The Fellowship is broken. Scattered across Middle-earth, its members face separate trials as the War of the Ring gathers pace. In the west, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue the orcs who have taken their companions, a chase that leads them into the kingdom of Rohan - where an ailing king sits under the shadow of a treacherous advisor, and a wizard's fortress rises in the nearby mountains. In the east, Frodo and Sam press on toward Mordor with a new guide: the creature Gollum, who once bore the Ring himself and wants it back. The second volume of The Lord of the Rings, split between two storylines that move in parallel toward the same looming confrontation.
