Samwise Gamgee
Realizing that he is a danger to the Shire as long as he remains there with the Ring, Frodo decides to take it to Rivendell, home of Elrond, a mighty Elf-lord. He leaves with three companions: his gardener Samwise Gamgee and his cousins Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took. They escape just in time, for Sauron's most powerful servants, the Nine Nazgûl, have entered the Shire as Black Riders, looking for Bilbo and the Ring. They follow Frodo's trail across the Shire and nearly intercept him.