Sam Rescues Frodo from Cirith Ungol

Samwise Gamgee, the Ring-bearer's faithful servant, reaches the nadir of despair and the apex of courage in a single night at the Tower of Cirith Ungol. Believing Frodo dead from Shelob's venom, he takes the Ring and the Phial of Galadriel, resolves to complete the Quest alone, and then—overhearing Orc captains Shagrat and Gorbag reveal that Frodo is merely paralyzed, not dead—reverses course entirely. He storms the tower, fights through its orc-ravaged interior, and finds his master alive in the topmost chamber, beaten but conscious. The rescue is the hinge on which the entire Quest turns: without it, the Ring would have been delivered to Sauron, and the War of the Ring lost.

Sam's Despair and the Decision to Go On

After Shelob's attack, Sam finds Frodo lying face-upward on the path, bound in cords and apparently lifeless. He cuts the bonds, chafes his master's hands and feet, and calls his name, but receives no answer. Convinced that Frodo is dead, Sam bows to the ground in black despair. When he recovers, he composes Frodo's body, folds his cold hands on his breast, wraps his cloak about him, and lays his own sword at one side and Faramir's staff at the other. He takes Sting, the mithril-coat, and the Phial of Galadriel, and puts the Ring's chain about his own neck. The weight of the Ring immediately bows his head to the ground, but he forces himself upright and stumbles on toward the Cleft, intending to complete the Quest alone.

The Overheard Revelation

As Sam reaches the top of the pass and looks down into Mordor, he hears Orc-voices behind him. He puts on the Ring and becomes aware of a company of Orcs carrying Frodo's body. He follows them into the tunnel, where he overhears Shagrat and Gorbag arguing. Gorbag insists that the prisoner is not dead: "She doesn't eat dead meat, nor suck cold blood. This fellow isn't dead!" Shagrat confirms that Shelob's poison only paralyzes, and that the victim will wake in a few hours. Sam reels with shock and joy. The knowledge that Frodo is alive transforms his purpose: he abandons the Quest and runs back toward the tower, determined to rescue his master at any cost.

The Assault on the Tower

Sam finds the under-gate blocked by a great stone door. He scrambles over it and runs up the winding tunnel, sword blazing. He passes the bodies of dead Orcs and hears the voices of Shagrat and Gorbag ahead. At the top of the stair, he emerges onto the roof of the tower's third tier. There he sees Shagrat, wounded and carrying a black bundle, stalk and kill the crawling Gorbag. Sam springs out to meet Shagrat with a shout, and the Orc, terrified by the sight of the "Elf-warrior" and the light of Sting, flees down the stairs, dropping the bundle. Sam lets him go and climbs the ladder into the topmost chamber.

The Rescue in the Turret

In the round chamber under the red lamp, Sam finds Frodo lying naked on a heap of filthy rags, with a whip-weal across his side. An Orc guard straddles him, raising a whip. Sam slashes the Orc's whip-hand from its arm, and the creature stumbles backward through the open trap-door and falls to its death. Sam lifts Frodo and hugs him to his breast. Frodo opens his eyes and murmurs, "Am I still dreaming?" Sam assures him it is real. Frodo, still dazed, tells Sam that the Orcs stripped him of everything and questioned him until he thought he would go mad. Sam reveals that he has kept the Ring safe, and Frodo, with a sudden flash of the Ring's possessive power, snatches it from him, calling him a thief—but then the vision passes, and he begs forgiveness. Sam understands and helps him dress in Orc-gear. Together they descend the tower, break through the Watchers at the gate with the light of Galadriel's phial, and flee into the darkness of Mordor, the Nazgûl shrieking above them.