Rating: PG (V)
Pick up story after the killing of Saruman, Grima Wormtongue and the rousting of Sharkey's men in the chapter titled "The Scouring of the Shire" in Book III: The Return of the King.
1 Chapter 1: Homecoming
November 3rd S.R. 1419
It was worse than they could have ever imagined. Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriodoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took had arrived in the Shire only two days earlier. But instead of their familiar somewhat sleepy and comfortable homeland they found a burned, twisted and maimed parody of normalcy.
Restoring order to their beloved Shire involved dismissing the ill-organized Shirriffs and rousing the Shirefolk into an armed revolt against their foreign overlords. Blood had been spilt on Shire land. Frodo had tried to diffuse the tense situation between the now-angry hobbit population and the swaggering Men brought in from the South by the Chief. But to no avail. Merry and Pippin were forced into actual fighting and killing the ruffians at Bywater. More shockingly still, some hobbits had been killed in the defense of the Shire. Emotions were running high in the Shire with most able-bodied hobbits armed and eager to join in the battle. Bows and axes which had previously been used only for hunting and farm work were now turned against Men. Swords which had lain quietly tucked away in storage chests and mathom houses were now openly worn at the hip. The Shire had finally awoken to vent its anger.
After dealing with the ruffians, the four friends journeyed to Bag End to confront the source of the evil; Sharkey. This proved to be none other than Saruman the great Wizard. He had been defeated and defrocked by his fellow Wizard and friend of the hobbits, Gandalf. But Saruman blamed Frodo for his own misfortunes. Saruman nursed a terrible and lasting anger against Frodo, and so had come to Frodo's very home, defiling the Shire with his malevolence and madness. In the end Saruman was killed by his own assistant, Grima Wormtongue, who was in turn killed by the vengeful Hobbiton populace. All this had taken place on the very doorsteps of Frodo's beloved Bag End home.
Frodo's thoughts turned inward again. He desperately wanted peace and tranquility, but this was denied him time and time again. Every time he was exposed to violence, he felt a little more of his own composure slipping away into uncontrollable depression and anger. Blood on his doorstep. Blood on his hands. Poison in his very veins. Would the evil ever end? The thought of living in this gory place was abhorrent. He couldn't stand to be at Bag End right at that moment. Tom Cotton volunteered to take care of the bodies and blood.
"Steady old Farmer Cotton," thought Frodo. "There's a hard vein of stalwartness in even the most rural hobbit when put to the test." It was just then that the putrid remains of Lotho Sackville-Baggins was discovered in one of Bag End's shacks.
With the main source of the evil removed, the friends next turned their attention to rescuing hobbits imprisoned under Sharkey's orders. Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and a good number of the Hobbiton populace traveled to Micheldelving where the Lockholes were located.
The only resistance offered was a lone hobbit Shirriff holding the keys to the Lockholes. Upon seeing the mob, he quickly removed his Shirriff's hat and handed the keys to Merry before slipping in with the crowd.
The first hobbit liberated from the Lockholes was Will Whitfoot, Mayor of Hobbiton. The old hobbit was delighted to see light again, but was too frail to walk out on his own. As Pippin and Merry locked arms and carried the elderly statesman out, a cheer spontaneously erupted from the crowd. Tears welled up in the Mayor's eyes. Next was Frodo's good friend, Fredigar Bolger, otherwise known as Fatty. That nickname was quickly dropped as Fredigar was carried out by Merry and Pippin. Fredigar has lost a tremendous amount of weight while in prison. But he smiled bravely and even jested with Pippin. The rest of the rebel hobbits were lead out of the Lockholes to much cheering and hurrahs.
Even though he was clearly unwell, the Mayor cleared his throat and waved his hands to silence the crowd. A politician to the last, Mayor Whitfoot was ever ready to preside at any public occasion.
"Dearest Gentlehobbits," the Mayor said, "Justice has triumphed over injustice and we can see the light again."
This met with great ovation and applause. Merry winked at Pippin as they stood beside the Mayor, supporting him. Sam and Frodo stood to one side, supporting Fredigar.
"However," the Mayor continued, "I regret that I cannot today resume my duties as your Mayor. Please continue to give your undivided support to these fine young lads while I recover."
A voice from the crowd cried out, "But your Mayorship, sir. Who will be Mayor until you're all better?"
"I nominate young Master Baggins to fill in as Deputy Mayor until such time as I can resume my duties," the Mayor replied. Once again the crowd burst into cheers. Frodo wasn't too pleased with the way this was going. He already had enough to do, and now he had to be a politician? But seeing how the crowd was in a fey mood, he reluctantly agreed.
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins was another of the hobbits liberated from the Lockholes. Up until her arrest, no one in the Shire much liked the ancient hobbitess. But when she stood up to Sharkey's Men and called them cowards to their faces, her standing in the community suddenly took a turn for the better. Even so, it hit the old lady hard to learn of her son's death at the hands of Grima Wormtongue. Luckily, by the time everyone arrived back at Hobbiton and Bywater, Farmer Cotton and his sons had finished burying the remains from Bag End.
Fredigar invited Merry and Pippin to stay with him until they could find more permanent lodgings. It was a great relief for Frodo to know that Fredigar would have someone to care for him during his convalescence. Many Shire folk were obliged to share living quarters that autumn and winter, since Sharkey's Men had destroyed most hobbit holes and dwellings in and around Hobbiton and Bywater. Farmer Cotton invited Sam and Frodo to room with them at the farm house just outside of Bywater.
A small group consisting of Frodo, Sam, and Merry escorted Lobelia to her ruined home on the Hill. The ancient Sackville- Baggins was stricken with grief to see the small, pitiful grave of her only son and heir. Now she had no one to turn to, save her blood relatives on the Bracegirdle side of the family. "Ashes and dust," she bitterly thought. "Bag End was cursed from the start. I should have never urged Lotho to take it. Evil dragon's gold and unpredictable adventurers. Now it's doubly cursed with slaughter and regret. I'll have naught to do with it anymore."
"Frodo Baggins," the old hobbitess croaked, leaning heavily on a cane. "Frodo, come here."
Frodo dutifully attended his distantly-related great-aunt.
"Frodo Baggins," she said, "I freely give you Bag End, its lands, and all contents of buildings on the property. There is nothing here for me except regrets and bitterness. Do what you will with it. It was always yours anyway. Yours and Bilbo's. I'm tired and old and my son has been murdered. Do one last thing for me. Take me home to what family remains to me."
Frodo asked Pippin to arrange for a pony cart, if one could be found. That very evening he and Sam escorted his great-aunt to her ancestral home at Hardbottle. While Sam tended to the pony, Frodo made sure Lobelia had a room of her own and would be taken care of until her death. It was well past midnight when they returned to Farmer Cotton's house. Rose Cotton had stayed up to make sure her two guests were properly greeted. She met them at the door with steaming mugs of tea to warm their hands and dinner to fill their bellies. The sight of her waiting for him at the doorway warmed Sam's heart and soul. He was finally at home now. But for Frodo, the night brought only darkness and loneliness.
Pick up story after the killing of Saruman, Grima Wormtongue and the rousting of Sharkey's men in the chapter titled "The Scouring of the Shire" in Book III: The Return of the King.
1 Chapter 1: Homecoming
November 3rd S.R. 1419
It was worse than they could have ever imagined. Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriodoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took had arrived in the Shire only two days earlier. But instead of their familiar somewhat sleepy and comfortable homeland they found a burned, twisted and maimed parody of normalcy.
Restoring order to their beloved Shire involved dismissing the ill-organized Shirriffs and rousing the Shirefolk into an armed revolt against their foreign overlords. Blood had been spilt on Shire land. Frodo had tried to diffuse the tense situation between the now-angry hobbit population and the swaggering Men brought in from the South by the Chief. But to no avail. Merry and Pippin were forced into actual fighting and killing the ruffians at Bywater. More shockingly still, some hobbits had been killed in the defense of the Shire. Emotions were running high in the Shire with most able-bodied hobbits armed and eager to join in the battle. Bows and axes which had previously been used only for hunting and farm work were now turned against Men. Swords which had lain quietly tucked away in storage chests and mathom houses were now openly worn at the hip. The Shire had finally awoken to vent its anger.
After dealing with the ruffians, the four friends journeyed to Bag End to confront the source of the evil; Sharkey. This proved to be none other than Saruman the great Wizard. He had been defeated and defrocked by his fellow Wizard and friend of the hobbits, Gandalf. But Saruman blamed Frodo for his own misfortunes. Saruman nursed a terrible and lasting anger against Frodo, and so had come to Frodo's very home, defiling the Shire with his malevolence and madness. In the end Saruman was killed by his own assistant, Grima Wormtongue, who was in turn killed by the vengeful Hobbiton populace. All this had taken place on the very doorsteps of Frodo's beloved Bag End home.
Frodo's thoughts turned inward again. He desperately wanted peace and tranquility, but this was denied him time and time again. Every time he was exposed to violence, he felt a little more of his own composure slipping away into uncontrollable depression and anger. Blood on his doorstep. Blood on his hands. Poison in his very veins. Would the evil ever end? The thought of living in this gory place was abhorrent. He couldn't stand to be at Bag End right at that moment. Tom Cotton volunteered to take care of the bodies and blood.
"Steady old Farmer Cotton," thought Frodo. "There's a hard vein of stalwartness in even the most rural hobbit when put to the test." It was just then that the putrid remains of Lotho Sackville-Baggins was discovered in one of Bag End's shacks.
With the main source of the evil removed, the friends next turned their attention to rescuing hobbits imprisoned under Sharkey's orders. Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and a good number of the Hobbiton populace traveled to Micheldelving where the Lockholes were located.
The only resistance offered was a lone hobbit Shirriff holding the keys to the Lockholes. Upon seeing the mob, he quickly removed his Shirriff's hat and handed the keys to Merry before slipping in with the crowd.
The first hobbit liberated from the Lockholes was Will Whitfoot, Mayor of Hobbiton. The old hobbit was delighted to see light again, but was too frail to walk out on his own. As Pippin and Merry locked arms and carried the elderly statesman out, a cheer spontaneously erupted from the crowd. Tears welled up in the Mayor's eyes. Next was Frodo's good friend, Fredigar Bolger, otherwise known as Fatty. That nickname was quickly dropped as Fredigar was carried out by Merry and Pippin. Fredigar has lost a tremendous amount of weight while in prison. But he smiled bravely and even jested with Pippin. The rest of the rebel hobbits were lead out of the Lockholes to much cheering and hurrahs.
Even though he was clearly unwell, the Mayor cleared his throat and waved his hands to silence the crowd. A politician to the last, Mayor Whitfoot was ever ready to preside at any public occasion.
"Dearest Gentlehobbits," the Mayor said, "Justice has triumphed over injustice and we can see the light again."
This met with great ovation and applause. Merry winked at Pippin as they stood beside the Mayor, supporting him. Sam and Frodo stood to one side, supporting Fredigar.
"However," the Mayor continued, "I regret that I cannot today resume my duties as your Mayor. Please continue to give your undivided support to these fine young lads while I recover."
A voice from the crowd cried out, "But your Mayorship, sir. Who will be Mayor until you're all better?"
"I nominate young Master Baggins to fill in as Deputy Mayor until such time as I can resume my duties," the Mayor replied. Once again the crowd burst into cheers. Frodo wasn't too pleased with the way this was going. He already had enough to do, and now he had to be a politician? But seeing how the crowd was in a fey mood, he reluctantly agreed.
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins was another of the hobbits liberated from the Lockholes. Up until her arrest, no one in the Shire much liked the ancient hobbitess. But when she stood up to Sharkey's Men and called them cowards to their faces, her standing in the community suddenly took a turn for the better. Even so, it hit the old lady hard to learn of her son's death at the hands of Grima Wormtongue. Luckily, by the time everyone arrived back at Hobbiton and Bywater, Farmer Cotton and his sons had finished burying the remains from Bag End.
Fredigar invited Merry and Pippin to stay with him until they could find more permanent lodgings. It was a great relief for Frodo to know that Fredigar would have someone to care for him during his convalescence. Many Shire folk were obliged to share living quarters that autumn and winter, since Sharkey's Men had destroyed most hobbit holes and dwellings in and around Hobbiton and Bywater. Farmer Cotton invited Sam and Frodo to room with them at the farm house just outside of Bywater.
A small group consisting of Frodo, Sam, and Merry escorted Lobelia to her ruined home on the Hill. The ancient Sackville- Baggins was stricken with grief to see the small, pitiful grave of her only son and heir. Now she had no one to turn to, save her blood relatives on the Bracegirdle side of the family. "Ashes and dust," she bitterly thought. "Bag End was cursed from the start. I should have never urged Lotho to take it. Evil dragon's gold and unpredictable adventurers. Now it's doubly cursed with slaughter and regret. I'll have naught to do with it anymore."
"Frodo Baggins," the old hobbitess croaked, leaning heavily on a cane. "Frodo, come here."
Frodo dutifully attended his distantly-related great-aunt.
"Frodo Baggins," she said, "I freely give you Bag End, its lands, and all contents of buildings on the property. There is nothing here for me except regrets and bitterness. Do what you will with it. It was always yours anyway. Yours and Bilbo's. I'm tired and old and my son has been murdered. Do one last thing for me. Take me home to what family remains to me."
Frodo asked Pippin to arrange for a pony cart, if one could be found. That very evening he and Sam escorted his great-aunt to her ancestral home at Hardbottle. While Sam tended to the pony, Frodo made sure Lobelia had a room of her own and would be taken care of until her death. It was well past midnight when they returned to Farmer Cotton's house. Rose Cotton had stayed up to make sure her two guests were properly greeted. She met them at the door with steaming mugs of tea to warm their hands and dinner to fill their bellies. The sight of her waiting for him at the doorway warmed Sam's heart and soul. He was finally at home now. But for Frodo, the night brought only darkness and loneliness.