He gave a great cry, and turned, leaded upon his steed, and with his company galloped madly back to Cirith Gorgor. But as they went his soldiers blew their horns in signal long arranged: and even before they came to the gate Sauron sprang his trap. –The Return of the King

When Revealed: Each player searches the encounter deck and discard pile for a different Orc, Troll, or Nazgûl enemy and adds it to the staging area. Shuffle Gwaihir into the encounter deck.

Dire. During the staging step, the first player does not reveal an encounter card as normal. Instead, he reveals 1 encounter card for each resource on The Black Gate.

Forced: After the players quest unsuccessfully, discard the active location.

This stage cannot be defeated. Each round the players survive gives the Ring-bearer more time to fulfill the quest to Mount Doom.