The shadow of the past

Frodo gets to know the history of the ring

­­Frodo returns home from the inn, the window is open and all is dark.­­

Gandalf:

(grabs Frodos shoulder from behind) Is it secret? Is it safe?

­­Frodo gets out the envelope, Gandalf throws it in the fire.­­

Frodo:

What are you doing?

­­Envelope burns away, revealing the ring.­­

Gandalf:

(retrieves the envelope from the fire with tongs) Hold out your hand, Frodo. It's quite cool. What can you see? Can you see anything?

Frodo:

Nothing. There's nothing. Wait. There are markings. It's some form of Elvish, but I can't read it.

Gandalf:

There are few who can. The language is that of Mordor, which I shall not utter here.

Frodo:

Mordor?

Gandalf:

In the common tongue, it reads:
One ring to rule them all
One ring to find them.
One ring to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them.
This is the One Ring, forged by Sauron in the fires of Mount Doom. Isildur took it from the hand of Sauron himself.

Frodo:

Bilbo found it, in Gollum's cave.

Gandalf:

For sixty years, it lay quiet in Bilbo's keeping, prolonging his life, delaying old age. But no longer. There is evil stirring in Mordor. The Ring has awoken. It's heard its master's call.

Frodo:

But he was destroyed. Sauron was destroyed!

­­The ring whispers denial.­­

Gandalf:

No, Frodo. His spirit endured. Sauron's life-force was bound to the ring, and the ring survived. Sauron has returned. His orcs have multiplied. His fortress of Barad-Dur is rebuilt in Mordor. He needs only this Ring to cover all the lands in a second darkness. He is seeking it, seeking it, all his thought is bent on it. The Ring yearns above all else to return to the hand of its master. They are one, the ring and the Dark Lord. He must never find it.

Frodo:

(grabs the ring) All right, we keep it hidden. We put it away, we never speak of it again. Nobody knows it's here, do they?

Gandalf:

is silent

Frodo:

Do they, Gandalf?

Gandalf:

There was one other who knew that Bilbo had the ring. I looked everywhere for the creature Gollum, but the enemy found him first. I don't know how long they tortured him, but amid the endless screams and inane babble, they heard two words. Shire. Baggins.

Frodo:

Shire. Baggins. But that would lead them here!