April in the Shire is a sunny and spring-filled season. In the countryside of Buckland, a strange combination of two big and four little ones are hurriedly and silently avoiding all major roads and walking on secluded and dark paths. superior.
They walked in such a hurry that the leading big man didn't even want to stop and wait for the barefoot halflings. He looked around vigilantly, and from time to time he led everyone away from the farmer and the Brandydeer family's manor, jumped off the difficult path, and walked out of the bushes at the other end.
The four hobbits behind him followed him and the wizard one step at a time. They crossed the Willow River and the Ballanduin River, passed through the bottom of the valley, walked around the green foot of a steep hill, and entered. Another valley, deeper and wider.
The countryside was covered with green grass and elastic turf, and there was silence all around, except for the faint sound of air flowing over the edges of the earth and the lonely call of unfamiliar birds high up.
At that time, the expressions on the faces of Sam, Merry, and Pippin also changed from the excitement at the beginning to tiredness and fear. Because at this time they had left the home of the Hobbits and entered a strange land.
Sam Gamgee, who got into trouble, muttered in fear and grievance: "I didn't even have time to water the daisies in the garden. I hope they haven't completely withered by the time I come back."
Two days ago, when Frodo and his party were preparing to go to the elven homeland known as Imladris, or Rivendell, or Rivendell, to attend the important meeting Gandalf said, they were attacked by their friends Sam, Pippin and Merry was blocked.
At that time, stupid Sam Gamgee (in hindsight, it was really not a smart move) actually blurted out the matter of the ring, so there was no doubt that in order to make these impulsive, reckless but harmless little people To prevent the guys from revealing Frodo's journey, Gandalf and Aragorn took them along with them.
Merry glanced at the wizard and the tall human and couldn't help but said: "Oh, dear Sam, I have a premonition that you can't see your beloved daisy. This is not a curse or anything like that, but I have a premonition. , we will miss the entire spring and autumn of the Shire! Maybe we will return to the Shire in the cold winter, but by that time, all the flowers in your garden will have withered."
"Aren't we just going to see the elves' homeland? Why did it take so long?" Pippin of the Took family said in surprise: "Could the elves be so hospitable and stay with us for so long? Then I hope their food will satisfy me. Of course I’m not being picky, it’s just, will they have a second lunch?”
Frodo suddenly stopped and looked back.
The old forest in the distance seemed to be smoking, as if all the rain that had fallen had steamed out again from the leaves, roots and mounds. There was now a shadow at the edge of his vision, a dark mist, and above it the sky was like a blue cap, hot and heavy.
And a short and sturdy figure was looking here among the lush trees in the old forest. The blue feather on the tall hat on his head was so bright. Frodo could even see what seemed to be a smile on his face.
"It's Tom Bombadil, and he knows I'm gone," said Frodo, feeling a little sad. Because he had a premonition that this would be the last time he saw his cheerful, always singing friend. Their fate in Central Continent has ended, and they will never meet again in the distant future.
Gandalf hammered his cane and stood beside him, a glimmer of understanding flashed in his black eyes, as if he had known for a long time that this mysterious and respected master of the forest had been following them.
He said: "Frodo, each of us will have a time to say goodbye. There is no need to be sad, because this also represents a new beginning."
Frodo lowered his head and thought for a while, then raised his head and said, "Maybe. But I hope to have a farewell." As he said this, he raised his hand high and kept waving to his friends from afar.
"Goodbye, Tom Bombadil! Goodbye, Charles!"
The venerable old man seemed to hear Frodo's farewell. He laughed, nodded to them, and disappeared deep into the old wood.
Frodo dropped his hands, becoming more sad. Because he seemed to hear the familiar cheerful singing in his ears, "Happy dong! Happy dong! Ring ding ding dong!"
Old Tom Bombadil, Lotte old man,
He was wearing a sky blue coat and yellow leather boots.
Farewell to friends and hometown, the hobbits are going far away. "
"I think." Pippin, who was still wondering whether the elves would have a second lunch, suddenly jumped to them and said, "Frodo, you don't need to be sad, because we will always come back. Right?"
He looked at his good friend Merry.
Merry looked at the wizard and Aragorn, silent.
"I don't want to be that evil person who interrupts other people's memory of their friends and home." After arriving in the wilderness, the ranger came back looking more stern and vigilant. He looked at the sky, with a hint of uneasiness in his gray eyes: "But we don't have enough time. We need to pass through the hills in the distance and then enter a safer area. It's too close to the ancient tomb hill. Not a good place to stay.”
The four hobbits shuddered when they heard the name. Even in the Shire, they had heard rumors of ancient tomb corpse demons in the ancient tomb hills beyond the old forest. But no hobbit would like to hear that kind of story, even while sitting by a warm and cozy fire far away.
Frodo glanced eastward and saw the higher hills yonder, looking down upon them; and the tops of these hills were all surrounded by green mounds, and some had stone monuments, like jagged holes in the green gums. The straight teeth point straight to the sky.
He was in a daze. He seemed to see the rising sun shining on this land, where kings and warriors fought against each other, and the light on their new bloodthirsty swords was like fire. Victory, defeat, towers falling, fortresses burning, flames rising to the sky.
Then the coffins of the dead kings and queens were piled with gold, mounds covered them one by one, the rock tomb doors were closed, and green weeds obliterated everything.
As the sun rises and the moon sets, gradually, sheep roam and graze, but soon the hills become deserted again. A shadow appeared from the dark place in the distance, and the bones in the tomb began to stir.
The ancient tomb corpse demon haunts the valleys, rings jingle on the cold withered fingers, and gold chains sway in the wind. Circles of tombstones were exposed on the ground, looking like missing rotten teeth grinning in the moonlight.
"Frodo!" The wizard's stern voice suddenly sounded, waking him up from his illusion. Only then did Frodo realize that his hand had unconsciously grasped the necklace around his neck again, holding a cold, round object tightly in his palm.
"I...I'm fine." Frodo gasped for air, his forehead and body dripping with cold sweat.
However, the worry and uneasiness in the eyes of Gandalf and Aragorn became even stronger.
"It's too late." Aragorn whispered: "They sensed that Frodo was leaving the protection of Tom Bombadil and came to find him."
"We cannot stay." Gandalf said: "We must reach Bree before dark. At least it is much safer there than in the wild!"
Aragorn gritted his teeth, looked at the four extremely nervous hobbits, and nodded fiercely.
He urged the four hobbits to set off quickly.
But Pippin was still mumbling about wanting to eat and so on, and was scolded severely by the wizard and Aragorn at the same time.
Gandalf encouraged Frodo to hold on a little longer and wait until he reached a human town before resting. So Frodo could only cheer up and get on the road again.
Only Merry comforted Pippin in a low voice: "Don't you understand? Frodo and the others are not just traveling far away. Sam's stupid words have put us in some kind of danger. Otherwise, do you think they are willing to go on a long journey?" Why are Doc and the others so nervous?"
Sam's face turned red, but he didn't know what to say.
Pippin nodded confusedly.
Everyone walked non-stop over the shoulders of several distant hills, walked down their long slopes, and then climbed up their gentle mountain sides.
Along the way, Frodo noticed that there were no trees in the land and hills, and there was no water in sight: the valleys were covered with green grass and elastic turf, and there were many green mounds in the hills. There was silence all around, except for the gentle breeze blowing through the edges of the earth. the sound, and the lonely chirping of strange birds high up.
They walked and walked, until the sun was high in the sky and until the sun was setting. Finally, they were almost out of the disturbing hills. At this time, a stone tablet appeared in front of Frodo and the others. It stood high under the sun above their heads, like a boundary monument, a guarding finger, or more like a warning.
The wizard saw the stone tablet and immediately shouted stop.
"Something unusual is approaching." Gandalf took out Gramdrin from his waist with a serious and nervous expression, holding it in his hand, with the staff in his left hand always ready. "Aragorn, be careful!"
Aragorn immediately unsheathed his sword, and his waist, which was a little rickety, instantly became as straight as a pine, and his gray eyes stared closely at the road ahead.
At this time, the sun setting in the west showed a pale yellow color, and the upright stone tablet cast a dim shadow extending eastward in the sunlight, covering them. An unknown mist accompanied by a cold mountain wind quickly filled the mountain streams and high hills from scratch.
Through the fog, a certain cold and terrifying atmosphere was spreading in the air. The air was chilly and the surroundings were dead silent.
"Don't get separated, everyone hold hands." The wizard said sternly, and the gem on the staff emitted a bright white light, but it could not completely dispel the fog. Then, he closed his eyes, as if sensing something.
Sam and the others were extremely nervous and didn't understand what was happening. "Gandalf?" Frodo suddenly felt that his head was extremely heavy, the ring around his neck became extremely hot, and everything in front of him was spinning. A hoarse voice kept echoing in his ears and heart, as if to say: You went to death just to give me my ring.
"It's the Tomb Corpse Demon!"
Aragorn, who was in the lead, shrank his pupils and swung his sword to block a blade of the dead shrouded in white smoke!
"And Nazgûl!" The wizard opened his eyes suddenly. He could sense that something was rushing towards this place quickly, and terrifying roars were coming one after another.
"Come on!" Gandalf waved his cane, the sound was like a bell, and with one stick he knocked a wight that we had seen before in Carn Dum to the ground. Gramdrin in his right hand knocked another wight with a sword. The disgusting head was chopped off. "Run for the mountains, the stars will pierce the fog."
But Frodo could hardly move any further, because the evil voice almost gripped his heart, and the ring around his neck became heavy and burned, burning his skin.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time!" said a deep and cold voice, as if coming from the ground. "My ring, Hobbit, give me back my ring!"
"No!" screamed Frodo, and seemed to see a tall black figure leaning down toward him, like a shadow against the starlight. He felt that he saw two extremely cold eyes, burning with a faint light that seemed to come from a distant place. He fell to the ground in horror, his hands and feet turned cold.
"Frodo!" exclaimed Sam.
"Don't try to succeed! Sauron!"
Naya, the Ring of Fire on Gandalf's finger, lit up brightly, dispersing most of the thick fog. Only then did Sam and the others see Frodo curled up in a ball on the cold ground.
"Run, you idiots!"
The jewel of the wizard's staff emitted a thunderbolt, completely destroying the third corpse monster, and the pungent smell of sulfur filled the air. But Gandalf's expression did not dare to relax at all. Because of the next moment.
"Greybeard old man!"
A big black horse suddenly jumped out of the mist. A terrifying knight wearing a black cloak, armor on his hands and feet, and a hollow face waved the black ancient sword from the Morgul in his hand, and struck Gandalf with a fierce sword.
Pippin and Merry covered their ears in pain, "Frodo!" Sam struggled, trying to help his young master.
A fearful monster on one side and a friend on the other. After hesitating for a moment, Pippin and Merry screamed, suppressing their fear and pain, rushed over, picked up Frodo on the ground, turned around and ran up the mountain.
At this time, the second black knight rushed out of the mist, and the ancient sword from the Morden in his hand pierced Frodo's back like a poisonous snake.
"Don't even think about it!"
Aragorn cut off the neck of the first corpse demon, which was harder than fine steel, with one sword, and threw out the royal sword of Arnor that Aragorn had found from Annuminas.
The second black knight could only turn around and knocked away the long sword thrown by Aragorn with the ancient sword in his hand.
Ding.
The blade of the sword, like autumn water, was stuck on the ground, humming softly.
At this time, the third black knight rushed out of the fog with a smelly wind, and struck Aragorn in the back with a sword. The result was that it hit the air.
It turned out that at the critical moment, Aragorn threw himself forward in embarrassment and escaped the fatal blow.
