CHAPTER 10: THE CHOICES OF MASTER SAMWISE

Sam charges Shelob as she drags bound Frodo away, seizing Frodo’s fallen blade. He maims her foot, stabs one eye, and with a desperate thrust lets her impale herself on Sting. Reeling in stench and terror, Sam invokes Elbereth, raises Galadriel’s Phial, and the holy light burns Shelob’s eyes, driving her to flee into her lair.

Sam returns to Frodo, cuts the cords, and finds no breath or heartbeat. Convinced Frodo is dead, he grieves, debates vengeance or despair, and resolves to see the Quest through. He lays Frodo out with care, takes the Ring and Sting, and sets off alone toward the Cleft of Cirith Ungol.

Orc-companies converge; to avoid capture Sam puts on the Ring. Hearing sharpened, he eavesdrops on leaders Gorbag and Shagrat. Orcs discover Frodo’s body and carry it toward their tower. Sam abandons the plan to go on alone and races back to his master.

Pursuing into the tunnels, Sam overhears Gorbag and Shagrat reveal crucial facts: Shelob’s sting leaves victims alive; Frodo will wake, and he is to be kept intact for Barad-dûr. Realizing Frodo lives, Sam forces a way past a stone door and follows the Orcs toward the tower entrance.

Sam reaches the great doors as the Orcs, singing and clamoring, bear Frodo inside. He cries out and brandishes Sting, but the iron bars fall and the gate slams shut. Sam collapses outside in the dark, knowing Frodo is alive yet captive within Cirith Ungol.