Chance Encounter
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Chapter 3: Change of Plans
The Company, along with its latest addition, carried on travelling south towards the Gap of Rohan. Legolas watched Balian closely, searching for any clue as to what sort of man the blacksmith was. He seemed like the quiet sort who readily agreed to anything. The elf wondered what sort of background the man had and where he had gotten his scars. Balian did not seem to have opinions at all yet he must have as he did not seem like a simpleton. He just seemed to be content helping out whenever he could.
They continued walking day and night, stopping only for slight rests. Gandalf did not want to stop during the day at all but after the hobbits' constant nagging, he reluctantly agreed to let them stop for lunch on the third day after Balian joined them. Upon stopping on a small rocky hill, Sam pulled out the last of the sausages and set about preparing a meal. Boromir, Merry and Pippin practised swordplay. Frodo watched Sam cook. Balian brushed down the pony as best as he could and fed their beast of burden a few apples. He looked up to see Legolas smiling.
"You like horses?" asked the elf.
"I shoe them for a living," replied Balian.
"Is that all you do for a living?" questioned Legolas.
"I make farming tools and weapons, amongst other things," said the man.
"How did you get that scar?"
Balian smiled a little and did not answer. "Some things are better left forgotten," he said. Legolas cocked his head and did not ask anymore questions. So the man had a past that he wished to forget. He left Balian tending to the pony and went to stare into the distance. Behind him, Legolas could hear Gimli giving Gandalf a piece of his mind. Legolas shook his head. The foolish dwarf wanted to go through Moria.
A dark cloud appeared in the distance. Legolas frowned. It was unnatural to see a single dark cloud in an otherwise blue sky. As it approached, the elf realised that it was moving against the wind. He now knew it was not a cloud and he felt extremely uneasy. Other members of the Fellowship seem to have noticed it too. He could hear Boromir and Gimli talking about it. The dark shape drew nearer and the elf's keen eyes could see that it was actually a group of small individual flying things.
"Crebain, from Dunland!" he shouted.
"Hide!" cried Aragorn. He did not need to say it twice. Everyone went scrambling for cover. The blacksmith even attempted to hide the pony. Unfortunately, there was not a hiding place that was big enough to hide the beast of burden. They lay low and stayed still until the flock of black birds had passed. Gandalf was the first to emerge and the rest followed one by one.
"Spies of Saruman," said the wizard with disdain. "The passage south is being watched. We must take the pass of Caradhras."
Boromir looked up in dismay and a murmur rippled through the Company. Balian was confused. Why was this such a bad thing?
On seeing his confusion, Aragorn pointed up to the mountains that loomed above them. "We're going there," said the ranger simply. Now Balian understood.
The way up the steep snowy slopes of the mountains was hazardous. The hobbits often slipped and lost their footing in the thick snow and it was up to Aragorn who brought up the rear to catch them. They were almost near the top of the slope they were climbing up when Frodo fell. He tumbled like a ball down the slope and came to a stop only when Aragorn caught him. The first thing the hobbit did after he was helped to his feet was put a hand to his throat. He seemed to panic when he could not find what he expected to find there. It was only then that Balian noticed Boromir was lagging behind the rest of the group. The man from Gondor stooped down to pick up something from the snow. He lifted it before his face and said something which Balian could not hear. He seemed to be in a trance until Aragorn called out to him.
"Boromir," said the ranger sharply. "Give the Ring to Frodo."
Tension was escalating and to the spectators, this could easily turn into a violent confrontation. Fortunately, Boromir did as he was told.
'So Frodo is carrying a ring,' thought Balian. 'Why is that ring so important?'
The Fellowship soon reached an icy cliff face. There was a narrow path along it covered in a thick layer of snow that reached the men's waists. Aragorn, Balian and Boromir each carried a hobbit on their backs while Pippin perched miserably on top the luggage on the pony's back. The winds were strong and it pressed them against the cliff face. The snow stung their faces.
"We should stop!" Aragorn shouted to Gandalf, struggling to be heard above the howling of the wind. "We can't go on much longer without rest. This cliff face can shelter us from the wind."
"Shelter?!" muttered Sam who was huddled on Balian's back. "If this is shelter then one wall and no roof make a house!"
Balian smiled. He agreed with the hobbit's analysis of Aragorn's statement. He lowered Sam to the ground and leaned against the cliff with a sigh.
"Tired?" asked Legolas. Balian noticed that the elf was able to walk on top of the snow and he seemed unaffected by the cold.
"Hobbits are heavier than they look," said Balian, mustering a smile. He had seen and heard one of the legendary debates between Legolas and Gimli and he had no desire to get involved in one.
"Well, you were carrying Sam," said Legolas. "He carries a lot of supplies."
Balian remembered what had happened between Aragorn and Boromir on the slope and he decided to ask Legolas about it. "Legolas…" he began. "About that ring that Frodo carries…"
"What about it?" asked the elf sharply.
"Why is it so important?"
Legolas sighed. "The ring which Frodo carries is the One Ring," he explained. "It is the key to Sauron's success."
"Who is Sauron?" asked Balian
"Sauron is the Dark Lord," replied Legolas. "He is evil and he desires to rule over all of Middle-Earth. Sauron's fate is tied to that of the Ring. The only way to kill him is to destroy the Ring."
"Then why don't you destroy it?" asked Balian. "Why travel all this way?"
"The Ring cannot be destroyed by any craft we possess," said Legolas, quoting Elrond. "It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. Frodo chose to carry out this task and the Fellowship was chosen to help him by protecting him."
"Why did Boromir take so long to give it back to Frodo then, if it is indeed Frodo's burden?"
Legolas looked around cautiously. On seeing that no one was paying any attention to them, he moved closer to Balian. "The Ring draws people to it," he said in a low voice. "It corrupts minds by giving false hopes and promises. It calls to each and every one of us. Sauron can feel it too and if anyone puts it on, Sauron will see him."
"I haven't felt it," said Balian.
"That is because you have not seen it," Legolas told him. "Once you see it, it will start calling to you. Do not believe anything that it tells you."
After the brief rest, the Company carried on. Gandalf had given them each a mouthful of miruvor to refresh them. Aragorn insisted on swapping hobbits with Balian.
"Sam's too heavy for one man to carry all the time," insisted the ranger. "Frodo's lighter." Balian did not want to argue so he did as the ranger suggested. Frodo was indeed much lighter than Sam, but he was also tenser. Balian felt that this hobbit did not trust him as much as the other hobbits did. He couldn't blame him. The Ring must have affected the hobbit. It made Balian nervous just knowing that he was carrying the Ringbearer.
As soon as Balian had the hobbit on his back, he knew that Legolas told him no lie. He could feel himself being tempted by the Ring. It promised him power and most of all, Sibylla. It took all his willpower to ignore its call.
The going became more difficult as they continued their way through the pass of Caradhras. The flying snowflakes half blinded them. Legolas, who was not encumbered by the snow, brought up the rear. He quickly overtook the entire company then stopped.
"There is a foul voice on the air," he said.
"It's Saruman!" shouted Gandalf. Before Balian could wonder about who or what Saruman was, snow tumbled down from above them, burying the entire company. Balian was knocked off the narrow path and the Ringbearer along with him.
A/N: Heheheh. An evil cliffie! This chapter contains quotes from the FotR movie. Thanks to all those readers who reviewed. I love you guys! ;)