Beleg searched the bodies upon Amon Rûdh seeking to bury his dear friend Túrin but does not find the corpse anywhere. At once Beleg realizes Túrin has been taken captive to Angband. After recovering from his wounds he sets off in pursuit with little hope. He found the Orc trail and near the Crossings of Tieglin the tracks split.
Beleg chose to follow the path that led directly toward Angband guessing that they were to bring Túrin before Morgoth as soon as possible. This lead Beleg through treacherous lands including the Mountains of Terror and the dreaded forest of Taur-nu-Fuin. It so happened that as Beleg traversed the forest he saw a small light. Following it Beleg found an Elf asleep under a tree with a lamp. Beleg woke the sleeper, fed him lembas, and sought to learn what he could.
The Elf happened to be Gwindor who escaped from Angband. Beleg barely recognized this once proud Elf. He had been enslaved for years as Morgoth often put the Noldor to use in his mines for they had skill in mining gems and metals. Plus their Fëanorian lamps, crystals with an ever-shining blueish radiance, were helpful in finding their way in darkness. Gwindor had been given a small sword in the mines and attacked his captors. He escaped, with the loss of one a hand, and had collapsed from exhaustion by the tree.
He had seen the company of Orcs go by but they bore no prisoners. At this news Beleg's heart sank. He had chosen the wrong tracks to follow and would not be able to catch up with the other group. But suddenly in that moment of despair (Tolkien has a way of hope being born at the last possible second--perhaps a life lesson we should take note of) the other host of Orcs came forth with captives and loot. And Beleg saw Túrin being led by whips.
Gwindor tried to talk Beleg out of his plan to rescue Túrin for fear of his capture. Beleg, rather, roused Gwindor's heart and together they followed the Orcs. On the plains of Anfauglith, in sight of Thangorodrim, the Orcs made a camp and posted wolf-sentinels. There the Orcs feasted and caroused, tormenting their captives until they fell into a drunken stupor. By then night was coming on as well as a storm and the two Elves crept toward the camp.
Beleg took up his bow and killed, silently, four wolf-sentinels. Making his way into camp he found Túrin tied to a tree surrounded by knives hurled at him--he was unharmed but unresponsive due to exhaustion or some other means. They cut him loose from the tree but could not carry him far from camp. Hiding in a thicket Beleg drew his sword, Anglachel, to cut loose Túrin's fetters. But the malice in the blade of Eöl was strong and it slipped and pricked Túrin's foot.
This roused Túrin in great fear seeing a shadow before him with blade drawn. He jumped up with a great cry, wrestled the blade away, and slew his enemy in one blow. As he readied himself to face more foes lightening flashed and Túrin saw the dead face of his dear friend Beleg (I would say this is a clear manifestation of the curse laid upon Túrin). And Gwindor cowered in fear at the sight of Túrin. The Orcs were roused by Túrin's yell and found him gone. But the coming storm sent fear in them "...believing that it was sent against them by the great Enemies beyond the Sea" (p. 154, The Children of Húrin), and my hunch is they were right. Gwindor tried to make Túrin realize the danger they were in but he sat unmoving and unweeping by the body of Beleg. Here is a picture (although Gwindor has both hands instead of only one).
Morning finally came after a night of storms and the Orcs, supposing Túrin no far fled, left. Gwindor then roused Túrin enough to help with the burial of Beleg placing Belthronding, his bow, beside him in the grave. But Gwindor took Anglachel saying it would be better served against Morgoth's hosts. He also took the lembas to give them strength in their journey ahead. "Thus ended Beleg Strongbow, truest of friends, greatest in skill of all that harboured in the woods of Beleriand in the Eldar Days, at the hand of him who he most loved; and that grief was graven on the face of Túrin and never faded'" (p. 156, The Children of Húrin).
That was a tough read. Of all of Tolkien's works The Children of Húrin is incredibly bleak. It's a true tragedy in the Middle-earth lore. One reason I like this chronological read is because it breaks up this story a bit. It's nice to check in on Tuor and other happenings. When I first read this story a few years back I ended up being depressed for a few days afterword. And alas, even now we are only roughly half-way through The Children of Húrin.
Middle-earth timeline: First Age, 488
Today's reading comes from: The Children of Húrin, pages 151-156
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