Ch. 5
The white was now completely gone from Saruman's beard. He took a step toward Pippin, lowering his staff and beginning a spell. Pippin felt his chest swell as he began to rise from the ground, not by force, but as if he suddenly weighed less than air.
He rose straight up, as if there were no ceiling, straight into the sky. He continued to look down, and he noticed a change, small at first, but growing in his friends. At first he thought he was imagining their growth. Then they began to turn dark, with leathery skin and distorted faces, not orc-like but-
"Uruk-hai!" he gasped.
The moment this realization hit him, he felt his weight return to his body and he plummeted back down into the hobbit-hole, which was now inhabited by a great, burning eye---
You cannot escape me, Peregrine Took! The great burning thing warned as it enveloped him.
Pippin struggled to escape the fire. Rather than burning hot, however, it burned cold. Pippin slowly began to cease movement until he stopped. The only thing he could move was his eyes.
The Uruk-hais closed in on him. They spoke to each other, but Pippin could not hear. He waited moment, wondering what would happen. It was a moment before he realized the flames were growing warm---too warm---
The white was now completely gone from Saruman's beard. He took a step toward Pippin, lowering his staff and beginning a spell. Pippin felt his chest swell as he began to rise from the ground, not by force, but as if he suddenly weighed less than air.
He rose straight up, as if there were no ceiling, straight into the sky. He continued to look down, and he noticed a change, small at first, but growing in his friends. At first he thought he was imagining their growth. Then they began to turn dark, with leathery skin and distorted faces, not orc-like but-
"Uruk-hai!" he gasped.
The moment this realization hit him, he felt his weight return to his body and he plummeted back down into the hobbit-hole, which was now inhabited by a great, burning eye---
You cannot escape me, Peregrine Took! The great burning thing warned as it enveloped him.
Pippin struggled to escape the fire. Rather than burning hot, however, it burned cold. Pippin slowly began to cease movement until he stopped. The only thing he could move was his eyes.
The Uruk-hais closed in on him. They spoke to each other, but Pippin could not hear. He waited moment, wondering what would happen. It was a moment before he realized the flames were growing warm---too warm---
