Frodo is awakened by Faramir in the middle of the night to be treated to a sight he did not expect: a familiar-looking creature fishing in the pool below the waterfall. After Faramir pokes more gentle fun at Anborn’s inability to distinguish an emaciated hobbit from a squirrel or kingfisher, Frodo asks for mercy for the creature, whom he reveals to be his guide on the way to Mordor. We also speculate on the question “What if Faramir never met Frodo” and share highlights from TexMoot 2022, Alan and Shawn’s first in-person moot appearance in over two years.
Recommended Reading:
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings (Mariner Books, paperback) “The Forbidden Pool”, pp. 668-72
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Christopher Tolkien, ed.) The Silmarillion (Mariner Books, paperback)
Fonstad, Karen Wynn. The Atlas of Middle-earth (Revised Edition) (Houghton Mifflin, Paperback)
Faramir sent out his “keenest huntsmen” and none of them saw Gollum, except Anborn (if only a glimpse). This means that:
1. That Gollum is so sneaky that even such elite huntsmen like the Rangers of Ithilien can’t find him easily (as we know Hobbits are almost supernaturally good at hiding and Gollum is most likely even better)
2. Anborn is part of this group of “keenest huntsmen”.
3. Is probably (one of) the keenest of them (being the only one who saw anything)