Post by Admin on Jan 9, 2021 20:15:26 GMT
Author: Darkover
Summary: Arithmetic can be both simple and cruel. After talking with Captain Faramir of the Ithilien Rangers, Frodo realizes that he and Sam may be the only ones left of the Nine Walkers of the Fellowship.
Disclaimer: The characters of the “Lord of the Rings” belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien. I am merely following in his footsteps, and I make no money by doing so, so I am sure he would not want anyone to sue me.
Rating: K
Two. It is a number that repeats itself over and over in Frodo’s brain.
Nine was the original number. Nine Walkers of the Fellowship against the Nine Riders of Mordor. Now there are but two: himself and Sam.
If what the young Captain of Gondor has just told him is true—and he has no reason to believe that it is not—then he and Sam may be the only two members remaining of the Fellowship.
He had hoped to be only one. He would go off alone, into Mordor, to destroy the cursed thing, this Ring that is so precious and yet so hateful to him. He would not willingly have risked any of the lives of the others. Sam insisted on going, so that made two. He would not have made it this far if not for Sam, he knows that.
But if it is true that there is safety in numbers, then his fate and Sam’s is perilous indeed.
Nine Walkers, there were. Then Gandalf fell, and there were eight.
Then Boromir was seized by madness, brought about by lust for the Ring. Did that make them seven? Boromir was still alive when Frodo fled from his presence, but Orcs had begun to attack. Forced by circumstances to leave while he could, Frodo had no way of knowing what the outcome of the attack had been. From what Captain Faramir told him, the outcome was a tragic one. Faramir had seen Boromir’s body. If Boromir is dead, then the others—
Pippin—
Merry—
Legolas—
Gimli—
Aragorn! Are they all dead?
Frodo reasons desperately that at least one of them must have survived, as someone would have had to place Boromir’s body in the boat that floated down the Anduin. But his heart sinks as he recalls that Boromir died fighting off Orcs while protecting Pippin and Merry. If Boromir could not withstand such an attack, then it is almost inevitable that the young hobbits could not.
Aragorn was the most formidable fighter among their group, and the leader of the Nine Walkers following the death of Gandalf. He would also be the one most capable of laying Boromir out in the boat. Strider’s body was not found, nor that of any of the others save Boromir. Was that a sign that the others yet lived? Or had there been only one boat left, and as Boromir was the one Walker closest to his home, Strider had interred and sent him on his way?
Frodo does not know. All he knows for sure is that he and Sam are alone.
Two out of Nine.
Sometimes, numbers are just too much to bear.
Summary: Arithmetic can be both simple and cruel. After talking with Captain Faramir of the Ithilien Rangers, Frodo realizes that he and Sam may be the only ones left of the Nine Walkers of the Fellowship.
Disclaimer: The characters of the “Lord of the Rings” belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien. I am merely following in his footsteps, and I make no money by doing so, so I am sure he would not want anyone to sue me.
Rating: K
Two. It is a number that repeats itself over and over in Frodo’s brain.
Nine was the original number. Nine Walkers of the Fellowship against the Nine Riders of Mordor. Now there are but two: himself and Sam.
If what the young Captain of Gondor has just told him is true—and he has no reason to believe that it is not—then he and Sam may be the only two members remaining of the Fellowship.
He had hoped to be only one. He would go off alone, into Mordor, to destroy the cursed thing, this Ring that is so precious and yet so hateful to him. He would not willingly have risked any of the lives of the others. Sam insisted on going, so that made two. He would not have made it this far if not for Sam, he knows that.
But if it is true that there is safety in numbers, then his fate and Sam’s is perilous indeed.
Nine Walkers, there were. Then Gandalf fell, and there were eight.
Then Boromir was seized by madness, brought about by lust for the Ring. Did that make them seven? Boromir was still alive when Frodo fled from his presence, but Orcs had begun to attack. Forced by circumstances to leave while he could, Frodo had no way of knowing what the outcome of the attack had been. From what Captain Faramir told him, the outcome was a tragic one. Faramir had seen Boromir’s body. If Boromir is dead, then the others—
Pippin—
Merry—
Legolas—
Gimli—
Aragorn! Are they all dead?
Frodo reasons desperately that at least one of them must have survived, as someone would have had to place Boromir’s body in the boat that floated down the Anduin. But his heart sinks as he recalls that Boromir died fighting off Orcs while protecting Pippin and Merry. If Boromir could not withstand such an attack, then it is almost inevitable that the young hobbits could not.
Aragorn was the most formidable fighter among their group, and the leader of the Nine Walkers following the death of Gandalf. He would also be the one most capable of laying Boromir out in the boat. Strider’s body was not found, nor that of any of the others save Boromir. Was that a sign that the others yet lived? Or had there been only one boat left, and as Boromir was the one Walker closest to his home, Strider had interred and sent him on his way?
Frodo does not know. All he knows for sure is that he and Sam are alone.
Two out of Nine.
Sometimes, numbers are just too much to bear.