Chapter 35: The Argonath

As the Fellowship continued to journey on the river… they began to pass through a canyon. Trent and Shane's boats were right next to each other.

Trent lifted his head… and half-smiled for a moment before he tapped Ethan on the shoulder…

"Ethan," Trent said quietly to Ethan as he pointed upwards…

"…The Argonath" Trent silently answered…

Trent, as well as the rest of the Fellowship began to saw what was in front of them…

A sign of a very grand… and very enormous sculpture of a man in a helmet appeared before their eyes…

"Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old… my kin," Trent silently added to

Ethan, who was mystified beyond imagination at the wondrous sculpture in front of them.

Ethan, and Conner… perhaps even more so.

Two gigantic… majestic statues of the old kings were carved right out of the rock, proudly standing on each side of the Anduin…

Two vast quarries line the cliffs to either side of them, where once their stones may have been hewn for their building…

Their left arms were held aloft, their palms faced outwards in gesture of warning…

Solemn and stern were their faces, the silent wardens of a long vanished kingdom…

The rest of the Fellowship went speechless to what they saw before them…

Shane smiled very brightly, along with Hunter and Blake.

If anything else… out of all Middle-Earth… the towering Argonath must be the greatest wonder of this world…

The Fellowship sailed past the statues, into a lake, heading towards a great, roaring waterfall…

On either side of the falls… the land rises in two hilltops crowned by distant ruins…

And in the center of the rushing water… a pinnacle of rock rises sheer from the cascade.

The Fellowship finally found an old moorage in which to beach their boats with.

As they disembarked on the gravel beach, Shane looked troubled and appeared to be fighting a very silent conflict within him, and Ethan glances at him, looking very disturbed.

The rest of the Fellowship began unloading their supplies to make camp. The last stage of the quest was now before them all.

Conner was sitting bleached against a stone, fiddling around with his sword as well. Max, and Blake sat together, near a campfire.

Trent gathered the last of their supplies as he announced, "we cross the lake at nightfall, hide the boats and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the north."

"Oh yes?" interjected Max, "just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil? An impassable labyrinth of razor sharp rocks! And after that, it gets even better!"

Pippin looked up alarmed, as everyone else had their attention towards Max…

"…Festering, stinking marshlands, far as the eye can see!" finished Max.

"That is our road," returned Trent, "I suggest you take some rest and recover your strength Master Dwarf."

"Recover my…?!" huffed a perturbed Max, "Phrrrrr…"

Dustin, in an alarmed state… went up to Trent to warn him.

"We must leave now," he said urgently.

"No," countered Trent, "Orcs patrol the Eastern Shore. We must wait for cover of darkness."

"It is not the Eastern Shore that worries me," Dustin said as his gaze wandered over the dark pine woods, with a dark, brooding statue nestled amongst their needles…

Dustin went on, "a shadow and a threat has been growing in my mind. Something draws near… I can feel it.