The Avatar in Middle Earth (Legend of Korra x LOTR)

Of Returns & Departures

[NOT MY ART]

Been a while but I've finally updated. I seriously can't believe the number of views and votes I've been getting (yous have no idea how much I'm completely winging this entire story lol) - thanks so much! I remember the views being at 1K not too long ago, but then that skyrocketed didn't it? Anyways, hopefully, the chapter's to your liking. 

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Frodo's bare fingers ached as he latched onto Sam's elvish rope, before carefully searching for a place to position his feet.

The Hobbit attempted to free his thoughts of the small, gangly creature, Gollum. Even as he led both Sam and him down a steep, rocky cliff, muttering silently to himself, Frodo found Gollum's very presence quite unnerving, with his strange, bipolar personality, and off-putting appearance. Surely these were symptoms caused by the Ring, Frodo had thought.

The rope which held the hobbits was safely secured at the top of the cliff.

Previously, Sam had been revolted at the very thought of Gollum, in his very own words, "tainting my precious elven gift with his grubby hands!". However, his disgust was quickly dismissed as the creature refused to even look at the rope, insisting that he could climb down the cliff without help.

Frodo had never thought that he'd accept the aid of a being such as Gollum... especially considering the nature of their first official encounter.

He'd heard the stories from his Uncle Bilbo about the pathetic little thing, but nothing could quite compare to experiencing his barbaric and obsessive behaviour first-hand.

The bony beast had come to the Hobbits in the night. He swiftly and silently crept up on them as if imitating a spider approaching its prey.

The creature, wearing a scowl on his withered face, donned only a ragged loincloth which scarcely covered his reedy frame. The meagre remains of his thin hair stirred limply in the wind and his bug-like, soulless eyes, burned with desire as he rasped out curses, accusing the Hobbits of theft.

He was determined to steal the ring yet was unsuccessful as his guttural snarls had quickly roused Sam and Frodo from their slumber.

Though Gollum had stubbornly fought, the cold steel of Sting pressed to his bare back, and the elvish rope which tightly gripped his neck provided enough incentive for him to surrender.

With some consideration, Frodo agreed to allow for Gollum to lead them to the Black Gates, though Sam had fiercely tried to dissuade him.

However, the reality was, both Hobbits were dreadfully lost, as they'd repeatedly trekked the same rocks, clearly going in circles.

They knew that a bog was nearby. Its foul odour lingered for hours, and yet they found themselves nowhere near escaping the rocky and harsh lands of Emyn Muil.

With their lack of any sense of direction, they had no means of achieving their mission by simply blindly trekking through enemy territory. Hence, they'd solemnly agreed to a temporary alliance of sorts.

A small and sudden panicked cry drew the Hobbit from his musings.

"Sam?" the Ring-bearer called, his tone clearly expressing his worry. "Sam, are you alright?"

The chubby Hobbit in question seemed to take a moment to respond, eliciting deep and prolonged breaths.

"...I-I'm fine, Mr Frodo," Sam reassured with a weak chuckle, "Jus' stepped on a loose rock is all. Nothin' to fuss about."