It was a sunny but cool afternoon when the Fellowship paddled their boats to the shore of the Great River just north of

where it flowed into a lake. "We cross the lake at nightfall," said Aragorn. "Hide the boats and continue on foot. We

approach Mordor from the north."

Gimli began talking about the difficulties of the route to Mordor. Aragorn calmly told him to get some rest and recover

his strength. As Gimli snorted, Legolas voiced his concerns about danger on the western bank of the river.

Merry suddenly looked around and stared. "Where's Frodo?"

Aragorn and Legolas stopped their conversation and looked around as well. Sam, who had been napping, sat up awake

with a start. It was then that they noticed that Boromir was missing too.

"We have to find Frodo!" shouted Sam, jumping up.

"Wait!" said Aragorn. "We must divide up into pairs, and arrange - hold on! Wait!"

It was too late. Sam had already dashed off into the woods, and Merry and Pippin had raced off in another direction.

All three were calling Frodo's name loudly. Even Legolas and Gimli were running off. Aragorn groaned to himself,

looking around at the members of the Fellowship racing off in different directions, then hurried off himself in the direction

Sam had gone.

Eowyn, left alone, was filled with a sudden desire to find Boromir. She knew not exactly why, but she felt she had to

find him. She started towards the woods, then remembered what Legolas had said about danger on this side of the river.

She quickly snatched up her shield and placed it on her back before heading out. Her sword was already by her side in

its sheath and her knife was tucked into her boot.

Through the woods Eowyn hurried. She had seen Boromir collecting firewood earlier. He had brought back a load and

then gone off into the trees again, but had not come back the second time. She went in the direction she thought he had

gone in.

Suddenly, she heard loud footsteps trampling through the forest. At first thinking they were Gimli's and that he and Legolas

were nearby, she was about to call out when she heard growls. Orcish growls.

"Uh-oh," she thought, drawing her sword. When she had thought about being a warrior, she had always imagined having

an army with her. She had never considered that she might walk into a fight alone. "I guess I asked for this too," she

thought, ironically again.

Sure enough, four large, ugly orcs stepped into view. They were Uruk-Hai, as tall as men and very strong, not like the

small, degenerate orcs of Moria. Each carried a shield and a crude blade. When they saw her, they let out loud roars and

charged.

With her left hand, Eowyn reached down and grabbed her knife. She hurled it at the foremost Uruk. The blade hit true

and drove itself into the creature's neck. She raised her sword and shield as the Uruk fell and the other three closed in on

her.

She dodged to the left of her enemies, taking out the closest Uruk with a deep sword slash that ripped its chest open. She

blocked the second Uruk's swing with her shield, at the same time parrying the attack of her last opponent with her sword.

Swinging her sword upward, she sliced off one Uruk's sword arm, releasing a spray of black blood. She turned her

attention to the other Uruk and swiftly decapitated it.

The one-armed Uruk bellowed in rage and hit Eowyn from behind with its shield, knocking her to the ground. She got a

face full of dirt and rolled over to see her opponent, black blood still pouring from its shoulder, raise its shield, intending to

drive the sharp bottom edge of it into her body. She raised her sword and impaled the Uruk in the center of its chest. It

continued roaring at her as it expired.

Eowyn yanked her sword out of the corpse, heart pounding. She retrieved her knife, wiping off the orc-blood as best she

could on some leaves, and tucked it back into her boot.

Wondering where the others were, she listened carefully, then headed off in the direction she thought she heard footsteps

coming from. Suddenly, two more Uruks appeared. They both carried crossbows.

"Yipes!" said Eowyn.

She raised her shield just in time. A second later, two black arrows impacted it. She ducked behind a tree, wondering

how she was going to get out of this one.

The sound of a loud horn, echoing through the woods, interrupted her thoughts. "The Horn of Gondor! Boromir!" she

thought. The two Uruks raced off in the direction of the horn. Eowyn, taking care to stay covered by the trees, hurried

in the same direction. On the way, a snarling Uruk jumped out of the trees and tried to cut her head off. She used her

fast reflexes and ducked under the swing of its weapon, then rose up and cut off its head instead. She then continued on

her way towards the sound of the Horn.

A few minutes later, she burst into a clearing. Boromir lay on the ground, pierced by three large black arrows. Aragorn

was bent over him. Around them were scattered dozens of dead Uruk-Hai. "Boromir!" she cried.

"They took Merry and Pippin," gasped Boromir. "Where is Frodo?"

"I let Frodo go," said Aragorn. "He and Sam went off on their own to Mordor."

"Then you did what I could not," said Boromir. "I tried to take the Ring from him." His eyes met Eowyn's as he said this.

"I have failed you all. Forgive me. I did not see."

"No," said Eowyn. "You fought to defend Merry and Pippin."

"You have kept your honor," said Aragorn.

Boromir smiled.

"Which way did they go?" asked Aragorn.

But Boromir did not speak again.

"Be at peace, son of Gondor," said Aragorn. Eowyn covered her face with her hair.

Gimli and Legolas suddenly appeared. Gimli had his axe in hand, and Legolas held his knives; all his arrows were spent.

"Alas!" said Legolas. "We have been hunting Orcs in the woods. We hurried towards here when we heard the Horn of

Gondor, but we are too late."

Boromir's body was placed in a boat with his sword and shield, and the boat was sent to float down the river and over

the great waterfall. "They will look for his coming from the White Tower, but he will not return," said Aragorn sadly.

Legolas pulled the remaining boat towards the water. "Hurry! Frodo and Sam have reached the eastern shore."

Aragorn only looked across the river, staying still. "You mean not to follow them," said Legolas.

"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands," said Aragorn.

"And what is left in our hands?" said Eowyn quietly.

"It has all been in vain," sighed Gimli. "The Fellowship has failed."

"Not if we hold true to each other," replied Aragorn. "We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not

while we have strength left. Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some orc."

He hurried off into the woods. Eowyn and Legolas both smiled. "Yes!" shouted Gimli. They followed Aragorn into the

forest.

Here ends the tale of the Fellowship of the Ring. The story continues in The Two Towers.