Chapter 8 Bree and Rangers
I never welcomed the sun more that I did then. When waking I found Navalle was tending to Merry and me, while Frodo watched Sam. Merry was still out cold, so was Sam. "What happened?" I asked Navalle, but she only smiled and said everything was going to be fine.
Slowly getting up into a sitting position and wincing at the same time, it finally occurred to me as to what happened. The Barrow-Wight's had captured Merry, Sam and I last night and had taken us to their mounds.
They were horrible to look at and had eyes like a cat's that shined at night when light was shone at the right angle. The Barrows were walking skeletons yet they still had skin but was pulled so tight over their bones, that it appeared that they had none. One of them had some tufts of mangled hair, and two others had gnarled teeth so black that it was disgusting to look at.
They came just after the sun went down, Navalle, Frodo, and Sam were asleep but Merry and I were not. Merry and me were discussing about planning to "liven" up the mood a bit, when all of a sudden two pairs came out of nowhere and put themselves around Pippin and me mouths, we tried to free ourselves but it was of no use. The Barrows grabbed us then grabbed Sam who immediately woke up and tried cry out but it came out as nothing but a mumble.
After they grabbed us three they then dragged us away with us kicking and flailing. They dragged us through bushes, shrubs and the like. With all this biting at our skin, I surprised that it didn't cut us open, but it scratch us to all's end. While being dragged against our will, the one who was dragging me began to mutter something that was incomprehensible, after he/she said these words I felt the world begin to darken and dim, my eyes drooped, closed shut, and everything went black.
What happened during that time I do not know, but whoever got us out of that mess, I will forever be grateful for it. Rubbing my head, I got unsteadily to my feet and look around our campsite.
It was a mess, our packs were torn open and the contents were scattered about, Sam's cooking gear was in the worst state of condition, many of his pots were dinged and one pan was dented beyond repair. Though Navalle was going about picking up the camp, I could very well see that this mess would take awhile to clean up.
I heard a soft moan come from Merry, but he did not wake but tossed and turned around a bit before settling back into his original state of sleep. Sam on the other hand woke up slowly and reluctantly. Sam took a look around, and that's when he spotted his cooking gear. With a cry, he leaped to his feet and went running about the place grabbing his pots and pans while moaning at the sight of them.
"Pippin!" I heard Frodo call, " wake Merry up!" With that, I gave my cousin a good swift kick in the back. With a start, Merry leapt to his feet and glared at me angrily. "Now what did you do that for?" he said. "To wake you up." I replied. This did not make him any less angry, but in my opinion, it made his anger worse. Merry, went off to where Navalle was and started up a conversation with her.
Over the last couple of days, it seemed to me that Merry was growing fond of Navalle. She was good to have around, even if she didn't talk much, but when she did talk, she showed us an attitude and personality that I've never seen in a woman, or hobbitess. I actually liked her personality; it was a refreshing change from the females I'm used to back in the shire. In a way, Navalle looked a lot like an elf or so Merry and Sam had told me that night at Tom's home, yet in another way, she was did not look like an elf maiden. It was confusing, she was beautiful, there was no doubt there, but there was something about her that just can't be described. Also she seemed to know more about what has been going, but whatever she knew, she was not going to tell us anytime soon.
"Ok," shouted Frodo, "we need to move out now. Bree is only a day's walk away." We gathered out things, packed them, and headed out for Bree once again.
After the attack of the Barrow's, the hobbits and me moved out, always heading in the direction of Bree. As the sun smiled down upon us, I now "saw" the forest in its true state. Walking amongst them, the colors of autumn present themselves in array of red, orange, brown, and yellow, which beautifully melted with the ancient trunks of the trees. I wondered exactly how old this forest could be, most certainly older than the forests back home, this forest had to have been around before the Last Alliance and the time of Sauron ever came around.
While walking for a couple of hours, we came to the Barrow-Downs. I looked back at Merry, Pippin, and Sam; all three apparently have taken great interest in their feet. I wasn't about to bring up this subject, for it the event taken place only last night. Glancing at Frodo, I saw that he was thinking the same thing; I stopped suddenly when I saw else in his eyes.
There was confusion in his eyes, why, I didn't know. "Frodo?" I asked, "What is bothering you?" I got no reply, but now I had let the others know that something was wrong. Sam was the first to ask Frodo the same question, followed closely by Merry and Pippin. " I find it odd," said Frodo, who now had all of listening closely, " why did the Barrows only grab you three, but not Navalle and me?" Come to think of it, why didn't they? I mean if they knew we were there, why not take all of us instead of just three? While pondering this odd assessment, Merry gave us our answer. " There were only three of them. Yet, it is strange why they would come so far from the Downs just to grab us."
Suddenly realizing that we were wasting time talking I told that we had to get a move on or we'd never get to Bree. We once again went on our way, we said and did nothing when we started through the Downs. Strange as it was with the events of last night, I do seem recall that in the book, the Wight's never leave the Downs. Maybe, that was not entirely true, or maybe my presence in Middle Earth has changed the course of events. This thought hung over me, try as I might, I couldn't shake the thought.
We walked on for hours, with only one stop for lunch. The sky was beginning to be covered with menacing black clouds that threatened to dump a numerous amount of rain upon us. When evening started to dance across the sky, Bree was now in sight.
Bree consisted of mostly farming places and things like that, from what I remembered, it was one the only places where hobbits could be seen outside of the Shire. Our spirits lightened at the sight of the small town, Merry and Piipin suggested running the rest of the way but it was overruled when I said we were still at least a mile from Bree.
Before reaching the town, the clouds decided to pour all they had on top of us. This got us running to the town.
When we arrived, we found to our surprise, a large wooden surrounding the town but there was one door. I went up to the door and knocked. "All right, I'm coming!" said a voice from inside. A small window appeared in the door, in it was the face of a middle-aged man.
"Where are you from, and state your business here." He said. I was about to answer him when Frodo spoke up. " Where from the Shire, and our business is our own. We seek shelter at the Prancing Pony." "Alright, alright," replied the man, " I meant no harm, it just you can't be too careful nowadays." With that, the man opened the door and let us through.
We zigzagged our through the endless amounts of cart that towered over the hobbits but I was barely taller than the carts. Men shouted at us to move it and get out of the way, but we were having a hard time doing so. After walking through the mud-covered streets, we came to a building. A sign was swinging from it and it read "Prancing Pony". This was the place where were supposed to meet Gandalf, but I know for a fact he won't be there.
Navalle opened the door to the inn and went inside, we quickly followed behind her. A smell of beer, vomit, sweat, and smoke hit my nose at full force, which made dizzy and nauseated.
There was a counter as we entered and behind it was short, brown-haired man. Navalle walked straight up to up to the man and tapped him on the shoulder. "Oh," he said turning around, " are you seeking accommodations here?" Navalle nodded, the man then saw she was not alone. "Ah! Hobbits! We have some nice cozy hobbit sized rooms for ye, and what about you young lady? " We only need one room sir," she said, " and thank you for asking." The man was puzzled and amused at the same time by her statement, but said no more about it.
The man pointed us to a room where there were men drinking, singing, and enjoying themselves by a roaring fire. We found a table and sat down while my cousins went off to get something to drink. Sam, Navalle, and me nothing to one another until Merry and Pippin got back.
Both looked worried and dismayed, but neither said anything. Navalle was the first to say what's wrong? " Gandalf is not here," whispered Pippin, I asked the inn keeper if he was but he said that he hadn't seen the wizard for six months. My mood darkened, I was now worried that something has happened to Gandalf.
Not realizing what I was, I had leaned so far back that I fell of my seat and onto the floor. I saw the ring fly out of my pocket, panicking, I reached up to grab the ring, but instead of grabbing it, I let it fall gently onto my finger. That was when everything changed.
No longer was I the room full of drunken men, but a shadowy world where everything that was light was now shadow, and what was shadow was now light. I focused more on my new surrounding and found that I was still the room but every form was in a shadow flame.
Then I someone was watching me. I turned around slowly, only to see a great eye that was wreathed in flame looking straight at me. I heard a terrible voice boom "I see YOU!" Struggling, I managed to pry the ring off my finger. There is sat, panting on the floor when someone grabbed my shirt collar and began to drag me up the stairs and into my room.
-Remember where Pippin said Merry was growing fond of Navalle? That was no hint that this story will become a Romance, cause it won't be a romance fanfic.
Sorry to leave you in suspense but my fingers are getting sore from all this typing.
DON'T forget to review, I'm begging here, please review it!
I never welcomed the sun more that I did then. When waking I found Navalle was tending to Merry and me, while Frodo watched Sam. Merry was still out cold, so was Sam. "What happened?" I asked Navalle, but she only smiled and said everything was going to be fine.
Slowly getting up into a sitting position and wincing at the same time, it finally occurred to me as to what happened. The Barrow-Wight's had captured Merry, Sam and I last night and had taken us to their mounds.
They were horrible to look at and had eyes like a cat's that shined at night when light was shone at the right angle. The Barrows were walking skeletons yet they still had skin but was pulled so tight over their bones, that it appeared that they had none. One of them had some tufts of mangled hair, and two others had gnarled teeth so black that it was disgusting to look at.
They came just after the sun went down, Navalle, Frodo, and Sam were asleep but Merry and I were not. Merry and me were discussing about planning to "liven" up the mood a bit, when all of a sudden two pairs came out of nowhere and put themselves around Pippin and me mouths, we tried to free ourselves but it was of no use. The Barrows grabbed us then grabbed Sam who immediately woke up and tried cry out but it came out as nothing but a mumble.
After they grabbed us three they then dragged us away with us kicking and flailing. They dragged us through bushes, shrubs and the like. With all this biting at our skin, I surprised that it didn't cut us open, but it scratch us to all's end. While being dragged against our will, the one who was dragging me began to mutter something that was incomprehensible, after he/she said these words I felt the world begin to darken and dim, my eyes drooped, closed shut, and everything went black.
What happened during that time I do not know, but whoever got us out of that mess, I will forever be grateful for it. Rubbing my head, I got unsteadily to my feet and look around our campsite.
It was a mess, our packs were torn open and the contents were scattered about, Sam's cooking gear was in the worst state of condition, many of his pots were dinged and one pan was dented beyond repair. Though Navalle was going about picking up the camp, I could very well see that this mess would take awhile to clean up.
I heard a soft moan come from Merry, but he did not wake but tossed and turned around a bit before settling back into his original state of sleep. Sam on the other hand woke up slowly and reluctantly. Sam took a look around, and that's when he spotted his cooking gear. With a cry, he leaped to his feet and went running about the place grabbing his pots and pans while moaning at the sight of them.
"Pippin!" I heard Frodo call, " wake Merry up!" With that, I gave my cousin a good swift kick in the back. With a start, Merry leapt to his feet and glared at me angrily. "Now what did you do that for?" he said. "To wake you up." I replied. This did not make him any less angry, but in my opinion, it made his anger worse. Merry, went off to where Navalle was and started up a conversation with her.
Over the last couple of days, it seemed to me that Merry was growing fond of Navalle. She was good to have around, even if she didn't talk much, but when she did talk, she showed us an attitude and personality that I've never seen in a woman, or hobbitess. I actually liked her personality; it was a refreshing change from the females I'm used to back in the shire. In a way, Navalle looked a lot like an elf or so Merry and Sam had told me that night at Tom's home, yet in another way, she was did not look like an elf maiden. It was confusing, she was beautiful, there was no doubt there, but there was something about her that just can't be described. Also she seemed to know more about what has been going, but whatever she knew, she was not going to tell us anytime soon.
"Ok," shouted Frodo, "we need to move out now. Bree is only a day's walk away." We gathered out things, packed them, and headed out for Bree once again.
After the attack of the Barrow's, the hobbits and me moved out, always heading in the direction of Bree. As the sun smiled down upon us, I now "saw" the forest in its true state. Walking amongst them, the colors of autumn present themselves in array of red, orange, brown, and yellow, which beautifully melted with the ancient trunks of the trees. I wondered exactly how old this forest could be, most certainly older than the forests back home, this forest had to have been around before the Last Alliance and the time of Sauron ever came around.
While walking for a couple of hours, we came to the Barrow-Downs. I looked back at Merry, Pippin, and Sam; all three apparently have taken great interest in their feet. I wasn't about to bring up this subject, for it the event taken place only last night. Glancing at Frodo, I saw that he was thinking the same thing; I stopped suddenly when I saw else in his eyes.
There was confusion in his eyes, why, I didn't know. "Frodo?" I asked, "What is bothering you?" I got no reply, but now I had let the others know that something was wrong. Sam was the first to ask Frodo the same question, followed closely by Merry and Pippin. " I find it odd," said Frodo, who now had all of listening closely, " why did the Barrows only grab you three, but not Navalle and me?" Come to think of it, why didn't they? I mean if they knew we were there, why not take all of us instead of just three? While pondering this odd assessment, Merry gave us our answer. " There were only three of them. Yet, it is strange why they would come so far from the Downs just to grab us."
Suddenly realizing that we were wasting time talking I told that we had to get a move on or we'd never get to Bree. We once again went on our way, we said and did nothing when we started through the Downs. Strange as it was with the events of last night, I do seem recall that in the book, the Wight's never leave the Downs. Maybe, that was not entirely true, or maybe my presence in Middle Earth has changed the course of events. This thought hung over me, try as I might, I couldn't shake the thought.
We walked on for hours, with only one stop for lunch. The sky was beginning to be covered with menacing black clouds that threatened to dump a numerous amount of rain upon us. When evening started to dance across the sky, Bree was now in sight.
Bree consisted of mostly farming places and things like that, from what I remembered, it was one the only places where hobbits could be seen outside of the Shire. Our spirits lightened at the sight of the small town, Merry and Piipin suggested running the rest of the way but it was overruled when I said we were still at least a mile from Bree.
Before reaching the town, the clouds decided to pour all they had on top of us. This got us running to the town.
When we arrived, we found to our surprise, a large wooden surrounding the town but there was one door. I went up to the door and knocked. "All right, I'm coming!" said a voice from inside. A small window appeared in the door, in it was the face of a middle-aged man.
"Where are you from, and state your business here." He said. I was about to answer him when Frodo spoke up. " Where from the Shire, and our business is our own. We seek shelter at the Prancing Pony." "Alright, alright," replied the man, " I meant no harm, it just you can't be too careful nowadays." With that, the man opened the door and let us through.
We zigzagged our through the endless amounts of cart that towered over the hobbits but I was barely taller than the carts. Men shouted at us to move it and get out of the way, but we were having a hard time doing so. After walking through the mud-covered streets, we came to a building. A sign was swinging from it and it read "Prancing Pony". This was the place where were supposed to meet Gandalf, but I know for a fact he won't be there.
Navalle opened the door to the inn and went inside, we quickly followed behind her. A smell of beer, vomit, sweat, and smoke hit my nose at full force, which made dizzy and nauseated.
There was a counter as we entered and behind it was short, brown-haired man. Navalle walked straight up to up to the man and tapped him on the shoulder. "Oh," he said turning around, " are you seeking accommodations here?" Navalle nodded, the man then saw she was not alone. "Ah! Hobbits! We have some nice cozy hobbit sized rooms for ye, and what about you young lady? " We only need one room sir," she said, " and thank you for asking." The man was puzzled and amused at the same time by her statement, but said no more about it.
The man pointed us to a room where there were men drinking, singing, and enjoying themselves by a roaring fire. We found a table and sat down while my cousins went off to get something to drink. Sam, Navalle, and me nothing to one another until Merry and Pippin got back.
Both looked worried and dismayed, but neither said anything. Navalle was the first to say what's wrong? " Gandalf is not here," whispered Pippin, I asked the inn keeper if he was but he said that he hadn't seen the wizard for six months. My mood darkened, I was now worried that something has happened to Gandalf.
Not realizing what I was, I had leaned so far back that I fell of my seat and onto the floor. I saw the ring fly out of my pocket, panicking, I reached up to grab the ring, but instead of grabbing it, I let it fall gently onto my finger. That was when everything changed.
No longer was I the room full of drunken men, but a shadowy world where everything that was light was now shadow, and what was shadow was now light. I focused more on my new surrounding and found that I was still the room but every form was in a shadow flame.
Then I someone was watching me. I turned around slowly, only to see a great eye that was wreathed in flame looking straight at me. I heard a terrible voice boom "I see YOU!" Struggling, I managed to pry the ring off my finger. There is sat, panting on the floor when someone grabbed my shirt collar and began to drag me up the stairs and into my room.
-Remember where Pippin said Merry was growing fond of Navalle? That was no hint that this story will become a Romance, cause it won't be a romance fanfic.
Sorry to leave you in suspense but my fingers are getting sore from all this typing.
DON'T forget to review, I'm begging here, please review it!