Chapter 7 Contact is Made
Frodo stared out over the ramparts of Minas Tirith. The war was over and now came the arduous job of putting the world back to rights again. He and the other two surviving Hobbits had been highly honored for their parts in the downfall of Sauron, but the most famous Hobbit of them all, Samwise Gamgee, had not been there to receive his accolades. "Ah Sam, " sighed Frodo looking out towards the East. The smoke of Orodruin still visible over the mountains. "So much has happened since I last saw you in the Morgul vale." Frodo stopped and looked down at his pale, thin hands, tears misting his eyes. He closed his eyes a moment and took a deep breath. Sam's death was still so painful. "You'd like Minas Tirith, Sam." he continued weakly, wiping the tears away. "Captain Faramir is here and Gandalf and Legolas and Gimli and of course Pippin and Merry . And Sam, Aragorn is going to be king! Can you believe that? I know you didn't trust him when we first met in Bree, but he is to be the new king of Gondor. He has changed a lot! He will make a wonderful king." He paused again. "I wish you were here to see it." he whispered misery coloring his words.
He often came up here to talk to Sam. Somehow being able to see the smoke of the volcano made him feel more in touch with his fallen friend. Merry and Pippin were very worried about their cousin. Physically, he had recovered from his punishing ordeal of carrying the Ring and the aftermath of its destruction, but he had not shown any sign of recovering from Sam's death. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep. He spent all his time up on the high walls talking to himself. Grief and guilt were making it difficult for him to move on. Both his cousins had tried to help him, encouraging him to eat by presenting him with his favorite foods and trying to focus his attention on different things, but nothing worked.
Pippin looked down from where he and Merry were sitting on the wall of the uppermost tier of the White City. He was watching Frodo on the level below. "There he goes again, Merry." he sighed, looking over at his cousin who nodded sadly. "What are we going to do? He'll get sick if he keeps this up!"
Merry turned away, his eyes burning. He also felt Sam's death very deeply. Somehow, he thought they'd all manage to make it home to the Shire together and the loss of Sam was far more difficult than he had ever imagined. He knew Pippin felt it as well, but his young cousin tried to avoid thinking about it by focusing on Frodo instead. 'I know, Pip." he sighed. "I was hoping to speak to Gandalf about Frodo, but he's been so busy with setting up new governments and what have you, that I can never seem to even find him. I know he'd be worried if he knew how Frodo was reacting, but it looks like it's up to us to help him." He gave a small laugh. Yes, they were Heroes of Middle Earth alright, but now that the war was over, they were little more than inconvenient guests. Aragorn and Gandalf were far too busy to have much to do with them and Legolas and Gimli were often off on missions of their own. Granted, everyone was kind to them and honored them, but no one had time for them. So, they wandered around, left to their own devices.
"Come on, Pippin." said Merry, sliding down from the wall "Let's go for a walk. Maybe we can find something that will take Frodo's mind off Sam, at least for a little while."
The two cousins began a leisurely walk down towards the lower tiers of the city. It was a fascinating place to them, but they yearned for the green meadows and rolling hills of the Shire. Merry was wondering if the folks back home ever thought about them. What on earth would they think of all the things he, Pippin, Frodo and Sam had been doing? He gave another short laugh. They probably would have been appalled. Hobbits were not supposed to go on adventures! Look at that Bilbo Baggins and what adventuring did to him!
Merry was lost in his reverie when suddenly he felt Pippin grab his arm and cry "Careful!" Merry looked up just in time to avoid being run down by a band of foreign soldiers riding through the city up to the Citadel. It was common these days to see such groups of emissaries from distant kingdoms, arriving to discuss terms with the new king of Gondor. These were strange looking soldiers. They wore an exotic form of armor - layers of jagged scales with brightly colored clothing beneath. They were dark skinned and noble looking. The Hobbits were impressed.
"Easterlings!" spat a Gondorian soldier standing near them. The Hobbits turned to look at him. "They were hoping to have Gondor for themselves, I'm told." he growled, "Now, after all they time they fought for Sauron, they want to make peace." He spat again in disgust and stalked off. Merry and Pippin stared at each other before looking back at the Easterlings again.
"Merry!" whispered Pippin, "That one is only a child!" Sure enough, the cousins spied a boy, perhaps 12 or 13 years of age riding alongside one of the knights. The boy turned to stare unabashedly at the Hobbits. It was obvious he had never seen such small men before. Pippin smiled and waved. The boy stared harder, then gave a tentative wave as he continued up the hill and out of sight.
"He must be a squire to one of the knights, " said Merry watching the last of the Easterlings disappear. "I wonder what it must be like where they come from?"
"Maybe we could speak with him," suggested Pippin with interest. "He probably won't be as busy as the soldiers. Let's follow them and find out where they're staying!"
Merry nodded and the two turned and hurried back up the way they had come, following the path of the Easterlings. When they got to the top of the city, they found the Easterlings dismounted and milling around awaiting an audience with the king. The ambassador and his assistants had already gone into the throne room, while the guard waited outside. The Hobbits caught sight of the boy sitting under the shade of one of the buildings eating some bread. He looked up and again stared at the two Hobbits.
"Come on, Merry!" said Pippin, grabbing his cousin's arm, and the two walked over to the boy. They stood awkwardly for a moment, unsure of how to begin. They had no idea if the boy spoke Westron and they hesitated before speaking.
The boy looked around cautiously then said quietly, "Are you halflings? " He stared at them intensely, his dark eyes watching them carefully. "I am looking for three halflings."
Merry and Pippin stared at him, their mouths open with shock. "Yes," said Merry slowly. "We're halflings. Who are you looking for?"
The boy looked around again, making sure none of the soldiers were nearby. He learned closer to the Hobbits. "I am looking for three halflings that go by the names of Frodo, Merry, and Pippin. Would that be you or would you know where I can find them?"
Merry and Pippin exchanged surprised glances. "What do you want with them?" asked Merry guardedly, eyeing the boy with some suspicion.
"I have a message for them," said the boy. "From a friend who needs their help."
Again Merry and Pippin looked at each other. They were completely baffled by this turn of events. "Who are you talking about?" Pippin asked with a frown. The boy said nothing, but reached into his tunic and pulled out a small object carefully wrapped in cloth. He handed it to Merry. The Hobbit stared at it for a moment then carefully peeled back the layers to reveal the phial containing light of Earendil.
Merry gasped in surprise, "This was the Lady Galadriel's gift to Frodo! How did you get this?" He stopped abruptly and stared at the boy again. "Sam."
"Sam!" cried Pippin excitedly, grabbing the boy's arm. "You've seen Sam!? Is he alive? Where is he?"
The boy pulled away from Pippin's grasp. "Shhh!" he hissed, looking around nervously. "Can we go somewhere more private?" Some of the other men were watching them with obvious curiosity..
"Yes," replied Merry quickly, "Come with us to our apartments, but let us find Frodo first. He must hear this as well!" He then turned to the boy. "Do you have a name?" "Jalan," replied the boy rising gracefully to his feet. "Please, let us go quickly."
Pippin turned to Merry. "I'll go find Frodo and meet you at the apartment."
Merry nodded, "Good idea, Pip. But don't say anything to Frodo yet. Not until we know more about this." Pippin also nodded and scurried off down the roadway to where they had last seen Frodo. Merry turned to Jalan. "Come on. It's not far!" The Hobbit hurried off with the boy following closely behind. The soldiers quickly lost interest and turned their attention to other things. All but one. Radak continued to watch as his son disappeared into a nearby building with one of the halflings. So far, everything was going even better than he had hoped.
Pippin hurried down the cobbled street, nimbly dodging people and carts as he went. Panting, he soon reached the secluded section of wall where Frodo stood staring morosely out into the distance. Frodo looked up and watched indifferently as Pippin raced towards him. "Frodo!" Pippin gasped trying to catch his breath as he stumbled to a halt. "Frodo!" he repeated, "You must come with me! There's someone you must meet!"
"I'm sorry, Pippin" sighed Frodo wearily, "I'm really not up to seeing anyone today. Please give them my regrets."
"No, Frodo!" cried Pippin insistently. "It's extremely important. You really do want to meet this person!"
But Frodo had already turned away to resume his solitary reverie. He had no desire to speak with anyone and was wishing Pippin would just leave him alone. With a small gasp of surprise, Frodo found himself seized by the arm and turned abruptly to face his cousin. "Frodo." said Pippin with great intensity. "You must come and meet this boy." He paused, thinking about what Merry had said, but decided that desperate times required desperate measures. He grabbed Frodo's arms more firmly. "He says he knows something about Sam!"
Frodo frowned at Pippin as if he couldn't quite understand what his cousin was saying. "What are you talking about?" he asked irritably. "How could some boy know anything about Sam? Sam was lost in Mordor! Someone is playing a cruel joke on you, Pippin!"
"But Frodo," continued Pippin, undeterred, "He had the Lady's gift to you - the phial with the Light of Earendil! You told us Sam must have taken it as it wasn't with the items the Mouth of Sauron brought. How else could this boy have gotten it if not from Sam?"
Frodo continued to shake his head in disbelief, but there was sudden spark of hope in his eyes. His pressed his lips tightly together. No. He mustn't get his hopes up. It must be some sort of misunderstanding. "Fine, Pippin. I'll come with you, but I don't believe Sam could possibly still be alive. It's very possible that some orc took the Lady's gift and somehow the boy found it. We don't know for certain that Sam had it."
"Alright, Frodo," agreed Pippin in exasperation, "Maybe that's true, but let's find out what he has to say. Merry has taken him to our apartments." So, without further discussion, the two Hobbits hurried to their sumptuous apartments in the palace of the White City. Merry and Jalan were waiting with growing impatience.
Frodo studied the boy with misgiving, but was ready to hear what he had to say. "What is this about Sam?" he demanded after he was introduced to the boy. "Where did you get this phial?" He was turning the Lady's gift over in his hands. It was his all right.
The boy hesitated, then began. "I live in small village in the mountains of western Rhun. There is an evil black wizard who lives in the mountains not far from my village. He is a faithful follower of Sauron and I hear he was very important in Mordor. After the battle at the Black Gate, this man returned, flying on a great eagle. He bore with him a small man, such as yourselves. Sometimes I serve the Black Wizard when he is in his mountain dwelling. It is a terrifying place. Anyway, I was summoned soon after his return and saw this little man. I was able to speak with him, although he was sorely injured and very ill. He told me his name was Samwise Gamgee. Over time, I befriended him and when I discovered that my father would be riding with the emissary of Rhun to Minas Tirith, I offered to carry a message for Samwise. He told me to find three halflings by the names of Frodo, Merry, and Pippin and to tell them that he was alive and needed help. He gave me that bottle as a token to prove that I come from him" The boy stopped and looked at the three Hobbits before him. "The Black Wizard is a cruel man and Samwise is suffering much at his hand. He is very angry that such a small person could have destroyed all of Lord Sauron's great plans. Samwise's suffering will go on for a very long time if he is not rescued."
Frodo, Merry and Pippin stared silently at the boy, still having a difficult time believing what they had just heard. Tears glistened in Frodo's eyes as he studied the phial. "Sam." he whispered in despair, "Is it possible that you still live?" He suddenly raised his eyes to those of Merry and Pippin. "We must find Gandalf!"
"No!" cried the boy anxiously, reaching out as if to hold Frodo back. "You mustn't tell anyone! If the Black Wizard finds out I told about Samwise, my entire village will be destroyed, as well as your friend!"
Frodo was standing now, quivering with rage and a growing sense of urgency. "We must go rescue Sam!" he cried, "We can't leave him to torture and death!" His cousins stood beside him, also looking resolute. Frodo turned to Jalan. "What must we do?"
Frodo stared out over the ramparts of Minas Tirith. The war was over and now came the arduous job of putting the world back to rights again. He and the other two surviving Hobbits had been highly honored for their parts in the downfall of Sauron, but the most famous Hobbit of them all, Samwise Gamgee, had not been there to receive his accolades. "Ah Sam, " sighed Frodo looking out towards the East. The smoke of Orodruin still visible over the mountains. "So much has happened since I last saw you in the Morgul vale." Frodo stopped and looked down at his pale, thin hands, tears misting his eyes. He closed his eyes a moment and took a deep breath. Sam's death was still so painful. "You'd like Minas Tirith, Sam." he continued weakly, wiping the tears away. "Captain Faramir is here and Gandalf and Legolas and Gimli and of course Pippin and Merry . And Sam, Aragorn is going to be king! Can you believe that? I know you didn't trust him when we first met in Bree, but he is to be the new king of Gondor. He has changed a lot! He will make a wonderful king." He paused again. "I wish you were here to see it." he whispered misery coloring his words.
He often came up here to talk to Sam. Somehow being able to see the smoke of the volcano made him feel more in touch with his fallen friend. Merry and Pippin were very worried about their cousin. Physically, he had recovered from his punishing ordeal of carrying the Ring and the aftermath of its destruction, but he had not shown any sign of recovering from Sam's death. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep. He spent all his time up on the high walls talking to himself. Grief and guilt were making it difficult for him to move on. Both his cousins had tried to help him, encouraging him to eat by presenting him with his favorite foods and trying to focus his attention on different things, but nothing worked.
Pippin looked down from where he and Merry were sitting on the wall of the uppermost tier of the White City. He was watching Frodo on the level below. "There he goes again, Merry." he sighed, looking over at his cousin who nodded sadly. "What are we going to do? He'll get sick if he keeps this up!"
Merry turned away, his eyes burning. He also felt Sam's death very deeply. Somehow, he thought they'd all manage to make it home to the Shire together and the loss of Sam was far more difficult than he had ever imagined. He knew Pippin felt it as well, but his young cousin tried to avoid thinking about it by focusing on Frodo instead. 'I know, Pip." he sighed. "I was hoping to speak to Gandalf about Frodo, but he's been so busy with setting up new governments and what have you, that I can never seem to even find him. I know he'd be worried if he knew how Frodo was reacting, but it looks like it's up to us to help him." He gave a small laugh. Yes, they were Heroes of Middle Earth alright, but now that the war was over, they were little more than inconvenient guests. Aragorn and Gandalf were far too busy to have much to do with them and Legolas and Gimli were often off on missions of their own. Granted, everyone was kind to them and honored them, but no one had time for them. So, they wandered around, left to their own devices.
"Come on, Pippin." said Merry, sliding down from the wall "Let's go for a walk. Maybe we can find something that will take Frodo's mind off Sam, at least for a little while."
The two cousins began a leisurely walk down towards the lower tiers of the city. It was a fascinating place to them, but they yearned for the green meadows and rolling hills of the Shire. Merry was wondering if the folks back home ever thought about them. What on earth would they think of all the things he, Pippin, Frodo and Sam had been doing? He gave another short laugh. They probably would have been appalled. Hobbits were not supposed to go on adventures! Look at that Bilbo Baggins and what adventuring did to him!
Merry was lost in his reverie when suddenly he felt Pippin grab his arm and cry "Careful!" Merry looked up just in time to avoid being run down by a band of foreign soldiers riding through the city up to the Citadel. It was common these days to see such groups of emissaries from distant kingdoms, arriving to discuss terms with the new king of Gondor. These were strange looking soldiers. They wore an exotic form of armor - layers of jagged scales with brightly colored clothing beneath. They were dark skinned and noble looking. The Hobbits were impressed.
"Easterlings!" spat a Gondorian soldier standing near them. The Hobbits turned to look at him. "They were hoping to have Gondor for themselves, I'm told." he growled, "Now, after all they time they fought for Sauron, they want to make peace." He spat again in disgust and stalked off. Merry and Pippin stared at each other before looking back at the Easterlings again.
"Merry!" whispered Pippin, "That one is only a child!" Sure enough, the cousins spied a boy, perhaps 12 or 13 years of age riding alongside one of the knights. The boy turned to stare unabashedly at the Hobbits. It was obvious he had never seen such small men before. Pippin smiled and waved. The boy stared harder, then gave a tentative wave as he continued up the hill and out of sight.
"He must be a squire to one of the knights, " said Merry watching the last of the Easterlings disappear. "I wonder what it must be like where they come from?"
"Maybe we could speak with him," suggested Pippin with interest. "He probably won't be as busy as the soldiers. Let's follow them and find out where they're staying!"
Merry nodded and the two turned and hurried back up the way they had come, following the path of the Easterlings. When they got to the top of the city, they found the Easterlings dismounted and milling around awaiting an audience with the king. The ambassador and his assistants had already gone into the throne room, while the guard waited outside. The Hobbits caught sight of the boy sitting under the shade of one of the buildings eating some bread. He looked up and again stared at the two Hobbits.
"Come on, Merry!" said Pippin, grabbing his cousin's arm, and the two walked over to the boy. They stood awkwardly for a moment, unsure of how to begin. They had no idea if the boy spoke Westron and they hesitated before speaking.
The boy looked around cautiously then said quietly, "Are you halflings? " He stared at them intensely, his dark eyes watching them carefully. "I am looking for three halflings."
Merry and Pippin stared at him, their mouths open with shock. "Yes," said Merry slowly. "We're halflings. Who are you looking for?"
The boy looked around again, making sure none of the soldiers were nearby. He learned closer to the Hobbits. "I am looking for three halflings that go by the names of Frodo, Merry, and Pippin. Would that be you or would you know where I can find them?"
Merry and Pippin exchanged surprised glances. "What do you want with them?" asked Merry guardedly, eyeing the boy with some suspicion.
"I have a message for them," said the boy. "From a friend who needs their help."
Again Merry and Pippin looked at each other. They were completely baffled by this turn of events. "Who are you talking about?" Pippin asked with a frown. The boy said nothing, but reached into his tunic and pulled out a small object carefully wrapped in cloth. He handed it to Merry. The Hobbit stared at it for a moment then carefully peeled back the layers to reveal the phial containing light of Earendil.
Merry gasped in surprise, "This was the Lady Galadriel's gift to Frodo! How did you get this?" He stopped abruptly and stared at the boy again. "Sam."
"Sam!" cried Pippin excitedly, grabbing the boy's arm. "You've seen Sam!? Is he alive? Where is he?"
The boy pulled away from Pippin's grasp. "Shhh!" he hissed, looking around nervously. "Can we go somewhere more private?" Some of the other men were watching them with obvious curiosity..
"Yes," replied Merry quickly, "Come with us to our apartments, but let us find Frodo first. He must hear this as well!" He then turned to the boy. "Do you have a name?" "Jalan," replied the boy rising gracefully to his feet. "Please, let us go quickly."
Pippin turned to Merry. "I'll go find Frodo and meet you at the apartment."
Merry nodded, "Good idea, Pip. But don't say anything to Frodo yet. Not until we know more about this." Pippin also nodded and scurried off down the roadway to where they had last seen Frodo. Merry turned to Jalan. "Come on. It's not far!" The Hobbit hurried off with the boy following closely behind. The soldiers quickly lost interest and turned their attention to other things. All but one. Radak continued to watch as his son disappeared into a nearby building with one of the halflings. So far, everything was going even better than he had hoped.
Pippin hurried down the cobbled street, nimbly dodging people and carts as he went. Panting, he soon reached the secluded section of wall where Frodo stood staring morosely out into the distance. Frodo looked up and watched indifferently as Pippin raced towards him. "Frodo!" Pippin gasped trying to catch his breath as he stumbled to a halt. "Frodo!" he repeated, "You must come with me! There's someone you must meet!"
"I'm sorry, Pippin" sighed Frodo wearily, "I'm really not up to seeing anyone today. Please give them my regrets."
"No, Frodo!" cried Pippin insistently. "It's extremely important. You really do want to meet this person!"
But Frodo had already turned away to resume his solitary reverie. He had no desire to speak with anyone and was wishing Pippin would just leave him alone. With a small gasp of surprise, Frodo found himself seized by the arm and turned abruptly to face his cousin. "Frodo." said Pippin with great intensity. "You must come and meet this boy." He paused, thinking about what Merry had said, but decided that desperate times required desperate measures. He grabbed Frodo's arms more firmly. "He says he knows something about Sam!"
Frodo frowned at Pippin as if he couldn't quite understand what his cousin was saying. "What are you talking about?" he asked irritably. "How could some boy know anything about Sam? Sam was lost in Mordor! Someone is playing a cruel joke on you, Pippin!"
"But Frodo," continued Pippin, undeterred, "He had the Lady's gift to you - the phial with the Light of Earendil! You told us Sam must have taken it as it wasn't with the items the Mouth of Sauron brought. How else could this boy have gotten it if not from Sam?"
Frodo continued to shake his head in disbelief, but there was sudden spark of hope in his eyes. His pressed his lips tightly together. No. He mustn't get his hopes up. It must be some sort of misunderstanding. "Fine, Pippin. I'll come with you, but I don't believe Sam could possibly still be alive. It's very possible that some orc took the Lady's gift and somehow the boy found it. We don't know for certain that Sam had it."
"Alright, Frodo," agreed Pippin in exasperation, "Maybe that's true, but let's find out what he has to say. Merry has taken him to our apartments." So, without further discussion, the two Hobbits hurried to their sumptuous apartments in the palace of the White City. Merry and Jalan were waiting with growing impatience.
Frodo studied the boy with misgiving, but was ready to hear what he had to say. "What is this about Sam?" he demanded after he was introduced to the boy. "Where did you get this phial?" He was turning the Lady's gift over in his hands. It was his all right.
The boy hesitated, then began. "I live in small village in the mountains of western Rhun. There is an evil black wizard who lives in the mountains not far from my village. He is a faithful follower of Sauron and I hear he was very important in Mordor. After the battle at the Black Gate, this man returned, flying on a great eagle. He bore with him a small man, such as yourselves. Sometimes I serve the Black Wizard when he is in his mountain dwelling. It is a terrifying place. Anyway, I was summoned soon after his return and saw this little man. I was able to speak with him, although he was sorely injured and very ill. He told me his name was Samwise Gamgee. Over time, I befriended him and when I discovered that my father would be riding with the emissary of Rhun to Minas Tirith, I offered to carry a message for Samwise. He told me to find three halflings by the names of Frodo, Merry, and Pippin and to tell them that he was alive and needed help. He gave me that bottle as a token to prove that I come from him" The boy stopped and looked at the three Hobbits before him. "The Black Wizard is a cruel man and Samwise is suffering much at his hand. He is very angry that such a small person could have destroyed all of Lord Sauron's great plans. Samwise's suffering will go on for a very long time if he is not rescued."
Frodo, Merry and Pippin stared silently at the boy, still having a difficult time believing what they had just heard. Tears glistened in Frodo's eyes as he studied the phial. "Sam." he whispered in despair, "Is it possible that you still live?" He suddenly raised his eyes to those of Merry and Pippin. "We must find Gandalf!"
"No!" cried the boy anxiously, reaching out as if to hold Frodo back. "You mustn't tell anyone! If the Black Wizard finds out I told about Samwise, my entire village will be destroyed, as well as your friend!"
Frodo was standing now, quivering with rage and a growing sense of urgency. "We must go rescue Sam!" he cried, "We can't leave him to torture and death!" His cousins stood beside him, also looking resolute. Frodo turned to Jalan. "What must we do?"