Freedom in Fire - A LotR Adventure

3 - Pass of Caradhras

By noon, we had covered only two thirds of the distance we would have otherwise covered on plain ground. The hobbits were beginning to get exhausted and Frodo even stumbled once. He slipped on the snow and tumbled down the slope but not too much thanks to Aragorn catching him. I hurried to his side and kneeled, dusting the snow off his hair and clothes.

"Are you alright?" I asked, involuntarily cupping his cheek and earning a momentary blush. It was quickly replaced by worry.

"I-I'm fine," he stuttered, frantically searching for something around his neck.

When he looked up, I followed his gaze to the plain, golden ring that laid on the snow, a feeble-looking silver chain pulled through it. Boromir picked it up by the chain and his eyes seemed to become hazy as he looked over the Ring.

"Boromir," said Aragorn in a sort of commanding tone.

"It's a strange fate that we must suffer such fear and doubt over so small a thing," he muttered, still staring at the Ring. His words were true and I was tempted to think that everyone was being silly worrying over that plain ring. But the tension in the air had me remain silent.

Just as he reached to touch the Ring, Aragorn snapped him out of his trance. Again, on Aragorn's orders, he handed the Ring to Frodo who hastily put it around his neck. I stood looking between the two but placed a hand on Frodo's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile when he looked up at me. Boromir was then gone after a playful ruffle to Frodo's head.

While he and Frodo were ahead and possibly out of earshot, I glanced at Aragorn. "Is Boromir alright?" I asked.

"I'm sure he is." There wasn't full confidence in Aragorn's tone but he said nothing more and stepped forward while letting go of the hilt of his sword. A slight uneasiness had roused in me but I pushed it away as something unnecessary and followed suit.

As the evening set in, the weather took a turn for the worse. What started out as light snow soon became a snow storm, dropping temperatures to below freezing. To keep warm and safe, Aragorn carried Frodo and Sam while Boromir carried Pippin and Merry. The men and hobbits shivered in the cold as we walked, making a trail through the snow that was waist high while I maneuvered through the snow without too much trouble, my feet sinking in only a couple of inches. Legolas tread the snow even more easily, barely leaving footprints as he walked comfortably in front of me.

It was not much later that the snowstorm got even worse. Gandalf lead us on through the steep cliffs on the side of the mountain using his staff as a source of light. However, we stalled a moment when Legolas sprinted ahead and looked into the distance.

"There is a fell voice in the air," he called above the howling winds.

My ears twitched and I did hear a sort of airy voice chanting something. The voice in itself was very faint, which is probably why I had mistaken it as the howling of the wind until Legolas had mentioned it. I could not understand the words though.

"It's Saruman!" hollered Gandalf.

"Saruman? Who's Saruman?" I questioned, glancing at Gimli. He didn't get the chance to answer because several rocks came tumbling down from the top of the mountain, missing us by a hairline. We had jumped out of the way in the nick of time but it had the hobbits a little shaken.

"He's trying to bring down the mountain!" yelled Aragorn. "Gandalf, we must turn back!"

"No!" Gandalf refused strongly. He turned and held up his staff to chant a spell to counter what was being used to hinder our journey through the mountains.

"Who's Saruman? And why is he trying to hinder our passage through here?" I asked again.

"He was the leader of all wizards!" shouted Gimli so he was heard above the terrible weather. "A man Gandalf looked up to, saw as a guide! But he has turned to Sauron!"