Bring Me With Her

Answer to the Riddles

She wasn't asleep when she heard the sound of their footsteps marching in. Talia just had the hardest time closing her eyes these days. The young woman would have loved nothing more than to go to sleep for the sake of forgetting the constant headaches, the heavy weight of the Ring digging into her neck, and the nausea that made her wish she didn't have a stomach. All she could think of was the discomfort, the pain that this quest was inflicting on her.

Talia looked up to see that Faramir and two of his men had walked in. They were making their way to wake Thorin when she cleared her throat. The captain and his companions turned their heads, and they stepped toward her. "You must come with me. Now." he told her.

The Terran furrowed her brows. "What's this about?" she growled, bringing a heavy sigh from Faramir.

"You will see, now come." This time it was a command. Not in the mood to be picked up and dragged, Talia stood up and followed as promptly as she could.

She was grateful they didn't go a long way. Talia was completely and utterly done with walking. Her body was so tired. And she felt so sick. Now she could only hope that Faramir wouldn't bother her for much longer just so she could lie down again. Knowing how her luck had been lately, it wouldn't be long before she was on the road again, constantly trying to get somewhere else.

Faramir had taken her outside, to the edge of a cliff near the waterfall. She was walking on such a narrow path that she had to reach out and hold on to the rock wall on the other side. The height and her headache made her feel so dizzy, she was sure she would trip over the side if she wasn't careful. The young woman raised her brows, wondering why Faramir brought her here. The Man directed his gaze over the side of the cliff. "Down there." he told her.

The young woman narrowed her eyes and peered over the edge to find a pool that the waterfall was filling...along with the shadow of an all too familiar figure. She wasn't sure how Smeagol ended up there. After he had crawled away from her the other day, right before she and Thorin had been captured, Talia had been sure that he was gone forever. She let out an inaudible sigh of relief, only to be struck with a whole new fear when she looked into Faramir's haunted blue eyes.

"To enter the Forbidden Pool bears the penalty of death." he warned. The young woman widened her eyes. No way. Though she held little to no love for Gollum, without him, she was lost. She would never reach Mordor, and get rid of the wretched Ring around her neck. What would happen if she never made it? Talia could never imagine being stuck with the Ring forever. She didn't want to die with that trinket lying still against her skin, as if it were something she valued more than anything in this world's existence.

Talia followed Faramir's eyes to find that his archers had the creature surrounded on all sides. Their arrows were drawn, ready to hit their target. "They wait for my command." Faramir said. "Shall they shoot?" The young woman stared down at the creature, who had a fresh-caught fish in his hand. She held her breath as she noticed Faramir raising his hand from the corner of her eye.

She could hear him singing from here. "Rock and pool is nice and cool, so juicy sweet! I only wish to catch a fish, so juicy sweet!" Talia saw the creature smashing the fish's head against a rock, causing her to flinch. The scene was so familiar. She remembered Gollum smashing a Goblin's head with a rock, singing an awful tune completely off key, right before he ate him. The memory made Talia grit her teeth. She wanted to see him dead. She didn't ever want to hear that voice again. But she also remembered how she still needed him. She needed him if she wanted all of this to be over.

"Don't." she stopped him, reluctance evident in her tone. Talia met Faramir's eyes. "That creature is bound to me...he's our guide." she confessed. Faramir raised his eyebrows at that, making it clear that he had caught her in her lie.