[Child of the 7th Age]

***************Harad/Umbar************


The ship had made excellent progress on its first day. The Bay of Belfalas was thankfully peaceful. The waves rippled gently over its surface, a mild but steady breeze pushing them steadily northward. Urken expected that their progress up the Anduin would not be so easy. There they would have to contend with the current flowing south as well as the ship which was raiding along the coast. There was also the possibility of villages along the way trying to stop their progress, regarding them not as emissaries to Elessar but a hostile force left over from the war.

They clung close to the shoreline. Herumir and Fuinur had agreed that there was no sense risking the open seas when their own target lay close at hand. Along the way they had passed a number of tradiing vessels. Some of them belonged to the men of Gondor. Others seemed to be from the White Mountains or from strange distant ports. What most amused Urken was the response of the other ships. The minute they saw the banner of Harad with its oliphaunt emblazoned, they gave the two ships wide berth. They still feared some trick or raid upon their cargo.

Urken, however, had no time for such foolery. His only goal was to get to Minas Anor as quickly as possibly, hopefully before the other delegates did.

He still had not heard from that fool of a spy whom he'd stationed with the crew discussing trade. Perhaps the pigeon he'd sent had been shot down or pummelled in a storm. He had waited long enough. He decided to send a bird back urging him for more information. Unless he got informtion, that fellow was going to wish he'd never run into Urken. It would have been better to get someone more dependable, but sometimes you had to take whatever you could find.

He'd managed to get news in the bazaar from a caravan of dwarves that there were rumors of a group headed up towards Nurn. Who, in their right mind, would have dealings with Nurn? Certainly, he would not do so voluntarily. From what he had hurt, the place was falling apart, ripe for rebellion and intrigue. The intrigue did no bother him, but mindless revolts with no purpose behind them did. They led to complete chaos, and generally whoever was in control ended right back in the same place.

If one was going to lead an insurrection, there should be a clear and limited purpose in mind. Something very specifc. Or so Urken thought.

This day, Herumir and Fuinur were meeting him on his ship. He looked out and saw them walking over the deck. Each were accompanied by three retainers fully armed. They still did not trust him. But then it wasn't surprising. They had at least established enough common ground to sit down and talk. They quickly went over the plans for the war council. Their plan for accosting the stray ship held some merit, and he agreed to go along with them. He estimated that the ship was at least another full day ahead of them. Forunately for them, the vessel was stopping here and there to raid on the coast. Otherwise it might have been impossible for them to catch up.