Sam awakens outside the underground gates of the Tower of Cirith Ungol, makes his way back out of the tunnel, and puts the Ring on again. The lure of power tempts him, but his love for Frodo and his own common sense outweigh the visions of the Ring. He realizes that if he wears the Ring inside Mordor, Sauron will immediately sense it and try to take it back. At the entrance to the fortress, he defeats a magical barrier with the phial of Galadriel. Although a warning sounds, he soon discovers that the orcs have killed each other. He finds Frodo stripped and beaten in the topmost chamber of the tower. Frodo fears that the orcs have taken the Ring and the quest has failed. When Sam reveals he took it for safety, for a moment Frodo sees him as an orc. Frodo warns his friend not to come between him and his burden again. They disguise themselves in orc clothing and leave the tower just before a Nazgûl arrives.
Traveling through the rough and waterless country of Mordor is very difficult for Frodo, and he quickly abandons his heavy orcish mailshirt. He is so tired that he cannot even remember the Shire. As the hobbits struggle along, they hear the death cry of the Witchking, but it does little to raise their spirits. They learn from the overhead conversation of two orcs that Gollum still follows them. A troop of orcs catches them on the road, but they are mistaken for orcs themselves and forced to join the march until they can escape. Sam realizes that they will not have either the strength or the food to leave Mordor after destroying the Ring, but the realization only makes him more determined to see the quest to its end. Frodo grows steadily weaker, worn down by the physical and psychic burden of the Ring. Sam offers to take it once again, but Frodo nearly draws his sword on him. Instead, they cast off as much as they can spare, saving little more than food and their elven gifts. When they reach the mountain, Sam carries his master, unsure of where they are headed but knowing they must continue. They finally crawl onto Sauron's road from his fortress to the Cracks of Doom. For a moment the clouds break and they have a glimpse of the Eye of Sauron.
