Chapter 11
Four is Company
Buckland
The Shire
Middle Earth
October 1, 1425
The 4th Age
Radagast and the three Halflings had finally reached the border of Buckland!
"So, this is Buckland?" Radagast asked Merry.
Merry nodded.
"Yes, this is my home, Buckland!" he replied.
"It looks like everybody in Buckland is gearing up for the war!" Samwise commented after several dozen Halflings armed with clubs, bows, spears, and daggers on horseback had rode past them.
"Indeed!" Radagast said.
"Buckland hasn't been this busy since the Scouring of the Shire!" Merry added.
Radagast nodded in agreement. He had heard rumors of what happened in the Shire after Frodo and his companions got back from the South.
"It was pretty impressive how you managed to retake the Shire from Saruman's forces!" Radagast commented.
"We could never have been able to take it back if it wasn't for old Gandalf!" Pippin told the Brown Wizard.
Radagast raised his eyebrow.
"From what I heard Gandalf was not present during that situation." He asked in confusion.
"He wasn't. He helped us by sending us off on the journey that ended in the War of the Ring! Since we all fought in that war we were then able to repel Saruman's forces!" Sam explained.
"Oh!" Radagast said as he suddenly understood.
All of a sudden someone blew a horn and began the infamous war cry of Buckland!
"Fear! Fire! Foes!" The herald cried as he rode all through the town of Buckland. The Shire had been awakened once again. The Hobbits would join the fight to defend Middle Earth once again! Radagast's admired the Halfling folk's bravery and valiant acts to defend Middle Earth.
"What an admirable people!" he said with deep respect.
"For the King!" a Hobbit on a pony yelled.
Soon all over Buckland, Hobbits were chanting "For the King!" and it soon passed all over the Shire and into Bree, which then trickled into the regions of Men. The Hobbits of the Shire were going to war!
The wizard and the three Halflings rode on through Buckland until they reached the border of the Old Forest.