The Hunt for the Ring: Other Versions of the Story Summary

While the first version is the most complete of the narratives on this subject, there are other variations to this tale. It is thought that the most accurate of these is the version where Gollum gives Sauron two words, Shire and Baggins. In this telling of the tale, Gollum vanishes into the Dead Marshes where Sauron's servants will not or cannot follow him. Since he no longer has Gollum at his disposal and none of his other spies can offer him any information, Sauron turns to his Ringwraiths. He knows that these are the most powerful of his servants but has hesitated to use them until this point. His hesitation comes from his knowledge of the Ringwraiths' few weaknesses, mainly their overwhelming fear of water...