The Mystery of the 🦅Eagles

[whitelighter]

Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

setting: after the Council of Elrond, the hobbits hold a council of their own in Bilbo's room. It's anyone's guess what all they discussed…

bold = borrowed from The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Ch. 3: 'The Ring Goes South'

Chapter 1

Bilbo sat at his desk, looking thoughtfully out his bedroom window. It was a cool, clear autumn evening. Perfect weather to go exploring, he thought. He wished that he was the one going on the adventure, and that Frodo could stay right here in the House of Elrond, where it was nice and safe. But the Council had decided otherwise. "Books ought to have good endings," he said. "How would this do: and they all settled down and lived together happily ever after'?

'It will do well, if it ever comes to that,' said Frodo.

'Ah!' said Sam. 'And where will they live? That's what I often wonder.' He was quiet for a moment. Mr. Frodo, he said presently, "there?s somethin' that?s been puzzlin' me. Ever since the Council. Wish I'd thought to ask old Gandalf just now."

"What is it, Sam?" asked Frodo.

"Well, in the Council, Mr. Gandalf was telling us--I mean you--about how the Eagle rescued him and all. Well, I've been thinking. Why couldn?t this lord of the Eagles - Gwahir, isn't that his name?"

"Yes, Gwahir the Windlord," answered Frodo.

"Well, why couldn't Gwahir, or one of his Eagle warriors, just fly you to Mt. Doom? Seems like it'd save us quite a step.

The others looked at Sam. The thought hadn?t occurred to any of them. For a moment, Frodo's heart leapt at the thought that the journey that lay ahead might not be so dismal. But only for a moment. "Sam," he said, his voice sinking back to reality, give the Wise a little credit. I am sure they thought of that. If it were possible, don't you think they would've discussed it in the Council?"

"Well, I reckon so," said Sam. "But it's gonna to keep buggin' me till I figure it out. There was another short silence. Then Sam slapped his forehead. "Samwise, you fool!" he said. "The orcs would shoot the Eagle down in a minute. That'd leave us in a pickle, to say the least."

"Sam, my lad," said Bilbo. "Don't you remember the tale I told you about me and the Dwarves being saved from the Wargs by the Eagles? Surely you remember how high Eagles can fly?" He cringed at the memory of clinging to the Eagle's back watching the land pass by him far below. "No orc can shoot that high."

"Oh, right," laughed Sam, feeling foolish. "I ought to have remembered that. Begging your pardon, Mr. Bilbo."

"But in any event, Eagles don't like to be told what to do," Bilbo continued. "They only help when they see fit. Eagles are on no one's side but their own. They care little about what goes on down here with us land dwellers."

"But if they were willing to do as Radagast asked," said Merry, chiming in, "and do Gandalf a favor every now and then, it seems they'd be glad to help us with this one task if Gandalf deemed it so important, regardless of whose side they were on. It wouldn't hurt to ask."

"And how do you propose to do that?" asked Pippin, piping up for the first time. "Their eyries are high up on the other side of the mountains and they seldom come down except for food. If one should happen to fly above us are we to just hail it down somehow?"

"Well…” said Merry. "I hadn't thought of that." Now Merry was the one who felt foolish. "Maybe Gandalf could shoot up some flares with his wand. One of the Eagles is certain to notice."

"Merry, my dear lad," said Bilbo, "You're forgetting what Pippin just said. We're on the wrong side of the mountains. The Eagles' eyries are on the east side. The Dwarves and I were just lucky that the glade where we got chased into the trees by the Wargs happened to be right below one." Bilbo shook his head and sighed. "You two really should listen more closely next time I tell a tale," he said, frowning at Sam and Merry. "You might learn a thing or two."

To be continued...

 

[whitelighter]

Chapter 2

"Perhaps Gandalf or Elrond can summon the Eagles," Merry suggested.

"I know Gandalf cannot,? said Frodo. ?If he could, he would have summoned one when Saruman first took him captive."

"Saruman took Gandalf captive??" asked Pippin.

"When was this?" Merry quickly added.

"Never mind about that right now," said Frodo. "But, no, I'm afraid Gandalf cannot summon the Eagles. I am not certain about Elrond, but if Gandalf cannot, I doubt Elrond can either. Radagast the Brown is the only one I know for certain has that power. He?s one of Gandalf?s order, and has some sort of bond with animals and birds. But at any rate, I don?t think anyone knows where he is--somewhere back east, I expect."

?Well," said Sam, ?that there?s your answer, I guess. We wouldn?t have no way of getting word to them, nohow."

"No," said Bilbo. ?Surely Gandalf and Elrond could send someone to look for Radagast. And the Beornings can talk to birds and animals... we could ask them to send a bird with a message for the Eagles. Or how about the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain? They talk to the Ravens (or they used to), who could likewise be trusty messengers."

?Sam did have a point a while ago, though." said Merry. "Even if an Eagle cannot be shot down by orcs, in the sky it is sure to attract attention, giant as it is. No doubt Sauron would spot it, given the time it would take the Eagle to fly Frodo from Rivendell to Mordor. A giant Eagle heading straight toward Mordor might even give away the plan to destroy the Ring."

There was a heavy silence in the air.?Of course," Merry continued, "I don't see why we couldn?t meet the Eagles just outside the mountains that surround Mordor. One of them could fly Frodo to Mt. Doom from there. I doubt Sauron looks over his own land often if it?s protected by mountains. Sam's idea might not be so crazy, after all."

"And he would have far less time to spot us if an Eagle flew me to Mt. Doom than if I walked," Frodo agreed.

?Exactly how long would it take the Eagle to fly that distance?? asked Pippin.

?Well, let me see now,? said Merry. ?There are two different mountain chains: the Ered Lithui, or Ash Mountains, to the north, and the Ephel Duath, or Mountains of Shadow, to the west.? He had been reading up on geography during his stay at Rivendell. ?The Dark Tower stands between the Ered Lithui and Mt. Doom, so I doubt we?d want to use that route. We?d do best to start out from the Ephel Duath. They lie about a hundred miles west of Mt. Doom, I?d judge."

?Why, I should think an Eagle could make that journey in just over an hour,? said Bilbo.

?And how long would it take travel the same distance on foot?? Sam asked.

?Well, the Gorgoroth Plateau lies between the Ephel Duath and Mt. Doom," said Merry. ?The land is probably very rugged, which would make travelling slow. It would take several days to walk across, I fear. And on the ground, there would be no escape from orcs, whereas an Eagle could most likely carry Frodo to Mt. Doom unhindered."

"This notion of walking that whole way is starting to seem plain silly to me," muttered Sam.

To be continued...