bookbashuk Chapter 381 The Fellowship of the Ring
Chapter 381 The Fellowship of the Ring
Chapter 381 The Fellowship of the Ring
Upon hearing Glorfindel's words, most of the people present showed expressions of hope.
If the One Ring could be sent to Valinor in the west and placed in the hands of the Valar, they could eliminate Sauron completely without starting a war, at minimal cost.
Immediately, everyone's attention fell on Gardo, the secretary of the shipbuilder Cildan.
"Secretary Gardo, when will Lord Cildan return from the West?" someone asked Gardo.
This time, Cildan did not attend the meeting in person, but sent his secretary instead. This was because Cildan was once again in charge of transporting a group of elves westward, so he did not have time to attend.
Facing the expectant gazes of the crowd, Gardor replied, "According to the usual schedule, Lord Cildan will return to Grey Harbor around early spring next year, along with the rainy season brought by the westerly winds."
Hearing this answer gave everyone even more confidence.
Prince Theojed of Rohan said happily, "There is plenty of time. We only need to wait another six months or so until Lord Cildan's ships return to the Grey Haven, and then we can transport the Ring to the Blessed Lands in the west."
Then the Dark Lord will never be able to obtain the One Ring again. In fact, once the Valar of the West destroy the Ring, the Dark Lord will vanish completely, and Middle-earth will enjoy lasting peace!
Most others shared the same thought; after all, why wouldn't they want to eliminate Sauron at the lowest possible cost?
Only Elrond frowned, his face showing concern: "But this method has one major problem: how to safely transport the Ring to Valinor?"
He warned the crowd, "Don't forget the danger of the Ring! It can tempt anyone who comes into close contact with it, and the voyage to Valinor will take at least several months. During that long, everyone on board will be with the Ring, and it's hard to guarantee that they won't be tempted. Whether we'll even reach Valinor safely is uncertain!"
Upon hearing Elrond's words, everyone calmed down and frowned.
They had just come up with a good way to deal with the One Ring when they encountered an intractable problem.
They had just experienced firsthand the allure of the Ring.
In just a short while, they were almost tempted by the Ring. They both felt it would be too difficult to travel at sea with the Ring for several months!
"Is sending the One Ring to Mount Doom the only option?" someone sighed.
Sending the One Ring to Mount Doom was an incredibly difficult task, and few had much confidence in doing so.
After all, one wrong move could lead to him walking into a trap and sending the Ring back to Sauron.
Instead, sending them to Valinor in the west would be safer. The only problem is how to ensure that the people on board are not tempted by the Ring during the months-long voyage.
Seeing the somewhat somber atmosphere, Gandalf and Duy exchanged a glance, then Duy nodded slightly and stood up: "Gentlemen!"
Everyone present turned to look at him.
"Actually, it's not impossible to ensure the One Ring is safely delivered to Valinor," Dui said. "As you all saw just now, the One Ring's influence is greatly reduced after being soaked in the venom, and with the box's seal, the One Ring's danger is also greatly reduced."
Furthermore, I possess a spell called Occlumency, which can resist mental attacks. When Lord Cildan returns to Grey Harbor, he can select some determined elven sailors to learn my Occlumency.
In this way, as long as they do not touch the Ring at close range, they will be able to resist its temptation and safely deliver it to Valinor.
As for who will carry the One Ring, I still recommend Frodo Baggins as the Ringbearer, so that he can take the Ring with him on the westward voyage and successfully deliver it to the Valar. What do you think?
Upon hearing this, everyone was moved.
"But only elves are qualified to go to Valinor. Can halflings do it?" someone asked again.
Duy looked at Gandalf, who stood up and said, "This is not a problem. Frodo is only escorting the Ring to Valinor, not settling there. He will return by ship after the mission is complete."
Gandalf was highly respected, and since he said so, no one else doubted it.
Instead, they began to have a heated discussion about the specifics of escorting the One Ring across the sea.
Everyone felt that once Soren realized their intentions, he would definitely do everything in his power to stop the destruction.
Especially during the six months or so before Kildan returned to the Grey Harbor, it was the most crucial time.
Sauron will likely launch a full-scale attack on the western lands, perhaps even personally, in order to reclaim the One Ring.
Even if we survive for the better part of half a year and wait for Kildan to return.
The journey to transport the One Ring across the sea to the west was fraught with danger.
Sauron's forces include pirates and others who will keep a close eye on the western coast and shipping lanes. The westward route may seem safe, but in reality, it is fraught with obstacles and could easily lead to the theft of the One Ring.
While discussing the escort of the Ring, the group, at Gandalf's suggestion and with the support of Duy, Elrond, Galadriel, and others, selected members to form the Fellowship of the Ring.
The Fellowship of the Ring, with Frodo at its core, worked together to protect the Ring and escort it westward to Valinor.
After all, the journey would inevitably be turbulent, and they might very well encounter obstacles from the forces of Sauron.
Of course, this is just the surface story; it's a smokescreen deliberately put out by Gandalf, Duy, Elrond, Galadriel, and Glorfindel to mislead Sauron.
That's why Glorfindel proposed sending the One Ring to the West, and then Duy, Gandalf, and Elrond worked together, one after the other, to tell the rest of the story.
Otherwise, Duy and Gandalf never considered sending the Ring to Valinor.
Because Gandalf said that the Valar were unwilling to directly interfere in the affairs of Middle-earth, and even Gandalf and the other Maiar had their powers restricted when they left Valinor, their souls trapped in mortal bodies, and were not allowed to use their great power to dominate the situation in Middle-earth.
The evil that arose in Middle-earth during The Lord of the Rings should be dealt with by the inhabitants of Middle-earth themselves, so that they can truly control their own destiny and peace.
So even if Duy and his companions wanted to send the Ring to Valinor, the Valar would likely refuse.
The opportunity to escort the One Ring, a mission of great importance, and to travel to the blessed land of Valinor, made many eager to join the expedition.
Finally, in the spirit of uniting all ethnic groups, nine members of the expedition team were selected.
Aragorn, representing the Valley and the descendants of the King of Men; Boromir, representing Gondor; Legolas, representing the Elves; Gimli, representing the Dwarves; and Frodo, the Ringbearer at the heart of the group.
As for the hobbits Sam, Merry, and Pippin, they joined the group after their strong request and at Frodo's insistence.
Finally, there was Gandalf, who, as the leader of the Fellowship of the Ring, was responsible for guiding the expedition's actions.
As for Gandalf's original intention to invite Duy to join the expedition, Duy refused.
He needs to be stationed at Hogwarts, coordinate forces, coordinate with the Valley of the Fallen, Lorien, Gondor, Rohan, the Grey Harbor, and others to confront the forces of Mordor head-on.
Especially after releasing a smokescreen, saying they would send the One Ring to Valinor, the Grey Harbor, which was originally a strong rear base, was destined to become a focal point of firepower.
To prevent and sabotage the delivery of the One Ring to the West, Mordor will certainly concentrate its forces to attack the Grey Harbor by land and sea.
The Mordor army, wanting to attack the westernmost Grey Harbor by land, was destined to have to bypass Dui's territory, so a major battle was inevitable in the end.
It's even quite possible that Sauron himself will appear on the battlefield.
After all, Sauron has now obtained the power of Morgoth, the Lord of Darkness, which has greatly increased his strength, and he may even have gained a physical form.
Therefore, when the war breaks out, it is destined to be another difficult battle, which may affect the entire Central Continent!