The Last Ring-bearer - Kirill Yeskov [61]
"So what does your conscience say now, Doctor?" Tangorn looked at him with faintly mocking interest.
"Conscience says clearly: no. Duty says, equally clearly: you must. So it goes… It must be nice to live by the knightly ethic: do what you must and let the chips fall where they may, right, Baron? Especially when someone had already let you know what you must do…"
"I'm afraid that no one can help you make this choice."
"Nor do I need any help. What's more," he turned away and, shivering, stretched his hands towards the cooling embers, "I would like to free you from any obligation to participate in our mission. Believe me, even if we win with my plan, it will not be a victory to be proud of."
"Really?" Tangorn's face went hard, and his gaze suddenly weighed like an avalanche. "So your plan is of such a quality that to take part in it is a greater dishonor than abandoning a friend in need – and so far I have considered you to be one? Doctor, I greatly appreciate your concern for my conscience, but perhaps you'll allow me to make this judgment myself?"
"As you wish," Haladdin shrugged indifferently. "You can listen first and decline later. It's a fairly complicated scheme and we'll have to start from afar… What do you think is Aragorn's relationship with the Elves?"
"Aragorn and the Elves? You mean now, after they've put him on the throne of Gondor?"
"Of course. I think you have mentioned knowing Eastern mythology pretty well; perhaps you remember the tale of the Dwarves' Chain?"
"I have to confess to forgetting it."
"Well, it's a very edifying story. A long, long time ago the gods were trying to subdue Hahti, the hungry demon of Hell, who could've consumed the whole world. Twice they restrained him with a chain forged by the divine Blacksmith – first of steel, then of mithril – and both times Hahti tore it like a thread. So when the gods were down to their third and final attempt, they had to abase themselves by turning to the Dwarves for help. Those came through with a chain made from fishes' voice and the sound of cat's footfalls…"
"Fishes' voice and the sound of cat's footfalls?"
"Yes. That's why neither of those are found in the world – all used up in that chain. Actually, it seems to me that some other things got used up as well, such as gratitude of kings. Speaking of which, how do you think the gods paid the Dwarves?"
"By liquidating them, I suppose; how else?"
"Exactly! Actually, they only intended to liquidate them, but the Dwarves were to be reckoned with, too… but that's a different story. Back to Aragorn and the Elves…" His tale was long and detailed, as he was also testing his logic. Afterwards, a silence fell, disturbed only by the howling wind outside the tower.
"You're a scary man, Haladdin; who would've thought?.." Tangorn said thoughtfully, looking at the doctor with a new interest and – yes, respect. "The job we have undertaken brooks no timidity, but if we are, indeed, to win in this manner… In other words, I doubt that I will ever want to reminisce about it with you over a cup of wine."
"If we are to win in this manner," Haladdin echoed, "I don't think that I will ever want to look at myself in a mirror." (In any event, he added to himself, I will never dare look Sonya in the eye.)
"Actually," the baron smirked, "allow me to take you back to earth: this discussion rather resembles dividing spoils before the battle. First you win this fight, then do your soulsearching. So far we see a light at the end of the tunnel, nothing more. I don't think that our chances of survival are any better than one in five, so it's an honest game, in a way."
"Our chances? So you're staying?"
"What else can I do? Why, do you think that you can do this without me? For example, how did you plan to approach Faramir? Your whole scheme will end before it begins without his participation, albeit passive. All right… Here's what I think: this lure of yours has to be