EPIC: A Demigod's Tale by Frodo Baggins

Chapter 15

Frodo dreamed. That in itself wasn't unusual since he spent a good portion of his time asleep. Still, his dreams weren't often this sinister. In the dream, he was a bird, swooping over a white city glimmering in the last rays of the sun. With alarm, Frodo realized that it was the middle of the day, but dark, evil clouds swept over the land. Suddenly, the Nazgul were there, although in his dream they were dark, indistinct figures. They began chasing him through the sky, and he flapped his wings as hard as he could trying to escape the Nazgul. He was so busy watching his pursuers, he didn't realize they were herding him towards Mordor until the great Eye was before him, aflame with power and malice. The gaze of the Eye burned into Frodo, and he twisted through the air dodging the Nazgul as someone called his name. The world twisted around him, and he awoke into white light, lying on a comfortable bed.

"Frodo?" someone asked gently.

Frodo blinked, still lost in his strange dream. "Where am I?"

"You are in the House of Elrond and it is ten o'clock in the morning on October the 24th, if you want to know."

Frodo rubbed his bleary eyes and blinked at the voice. "Gandalf?"

"I am here," Gandalf frowned, annoyed that he had unthinkingly used All Might's dorky catch phrase. "And you're lucky to be here too. It was a good thing Headmaster Snape and Lord Hokage were there to look after you. You managed to get into quite a lot of trouble in a relatively short amount of time."

Frodo gingerly sat up in the bed, surprised at how well he felt. Although he had been severely injured, he felt back to normal now. He gently touched the bandages around his chest, but he felt no pain. "What happened, Gandalf? Why didn't you meet us?"

Gandalf puffed on his pipe. "I'm sorry, Frodo. I was delayed." The wizard's eyes took on a glint, as though he were imagining scenes thousands of miles away.

"Gandalf, what is it?" Worry for the wizard shone in the demigod's blue eyes.

Gandalf pasted a sickly smile on his face. "I'm fine," he said, looking exactly the opposite.
Frodo was about to question Gandalf further when Sam ran into the room. "Frodo! Frodo!"

"Hey, Sam!" Frodo smiled, glad to see his friend safe and well.

"Bless you, Mr. Frodo. You're awake!"

"Sam never wanted to leave your side," Gandalf said, smiling warmly at the enthusiastic demigod. "Even when the healers insisted it would be better for you to remain outside the patient's room."

"I never said friends couldn't be in the patient's room, ya know?" A man with short blonde hair stuck his head in the doorway. "How are you doing, Frodo?"

"This is the Lord Hokage," Gandalf said, peevishly noticing Naruto's orange shirt. Why did everyone like wearing orange so much? It was obnoxious. "He was one of the people who healed you."

"Call me Naruto," the man said with a friendly grin.

"Um, thank you, Lord, er, Naruto. I actually feel really good," Frodo said. "I don't feel my wound at all."

Naruto gave him a thumbs up. However, his cheerful expression faded and he stepped into the room with a serious look on his face. "Headmaster Snape probably would be able to explain this better, but, uh, you may feel aftereffects from the wound."

"What do you mean?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he thought. "You were injured by one of the Nazgul. They can infect those they wound with harmful chakra, or magic, so that the wound is difficult to heal."