AVALANCHE

Chapter 10 --- The Guardians

In just the few minutes it took the Company to grab gear and packs, Aragorn could feel the temperature starting to drop. The wind was beginning to blow quite strongly, its icy fingers already creeping within even the thickest cloak. Although it was just mid-morning, the sky had grown dark, clouds heavy with snow.

Aragorn grabbed every blanket he could reach. Frodo was shaking with cold, and the Ranger was struck with a sudden fear that he would not survive this. Hypothermia in his already-weakened state could very well be more than he could endure. Sam, Pippin, and Merry, ignoring the wind, had moved to help him, but Aragorn stopped them.

"Lie down next to Frodo, quickly. Merry, you as well." He pulled Frodo's blankets away for a moment while Pippin threw himself down on Frodo's right and wrapped himself around his cousin. Sam lay on Frodo's left, and Merry lay down next to Sam. "Hold onto each other, but be careful of Frodo's wrist. He needs you to help keep him warm." Aragorn covered all four of them with Frodo's blankets, then heaped more on top of them. He had to tuck the blankets underneath Pippin and Merry to keep the wind from blowing them away.

Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli finished piling all the gear next to the wall and seated themselves next to Aragorn, keeping their backs to the wind and the hobbits in front of them, shielding them as best they could. Everyone had raised their hoods and was holding their cloaks tightly about them.

"I understand now why this ledge is clear of snow," observed Gimli grimly. The thick snow was now blowing almost horizontally. "In a storm such as this, something about the shape of this rock wall and overhang funnels the wind directly through it."

Aragorn looked up as Gandalf sat down on his right. "You said no fire unless it was life and death, Gandalf, but I doubt we could even keep one going in this wind." He lowered his voice. "Frodo was only able to stay conscious for a brief time as it was. If his body temperature drops too far and we cannot warm him, he may be too weak to regain consciousness at all." He shook his head in frustration.

"Do not despair yet, my friend," said the wizard. "Frodo's strength is perhaps greater than any of us know. He will fight." He raised his staff. "And we will fight for him."

Gandalf held the staff out in front of him, and positioned it so that the tip was suspended midway between the seated companions and the mound of hobbits. He began to chant, words pouring forth in an almost inaudible whisper. Aragorn could make out nothing except for the word "Anor", but beside him, Legolas gasped and bowed his head.

The tip of the staff began to glow, shining with a gentle light. Slowly the radiance grew brighter until it was burning with a fierce incandescence almost too bright to look upon. Heat began to radiate outward from the staff until all who felt it could close their eyes and well imagine sitting in front of a well-tended campfire. It was almost as if the sun itself had fallen into their midst.

"At night," said Gandalf, "This would be too great a risk; but in daylight, such as it is, especially in such weather, we can hope to go unnoticed. It is unlikely any spies of the Enemy are aloft or about in such a storm."

Pippin was the first of the hobbits to poke his head out of the blankets and gaze about in amazement. Merry and Sam soon followed, and indeed everyone was astonished. The icy wind continued to blow, but the small area in which the Company huddled was bathed in relative warmth. Bill had edged closer to the seated companions, as delighted as the rest of the Company to be feeling warmer.

Once Aragorn shook off his initial surprise, he lost no time. "We need to bring all the water bottles here, as well as some of the food. Fill all the pots and basins with snow and bring them here as well. We must take advantage of the heat while we have it." Everyone moved quickly to help, except for Pippin and Sam who would not leave Frodo. Aragorn turned to Gandalf. "Thank you," he said, "How long can you do this?"

"Even in the daylight this is a risk," said the wizard, "but if Frodo needs warmth, he shall have it."

Aragorn knelt quickly to check on Frodo, who lay pale and unmoving except for the chills that still shook him despite the worried hobbits holding him between them. The heat from Gandalf's staff was strong and steady. "Soon I hope to get a warmed drink into him, but right now just hold him close." Aragorn rearranged the blankets so Frodo was still well covered, and Pippin and Sam entwined themselves even more determinedly around him.

Sam was growing more concerned about Frodo by the minute, and he found himself regarding Gandalf a bit critically. "That staff is truly a wonder, sir," he said. "But meaning no disrespect, why haven't you done this before? I mean, we've been on this mountain for days."

Glancing around, Gandalf could see that Sam wasn't the only one with that question in his mind. He thought about how best to answer.

"Sam," he said seriously, "do you remember what Elrond said about how Frodo was to safeguard the Ring?"

"Yes," Sam answered. "He said Frodo wasn't to cast it away, or deliver it to the Enemy, or to let anyone else handle it... except in greatest need."

"That's right," said the wizard approvingly. "Except in greatest need. Frodo is a guardian, Sam, of a power almost beyond comprehension. To use it is to risk much." He was silent for a moment. "I, too, am a guardian," he said. "Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call me a servant." Sam was startled at the word. "I do not call upon that which I serve unless there is great need, until there is no other alternative." He was looking at Sam intensely. "When difficult choices are necessary they must be made, but only when the need outweighs the possible risk."

Sam nodded, trying hard to understand. He felt there was something Gandalf was trying to tell him, and him alone, but he would think about it later. He was suddenly distracted by the quite unmistakable sound of a Dwarf... snoring. The combination of warmth and a sleepless night had lulled Gimli into a sound sleep, his head fallen forward onto his luxuriant beard.

"He took no rest last night," said Legolas quietly. "He wanted to let everyone sleep."

"I know," said Boromir. "I asked him why he did not wake me for my watch." He thought for a moment. "I do not believe this is the first time he has done this."

"It is a kindly act," said Legolas, "and a noble one." He rose to his feet and draped one of the blankets about the Dwarf. Everyone exchanged looks, a bit amazed at the Elf's uncharacteristic words and action.

Snow was soon melting in the pots and basins, Merry diligently replacing the snow as it melted, and the water in each bottle was soon quite warm. Aragorn put a quantity of dried broth mixture from one of the food bags into a mug and added some of the warmed water.

"Pippin, let me sit next to Frodo," said Aragorn. The young hobbit let Aragorn take his place, and then saw Gandalf beckoning him to his side. If that wasn't enough of a surprise, he was astonished when the wizard held his staff out to him.

"My old arms aren't as strong as they used to be," said Gandalf. "Perhaps you can hold this for a few minutes and keep us warm, while I rest."

Pippin could scarcely believe this was happening. Gandalf never gave his staff to anyone; none of them had ever entertained the notion of even touching it. He grasped the gnarled wood firmly, his tiny hands barely encircling it. Boromir caught Gandalf's eye and gave him an approving nod.

"Peregrin Took," said the wizard, holding the young hobbit's wide-eyed gaze, "the well-being of this Company is in your hands. At this moment you, too, are a guardian of great power, charged with our lives and safety."

Pippin was nearly overwhelmed by this evidence of the wizard's trust. "...charged with our lives and safety..." He didn't feel safe and he wished he did, so very much. But it was beginning to occur to him that no one else felt safe either. How did they bear it? He looked around and saw Gimli, wrapped in the blanket Legolas had draped around him. The Dwarf had let them all sleep while he stood alone for hours in the cold. Boromir had Merry's hands captured in his large ones, warming them, after his cousin had braved the cold wind again and again to bring back snow for the basins and pots. Sam was holding Frodo, and Strider was going to try to wake him so he could drink something warm and nourishing. They were all helping each other.

Gandalf trusted him, but he didn't trust himself. Not yet. The way Frodo was shivering on the outside was how he had been feeling on the inside, ever since the accident. He felt fragile and afraid, and he didn't like it. He wanted it to stop. Slowly, imperceptibly, deep down inside him the unquenchable and resilient fire of the Took spirit was rekindling. It was not going to stand still for this much longer.

** TBC **