Act 2, Scene 5
Act 2, Scene V
Sauron and Carcharoth enter, with Baragund captive between them. They push him to his knees as they greet Thingol.
Carchar:
I am entirely ready to greet your Majesty. As you see, my ferocity is undiminished. Only this morning, I devoured a criminal.
Thingol:
Oh, you've had an execution, have you?
Carchar:
Yes. The Coroner has just handed me her certificate.
Sauron:
I am the Coroner. (Carchar hands certificate to Thingol.)
While they conduct this business, Baragund edges his away from them, still on his knees.
Thingol:
And this is the certificate of his death. (reads) "At Middle Earth, in the presence of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice, Attorney-General, Secretary of State for the Home Department, Lord Mayor, and Groom of the Second Floor Front —"
Sauron:
They were all present, your Majesty. I counted them myself.
Thingol:
Very good house. I wish I'd been in time for the performance.
Carchar:
A tough creature she was, too — a thing of insatiable thirst. Her struggles were terrific. It was a remarkable scene.
Thingol:
Describe it.
Carchar:
The criminal cried, as she fluttered down,
And she waved a desperate claw
With a frightful, frantic, fearful frown.
I opened my red maw,
I seized her by her ragged cloak-hem,
And on her knees she cried,
As she squirmed and struggled,
And gurgled and guggled,
I gaped my great teeth wide,
My great teeth wide!
Oh, never shall I
Forget the cry,
Or the shriek that shrieked she,
As I gnashed my teeth,
She writhed beneath.
I gaped my great teeth wide!
Chorus of Orcs:
We know him well,
He cannot tell
Untrue or groundless tales —
He always tries
To utter lies,
And every time he fails.
Baragund looks from Carcharoth’s preening to Thingol’s frown and begins to improvise.
Baragund:
Along with the vampire her victim too,
Mighty Beren met his end;
This vicious devourer has bit him through
And destroyed my only friend;
At his terrible fate he showed no fear
And he fought with the strength of ten,
As the brutal beast
Engulfed its feast
The noblest of all Men,
Yes, of all Men!
Though a Man may die
Aspiring too high,
Yet a noble death dies he,
And if Thingol’s quest
Destroyed our best
It still was a sight to see!
Chorus of Orcs:
His terrible tale
You can't assail,
With truth it quite agrees:
His taste exact
For faultless fact
Amounts to a disease.
Sauron:
They fell and they bled a gush of red
Both the vampire and her prey
But as the two fell, they both heard my tread
And thrashed to get away
It was more than a reflexive muscle twitch
That last desperate display;
For they clearly knew
The tortures of Thu
Would be worse in every way,
In every way!
And it's oh, I swear,
This final terror
Is a touching sight to see;
In deathly pain,
How they retain
A dizzying dread of me!
Chorus of Orcs:
This haughty Thu,
He tells it true
Whenever he finds it pays:
And in this case
It all took place
Exactly as he says!
Exactly, exactly, exactly,
Exactly as he says!
Snarling and hissing, the orcs retreat across the stage and exit, while Baragund edges his way to a separate corner of the stage. Sauron and Carcharoth remain, striking exaggeratedly fearsome poses before Thingol and his court.
Sauron and Carcharoth enter, with Baragund captive between them. They push him to his knees as they greet Thingol.
Carchar:
I am entirely ready to greet your Majesty. As you see, my ferocity is undiminished. Only this morning, I devoured a criminal.
Thingol:
Oh, you've had an execution, have you?
Carchar:
Yes. The Coroner has just handed me her certificate.
Sauron:
I am the Coroner. (Carchar hands certificate to Thingol.)
While they conduct this business, Baragund edges his away from them, still on his knees.
Thingol:
And this is the certificate of his death. (reads) "At Middle Earth, in the presence of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice, Attorney-General, Secretary of State for the Home Department, Lord Mayor, and Groom of the Second Floor Front —"
Sauron:
They were all present, your Majesty. I counted them myself.
Thingol:
Very good house. I wish I'd been in time for the performance.
Carchar:
A tough creature she was, too — a thing of insatiable thirst. Her struggles were terrific. It was a remarkable scene.
Thingol:
Describe it.
Carchar:
The criminal cried, as she fluttered down,
And she waved a desperate claw
With a frightful, frantic, fearful frown.
I opened my red maw,
I seized her by her ragged cloak-hem,
And on her knees she cried,
As she squirmed and struggled,
And gurgled and guggled,
I gaped my great teeth wide,
My great teeth wide!
Oh, never shall I
Forget the cry,
Or the shriek that shrieked she,
As I gnashed my teeth,
She writhed beneath.
I gaped my great teeth wide!
Chorus of Orcs:
We know him well,
He cannot tell
Untrue or groundless tales —
He always tries
To utter lies,
And every time he fails.
Baragund looks from Carcharoth’s preening to Thingol’s frown and begins to improvise.
Baragund:
Along with the vampire her victim too,
Mighty Beren met his end;
This vicious devourer has bit him through
And destroyed my only friend;
At his terrible fate he showed no fear
And he fought with the strength of ten,
As the brutal beast
Engulfed its feast
The noblest of all Men,
Yes, of all Men!
Though a Man may die
Aspiring too high,
Yet a noble death dies he,
And if Thingol’s quest
Destroyed our best
It still was a sight to see!
Chorus of Orcs:
His terrible tale
You can't assail,
With truth it quite agrees:
His taste exact
For faultless fact
Amounts to a disease.
Sauron:
They fell and they bled a gush of red
Both the vampire and her prey
But as the two fell, they both heard my tread
And thrashed to get away
It was more than a reflexive muscle twitch
That last desperate display;
For they clearly knew
The tortures of Thu
Would be worse in every way,
In every way!
And it's oh, I swear,
This final terror
Is a touching sight to see;
In deathly pain,
How they retain
A dizzying dread of me!
Chorus of Orcs:
This haughty Thu,
He tells it true
Whenever he finds it pays:
And in this case
It all took place
Exactly as he says!
Exactly, exactly, exactly,
Exactly as he says!
Snarling and hissing, the orcs retreat across the stage and exit, while Baragund edges his way to a separate corner of the stage. Sauron and Carcharoth remain, striking exaggeratedly fearsome poses before Thingol and his court.
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