Timeline Event
Elrond sends out scouts to search for Nazgûl
Event Type: Military/Strategic
Age: 3rd Age - Ring War
Date: October 26, 3018
Description:
An event in the prelude to the Quest of the Ring; see that entry for an overview.
[Said] Bilbo, '... [If] you ask me, Elrond will send out a fair number [on the Quest], when the reports come in. Have they started yet, Gandalf?'
'Yes,' said the wizard. 'Some of the scouts have been sent out already. More will go tomorrow. Elrond is sending Elves, and they will get in touch with the Rangers, and maybe with Thranduil's folk in Mirkwood. And Aragorn has gone with Elrond's sons.1 We shall have to scour the lands all round for many long leagues before any move is made. So cheer up, Frodo! You will probably make quite a long stay here.'
'Ah!' said Sam gloomily. 'We'll just wait long enough for winter to come.'
'That can't be helped,' said Bilbo. '... [You] can't wait now till spring; and you can't go till the reports come back.'....
[Said] Gandalf. 'We can't start until we have found out about the Riders.'
'I thought they were all destroyed in the flood,' said Merry.
'You cannot destroy Ringwraiths like that,' said Gandalf. 'The power of their master is in them, and they stand or fall by him. We hope that they were all unhorsed and unmasked, and so made for a while less dangerous; but we must find out for certain.'
The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 2, Ch 3, The Ring Goes South
Notes
1 The sons of Elrond must have parted company with Aragorn after their departure, probably to pass over the Redhorn Gate, for their journey is described differently from his, and they did not return at the same time:
... December was passing, when the scouts began to return. Some... had gone west, and with the help of Aragorn and the Rangers had searched the lands far down the Greyflood, as far as Tharbad.... The sons of Elrond... were the last to return; they had made a great journey, passing down the Silverlode into a strange country....
The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 2, Ch 3, The Ring Goes South
Contributors:
Elena Tiriel 4Sep08, 24Dec11
