As Frodo continued his descent down the misty chasm, he clung tight to Sam's elven rope, remembering the sacrifice that Sam had made to accompany him on his perilous quest. Sam seemed to know and understand the danger, yet it did not matter. All that mattered to Sam is that his dear Frodo needed him, so he would most definitely be there. Frodo's thoughts digested the deep friendship that the two hobbits shared. What did I do to deserve such a loyal friend? I am not worthy of his devotion. I never will be. Yet, I am thankful to have a friend such as Samwise. I do not know where I would be without him, though I am beginning to discover how treacherous the road is without him by my side. I think I would rather walk through the darkness of Mount Doom with him, than to frolic about in the fields of the Shire knowing he couldn't be with me. Just then, Frodo began to realize the selfishness that flooded his thoughts. Shame on you, Frodo Baggins. How dare you wish that your beloved friend were in danger just so you could enjoy his company. You should be glad to know that Samwise is safe with Eowyn instead of wishing he was teetering on the edge of death like yourself. And Frodo was glad that Sam was safe, he knew he made the right decision of leaving him behind in the care of Eowyn, yet he could not help but yearn for his companionship in this, the darkest days of the quest as of yet.
Just then, Frodo's thoughts of Sam were interrupted by the sound of approaching voices. Frodo clung tight to the rope as he squinted to perceive his surroundings, it looked as though he was almost to the bottom of the chasm, but with the thick fog swirling at his feet, Frodo could not be certain. He tried to make a hasty decision of what to do, should he try his feet and hope that this was the bottom of the chasm or should he try and climb back up to the top. He strained to listen for the voices he had heard, nothing. Maybe they were just his imagination, after all, who would be out in this barren wasteland? Each step he took towards Mordor, it seemed that little by little he was losing his sanity. "Yes, that is what it was. It was just my imagination," Frodo told himself, "There's nobody around here, it's all in your head, Frodo." But before he could decide whether to trust his eyes for solid ground or head back up the cliff, Frodo felt a strong grasp around his ankle.
"Ay, it seems we have a spy snoopin' around here," Snaga said smugly. Frodo's thoughts were racing as he tried to climb back up the way he came, but he could not. One swift pull by the orc that had a hold on his right ankle and the hobbit was on the ground.
Frodo pushed himself back up against the rock, searching for some kind of security. His head spun around frantically as he tried to assess the situation. It was still hard to see inside the dense fog, but he appeared to have stumbled upon not a wandering lonely orc, but a whole army of the horrid creatures. His first instinct was to run, but where? He scrambled to run off to the left, but the ugly orc grabbed him fiercely.
"Hey, you don't think you'll be going anywhere do ya, little halfling?" The orc added a mocking chuckle at the end of his sentence. "Baglor, go tell Lurtz that I have a little surprise for him."
Baglor was almost giddy in his response, "Yes, Snaga. Yes, Baglor will tell him. Lurtz will be very pleased!"
Snaga seemed annoyed with the other orc, "Just go!" Baglor scurried off to inform the head orc of their finding. Snaga remained and pointed a ragged edged sword in Frodo's direction as he snarled, "Wait till Lurtz sees what we found."
Frodo trembled at the thought of what might happen next. "If only I were not alone," he whispered to himself, "If only…"
Sam could not help but feel excited as their army rode towards Mordor, and towards his beloved friend. He understood fully their direness of their situation, how it was very possible that they would not return to Gondor alive. Yet, a smile appeared on Sam's face as he dreamed about the moment that they caught up to Frodo. He imagined the look of surprise on his master's face when his eyes would meet up with Frodo's once again. Sam hoped that Frodo would not be upset with him for leaving their safe-haven where he had left him in Eowyn's care, but in his heart Sam knew that Frodo would be glad to see him. After all, the reason for him going on to Mordor alone was Sam's health, and Sam knew he was doing much better, he had strength enough now to help Frodo as he continued the quest.
Just then, Eowyn pulled back on the reigns and slowed their horse to a stop. Sam wondered why they were stopping, but then his eyes caught Faramir's raised hand.
Faramir raised his hand against the wind and turned his steed around to face his army, "Stop and rest here. I will ride up into the cliffs and try to spot the location of the orcs. I will return shortly."
As the soldiers dismounted and started to unpack their gear, Faramir spoke quietly to some of his high-ranking soldiers. Ewoyn slid off of the saddle and held her arms up to help Sam off the horse, but he didn't seem in a hurry to get down.
"Couldn't we ride with Captain Faramir up into the cliffs?" Sam asked quietly.
"I suppose so, but would you rather rest for a bit? Faramir won't be gone very long." Eowyn was surprised that Sam wasn't jumping at the chance to take a break from the tall horse.
"I know, but I would like to try and see Mr. Frodo, if I could," Sam admitted.
Eowyn now understood the reason behind Sam's request. She smiled up at him realizing the true faithfulness of this little friend. "I suppose so, Sam," she said as she grabbed the saddle and pulled herself back up behind the little hobbit. Then the two rode off towards Faramir, who was just about ready to ride to the cliffs.
"Faramir," Eowyn began, "Is it alright if Sam and I accompany you?"
"Uh, don't you both want to rest a while? It will be a long time before we make camp for the night." Faramir was a bit confused at the nature of their request.
"We would like to ride with you to the cliffs and see if we can't spot Frodo on his journey to Mordor." She smiled at Sam when he turned around and looked at her.
Faramir smiled knowingly at Eowyn, "Sure, I was just about to leave. Are you ready?"
"We sure are!" Sam replied with great enthusiasm in his voice. Eowyn laughed at Sam's excitement and gave a thankful smile to Faramir.
"Well then, let us be off," Faramir said as they started off towards the rocky cliffs that lay towards the west of them.
Within a quarter of an hour they had reached the top of the bluff. Faramir dismounted his horse, walked over to the edge, and peered off into the distance. Eowyn also dismounted quickly and helped Sam down. Sam was glad to be off their great steed, it felt good for him to be on solid ground again.
While Faramir and Eowyn's eyes were fixed on the miles of land that lay ahead of them, Sam's eyes caught something that was very near. Not only was it near in distance, but it was also very near and dear to Sam's heart. He reached out and touched his elven rope that had been tied to a large rock and then led down into the chasm. Sam pointed out the rope to Eowyn and Faramir, and they were both glad to see that Frodo had made it at least this far safely. Sam was filled with many emotions, he was overjoyed to know that Frodo had at least made it this far in his journey, and there was a part of him that was glad to have the rope that Galadrial had given to him back in his possession, but then he was filled with worry over Frodo. He hoped that he had made it all right, and that they would soon catch up with him.
"Look, Eowyn." Faramir interrupted Sam's thoughts, as his keen eyes peered off in the distance, towards Mordor. "A band of orcs hastily moving towards Mordor."
"I see," Eowyn replied thoughtfully, "Why do you think they are riding not to Gondor, but to Mordor?"
"I do not know. Perhaps their plans have…" Faramir stopped mid-sentence as something caught his eyes down below.
"What is it, Faramir?" Eowyn asked concernedly as Faramir's gaze was fixed on something in the chasm.
"Something," he began, "it's hard to tell. I thought I saw something amidst the fog."
Eowyn and Sam both strained to see what Faramir was talking about. Then the fog cleared a moment and Sam couldn't believe his eyes.
"Frodo!" he called out as he flung himself on the ground with his head hanging over the chasm. "That's Frodo down there!" he said as he looked up at Eowyn and Faramir.
Eowyn gave a surprised look at Faramir. "Do you really think that's him, Faramir?"
"I don't know," Faramir replied as he grabbed hold of Sam's elvish rope that was still tied to the rock beside them. "There's only one way to find out," he said as he started down the rocky cliff.
"I'm coming too!" Sam exclaimed as he grabbed hold of the rope and followed Faramir.
"Be careful, Sam." Eowyn called to him as he made his way down.
Faramir quickly made his way to the bottom and reached for what Sam thought was Frodo. It was not Frodo himself, but as he picked up the cloth backpack he realized that it was indeed Frodo's pack. He called up to Eowyn, "It is not Frodo."
About that time, Sam had made his way down and he knelt on the ground next to the pack and examined it. "Everything is still here. The food you packed for him and everything," Sam began to breath heavily as he worried about his friend. "Something's wrong. He would not have left his supplies behind."
Faramir had already began to investigate the area around them, and what he found made his heart sink. "Orc footprints." He said, loud enough for both Sam and Eowyn to hear.
"No." Sam began to cling to Frodo's pack that he had left behind. "Mr. Frodo?" Tears began to fill his eyes as he forced himself to accept the fact that his beloved master had been captured by the evil orcs. "Why? Why did this have to happen? Mr. Frodo?"
Faramir rushed over to Sam and knelt down beside him. "If only I had been here to protect him," Sam cried as he fell into Faramir's comforting arms, "If only…"
To be continued…