The Tenth Ringwraith: a Sauron x Bilbo

Into the Dark

Unlike the rest of his Nazgûl brothers, Khamûl the Easterling was the only one hailing from a nation that had always been under the rule of the Dark Lord.

In Rhûn, the various tribes had all been led by their own chieftains but they in turn were led by the Belegchief -the Chief of Chiefs- which he had once been.

Even in the Time of Morgoth, the Men of Rhûn had sworn fealty to him, but it had always been Sauron they worshiped as their God.

People often assumed that the Witch King had been the first Nazgûl since she was their leader, but that was false, she was the second and Khamûl had been the first.

Unlike the others who had either been given their Rings under false pretenses or had taken them from their predecessors, Khamûl was also the only member of the Nine who had always known the price he must pay.

He had been given his ring, Orôm -the Warmonger-, knowing full well that he would lose the Gift of Men, his body, and -for awhile- the ability to think independently of his Master's will, but that paled in comparison to what he had gained: the ability to serve his god directly indefinitely.

And while he relished in being able to hold such a high position to serve Sauron best, his unlife had granted him far greater happiness than life had as well as a love that he felt could rival that of Beren and Lúthien.

Regardless, the Nine were a tight-knit group of brothers and they were united in serving their Master.

Another thing no one outside their number knew -save their Lord, who knew their every thought- was that whenever a new member of the Nazgûl was created, they were drawn to them like moths to a flame.

Only a direct order by their Master could stop them from dropping whatever it was they were doing to go to wherever their newest member was and escorting them back to Sauron.

Usually that also meant that the typically scattered Ringwraiths knew that one (or even two, as it had on one occasion) of their brothers had been killed and had been replaced -as was the case with Yuka, Riya, and Talion- but on their most recent trip forty years previously all Nine of them had departed from Minas Morgul together in search of their tenth brother.

***

Back in the past, Bilbo Baggins walked along the streets of Minas Tirith, not sure what to do as the sun dipped below the horizon.

He did not want to return to the inn where Cedric was, but with the sun going down and all the shops and markets closing all that was left were taverns and inns open.
Ash had been oddly silent all day, so Bilbo had no suggestions from him.

So, he walked alone for a while, eventually only having moonlight to guide his way in the darkness of the streets.

Bilbo saw a shortcut through an alleyway and cut through it, making it about halfway through before being pushed against the wall.

"Hand over your coin purse." The mugger demanded, "I would 'ate to chop up your pretty body."

Kicking backwards, Bilbo smacked his foot against the attacker's ankles, buying himself enough time to grab Sting from where it was hidden in his jacket.

At this point, anyone else -including Bilbo himself over a decade past- would have run off back to the inn and tried to forget about the experience.

But, Bilbo was no longer like anybody else; killing Gollum had woken something in him that had laid dormant his entire life.

He had killed the pathetic creature Gollum, had corrected the pity that had once stayed his hand, and he had liked it.

Bilbo was yet to admit this to himself of course, that he had developed a taste for murder, but this would not be able to be denied for long.

Stabbing the man that attacked him in the stomach, he watched him slump to the ground with a groan.

He then kicked the mugger's knife away so he could not fight back.

Ash's silence was broken as it began to purr, "He wanted to hurt you. Make him hurt instead."

Twisting Sting, Bilbo dragged the blade up without pulling it out, making an upside down 'T' shape on the man's torso.

The human's organs spilled out, gathering in his lap and onto the stone of the ground.

Bilbo did nothing for a few moments, just watching the man's terror before ending it with a merciful cut along his neck.

Wiping the elvish blade off with the corpse's tunic, Bilbo returned it to its hiding place and began to make his way back to his inn.

He entered his shared room and got straight into his bed, seeing Cedric asleep across the room.

"I liked what I did." Bilbo whispered, whether to Ash or himself he was not certain

"Then why stop?" The Ring whispered back

***

In the morning, the two hobbits had a small breakfast together before restocking their supplies and continuing their journey to Pelargir.

A few days of nothing passed unremarkably, putting the pair back into the nearly unbearable monotony that they had fallen into these past few weeks.

Bilbo could say though, that his lust for adventure had been satiated for now, but perhaps it had never been a lust for adventure after all.

A week passed and soon they arrived at their destination, the port city bearing a great resemblance to Lake Town where the entire area by the port itself resembled a slum and the richer areas were practically hidden.

Cedric went about his business collecting his ink shipment, leaving Bilbo alone to explore for a few hours.

"What should we do now?" Bilbo asked mentally

Ash replied immediately, "First let us see what all this town can offer. Then, we can figure it out."

Walking along the docks, looking into the familiar turquoise waters of the Anduin River that fed into the Bay of Belfalas; not quite seeing the sea as hoped but closer to it than he had ever traveled before.

Bilbo hummed slightly, looking into his reflection in the gentle -barely there- waves below, not noticing the white sea foam following his mirror image like a cloak.