Journey’s End
Chapter 14
The Great River
I woke in the morning with stiff shoulders, and found that I’d been lying at an awkward angle between a large rock and Aragorn. The sun had not yet risen, but I could tell that dawn wasn’t far off. I rose to my feet, being careful not to wake Aragorn, and walked over to the shore of the river. I was the only person awake. I crouched down by the shore and began to splash to water onto my face to wake myself up. Behind me, I heard someone stretch and I turned to see Aragorn walking towards me.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” I murmured. He smiled.
“Don’t worry; we have to leave soon anyway.”
As if on cue, the members of the Fellowship who were still asleep began to stir. I saw Gimli groan and roll over; squashing Legolas, who pushed him off, causing the Dwarf to roll onto Boromir’s sleeping form. I laughed as I watched the semi-conscious drama unfold; Pippin woke up, and gave Merry a sharp prod in his ribs. He yelped, causing Sam to sit up violently. My eyes wandered over to Frodo. He was not asleep, but he lay on his side with his eyes open. There were dark circles under them that told me that he had not slept all night. I stifled a yawn and began packing the boats again. I heard Pippin insist on breakfast, so I pulled out a wafer of Lembas and threw it to him.
“Share it.” I stressed, handing Aragorn a piece as he walked towards the boats. I threw pieces to Legolas, Gimli and Boromir as they approached and then ate my own. The filling effect it had puzzled me, but I decided not to question it, but be thankful for it instead.
With a yawn, I climbed into the boat and nestled myself amongst the bags. I cast a glance over my shoulder, looking at the water. There had been no sign of Gollum today, but I sensed he was still near. Aragorn was helping Frodo and Sam climb into the boat, and I felt it rock slightly as he pushed it away from the shore.
We paddled down the river until late afternoon, mostly through high-walled gorges. I was just dozing off as I heard Aragorn attract Frodo’s attention behind me.
“Frodo, the Argonath.” I looked up and gasped at the two enormous statues that towered over us. They were of men, carved out of the two cliff sides in a faded white stone, their hands outstretched, as if in an attempt to stop the flow of the mighty river. “Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old, my kin.”Aragorn murmured. I gazed in awe at the two great kings as we travelled past them.
Not long after we had passed the statues we discovered some old mooring posts, not far from the enormous waterfall that lay ahead of us.
We beached the boats and I hopped out, pulling my pack with me. Our boat held most of the food that we had been given in Lórien, so I took out several packages of Lembas.
“We cross the lake at nightfall, hide the boats, and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the north.” Aragorn announced as I tossed him a package of Lembas.
“Oh yes? Just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil, an impassable labyrinth of razor-sharp rocks?! And after that, it gets even better! Festering, stinking marshlands as far as the eye can see!” Gimli grumbled.
‘Sounds fun…’ I thought sarcastically.
“That is our road. I suggest take some rest, and recover your strength, Master Dwarf.” Aragorn murmured, walking over to the shore.
“Recover my...? Phrrr!” Gimli gasped, making a less-than-polite sound to express his opinion. I laughed softly.
“We should leave now.” I heard Legolas say to Aragorn.
“No. Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for cover of darkness.” Aragorn insisted. I frowned and walked over to them.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, Legolas only looked at me before continuing.
“It is not the eastern shore that worries me. A shadow and a threat has been growing in my mind. Something draws near, I can feel it.” The Elf whispered, and I cast an anxious glance over my shoulder.
“No dwarf need recover strength! Pay no heed to that, young hobbit.” Gimli grumbled somewhere behind us. I turned and saw Merry emerge from the forest behind us with an armful of firewood. He looked around our camp with concern clear in his eyes.
“Where is Frodo?” He asked. I looked around for the Hobbit, then spotted Boromir’s shield leaning against a tree.
“Boromir is gone too…” I whispered.
Frodo was in danger.
“We have to find them!” I cried, stuffing what was left of the Lembas into my pocket and dashing off into the forest. I ran low to the ground, searching for tracks, and found myself drifting in a Southerly direction. I couldn’t seem to make myself run fast enough as I scrambled up the steep hill, and cursed as I tripped over a tree root. Swearing under my breath, I turned to run on, but something stopped me. I turned to look at the pile of carelessly dropped firewood. Crouching down, I brushed away a few leaves, revealing signs of a scuffle.
“Oh no…” I whispered, following Frodo’s tracks with my eyes. They lead up the hill, whereas Boromir’s lead downwards.
‘Maybe he’s gone back to the camp…’ I silently prayed as I turned and began sprinting back up the hill. Only then did I realise that Aragorn wasn’t behind me. Maybe he had found Boromir…
I burst out of the trees suddenly, blinded by the strong sunlight. I seemed to have reached the top of the hill. I jumped when I heard a roar behind me.
A roar that made my skin crawl.
A roar that didn’t belong to a man, a Hobbit, an Elf or a Dwarf.
I turned in horror to see the army of creatures bearing down me, they weren’t orcs, they were too tall and muscular, and were running in sunlight!
Without a second thought I turned and sprinted in the opposite direction. I couldn’t fight all of them on my own! I leapt over a fallen tree as I ran, and spotted a building ahead of me. The Watchtower of Ámon Hen. I sped up, hoping to find a hiding place in the deserted tower. Up ahead, I could hear voices, it was Frodo and Aragorn!
“I would have gone with you to the end, into the very fires of Mordor.”
“I know. Look after the others. Especially Sam, he will not understand.”
“Aragorn!” I yelled as they came into view. He knelt before Frodo and rose when he saw me. He took one look at the expression of terror on my face and turned back to Frodo.
“Go, Frodo! Run! Run!” He cried, drawing his sword as I slowed to a jog before him.
“Find the Halfling! Find the Halfling!” The command came from behind me as I took my place at Aragorn’s side.
“What are they?” I gasped breathlessly.
“Uruk-Hai” He murmured as the bore down on us.
“Fantastic.” I muttered as I drew my sword and leapt into battle.
