The Fellowship of the Quarantine

by Thalion Estel

Frodo had hoped that things would start looking up once he and his companions finally brought the Ring safely to Rivendell. But with the threat of a new coronavirus looming on the horizon, the enemies of Sauron will have to take stock of their situation, prioritize their dangers, and adapt to their circumstances if they want the Quest to succeed. Very silly crackfic!

13. Epilogue

Author's Note: AT LONG LAST! Here's the very last installment. :)

…

When Frodo awoke, he was no longer on the boulder, the sky was no longer smoky, and the air was more clean and fresh than he had breathed in a long time—and he could now breathe it freely. It appeared that his symptoms had, for the most part, faded into oblivion, and when he looked back on them now, the dread and horror they had conjured in his mind was almost nonexistent. He noticed that although he had fallen asleep still wearing his mask out of habit, it was no longer on his face. Somehow, perhaps by some hint of divinely-given intuition, he knew that the power of the virus had crumbled, and there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.

As his eyes adjusted to the new surroundings, he found that sitting near his bedside was the last person in all the world he had expected to see. The old man's long beard was no longer covered by a mask, and his hands were free of gloves. He wasn't even wearing a hazmat suit.

"Gandalf?" Frodo asked in disbelief.

He old man laughed merrily, and Frodo could hardly help joining; it had been so long since he had been happy, and now it didn't even hurt his throat to express it. But the joy didn't stop there; suddenly more people were coming through the door to see him: Merry and Pippin, Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn, and finally Sam himself. All of them were there, maskless and completely healthy.

Thus began the happiest string of social distancing violations Frodo had ever experienced or imagined.

…

And so the story has finally reached its conclusion. Be proud of me: I had major writer's block pretty much every step of the way, and I truly considered abandoning the project a few times. But no: the Quest had to be achieved! And now it has been, just as the pandemic of our own world is beginning to wind down as well (at least in my area). As I've said before, this story isn't meant to make light of the disease or its painful effects; rather, I intended it to give us all something to laugh about when things are tough and times are hard.

Thank you to all of you who stuck with me through the delays in updating! And a special thanks to those of you who have reviewed—it truly does make my day to hear feedback from you all.

God bless!