"Ferny? Are you sure?"
Legolas looked grave. "Aragorn had no doubts."
Gandalf took a moment to digest this new piece of information. "Aragorn said that he was up to no good when Frodo was in Bree. I am surprised to find him here though; I would have expected him to sell information about our road, not to follow it himself. And he is not capable of tracking Aragorn across country." Gandalf mused. "Did Aragorn recognise the other man?"
Legolas shook his head.
"Well, Sam is captive and now we must decide whether we are to help him or abandon him." Gandalf said grimly.
"If two men are all that stands between us and Sam, then let us go." Boromir said impatiently. "The quest is in no danger from such opposition."
"There are but two men, but they have with them some ten Olag-Hai." Legolas said. "They would be difficult to conquer with double our number or more."
"Olag-Hai?" Boromir ran his hand over his face and gave a humourless laugh. "I have never seen one but I have heard tell of them. They say that their skin is covered with stone-hard scale and only blades blessed by Elvish spell can pierce it. "
Gandalf nodded. "You heard true, Boromir. And I am not learned enough in the art of Elvish spell weaving to bless our weapons." The Wizard looked at the Elf. "Legolas?"
He shook his head slowly. "I know nothing of magic."
"But we must be able to do something." Frodo cried.
"All is not hopeless. All blades forged by the Elves are blessed, so some of our weapons will be effective at least."
Gimli shook his head. "It will take more than a few swords, Gandalf. The Olag-Hai are bred from trolls and they are huge in size…"
"No." Legolas interrupted the Dwarf. "These were not so large. They were taller and broader than an Elf or a Man, true, but smaller than any Troll I have seen."
"That is welcome news indeed." Gandalf said. " But large or small we will need a strategy if we are to rescue Sam, and might I remind you that we have not yet agreed on that course?
A silence fell over the group.
"You have said it yourself, Gandalf, we cannot put the quest at risk in this way." Gimli said quietly.
Frodo sank to the floor.
Legolas started to move towards the Hobbit when Pippin caught his hand. "Where's Strider? Why did he not return?" All three Hobbits looked up at the Elf expectantly.
"He decided to stay close to Sam and do what he could if our friend was in any immediate danger." Legolas told them. " He was going to try to find some way of letting Sam know that help was nearby."
"Let us hope that he doesn't get himself caught." Gimli muttered, earning a glare from Legolas.
"Aragorn will not get caught." Gandalf said as though it were a fact.
"All men may make mistakes." Boromir said, frowning.
"True, but Aragorn is not like other men." Gandalf replied. Boromir's frown turned into a scowl.
"I feel better knowing he is there." Frodo said with feeling, then a thought struck him. " But if we aren't going to help Sam, why did Aragorn stay with him?"
Legolas looked at Gandalf as he answered Frodo's question. "Aragorn intends to attempt a rescue."
Boromir couldn't keep the astonishment from his voice. "Alone? It would be suicide."
"Oh, I doubt he will be alone." Gandalf said looking at Legolas.
"No. If Aragorn does this thing, I will help him." The Elf conceded under the Wizard's gaze.
Gandalf sighed. "Legolas…" he began but the Elf cut him off before he could get any further.
"I understand your reluctance to take this path, Gandalf, but there can be little doubt that the presence of these creatures means that their goal is not Sam but the Ring. Even if we abandon Sam to a fate he does not deserve, they will continue to track us. This confrontation is unavoidable, so why do we not take the fight to them, while we still have some small measure of control over circumstances and whilst there is still a chance to save our friend?"
"And what measure of control do you think we have? It is likely they are keeping Sam precisely to lure us to them and you and Aragorn would have us play into their hands!" Gandalf retorted.
"Our advantage is in the timing and in our superior knowledge of the terrain." Legolas said simply.
"They will be expecting us no matter the hour we choose." Boromir said. "But even then we might still gain an advantage if we truly know the land better."
"Aragorn has spent much time around Rivendell and in this area in particular. He can find his way through the bog land in the dark." Legolas looked at Gandalf to see his reaction but the old man seemed to be deep in thought. "I am familiar with the area as well and I can cross even the most dangerous bogs with ease."
"And can we be sure that our enemy is not equally familiar with this land?" Boromir asked.
Legolas shrugged a little. "It seems unlikely. Aragorn says that he has never known Ferny to leave the surrounds of Bree and the Olag –Hai are not from these parts. The other man, I cannot say."
Gimli leant on his axe. "There is something in what you say, Master Elf. We must not fail in our quest to destroy the Ring and for this reason I have urged us onwards, but if what you say is true, these creatures have the advantage over us in both strength and number and will likely follow us until they catch us. If we have an advantage in this place, however slight, let us take the fight to them rather than wait until such times as we are in unfamiliar territory and the advantage is all on their side."
The Man from Gondor nodded. " It seems that to best protect the Ring we must strike at our pursuers and I confess, I am glad, for it would have pained me to leave one of our own behind." Merry looked up at Boromir with surprise but said nothing.
"Gandalf, are you yet undecided?" Legolas said. The Wizard had wandered to the front of the shelter as the others were talking and now stood looking outwards, his back towards them. "What are your thoughts on this matter now?"
Gandalf didn't turn around. "I still think that going after Sam now may well be playing into the hands of our enemies," he said softly "but I find that I cannot stomach any other course of action."
"Then let us go!" Frodo cried, anxious not to waste any more time.
Legolas shook his head. "No, my friend. We must wait here for Aragorn."
"And before we set out on our mission we must take steps to ensure that the Ring cannot fall into our enemy's hands." Boromir said resolutely.
Gandalf nodded. "Yes, Boromir. We must hide the Ring to keep it from our enemies should the worst befall us. The Ring has remained lost before; perhaps it may do so again." The Wizard seemed to shake himself and turned to face his companions again. "Come, we have much to discuss."
-oOo-
Sam sat miserably on the ground, cursing his own stupidity. He should have known better than to leave the shelter and follow Bill without waking one of the others.
He couldn't say what happened exactly. He had run after Bill, but realised that he was getting too far away from the others. He had shouted out to Bill in a vain attempt to make the pony come back didn't want to go too far away from the shelter. Sam had muttered to himself and made to turn back when something hit him from behind. He knew nothing else until he woke up and found himself tethered to a stake in the ground, surrounded by monsters
At first he had been scared that every minute was his last. He had never seen such ferocious creatures and he kept waiting for them all to gather around him and start tearing him apart until, that was, he saw Ferny. Then he realised that his value to his captors was not as a meal.
A slap on the side of his head brought him back to the present and he twisted his head to see Ferny's sly face grinning down at him. "Sammie, what have you been doing to that pony of mine? He's gone soft!"
Sam began looking around him as best he could with Ferny holding onto the scruff of his neck, but he couldn't see the pony. He could hear him whinnying though.
Ferny laughed. "Yeah, he's no good to me now. Might as well put him in the pot!"
"NO!!" Sam screamed and started to struggle, but his distress made Ferny laugh all the louder.
"What's the matter, Sammie?" The man crouched down until his was face was level with the Hobbit's. Sam felt his rancid breath on his cheek. "If you get this upset over my old pony, what are you going to do when we get hold of your little friend with the ring…or that Strider you like so much? Didn't I tell you not to take up with him? "
Sam found himself being pushed away roughly. By the time he sat himself upright, Ferny had moved off to sit by the fire, some distance away. Sam twisted around anxiously and breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted Bill, looking unhappy but alive tied up to a bush.
He felt something hard strike him on the top of his leg. The creatures were throwing stones at him again. Sam squeezed his eyes shut as another stone found his arm. The next hit his head and he couldn't stop himself yelling out in pain. The monsters started laughing, but whether it was because they had been ordered not to hurt him badly, or because they had simply tired of the game, after a few more well aimed shots, they left the Hobbit alone.
Sam wiped his tears away from his face angrily. He looked around at Bill again, and took some comfort in the fact that he actually looked quite calm now. Sam was about to turn back when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. He looked again and this time he knew he saw something in the bush by Bill. As he stared he saw definite movement and to his amazement, Strider stood up from the bush slowly and deliberately so that Sam could see him. He put his finger to his lips to warn against noise. Sam felt his mouth drop open of its own accord but deliberately shut it again and looked around. There were creatures all around the camp, but none of them seemed to be looking either at him or Strider. All the same, Sam forced his face into a neutral expression and looked back across at his friend carefully. The Man was still standing. He had one hand on Bill's mane and he seemed to be having a calming effect on the pony. Strider gave Sam a tight smile and nodded and waited until Sam had returned both before sinking back into the bush. A moment later there was nothing to say that he had ever been there apart from the joy in Sam's heart that came from the certainty of knowing that Strider would think of something.
-oOo-
To Be Continued