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The rage of the Nazgûl was great as they found the temple deserted, their prey fled. Ashnaz shrieked his fury into the gathering clouds and smoke as Khamul threw down the remaining statues of the goddess, shattering their stones and breaking them with his sword. They ordered the orcs into the streets, sending them to seek out and to destroy the traitors. Then they took counsel with one another. They sought first to speak with Sauron, but his mind was once more distant from them, and obscured by some intervening force. They strove in will for a time against their enemy, but could not overcome it. Once, during the struggle, something in it had reminded Khamul of his former wife, Bekah…
With the failure of their attempt to seek their lord, they turned to one another. “I will see to the final destruction of the Elves,” Ashnaz said quietly. “I shall take the better part of the army and descend upon their quarter of the city with our vengeance.”
“And I shall seek out my children and see that they are hanged upon the gibbet,” Khamul hissed. “They will hide for a time, but I know where they shall go.”
“Indeed,” Ashnaz replied, who could see the thoughts forming in the mind of the creature who used to be Faroz, “they shall seek the Lady Arshalous and the Lord Korak, for they believe that only they can destroy you!” They laughed then, a hideous sound that sent the orcs scuttling for the far reaches of the square, their ragged hands covering their ears in disgust.
“Fools!” spat Khamul. “What care have I for letters or petty pieces of paper signifying who is rightful heir to the land? What need have I for a wife? We shall seize this land by the power and will of our Lord Sauron and rule it for the sake of his holy war. The armies of this place are mighty, and shall be mightier still. Already we have conquered Alanzia and now Pashtia has fallen. With the united powers of these realms, the whole of the East shall belong to us within a few years, and we can then move against our enemies in the West!”
They cried out and the stones of the surrounding walls shook in terror of the sound. Ashnaz raced toward the Elven quarter with the best part of the battalion at his back. For his part, Khamul raced through the streets to the home of Korak, sending the orcs ahead of him with orders to seize the Lady Arshalous and bring her to the place of her cousin.
There, he would show the people of this land the true meaning of power…
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