creatures of darkness could endure it.
"Better this than being killed, gollum..."
Muttering to himself, he started looking for somewhere he could hide.
As he walked, a massive boulder suddenly loomed in front of him, blocking his path.
"Stupid rock! You're blocking our way too!"
He kicked it angrily.
Just as he was about to walk around it, the "boulder" suddenly moved.
It stood up.
"Ah?"
A troll looked down in confusion at the tiny thing hopping around by its feet.
"A snack that came walking to me?"
In Gollum's terrified gaze, the troll snatched him up.
"Ah, no! Don't eat us! We're filthy, full of worms, big ones, longer than your arm!"
That actually made the troll hesitate.
"Ugh! Gross! Get away!"
It threw Gollum aside in disgust. The impact nearly killed him.
"What's all that noise?"
As Gollum staggered to his feet, cursing the brainless troll in his mind and preparing to run, a voice came from behind.
It was an Uruk captain.
"Hmm?"
He immediately spotted the small, thin creature beside the troll.
Not one of the lowly orcs... and not any creature I know... Then there's only one answer. A spy from outside!
The Uruk captain shouted at once, "Grab him! Take him to the camp and hand him over to the boss for interrogation!"
"Nooo!"
Gollum let out another wail. He had just escaped the spider's lair, only to fall into an orc den. There was no hope for him in this lifetime.
---
Half a month later.
Crunch.
A boot stepped onto the barren stony ground.
"How did I end up outside already?"
At the exit of the Cirith Ungol pass, Garrett looked around the inner lands of Mordor, slightly bewildered. He hadn't found Shelob. Instead, he'd walked straight into Mordor. He had to admit, that creature was extremely good at hiding.
And an excellent web-weaver, too.
In the maze of tunnels beneath Cirith Ungol, the walls were covered with dense, sturdy webs. Some ancient and dusty, others fresh, still stained with blood.
The old and new webs interwove with the complex tunnels so thoroughly that even Garrett had almost lost his way.
But fortunately, he turned around and looked back.
Behind him, on the gray mountainside, was a rectangular passage, one meter wide, two meters high. Because the underground paths were far too confusing, and he really didn't feel like finding his way out, hehad simply decided to dig his own exit.
And the result was...
"A Man?"
A patrol of orcs happened to pass by and spotted Garrett standing in the open. Hearing the sharp-eyed orc's voice, Garrett slowly turned his head.
"No... no, this is bad!"
The moment they saw his face, every orc's eyes went wide in terror, their voices trembling.
Bwooooom!
Moments later, the war horns of Mordor's border blared.
From the Tower of Cirith Ungol, troops began pouring out in waves.
The two sinister Watcher statues at the tower gate let out an ear-piercing shriek that echoed deep into Mordor, reaching the black tower at its heart and awakening the Eye at its summit.
Now he'd really done it.
Garrett wiped the sweat from his brow, his mouth twitching.
---
Boom!
A crimson light flared within the Dark Tower, shooting a thick beam straight into the sky and piercing through the clouds.
The entire land of Mordor saw the signal flare.
In an instant, the entire realm went into the highest state of alert.
Above Minas Morgul, a flash of sickly green lightning exploded within the dark clouds, the Witch-king's answer to the Black Tower's warning.
Soon after, an army of tens of thousands of orcs, joined by thousands of trolls and monstrous beasts, marched in force along the great road of Mordor toward the pass. Leading them were five Nazgûl, flying overhead on their terrifying mounts.
Their speed of mobilization was astounding.
But no matter how fast they gathered or how fearsome their formation, even such an army needed time to reach its destination. By the time they arrived at the border fortress of Cirith Ungol, many days had already passed.
The army halted in silence beneath the tower, while the Nazgûl commanders, and even Sauron himself, watching from afar, were filled with confusion.
The anticipated host from the Free Cities, or any ambush nearby, was nowhere to be found.
That man was gone.
He had left behind only the empty, thoroughly cleared Tower of Cirith Ungol and the two shattered Watcher statues at its gate.
Nothing else.
"What was his purpose?"
Scratching his head, Sauron could not fathom what Garrett had been after. He had broken into Mordor alone, destroyed a key border fortress, smashed the warding statues that could distinguish friend from foe, and then simply vanished.
That was it?
Why?
Was he just... bored?
"No, there must be a deeper meaning."
Recalling the calm, ocean-deep eyes he had seen during their last confrontation, the meticulous Dark Lord refused to believe his opponent was so simple.
There had to be some hidden purpose behind his actions.
Moments later, one of the Nazgûl received an order.
"The Master says do not withdraw yet. Establish a camp here. The army will remain stationed for now."
"Duration to be determined by further command."
Thus, the western border of Mordor became more heavily fortified than ever before, its defenses impossibly tight.
This sudden movement was quickly noticed by Denethor, who immediately convened a council through the night and summoned reinforcements from every fiefdom.
---
Before long, even Gondor itself was on full war footing.
The air was thick with tension, as if a single spark could ignite a great war.
"Do you have any idea what Mordor is planning with all this?"
In Gondor's vast council hall, Denethor frowned deeply, lost in thought.
Beside him stood Garrett, who had come by for a visit. At that moment, Garrett's hands were clasped behind his back, his expression serious.
"I don't understand."
He slowly shook his head. He couldn't quite figure out how taking one little trip outside had stirred up such a massive commotion. Privately, out of Denethor's sight, Garrett's hands behind his back were rubbing together so fast they were almost sparking.