Sneak

Sneaking had been a part of Gollum's nature since his earliest days. Even before he had found the Ring, while he still dwelt among his Hobbit-like folk by the Great River, he had stolen eggs from birds' nests. After his friend Déagol found the Ring, Sméagol (as Gollum was then known) took it by force. He was eventually driven out from his riverside community and found his way down into the roots of the Misty Mountains. There, he lived by sneaking for centuries, his life having been extended by the power of the Ring, taking what he could by stealth from the Goblins of the mountains.

After his fateful encounter with Bilbo Baggins, his Precious Ring was lost to him, and he set out from the darkness to recover it. He travelled far and wide, secretly tracking Bilbo's course, but he found himself drawn to Mordor where he was captured and questioned. He was eventually released in the hope that he would lead Sauron to the lost Ring, and it was at this time that he became known as the 'Sneak'. As he departed Mordor, Gollum encountered Shelob in the Mountains of Shadow and gained an understanding with the monstrous spider, becoming known to the Orcs as her 'Sneak'. Eventually Gollum made his way down out of the mountains, and the Orcs let him pass, as they had been ordered.

After many hardships and far wandering, Gollum found himself in the darkness of Moria, and there he discovered the Fellowship of the Ring as they passed through that old Dwarf-city. Using all his skills as a Sneak, Gollum tracked them in secret, out from under the mountains and on along their journey down the Great River. It was only in the hills of Emyn Muil that his stealth failed him, and he was captured by Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee. Gollum would later try to use Shelob to take the Ring from Frodo, but this plan failed. Again he turned to his sneaking skills as he secretly followed Frodo and Sam across the wastes of Mordor to Orodruin. Once there, at the Cracks of Doom, he finally reclaimed his long-lost Precious, but in doing so he fell into the Fire of Doom. So the One Ring was destroyed, and Gollum's nature as a Sneak helped to bring an end to the Dark Lord and to the War of the Ring.