Chapter 4 Boromir's Farewell

Aragorn ran quickly up the hill, and kept looking down for traces on the ground.Hobbits walked so lightly that even a ranger could not easily recognize them.Not far from the trail, however, he found some clues. "If I'm right," he said to himself, "Frodo ran up the hill, and I wonder what he saw there? But I'm sure he came back the same way, and again Rush down the mountain." Aragorn hesitated.He wants to sit on the throne and see if there is any sign that can help him find a way out of this fog. Time is very urgent and he cannot be wasted.He lunged forward, ran up the steps, and sat on the throne, looking around.

However, the sun seemed to dim, and the world became very distant and gray.He looked around, except for the continuous hills, there were still hills. The only special thing was that he saw a giant eagle in the distance, which seemed to be hovering and slowly descending to the ground. At the same time, his keen hearing detected some unusual movements on the west side of the river.He froze, and there was a cry from below, and to his horror, there was a goblin voice in it.Then, after a muffled shout, came the earth-shattering sound of the horn; the thunderous sound of the horn vibrated from valley to valley, even over the mighty sound of the waterfall.

"Borromir's horn!" he yelled. "He needs our help!" Immediately he jumped down the steps and ran back down the path. "Damn it! Every decision I made today was wrong, where is Sam?" With his hurried footsteps, the shouts began to fade away, and the horn became more and more urgent; the shrill voices of the goblins came and went, but the horn suddenly fell silent.Aragorn galloped down the hill, but, before he reached the foot of the hill, the cry began to fade away.As he turned to the left, rushing toward the source of the sounds, he could hear them begin to recede into the distance, then fade away into dead silence.He drew the holy sword and shouted "Elandil! Elandil"!In an instant, he rushed into the bushes.

He found Boromir in a meadow not a mile from Pasgaran, with his back against a tall tree, as if resting.But Aragorn noticed that he was full of black-feathered arrows; that though he held the sword in his hand, it was broken from the hilt, and his horn was broken in two, and was scattered all over the ground, and many goblins Bodies lay all around him. Aragorn fell to his knees, and Boromir opened his eyes and struggled to speak, and at last he managed to utter a few words: "I tried to take the Ring from Frodo," he said, "I'm sorry , I deserve it!" His eyes lingered on the fallen enemy corpses, there were at least twenty corpses here. "The hobbits have been taken by the orcs. I don't think they're dead yet.

, the orcs tied them up. He paused for a moment, eyes wearily began to close, and after a few more seconds, he continued. "Farewell, Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people, for I have failed." "No!" Aragorn took his hand and kissed him on the brow. "No, you have conquered all this, and not many have won such a glorious victory. Rest in peace! Minas Tirith will never fall !” Boromir laughed. "Where did they go? Is Frodo there?" demanded Aragorn. Boromir could no longer speak. "Is this God's will?" Aragorn said, "The crown prince of Denethor, the king of the garrison tower, passed away like this! I didn't expect it to end like this. The expedition team fell apart. I was the one who really failed. Gandalf entrusted the wrong one. Man. What should I do now? Boromir has entrusted me with the great responsibility of Minas Tirith, and I do want to go there; but what about the Ring and the Ring-bearer? What shall I do? Only by finding them can this mission not fail completely?"

He was in a daze for a moment with tears streaming down his face, and when Legolas and Gimli found him, he still held Boromir's hand tightly.They came down from the western slopes and went through the woods as quietly as a hunt, Gimli with an ax in his hand, Legolas with his empty quiver and a knife in his hand.When they came to the grass, they froze on the spot for a moment.The two bowed their heads at the same time, mourning for the sight in front of them, and they both understood what happened. "I knew so," said Legolas, walking up to Aragorn's side. "We have slain many Orcs in the forest, and now we see that we should have come here sooner. We heard The horn sounded and rushed over, but it was too late... Are you all right?"

"Borromir is dead," said Aragorn. "I am unscathed, for I did not fight with him at all. He died protecting the hobbit when I surveyed the hillside." "The hobbits!" cried Gimli. "Where are they? Where is Frodo?" "I don't know," answered Aragorn very wearily. "Before Boromir died, he told me that the Orcs had kidnapped them, and he thought they were still alive. I sent him to protect Merry and Pippin. , but I didn't have time to ask him if he saw Frodo and Sam. Every decision I've taken today has been wrong, what now?"

"We must deal with the fallen brother first," said Legolas. "We cannot leave him in the wild with these damned orcs." "But it can't be delayed for too long," Jin Li said, "he doesn't want us to spend too much time here, as long as there is any hope of rescuing the hostages, we must follow those orcs." "But we do not know whether the Ring-bearer is with them," said Aragorn. "Shall we abandon him? Should we not go to him first? Here is another dilemma!" "Let us first do what we can," said Legolas decisively. "We have neither the time nor the means to bury our companion, nor to cremate his remains."

"That would take too much time, and there are no rocks to use near the water," Jin Li said helplessly. "Then we will put him aboard, with the weapons he wears, and the weapons of those enemies he has slain," said Aragorn. .to guard the rivers of Gondor, at least not to allow any evil creature to desecrate his body." Soon they collected many swords and broken armor and shields from the Orcs, and piled them in a heap. "Look!" said Aragorn. "This is what they use!" From a heap of tattered weapons he found two leaf-shaped short swords, with gold and red ornaments entwined around their hilts; After searching for a while, he found two more black scabbards with tiny rubies on them. "It's not Goblin stuff!" he said. "These are the hobbits' weapons, and the Goblins caught them, but they dared not keep these short swords, for they were made by the royal families of the West, and they were Infused with a spell that destroys the power of Mordor. Well, if our friends are still alive, they are now defenseless. Let me keep these things for now, as long as I don't give up the last hope, I believe there is still a chance to return these things Original owner."

"And I," said Legolas, "will put away all the arrows that can be used, for my quiver is empty." He searched incessantly among the weapons piled on the ground, and found some arrow shafts. The relatively long and undamaged half-orc arrows were received in the quiver. Aragorn inspected the corpses on the ground, and finally came to a conclusion: "Many soldiers here are not from Mordor. According to my knowledge of Orcs, some came from the Misty Mountains in the north. There are some more soldiers here. It's a strange situation, their equipment is not what orcs are used to!"

There were four tall half-orc soldiers lying on the ground. They had small eyes and thick hands and feet. They wore short swords with wide blades, not the scimitars that ordinary half-orcs like to use; moreover, their longbows were purple. Made of fir wood, it is close to what humans are used to in terms of shape and length.On their shields was a strange emblem, a white hand against a black background, and on the fronts of their helmets there were runes inlaid in white metal. "I have not seen these emblems before," said Aragorn, "and wonder what they signify?" "I guess it means 'Under Sauron'," Kim Li said, "It's easy to guess!" "No!" said Legolas, "Sauron knows no runes of the Elves." "Also, he will not use the name we call him, let alone allow his subordinates to spell it out, or even put it on the helmet." Aragorn judged: "Besides, he will never use white, Ba The emblem used by the half-orcs in Lado Fortress is blood red eyes." He pondered for a moment: "I guess it represents Saruman." After a long time, he finally made a judgment: "Evil is brewing in Essinger, and the West is no longer Safe. As Gandalf feared, Saruman somehow knew of our plan, and he probably knew of Gandalf's sacrifice. Moria's pursuers may have eluded Lórien Orcs’ defenses, or reached Isengard through other routes, the half-orc’s footsteps are very fast. However, I think there is definitely more than one source of information for Saruman. Do you remember those birds hovering in the sky? " "Okay, we don't have time for riddles," Gimli said, "let's dispose of Boromir's body quickly!" "After that we shall know the mystery, or we shall not choose rightly," answered Aragorn. "Maybe there is no such thing as a right choice at all!" Kim Li said. The dwarf took out his tomahawk and chopped off a few branches.They then tied these branches with bowstrings, and finally spread their cloaks on them. Using this crude stretcher, they carried the corpses of their companions to the shore with the spoils collected from the previous battlefield.The distance was not far, but it was not easy for them, as Boromir was so big and strong. Aragorn stood by the lake, tending the stretcher, while Legolas and Gimli hurried back to Pasgaran.It was about a mile or so from there, and it was some time before they came back along the shore in the two boats. "A strange thing!" said Legolas. "There are but two ships on shore, and we cannot find the other." "Have the Orcs been there?" asked Aragorn. "We can't find any clues," Gimli replied. "If it was the orcs, they should have damaged all the ships, including the luggage." "I will examine the footprints more closely when we pass," said Aragorn. Then they placed Boromir in the middle of the boat, folded the gray elven cloak and placed it under his head; the three combed his long black hair and let it fall over his shoulders, Lorien His girdle of gold shone, and his helm lay beside him, and on his lap lay a broken horn and a broken sword hilt; at his feet lay the weapons of his enemies. Then they tied the bow of the boat to the stern of another boat and rowed slowly into the river.They paddled sadly along the shore, and beyond Passgarland they entered the main stream of the Great River.The steep faces of Tolbranda gleamed in the sun, and it was raining now.As they paddled further south, the mist from Laros Falls began to surround them in a golden mist.The waterfall is like a thousand horses, and the sound of galloping shakes the stagnant air nearby.Sadly they let go of the boat in which Boromir's body rested, and left him afloat peacefully on the water;The boat drifted slowly towards the waterfall, turned into a black speck in the golden light, and finally disappeared without a trace.The roar of Ralos Waterfall remained unchanged, and the great river accepted the heroic Boromir. From then on, he could no longer climb the city wall of Minas Tirith every morning to watch the territory of the devil like in the past.However, in the future, there is a legend in Gondor: this elf boat carried him across the waterfall and the great lake, passed the bank of Osgiliath, entered the sea from the great river Anduin, and bathed in the dark sea ever since. Starlight embraces. The three companions watched the boat go away in silence, and then Aragorn spoke: "The people of the White Tower will look forward to his return," he said, "but he will no longer come from the mountains or It’s the sea returning to his hometown.” He sang slowly: Through the endless grasslands of Rohan, West Wind walked lightly to the edge of the city wall. "O wandering wind, what news do you bring from the West tonight? See strong Boromir's voice in the moonlight? " "I saw him ride his horse over seven streams, over a wide river; I saw him gallop through the wilderness, into the north, Since then, there has been no news from the place where the shadows are all over the place. The North Wind may have heard the trumpets of the sons of Denethor. " "Great Boromir! From that high wall I look far away, But your figure no longer appears in that barren and inhabited place. " Legolas went on singing: From that stormy shore the south wind blows, over dunes and rocks; Fly forward with the cries of seagulls, and lament at the door for a long time. "Oh, sighing wind, is there any news from the south? Where is the handsome Boromo?He didn't return for a long time, and I could only wait and sigh. " "Don't ask me where he ended up, countless bones Lying on the white sand, against the black shore, and the misery of the sky. Countless souls flowed into Anduin and disappeared without a trace in the sea. Ask the North Wind, ask the North Wind if he is there! " "Great Boromo! The river crosses the mouth of the sea, and flows to the south, But your figure will never meet the gray sea again. " At last Aragorn sang: Through the king's gate the north wind, over the roaring waterfall; The clear, fiery sound of the horn pierced the clouds and mist beside the tower. "O mighty wind, what news from the north do you bring today? Where is the brave Boromir going?He has been away for a long time, and there is no news. " "From the foot of Mount Amon Hen I heard his roar, and he alone faced countless enemies. His broken shield and broken sword flowed with the surging river, His face is proud, his head held high, enough to rest in peace beside any hero; Ralos, the golden waterfall of Ralos, embraced him to his breast. " "Courageous Boromir! The Tower of the Garrison will forever look north, Watching Laros, the golden Laros Falls, till the end of time. " That's how it all ended.Then they turned the boat and rowed back to Pasgalan against the current with all their might. "You leave Dongfeng to me to describe," Kim Li said, "but I decided to keep silent." "So be it," said Aragorn. "In Minas Tirith, they bear the east wind, but ask no news of it, for it represents evil. Now that Boromir is on the road, we must decide our own." He searched the green grass in front of him, keeping his eyes close to the ground: "There is no goblin footprint in this land yet," he said, "otherwise I wouldn't see anything! Our footprints are all here, and I can't see them. How many hobbits have come back since the quest to find Frodo began?" He turned and looked towards the bank, watching carefully where the mountain spring emptied into the River. "There are a few distinct footprints here, a hobbit wading into the river and running back, but I can't tell how long ago it was." "Guess what's going on?" Gimli asked. Aragorn did not answer at once, but went back to the camp to check the condition of the luggage. "Two knapsacks are missing," said he, "and one is evidently Sam's heavy and bulky knapsack. From the circumstances of the scene, then, it is evident that Frodo departed by boat, while his servant followed He went with him. I met Sam as I was walking up the hill, and asked him to come with me, which he obviously did not do. He guessed his master's intentions, and came back here before Frodo left. It is impossible to get rid of Sam. So easy!" "But why did he leave us without leaving a word?" Jin Li said, "This is really strange!" "Very brave, too," said Aragorn; "I think Sam was right, that Frodo would not take any friend with him to his death in Mordor, but he knew he must go. As he mused Something must have happened during that time that made him overcome his fears and doubts." "Perhaps the orcs came after him, and he went away," said Legolas. "He did run away," said Aragorn, "but I don't think he was running away from the Orcs." He did not say why Frodo left, and Boromir's last words will always be in his heart. secret. "Well, at least we have established these things for now," Legolas analyzed one by one: "Frodo has left the river, and the only one who can row the boat is him. Sam and him together, or no one will take his backpack." "Then, we can only choose—" Gimli continued, "take the rest of the boat and go after Frodo, or go after the goblins on foot. There is little hope of achieving our goal in either direction. Lost the most precious golden time." "Let me think!" said Aragorn. "I must make a right choice and turn this unfortunate day around!" He was silent for a moment. "I resolved to follow the Orc," he said at last. "I should have guided Frodo to Mordor, and all the way to his final objective; but if I planned to pursue him on the river, I would stand by and be caught." The hostages were tortured and killed. I think it is clear that the fate of the ring bearer is no longer in my hands. The mission of the expedition team has been completed, but as long as we have breath, we cannot abandon our comrades .Come on! Let's set off immediately, throw away all unnecessary luggage, and we will travel day and night!" They towed the last boat ashore and hid in the woods.They stowed all non-essential luggage on board and left Pasgaran.It was nearly dark when they returned to the meadow where Boromir had died, and they searched carefully for the direction in which the Orcs had retreated.It was not difficult to find these traces, as goblins have always been sloppy and rude. "No other race in the world makes such a footprint," said Legolas. "They love to destroy every animal and plant that is not even in their path." "Even so, their speed is swift," said Aragorn, "and they never seem to tire. Soon we may have to follow their tracks on hard ground where not a blade of grass grows." "Anyway, let's get going!" Jin Li said impatiently, "Dwarves' feet are also fast, and our stamina is no less than that of orcs. This time we may spend a long time, They're already far ahead." "Yes," said Aragorn, "we shall all need the stamina of the dwarves. Come! We will pursue our enemies to the ends of the earth, even if there is only a glimmer of hope. If we can outrun them, they will taste Our wrath is on! We will create legends for humans, elves, and dwarves like never before. Go, three vengeful warriors!" He galloped as lightly as an elk through the thick woods.He led the people on the road non-stop, sleepless, and soon, the forest by the lake was left behind by them.They rushed up the steep hillside in a hurry, their black figures set off against the blood-red sunset, forming a magnificent and strange scene.As dusk fell, they turned into blurred shadows and disappeared among the mountains.