The Forbidden Pool - In the middle of the night, Faramir wakes Frodo up and takes him to look at a pool of water nearby. There seems to be some sort of creature catching fish in the pool. The creature is Gollum who followed them all this way, drawn by the Ring, unable to leave Frodo because of it. Faramir's Men are ready to shoot Gollum with arrows, but Frodo asks them not to, telling them the creature is his guide. With Frodo's help, they capture Gollum.

Faramir questions Gollum about where he intends to lead Frodo and Sam. When he finds out that Gollum's planned path is a pass called Cirith Ungol, he is disturbed. He later tells Frodo that going to Cirith Ungol is a bad idea, because the pass has an evil reputation and will take them very close to the city of Minas Morgul, which used to be Minas Ithil—a city of Gondor. Now, however, it is the home of the Nazgûl. Frodo feels that because he can't abandon the quest, and this is the only option that has presented itself, he must try it.