a wizard is never late, frodo baggins, nor is he early. he arrives precisely when he means to.
you didn't think i'd miss your uncle bilbo's birthday?
what, everything? far too eager and curious for a hobbit. most unnatural.
well, what can i tell you? life in the wide world goes on much as if it has past age. full of its own comings and goings, scarcely even aware of the existence of hobbits.
for which i am very thankful.
ah, the long expected party. so, how is the old rascal? i hear it's going to be a party of special magnificence.
oh, well. that should please him.
good gracious, me.
oh, really?
indeed?
if you're referring to the incident with the dragon. i was barely involved. all i did was give your uncle a little nudge out the door.
oh, really?
so am i, dear boy. so am i
and what about very old friends?
bilbo baggins!
it's good to see you. one hundred and eleven years old, who would believe it!
you haven't aged a day! gandalf and bilbo laugh together and enter bag end.
just tea, thank you.
no, not at all. go ahead. a sudden loud knock on the front door.
so, you mean to go through with your plan, then?
frodo suspects something.
you will tell him, won't you?
he's very fond of you.
meridoc brandybuck and peregrin took. i might have known!
i suppose you think that was terribly clever?
there are many magic rings in the world, bilbo baggins, and none of them should be used lightly.
you will keep an eye on frodo, won't you?
what about this ring of yours? is that staying too?
i think you should leave the ring behind, bilbo. is that so hard?
there's no need to get angry.
precious? it's been called that before, but not by you.
i think you've had that ring quite long enough.
bilbo baggins do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks! bilbo cowers from gandalf, disarmed by his power. a frightened hobbit. gandalf's expression softens.
i am not trying to rob you. i am trying to help you. sobbing, bilbo runs to gandalf and hugs him.
all you long years we've been friends. trust me as you once did. let it go!
bilbo?
the ring is still in your pocket.
i'm sure you will, my dear friend.
goodbye bilbo.
until our next meeting.
riddles in the dark.
my precious. precious.
my own.
bilbo's ring.
he's gone to stay with the elves. he's left you bag end.
along with all his possessions.
the ring is yours now. but it somewhere out of sight. gandalf rises hurriedly and starts to gather his things.
i have some things i must see to.
questions. questions that need answering.
neither do i. keep it secret, keep it safe.
the year 3434 of the second age. here follows the account of isildur, high king of gondor, and the finding of the ring of power.
it has come to me. the ring of power!
it shall be an heirloom of my kingdom. all those who follow in my bloodline shall be bound to its fate, for i will risk no hurt to the
ring. it is precious to me, though i buy it with great pain.
the marking upon the band begin to fade. the writing which at first was as clear as red flame, has all but disappeared. a secret now that only fire can tell.
is it secret? is it safe?
hold out your hand, frodo. it is quite cool.
what can you see? can you see anything?
these are markings.
there are few who can. the language is that of mordor, which i will not utter here.
in the common tongue it says, "one ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them."
this is the one ring forged by the dark lord, sauron, in the fires of mt doom. taken by isildur from the hand of sauron himself.
for sixty years the ring lay quiet in bilbo's keeping, prolonging his life, delaying old age. but no longer, frodo. evil is stirring in mordor. the ring has awoken. it has heard its master's call.
at that moment: a fleeting, low whisper of black speech
no, frodo. the spirit of sauron has endured. his life force is bound to the ring and the ring survived. sauron has returned. his orcs have multiplied. his fortress of barad- dur is rebuilt in the land of mordor. sauron needs only this ring to cover all the lands in the second darkness. he is seeking it, seeking it, all his thought is bent on it. for the ring yearns, above all else, to return to the hand of its master: they are one, the ring and the dark lord. frodo, he must never find out. suddenly frodo scoops up the ring.
there is one other who knew that bilbo had the ring. i looked everywhere for the creature gollum, but the enemy found him first.
i don't know how long they tortured him. but amidst the endless screams and inane babble, they discerned two words.
no, frodo.
you cannot offer me this ring.
don't tempt me, frodo. i dare not take it, not even to keep it safe.
understand, frodo. i would use this ring from a desire to do good. but through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine.
no, no it can't.
you must leave, and leave quickly. get out of the shire.
make for the village of bree.
i will, be waiting for you at the inn of the prancing pony. frodo packs his food into his knapsack.
i don't know, frodo. i don't have any answers. i must see the head of my order. he is both wise and powerful. trust me, frodo. he'll know what to go.
you'll have to leave the name of baggins behind you. for that name is not safe outside the shire. gandalf helps frodo into his coat.
travel only by day and stay off the road.
my dear frodo, hobbits really are amazing creatures. you can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet, after a hundred years, they can still surprise you.
get down!
confound it all! samwise gamgee, have you been eavesdropping?
it's a little late for trimming the hedges, don't you think?
what did you hear? speak!
no?
perhaps not. i've thought of a better use for you.
come along, samwise. keep up.
be careful, both of you. the enemy has many spies in his service, many ways of hearing. birds, beasts.
is it safe?
never put it on, for then the agents of the dark lord will be drawn to its power. always remember, frodo, the ring is trying to get back to its master. it wants to be found. gandalf wheels his horse and gallops away.
saruman!
beyond any doubt.
all these long years it was in the shire, under my very nose.
we still have time. time enough to counter sauron. if we act quickly.
the eye of sauron.
you know this? how?
a palantir is a dangerous tool, saruman.
they are not all accounted for, the lost seeing-stones. we do not know who else may be watching. gandalf throws the cloth back over the palantir.
the nine!
they have reached the shire? saruman shrugs.
tell me, friend, when did saruman the wise abandon reason for madness?
you are in the house of elrond, and it is ten o'clock in the morning on october the twenty-fourth, if you want to know.
yes, i'm here and you're lucky to be here, too. a few more hours and you would have been beyond our aid. you have some strength in you, my dear hobbit.
i'm sorry frodo.
i was delayed.
there is only one lord of the ring. only one who can bend it to his will. and he does not share power.
nothing, frodo.
sam has hardly left your side.
by the skills of lord elrond, you're beginning to mend. elrond, lord of the high elves, steps up to frodo's
that wound will never fully heal. he will carry it the rest of his life.
it is a burden he should never have to had to bear. we can ask no more of frodo.
his treachery runs deeper than you know. by foul craft, saruman has crossed orc with goblin men. he is breeding an army in the caverns of isengard. an army that can move in sunlight and cover great distance at speed. saruman is coming for the ring.
it is in men that we must place our hope.
there is one who could unite them, one who could re claim the thrown of gondor.
aragorn is right. we cannot use it.
do you not understand? while we bicker among ourselves, sauron's power grows! no one will escape it. you will all be destroyed, your homes burnt and your families put to the sword!
i will help you bear this burden, frodo baggins, as long as it is yours to bear.
we must hold to his course west of the misty mountains for forty days. if our luck holds, the gap of rohan will still be open to us. from there, our road turns east, to mordor.
no, gimli. i would not take the road through moria unless i had no other choice.
spies of saruman. the passage south is being watched.
we must take the pass of caradhras!
it's saruman.
no!
let the ringbearer decide.
frodo?
so be it.
itidin. it mirrors only starlight and moonlight.
it reads, "the door of durin, lord of moria. speak, friend, and enter."
it's quite simple. if you are a friend, speak the password and the doors will open.
annon edhellen, edro hi ammen!
oh. mellon.
into the mines!
we now have but one choice. we must face the long dark of moria. be on your guard. there are older and fouler things than the orcs in the deep places of the world.
quietly, now. it's a four day journey to the other side. let us hope that our presence will go unnoticed.
i have no memory of this place.
it's gollum.
he's been following us for three days.
escaped. or was set loose. and now the ring has drawn him here. he will never be rid of his need for it. he hates and loves the ring, as he hates and loves himself. smeagol's life is a sad story. gandalf catches frodo's look of surprise.
yes. smeagol he was once called. before the ring came to him, before it drove him mad.
pity? it was pity that stayed bilbo's hand. many that live deserve death, and some that die deserve life. can you give it to them, frodo? frodo frowns.
do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. even the very wise cannot see all ends. my heart tells me that gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before this is over. the pity of bilbo may rule the fate of many.
so do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. there is a note of finality in gandalf's voice.
there are other forces at work in this world, frodo, besides the will of evil. bilbo was meant to find the ring. in which case, you also were meant to have it. and that is an encouraging thought, ah! that it's that way! gandalf points at the right hand tunnel. the fellowship scramble to their feet.
no, but the air doesn't smell so foul down there. if in doubt, meriadoc, always follow your nose! ye s.
behold! the great realm and dwarf city of dwarrowdelf! frodo gasps at the brief sight of a vast roof, far above
gimli!!
"here lies balin, son of fudin, lord of moria." he is dead, then. it's as i had feared.
"they have taken the bridge and the second hall: we have barred the gates. but cannot hold them for long. the ground shakes. drums in the deep. we cannot get out. a shadow moves in the dark. will no- one save us? they are coming."
fool of a took! throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!
i think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eye.
to the bridge of khazad-dum!
this way!
a balrog. a demon of the ancient world! this foe is beyond any of you! run! quickly!
lead them on, aragorn. the bridge is near.
do as i say; swords are no more use here.
over the bridge! fly!
you cannot pass!
i am a servant of the secret fire, wielder of the flame of anor. the dark fire will not avail you, flame of udun.
go back to the shadow! the balrog slashes at gandalf with its sword of
you shall not pass!! the balrog places one foot onto the bridge. aragorn and boromir race forward, swords drawn.
fly, you fools!
so do all who lie to see such times. but that is not for them to decide. all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.