Harry Potter and the Ring of Doom

Chapter 23: The Black Gate and Beyond

"If that's our only way in," Ron said, "then you might as well butter me up and serve me on toast to old One-eye in there." He looked at the massive gates before them as a personal affront to himself, his family, and anyone that the family had ever met. Ever.

He turned to face Harry and Smeagol. "So. What do we do now? We sure can't take that way, unless we're going to ask the Orcs for help. 'Excuse me, could you open the door so we could just nip in and drop this trinket in Mount Doom? Thanks awfully.'"

Harry snorted and looked at his friend directly. "You are definitely a nutter. That's official, you know that, don't you?" He looked back out at the great Gate before them. "We have to go through, you know that. Under cover of dark, I'd think."

"No, no!" cried Gollum. "Master can't go in through Black Gate! That way will lead to capture! Smeagol knew this, and told Master!"

"He did, Ron," Harry said before Ron could go off. "I said it because I have to go into Mordor and do what I came for, and this is the only way in. So I go tonight."

"No, Master!" wailed Gollum. "Don't give it to Blinky One-eye! That way leads to only him! He'll eat the world if he gets the Precious back! Keep it and be nice to Smeagol. Or go away to nice places and give it back to little Smeagol. Don't go to the Gate, please!"

"I have been commanded by more than the Elves to go to Mordor and see to the end of this foul tool, so I go. If this is the only way in, then I must take it." His face was set in the look that Ron had gotten very used to on this quest of theirs - 'I have made up my mind, and nothing but the very best of ideas has a chance of changing my mind.' Gollum cowered in fear or shame.

"Chum, just curious. What's with the language? It's just the three of us - it's not like one of those fantasy books you and Hermione seem to like. You talk like you're speaking to some great audience." He laughed. "I mean, I appreciate the compliment. Either that, or I need to go on a diet."

Harry laughed as well. "Smart-arse. You're right, though. I don't know why I keep slipping into talking like it's being recorded for posterity. More like talking out my posterior." He paused. "Maybe it's a side effect of the Ring? I mean, everyone else here seems to talk that way."

Ron shrugged. "Herm … um, never mind."

"Yeah, Hermione would love working with this kind of a problem." He sighed. "I want this done, because I have every intention of just holding her for a week when I see her again. Nothing else." He sighed. "This quest is getting to me, Ron. I so want to see the Hogwarts grounds again; the castle, and watch Sir Nicholas greeting firsties. I have to concentrate right now in order to see some of those things. I notice the Ring more and more. It weighs on me, Ron. I'm getting an understanding of why Draco threw it away. What I feel from this makes Voldemort seem like a piker."

Smeagol crawled to Harry and tugged on his pants-leg. "Master? Smeagol knows another way. Very dangerous, and … and guarded. But not as heavily. Three might sneak past there. One can not sneak by here."

"Why did you not mention this other way before?" Harry asked, eyes narrowed as he looked at Smeagol, trying to determine if the creature was leading them to a trap.

"Smeagol was not asked, Master. Master did not tell Smeagol his purpose before. He said that he needed to go to the Black Gate, and then Smeagol could be free to do as he wanted. But now he says that he goes into Mordor, and it must be this way. Smeagol says no, but if Master can not be swayed from entering Mordor, then Smeagol will show him another way."

Ron stared at Gollum. He too was trying to solve the puzzle of the creature's motives. Given the conversation he'd heard, he seriously doubted that the Smeagol personality had come out on top. What was probably more likely was that the personalities had come to an agreement of sorts, mainly to keep the Ring out of Sauron's grasp. Ron doubted that there really was another route into Mordor. At least he hasn't really been paying attention, as far as I can tell. I think I'm the only one who's mentioned what we're doing with the Ring, and I said it in the midst of a joke. Definitely going to keep an eye on Gollum.

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Harry stared out at the scene as he heard Gollum's comments. He was weighing the possibilities in his mind. Do I attempt to find some way through here? After all, we are here, and we know that this is a way in. A very dangerous way in, but a way in nonetheless. Or, I can trust Gollum, or Smeagol, or whatever he wants to be called, and we look for this less guarded route that he says exists. Does it exist, is the question.

As he contemplated, he became aware of a great stir on the plain, and slowly saw a tremendous army approaching. They watched for a long time as the marching men filed through; enough men that even ten abreast it took nearly forty minutes for them all to pass through. As the doors to the gigantic Gate closed, Harry was moved to quote:

I am the way into the doleful city.

I am the way into eternal grief,

I am the way to a forsaken race.

Justice it was that moved my great creator;

Divine omnipotence created me,

And highest wisdom joined with primal love.

Before me nothing but eternal things

Were made, and I shall last eternally

Abandon all hope, all you who enter.

"Not entirely accurate, since I doubt very much that a benevolent God created those Gates, but the feeling is correct." He turned to Smeagol. "I will trust you to take us to this other entrance you know of. You have been in a position to take that which you desire twice already, and proven to be a friend. Third time, I guess, will pay all. But I warn you, Smeagol, you ride the ragged edge of danger."

"Yes, yess, Smeagol is in great danger, leading Master and friend into Mordor. But Smeagol promised, he did."

"Yes, you did, but the danger is not in taking us to Mordor. The danger is in thinking that you will ever hold the Precious again. ' Give it back to little Smeagol,' you said. You can not allow yourself to think that way, Smeagol. You will never have the Ring again, and to hope for such is to hope in vain. It will twist all you wish for and hope for. If I was driven to wear the Ring again, it is possible that I might order you to hurl yourself to your death, even though such is not my desire. That is how your Precious twists us all, Smeagol. Ask no more for it." He paused and took a deep breath. "Now show us the way to this other entrance to Mordor."

Gollum, however, was in a pitiable state, what with the threat upon his life that Harry had stated as a possibility. He whimpered and grovelled at Harry's feet for a while, before Harry was able to coax him into telling them that if they followed the road that turned west of Ephel Duath, they would come to a circle of dark trees. Three roads came from this circle, but they would only care for the one to the left. "At once it begins to climb," Smeagol said. "Up, up up, winding around and climbing back towards the dark shadows. When it finally turns around the black rock, you'll see it, and want to hide."

"What will you see?" Ron asked.

"The old fortress. Very very old, very horrible to see. Smeagol remembers stories of it from when Smeagol was very young, back when he was still in his village. Many tales were told back then, tales of back when even the Great River was young. There was a tale of a great white tower.”

“Minas Ithil, if memory serves,” Ron said. “What's that got to do with anything?”

“If we go that way, we approach the Dark Blinky's land from a direction he does not expect. It will still be hard, but there is success possible that way. There is no hope this way. North holds no hope. South holds little, but it is more than North.”

Smeagol breathed in roughly. “There is a stair, a high stair, endlessly high. It is hidden; Smeagol found it once, and could find it again. It holds a path that goes around; goes around the tower.”

“Sounds too easy,” grumbled Ron, “even if we do have to climb endless stairs.”

“Not easy!” barked Smeagol. “Guarded this path is, but less than directly to tower. Much less guarded. Still dangerous, but maybe Master and friend can get into Mordor that way. Smeagol will take Master there, if Master wishes."

"Give me the day to decide. I know I said to take us there, but I need to think again about it. We wouldn't be moving until night falls anyway, so that lets me think on it for the day. I promise you that I will decide by sunset at the latest." He sat and put his arms about his knees, wrapping the Elven cloak about himself.

As the day progressed, Ron watched the area warily. His eyes kept moving to the skies, and eventually he began to see birds about the land they were trying to enter. They looked tiny, but somehow he knew that they were actually gigantic. The fear from the swamps began to strike him again, and it only worsened as the 'bird' was slowly joined, one after the other, by three more.

"Bloody bastards are out again," he murmured quietly. "I hope they can't see us."

"I think we'd have an army on top of us, quite literally, if they could," Harry replied. "I think that he knows that the damned thing is about in the world, and is searching for it. Also, everything seems to be flowing inexorably toward war.” He shook his head. “We leave at dark, we go Smeagol's other route. Any chance we have of getting into Mordor unseen is far better than no chance at all, which is what we have here.” He turned to Gollum. “Smeagol, once more you are our guide.”

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They left as soon as the twilight became deep enough. The Moon was nearly to full, but it would not rise above the mountains until after midnight. They did not take to the road this close to the Black Gate; instead they followed it through barren stony ground, keeping the road ever to their left. For some time it seemed that they were being watched by the red lidless eye of the Tower of Barad-dur, which pressed down upon them mercilessly, making them stumble and fall occasionally.

The night was old before the angry red eye moved its gaze to the North even as they turned south, and the feeling of oppression lifted. They rested, but only for a short while, since Gollum wanted to be at the Osgiliath crossroads as soon as possible. When they finally stopped to sleep, they had covered roughly 25 miles.

The next night, as they walked, Ron looked at Harry, who was still quite drawn and tired, and murmured, “Pity we can't cast some of those food spells.”

“Yeah, but we have to start from something edible, and I think you were hoping to supplement our lembas, not replace it, right?”

“Yeah. Since I don't think we're going to run across a wild meatloaf out here, or a thundering herd of well-done steaks, we're coming up on a problem.”

Harry chuckled quietly. “Sorry, just the image of a meatloaf running through the underbrush. You're right, though. We'll have to see about trying to catch something. If we can catch it, we can cook it up. We've certainly kept our cauldrons clean, so if we have to, we can cook whatever it is in those.”

“Good. If we can find it, we can eat it,” Ron said.

They walked still farther that night, worrying more about sounds on the road to their left than what food they might find. As the day began to break, they noticed a change in the air, and discovered that the land had changed around them as they walked. No longer was it rocky and barren; it now had become green and beautiful, looking almost as if a nature spirit had been let loose on the land after a night of passion. The mountains were more distant than they had remembered seeing them previously, but the road was still in sight.

The scent was also welcome. It smelled green and beautiful. Harry and Ron breathed deeply, while Gollum coughed lightly once. They turned from the road and walked downhill until they found a freshwater lake, where they drank some of the sweet water and washed their faces. Ron looked around a little bit, and stumbled across a remembrance that war had struck this beautiful area - a firepit with bones and skulls within it. Most of the bones had been cracked for eating, and they were also fairly obviously not animal bones. Right, Ron thought. Not going to let Gollum know about this place - let these folks have what little peace in death that they have. “Right!” He said, walking back to the other two. “I think we need to find somewhere to sleep, and I'd rather do it a bit away from the lake. Up, rather than down.”

They had settled in for some sleep under a copse of trees when Ron realized that he wasn't really all that sleepy. He sat up and saw Gollum starting to leave. “Oi! Smeagol!” he called quietly, and the creature came loping over to him. “You've said you'll help us. Harry and I are tired of nothing but lembas. Think you could find us something else? We're not big on bugs and stuff, though.”

“Oh no! Smeagol wouldn't bring Masters Harry and Ron bugs. Smeagol will try to catch something for the nice Masters. Won't be quick, though; no, it won't!”

“That's all right, Smeagol. Even if you don't catch something, all we ask is that you try.” As the creature bounded off into the brush, Ron thought, Besides, the longer you're away from that Ring, the better, and the less likely you are to try to strangle Harry.

He turned to watch Harry sleep, and shook his head. I think I finally understand how you can love someone and not have it mean anything romantic. Harry's my friend, but there's more to it. Maybe Hermione has the words for it, but I sure don't. All I know is that if it came to a choice between our lives, I'd willingly throw myself in the way of something meant for him. I don't want to shag him, and never will, but if he asked me to, I would. He scowled. I'm not sure I'm even making sense to myself. I wish I were as smart as Hermione; she's probably got a word for exactly what I'm thinking. Either that or she'd grab a book and find it quickly.

I'm jealous as hell of him, but I'm also realizing that we'd kill each other if Hermione and I were together. She's getting more laid back, but she's still a studier, and I'm not. I speak first and think later. I think that's what you might call a bad combination. I'll do my best to be her friend, but her lover? He snorted to himself. Is what I'm thinking what they always tell me is maturity? Am I finally growing up, as they always tell me to do? Yeah, right. He smiled and leaned back against a tree, then opened his pack and carefully pulled out his gold cauldron. Haven't used it once on this trip - kinda glad now, though, that Harry insisted on purchasing extra magical supplies and stuff. He tapped it with his wand and ended the shrinking enchantment, leaving him with a decent sized cauldron - one large enough to wear as a hat if he wanted to look particularly silly. Hope it's not just wishful thinking - kinda hoping that Gollum can find something edible out there.

He allowed himself to doze slightly, but would not permit himself to go too deep. Finally, once the sun had risen above the horizon about two hours worth, Smeagol returned carrying three rabbits. "Brilliant!" Ron whispered at him. "That's perfect!" He took two of them and placed them in his cauldron, then added some water from his water skin. Crossing his fingers, he got a strong image of the stew he was after in his head and pronounced the charm. A moment later, he was smelling a rabbit stew worthy of his mother. I hope. Need to taste it first. He speared a small potato chunk with the fork in his travelling gear, and carefully bit into it.

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He carefully shook Harry awake. “Harry, I think you need to eat something.”

“Not more lembas, please - not right now,” Harry grumbled, then tried to roll back over to sleep.

“How about a rabbit stew that even my Mum might like?” Ron asked with a grin.

Harry sat up and looked at Ron, and then at the gold cauldron. “Where did you get a rabbit stew from?” Harry asked him incredulously. He took a bite of meat and then closed his eyes and smiled. “If your Mum showed up, why didn't she stick around?”

“I'll take that as a compliment on my ability to cast a proper food preparation spell, then,” Ron laughed. “I asked Smeagol to see about catching us some food. He brought back three rabbits. Two of them are in there. When I realized that it would probably do for us both, I asked him if he wanted me to do something similar with his rabbit, but he just shook his head. Can't say as I'm a big fan of raw meat, but he is. To each his own, I guess.” They both looked over as Harry cheerfully munched to see the creature finishing off the last of his rabbit.

When Harry had eaten a bit more than half of it, he set it down, rather sated. “Done then?” Ron asked, and getting the nod from Harry, murmured, “My turn,” and rapidly finished the remainder of the stew in record time.

“Why didn't you eat first?” Harry asked, a little indignantly.

“Because you need to eat for your strength more than I do for mine. You've seen me; I could eat that whole thing, if given half a chance. You're the one carrying the thing, though, and you need your strength to do that.” He looked into the cauldron, shrugged, and drank the last few drops of remaining broth. The two of them headed down to the lake again to wash up and clean the cauldron, while Gollum disappeared to do whatever it was that he did when he disappeared.

As they headed back up the hill toward their camp, they heard voices. “I know that I heard something in this direction,” said a man's voice.

“Let us be very careful, then. Perhaps we can find whatever it is we saw skulking earlier.”

Ron and Harry drew both their Ollivander's and mithril wands as they carefully headed back up the hill, being as silent as possible. It was to no avail; suddenly, four men appeared, surrounding them, two bearing spears, and the other two bows with great quivers of long. green-feathered arrows. All four had swords at their sides, and all looked ready to use these weapons.