They were well past the southern end of Fangorn Forest now and Legolas felt a little safer as the western side of the river was firmly in the hands of the Rohirrim. They would at least have an escape route to safety should the eastern bank of the river become filled with Sauron's minions. And Curunir had not stirred in Isengard so he thought they were relatively safe from him as well for the time being.

This far south, the river grew more shallow and dangerous as large rocks and the rushing current threatened to disable the boats. Everyone concentrated on negotiating safe passage though the treacherous waters and there was little time for reflection or discussions.

Sam, who had been clutching the sides of the boat with terror and staring out the back of it, soon noticed something very odd. It appeared to be a log with eyes and he mentioned it to Frodo when the company later stopped for the night.

Aragorn overheard the conversation and informed them that it was Gollum and he had been trailing them since Moria. He resolved to lose the creature since he might prove to be dangerous.

Legolas, too, had been aware of Gollum trailing them but he felt the creature might be useful. Aragorn, however, disagreed, feeling that he would be more of a liability than an asset. Gollum was not to be trusted because he would not think twice about setting Orcs on them or committing outright murder in order to regain The Ring.

Reluctantly, Legolas had agreed that this was not a risk worth taking so the company made their plans to escape Gollum's clutches.

They set out the next day as soon as it was light enough to see. There was no way to tell time as the sky remained stony gray with only a weak light from the sun. As they drew near to the gray hills approaching Emyn Muil, they could see and hear many birds in the cliffs. Sam was glad to see other living things besides themselves.

Aragorn urged them to row as quickly as they were able so they could lose Gollum. He would have a difficult time making his way through the rough waters and Aragorn hoped that this would give the company enough time to escape. Their only hope was to outrun him.

On the third day, a heavy fog rose from the river, preventing the party from continuing southward immediately. Luckily, they seemed to have lost Gollum the day before and the fog also hid them from his sight.

However, they had picked up a new and more menacing hunter – the Nazgul had managed to locate their general vicinity and began to patrol the skies on their winged creatures in search of The Ring. They had not gotten very close to the Company, but it would be only a matter of time before The Ring drew them closer. Legolas could see their dark shapes circling about in the distance but no one else was aware of them as yet.

He pulled Aragorn aside and warned his friend that the Ring Wraiths were drawing near. Aragorn sighed heavily and asked Legolas to keep an eye on the Nazgul and let him know if they came any closer. He was hoping to remain anonymous for as long as possible but that did not seem likely now.

Legolas watched the dark shapes as the rest of the Company talked quietly amongst themselves waiting for the fog to clear. They could hear the rushing of the great rapids though the eerie mist and knew they were coming to the point where they must chose which path to take – Minas Tirith or Mordor.

Boromir and Aragorn fell into their same discussion on the Company's next destination. Boromir wanted to abandon the boats before the great rapids and strike off across the fens toward Minas Tirith. Aragorn, however, wanted to keep to the river as long as possible since it was a quick and easy way to travel and they would still need to go south to get to Minas Tirith.

"How will you get the boats over the great rapids and the falls?" Boromir had asked.

"There was an old path that skirted the great rapids. We can carry the boats and baggage along this path then put in after the rapids. Keeping to the river will save us miles of walking. When we get to the falls, we will take the ancient stair near Amon Hen and drop our boats in the water at the foot of the falls," Aragorn answered. He wanted to stand in the high place of his ancestors before beginning the final leg of their quest, hoping for some insight or guidance.

Boromir was not pleased but he realized that skirting the great rapids would be the quickest route south and bring them even closer to Minas Tirith. However, if the ancient path that skirted the rapids was too overgrown or they couldn't find it, they would be forced to abandon their boats and immediately make a decision on which direction to chose.

This would also put more distance between themselves and Gollum, if he were still following them. He would not be able to follow them over the rapids on the log and would have to find an alternate route if he intended to continue stalking them.

The fog still hovered over them even as the day drew on, reflecting their dreary moods. The only good thing about the mist was that it helped to shield them from their enemies and Legolas could no longer see the Nazgul circling in the distance.

In a day or two they would be forced to make their choice. Legolas determined that he had come this far and would not abandon Frodo but he was wary of trying to walk unnoticed and unchallenged to Orodruin. It just not seem possible but maybe they could formulate a plan.

Quietly, he walked over to the river and stared into the dark turbulent water. He pulled the mithril frog out and rubbed it slowly between his thumb and forefinger to help him think. How would they ever make it to Orodruin without being detected? Certainly, the closer The Ring came to its Master, the more Sauron could sense it, Legolas reasoned.

But they had journeyed this far south without encountering any Orcs and it was not until today that the Nazgul had appeared in the distance. The eerie stillness worried him. He could think of only two reasons why they had not been challenged thus far – one was that Sauron still did not know they possessed The Ring and were set to destroy it. The second reason (and one he did not want to dwell on) was if Sauron's attention were distracted elsewhere.

He did not even want to consider what could be occupying the Dark Lord's attention. It would be so like Annowe to do something foolish to attract attention to her self. Eru knew she had done it numerous times in the past to save his skin. He smiled weakly at the thought. He wouldn't put it past her to march right up to the Black Gate and bang on it herself. A soft snort of laughter escaped him as he visualized the scene. Sauron may not be able to see her approach but he would most certainly hear her shouting curses at him through the Black Gate!

"Oh, Annowe," he murmured to the frog. "Don't do anything foolish. Especially for me."