Crossing the Snow Mountain! The Knight, Reading the Room, Chose to Back Down

Only after the last crow fell from the sky did the Fellowship of the Ring crawl out from the crevices between the rocks. Gandalf looked at the layer of mangled crow corpses on the ground, helplessness in his eyes. As a fellow Maiar, he naturally knew that although they had hidden in time and Wang Zhen's flying pet had killed every crow, their traitorous companion, Saruman, had already discovered them.

And that was not even what troubled him most!

For Gandalf the Grey, the worst and most vexing thing was the strange feeling he had harbored all along: Saruman, who had betrayed his faith, had likely already seen through his plan—to abandon the Rohan Pass and the other passes through the Misty Mountains, and cross the snowy peak of Caradhras directly.

As the wisest of the five Maiar who had come to Middle-earth, Gandalf the Grey knew his former friend Saruman very well. The wisdom of this White Wizard was no less than his own. Once Saruman saw through their plan, an endless succession of contingencies from the White Wizard would surely follow!

Moreover, Gandalf knew perfectly well that, because time was short, Saruman was not afraid of Gandalf discovering his intentions at all. Just as Saruman had said when he tried to persuade Gandalf to surrender in Isengard, the combined might of himself and the Dark Lord Sauron was simply not something they could resist.

For this very reason, Gandalf now felt both helpless and bitter. Even though his towering wisdom told him that Saruman was preparing to intercept them ahead, he could only grit his teeth and continue over the snowy peak of Caradhras!

Because the other passes through the Misty Mountains were surely already heavily defended. With the strength of just these few people, they might still