What I believe to have been several weeks had passed. Within the pits, it is impossible to tell just how much time has been spent. I wake within the barracks to the sound of the first horn, I work the forges until the second, and then we are escorted to the feeding halls to eat what the overseers named slop. Each mouthful is like chewing a corpse, the taste and smell resembles as much. On numerous occasions I gagged and spat it back out only to receive a whipping for good measure. Occasionally I would see Sparrow passing through the hall with buckets and pots, there was nothing I could do for her. She seemed as though she had aged by twenty years, I have no doubt I must have looked the same. For all my efforts to remain strong I find myself failing at the end of the day, retiring to the barracks to cower in a corner shivering and muttering to myself, pathetic. I will not let captivity rule over me again, I shall not yield to the memory of my previous hardship and succumb to the hopelessness of my predicament.
In the forge Uruks and slaves alike work side by side in dire conditions. The heat is enough to cause a man to fall, fresh water being a luxury we do not have, and each fallen man would be made an example of. We were forced to witness an elderly man be lowered into the great forge with chains wrapped around his feet. His screams echoed throughout the deep furnace which struck fear into all our hearts, I shall not deny it. The blades of Isengard are forged in both blood and fire, already marked before the battle has even commenced.
Obedience and strength is what keeps a man from the furnace; for that reason I take every order given without a moments hesitation. Fásh is always watching from a distance, it is as though the beast has countless eyes forever watching his workers for one minor mistake. Those who turn to look are whipped; those who speak without permission are cut. Workers often fear that the Uruk has the ability to see into their mind; however I know that to be untrue. Should Fásh have seen into my thoughts and discovered what I had planned for him, I would have been killed upon my first day.
Eventually I decided to put one of my plans into motion. Upon delivering a message to one of the forges above I seized an opportunity of stashing one of the newly forged blades into my rags in the cover of a rock in the tunnels. I had wrapped it within an earthy coloured cloth which I believed to have provided suitable camouflage. Upon returning I realised that I could not be the one to retrieve it, as captives that work the forge are often inspected before leaving the centre pit. Sparrow, however, had much more freedom; she passes through the tunnels on a daily basis to deliver food to the cells in the upper levels. The next day while delivering an order I managed to speak to her briefly, explaining my plan along with instructions. Though she was reluctant at first, she agreed as I knew she would. She was to deliver the blade to me in the barracks; from there I would plan our next step.
Later that day I noticed her walking down towards the forge, carrying Fásh’s meal no doubt - she often brought food to the overseers as they never leave their posts. While I was counting blades upon the rack I heard Fásh shouting at her, I did not need to turn to recognise the sound of his mail-bound fist striking against her face. What followed however filled me with dread, a loud roar of anger bounced from the forge walls causing everyone present to turn. Foolishly, Sparrow had pulled the blade as if from nowhere in an attempt to cut the creature down. Naturally she was overpowered and beaten to the ground; Uruks formed a circle around me as the overseer gripped a handful of her hair wrenching her bloody face upwards for the crowd to see. It was there he announced that she would be taken to the circle above, along with all the new captives to witness her severe punishment. I stared down at her on her knees, her eyes fixing themselves upon me as if to plead for help. Another mistake, one which Fásh had noticed, I said nothing as we were ushered through the tunnels to be taken to the upper circle.
