Only in the fires of Mount Doom could the One Ring be destroyed, and so it was that against all odds, Frodo crawled toward this grim goal. Though strong of will and pure of heart, even Frodo would surely have failed in this seemingly impossible task, had it not been for the courage and loyalty of his friend Sam. In spite of all that they faced, Sam would not be swayed from Frodo's side, though Gollum did all he could to drive a wedge of mistrust between them. Yet determination ran in the blood of Hobbits, for even Gollum, who was once a Hobbit himself, before the Ring found him, dragged his weary and parched bones across the waste of Mordor in pursuit of Frodo and his Precious.