Ten days after the Council, the Fellowship of the Ring was gathered once again at the start of the nearest trail to the Misty Mountains to embark on their noble quest. They were well-equipped for travel more than battle, but they carried some weaponry with them. After all, in this world and on a quest like this, never hurts to be prepared.
Mickey was dressed in his maroon travel clothes, peasant-like except for a metal breastplate and a sword that had been gifted to him by Scrooge. The Ring hung on a necklace hidden beneath his shirt. Donald was wearing a blue jerkin, a purple cap and a metal breastplate and a sword that had also been gifted to him by Scrooge.
Piglet wore his normal sweater and scarf and carried a short sword that had been gifted to him. Gopher wore a tan vest and carried his reliable pickax. Merlin with Archimedes on his shoulder held his staff in one hand and a great sword hung at his side. Grumpy wore his normal clothes and had his pickax in hand. Robin Hood had his normal green tunic and tan cap, and carried with him his dagger and bow and arrows.
Aladdin, wearing his blue lesser royalty clothing and with Abu on his shoulder had his bow and arrows, a knife and his newly reforged sword. Sir Kay had his Gondorian armor and carried his sword, shield and horn. All the travelers had packs upon their shoulders and seemed anxious to be travelling. Whether it was dread or excitement could have been anyone's guess.
"You are The Fellowship of the Ring. Companions who agreed to accompany Mickey on this dangerous quest. But I want to make it clear, none of you are bound by any oath to go any further than you desire!" declared the Sultan.
"Faithless is he who runs from the danger his friends are in," retorted Grumpy. Most everyone had a good laugh about that.
"I wish you well, and may your trail be blessed!" the Sultan continued. The Fellowship left amidst applause and shouts of: "Be careful!" "Stay together!" "We'll have a hot meal when you return!" and "Don't be scared Piglet!"
Upon reaching the mountains Grumpy started singing.
"Heigh ho! Heigh ho!
It's off to war we go!"
"Dear Grumpy, while a song might be welcome on most quests, we must try not to draw attention to ourselves. Also, we're trying to avoid too much war," Aladdin remarked. Abu laughed at his owner's remark.
"Robin Hood, you know these mountains well enough, take the lead," asked Merlin. Robin Hood nodded and took the lead. The travel up was not easy for Piglet or Gopher who did not have much experience with mountains. Gopher would have personally preferred to tunnel his routes. Right before the weather was about to turn freezing and they could see patches of snow on the ground, they found a small cave that they agreed to camp in. They lit up a small fire and gathered around for warmth.
"Certainly not the friendliest conditions, aren't they?" asked Mickey.
"Believe me, I've seen worse in my travels," said Aladdin.
"Say, that dark cloud over there seems to be moving awfully fast," observed Archimedes, pointing to what he was looking at. Nervously, everyone followed his wingtip and did in fact see a cloud that just wasn't moving the way a cloud should be.
"Douse the fire!" ordered Kay. Grumpy and Aladdin quickly put out the flames and used a blanket to smother the flames while Merlin did a quick spell that allowed a nearby tree to use its branches and cover them. The Fellowship saw a flock of ravens pass them through the gaps in the leaves.
"It would appear that our enemies' feathered spies may have suspicions that someone's traveling in the Misty Mountains," said Robin Hood.
"It could be that way, but we must brave the snowstorms before we make our next choice about which route to next take.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Donald.
"Well, after we pass Caradhras, we must decide whether it makes better sense to travel through Rohan or Moria," answered Merlin.
"Merlin, might I suggest that we go through the Mines of Moria, I guarantee my brother Doc would be honored to host us!" asked Grumpy.
"While it might be good to travel where there is better cover, I feel that we must still weigh all the pros and cons of our next decision," answered Merlin.
"What could a disadvantage about Rohan be?" asked Gopher.
"My biggest concern is that it would bring the Ring far too close to Jafar's stronghold, Isengard," answered Merlin.
The next day the company did in fact travel through such horrible snowy conditions. The shorter members often needing help from the taller ones just to prevent themselves from sinking. Merlin stated that there was a good chance that Jafar may be influencing the weather from afar. Eventually they came to the end of the storm, and as they made their way back down the mountain, they found a place where they could sit down and discuss their next course of action.
"Now, we must make a critical choice in our journey. We must decide whether it is wise to go through the Mines of Moria," Merlin told the group.
"I advise against it personally," said Aladdin.
"Aladdin, you and I have both gone through those mines and survived," pointed out Merlin.
"That's why I don't wish to enter them if it can be helped," said Aladdin.
"As I said before, I would advise going through the Mines, my brother Doc is in charge of a colony there, I'm sure it's changed since," said Grumpy.
"If it's underground, I'm all for it," said Gopher.
"Personally, I prefer the Gap of Rohan as they are essentially neighbors to Gondor, and I would be able to make it back home faster that way, then you can easily get to Mordor from there!" pointed out Sir Kay.
"But that would bring us too close to Jafar, and we dare not risk it!" said Merlin.
"Well, what does the Ring bearer say, he's the member of the group who's carrying the most important piece of equipment," said Sir Kay. Mickey pondered for a moment.
"I say we take the trip through the Mines, if Doc is there perhaps it might be safer," said Mickey.