Chapter 377: Fighting Poison with Poison
Frodo took the crystal phial and gazed at the holy light within. As he held it, his whole body felt eased and comforted, and the constant, muffled pressure the Ring exerted on his mind faded until he felt almost light again.
Realising this, Frodo's face lit with delight. He knew at once that the Light of Eärendil was a priceless gift.
"Thank you, Lord Kael!" he said, without any pretence of formality. He carefully slipped the Phial of Galadriel into his enchanted pouch, tucking it beside the box that held the Ring.
In this way, the Ring's power of temptation was pushed down yet another layer.
So long as no one came too close to it, at least for a time, it would not affect those around it.
But Kael did not intend to leave the matter there.
He drew out a small bottle filled with a dark green liquid and said to Frodo, "Take out the Ring's box. Then pour this inside and let the Ring soak in it. Be careful not to touch the liquid."
Frodo was puzzled, but he did as he was told, bringing out the box and opening the lid.
At once, with no barrier to muffle it, the Ring's power surged outward in a wave of temptation, trying to snare every mind nearby.
Kael and Gandalf, however, had both prepared themselves. Kael's Occlumency flared to full strength, and for the moment, the Ring's call could not touch him at all.
Gandalf stood firm as well, his will and spirit more than enough to deny the lure.
As for Frodo, his nature as a Hobbit meant the Ring's grip on him was weaker than on any other race.
So no matter how it whispered and pressed, the three of them stood unmoved.
Kael passed the bottle to Frodo.
Frodo took it and tipped the dark green liquid into the box.
It was thick and slightly viscous, and an acrid, faintly bloody smell rose from it, making Frodo wrinkle his nose.
But then his expression changed to wonder. The moment the liquid covered the Ring, its power of temptation vanished as if cut off by a knife, while the dark green fluid itself began to boil violently.
It was as though a white‑hot ingot had been cast into water.
"All right, Frodo. Close the box," Kael said quickly.
Frodo snapped the lid shut at once, trapping the seething liquid and the Ring within.
Strangely enough, once closed, the box remained perfectly tight; not a trace of the poisonous liquid seeped out.
"Lord Kael, what was that?" Frodo asked in amazement. "It made the Ring's temptation disappear!"
Kael smiled. "Basilisk venom. One of the most deadly and destructive substances there is. It cannot destroy the Ring, but if you soak the Ring in it, it can suppress and smother the Ring's dark power to the greatest possible extent, stopping it from whispering to people nearby and stirring up the darkness in their hearts. You could say we are using poison to fight poison."
Frodo's eyes brightened. "Then if we keep it in the venom, does that mean I never need to fear its call again?"
Kael shook his head. "I am afraid not, Frodo. Basilisk venom can dampen the power the Ring gives off, just as cold water can cool a red‑hot bar of iron. If it were ordinary metal, it would soon be quenched.
"But the Ring is no common piece of gold. It holds a vast, near‑endless power, and it can go on shedding 'heat' without end. In time, it will boil the water away, and in the end even turn it all to steam.
"So after a while, the venom in the box will lose its strength entirely, and then it will no longer be able to hold the Ring's power down.
"However, you need not despair. Before you set out for Mordor, I will prepare more basilisk venom for you. Remember to change the venom in the box regularly. That way, we can keep the Ring's influence as small as possible."
"Then I must trouble you, Lord Kael," Frodo said at once. He would never refuse such help. His resistance to the Ring was strong, but not perfect.
To carry it for long would strain both his mind and body. If this eased the burden even a little, it was a blessing.
"Oh, and take this as well," Kael said, as if recalling something. He drew out a tiny crystal vial and handed it to Frodo.
Inside, clear liquid gleamed softly. Frodo tilted it, puzzled. "What is this?"
"Phoenix tears," Kael replied. "They can heal many injuries and poisons. Basilisk venom, for instance, can only be fully cured by phoenix tears. They are also a remedy for many wounds left by dark magic. If you were struck by a Morgul blade, for example, so long as you still had a breath in you, this could bring you back."
He sighed softly. "I give it to you in case of need, but I hope you will never have to use it."
Phoenix tears… that meant Lord Kael's own tears.
Frodo realised this in a rush and stared at the little vial in shock. He had not imagined that Kael's tears, as a phoenix Animagus, would hold such power. It was astonishing.
Gandalf chuckled. "You are in luck, Frodo. Phoenix tears are a true elixir of life. A single drop is enough. Even if one foot has already crossed the threshold of Mandos's halls, they can pull you back. No other medicine in the world matches them."
With the gifts given, the three of them left the Room of Requirement and stepped back into the corridor.
Frodo watched as the door swung shut and faded from the wall until there was no trace it had ever been there.
Once again, he marvelled at the wonders of magic.
At the same time, he could not help but wonder whether Lord Kael was ever worried that someone might stumble into that hidden chamber by accident.
He had seen how many treasures were kept within. Nothing there looked ordinary.
Gandalf, with a teasing glint in his eye, had said that every single thing in that room was worth more than all the treasure in a dragon's hoard put together.
Frodo had never seen such a hoard for himself, but he had no trouble believing it was immense. Bilbo had often said that even his own wealth could not compare to Lord Kael's.
Having inherited Bilbo's estate, Frodo knew exactly how rich his uncle had been. The mithril shirt on his back alone was worth more than the whole Shire, to say nothing of the mountain of gold and jewels besides.
Yet in Bilbo's telling, even that was nothing next to Kael's fortune, as far apart as earth and sky.
Frodo could not begin to picture how vast that wealth must be, but he had heard stories from the Hogwarts students about Smaug the dragon and the treasure he guarded.
They said Smaug's body was over a thousand feet long, taller and larger than most of the castle's towers, and that the treasure in Hogwarts' vaults was piled deep enough to bury him entirely.
And beyond that, Lord Kael was said to own a gem that could turn stone to gold, creating new wealth without end.
All that, and more besides, lay in the Room of Requirement. Was he truly not afraid of thieves?
The question stirred in Frodo's mind, but in the end he did not voice it.
Kael, for his part, had no idea what Frodo was thinking. Even if he had, he would only have smiled and shaken his head.
The Room of Requirement was the safehouse he had spent more than ten years designing. Now and then a particularly fortunate student or teacher might stumble upon the room and step inside.
But finding and entering the specific chamber where Kael stored his treasures was another matter entirely. Aside from Kael himself and those he explicitly allowed, no one could approach it.
That secret vault was bound to his very soul. Even with the right password and the correct way of summoning the room, no one without Kael's leave would ever set foot inside.
With the Ring's immediate threat contained for the moment, Frodo went to rejoin his fellow Hobbits.
And Kael and Gandalf turned their minds to another task: preparing to travel to Rivendell, to take their places at the coming council.