~~The Ambitious Corsair~~
Part IV
Gimilthôr was eager to make his ship the fastest of the Great Ships in Umbar. He had not the coin to pay for new sails yet, but that coin he quickly earned the corsair-way. His first raids as captain were to the south, in Far Harad, where he assailed coastal towns of Southrons. These were easy pickings, as there were no soldiers or half-trolls protecting these settlements. He was adamant to set his eye on Gondor only as soon as his ship was in order. Through many raids of ships and towns, and his slave trade, he earned more than what was needed to fit new sails and replace the oars. He had two ballistae mounted near the stern of the ship, but he suffered none at the bow, for he much valued speed over strength.
To replace the weight, he recruited new and doughty corsairs, among which half were experienced bowmen. Soon he commanded a company of a hundred doughty corsairs and some forty slaves to man the oars. Lordly and terrible did he now appear, as if some great seafarer from Númenor in ancient times; his eyes ever set upon the horizon, and there was a glint in them so fierce that few dared to look at him. In this manner they set sail from Umbar, fully armed but stocked only with provisions needed for the journey thence; as ere they left the havens, Gimilthôr had ordered that all their stores would be brought ashore; for in speed lay their victory, that much he knew.
His plan was simple; to gain a footing in Belfalas by taking hostage an entire coastal town. But by daylight the Gondorians would see them coming from more than twenty leagues away, sitting in their high towers built for such purpose in older days. If he would sail in during the night, they would take longer to spot him, and that he hoped could give them the time needed to land and raid before they could prepare their defences. The Gondorians would send and errand rider for aid from a nearby fort in Lebennin, and they would send a company of knights in response, most likely on horseback, as the Gondorians knew they held the advantage on the open fields. So Gimilthôr and his men would need to move swiftly and decisively, doing as much damage as they could to force a surrender before help would arrive. Then, they would need to set up defences to stave off the horsemen; barricades they had built in preparation, so they could bar the roads into town. The Gondorians would not risk the lives of those who surrendered, but neither could Gimilthôr risk a mounted assault upon the town, lest they be overthrown and harried back to their ship.
It was a valiant plan, and not all amidst his crew were eager to see it fulfilled. But the time of mutiny had not come yet, and the prospect of bringing fire and death to their hated enemy made them at least curious enough to try it, so they abided with Gimilthôr for now.
So it passed that they came during a moonless night, with a southern wind in their sails, within twenty leagues of the shores of Belfalas; a great pinnacle of land stretching out before them, dark and menacing. But Gimilthôr did not waver, for he was convinced that he would have victory ere the coming of dawn. Everyone was silent with weapons at the ready. So far there were no lights burning and there was no sign of enemy ships. Mile after mile they came closer to the shores of Gondor by the cover of night. But about one league from the shores they heard the distant ringing of bells, and if their hearing had been that of the Elder folk, they would have heard the watcher yell 'The Corsairs of Umbar! The Corsairs of Umbar are coming!'
The Gondorians had spotted them. ‘Accursed be their vigilance,’ Gimilthôr thought. He now ordered the oars to be released and the slaves to row as if their lives depended on it, for time was short. With as great a speed as they could muster, they eventually landed on Gondorian soil. Lights were burning yonder upon the hill, and there was a great clamour in the town. There was time yet to catch them in their preparations, and sure enough, when he arrived with his company of nigh a hundred men, only the town guard were at the ready, but among them were men barely armed and with sleep still in their eyes, and though he lost a good few doughty corsairs in the battle that ensued, the town lay burning before dawn and those that did not escape were taken prisoner, as hostages to be bartered for.
When the cavalry arrived, they found the way into town barred and the towers manned by grim men with swarthy skin. Gimilthôr had succeeded, albeit at greater losses than he had hoped.
