As the Nordics, Feliks, and the stunningly beautiful elves searched northward, Toris and the hobbits seeked to gain the alliance of the micro-nations, who resided more southward. There were a lot more micro-nations than Nordics, so Toris had more heads he had to convince than Feliks did. Despite the fact that it seemed harder, Toris was smart and could think of a way to get through things very well.
He knocked on the Micro-nation's door. There was an uproar inside, and at least seven distinct voices could be heard. Finally, a little girl with light brown hair that was styled in a one-sided curly ponytail answered. She had paint splotches on her face and clothes. Looking at her, you could tell that some artistic party was probably taking place inside. Most of the micro-nations liked art, so that wasn't hard to believe.
"What do you want?" She asked in a very high-pitched voice. "We need your help" Toris said, "It's a very urgent matter and if you help, well you may just get your place on the map" The micro-nation's liked the sound of that. Toris and the hobbits were let inside at once. At first, there was not a single word spoken among them. Instead, they counted the number of micro-nations present. There was Sealand, Wy, Monaco, Kugelmugel, Luxembourg, Ladonia, and Seborga. There were one or two other micro-nations, but they were always off gallivanting wherever they wished and never stayed with the main group.
Each micro-nation was unique in appearance and personality, and perhaps their group held the most diversity of any band of countries. Official or not. Monaco and Wy were both girls, while the other five were boys. None of them looked older than thirteen, which showed that they were small nations. Since they were all small, they took a liking to other small people too, probably because they could relate with them. This Is where the hobbits would play a big role. And the fact that they weren't countries made their influence stronger. In fact, if it weren't for the hobbits, the micro-nations wouldn't have listened to Toris at all.
Even though they were all unique in their own way, there was one thing that they had in common. If you guessed "Self-confidence issues", you are exactly right. They were the group that received the most criticism, judgment, and persecution. Being called "Waste of land" had become normal for them. Due to this, they greatly doubted their power and rarely ventured outside of their small—and I mean small—territory. They doubted they could even accomplish a simple task of finding a lost friend.
"I...I really don't think we can..." Luxembourg said shyly once Toris had explained the situation and everyone had been acquainted. "We've never done any rescue missions and it sounds dangerous!" Ladonia said shakily. It was apparent that the micro-nations were somewhat afraid to leave their safe haven. Outside of their boundaries, they knew that there were other nations that would jump on them like cats with mice.
The hobbits expected Toris to do all the talking, but now seeing that the Lithuanian had no idea what to say, they spoke up. "I used to be just like you," Bilbo began to say. The micro-nations immediately gave him their full attention. "I was afraid to leave my home. Afraid of the world that lie ahead. But then I..." He paused and shifted his head. After thinking for a second or two, he continued, "Then I found courage and with it, I also found adventure. Was there tragedy? Yes, yes! Of course!" A sigh escaped the mouths of the micro-nations while he paused. "But, in the end, I felt more alive than I ever had." He finished.
The micro-nations pondered his words. "Yes! I see what you mean! Maybe we should be courageous!" was the thought of Sealand, Kugel, and Seborga. "I'm not so sure, but I guess we can help" were the thoughts of Wy, Luxembourg, and Ladonia. "I shall have none of it!" Monaco shouted loudly, her thought on the matter being made audible. It was obvious that changing her thoughts was going to be difficult. More difficult than Emil, whom the other group had convinced to help them just by annoying him. Monaco however, was not so easily annoyed or swayed.
Luckily for Toris, Monaco liked the hobbits, and Merry specifically. She could relate to him most. After a pause, she finally spoke. "Give me a good reason to help, and then I might consider it" She said with her arms folded. Merry and Pippin each took a seat beside her while Bilbo leaned against the closest wall. "When we find Frodo, we can have a good 'ole hobbit party and you can join!" Pippin said. That was the best excuse he could come up with. To his dismay, Monaco wasn't a party fanatic and was quite comfortable simply with a pad of paper and a pencil. In her opinion, parties were too busy.
"You can be recognized as a very brave girl. That's an honor, isn't it?" Bilbo asked. Also to their dismay, Monaco didn't care for fame and could care less what people recognized her as. She was a very simple girl that only desired a joyous life. Fame, recognition, titles; it all meant nothing to her. She humphed and shook her head, blatantly rejecting Bilbo's offer. Now it was Merry's turn, and he had to think of a good thing to offer. She didn't like parties and she didn't care for recognition...but there was one other area. Relationships.
"If you help us, I'm sure your friends and family will be proud of you. Plus, adventures are the best ways to meet new people" He said, hoping that he had worded what he wanted to say correctly. Monaco paused, blinked, and considered. She loved making new friends and she liked Merry. Maybe...if she helped...Merry would want to be her friend too. "I...I'll try to help you" She stuttered after a long, long pause. Merry smiled and hugged her. Normally, she'd probably shove him off, but she liked him too much for that.
"So what must we do? Does it involve art?" Kugel asked. He was an art fanatic, so it was natural for that to be his first question. "You are helping us find a hobbit, so I doubt we will need art, but you never know what to expect on an adventure" Toris said. Bilbo especially knew that was true. He had lived it. "Ah I see..." Was all the art-fanatic boy said. "I'm really good at finding things, so as long as you have me, you need not to worry!" Ladonia said with a wink. He was indeed the best at searching for things.
Seborga and Sealand cheered as the micro-nations and hobbits followed Toris' instruction. "Our friends are going northward, so that means we shall search southward!" He said, "Split into pairs and let's spread out!" It was a scramble to get into pairs, but finally everyone figured out who they wanted as a partner. Monaco and Merry, as you might have imagined, were the first to pair up. Second was Ladonia and Kugel. They tended to compliment each other well when paired. Bilbo and Luxembourg were also a pair, but they had nothing in common that anyone knew of. Pippin and Seborga were both very energetic characters, so they made a fine pair. Lastly, since the number of them was uneven, Sealand, Wy, and Toris made up the final pairing.
Without further adieu, they split ways and all searched in different directions.
I, as a writer, want to go into detail about what each pairing, including Feliks' bunch, were doing. I'll be sure to label the sections to make sure you, the reader, don't get too confuzzled.