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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Nov 2 2023, 1:09pm
Post #26 of 32
(3285 views)
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Today in Middle-earth
November 2, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. They come to Bywater and rouse the Shire-folk.
(from the appendices)
..."It was about eighteen miles to Bywater, and they set off at ten o'clock in the morning. They would have started earlier, only the delay so plainly annoyed the Shirriff-leader...
......It was rather a comic cavalcade that left the village, though the few folk that came out to stare at the 'get-up' of the travellers did not seem quite sure whether laughing was allowed. A dozen Shirriffs had been told off as escort to the 'prisoners'; but Merry made them march in front, while Frodo and his friends rode behind. Merry, Pippin, and Sam sat at their ease laughing and talking and singing, while the Shirriffs stumped along trying to look stern and important. Frodo, however, was silent and looked rather sad and thoughtful....
......At the Three-Farthing Stone they gave it up. They had done nearly fourteen miles with only one rest at noon. It was now three o'clock. They were hungry and very footsore and they could not stand the pace.
...'Well, come along in your own time!' said Merry. 'We are going on.'
...'Good-bye, Cock-robin!' said Sam. 'I'll wait for you outside The Green Dragon, if you haven't forgotten where that is. Don't dawdle on the way!'
......When they reached the Green Dragon, the last house on the Hobbiton side, now lifeless and with broken windows, they were disturbed to see half a dozen large ill-favoured Men lounging against the inn-wall...
......The ruffians had clubs in their hands and horns by their belts, but they had no other weapons, as far as could be seen. As the travellers rode up they left the wall and walked into the road, blocking the way.
...'Where d'you think you're going?' said one, the largest and most evil-looking of the crew... '...You little folk are getting too uppish. Don't you trust too much in the Boss's kind heart. Sharkey's come now, and he'll do what Sharkey says.'
...'And what may that be?' said Frodo quietly.
...'This country wants waking up and setting to rights,' said the ruffian, 'and Sharkey's going to do it; and make it hard, if you drive him to it...'
...'...You are behind the times...' [said Frodo] 'The Dark Tower has fallen, and there is a King in Gondor. And Isengard has been destroyed and your precious master is a beggar in the wilderness. I passed him on the road. The King's messengers will ride up the Greenway now, not bullies from Isengard.'
...'The man stared at him and smiled. 'A beggar in the wilderness!' he mocked. 'Oh, is he indeed? Swagger it, swagger it, my little cock-a-whoop....'
......This was too much for Pippin. His thoughts went back to the Field of Cormallen, and here was a squint-eyed rascal calling the Ring-bearer 'little cock-a-whoop'. He cast back his cloak, flashed out his sword, and the silver and sable of Gondor gleamed on him as he rode forward.
...'I am a messenger of the King,' he said. 'You are speaking to the King's friend, and one of the most renowned in all the lands of the West. You are a ruffian and a fool. Down on your knees in the road and ask pardon, or I will set this troll's bane in you!'
...The sword glinted in the westering sun. Merry and Sam drew their swords also and rode up to support Pippin; but Frodo did not move. The ruffians gave back... ...Fearless hobbits with bright swords and grim faces were a great surprise. And there was a note in the voices of these newcomers that they had not heard before. It chilled them with fear.
...'Go!' said Merry. 'If you trouble this village again, you will regret it.' The three hobbits came on, and then the ruffians turned and fled, running away up the Hobbiton Road; but they blew their horns as they ran...
...'...I've an idea,' said Sam. 'Let's go to old Tom Cotton's down South Lane! He always was a stout fellow. And he has a lot of lads that were all friends of mine.'
...'No!' said Merry. 'It's no good "getting under cover". That is just what people have been doing, and just what these ruffians like. They will simply come down on us in force... ...No, we have got to do something at once.'
...'Do what?' said Pippin.
...'Raise the Shire!' said Merry. 'Now! Wake all our people... ...Shire-folk have been so comfortable so long they don't know what to do. They just want a match... ...and they'll go up in fire. The Chief's Men must know that. They'll try to stamp on us and put us out quick. We've only got a very short time.
...'Sam, you can make a dash for Cotton's farm, if you like. He's the chief person round here, and the sturdiest.... ...I am going to blow the horn of Rohan, and give them all some music they have never heard before.'
...They rode back to the middle of the village. There Sam turned aside and galloped off down the lane that led south to Cotton's. He had not gone far when he heard a sudden clear horn-call go up ringing into the sky. Far over hill and field it echoed; and so compelling was that call that Sam himself almost turned and dashed back. His pony reared and neighed.
...'On, lad! On..! ...We'll be going back soon.'
...Then he heard Merry change the note, and up went the Horn-cry of Buckland, shaking the air.
Awake! Awake! Fear, Fire, Foes! Awake!
Fire, Foes! Awake!"
November 2, 3020 (S.R. 1420)
1. Buckland and the Horn of the Mark.
(from APPENDIX D: THE CALENDARS)
..."...In Buckland, the Horn of the Mark was blown at sundown every November 2 and bonfires and feastings followed… …[This is the] Anniversary of its first blowing in the Shire in 3019."
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Nov 3 2023, 1:48pm
Post #27 of 32
(3263 views)
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Today in Middle-earth
November 3, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. Battle of Bywater, and Passing of Saruman. End of the War of the Ring.
(from the appendices)
..."...a messenger from the Tookland rode in. He was in high spirits. 'The Thain has raised all our country,' he said, 'and the news is going like fire all ways. The ruffians that were watching our land have fled off south... ...The Thain has gone after them, to hold off the big gang down that way; but he's sent Mr. Peregrin back with all the other folk he can spare.'
...The next news was less good. Merry, who had been out all night, came riding in about ten o'clock. 'There's a big band about four miles away... ...They're coming along the road from Waymeet, but a good many stray ruffians have joined up with them. There must be close on a hundred of them; and they're fire-raising as they come. Curse them...!'
......The ruffians came tramping along the East Road, and without halting turned up the Bywater Road... ...they met a stout barrier of old farm-carts upturned. That halted them. At the same moment they became aware that the hedges on both sides, just above their heads, were all lined with hobbits. Behind them other hobbits now pushed out some more waggons that had been hidden in a field, and so blocked the way back. A voice spoke to them from above.
...'Well, you have walked into a trap,' said Merry. 'Your fellows from Hobbiton did the same, and one is dead and the rest are prisoners. Lay down your weapons! Then go back twenty paces and sit down. Any who try to break out will be shot.'
...But the ruffians could not now be cowed so easily.... ...A score or more broke back and charged the waggons. Six were shot, but the remainder burst out, killing two hobbits, and then scattering across country in the direction of the Woody End. Two more fell as they ran. Merry blew a loud horn-call, and there were answering calls from a distance…
......At last all was over. Nearly seventy of the ruffians lay dead on the field, and a dozen were prisoners. Nineteen hobbits were killed, and some thirty were wounded.... ...The fallen hobbits were laid together in a grave on the hill-side, where later a great stone was set up with a garden about it. So ended the Battle of Bywater, 1419, the last battle fought in the Shire, and the only battle since the Greenfields, 1147, away up in the Northfarthing....
......When the fighting was over, and the later labours were ordered, Merry, Pippin, and Sam joined him [Frodo], and they rode back with the Cottons. They ate a late midday meal, and then Frodo said with a sigh: 'Well, I suppose it is time now that we dealt with the "Chief"...'
......At the top of the lane the party halted, and Frodo and his friends went on; and they came at last to the once beloved place. The garden was full of huts and sheds, some so near the old westward windows that they cut off all their light. There were piles of refuse everywhere. [Bag End's] door was scarred; the bell-chain was dangling loose... ...At length they pushed and the door yielded. They went in. The place stank and was full of filth and disorder: it did not appear to have been used for some time....
...'...This is worse than Mordor!' said Sam. 'Much worse in a way. It comes home to you, as they say; because it is home, and you remember it before it was all ruined.'
...'Yes, this is Mordor,' said Frodo. 'Just one of its works. Saruman was doing its work all the time...'
......Merry looked round in dismay and disgust.... '...If I had known all the mischief he had caused, I should have stuffed my pouch down Saruman's throat.'
...'No doubt, no doubt! But you did not, and so I am able to welcome you home.' There standing at the door was Saruman himself, looking well-fed and well-pleased; his eyes gleamed with malice and amusement.
...A sudden light broke on Frodo. 'Sharkey!' he cried.
...Saruman laughed. 'So you have heard the name, have you? All my people used to call me that in Isengard... ...But evidently you did not expect to see me here.'
...'I did not,' said Frodo. 'But I might have guessed. A little mischief in a mean way: Gandalf warned me that you were still capable of it.'
...'Quite capable... ...and more than a little. You made me laugh, you hobbit-lordlings, riding along with all those great people, so secure and so pleased with your little selves.... ...you must go dangling after [Gandalf], dawdling and talking, and riding round twice as far as you needed. "Well," thought I, "if they're such fools, I will get ahead of them and teach them a lesson. One ill turn deserves another." It would have been a sharper lesson, if only you had given me a little more time and more Men. Still I have already done much that you will find it hard to mend or undo in your lives. And it will be pleasant to think of that and set it against my injuries.'
...'Well, if that is what you find pleasure in,' said Frodo. 'I pity you. It will be a pleasure of memory only, I fear. Go at once and never return!'
...The hobbits of the villages... ...heard Frodo's command, they murmured angrily:
...'Don't let him go! Kill him! He's a villain and a murderer. Kill him!'
...Saruman looked round at their hostile faces and smiled. 'Kill him!' he mocked. 'Kill him, if you think there are enough of you, my brave hobbits!' He drew himself up... '... Whoever strikes me shall be accursed. And if my blood stains the Shire, it shall wither and never again be healed.'
...The hobbits recoiled. But Frodo said: 'Do not believe him! He has lost all power, save his voice that can still daunt you and deceive you, if you let it. But I will not have him slain. It is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing. Go, Saruman, by the speediest way!'
...'Worm! Worm!' Saruman called; and out of a nearby hut came Wormtongue, crawling, almost like a dog. 'To the road again, Worm!' said Saruman.... ...But even as Saruman passed close to Frodo a knife flashed in his hand, and he stabbed swiftly. The blade turned on the mail-coat and snapped. A dozen hobbits, led by Sam, leaped forward with a cry and flung the villain to the ground. Sam drew his sword.
...'No, Sam!' said Frodo. 'Do not kill him even now. For he has not hurt me. And in any case I do not wish him to be slain in this evil mood. He was great once, of a noble kind that we should not dare to raise our hands against. He is fallen, and his cure is beyond us; but I would still spare him, in the hope that he may find it.'
...Saruman rose to his feet, and stared at Frodo. There was a strange look in his eyes of mingled wonder and respect and hatred. 'You have grown, Halfling... ...Yes, you have grown very much. You are wise, and cruel. You have robbed my revenge of sweetness, and now I must go hence in bitterness, in debt to your mercy. I hate it and you! Well, I go and I will trouble you no more. But do not expect me to wish you health and long life. You will have neither. But that is not my doing. I merely foretell....'
...'...Worm killed your Chief, poor little fellow, your nice little Boss. Didn't you, Worm? Stabbed him in his sleep, I believe. Buried him, I hope; though Worm has been very hungry lately. No, Worm is not really nice. You had better leave him to me.'
...A look of wild hatred came into Wormtongue's red eyes. 'You told me to; you made me do it,' he hissed.
...Saruman laughed. 'You do what Sharkey says, always, don't you, Worm? Well, now he says: follow!' He kicked Wormtongue in the face as he grovelled, and turned and made off... ...suddenly Wormtongue rose up, drawing a hidden knife, and then with a snarl like a dog he sprang on Saruman's back, jerked his head back, cut his throat, and with a yell ran off down the lane. Before Frodo could recover or speak a word, three hobbit-bows twanged and Wormtongue fell dead.
...To the dismay of those that stood by, about the body of Saruman a grey mist gathered, and rising slowly to a great height like smoke from a fire, as a pale shrouded figure it loomed over the Hill. For a moment it wavered, looking to the West; but out of the West came a cold wind, and it bent away, and with a sigh dissolved into nothing....
...'And that's the end of that,' said Sam. 'A nasty end, and I wish I needn't have seen it; but it's a good riddance.'
...'And the very last end of the War, I hope,' said Merry.
...'I hope so,' said Frodo and sighed. 'The very last stroke. But to think that is should fall here, at the very door of Bag End! Among all my hopes and fears at least I never expected that....'"
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Nov 4 2023, 1:14pm
Post #28 of 32
(3218 views)
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Today in Middle-earth
November 4, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Elves and Lake-men depart Lake-town.
(determined from text)
..."But all the men of arms who were still able, and the most of the Elvenking's array, got ready to march north to the Mountain. It was thus that in eleven days from the ruin of the town the head of their host passed the rock-gates at the end of the lake and came into the desolate lands."
2. Thorin and Company were busy preparing.
(determined from text)
..."...the dwarves still had some days before them. They explored the caverns once more, and found, as they expected, that only the Front Gate remained open; all the other gates (except, of course, the small secret door) had long ago been broken and blocked by Smaug, and no sign of them remained."
November 4, 3018 (S.R. 1418)
1. The Hobbits enjoy Rivendell.
(not from the appendices - no text - a drabble)
...The partially formed Fellowship rested in Rivendell and prepared for their journey while waiting for the scouts to return. Frodo grew stronger through the grace of Rivendell. He would walk with his friends and explore the rich culture and craft of their refuge and spend time visiting with the Elves to Sam's sheer delight; but much of his time he spent with Bilbo in his room. They spoke of many things from years gone by and their adventures on the road, yet always careful to avoid mention of the Black Riders, the Ring, and the darkness that followed after Weathertop.
November 4, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. The healing of the Shire begins.
(not from the appendices)
..."The clearing up certainly needed a lot of work, but it took less time than Sam had feared. The day after the battle Frodo rode to Michel Delving and released the prisoners from the Lockholes. One of the first that they found was poor Fredegar Bolger, Fatty no longer. He had been taken when the ruffians smoked out a band of rebels that he led from their hidings up in the Brockenbores....
...'...You would have done better to come with us after all, poor old Fredegar!' said Pippin, as they carried him out too weak to walk.
...He opened an eye and tried gallantly to smile. 'Who's this young giant with the loud voice?' he whispered. 'Not little Pippin! What's your size in hats now?'
...Then there was Lobelia. Poor thing, she looked very old and thin when they rescued her from a dark and narrow cell. She insisted on hobbling out on her own feet; and she had such a welcome, and there was such clapping and cheering when she appeared, leaning on Frodo's arm but still clutching her umbrella, that she was quite touched and drove away in tears. She had never in her life been popular... ...But she was crushed by the news of Lotho's murder, and she would not return to Bag End. She gave it back to Frodo, and went to her own people, the Bracegirdles of Hardbottle.
...When the poor creature died next Spring... ...Frodo was surprised and much moved: she had left all that remained of her money and of Lotho's for him to use in helping hobbits made homeless by the troubles. So that feud was ended.
...Old Will Whitfoot had been in the Lockholes longer than any, and... ...he needed a lot of feeding up before he could look the part of Mayor; so Frodo agreed to act as his Deputy, until Mr. Whitfoot was in shape again. The only thing that he did as Deputy Mayor was to reduce the Shirriffs to their proper functions and numbers."
[dernwyn drabble 2008]
Unlocked
... She shivered beneath her ragged shawl. It was so dark here, and she was always hungry. Now it was noisy! Were they bringing more prisoners? But - this sounded different. Why, these were voices of her own people, shouting, cheering, even singing! Doors were clanking open and -
... Her door opened. As a shaft of light pierced the small narrow room, a voice she had not heard in over a year spoke softly. "Lobelia?"
... Her stubborn heart softened with sudden joy as one whom she once despised came in and clasped her hands in his. "Come, dear," said Frodo, gently.
[I STILL tear up every time I read this. Thank you, dernwyn.]
We have been there and back again.
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
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Nov 4 2023, 1:34pm
Post #29 of 32
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Thank you, gramma, but I did forget something in that drabble: the umbrella, the weapon of that brave lady! I should figure out how to include it, as it kept her company through that long dark time. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Nov 5 2023, 1:59pm
Post #30 of 32
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Hopefully the ruffians didn't take it from her seeing how well she probably wielded it as a weapon ;) It would have given her something of herself to hang on to.
We have been there and back again.
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dernwyn
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Nov 6 2023, 5:21pm
Post #31 of 32
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She was "leaning on Frodo's arm but still clutching her umbrella", so I've assumed that they hadn't been able to wrest it from her back then!  Here you go:
She clutched her tattered umbrella and shivered beneath her ragged shawl. It was so dingy in here. Now it was noisy! Were they bringing more prisoners? But - this sound was different. Why, these were voices of her own people, shouting, cheering, even singing! Doors were clanking open and -
... Her door opened. As a shaft of light pierced the small narrow room, a voice she had not heard in over a year spoke softly. "Lobelia?"
... Her stubborn heart softened with sudden joy as one whom she once despised came in and clasped her hands in his. "Come, dear," said Frodo, gently.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Nov 12 2023, 3:03pm
Post #32 of 32
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Thank you for this :D It's such an incredible time of healing for her AND for Frodo. *applause*
We have been there and back again.
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TIME - November 2
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