Ch. 2: Complicated Things

Gandalf had gone. He left with no warning the same night Bilbo left for Rivendell…the only difference was, Gandalf was not specific about his destination. He had left Frodo and Sam, mumbling things like, "It can't be…doesn't make sense…need to go research…" He had taken the Ring Bilbo had left for Frodo, instructing the confused Hobbit to hide it away, never to take it out, and NEVER to put it on….

Three weeks had passed since the eventful party with no word from Gandalf. There had been no other sightings of Frodo's frighteningly mysterious savior either, and in true Hobbit fashion, all trouble was forgotten. Frodo sat by the roaring fire, reading and smoking his pipe while Sam was outside working in the gardens. There was a loud knock at the door, but as Frodo stood to answer it, the impatient guest escorted himself in.

"Gandalf!" Frodo cried, astonished.

"No time, Lad…did you keep it safe? Did you keep it secret?" the Wizard paced impatiently.

"Yes…" said the confused Frodo as he made his way slowly to the mantle above the fireplace. Pulling down a small box, he unwrapped the Ring Bilbo had given him in the weeks past. Gandalf hurriedly snatched the Ring from Frodo and tossed is into the fire. Frodo cried out and jumped after it, but Gandalf stayed him.

"I pray that I am wrong about what I believe…" the Wizard mumbled. Slowly, he took the tongs from beside the fireplace and grabbed the Ring. To Frodo's astonishment, it hadn't been hurt at all. Gandalf held the Ring out to Frodo.

"Take it," he said. "You will find it's quite cool…" Frodo took the Ring reluctantly. "What do you see?" Gandalf asked Frodo. For a while, nothing happened.

"Nothing…" Frodo shook his head. "I see nothing…" Gandalf put a hand on his ancient brow and sighed with relief. "…wait," Frodo squinted, not believing his own eyes. Slowly, as if they were hiding, fiery words began to form in an eternal circle around the golden Ring. "There are words…" Frodo almost dropped the Ring.

"I was afraid of this," Gandalf looked older than Frodo had ever seen him in that moment. "Frodo, have you ever heard tales of the Rings of Power?" the wizard began pacing. Gandalf began reciting a poem Frodo had never heard to the rhythm of his pacing footsteps.

"Three Rings for the Elvin Kings underneath the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf Lords in their halls of stone,

Nine Rings for the Mortal Men, doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne.

In the land of Mordor, where the shadows lie,

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,

In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie…"

The Wizard's pacing slowed. "I was warned of a storm that was upon me…I never would have dreamed it would be this."

Frodo was completely terrified now. He understood all too clearly the meaning behind the riddle of the poem. This Ring, the one his cousin had loved so dearly, perhaps even the reason behind Bilbo's prolonged youth…this Ring, this Ring, was the Ring of Power. This Ring was the one in all the legends of the Dark Lord, the key to his very existence…and it was now here, in Frodo's shaking hand.

"Gandalf, what do we do?" Frodo could only stare at the golden circle as the letters faded back into non-existence.

"Not we, Frodo," the Wizard's voice was tired, sorrowful. "I'm afraid I won't be able to help you in the quest." Frodo nodded, taking this in.

"I don't understand, Gandalf. Why does there have to be a quest at all?" Frodo shook his head. "This thing has hidden here for this long. Why can't we just leave it hidden?"

"It isn't that simple anymore I'm afraid…" Gandalf looked into the fire. He was no longer in the room at Bag-End. He was somewhere far away, many years ago. "You see, Bilbo found the Ring on the first journey he went on with me…what I didn't know then was that he had won both the Ring and his life from a treacherous creature named Gollum. Gollum has spent the last sixty years trying to hunt down Bilbo to get back the Ring. His travels took him much too close to the Black Gate of Mordor. The miserable creature was captured and tortured…"

Frodo hung on Gandalf's every word. "But, what has that got to do with us?" he asked.

"Oh, it has everything to do with you." the Wizard now addressed Frodo directly. "Sauron was able to squeeze only two words from Gollum: Shire…and Baggins." Frodo's breath caught in the back of his throat.

"Are they…" he started.

"Sauron has sent the Nine." Gandalf shook his head. "I have no way of knowing how close they are, or when they will be on your doorstep. For all I know they may already be in the Shire." Gandalf paused here. "You must get out, Frodo. You must leave. It is your only chance of survival. You must take the Ring to Rivendell. The Elves will know what to do with it from there."

From outside the window, there was a choking noise. Gandalf leapt to the window, thrust his arm down and brought it back up holding the squirming form of Samwise Gamgee.

"Sam! What's the meaning of this?" Gandalf yelled angrily.

"I-I'm sorry, sir!" Sam stammered. "I was just trimmin' the bushes under th' window there an' I couldn' help but hear all that stuff about Rings and evil and such…then I heard you sayin' Mr. Frodo was gonna hafta leave, Sir!" Sam turned to Frodo to plead for help. "Mr. Frodo, I didn' mean to listen! Please, Mr. Frodo, don' let 'im turn me inta anything….unnatural…" Frodo fought the urge to laugh.

A sly smile crept across Gandalf's face that made Sam uncomfortable. "Oh, no, Samwise Gamgee…I have a much worse fate in store for you…" Sam squirmed on the table. "You are now doomed to follow your Mister Frodo all the way to Rivendell…"

Sam was thrilled. "Thank you, thank you, Gandalf! You won' regret this!" Gandalf nodded, smiling grimly.

There was suddenly a dull knock on the large round door. Frodo looked to Gandalf. The terrified look in the Hobbit's eyes told him Frodo wasn't expecting company at this hour. Gandalf, staff in hand, went cautiously to the door. Sam and Frodo stood some distance back. Gandalf flung the door back, ready for an attack. What he found instead caught him considerably off guard. A folded piece of parchment lay desolate on the rug. Looking around warily, Gandalf grabbed the paper and slammed the door back shut, locking the bolt. In the same flowing handwriting from that day on the front porch, there was written,

Gandalf the Grey,

You have not been looking for me, but you have found me none the less. Things in this battle have grown considerably more "complicated". …Get Him Out. The Nine have arrived. You need not look for me anymore. I will be watching from the Shadows….

Gandalf's breath caught. He turned to look at Frodo, clutching the paper just like the first day.

"Get your things…you must leave now."