Chapter 21
The Council of Nations

Never before in his life had Fred Baggins been more uncomfortable.

Sitting at the conference table, in a military bunker in the heart of St. Louis, Fred was sweating like never before. It wasnÂ’t the heat, that wasnÂ’t a factor. He had traveled through at least three, possibly four states in a matter of weeks. No, the heat wasnÂ’t the problem. The problem was the other people.

For starters, Fred appeared to be the only person under the age of twenty-five. Also, Fred felt a little uneasy, crammed in a room with people heÂ’d read about in the paper or seen on the news. He feltÂ… unworthy to sit in that room.

President Ronald was there. As was Aaron and Adrianna. There were a host of other diplomats that Fred didnÂ’t recognize. Sitting on one side of him was Greg, and on the other side was Bobby, dozing off.

One by one, the diplomats stood and introduced themselves. They were mostly leaders of countries, with a few exceptions. Liam Claus was a martial arts whiz from Eastern Europe, and George Lee was a sculptor from northern Europe. Both were there, Fred would later learn, because CzaronÂ’s minions had attacked them both, thinking them to have the one ring.

Other ambassadors included diplomats from Spain, Germany, Italy, several African nations, Israel, and Australia. Also there was Bradley Mir, the son of the Prime Minister of England.

When it was his turn, Fred stood, ready to introduce himself. He had just opened his mouth when someone interrupted. “Holy cow! You’re that kid!”

Whispers ran through the group. Fred flushed, and his eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what you mean by ‘that kid’,” he said firmly, “But if you mean the boy that was plucked from his home, sent dashing off on some crazy adventure, chased by M.O.R.D.O.R. agents, no, the nine themselves, shot at, stabbed, poisoned, and caught up in the middle of a firefight on the edge of this city, then yes, I’m that kid.”

And he sat. Whispers continued to run up and down the table. When all had been introduced, President Ronald stood.

“We are here for one single purpose.” He said. “Leaders of the world, you are here to decide its fate. The choices you make in this room will decide the future of our nations.” No one so much as moved. “This is the greatest meeting in the history of the world. And you are going to make its greatest choice.”

He motioned to Fred. “Put the ring on the table.”

Slowly, almost methodically, Fred reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring. Whispers started again as Fred laid it in front of him on the table. There was a sharp intake of breath from Bobby. Greg stiffened. Bradley leaned forward.

“It is a gift,” he said softly. The whispers died away as the son of the Prime Minister stood. “It is a gift,” he declared again, “against the foes of M.O.R.D.O.R.! Why don’t we take it, use it! We can cripple Czaron forever! Don’t you see it? This is our chance at-”

“The ring,” Greg interrupted, “is not a weapon we can use. It’s not a missile or a bomb that we can steal and send back!”

Aaron leaned forward. “Greg is right. The ring is not something we can use. That option is out of the question.”

Bradley stood his face flushing. “What,” he demanded, “would some bum know of this?”

Several people cried out in anger and surprise, not the least of which was Liam. The man stood, knocking his chair over. “He is no bum! This is Aaron Horn, the rightful king of England.”

Fred turned and stared at Aaron. “What?”

Aaron smiled weakly. “Guilty.”

“We could attack Czaron head on.” said one of the ambassadors. “That might weaken him.”

“Weaken, but not destroy.” Greg said. “Czaron’s computer core is made of a special kind of metal. It can only be destroyed by coming in contact with a superheated version of the same metal. And it only exists in one place.” He gestured to the ring. “That ring on the table.”

“If we attack, or Czaron does, and it comes to war,” the ambassador from France said, “France will stand beside her neighbors in their defense.”

“Israel will defend her fellow nations as well,” said the Israeli diplomat.

The ambassador from Germany chimed in. “And Germany shall join the alliance as well.”

President Ronald stood. “If it comes to that, America will join the other nations in crushing Czaron with a vengeance never seen before!” Then he sat. “But we must do all in our power to prevent World War 3. We cannot use the ring, and neither can we afford to give it back to Czaron. There remains one option.” He gazed into the eyes of everyone there, and then spoke the words of doom. “The ring must be destroyed.”

George suddenly stood and produced a handgun. “Then what are we waiting for?”

Fred stood and scrambled backwards, dragging Bobby along with him. Greg lunged for George, shouting “NO!” but it was already too late. George fired on the ring.

The resulting explosion threw the sculptor across the room, where he slammed into the far wall. Several people scrambled to his side. Security burst into the room. Fred helped Bobby up. President Ronald stood, his face contorted in a rage.

“Didn’t I just tell you that the ring cannot be destroyed by any weapon we have here! Not even a nuclear bomb could dent it! What made you think you could destroy it!” he bellowed at George. Then he whirled to face where the ring had been. “Where is it, anyways?”

Greg bent, and then stood. “Here. In my hand.”

In his hand was the ring, not a scratch on it. There was a hole in the table where it had been, but the ring itself was undamaged. Silence ensued.

President Ronald broke it. “There is only one way that the ring can be destroyed. Someone must take it, on foot, so as not to be detected by Czaron’s agents, into the very heart of Moscow, into the M.O.R.D.O.R. skyscraper, and toss it into Czaron’s very heart.”

Silence.

In that moment, Fred realized why he was in that room. Why he was alive. Why he had traveled all that way. Fred finally realized his destiny. It was to make a single choice. And he made it, without hesitation or regret.

“I’ll take it.” All eyes turned to him. Fred took a breath and repeated himself. “I’ll take the ring to be destroyed.”

To Be ContinuedÂ…