IV

The nights passed and a heavy rain fell over the old gardens, filling the air with the scent of sodden herb and pine. It made Sam's heart ache for home and garden and he wondered if they would ever leave this place or remain hidden in the caves of the falls forever.

One eve Gandalf came to them as he and Frodo were supping and said, "I must leave you tonight. I have had word from Legolas; he requires my assistance. I will ride out at once. Look for me to return with his company a few days hence." Gandalf went into the tunnels whistling for Shadowfax, the most magnificent horse Sam had ever seen, and was soon off into the rain.

Sam was woken a few evenings later by a commotion in the main chamber. Many voices were heard and claps and cheers. Sam leaned close to Frodo, and could discern by his slow even breath that he was deeply asleep. Sam got up quietly and dressed, then made his way up the tunnels toward the newly lit torches.

The large room was filled with strange men and elves soaked to the bone and clapping one another on the backs or using the greeting gestures common to the elves. Sam moved through them looking for Gandalf.

"Sam!" A clear voice rang out and Sam whirled about. Legolas slipped through the throng and came toward him, calling his name in joy as Gimli surprised him from behind, wrapping him up in a rough hug, leaving his feet dangling off the stones.

"Master Gamgee! A fine evening this is to see you whole and well!" said Gimli with much enthusiasm as he dropped a breathless Sam back on his toes, the back of his tunic damp from the dwarf's dripping beard.

"And lighter is my heart," said Legolas, kneeling to place a hand upon his shoulder, "to see with my own eyes that you are here amongst friends once again."

Sam stared at the both of them in amazement, for it had been so long since he and Frodo had rowed from the shores of Parth Galen. Aside from their bedraggled hair, they looked exactly the same. "'tis a wonder beyond any to see you both," said Sam. "I'd thought none of us would ever meet again."

"By the blessings of the Valar we have been brought together once more," said Legolas with a smile. "Greater blessings than you know. Here is Gandalf; he carries a burden you will be heartened to see."

Gandalf entered the cavern from the dim corridor and in his arms was a bundle, wrapped in blankets, which he laid carefully upon a bench, propped against a sack of grain. The bundle moved and spoke. "Sam? Where is Sam? I heard him!"

The occupant was still hidden under a hood, but Sam knew the voice without a second guess.

"Pippin!" he cried and the damp men got out of his way as he rushed to the hobbit's side, wrapping him in a fierce hug.

"Easy, Sam! I'm half broken, you see," Pippin gasped. His wet hood fell back and the plucky Took gripped Sam's arm with a grin. "A dreadful night for travelling," he said once Sam let him go. "Gandalf is not much of a pony."

"A little courtesy, Peregrin," the wizard said, removing his own soaked grey wrap and allowing his white robes to flow once again. "I've heard less complaining from a sack-full of hungry dwarves."

"Well, that's only because you've yet to feed this poor dwarf, though I'm a hand or so smaller than Gimli, and less trouble for you to carry." Pippin shifted himself where he leaned against the sack and Sam could see it hurt him to breathe too deeply.

"Are you hurt, Mr. Pippin?"

"Oh, just a rib or two," he said, as if it were no trouble. Sam helped him loosen his wet wraps and beneath Sam could see Pippin was dressed in similar garb to that of the Gondorians, though the silver tree and black vestments were tailored to fit his exact size, which was strangely longer. His right shoulder was bound in bandages to keep his arm immobile. "I had some trouble with a troll," he explained.

"What sort of trouble?" Sam asked.

"He fell upon me, I'm afraid, but not before I stuck him good with my sword--wherever that's gotten to. I can't seem to keep track of things very well in this war."

"You fought in the war?" Sam asked, amazed. "The war with the City?"

Pippin nodded vigorously, but his eyes were grave. "I was in the City when the Enemy set fire to the first circle and brought down the doors. And then I went on the march to the Black Gate with what was left of the Western army."

Sam was stunned. He didn't think of any of them as taking up arms and riding out with the men like real soldiers.

"Where's Mr. Merry?" Sam asked Pippin, since he had never seen one of the young hobbits without the other.

Pippin's face fell. "I don't know, Sam," he said sadly and with great worry in his eyes. "I left him with the healers of Minas Tirith when we marched on Mordor. He was injured. Oh, Sam, he felled a wraith! You would not believe it if you saw it, but I did. He had a hard time with the black sickness as they call it, but he was getting better. The King came and laid hands upon him and he woke right up! But poor Merry was left behind because he could not fight anymore. I never should have gone and left him."

Sam took Pippin's hand and held it while the Took recovered himself. He knew well the pain of leaving one's companion behind. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to go looking for him," Pippin continued. "Miserable lout, he's probably coveting the lion's share of the City butteries. He's got a hand for finding such things as we did in IsengardDid you hear? We found quite a storage of leaf and fruits and"

Pippin went on for some time relating names of foods, people and places Sam could only guess at. It would be some days, he knew, before he would understand the half of it. It seemed the four of them had covered most of the map of Middle-earth these last months. Pippin related how after he had taken hurt upon the Battle Plain, he was found by riders of the Rohirrim who took him up on horseback, a painful experience. They cared for him in the deep forests until they were able to reconnect with Legolas' company and regroup at Henneth Annûn, a place still unknown to their foes. Horsemasters, he called them, and pointed to the men about the room with long unbraided hair. Merry had been a hobbit of the Mark, he said, sworn to King Théoden; and even more astounding, Pippin had become esquire to Denethor, Steward of Gondor, all of who, Pippin explained, were now deceased. Even their sons were lost--Éomer fell in the last debate and Faramir, he'd been left with Merry it would seem.

"I've heard much talk of kings these past days," said Sam. "But I've yet to meet one, though Gandalf says one is to arrive here soon."

"Oh, Sam, you silly gander. Don't you know? You've already met him. Gandalf's talking about Aragorn. He's the King of Gondor, or the rightful king anyway, and has been all this time; he's just being humble about it."

"Strider? Well, who would have thought it! Not I, and that's for certain. I weren't too warm to him straight off, you know, when we met in Bree."

"Yes, butwhat of Frodo, Sam?" Pippin asked, taking Sam back to the present. "Gandalf says he is with you, that you stayed together! All the way through Mordor, amazing!"

"He is here," Sam said, but was reluctant to say anything more.

"Do you think I can see him soon? Gandalf wouldn't say much about either of you since Legolas' company found me in the woods with the horsemen. I'd feared the worst. But you look well enough, though I daresay much thinner! That reminds me," he said. "I have something for Frodo, here in my pack. Help me get it."

Sam leaned over and lifted up a battered bag with a torn strap. "Untie it," Pippin said and Sam did. Within, wrapped in a cloak, shone a glint of silver. Sam immediately recognised it.

"Oh!" Sam gasped. "Mr. Frodo's silver shirt! How did you come upon this?"

"A servant of the Dark Lord taunted us with it. He said they had taken Frodo prisoner. I'd feared the worst for you both. Oh, Sam, when can I see him?"

A hush fell over the room and Sam got up from his knees to see what had caused it. Something small was moving between the tall legs of the elves and men: Frodo.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam called to him as he moved toward his master and took his hand. Legolas and Gimli came forward as well and bowed to him as did many of their wet company in awed silence.

Frodo leaned into Sam, uncertain. Legolas lifted his fair face but his smile faded when his eyes met Frodo's. He soon lowered his head in sorrow. Gimli did the same, muttering something to himself.

Frodo gripped Sam's hand. "Who are these strange people, Sam? Why are they staring at me? What did I do?"

***

It was a bitter shock for all concerned to see Frodo again. For Sam and Gandalf, their love for him had steeled them to much of what was missing in the hobbit's countenance. Pippin as well, with his unflappably chipper nature, seemed to take the drastic alteration in his cousin in stride and spent the remainder of the evening catching Frodo up on the names and characters of their many relations Frodo could no longer remember back home in the Shire. Frodo seemed amused by Pippin's animated blatherings and mentioned he felt Pippin seemed vaguely familiar to him, or perhaps he said that out of courtesy. But still, Sam knew the majority of those now arrived at Henneth Annûn mumbled and stared and asked questions among themselves of what had befallen the Ring-bearer.

Aragorn's host of Dúnedain arrived the next afternoon and the caves were becoming what a hobbit would call "comfortable." Sam and Frodo now shared their room with many of the horsemen and Pippin slept with them in their alcove, propped and adjusted by blankets and sacks to ease his ribs. Sam cared for them both, seeing to their needs. He was out late one night fetching Pippin another blanket, if he could, when he came upon Gandalf and Aragorn speaking in hushed voices.

"What do you make of Frodo's state?" Aragorn asked the wizard. They were sitting together at one of the cave's natural openings having a quiet talk in the shadows.

"He is improving, but I dare not hope for much more. Frodo and the Ring became one, for a short period difficult to understand. But it seems to me a part of his mind has stayed with the Ring, and thus with the one who now wields it. Much of his mind is closed to me and I at first thought it lost, damaged beyond repair or recall. But I think not. I think he is not yet aware of who binds him in this cloud of forgetfulness. I can only hope it remains so."

Sam was struck dizzy with a gripping fear. It can't be true! It can't! Mr. Frodo's only had a hard time of it. There's no evil hold on him; how could there be? I'd know it. I'd see it in his eyes. And when I get a chance, I'll tell Gandalf so!

"There is something more," Sam heard Gandalf say to Aragorn. "I have been loath to speak of it, but I fear there was somehow a rift in the design of events as were foretold to me. I had long suspected Gollum had some part to play in Sauron's downfall. But to hear Sam tell it, he did little but plunge them into greater peril for all their trust. Still, he did lead them into Mordor, to their capture, and Sam to the armoury. My thoughts are this: the rings are key."

"But the rings have fallen sway under the One."

"Not yet, it seems. Not wholly. Saruman may have spoken true long ago in the White Council when he said we had time yet to counter Sauron should he find the One, even as he himself was seduced into darkness. There is time yet; I have some knowledge of this which I will not reveal until we are all assembled. What I know of myself and what Sam has told me of his use of the Dwarf rings, leads me to the dawning of a solution I had not dreamt of before. So little is known for certain of the workings of the Rings of Power. I do wish I had means of taking council with Galadriel, though she may refuse me even so."

"What is it that you would speak to her of?"

"Tomorrow night we shall gather in the cavern beyond the pool. I await Elrohir. He bears a secret which will make my words more clear. Be rested now, as much as you are able. I will need your strength and that of the elf and dwarf ere dawn of the next day."

And with those words Gandalf left Aragorn's side and Sam saw him pass by to take the stairs to the upper ledge where he would stand looking over the vale for many hours; his eyes seeing far, as far as the sea and the white mountains.

****

Before dawn rose on the next day, Sam woke to a firm touch on his shoulder. It was Gandalf bidding him to wake and dress and meet him in the main chamber.

"But, Mr. Frodo"

"Pippin can look after him, or indeed they can look after one another for a while. Your presence is greatly needed with us."

Sam took Gandalf's words to heart, but wondered at their significance just as he wondered and worried about what he'd overheard in his conversation with Aragorn. He wanted to keep an even closer eye on Frodo ever since, although aside from his master's general confusion, there was nothing to be alarmed about as far as he could tell. So he got up and dressed, but before he left the room of slumbering men and hobbits, he leaned over Pippin and woke him gently asking him to watch Frodo for him as he did not know how long he would be gone from his side, but he guessed a while.

****

A small assembly had gathered in the main room. Dawn had not yet risen and there were some new arrivals having a simple breakfast which they offered Sam as well. Sam took his meal among several elves he had not met before. They were tall and very fair, with dour expressions. High elves, he thought, and one he'd seen before, recognisable by his resemblance to Elrond, his father: Elrohir. His brother Elladan, Sam was informed by the elves who ate with him, had been felled by the spear of a great Southron Chieftain--Zut-ak whose warriors were responsible for the ambush and death of thousands of their fallen comrades, among them a Prince Imrahil and most of his loyal countrymen.

When they had eaten, Gandalf led them through the tunnels to the outer stairs and from there down through the fall's mists to the pool just as dawn began to break over the mountains. Beyond the pool was a narrow path cut into the side of the rock. They went along this wet stony way some yards until they came to a low opening in the cliffside. Gandalf lit the end of his staff and ducked in. The rest followed, the elves stooping low to fit inside a doorway that just cleared the top of Sam's curly head. Inside, was a natural cavern of limestone, wet with dripping ivory stalactites and colourful milky pools. A circle of stools had been provided in the centre of the high space. There was no light save Gandalf's staff and no opening other than the low door.

When all were seated, Gandalf asked the guardsmen outside to roll back the stone door, sealing them all in. Sam wasn't too certain why they needed to be shut in like that and was grateful his hobbit's nature allowed him to be comfortable in underground spaces. Gandalf set his staff behind his stool and the light, which had been overly bright at first, now dimmed to a dull blue glow as their eyes adjusted. Seated around Sam in addition to Gandalf were Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn of the Fellowship; Faramir's First and Second Lieutenants of the Rangers; two of the Dúnedain in their grey cloaks; Elrohir and five of his elvish host; and two of the long-haired horsemen: seventeen in all.

"Welcome," Gandalf said in greeting. "May the grace of the Valar protect us all as we have come to decide the fate of Middle-earth here at the onset of this Second Darkness. What words we speak within this cavern no others shall hear, for our future stands upon the brink of an abyss. We are all met here under the invitation of the Ithilien Rangers who have broken their vows of secrecy and solitude to allow the free races to seek sanctuary within their walls."

Gandalf then went on to introduce everyone and to let each captain or marshall present his position and surviving forces. Sam learned that Legolas was captain of the Dead Army (which he secretly hoped he'd never need to meet), Aragorn led a host of Dúnedain, Gandalf was with the Gondorian Rangers, Elrohir commanded the elves, and lastly, the Rohirrim now rode under the command of Arrus, fallen Éomer's chosen successor for the leadership of the Mark. All told, no more than fifteen-hundred men and elves remained able to bear arms.

"There is one among us now who has seen the very heart of our enemy's stronghold. I will let him come forward now and tell his tale for all," said Gandalf, inviting Sam to stand.

Sam got to his feet and began his tale from the parting of the Fellowship to the climbing of the large stair at the height of the Dark Tower. He was explaining the manner in which he'd come to be within the armoury when Gandalf gently gestured for him to reveal the hidden chain he wore under his tunic.

Sam lifted the silver chain from around his neck and let the three rings fall to the end of its length. All who were assembled gasped and murmured in wonder.

"Why, these are the rings of my kinsmen!" exclaimed Gimli, rising from his seat to peer more readily at the treasure Sam held up before them. "A wonder it is to behold them. We had thought the seven long lost, devoured by dragons."

"No, Gimli," said Gandalf. "It has been known to the wise for some years that Sauron had recovered the three, but until Sam came upon them, none had been able to locate them. It would seem our Enemy has been gathering an arsenal of ancient weaponry since the dawn of time. These rings are not the only artifacts Sam discovered. Tell them, Sam."

Sam looked at the three rings, their faceted green gems reflecting Gandalf's blue light upon their shadowy faces. "Well, there were lots of swords and shields and sharp polished hand-weapons I couldn't give the right name to. But I saw a magic stone there in the centre of it all. I looked in it and saw visions of the war and the City on fire."

"Sam" said Aragorn with an air of understanding. "It was you I saw in the palantír, the eve I bore it onto the battlefield. I had thought a new enemy was spying upon us, hooded and unknown to me. But I understand now it was you. Better I had not known the truth, than to think of you and Frodo trapped in that loathsome place. How was it that you came to be free of Barad-dûr?"

Sam warmed the rings in his hand and retold the council of his desperate errands and labours within the Tower. He told of how the rings could be used separate or combined to achieve various aims, be it secrecy or the commanding of fellbeasts.

"The dragonlords" mumbled Gimli. "It is a hard truth to bear that they still exist and serve the dark powers. My people had thought them lost long ago at the dawning of the Third Age. Folly it is, that they have remained in his service. But to ride these beasts! That must have been a grand adventure. Tell me, how did the world look from so high above?"

"Dark and filled with smoke," Sam said solemnly. "I wish I had seen it on a better day, or that the creature who brought us out of Mordor did not have to give her life for it."

"It is a blessing beyond our farthest hopes that you and Frodo managed to escape," said Aragorn. "With the heaviest of hearts did I watch you disappear together on the Eastern Shore alone. But tell me now of this sword, Sam; the sword you saw the Mouth of Sauron carry from the armoury."

"It was long and black with a fancy scabbard of jools and knotted tooling. The orcs said it was the sword of the Golden King, of long ago. I didn't know rightly what they meant."

Aragorn lowered his eyes a moment and Gandalf leaned toward him, whispering some quick words. "It is true then," Aragorn said, heavily. "The sword of Ar-Pharazôn, the last of the Númenorean kings, is in the hands of the Enemy. Dark is our hour, indeed, if our foe is so armed."

"What is this sword that you speak of? The Rohirrim do not know this legend," said Arrus.

"Ar-Pharazôn the Golden was a Númenorean King of the Second Age," said Gandalf. "He was prideful and foolish, deeming himself the rightful ruler of all the world, worthy of the Gift of the Noldor; their endless life. He defeated Sauron in Umbar and took him prisoner back to the Isle of Elenna, the realm of Númenor. But in his captivity Sauron was seductive and spoke in the King's ear, tricking him into raising a fleet of ships to invade the very Undying Lands themselves. The Valar would not abide this brazen act and called upon the One to cast Númenor into the seas, forever changing the world. Only the Golden King's sword now survives in the hands of the One who was his undoing."

"I understand now why the Dark One waits upon the Citadel," said Aragorn resignedly. "He waits for me to venture forth to the fallen throne and strike blade upon blade. But there will be no other sword to match his now, not even Narsil."

Gandalf raised a hand and let the light of his staff illuminate the high reach of the cavern. "Despair not! Our enemy has the advantage, this is plain, but he does not hold all weapons of power. Look here upon my hand and you will see revealed a secret long-kept out of any knowledge." They all blinked into the light and lo, upon Gandalf's hand flared a ring of golden fire.

"Narya!" Elrohir exclaimed. "How can it be?"

Gandalf lowered his hand as the flames died and the bright red jewel of the elven Ring of Fire was revealed. "Narya was entrusted to me many ages ago by Círdan himself. Long have I held it in absolute secret until this night. It was thought the ring would be best protected from our Enemy if it remained out of all knowing, but our time for waiting has long passed. We must stand up and show ourselves and all our hidden strengths."

"Then if it is to be so, look here! For I bear a gift recently bestowed upon me by my father," said Elrohir and he, too, held up his fair hand and upon his ring-finger whirled a white band bearing a clear sapphire. "Behold Vilya! May this sister-stone bind in power to that of Narya for what good or ill may come to us in our final days."

"But truly these rings are of little use to us in these times," said the First Lieutenant of Gondor. "The Nameless One has dominion over all who possess such trinkets of folly."

Gandalf looked to the man sharply. "Indeed, it would appear so, but you have heard all of Sam's tale now twice and yet he was able to wield the three rings in aid for his own escape and that of Frodo's from the very clutches of the Enemy. It is my belief that we have time yet to counter him with the purity of grace these rings still possess. Saruman had guessed as much in the days of our storming of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood. There is time yet before the rings of power fall back under the influence of the One. But we must act swiftly and suddenly."

"But what of the Nine?" asked Aragorn. "Our five cannot over-balance the force of the One and the Nazgûl who carry the rings of men. Yet one has fallen, though none have discovered what has come of the ring of the Witch-King."

"I believe I have!" said Legolas suddenly, getting to his feet. "My company of the dead have been keeping careful watch upon the mass of Southron forces camped outside Ithilien. Their chieftain, Zut-ak, wears the crown of the sorcerer king upon his head like a trophy as is the way of their kind. He bears the heavy Úlairi sword also. I did not think to look for a ring, but perhaps he wears it as well. The Nazgûl-lord was felled within the melee of their host and that of the Rohirrim when King Théoden fell upon the Pelennor fields."

"'Tis true," said Arrus of the Mark. "We were much bent with grief for our fallen lord and sister. We thought not to see what our enemy might have left behind, though I saw him melt into smoke and dust, leaving his vestments behind. It must be that the crown and ring and sword also fell in that same place later to be overrun by the Harad-men."

"We should ride out tonight!" said Legolas excitedly. "And take back this fell ring if it will but work to our advantage."

Gandalf nodded solemnly. "If the most powerful of the Nine can be retrieved, then we must seek it. But I fear the rings of the Nazgûl will be no match for mortal hands. They were seduced to darkness long ago. I fear their potency and influence will be swift. But in this fight against all evil, even the most dangerous roads must be taken."

"If the dwarvish rings may be used once more to cloak you in secret, Sam," said Legolas. "then I would ask you to take up Sting once more and ride out with me to aid us in this task."

Sam looked to Legolas and then to Gandalf; his uncertainty plain upon his face. He found he could not say what he wished to say, so Gandalf spoke for him. "To have Samwise rejoin this fight must be of his own free-will and choosing. Fate, it would seem, has brought him to this precipice once again. I will not ask you, Sam, to risk all once more. You've endured more suffering than what Middle-earth would ask of any of her children. I would advise only that you search your heart thoroughly before you give answer."

Sam put the chain of rings back around his neck and tucked the jewels under his collar. They felt strangely warm against his skin, as if they had always belonged to him. "I will think about it," he said, though he was torn with both the desire to save his country and the need to remain at his master's side.

"Can anyone here yet tell me" Sam asked in a small voice. "what has happened to the Shire?"

Faramir's lieutenant shifted his feet and spoke quietly. "We have received word of a massive host of orcs, wildmen and other foul creatures heading north upon the old Anórien road. They were moving away at great speed. We have not the men left to follow them. They had many provisions with them. It is thought they mean to run long, hard and fast."

"Oh," said Sam as his throat tightened with grief. "How long until theywell, if they?"

"A few weeks, yet, Sam," said Gandalf gently. "Do not give up. We may be few, but we've got a fight yet left in us!"

Silence fell over all assembled as they sank within their own thoughts. Sam knew eyes were on him, yet still, he could not give answer. Sam looked to the stone-covered door. He wanted desperately to get back to his master and to know that he was well.

"Come, the day grows towards noontime," said Gandalf. "We all have much to think about, though I remain firm in that the knowledge of these rings must be kept secret from all who remain outside this room." All joined in their agreement of this edict as the stone was rolled back on their hidden meeting hall, rewelcoming the dim light of day.