"What do you mean 'we must decide what to do next'?" Frodo cried. "We have to go after him! We are wasting time!"
A swift search of the immediate surrounds had revealed that Sam was not nearby and Frodo was beginning to feel frantic.
"I am sorry that your friend is gone, young Hobbit, but we cannot halt our quest. Not even to rescue one of our own."
Aragorn flicked a look at Gandalf who was looking very sombre.
"Gimli is right." Boromir nodded. "We cannot afford to delay our mission, but perhaps we could divide our party for a short time? Frodo and half our company could continue and the rest can remain and look for Sam."
" The rest of you can carry on, but I am going to look for Sam!" Frodo declared defiantly.
"And we'll come with you!" Said Merry, speaking for himself and his younger cousin, who began nodding furiously.
"There is little point in half the company continuing if the Ringbearer will not go with them." Aragorn shrugged, looking once more to the Wizard.
"Gandalf. You must make Frodo see sense!" Gimli insisted. "He is the only one of us that cannot stay behind."
Gandalf looked down at his friend, speaking gently. "Gimli is correct, Frodo. You cannot go looking for Sam. If Sam has fallen into the hands of the enemy they may use him to delay us or to capture you. Or he may already be beyond our help."
Frodo looked up at the Wizard in disbelief then turned to Aragorn hoping to find support. "I will go no further without finding out what has happened to Sam."
Merry came up to Frodo and put his arm about him. "None of us will."
The Wizard's face looked grim. "It is a risk we dare not take, Frodo."
Pippin stood looking so forlorn that Boromir found himself placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. But the Hobbit was too miserable to even notice.
Frodo looked up at Gandalf once more and opened his mouth to plead with him to change his mind but stopped when a soft voice spoke out behind him.
"If Frodo will allow it, Aragorn and I could try to track Sam." Legolas suggested, looking to Aragorn, who after a short moment nodded. " With any luck it will not take long and the delay to our mission will be short. The rest of you could remain here under the protection of Gandalf's spell until we return. The Ringbearer will not be placed in greater danger by staying here than continuing onwards."
"Except it would appear that the enemy knows our location and that is dangerous in itself." Gandalf replied to the Elf, but he was looking at Aragorn with a slight frown as if were trying to read the Man's mind; or communicate his own thoughts.
"We do not know whether the enemy has Sam, or whether there is some more innocent explanation." Legolas persisted. "He may be lost, or trapped in the bogs that are everywhere in this land."
"It would be helpful to know if the enemy is so close at hand." Aragorn added. "And whether they are in force."
Frodo looked to Gandalf so full of hope that the Wizard relented, and in truth he was glad to do so for Sam was dear to him and he did not want to abandon the Hobbit. But the Wizard felt the responsibility of the quest weighing heavily on his shoulders. He knew only too well how disastrous it would be if they allowed personal feelings to get in the way of what had to be done. "Very well. Let Aragorn and Legolas try to find out what they can. But we cannot tarry long."
The Elf grabbed his bow and made ready to leave. Aragorn fastened his sword to his side and stood in front of the anxious Hobbits. "Take heart. We will find him, if he is there to find."
"If you require my assistance, you have it." Gimli announced, reaching for his axe.
"I, too, will help if I am needed." Boromir stated.
"Thank you, but we will travel more swiftly alone and I do not wish Frodo to be left unguarded." Aragorn said.
Gimli grunted in approval. "Of course. Do not worry. I swear that no harm will befall the Ringbearer whilst you are gone."
Boromir nodded, but said nothing.
Legolas had already moved off and Aragorn began to follow him, with Gandalf at his side. "If we do not return by nightfall, you must persuade Frodo to continue." He told the Wizard quietly. "We will join you as soon as we can."
Gandalf watched until Man and Elf had disappeared from sight before turning and making his way back to the others. His face was troubled.
-oOo-
Once they began looking, Aragorn and Legolas soon found a trail to follow, although it was not Sam's. It was Bill's.
"How do you know that the pony went the same way as Sam?" Legolas asked the Ranger.
"Because I have spent time with them." Aragorn continued to search the ground for signs of the Hobbit, but on feeling the Elf's curious gaze, looked up. "Sam has shown the beast great kindness and in return it is quite devoted to him." He explained. " I have seen this bond often between Elves and their mounts but never before between a Hobbit and a pony." He pushed his hair from his eyes and looked around. " I believe that one followed the other out of our shelter and outside the protection of Gandalf's spell. If Sam has been captured and taken away, Bill would try to follow, I am sure of it. And the same is true of Sam if Bill were in trouble." He turned his attention back to the ground. " Bill seems to have been moving quite slowly. I cannot tell whether he had a rider or not, but the tracks are deep enough to suggest a burden of some kind."
Legolas crouched beside Aragorn and examined the tracks for himself. "Could Sam have ridden him away for some reason?"
"Sam is no rider. If they left together of their own will, I believe Sam would lead Bill. But Sam would not leave of his own will." Aragorn said firmly.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because Sam would never leave Frodo, no matter the circumstances." Aragorn stood, frowning. " This trail is very easy to follow. Much of the ground is hard and dry in this spot and the grass grows short. The wind blows almost constantly so that dust does not settle. Tracks should be difficult to find. Yet it would seem that our trail leads over what little soft ground there is." He said slowly.
"You think that it has been laid out for us to follow?" Legolas asked, his keen eyes scanning their surrounds for signs of danger or their friend.
"Perhaps." Aragorn clapped the Elf lightly on the arm. "But we shall follow nonetheless. Come!"
They moved off together in the direction of the tracks.
-oOo-
Frodo sat with his head in his hands. Merry and Pippin had long since given up trying to find words to comfort him or each other and now sat, one to either side, in silence. Merry stared blankly at the wall, whilst Pippin pulled at the edge of his coat. Each was deep in their own thoughts.
Boromir, Gimli and Gandalf looked out into the fading light.
"What happens if Aragorn and the Elf do not come back by nightfall?" Gimli asked finally.
"Aragorn said we should go on without them." Gandalf replied.
"It will be hard to persuade the Hobbits to go on. I have seldom seen such sorrow at the loss of a comrade." Boromir said quietly, casting a sympathetic glance at the Hobbits. "In fact, I wonder whether the Ringbearer will go on willingly at all."
"Yes. I fear the same thing." Gandalf's voice was soft and his eyes remained fixed on a point outside the shelter. "Let us hope for the sake of our quest, if nothing else, that Samwise Gamgee is returned to us in one piece."
-oOo-
Dusk was falling and Aragorn and Legolas continued to follow Bill's trail. They found themselves travelling over the same ground they had passed near the night before; the whole area was wet underfoot and Aragorn had warned the company not to stray too far from their path. It was said that a rider and his steed could be trapped and swallowed within moments by the dangerous bogs in the area, and although the Ranger could not vouch for the truth of that rumour, he had seen enough smaller animals fall foul of the land there to believe it possible.
With the light fading fast, Legolas, with his superior eyesight, took over following the trail and Aragorn with his knowledge of the land tried to make sure that they did not stray into danger.
Darkness had nearly descended when suddenly Legolas put a hand out and stopped Aragorn in his tracks. "I can hear voices." He said softly. They stayed motionless and silent for several moments then Legolas began to move up an incline, crouching low. Aragorn followed him, without question.
When they reached the crest of the hillock they surveyed the scene before them. In the middle distance, in a sheltered hollow surrounded by large bushes, Aragorn could just see a fire and some movement. "How many are there?"
Legolas shook his head. "I cannot be certain. I can see five, but there may be more not in plain sight."
Aragorn had already started looking around but could see no movement outside of the camp. "Can you see what they are?"
"They look like…Trolls. Yet not."
"Speak plain, Legolas. What do you see?"
"I have heard tell of a race, bred from Trolls, that are cunning and unafraid of light. Their Dark Master calls them Olog-Hai."
Aragorn cursed under his breath. " I know of these creatures. You think that is what you can see below?"
Legolas nodded, never taking his eyes from the scene before him.
"Can you see Sam?"
" There is a figure apart from the rest, but I cannot be sure it is Sam."
"Then let us get closer and find out."
-oOo-
"I'm not going anywhere until Strider gets back." Frodo crossed his arms and gazed defiantly at the Wizard.
Gandalf sighed. "You realise that we could simply tie you up and carry you?"
"You'd have to come through me first!" Said Pippin, rushing to stand between them.
"And me!" Merry scrambled to his feet.
Gandalf muttered something under his breath and walked away towards Boromir and Gimli.
"Shall we restrain them?" Boromir asked.
"No. I don't really want to carry three unhappy Hobbits and our supplies. Especially if the enemy is near. Let us wait a little longer. Aragorn and Legolas might yet return with good news." Gandalf sighed. "Come, Boromir. Gimli gathered some brushwood earlier. We shall make a fire and have a warm meal to raise our spirits."
"I think it will take more than that to raise their spirits." Boromir said. "But let us try nevertheless."
The two moved off leaving Gimli on watch, hunched up against the cold of the night. He knew the Hobbit was behind him long before he spoke.
"Gimli?" The name felt unfamiliar in Frodo's mouth, like the first time he had used Strider's true name. "I will take your watch."
"No." Gimli said gently. "You should rest." The Dwarf turned his attention back to the landscape. "I will call you when they get back."
"I want to look out for them myself." Frodo said firmly.
"Then we shall look out for them together." Gimli said, making room for the Ringbearer.
"Thank you." Frodo settled down and stared into the dark, desperate for sign of his friends.
-oOo-
Aragorn and Legolas had abandoned Bill's tracks and the Ranger led them in a wide circle, through the treacherous bogs, to approach the camp from the other side.
Aragorn's heart sank when they closed in on the camp. Set off to one side was Sam, looking miserable. He was bound by the wrists to a stake in the ground. There was blood at his temple and around his mouth, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. A short distance away a group of eight Olag- Hai sat around a large fire, eating and laughing amongst themselves. Some sang hideous songs. Legolas spotted another two at the far end of the camp and guessed they were looking out for any sign of would be rescuers following Bill's trail from that direction, never guessing that anyone could come from the South.
The Olag-Hai were fearsome looking creatures, much bigger than a man and twice as strong with large clutching claws and great fangs. They had been bred not to fear the light and to crave the flesh of their enemies. They were all dressed in black tunics, with simple armour strapped to their knees and elbows. Their large round black shields and huge hammers were strewn across the camp; left to lie where they had been dropped.
Aragorn was about to withdraw when he saw two figures sitting apart from the others with their backs to him. There was no mistaking that they were Men. As Aragorn continued to watch, one of the men turned around and threw a half eaten fruit at Sam, hitting him on the head. "Not so funny now is it, my little friend?" The man's large mouth curled into a sneer. The other man laughed.
Aragorn swore under his breath and, motioning for Legolas to come with him, retreated to a safe distance.
The Elf looked at him, surprised at his reaction. "You know that man?"
"Yes. He is a long way from home, but there is no mistaking him." The Ranger grimaced. "It's Bill Ferny."
To be continued…