"What happened to the others?" asked Merry.
"We went on ahead. I don't know how they'll find us" answered Frodo.
"They will. Knowing Myrth" Shrell said from a branch in a tree she had been sitting in.
"And just how well do you know Myrth?" asked Merry.
"Well enough" she answered.
"We should keep going, though. Even if it is snowy" Frodo changed the subject.
"Why does it have to be snowing in spring?!" Merry was very fond of spring and didn't like spending it in the snow.
"If only we weren't so far north. Then, we would only have to cross these mountains in a light fog" Frodo mused.
"It's too late for that..." Shrell muttered from her tree.
"Oh well, let's get going" Frodo got up and mounted his pony and rode off. Shrell and Merry were close behind.
"It's too bad I don't have my pony anymore. Sorry if I'm squishing you, Shrell" said Merry as they slowly walked down the snowy path.
"I'm fine, Merry." They had to share a pony and it wasn't going at a very fast pace with all the bags tied to it not the mention Merry and Shrell. It was a good 2-days march from there over the mountains
and not much happened but being cold, tired, and worried. So, I shall not tell you of it anymore.
April 19
They had now crossed the mountains and were wondering what to do next and figure out exactly where they were. There were mountains to the north and west and a river was running eastward.
"I think those are the Gray Mountains. Otherwise known as Erid Mithrin" said Shrell as she pointed north.
"Then, that forest is Mirkwood?" asked Frodo.
"Yes" answered Shrell.
"Oh! This must be the Forest River, then!" said a cheerful Merry. They all looked at the river that was flowing eastward and Frodo nodded. They were all still looking at the river when they heard a call
from behind them. They all spun around to see Sam, Pippin, and Myrth riding towards them with an extra pony. Merry quickly ran up to meet them with Frodo and Shrell at his heels.
"Why didn't you follow us?" asked Frodo.
"We knew we would never find you. This was the easiest way" said Myrth.
"How did you know they were going to cross the mountains?" Merry asked.
"I have my ways" answered Myrth.
"We met a man further back who said we would find some boats along that river" Pippin said as he pointed to it.
"Oh! Then, let's hurry!" Frodo said and they set out at once, Merry now had his own pony. Further down the river they found two boats and took the one in best shape. Then, they tied the ponies to it, so
they could walk along the bank and, then, they got in the boat. The river had a pretty strong current and they didn't have to paddle at all. They had three ponies on one side of the river and two ponies and
Myrth's horse on the other so the boat wouldn't get out of control.
"So, Shrell, Pippin said your real name was Shcoligrafa. Is this true?" asked Sam, trying to make some kind of conversation.
"Yes, but too many have had a hard time pronouncing it. Call me Shrell" she answered. Not much more was ever said about Shrell's name. Instead, they talked about what happened when they were parted.
Frodo told most of the story and Merry told his separately.
They traveled through Mirkwood by boat only stopping to stretch their legs feed or rest the ponies or something along that line. It took about seven days to travel through Mirkwood.
April 25
The River had now opened up into a lake. They had a lot of trouble getting the ponies onto one side of the boat but in the end got safely to shore. It was rather late at night and they all felt a little tired.
They now noticed the town that was on the lake and not far away.
" That there is Esgaroth" said Myrth.
"Bilbo told me of Esgaroth!" exclaimed Frodo.
"Yes, we all know quite well about it" replied Myrth.
"Well, it doesn't look like it was destroyed!" said a very happy Pippin.
Suddenly, there was a splash and everyone fell silent. They looked from one another.
"What was that?" asked Sam.
"Oh no! where's Shrell?" Pippin looked very disappointed.
"Shrell can swim" answered a very calm Myrth.
"Why would she want to?" Merry asked as he knelt to touch the cold water with his fingers. He stood back up with the rest of them and waited.
"She should be up by now!" said a frustrated and distressed Pippin. They still waited until Shrell finally came up sputtering and gasping. She swam to shore breathing rather hard.
"I guess I must have slipped" she told them and they all began talking at once, besides Myrth. "Why don't we see if we can get a room in that nice little town?" she said smiling. They nodded and slowly
walked towards the town, wondering how Shrell could have possibly slipped. It seemed impossible to slip on a sandy shore and not come up for three minutes.
They soon came to an inn that welcomed them in and was quite polite. They got a room and quickly went up to it after having dinner. They had been sitting there for awhile when Sam suddenly asked:
"How could you slip? It was practically impossible." Shrell, who was sitting by a fire place turned and looked at him.
"I meant to" she was grinning as she said this. Then, she pulled out of her cloak a chain of diamonds that looked like they had been worn like a waistcoat. Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry stood there
stunned. "If any of you want to see the rotting corps of a dragon we can all go swimming tomorrow." she seemed very cheerful.
They talked a bit about dragons, gold, and dwarves, but soon fell asleep (Shrell fell asleep on the floor)..............to be continued.