Saruman taking ring from Gandalf..

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Lost One

The problem with Gandalf somehow distracting Saruman from Narya is that he was trapped in Saruman's place of power and, by his own explicit admission in recounting his tale at Rivendell, was completely powerless.

In fairness, when he said that he was still concealing the existence of Narya from the people he was talking to...

I wonder whether Thrain provides an answer to this very interesting question. He, too, was imprisoned by a rogue Maia while carrying objects of great importance - and he, too, managed to keep them a secret. In Thrain's case, he was willing to give up his Ring (surely the easiest to hide!) to Sauron in order to keep the map and key to Erebor safe. Is it unreasonable to say that Gandalf, a being of higher order facing one of less power than Sauron, and not suffering torture either, was able to preserve even a Ring of Power? Perhaps he was "completely powerless" to escape because he was exerting all his power to keep Narya safe.

Perhaps the answer is as simple as this: Gandalf would be a tough nut to crack. Saruman decided to let him moulder away on top of Orthanc for a while before he tried to take a Ring of Power from him, even in his seemingly-defeated state. There was lots to do, and the Dark Lord's plans were not yet ready to be launched... and it wasn't like Gandalf was going anywhere, right? Hey, what's that flapping noise?

hS