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Chapter Three~
Rosie sat down next to the fire, near Frodo, and pulled him gently onto her lap, where he leant against her chest.
"Mr. Frodo asked someone who worked in the bar who this mysterious man was, and he explained he is of the dangerous kind, someone who we may like to avoid. And he did look dangerous, sitting there smoking a pipe slowly, with most of his face covered up. We were told his name was Strider."
I saw Rosie rubbing Frodo's back and I smiled as I looked up.
"Then Mr. Frodo went over to the bar with Pippin, and he did not return for quite some time. When I had found Pippin, I didn't know where Mr. Frodo had gone, so I went for Merry so we could look for him. Then, we noticed Strider had gone. I feared he could have hurt Frodo, so we grabbed anything that could substitute as a weapon. We walked over to the door, and counted one, two..." I lowered my voice and leant down. "Three!" I exclaimed, getting louder. "I pushed the door open, and just as I had expected Strider had Frodo. I told him to let him go, threatening to hurt him if he didn't."
"Daddy, did you hurt him?" Elanor asked quietly.
"No. It turned out Strider was there to help us, he knew Frodo was carrying the Ring," I replied. "We went to sleep that night, but in Strider's room. We all shared a big cosy bed, so we could warm up because of the rain. You know how you feel when your mother helps you out of the bath and you feel cold? It was like that. My sleep was disturbed that night, with nasty sounding screeches. We all woke up at the same time, wondering what that dreadful sound was. Strider and Frodo were already awake; I don't think they even went to bed! The Nazgul, who had come to get us again, made the screeches. But they didn't find us, which was very lucky indeed."
I took another drink of water and thought back. "Bright and early the next morning, we left Bree and headed into a forest. Strider lead us, and I also had Bill the Pony with me," I grinned. "Strider was a friend of Gandalf's, and he said he would take us to Rivendell, where the Elves live. Oh, but it was at least a weeks journey yet. That's seven days."
I held up seven of my fingers so they could see just how many days it was until we could reach our destination.
"That night, Strider lead us to Amon Sûl, in what was a great watchtower. We were given swords too, and I had never had to fight with one before so I didn't know what to do with it. It was the same for the other Hobbits; they had never had to fight before either. Mr. Frodo went to sleep, while I helped Merry and Pippin cook food. We had everything! Tomatoes, sausages, bacon... we like our food. When Frodo woke up, another screech was heard, like the one we heard in Bree. Strider was not with us, and we all got very scared. It was dark and we didn't know where the Nazgul were. Mr. Frodo told us to run up some stairs, which lead to the top of the watchtower. We did what he said, and for a few seconds we stood there, shaking while holding our big swords, not knowing what to do. We didn't even know how to use the swords. Then we seen them, five Nazgul walked slowly towards us, holding up their blades. I was the first to challenge one, but he hit my sword and as he threw me aside I hit a stone."
I tapped the table next to me quite hard. "It was even harder than that," I said, and then looked back down at the book. "After a while, I managed to get up, and I ran over to Frodo, who had been stabbed by the Nazgul. Strider soon came, and started fighting them, even setting fire to one of them! After the Nazgul were chased off, I begged Strider to help Frodo. Strider is a great healer, but he could not help Frodo. He needed elvish medicine, but we were still an awfully long way away from Rivendell. Strider carried Frodo, as the rest of us walked behind. After a while, we stopped and I noticed Mr. Frodo was going very cold. And then we heard another Nazgul screech, so we knew they were near. Strider told us that a certain type of weed may be able to help slow the poison which was inside Mr. Frodo, so we searched for the plant. But then..." I drifted off. "Then, an Elf came. She had shining, long black hair, pale skin and blue eyes. She was very tall too, a lot taller than us Hobbits. Her name was Arwen; she is the daughter of Lord Elrond of Rivendell, and the very person we were going to see. She starting talking elvish, so I could not understand what she was saying."
"Strider talked elvish back to her, so I had no idea what was going on. I was especially confused when she lifted Frodo on her beautiful white horse, and started riding off. I was so angry, the Nazgul were still out there! What if she got caught, and Frodo got hurt even more? But it was too late to stop it; Arwen was probably far away already. Her horse was very fast at riding."
"Six long days later, we eventually arrived in Rivendell. We had not talked much during our travels, for we were worried about Frodo and Arwen. When we got there, Frodo was being treated in the house of Elrond, but he was still asleep and very sick. I hardly left his side in the coming days. But then, on the glorious day of October 24th, he woke up, with Gandalf by his side. Gandalf apologised for not meeting us at Bree, but it did not matter anymore, just as long as Frodo was all right. I felt sick with worry sometimes, especially when I was alone with him at night. I felt guilty, like it was my fault. I should have defended him, but you never think straight in those kind of situations do you?"
"Bilbo Baggins turned out to also be staying with the Elves, so while Frodo went to see him, I packed my bag. I was packing to go home again, and now since Mr. Frodo was getting better, I thought we would be going home again. We Hobbits don't travel very far, and being so far away from home was strange to me. I missed home so much. Still, we spent another night there, and the next morning Frodo was invited to some secret meeting."
Elanor was still sitting angelically, cross-legged, listening carefully to what I was saying.
"I hid in the bushes for the whole meeting, listening to them discuss what they should do with the Ring. They were discussing some quest, to go to Mount Doom in Mordor, to destroy the Ring once and for all, but everyone suddenly started arguing. But then, brave Mr. Frodo volunteered to take the Ring himself. The others agreed, and some even offered to travel with him. Gandalf The Grey said he would help. Strider said he would accompany us again. Legolas also offered. Legolas is an Elf like Arwen, the prince of Mirkwood. He has long blonde hair, pale skin and blue eyes, and is very good at archery. The best I've seen. Boromir, a man a Gondor, offered too. Gimli was a Dwarf, who is about the same size as me, and he also offered. It just shows children, it doesn't matter how small you are, you can be just as powerful and brave as big folk."
I mimed jumping out of bushes. "But then, I jumped out of the bush, startling Lord Elrond I imagine! I was not going to let Frodo go alone, I couldn't leave him again. I still felt bad about him becoming ill, because I wasn't able to defend him myself. Merry and Pippin jumped out from behind pillars and ran down next to Frodo also saying that they would come. They are a brave pair, them two. Lord Elrond smiled at all nine of us, and then declared we would be The Fellowship Of The Ring."
I looked up and looked at my children. "And that is when the quest to destroy the Ring officially started," I said. "So then the next morning, we left Rivendell to start our quest. We travelled down hillsides, over open plains, in darkness and in daylight. We were hoping to go west of the Misty Mountains for about forty days, to make for the Gap Of Rohan. From there, we could be able to go to Mordor. It was terribly tiring, but we had big folk to protect us, and Bill the Pony could sometimes offer lifts if the tiredness was really getting to us, although we tried not to as he carried all the food."
"We stopped at some rocks, for a rest and for some food. Legolas kept a watch out, like he normally did. He never seemed to rest much, he was always aware of his surroundings. Legolas then became quite aware of something moving fast in our direction. I asked Gimli what it was, but he said it was just a whiff of cloud. Still, I was unsure. It turned out to be Crebain from Dunland, and Strider ordered us to hide. I grabbed all of our belongings, put the fire out, and hid under a rock, where everyone else already was. What seemed like hundreds of black birds flew over us, cawing. They circled the hill where we were hiding a few times, then flew off. They didn't seem to have sensed us there. They were spies of Saruman, which meant where we were heading was being watched. Since it was now unsafe for us to continue the way we were going, we had to take the Pass of Caradhras."
I put both my hands together and lifted them up so there were a few inches between them. "The snow was about this deep on Caradhras. It was a long hard journey, but then Saruman must have known we were coming this way, as he made an avalanche fall. Strider demanded Gandalf took us back, but he refused. He tried to chant out a spell, but lightning struck on top of Caradhras, sending a second avalanche down on us. I was buried in the snow for a few seconds before I managed to get my head up. It was freezing!" I said, putting both hands on my arms. "Mr. Frodo was asked to make a decision, and that was whether to travel through the Mines of Moria or not. He said yes, and we thought it would be for the best, as Gimli claimed he had a cousin there."
"We arrived at the West Gate of Moria, and Gandalf stepped in front of the doors. You could only see it when there is starlight and moonlight though. We needn't have worried though, as the moon – as if it knew we needed it – appeared from behind the clouds and illuminated the doors. I could not read the writing on the doors as it was in Elvish, but Gandalf had no problems reading it. It read some sort of riddle, where you had to speak friend to enter. While he was trying to open the doors, Strider told me I had to let Bill the Pony go. I didn't want to leave him alone, but Strider assured me Bill knew the way home. Suddenly, the doors opened. It was dark in there, which wasn't what I expected after Gimli claimed he had a cousin there. But we all walked in anyway, slightly cautious. Something was wrong with this place, it could be sensed by us all. This was no mine. This was a tomb. Dead Dwarves scattered the floor, some with several arrows daggered in their bodies. Legolas picked an arrow up and said it was an arrow of Goblins. Strider and Boromir drew their swords, and Legolas got his bow and arrow out, and by this time the panic had grown on all four of us Hobbits."
Elanor hugged her teddy again and I smiled at her.
"The smell was revolting, and I could feel bones cracking from beneath my feet. What we didn't notice, however, was that something was stirring in the water outside the tomb..."
Chapter Three~
Rosie sat down next to the fire, near Frodo, and pulled him gently onto her lap, where he leant against her chest.
"Mr. Frodo asked someone who worked in the bar who this mysterious man was, and he explained he is of the dangerous kind, someone who we may like to avoid. And he did look dangerous, sitting there smoking a pipe slowly, with most of his face covered up. We were told his name was Strider."
I saw Rosie rubbing Frodo's back and I smiled as I looked up.
"Then Mr. Frodo went over to the bar with Pippin, and he did not return for quite some time. When I had found Pippin, I didn't know where Mr. Frodo had gone, so I went for Merry so we could look for him. Then, we noticed Strider had gone. I feared he could have hurt Frodo, so we grabbed anything that could substitute as a weapon. We walked over to the door, and counted one, two..." I lowered my voice and leant down. "Three!" I exclaimed, getting louder. "I pushed the door open, and just as I had expected Strider had Frodo. I told him to let him go, threatening to hurt him if he didn't."
"Daddy, did you hurt him?" Elanor asked quietly.
"No. It turned out Strider was there to help us, he knew Frodo was carrying the Ring," I replied. "We went to sleep that night, but in Strider's room. We all shared a big cosy bed, so we could warm up because of the rain. You know how you feel when your mother helps you out of the bath and you feel cold? It was like that. My sleep was disturbed that night, with nasty sounding screeches. We all woke up at the same time, wondering what that dreadful sound was. Strider and Frodo were already awake; I don't think they even went to bed! The Nazgul, who had come to get us again, made the screeches. But they didn't find us, which was very lucky indeed."
I took another drink of water and thought back. "Bright and early the next morning, we left Bree and headed into a forest. Strider lead us, and I also had Bill the Pony with me," I grinned. "Strider was a friend of Gandalf's, and he said he would take us to Rivendell, where the Elves live. Oh, but it was at least a weeks journey yet. That's seven days."
I held up seven of my fingers so they could see just how many days it was until we could reach our destination.
"That night, Strider lead us to Amon Sûl, in what was a great watchtower. We were given swords too, and I had never had to fight with one before so I didn't know what to do with it. It was the same for the other Hobbits; they had never had to fight before either. Mr. Frodo went to sleep, while I helped Merry and Pippin cook food. We had everything! Tomatoes, sausages, bacon... we like our food. When Frodo woke up, another screech was heard, like the one we heard in Bree. Strider was not with us, and we all got very scared. It was dark and we didn't know where the Nazgul were. Mr. Frodo told us to run up some stairs, which lead to the top of the watchtower. We did what he said, and for a few seconds we stood there, shaking while holding our big swords, not knowing what to do. We didn't even know how to use the swords. Then we seen them, five Nazgul walked slowly towards us, holding up their blades. I was the first to challenge one, but he hit my sword and as he threw me aside I hit a stone."
I tapped the table next to me quite hard. "It was even harder than that," I said, and then looked back down at the book. "After a while, I managed to get up, and I ran over to Frodo, who had been stabbed by the Nazgul. Strider soon came, and started fighting them, even setting fire to one of them! After the Nazgul were chased off, I begged Strider to help Frodo. Strider is a great healer, but he could not help Frodo. He needed elvish medicine, but we were still an awfully long way away from Rivendell. Strider carried Frodo, as the rest of us walked behind. After a while, we stopped and I noticed Mr. Frodo was going very cold. And then we heard another Nazgul screech, so we knew they were near. Strider told us that a certain type of weed may be able to help slow the poison which was inside Mr. Frodo, so we searched for the plant. But then..." I drifted off. "Then, an Elf came. She had shining, long black hair, pale skin and blue eyes. She was very tall too, a lot taller than us Hobbits. Her name was Arwen; she is the daughter of Lord Elrond of Rivendell, and the very person we were going to see. She starting talking elvish, so I could not understand what she was saying."
"Strider talked elvish back to her, so I had no idea what was going on. I was especially confused when she lifted Frodo on her beautiful white horse, and started riding off. I was so angry, the Nazgul were still out there! What if she got caught, and Frodo got hurt even more? But it was too late to stop it; Arwen was probably far away already. Her horse was very fast at riding."
"Six long days later, we eventually arrived in Rivendell. We had not talked much during our travels, for we were worried about Frodo and Arwen. When we got there, Frodo was being treated in the house of Elrond, but he was still asleep and very sick. I hardly left his side in the coming days. But then, on the glorious day of October 24th, he woke up, with Gandalf by his side. Gandalf apologised for not meeting us at Bree, but it did not matter anymore, just as long as Frodo was all right. I felt sick with worry sometimes, especially when I was alone with him at night. I felt guilty, like it was my fault. I should have defended him, but you never think straight in those kind of situations do you?"
"Bilbo Baggins turned out to also be staying with the Elves, so while Frodo went to see him, I packed my bag. I was packing to go home again, and now since Mr. Frodo was getting better, I thought we would be going home again. We Hobbits don't travel very far, and being so far away from home was strange to me. I missed home so much. Still, we spent another night there, and the next morning Frodo was invited to some secret meeting."
Elanor was still sitting angelically, cross-legged, listening carefully to what I was saying.
"I hid in the bushes for the whole meeting, listening to them discuss what they should do with the Ring. They were discussing some quest, to go to Mount Doom in Mordor, to destroy the Ring once and for all, but everyone suddenly started arguing. But then, brave Mr. Frodo volunteered to take the Ring himself. The others agreed, and some even offered to travel with him. Gandalf The Grey said he would help. Strider said he would accompany us again. Legolas also offered. Legolas is an Elf like Arwen, the prince of Mirkwood. He has long blonde hair, pale skin and blue eyes, and is very good at archery. The best I've seen. Boromir, a man a Gondor, offered too. Gimli was a Dwarf, who is about the same size as me, and he also offered. It just shows children, it doesn't matter how small you are, you can be just as powerful and brave as big folk."
I mimed jumping out of bushes. "But then, I jumped out of the bush, startling Lord Elrond I imagine! I was not going to let Frodo go alone, I couldn't leave him again. I still felt bad about him becoming ill, because I wasn't able to defend him myself. Merry and Pippin jumped out from behind pillars and ran down next to Frodo also saying that they would come. They are a brave pair, them two. Lord Elrond smiled at all nine of us, and then declared we would be The Fellowship Of The Ring."
I looked up and looked at my children. "And that is when the quest to destroy the Ring officially started," I said. "So then the next morning, we left Rivendell to start our quest. We travelled down hillsides, over open plains, in darkness and in daylight. We were hoping to go west of the Misty Mountains for about forty days, to make for the Gap Of Rohan. From there, we could be able to go to Mordor. It was terribly tiring, but we had big folk to protect us, and Bill the Pony could sometimes offer lifts if the tiredness was really getting to us, although we tried not to as he carried all the food."
"We stopped at some rocks, for a rest and for some food. Legolas kept a watch out, like he normally did. He never seemed to rest much, he was always aware of his surroundings. Legolas then became quite aware of something moving fast in our direction. I asked Gimli what it was, but he said it was just a whiff of cloud. Still, I was unsure. It turned out to be Crebain from Dunland, and Strider ordered us to hide. I grabbed all of our belongings, put the fire out, and hid under a rock, where everyone else already was. What seemed like hundreds of black birds flew over us, cawing. They circled the hill where we were hiding a few times, then flew off. They didn't seem to have sensed us there. They were spies of Saruman, which meant where we were heading was being watched. Since it was now unsafe for us to continue the way we were going, we had to take the Pass of Caradhras."
I put both my hands together and lifted them up so there were a few inches between them. "The snow was about this deep on Caradhras. It was a long hard journey, but then Saruman must have known we were coming this way, as he made an avalanche fall. Strider demanded Gandalf took us back, but he refused. He tried to chant out a spell, but lightning struck on top of Caradhras, sending a second avalanche down on us. I was buried in the snow for a few seconds before I managed to get my head up. It was freezing!" I said, putting both hands on my arms. "Mr. Frodo was asked to make a decision, and that was whether to travel through the Mines of Moria or not. He said yes, and we thought it would be for the best, as Gimli claimed he had a cousin there."
"We arrived at the West Gate of Moria, and Gandalf stepped in front of the doors. You could only see it when there is starlight and moonlight though. We needn't have worried though, as the moon – as if it knew we needed it – appeared from behind the clouds and illuminated the doors. I could not read the writing on the doors as it was in Elvish, but Gandalf had no problems reading it. It read some sort of riddle, where you had to speak friend to enter. While he was trying to open the doors, Strider told me I had to let Bill the Pony go. I didn't want to leave him alone, but Strider assured me Bill knew the way home. Suddenly, the doors opened. It was dark in there, which wasn't what I expected after Gimli claimed he had a cousin there. But we all walked in anyway, slightly cautious. Something was wrong with this place, it could be sensed by us all. This was no mine. This was a tomb. Dead Dwarves scattered the floor, some with several arrows daggered in their bodies. Legolas picked an arrow up and said it was an arrow of Goblins. Strider and Boromir drew their swords, and Legolas got his bow and arrow out, and by this time the panic had grown on all four of us Hobbits."
Elanor hugged her teddy again and I smiled at her.
"The smell was revolting, and I could feel bones cracking from beneath my feet. What we didn't notice, however, was that something was stirring in the water outside the tomb..."