Gollum chased after the hobbit, but it was no use. Bilbo was gone and so was the Ring. In frustration he cried "Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it for ever!". He slowly turned around and crawled back to his cave, hearing the sounds of the Orcs in the distance. After nearly five hundred years he had lost his precious. Gollum muttered as he went, "Precious, oh my precious why did you leave uss? That ssslinking Baggins, he's a cheater and we hates him."

As he reached his cave he lifted his head and sniffed the air. Yes, a slight forest like scent hung in the murky air. Gollum knew that it must be that of the hobbit. It would stay with him for the rest of his life. The poor wretch cried "Oh now we could find him, yes precious we could! We can track him and bite him and take back what he ssstole." But then he remembered why he had stayed in the gloomy dark for several centuries; he hated the sun and feared most of the creatures under it.

He plodded over to the water and peered at his reflection. Gollum saw a long, gangly creature with thin white limbs. He had changed so much from his days as a hobbit. Oh yes, he had once been very much alike to the Mr. Bilbo Baggins that had stolen his precious. Just the thought of him made Gollum mutter and spit into the water. He could never admit it to himself but the Ring was evil and it had changed him into the pitiful being that was reflected in the water. Gollum was forever changed by its influence and control.

He got into the boat that he had made to take him to the island in the middle of the lake. In the darkness he said "We hates him precious, we hates him my love. He's ssstinkier then those filthy Orcses and slyer then those elvses. We will find him and kill him, my love, we will kill him and find the precious!" Gollum said this as he paddled, but in what remained of his heart he knew it to be impossible. He could never venture out into the place with the terrible sunlight.

Gollum reached the bank and climbed out onto the muddy shore. He was very hungry and he knew that the fish would be easy to catch. He went over to the place with the overhang and waited for his chance. His keen eyes penetrated the water and spotted a nice, juicy, fish. Quick as a wink he reached into the water and snatched it. The fish struggled and wiggled but Gollum brought it up to his mouth and bite it in half. He thought that the fish must be the nicest food that he had eaten in a long time. Gollum retreated to his little hut in the center of the island and finished the fish muttering "Yes, fishes are nice precious, but they can't compare to you, my love. We will find you and take you back!" The fish made him sleepy and he soon dozed off, dreaming about what he would do to "the tricksey Bagginses" when he caught him.

Months passed and Gollum remained alone in his dark home. He spent his days crying over his lost Ring and dreaming about hunting down Bilbo. He ate fish when hungry and slept when he was tired, as different days hold no meaning in the dark places of the world. As time went on Gollum grew more and more desperate. He had to get back his precious and soon. Yet he still could not force himself out into the dreaded sun.

Gollum would sit and argue with himself about who was really responsible for the Ring's departure. "The hobbit cheated and ssstole the precious, yes but the filthy Orcses let him esscape. They could have killed the Bagginses before he left the mountainsss."

"What's it saying my love, that Orcses can see invisible hobbitsss?" "Orcses can smell!"

"So can you my love, and you didn't catch him!" This always ended in fits of weeping and moaning over Gollum's lost Ring, but eventually he decided that the "Orcses" could have killed the hobbit thief.

One day, nearly three years after Bilbo left his cave, he caught a whiff of roasting meat in the air. He left his island and carefully went up to the entrance of his cave. He could hear Orcs feasting and drinking a little farther up the passage way.

He muttered "What's this my love, have the stinky Orcses found something to eat? Well, we can change this my precious."

After three years of isolation Gollum decided to leave his cave and seek revenge on the Orcs. He went farther up the passage until he could see four Orcs roasting a wild boar on a fire and celebrating some wild occasion. Gollum was tired of eating fish and he thought that some boar would taste very good. He found several rocks and threw them down the passage toward his cave.

This startled the Orcs and they follow the noise to see who or what made it. Gollum had crept back into the shadows when the Orcs passed and none saw him. He went after them silently down to his cave.

"Probably that little slinker that lives down here" said the biggest Orc, "He is always creeping about." The others agreed, but they still went into the cave and into Gollum's trap.

When Gollum saw that they had taken his bait, he whispered to himself "Now you'll see, my love we will kill them and take our revenge!"

The Orcs had went to the shore of the lake when one said " Boss, I don't see anyone."

"That's because you are a rotten, blind maggot who couldn't see a sword if one was sticking through you!" The Orc roared with fury (they are stupid things, and easily antagonized) and charged the others. It was soon an all-out brawl which Gollum watched with pleasure.

"My precious, we have them!" He crept up to one and bit it on its neck. The Orc stumbled and fell over while Gollum raced back and hid again in the shadows. A few seconds later the other Orcs noticed that their companion was dead.

"What did you do that for, you idiots?" cried the leader who blamed the others. This started another fight and Gollum was able to creep back in and kill another before they noticed. The two remaining Orcs looked at each other, each thinking that the other had killed him.

"You fool, the Boss is going to have your hide for this!" yelled one.

"Me! Your the one who killed them!" cried the other. They continued fighting, this time to death. As one fell down with a knife stuck in him, Gollum crept up and finished the other.

"My love, we've done it! The filthy Orcses are dead!" Gollum went back to the boar and ate the entire thing with great pleasure. As he had eaten nothing but fish for many years, the boar made him feel very sleepy and slightly sick. He fell asleep, not knowing that the sun would soon shine on him through a crack in the mountain.

Gollum awoke several hours later and he felt the warmth of the sun on his face for the first time in centuries. Surprisingly, it didn't burn or hurt him, but was warm and pleasant. He made soft noises in his throat and said, "The sun didn't burn uss, my love! We could leave the mountain and go find our preciousss! If we hide during the day, the nassty men and elvses won't find uss and we can find you! Precious, precious, precious you will be ours once the thieving Bagginses is dead!"

Gollum capered about the cave in joy, realizing that maybe the outside world wasn't so terrible after all. "We shall leave as soon as the sun goes away, so the filthy Orcses don't sssee uss leave my love!" The thought of finding the precious occupied him for the rest of the day.

That night, as the sun fell down, Gollum left the Misty Mountains for the first time in years. He ran on all fours out of the tunnel that Bilbo Baggins had used three years ago. He couldn't believe the things he saw and the way he felt when he entered into the world again. Gollum looked at the trees, the stars and moon that cast a pale light over his new surroundings. The wind blew gently against him and rustled through the trees. Gollum thought that he had been born again.

He sat there in the forest, listening to the sounds that trees and creatures make at night. He tried to remember what lay to the north, south, east and west. It had been many years after all. He said "Yes, yes precious it is best to go sssouth towards the plainss and the woodss." Gollum couldn't know that Bilbo had gone directly east, and then passed over the Misty Mountains to go back to his home in the Shire (hundreds of miles north and west),with the Ring still in his pocket.

With his mind made up, Gollum bounded away into the darkness. He traveled many miles that night along the edge of the Misty Mountains towards the great forests; Lothlorien the home of the Eldar Elf Galadriel, Fangorn the home of the Ents, and Mirkwood which lay mainly to the east. Gollum was joyful with his freedom and he only stopped moving when he was starving or too exhausted to go on.

After years of wandering (his path wasn't a straight line but moved from side to side across many miles and he soon slowed down as he was out of shape from staying in his cave for so long) he reached Lothlorien, the home of Galadriel and elf with power that could affect the minds of creatures like Gollum.

When he was several miles away from the forest, he could begin to sense the power that lay in the trees and he stopped, too scared to move. He whispered "Oh my precious, what things lie in these woodsss in front of us? Why do they hate poor Gollum, what has he ever done to them?" Though the elves were kind and good beings, Gollum couldn't know that the Ring had been made by the ancient Dark Lord Sauron who was the great enemy of the elves. The Ring was made to control them, and because Gollum had carried it for so long, it's power affected him and caused the elves power to affect him too.

Against his will, Gollum's body crept forward as it was drawn closer to Lothlorien. Terrified, he cried "Precious, oh precious why are you doing this to us?" as he tried in vain to escape from the pull.

It swept over Gollum like the tide over the beach and it caused his mind to return to the day when he found the Ring.

He was on the banks of a river in which was lined with trees and covered by a sunny sky. His name was Smeagol and he was fishing with his best friend Deagol. Gollum the wretch wasn't alive yet and Smeagol the son of a wealthy hobbit house was in his place. He was a curious hobbit, always peeking and looking under things and in them. He delighted in placing a worm on a fishing hook as he liked the motions the worm made when stuck.

Smeagol and Deagol were trying to catch the one big fish that had eluded them all summer. They were drifting in the middle of the slow, lazy river when Deagol felt a slight tug on his line. "Look Smeagol, I've got one!" cried Deagol in excitement.

"Go on, pull it in!" said Smeagol who was equally excited. Deagol yanked on the line and when he did, the fish pulled back so hard that he fell out of the boat and into the river. Deagol was drug along the bottom and he tried to hold on to his pole, but the fish was too strong. He let go and was about to surface, when a glint in the mud caught his eye.

The Ring waited there, to be picked by the unfortunate Deagol. He grabbed it and swam back to the banks of the river. Smeagol, meanwhile was getting increasing worried about his friend. It was Smeagol's birthday, after all and he wanted it to be perfect. He was relieved when he saw Deagol climb up on the bank, and cried "Deagol, oh I was so worried..." but his friend didn't reply to him, instead he stared at something in his palm.

Smeagol came closer and saw the shiny golden Ring. He was intrigued by it and thought it only right that Deagol should give it to him as it was his birthday. "Give us that, Deagol my love." murmured Smeagol.

"Why should I?" Deagol replied in a loud, angry tone.

"Because it's my Birthday and I wants it."

"I already gave you a present and it was more expensive than I could afford too." Deagol tried to run away, but Smeagol jumped on him and bite his hand until he dropped the Ring. Deagol choked Smeagol, desperate to regain the Ring but Smeagol was stronger and he pushed him down and strangled him. The young hobbit then started down the path to become the creature Gollum, that he is today. He grabbed his new Ring whispering "My Precioussss....".

Gollum awoke feeling very nauseous and confused. He was laying a meadow around fifty feet away from the forest. He could remember being pulled in towards Lothlorien, but it was there that his memory ended. The power surrounding the woods left him alone as he began to stumble and then run away from the nightmare that the Ring had caused him to have. "What happened back there my love? Did the nasty elvses try to hurt you? Well we are stronger then any elvesss, no one can hurt us precious...." Gollum was to naive to know where his path would end up taking him, to Mordor the place were Sauron would soon dwell and the very place where the evil Ring wanted him to go.

Through out the many years Gollum traveled through the place called Rhovianion. Though it was inhabited by the people of Rohan, he rarely saw them and hid when he did. The land consisted of great plains and forests with mountains bordering the west and southern borders. Gollum crisscrossed the plains, searching for some hint of the Ring. After nearly fifty years of wandering, he said to himself "Where are you, my precious? Did the nasty elvses find you? We shall go south to Mordor and look there."

Gollum was very surprised when he said this as he was terrified of Mordor and the dark evil that rested there. "Not Mordor, my love we mustn't go there!" He didn't want to go near the place, but what was left of the Ring's influence on his mind compelled him to.

Against his will he traveled south across the country of Gondor, until he reached the Ered Lithui mountains which surrounded Mordor. Gollum wept with fear as he came closer to the darkness that laired inside. "Why oh why Precious must we come in there, the Orcses and worse things will find us and bite us!" he cried as he neared the edge of the mountains. He was terrified of the orcs, yet it was the sound of his voice that betrayed him.

An encampment of Orcs were nearby and their scouts heard Gollum. One asked his partner "Did yous hear that?".

"Yeah, must be some stupid, maggoty creature. Lets go see what it is."

Gollum heard their voices and tried to escape, but his pale skin was illuminated by the moon and the Orcs could easily see him. They soon caught him and, not knowing what he was, they tied his hands and feet instead of killing him. "Stupid, filthy Orcses! Preciousss doesn't like them, oh no she doesn't! cried Gollum.

"Shut up you scum, we'll be taking you to the Boss and he won't be happy with you sneaking around here!" The Orc replied with a sneer. They meant to take him to Sauron, who was looking for the Ring. Because he didn't have it he couldn't take physical form, instead he was a Great, Furious Eye on top of his tower, Barad-Dur. Since Gollum had carried the Ring for so long, Sauron could see into his mind and speak to him there. He needed the precious information that Gollum carried; where the Ring was, and who had it. He would do anything to get this out of poor Gollum.

As he entered Mordor, Gollum could feel the great darkness and evil that had awoken there. He cried silently with panic and whispered in his mind, "Oh my love, what have you gotten us into this time! We can't essscape with the Orcses and the darknesss that surroundsss usss!"

Sauron awoke and perceived the poor wretch. He could tell immediately that Gollum had carried his Ring and he thought "Well, this slight mortal has tried to defy me! He will soon learn the errors of his ways." Sauron went into Gollum's mind and learned that he knew who had the Ring. He order his Orcs to torture him and dig the information out of him. Of course the Dark Lord could do it himself, but he hadn't had any entertainment in a long time and this promised to be amusing. Poor Gollum was tormented day and night for many weeks, Sauron would not allow him to die, yet he stood on the brink of it for ages. The Dark Lord eventually gained two words out of Gollum, who was trying with all his might to protect his Precious.

"Shhhhire, Bagginsssss!" he finally cried out one painful day. With these words he started the War of the Ring which would end up in Sauron's and the Ring's destruction. Sauron didn't know that he would never regain his Ring. He kept Gollum in Mordor until he was healed and set him loose with instructions to hunt for the Ring.

The Orcs set Gollum loose on the Plains of Gororoth, to leave Mordor he had only too cross the Mountains that made up the lands Western border. He wanted out of the Evil land as quickly as possible so he chose not to go to the Black Gates or another break in the mountains. "We must get away, my love or He will find us and hurt us again!" Gollum couldn't believe the Sauron had truly set his free.

After days of searching for a pass through the Mountains, Gollum found himself drawn to an ancient watch tower. It had been abandoned for decades, though Sauron would soon send a company of Orcs to inhabit it. The tower guarded a secret pass named Cirith Ungol, which held an forgotten menace within it. As he came nearer to the entrance to the trail, Gollum could smell the reek of spoiled meat and blood.

"Whatss this my Precious? What stirss near here? Why does everyone want to hurt poor Gollum?" He whispered as he crawled down the stair into the pass. "We won't make any noises, Precious and they won't find us." Gollum said this mainly to comfort himself though he knew that whatever stirred in the mountain was already aware of his presence.

Shelob was her name. She was a spider of immense proportions and she only cared about feeding her giant bulk. Shelob was excited at the thought of fresh meat, but she soon realized that Gollum wouldn't be very tasty. He had been in Mordor and it's taint had sunken into his very being. She decided that she would still toy with him, even though she didn't want to feast on him.

Gollum came creeping down the tunnel when Shelob suddenly appeared in front of him. He could tell from her scent that she was hungry and in desperation he cried "Oh my love, if she lets us go we will return will fresher, sweeter meats then those nasty Orcses! We promises thisss!".

Shelob thought about this treaty, and though she hated to let a bit of fun go by, she was always seeking nicer food then the Orcs. The Queen of Spiders also knew that for some reason,Gollum would be true to his word. She let him go and Gollum argued with himself all the way out of the dark pass.

"We are going to come back! Oh, very wise my love! Come back to get eaten?"

"We promised Precious, and would you rather have usss dead now!"

"We are still in trouble, my love as we just promised to come back to Mordor!"

"We wouldn't go back to Him, just to Her. And we ssshall return with the Precious and then She will have to leave us alone!"

"We could feed that filthy Bagginses to Her!"

"Yes, yes, yes! We likes that idea!" With this figured out, Gollum left Mordor and the lands of the South. He would make his way back north towards places that he was familiar with. What he didn't know, was that he was being tracked.

Gandalf the Grey was one of the wisest and kindest beings in Middle Earth. He had been sent to oppose Sauron and to try to save the free people from the darkness that threatened to overwhelm them. He knew that the Ring was the key to Sauron's end and he knew that Gollum had once carried it. However, because Gandalf knew that the Ring was safe in the Shire (the home of the hobbits) he was only trying to capture Gollum and keep him from finding the Ring. The wizard knew that if Gollum recovered the Ring, Sauron would be able to regain it from him easily.

Gandalf had searched for Gollum for many months, and as other important things arose, he left the search to a trusted friend of his. In those days, Aragorn was known as Strider the Ranger. He was really the heir to the throne of Gondor, an important southern nation but he had to hide as Sauron would gladly kill him. Aragorn was the most skilled tracker and hunter in Middle Earth and he was a kindly man, if a bit stern. He was dark haired and wore worn clothes of leather and swede in colors that blended with his surroundings. The Ranger had been following Gollum for many days when he caught up with him near the Dead Marshes. Gollum knew that he was being followed and he cursed in frustration.

"Why do nasty people keep following us and biting uss Precious? We must get away for this tricksey man will hurt us like He did." It was no use, for Aragorn caught him quickly. The Ranger said, soothingly "Easy, I'm not going to hurt you."

Gollum screamed back "Nasty man wants the Precious, but we shall not tell him, no Precious we shall not!"

Aragorn tried to tempt him with fish but it was no use, Gollum was firmly convinced that everyone was out to get his Precious. He was forced to lead Gollum with a rope, for the sly creature tried many times to escape.

For many months they traveled toward the Mirkwood forest and the hall of the elves. It was slow going as it was winter and Gollum fought Aragorn every step of the way. The Ranger meant to take him to the Wood Elves who lived in the forest, as he knew that Gollum would be safe and contained there.

One blustery day, as the snow was falling, Aragorn stopped to make a fire as he saw that Gollum was shivering. The poor, confused wretch was silently grateful, though he did not show it outwardly. He was slowly getting less terrified of the man, though he still had his mind set on escape. As the man and the former hobbit warmed themselves near the fire, Gollum decided to find out more of the strange man.

"We wonders Precious, does this ssstrider have any nice thingsss to eat? Aragorn was lost in thought as he heard the first civil words that Gollum had spoken to him. He looked at the creature and pulled some dried fish out of his pack. Gollum took it and he thanked the Ranger by saying "Fishes are nice, yes Precious but we likes the fresh kind better."

Aragorn looked amused and he said "I am sorry, but the only fresh fish to be found are many miles away from here."

Gollum looked up from his food and answered "We wonders were 'here' is my love."

"We are on the east side of the Mirkwood forest, just south of the Running River, which passes through it."

"What's it saying, my Precious, my Love? Why are we here Precious?"

Aragorn sighed and said "I am taking you to the wood elves who live in the forest, for with them you shall be safe from Sauron and the Ring."

Gollum spat the rest of the fish out and hissed "The tricksey man is trying to keep us from the Precious, we told you that he would hurt us and lie to us!" This is when the civility of Gollum ended and he was infuriated with the idea that he would be kept from searching for the Ring. He tried to leap away, but Aragorn caught him again and they continued north.

After several more weeks they entered Mirkwood. It was a dark, damp wood where the sunlight barely filtered through the trees and the darkness overwhelm travelers at night. Gollum hated the forest as soon as he entered it and he promised himself that he would soon escape to continue his hunt for the Ring. Aragorn led Gollum to the Elves hall, which was brightly lit and the trees around it went much brighter and cheerful than the others in the wood.

Aragorn called " I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn and I come on behalf of Gandalf." The place seemed motionless and silent for a moment and then several elves appeared.

"You are known and welcome here, son of Arathorn." said Enwe, the leader of the Elven guards. "But what of your companion? You must tell us Gandalf request before he enters."

Aragorn replied "The Grey Wizard bids that you hold this creature and guard over him. His name is Gollum and he is a crucial link to the war that will soon be fought. Under no surcumstances should he be allowed to escape."

Enwe looked at the other elves and they seemed to agree without words. He turned back and said "We do not understand what importance a being like this Gollum to the Dark Lord Sauron, but we shall do what Gandalf bids. He shall be treated with kindness and compassion while he remains here. The Elves will maintain a constant watch over him and if it is the Wizards wish that he stay here, so he shall."

Aragorn sighed with relief and said "I give him over to you, then. Namarie (farewell)."

Gollum had watch his whole exchange with dread thinking to himself "Even the tricksey Ranger is better then the Elvses!" As they came near him and took hold of the rope that binded him, he shuddered in horror. Silently, Enwe led him to a rock that concealed a passageway to the deepest levels of the Elven Hall. They fed Gollum and then shut him in a courtyard-like place. It was completely enclosed and the only exit was guarded by an Elf on the other side of the thick door that covered it.

Gollum spent his days in misery and sorrow there. He was fed fish twice a day and at night he could hear the songs that the Elves sang under the trees. Sometimes his guards let him out into the forest and they watched as he climbed a tree that was just tall enough so he could feel the wind and see the stars. When he went back inside, Gollum argued with himself.

"We must get the Precious, we must get her back!", he would begin.

"Patience, have patience my love. We will escape from the Elvses and then we will find the Precious again!"

"Why must we wait any longer, my love? Why does everything happen to poor usss?"

"Things will change my love, and when they do we shall have the Precious once again and then kill the filthy Bagginses!"

After nearly seventy years, Gollum had still not forgotten his hatred for the hobbit that had stolen his Ring.

Many months had gone by when Gollum's luck changed. He was at the top of his favorite tree when he smelled Orcs coming near. He whispered to himself, "What's this my love, do we finally have a chance to escape with the help of the filthy Orcses?" Gollum waited at the top of his tree with bated breath. It was his hope that the Orcs would kill his guards and allow him to leave.

Gollum listened as the Orcs came closer and he could tell that it was quite a large group then that usually came in Mirkwood. He couldn't know that Sauron had learned of his captivity and he had sent the Orcs to rescue and set him free. The battle was quick, though the Elves were skilled archers they were soon killed as the Orcs greatly outnumbered them. Gollum crept down his tree when he was sure that he Orcs were gone, and he set off out of the forest with delight. He had long ago decided where he would go when he was finally free, so Gollum traveled over the Misty Mountains to the place that was once called Hollin. It was there that he felt the Ring's presence again after decades of searching.

Gollum stopped in his tracks and whispered "Can it be true my love? Is the Precious near us once again? We will be ours once again once the Baggins is dead!" He followed the Ring, tracking the one who carried it over many miles. It was in front of the entrance to the Mines of Moria, a deep and dark place that the dwarves had mined long ago (it was now overrun by foul creatures) when he saw who had the Ring and those who were with him.

Gollum looked upon the Fellowship of the Ring, a group of people whose single purpose was to protect the Ring-bearer. Frodo was Bilbo's heir and it was he who was taking the Ring to it's destruction. Gandalf and Aragorn traveled with him along with six others; three of Frodo's hobbit kinsmen, Legolas the Mirkwood elf, Boromir the man, and Gimli the dwarf.

Gollum looked upon this group of people who he hated and feared, yet he said to himself "We shall follow the Precious to the end of the world if it means that we shall get it back!"

It was true, the Ring held such sway over Gollum that he couldn't stop trying to regain it. He was addicted to it and it would eventually lead him to his death.