Reviews (317)

Author's reply

It was easier for me to write about Sam being struck when it wasn’t from Sam’s POV and it wasn’t visible. I didn’t see any need to get into detailed descriptions of pain, which wasn’t meant to be too terrible anyway. But that does mean that the reader is left to fill in the blanks, and most people – like Legolas – will imagine the worst. The Fellowship will appear very soon. I haven’t had anything much to say about them lately; any chapter from, say, Pippin’s POV would have been mostly like this: “What was left of the Fellowship had been searching for two days with nary a trace of Sam or Legolas to be found. Pippin was depressed.” Heh.

Author's reply

Thanks, harrowcat. :-) I will do my best not to make the wait too long, but I’ve got a few decisions about story flow to make before the next chapter is posted. They’re not plot decisions – I’ve had the story outlined from beginning to end for a while now – but I’ve got to figure out what the best way to do things is. And thank you for the great compliment!

Author's reply

Sam is most definitely not without resources. Garan may be feeling cautious of Legolas, who is certainly reaching a point of reckoning, but he hasn’t considered that Sam could reach that point as well, or how dangerous he might be if he did. I take it that Aragorn is Bunkie?

Author's reply

Thanks, Frolicker, and welcome! I’m glad you like the developing friendship between Sam and Legolas. That bond has been a very great pleasure for me to write. It’s been so lovely to see these two characters, who are so different from each other in so many ways, get to know each other and find common ground between them.

Author's reply

Yours was not the only AAAAUUUUGGGGHHH! that I got for a review. And you gave me a few. :-) I’ll update as soon as I can – but as I mentioned in another response, I’m dithering over whose POV the next chapter will be from. It might be from Sam’s POV, but it might be from Gimli’s. I think I’m leaning towards Sam, but it’s hard to say. I will have to think about it over the Thanksgiving holiday. Anyway, thanks for the great review! The next chapter will be up when it’s up – sometimes they take longer than I would like – but regardless of when it appears, I hope you like it.

Author's reply

Yes… no surprises this time when Sam is struck again, but it seems all the worse because you know it’s coming. It’s hard for Legolas, who sees his role as one of protector, to see this happen to Sam and not be able to do anything about it. I would like nothing better than to unleash him on Garan.

Author's reply

Nice to see you again, Auntiemeesh. :-) The next chapter may take a little longer for a few reasons – one being the fact that life is busy right now, another being the Thanksgiving holiday, and the last being that I am waffling on what to do with the next chapter. I haven’t yet decided whether it will be from the Fellowship’s POV (Gimli is up next, I think) or from Sam’s. Anyway, you’re right to think that something will happen soon; Legolas is certainly ready to act. Hopefully there will be more than one more dawn for him.

Author's reply

Thanks, Robinscat! Sam and Legolas are fast becoming favorites of mine; I feel that I’ve gotten much more familiar with them during the course of this story. I’m so glad you’re enjoying it and that you took the time to tell me so.

Author's reply

Oh, I’m glad you think that the bad guys really are bad. That was one of the main reasons that Sam had to get hit (although I hated doing it) – he couldn’t be all talk and no action. He wouldn’t be a real villain, and he wouldn’t be convincing. The protagonists truly are in mortal danger and I want readers to believe it.

Author's reply

I don’t want to say too much about your guess at what made Sam gasp, but you’re certainly very clever. No one else seemed to think what you thought. Anyway, thanks for your continued, lovely comments; I look forward to them with every posting. And I can’t wait until Our Heroes come busting out of that corner they’re in.

Author's reply

This chapter actually underwent a major revision when I realized that I had done things out of order. At first Garan let into Sam as soon as camp was set, and then tied him back together with Legolas, but then I changed my mind and let Garan take Dorlic’s advice (to keep them separated). Garan still thinks he’s got them twined around his little finger, but he wouldn’t tempt fate, not when Legolas is as angry as Dorlic says. He doesn’t care if Sam and Legolas talk before he strikes Sam because he thinks that all they have to talk about is escaping, which he doesn’t think they can manage. He doesn’t know that Sam overheard him talking to Dorlic about Saruman and his interest in orcs; if he did, he would never have let Sam and Legolas speak to each other again, because you’re right – the news really has pushed Legolas to a dangerous point.

Author's reply

Thanks, SurgicalSteel. A cliffhanger, yes, but things are coming to a point now. Not much longer at all before the storm breaks.

Author's reply

Interesting guess about Garan! Although a part of me would love to tell you whether you’re right or wrong, I’ll have to let time – and the next chapter – reveal the answer. Very astute observations about Legolas, too. He’s going to have to surmount his fears for Sam and do something; if he does nothing, then Garan will win by default. Garan may know more from simply walking beside Sam than Sam believes, but I’ll just go ahead and say that at this point, Garan does not care whether Sam wants to talk to Legolas or not. He’ll even let them talk to each other, because he thinks that all they have to talk about is how they’re going to escape, and he doesn’t think that they can or will. Garan feels very secure in the knowledge that he has got the tricks Saruman has taught him – whatever they are – up his sleeve, and he intends to use them. He doesn’t know that Sam overheard his conversation with Dorlic. If he did, he would not want Sam to be able to tell Legolas. Once Legolas knows that Saruman is involved and that he has taught Garan a thing or two, it will spur him toward action.

Author's reply

I hadn’t actually considered writing Sam’s song, but now that you mention it, that might be fun to do. I don’t think that Sam thinks of himself as invaluable; he simply sees great qualities in his fellows and spends more time thinking about them than himself. I didn’t want to give the impression that Sam goes around bemoaning his lack of importance. Really, he is being practical; I think it makes sense for him to believe that Frodo would more likely need a fighter than a friend in Mordor. He’s wrong, but he’s not illogical. Myself, I don’t have too much concern for Legolas’ cut or the fact that he fell asleep quickly. His wound will be looking better by the day, since he’s not having to take long, awkward steps on see-sawing rocks or climb up cliffs anymore. It’s meant to be more of a handicap than a real danger to him. As for falling asleep, well, you’re not the first person to point out that he didn’t take the time to try and get out of his bonds. That’s a gaffe on my part. Logically, he would have done that. I had meant to say something about Legolas at least fumbling at the knots and being unable to undo them and forgot to put it in. I’ve mentioned this in another response, but in the next chapter Sam has a line about the knots and how easily Garan undid them. Oh, well. If that’s the biggest mistake I make, I’ll be happy. Yes! The “little tricks” comment was meant to be significant. Sam doesn’t know what that meant, but he knew enough to be wary. And you are right about Legolas starting to understand that Garan won’t show any mercy. He hasn’t wanted to try and fight yet for fear of reprisals against Sam, but he’s going to have to do something sometime. If he doesn’t even try, then Garan will have his way. Inaction would surely be worse than action. And I’ll get back to the rest of the Fellowship soon. They’re very close by now, but I don’t want to give away whether they know what has happened to Sam and Legolas yet. (As for ‘winkling’, I believe I must have gotten that from the 1990s film version of Sense and Sensibility. It is wonderfully British and colloquial, and that means that I probably should have had Sam say it instead of Legolas!)

Author's reply

You’re dead on about how Sam and Legolas see each other; neither wants to see the other being harmed, and for that they are each willing to bear the other’s sorrows. Legolas seems to understand that Garan will use them against each other because of this, but ridding Garan of that power would mean that one of them would have to be willing to let the other be hurt. That’s not an easy thing to do. And yes, I think that Frodo would be exactly what Sam would be thinking of in a situation like this. He wants to get free, yes, but if escaping means that Frodo is found, it can’t be done. His selflessness is admirable, and he doesn’t even recognize the trait in himself. But if he did, how could he truly be selfless? Ah! I think you may have missed a crucial word in the sentence where Sam thinks about his role in the Fellowship, that word being ‘hardly’. Here it is again: “Sam hardly thought of his own role in the Fellowship as unimportant; Frodo needed daily looking after, especially with that Ring around his neck.” I was afraid that this would be misread by somebody; I considered changing the sentence many times, but I couldn’t get it to come out right. What I was trying to say was that while Sam does think of himself as important to the Quest, he also thinks that Legolas is more important than he is. He’s definitely wrong about that, but I his thoughts aren’t illogical. He’s right to wonder how Frodo is going to get through Mordor. Well, GamgeeFest, you’ve gotten through all the chapters and pretty much reviewed them all. For that, I thank you. It’s not everyone who takes the time to review each chapter they read, especially when they’re behind and there are five more waiting to be looked at!

Author's reply

It was very bad luck for Sam and Legolas that Garan happened to look over at them. So close and yet so far! As for the Fellowship seeing Paet’s body in the river, it won’t happen unless it gets caught on something and they have already walked by Sam and Legolas’ current position. Sam and Legolas are downstream of the Fellowship and are heading upstream, so the body will float away from them – and away from the Fellowship, too. Aragorn will have to look for a different sign, I suppose, and the sooner he finds it, the better. I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

Author's reply

Yes – Sam thinks so much of Legolas that he doesn’t want to appear weak in front of him; he’s afraid that Legolas will somehow think less of him. The two of them don’t quite see each other as equals at this point, not yet. Sam still sees Legolas as an Elf more than an individual, and Legolas, who has spent his whole life trusting to the strength of the Elves to hold back the shadow in Mirkwood, has not yet learned of the strength that hobbits possess. He’s heard of it, but seeing is believing. Legolas means to do well by Sam, but he did something in the crevice that he would not do at the end of this story, and that was wiping Sam’s tears away. It’s a gentle action and was kindly meant, but just as it shows their growing friendship, it also shows that Legolas feels the need to safeguard Sam’s heart as well as his person (at this point, at least). The action made Sam blush; it did embarrass him, although that was not what Legolas had intended to do. Eventually Legolas will come to fully respect Sam even though he is small, mortal, and untrained as a warrior. Sam is so different from everything that Legolas has ever known that it must take him some time to fully comprehend him. Likewise, Sam must eventually come to see Legolas not in a nebulous, awe-struck haze but as a single person with his own thoughts and feelings.

Author's reply

Thanks, Jeodo, and welcome! Oh, I’m glad you like Sam’s and Legolas’ characterizations. I think that the main problem I see with Legolas is that he is often made to be too perfect. Simply giving him faults doesn’t work, either; he’s got to have reasons to do what he does and think what he thinks. As for Sam, he was a real challenge at the beginning. (I know I’ve mentioned this to other reviewers.) He’s gotten easier as I’ve gone on; I suppose I’ve become more familiar with him. I’m glad you singled out his thoughts about Merry and Pippin taking care of Frodo. I thought that was very Sammish, myself.

Author's reply

It’s so much easier for everyone to talk and think about leaving Sam and Legolas behind than to actually do it. If they knew what had happened to them, they probably could not say what they are saying now – even Gandalf. (I know this is a review for chapter 5, but you’ve reviewed all the way through chapter 8 by now, so I can say it without giving anything away.) I think that Gandalf would probably make the decision to follow the greater good anyway, but not without making a great personal sacrifice. Having to do that sort of thing would scar him and everyone else in the Fellowship forever. Ah, Merry and Pippin – ever optimistic. Aragorn’s thoughts on what the Men were doing in the gorge had to seem like the worst possible scenario to them, but wishing for something to be so doesn’t make it happen. As for Legolas and Gimli, their friendship was always one of my very favorite things about The Lord of the Rings, and I wish that Tolkien had spilled more ink over it. I love that such a deep commitment grew where there was once only the deepest distrust.

Author's reply

It’s great to hear from you again, Lamiel! Thank you again; I’m so glad that you still think so highly of the story. It surely is not over yet, although I don’t know how long everyone is expecting it to be. Sam/Legolas and the rest of the Fellowship are walking toward each other and have been doing so for three days; both have been going slowly out of necessity, or they would have passed each other by now. They are now very close together. At this point I would say that we are at least halfway into the story. Garan doesn’t believe Sam’s story, but in the end it may not really matter. Garan is the sort who would enjoy breaking someone just for the challenge or fun of it, and he is suspicious enough that he wouldn’t believe the truth if he heard it. (Sam would be a fool to tell it, though. Garan hasn’t been told why Saruman is interested in hobbits, but if he heard of a Ring of Power…!) As for Saruman, I think we can all agree that he thinks far too much of himself. I think that the Men beneath Garan’s command can see this better than Garan can himself; Garan has gotten a taste for power, and he’s making some of Saruman’s own mistakes. Legolas is right in singling out overconfidence as one of Garan’s particular weaknesses. Now, if he could only find a way to exploit it! I’m glad you thought that the scene where Sam finds himself struck was effective. I thought it was important to show that Garan means business. It gave me no joy to write it, but it wasn’t too bad, either. I find that I am unwilling to delve too deeply into descriptions of either pain or of pain being caused. Encountering/dealing with/surviving physical pain isn’t the point of this story anyway. I think that Sam being struck suddenly on the side of his head – hard enough to knock him down – would be more bewildering and frightening for him than painful. But Garan isn’t finished, and rescue hasn’t come yet. Someone is going to feel Garan’s anger again, and it will have to be worse. (The reasons are obvious if one puts oneself into Garan’s head.) But I’m still avoiding most descriptions of any unpleasantness that the person on the receiving end will feel by having it seen through another’s eyes. Legolas has some decisions to make, and he starts making them in the next chapter. Thus far he’s been unwilling to risk trying to fight outright for fear of retribution against Sam. (Yes, Garan has been very successful in playing his prisoners off of one another!) But by now Legolas has to know that in Garan’s eyes, Sam is the more important of the two of them. Whatever Legolas did, Garan would not kill Sam, although he could certainly torment him. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but Legolas is not afraid of dying if his death comes at the right price. At the same time, though, he wouldn’t be able to sit by and watch if Garan decided to really hurt Sam. The rest of the Fellowship will make an appearance soon. If they’re not in chapter 10, they’ll be in chapter 11, and then everyone will know what they’ve been doing and what, if anything, they’ve seen. Personally, I can’t wait to get there. The suspense is killing me, and I know what’s going to happen!

Author's reply

I’m sorry I had to do it, and alas, the danger is not yet behind us. As I’ve mentioned in other responses to reviews, Garan can’t be all talk and no action even though it pains me to see harm done to Sam. Nothing will happen to him that he can’t mentally cope with, though. As I’ve said time and again, this won’t be a torture story. Hopefully that will help everyone take heart. And the Fellowship could sure use that map that you mentioned. Why are they dithering, anyway? Who’s writing this story?!?

Author's reply

Poor everybody! I could almost feel sorry for Garan when the rest of the Fellowship finds out that he exists and what he is doing, but not quite. He’s evil, after all, and deserves whatever is coming to him. He was fool enough to work for Saruman, after all. I will do my best to keep things rolling along. I always like to have at least a big chunk of the next chapter written before I publish one. It helps me to avoid making mistakes or writing myself into a corner.

Author's reply

Thank you, Dreamflower. It’s been a pleasure for me to see Sam and Legolas behaving as peers as well. Sam is starting to admire Legolas more for who he is rather than what he is, and Legolas has begun to admire qualities in Sam that he had not thought to find there. They are both perfectly capable of plotting their defenses and escape. I love your “Classic Bad Guy Mistakes”; they made me laugh out loud. You are dead on about Garan making #3, and he is most certainly making #1 and #2 as well! One reason Gandalf is so different from Saruman is that he’s been able to avoid all three. Your thoughts on Garan are interesting. I don’t want to tell you whether you’re right or wrong, but I’m glad you’re thinking about it. And you’re the second reviewer to mention a “cleft stick”, though for a different reason. (The first reviewer was referring to Sam and what would happen to him if he changed/did not change his story.) Not too many people other than yourself have referenced the fact that Sam and Legolas are hamstrung by the unwillingness of each to risk harm to the other. Legolas muses on this very subject in the next chapter.

Author's reply

Yes, yes – Garan and his Men are seriously underestimating Sam! You’re right to think that that is important, because it is. Whacking Sam and using Legolas are definitely not good, but they’re tactics that have served Garan well enough so far. Your words about Sam being in a cleft stick almost sound like they came from my own writing. If he changes his story, Garan will think he is cracking and increase the pressure. If he doesn’t change is story, Garan will think that ‘the truth’ needs to be dragged out of him and will increase the pressure. Aragorn is certainly a Super-Ranger, and Gandalf’s skills could come in handy, but you’ve touched on another important point regarding Frodo’s safety. I’ve already established Gandalf’s opinions on the relative importance of Sam and Legolas against Frodo and the Quest. However, it might be difficult for Gandalf to doom Sam and Legolas to pain and death if he were truly faced with making the choice. (If he never finds them, then he never has to make it.) He cares for them, after all, and especially for Sam. Sam is of such a gentle disposition; no one deserves such a fate less than he does.

Author's reply

Hmm. I wouldn’t call Garan psychotic; that implies that he has a mental condition or is dissociated with reality in some way, which would partially let him off the hook as far as his responsibility for his actions is concerned. You were correct in your own assessment – Garan is strictly evil and knows exactly what he is doing. And I agree with your statement that Sam is valiant. That is a term that most people would reserve for the fighters: Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, and Legolas. In my mind, Sam is like Gandalf. As you said (regarding Sam), he knows what he has to do and he does it. That is just what Gandalf does. Bravery doesn’t even seem to enter into it where Gandalf is concerned; he has a task to do and he does what he must to see it through. His is a quiet sort of valor, the kind that only really shines out at a crucial moment when the pressure is great. The Balrog comes to mind. Gandalf the Grey spends much of his time leading and being wise, not behaving ‘valiantly’. (Gandalf the White is somewhat different. Not totally different, but somewhat.) Anyway, I think that Sam is similar. He has valor, but he doesn’t spend a great deal of time showing it, and therefore ‘valiant’ is not the first word that comes to mind when Sam is thought of.