Chapter 3: Pop-Pop's party
(The Shire, a peaceful country of rolling green hillsides, interspersed with small wooded areas and streams, a Hobbit with white hair on his head and feet sits reading under a tree, he's dressed in a greyish green shirt with a collar and dark brown pants. a second title appears .)
The Fellowship of the Ring.
(The Hobbit turns a page in his book ,as the sounds of someone singing reach his slightly pointed ears)
Voice: Roads go ever on and on
(The hobbit shoots to his feet. Smiling he hurries towards the road . A horse drawn cart moves steadily down the dirt road. The cart is holding a cargo of fireworks and is driven by an old man with a large white mustache ,with small eye glasses and dressed in a long grey robe and a pointed grey hat. He continues to sing as he passes under an overhang of tree branches, the hobbit comes to a stop and folds his arms.)
Hobbit:(smugly) Your late
(Hearing the smug comment, the wizard stops his cart and stares at the hobbit sternly)
Wizard:(Curmudgeonly) A wizard is never late, Lincoln Loudins, nor am I early, I arrive precisely when I mean too!
(The hobbit, Lincoln, continues to stare down the wizard for a few seconds until neither one can remain serious, and burst out laughing, as the hobbit leaps into the wizards arms for an embrace)
Lincoln:(still laughing) It's wonderful to see you, Mr. Grouse!
Mr. Grouse:(smiling) You really think I'm going to miss your Grandfather's birthday.
(The two sit on the cart as the horse pulls it forward)
Mr. Grouse: So how is the old rascal? I hear it's going to be a party of special magnificence.
Lincoln: You know Pop-Pop, he's got the entire place in a uproar.
Mr. Grouse: Well that should please him, he can take it to them, as he's so fond of saying.
Lincoln:( continuing) Half the Shire's been invited…and the rest of them are showing up anyway.
(The two stop talking to share another laugh as the horse crossed a stone bridge over a river into the village of Hobbiton, a rural area with the hobbits homes built into the hillsides while wizard and young hobbit continue, several hobbits look up from their work in the fields,)
Lincoln:(worriedly) Tell you the truth, Pop-Pop's been acting odd lately.
(Catching Mr. Grouse' s skeptical look, Lincoln elaborated, and Mr. Grouse' face grows more grim and concerned as the young hobbit explained)
Lincoln: more odd then usual, he's taking to locking himself in his study, he spends hours and hours pouring over old maps when he thinks I'm not looking.
(In Loud End the house of Lincoln and his grandfather Pop-Pop, Loud End is in the very top of the largest hill, with several other hobbit holes surrounding it, in his study, Pop-Pop, a burly hobbit with white hair on his head and feet like his grandson, with a grey moustache, he's dressed in brown pants, a white shirt, with a red vest over it. He puts down a map he was reading, and he glances around the room in contentment, his hands go into his pants pocket. His expression quickly grows concerned as he frantically feels around for something that apparently wasn't there)
Pop-Pop: where's it gone!
(He urgently searches everywhere in his study, maybe he dropped it or it fell out, when that yielded nothing, he proceeds into the hall way, where more vests hung on racks, thinking he might have left what he's searching for in them. He pulls them down and feels the pockets before his hand feels in the pocket of the best he's wearing. His expression quickly relaxes and he pulls out what was in the pocket and stares in relief.)
(Back with Lincoln and Mr. Grouse sit in silence for a moment, before Lincoln continues)
Lincoln: He's hiding something.
(Lincoln glances at Mr. Grouse, who is staring at nothing, not making a sound)
Lincoln: All right then, don't tell me.
Mr. Grouse: what?
Lincoln: I know you got something to do with it.
Mr. Grouse: Good gravy.
Lincoln: Before you showed up, we Loudins where very well thought of, never went on adventures or did something unexpected.
Mr. Grouse: If your talking about the whole dragon mess, I was barely involved, I practically had to kick him out of the door.
Lincoln: Whatever went down, hobbits have officially labeled you a disturber of the peace.
(Mr. Grouse looks unfazed, as they continue on , several hobbit children run up behind the cart and beg Mr. Grouse to set off some of the fire works. Mr. Grouse seems not to listen and drives on. Just as he rounds the corner, however a series of small colorful explosions come from the back of the cart, making the hobbit children cheer. )
Lincoln:(looking at Mr. Grouse) Showoff!
(Mr. Grouse's only response was a quite laugh. Lincoln stands up)
Lincoln: Well I need to go. I promised Clyde I'd help him choose his outfit for the party.(looks back at the wizard)Oh and Mr. Grouse I'm glad your back.
Mr. Grouse:(as Lincoln jumps off the cart) So am I Loudins, so am I.
(Mr. Grouse urges his to continue trotting along until they reach a Hobbit hole at the top of the hill, with a gated walkway and a round, dark green door. Mr. Grouse exits his cart and stares at a sign on the gate)
Absolutely no admittance. Except on party business.
(Mr. Grouse heads to the door and knocks with the bottom of his staff. An irritated voice answered.)
Voice: No thank you! No more visitors, well wishers or distant relations!
Mr. Grouse: (smirking) And what about very old friends!
(The door opens and Pop-Pop steps out and stares at the wizard in joyful disbelief)
Pop-Pop: Grouse?
Mr. Grouse:(smiling) Albert Loudins.
(Pop-Pop happily embraces the old wizard, who bent down to his level and returned said embrace)
Mr. Grouse: Who'd have guessed it eh? 111 years old!
(They separate and Mr. Grouse notices something strange about the hobbit)
Mr. Grouse: You haven't aged a day.
Pop-Pop: Watch the movies. I've clearly aged ,just better then you.
(Mr. Grouse and Pop-Pop laugh. Pop-Pop heads inside and beckons Mr. Grouse to do the same)
Pop-Pop: Come on! Come in! Welcome, welcome. You hungry? Thirsty? Just finished brewing some tea, or if you want something a bit stronger, I got a couple of bottles of old vineyards my father laid down. Their almost as old as I am! How about we open one? Not everyday a hobbit turns 111.
Mr. Grouse:(stepping inside) Tea would be fine.
(Pop-Pop heads into his kitchen to fix the wizards tea. Mr. Grouse bending so as not to bang his head against the low ceiling steps further inside the hall. From the kitchen Pop-Pop calls back about what kind of food he has if Mr. Grouse was hungry.)
Pop-Pop:..caught me at a bad time I'm afraid. All I got is a bit of cold chicken…some pickles,(in a more upbeat tone)…No wait ,we're okay I just found some sponge cake!
Mr. Grouse: Just tea, if you don't mind..(Grouse bumps into a chandelier and quickly steadies it, before turning and heading towards the kitchen )
Mr. Grouse:( hitting his head accidentally on a low beam) OH!
Pop-Pop:(enters from the kitchen holding a slice of sponge cake) I can make you some eggs if you like.
Mr. Grouse: (rubbing his smarting head) just tea please.
Pop-Pop:(giving up) Oh all right(takes a bite of cake) you don't mind if I eat do you?
Mr. Grouse: Not at all.
( Both look at the door startled as forceful knocking and angry voices sound from behind it. Carefully Pop-Pop opens the current on a window and peered out. He made a face and turns back to Mr. Grouse.)
Pop-Pop: I'm not home.( heads into the kitchen, Mr. Grouse follows), I've got to get away from these pesky relatives, ever since that business with the dragon and dwarves, they seem to think I have tunnels filled with gold. (Remembers Mr. Grouse is still waiting for his drink.) Oh tea.
( Pop-Pop pours tea into a cup and hands it to Mr. Grouse)
Pop-Pop: I want to mountains again Grouse! Mountains! And then find somewhere quite and finally finish my book.
Mr. Grouse: You mean to go through with your plan then?
Pop-Pop: Of course, my mind's been made up for months.
Mr. Grouse: Lincoln suspects something.
Pop-Pop:(proudly) Course he does, he's a Loudins. Not some blockheaded Bracegirdle from hard bottle…
Mr. Grouse: you will tell him won't you. He's very fond of you.
Pop-Pop: I know, he'd come with me you know if asked him. Fact he's even suggested it more than once.. but I think in his heart, he still loves the Shire…the forests, the fields, the little rives.
(Pop-Pop peers out the window again to see if the blasted relatives are gone before returning to sit at the table with Mr. Grouse)
Pop-Pop,:(sighing) I'm old Grouse. I know I don't look it, or act like it for that matter.. But I feel it, sort of thin, stretchedlike butter over too much bread. I need a vacation, a very long vacation. I don't think I'll be coming back. In fact I plan not to. But one thing is for sure, Grouse my old friend…this will be a night to remember.
(In the field that for the whole day had been set up for the celebration, the party was in full swing. Hobbits danced around the food and drink ladened tables, at the center was a giant cake. Fireworks, designed and made by Mr. Grouse, filled the night air with bursts of greens, oranges, blues, among others. Pop-Pop greeted every guest personally. Lincoln leaves a table of food and sees a dark skinned hobbit, with an afro and wearing glasses sitting by himself, staring at the dancing hobbits with longing eyes. Smirking Lincoln sits down beside him and followed his gaze. A young female hobbit with brown hair and Wearing a blue dress dancing on the other hobbits.)
Lincoln:(teasingly) Come on Clyde. Ask Sid for a dance.
Clyde:(nervously) Think I'll just get another drink.
(Clyde exits his seat and heads to do just that, but before he can, Lincoln grabs him and drags him in amongst the partiers. Elsewhere at the party, Pop-Pop sits in front of a group of hobbit children, listening as he tells them about the time on the journey, where he and the dwarves were captured by three hungry mountain trolls.)
Pop-Pop:(dramatically) So there I was..surrounded by three monstrous trolls, and they couldn't stop arguing among themselves about how they should eat us. Whether we be roasted on a spit, sat on one by one and squashed into jelly, or worst of all….raw. Well they spent so much time arguing about the whitherto's and the whyfor's that they lost track of time, so that when the first ray's of sunlight crept over the top of the trees and… POOF, turned them all to stone!
(The hobbit children cheered as Pop-Pop concluded his tale. Over at the firework cart, Mr. Grouse takes an arm load of the cargo and leaves to continue entertaining the guests, as soon as he leaves two red headed hobbits poke their heads out of their hiding spot from a nearby tent. The taller one had a face full of zits and oddly shaped hair. The smaller one had glasses, buck teeth and spiky hair.)
Rusty:(helping the smaller one into the cart) Come on Zach, before Grouse comes back!
Zach: Give me a sec. There's a lot to chose from back here
(Mr. Grouse ignites one of the fireworks he had brought. Said firework exploded in a flock of sparky lifelike orange butterflies, that amuse the children watching.)
Mr. Grouse:(chuckles) Off they go!
(The butterflies fly away as the children chase them. Zach holds up a firework)
Zach: like this?
Rusty: No. No. Big one, big one.
(Zach replaces the one he's holding with a large firework shaped like a serpent dragon. He jumps off and Rusty fallows him towards their hiding place)
Rusty: Perfect.
(Back in their hiding tent, Rusty lights the fuse on their prize, and the two eagerly wait for the climax, before both realize a flaw they over looked. You don't like fireworks indoors.
Rusty:(shoving the explosive to Zach) Your supposed to stick it in the ground!
Zach:(pushing it back) It is in the ground!
Rusty: Outside!
Zach: This was your idea!
(The firework goes off, blowing the tent into the air and knocking Rusty and Zach both on their backs. As the firework ascends into the night sky, it attracts the attention of the hobbits, who cheer in excitement. As they continue to watch, the firework sprouts wings and a terrifyingly real Dragon face. The hobbits excitement gives way to panic as the dragon swoops low over them, they panic and duck for cover . Knocking over tables, tripping each other, Lincoln grabs at Pop-Pop and attempts to lead him to safety.)
Lincoln:(panicked) Pop-Pop! Watch out for the dragon!
Pop-Pop: Dragon! Nonsense dragons haven't been seen in the Shire for over a thousand years.
(Lincoln succeeds in pulling Pop-Pop out of the way, as the dragon flies over them to explode over the pond next to the party, replacing the hobbits fear with ecstasy, as the applauded wildly as the bursts of red and gold continued. Covered in soot from their deed, Rusty and Zach watch the cheering crowd.)
Rusty:(grinning) That was good.
Zach: Let's get another one.
(Someone comes up behind them and grabs their ears making them both wince in pain. They look up to see Mr. Grouse frowning down at them.)
Mr. Grouse: Rusty Spokes and Zach Gurdle….I might have known.
(As punishment for touching his fireworks and scaring the party goers ,Mr. Grouse set them to work scrubbing the mountains of dirty dishes left from the party feast, while those two toiled washing plates and bowls. Pop-Pop ascends a stage set there for one purpose.)
Hobbits:(chanting) Speech! Speech! Speech!
(After Pop-Pop stood on stage and the chanting dies down, Pop-Pop began.)
Pop-Pop:(shouting) My dear Loudins and Boffins, Gurdles and Spokes, Grubbs and Chubbs and Hornblowers and Bolgers , Bracegirdles and Proudfoots!
(Each name was punctuated with cheering from the aforementioned group, up until Proudfoots, where an elderly hobbit in the back saw fit for a correction.)
Scoots:(shouting back) Proudfeet!
(It was easy to see how the last family got their name, Scoots had her feet on the table and even by hobbit standards they were large and exceptionally furry.)
Pop-Pop:(ignoring Scoots) Today is my 111th birthday! Alas 111 years are far too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable hobbits! I don't know half of you half as well as I should like and I like less then half of you half as well as you deserve.
(Several hobbits clap hesitantly at this. Not knowing whether to be complimented or insulted.)
Pop-Pop:(continuing) I..uh..have things to do. I've put this off for far too long(starts to fiddle with something in his pocket, though only Mr. Grouse notices this and frowns).
Pop-Pop: I regret to announce that this is the end… I'm going now. I wish you all a very found farewell. Goodbye.
(Suddenly Pop-Pop vanishes off the stage, almost like he disappeared into thin air. Startled the hobbits in attendance begin to shout all at once.)
Hobbit#1: where'd he go!
Hobbit#2: He just disappeared.
Hobbit#3: Who ate my sandwich!
(While all this was going on. If one was passing by Loud End, they might have been surprised to see the gate open all by itself, as it shut ,they would have heard quite but hearty laughter as the front door opened and closed by itself as well.)
(Inside Loud End, Pop-Pop suddenly reappeared, chuckling as he casually flipped a simple gold band in his fingers before slipping the ring into his pocket. Now that his prank was out of the way, he could finally finish packing. Heading into his room, he reached into his closet and pulled out a full pack, then headed to a locked chest, that when unlocked and opened held several piles of paper and various junk. Pop-Pop-Pop fumbled inside until he pulled out a long seax in a battered leather scabbard. Buckling this to his belt and went to the hall and selected his favorite walking stick and stopped by the sitting room, not seeing Grouse until the latter spoke ,nearly giving the old hobbit a heart attack.)
Mr. Grouse: You get a good laugh out of that Loudins
Pop-Pop:(gasping, then laughing)Grouse! Yes as a matter of fact I did get a laugh out of that. Couldn't leave without taking it to them one last time. Did you see their faces(mimics 'the surprised hobbits) Oh! Where'd he go.
Mr. Grouse:(unamused) Magic rings are not to be used lightly, especially not for freaking out Hobbits.
Pop-Pop:(defensively) I was just having fun. One last bit of old Albert Loudins for them to remember me by. Oh your probably right,as usual. You will keep an eye on Lincoln won't you?
Mr. Grouse: TWO eyes, as often as I may.
Pop-Pop: I'm leaving him everything, well except for a few keepsakes .
Mr. Grouse: and what about that ring of yours is that staying too?
Pop-Pop:(suddenly irritated) Yeah, yeah. I left it over there on the desk table.
(Mr. Grouse looks around the table ,but can find no trace of the ring ever being there. Pop-Pop suddenly feels his best pocket.)
Pop-Pop:(faking surprise) No wait. Here it is in my pocket. And yet why shouldn't it stay with me? It's mine, my own.(lovingly) my precious.
Mr. Grouse:(startled) Precious? It's been called that before, but never by you.
Pop-Pop:(angrily) What business is it of yours what I do with my own things!
Mr. Grouse: I think you've had that ring for quite long enough.
Pop-Pop:(reaching for the hilt of his short sword) You'd like that wouldn't you, giving up my ring. You want it for yourself!
Mr. Grouse:( seeming to grow as the room darkens, Pop-Pop backs up in fright) Loudins! Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks. I'm not trying to rob you…
(The light returns and Grouse becomes less intimidating)
Mr. Grouse:(sympathetic) .. I'm trying to help you.
Pop-Pop:(coming out of the corner) Oh Grouse. I've tried getting rid of it, locking it away only I can't even sleep unless it's close by. I don't know what to do anymore.
Mr. Grouse: Trust me. All these years we've been friends trust. Trust me as you once did.
Pop-Pop:(nods) Your right . I've had it long enough, the ring must go to Lincoln.
(Pop-Pop grabs his pack and heads to the door)
Pop-Pop: Well it's late, and I have a long way to go, so I better get started.
(Pop-Pop opens the door and starts to head out)
Mr. Grouse: Albert. The rings still in your pocket.
Pop-Pop: Oh right.
(Pop-Pop takes the ring out and holds it in his palm for a second and stares at it. Then he slowly turns his hand so that the ring clatters to the floor. For a second he looks like height pick it back up. Then he turns and walks out the door.)
Pop-Pop: Well, that's that. You know I thought of how to end my book.
(Pop-Pop turns to stare at the old wizard)
Pop-Pop: and he lived happily ever after, to the end of his days.
Mr. Grouse:(bending on his knees to place his hand on the hobbits shoulder.)
Mr. Grouse: And I'm sure you will, my old friend.
(Pop-Pop smiles at the wizard, then after taking a deep breath, heads down the lane that will take him out of the Shire.
Pop-Pop:(singing) Roads go ever on and on.
Mr. Grouse:(knowingly) Fare well Big Al, until our next meeting.
(Mr. Grouse heads back inside and shuts the door).
Well there's chapter 3. Pop-Pop's left the ring and off on another adventure. Next Lincoln gets the ring and will soon learn a dark