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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 10 2010, 8:09am
Post #1 of 75
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TIME - July 10
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Today in Middle-earth.
July 10, 3018 (S.R. 1418)
(from the appendices)
1. Gandalf imprisoned in Orthanc
..."'Late one evening I came to the gate, like a great arch in the wall of rock; and it was strongly guarded. But the keepers of the gate were on the watch for me and told me that Saruman awaited me. I rode under the arch, and the gate closed silently behind me, and suddenly I was afraid, though I knew no reason for it. But I rode to the foot of Orthanc, and came to the stair of Saruman; and there he met me and led me up to his high chamber. He wore a ring on his finger.' '"So you have come, Gandalf,' he said to me gravely..."
...'"Yes, I have come," I said. "I have come for your aid, Saruman the White." And that title seemed to anger him.
...'"Have you indeed, Gandalf the Grey!" he scoffed. "For aid? It has seldom been heard of that Gandalf the Grey sought for aid, one so cunning and so wise, wandering about the lands, and concerning himself in every business, whether it belongs to him or not..."
...'"...here you will stay, Gandalf the Grey, and rest from journeys. For I am Saruman, the Wise, Saruman Ring-maker, Saruman of Many Colours!" 'I looked then and saw that his robes, which had seemed white, were not so, but were woven of all colours, and if he moved they shimmered and changed hue so that the eye was bewildered.
...'"I liked white better,' I said.
...'"White!" he sneered. "It serves as a beginning. White cloth may be dyed. The white page can be overwritten; and the white light can be broken."
...'"In which case it is no longer white," said I... '
...'...He came and laid his long hand on my arm... he whispered. "... I have many eyes in my service, and I believe that you know where this precious thing now lies. Is it not so? Or why do the Nine ask for the Shire, and what is your business there?" As he said this a lust which he could not conceal shone suddenly in his eyes.
...'"Saruman," I said, standing away from him, "only one hand at a time can wield the One, and you know that well, so do not trouble to say we! But I would not give it, nay, I would not give even news of it to you, now that I learn your mind. You were head of the Council, but you have unmasked yourself at last. Well, the choices are... ...to submit to Sauron, or to yourself. I will take neither. Have you others to offer?"
...'He was cold now and perilous. "Yes," he said. "I did not expect you to show wisdom, even in your own behalf; but I gave you the chance of aiding me willingly, and so saving yourself much trouble and pain. The third choice is to stay here, until the end."
...'"Until what end?"
...'"Until you reveal to me where the One may be found..."
...'They took me and they set me alone on the pinnacle of Orthanc, in the place where Saruman was accustomed to watch the stars. There is no descent save by a narrow stair of many thousand steps, and the valley below seems far away. I looked on it and saw that, whereas it had once been green and fair, it was now filled with pits and forges. Wolves and orcs were housed in Isengard, for Saruman was mustering a great force on his own account, in rivalry of Sauron and not in his service yet... ... I stood alone on an island in the clouds; and I had not chance of escape, and my days were bitter. I was pierced with cold, and I had but little room in which to pace to and fro, brooding on the coming of the Riders to the North.'
...'I saw you!' cried Frodo. 'You were walking backward and forwards. The moon shone in your hair.'
...Gandalf paused astonished and looked at him. 'It was only a dream,' said Frodo, 'but it suddenly came back to me. I had quite forgotten it. It came some time ago; after I left the Shire, I think.'
... 'Then it was late in coming... ...I was in an evil plight. And those of you who know me will agree that I have seldom been in such need, and do not bear such misfortune well. Gandalf the Grey caught like a fly in a spider's treacherous web! Yet even the most subtle spiders may leave a weak thread.'"
 
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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dernwyn
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Jul 10 2010, 11:26am
Post #2 of 75
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One can almost see the Orthanc guards smiling at each other behind Gandalf's back as they let him pass...
That is a significant observation to Gandalf, that Saruman was wearing a ring - or rather, openly wearing a ring, as we find out at the end of the book that Gandalf was wearing one the entire time, but his was "hidden". Here Saruman is flaunting his own ability to make even a "lesser" Ring. I wonder what its power was?
I think it was not a case of that dream arriving "late" to Frodo, since the dream ended with the sound of "hoofs galloping from the east", and when Frodo had the dream Gandalf was still en route to the Shire. So the dream was showing him why Gandalf was late in returning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?"
-Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915
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batik
Tol Eressea
Jul 10 2010, 5:29pm
Post #3 of 75
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since I am maybe 3-4 pages past these passages during my very leisurely summer reading.
July 10th, huh? I never would have thought so...based on the film version. Maybe that clear night sky led me to assume *winter*. Whatever the case, I was not reminded of the July 10th in these parts...90-100 degrees during the day, humid....the "dog days" of summer!
"He wore a ring on his finger." Well...I don't know how I missed that before, but I did!  I'm thinking there could be some huge implications to that...and it's written so simply...sort of an "oh, by the way" piece of information.
Something that has me (sort of ) laughing and (for sure) thinking---Gandalf's words "And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom" (which became another **-ism** for me) that are followed by Saruman's dissing the **-ism**! ("You need not speak to me as to one of the fools that you take for friends,...")  Now, how high and mighty is that? Guess Saruman wouldn't be impressed by that talk about deciding what to do with the time...or any of the other *** 'ed phrases in my book!
I wonder how much attention Sam was paying when Gandalf made his statement about spiders....
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 11 2010, 12:44am
Post #4 of 75
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came from? Did he make it (mimicking Sauron)? Or was it something he discovered and stole while searching for the Ring?
I also think that Frodo's dream was in real time with Gandalf's capture. Frodo has already become more "aware" of things outside the norm since his injury by the Morgul blade.
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 11 2010, 12:48am
Post #5 of 75
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on a head-long rush to self glory. Got so caught up in himself he thought he could take on, not only Sauron, but Gandalf!
I enjoy getting these little snippets because I catch things I've rushed past during so many reads :)
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 11 2010, 11:45am
Post #6 of 75
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It's a Book Spoiler about another road trip... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From Many Partings: The Two Towers
..."The Ents were striding on at a great pace. They had descended into a long fold of the land that fell away southward; now they began to climb up, and up, onto the high western ridge. The woods fell away and they came to scattered groups of birch, and then to bare slopes where only a few gaunt pine-trees grew. The sun sank behind the dark hill-back in front. Grey dusk fell.
... Pippin looked behind. The number of the Ents had grown--or what was happening... ... the dim bare slopes that they had crossed should lie, he thought he saw groves of trees. But they were moving! Could it be that the trees of Fangorn were awake, and the forest was rising, marching over the hills to war? He rubbed his eyes wondering if sleep and shadow had deceived him; but the great grey shapes moved steadily onward. There was a noise like wind in many branches. The Ents were drawing near the crest of the ridge now, and all song had ceased. Night fell, and there was a silence: nothing was to be heard save a faint quiver of the earth beneath the feet of the Ents, and a rustle, the shade of a whisper as to many drifting leaves. At last they stood upon the summit, and looked down into a dark pit: the great cleft at the end of the mountains: Nan Curunír, the Valley of Saruman.
... 'Night lies over Isengard,' said Treebeard."
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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dernwyn
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Jul 11 2010, 4:09pm
Post #7 of 75
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What at first may seem to be an obvious observation - "Night lies over Isengard" - takes on a sinister meaning with the addition of calling that location a "dark pit", and the realization that an entire Forest is encroaching upon it.
The doom of Isengard lies over it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?"
-Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 12 2010, 9:21am
Post #8 of 75
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Here's a Book Spoiler looking at Lobelia's people skills... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Scouring of the Shire: The Return of the King
... "'Who is this Sharkey?' said Merry. 'I heard one of the ruffians speak of him.'
... 'The biggest ruffian o' the lot, seemingly,' answered Cotton. 'It was about last harvest, end o' September maybe, that we first heard of him. We've never seen him, but he's up at Big End; and he's the real Chief now... ...All the ruffians do what he says; and what he says is mostly: hack, burn, and ruin; and now it's come to killing. There's no longer even any bad sense in it. They cut down trees and let 'em lie, they burn houses and build no more.
... 'Take Sandyman's mill now. Pimple knocked it down almost as soon as he came to Bag End. Then he brought in a lot o' dirty-looking Men to build a bigger one and fill it full o' wheels and outlandish contraptions.... ...Pimple's idea was to grind more and faster, or so he said. He's got other mills like it. But you've got to have grist before you can grind; and there was no more for the new mill to do than for the old. But since Sharkey came they don't grind no more corn at all. They're always a-hammering and a-letting out a smoke and a stench, and there isn't no peace even at night in Hobbiton. And they pour out filth a purpose; they've fouled all the lower Water, and it's getting down into the Brandywine. If they want to make the Shire into a desert, they're going the right way about it. I don't believe that fool of a Pimple's behind all this. It's Sharkey, I say.'
... 'That's right!' put in Young Tom. 'Why, they even took Pimple's old ma, that Lobelia, and he was fond of her, if no one else was. Some of the Hobbiton folk... ...saw it. She comes down the lane with her old umbrella. Some of the ruffians where going up with a big cart.
... '"Where be you a-going?" says she.
... '"To Bag End," says they.
... '"What for?" says she.
... '"To put up some sheds for Sharkey," says they.
... '"Who said you could?" says she.
... '"Sharkey," says they. "So get out o' the road, ole hagling!"
... '"I'll give you Sharkey, you dirty thieving ruffians!" says she, and ups with her umbrella and goes for the leader, near twice her size. So they took her. Dragged her off to the Lockholes, at her age too. They've took others we miss more, but there's no denying she showed more spirit than most.'"
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 12 2010, 9:24am
Post #9 of 75
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The Scouring of Isengard.
Neat imagery, dernwyn. *still cowering*
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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dernwyn
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Jul 12 2010, 10:26am
Post #10 of 75
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No wonder Lobelia always carried an umbrella with her, it made an excellent instant weapon - and against a hobbit-sized person, no doubt it was "lethal"! There was no fear in this lady: I can see her seething in indignation, and cussing as well, all the way to her prison cell.
And this scene also shows exactly who was truly running the Shire at this point. Bullies, the lot of them - and the biggest bully of all was in charge!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?"
-Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 13 2010, 8:28am
Post #11 of 75
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Today in Middle-earth.
Mid-July, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
..."Long days after they had climbed out of the valley and left the Last Homely House miles behind, they were still going up and up and up. It was a hard path and a dangerous path, a crooked way and a lonely and a long. Now they could look back over the lands they had left, laid out behind them far below. Far, far away in the West, where things were blue and faint, Bilbo knew there lay his own country of safe and comfortable things, and his little hobbit-hole. He shivered. It was getting bitter cold up here... ...Boulders... ...at times came galloping down the mountain-sides, let loose by mid-day sun upon the snow, and passed among them (which was lucky), or over their heads (which was alarming). The nights were comfortless and chill, and they did not dare to sing or talk too loud, for the echoes were uncanny, and the silence seemed to dislike being broken—except by the noise of water and the wail of wind and the crack of stone."
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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dernwyn
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Jul 13 2010, 2:44pm
Post #12 of 75
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behind these mountain frights, for those unfamiliar with Tolkien's youth!
From Letter #306 to Michael Tolkien, reminiscing about his trip to Switzerland in 1911: "One day we went on a long march with guides up the Aletsch glacier - when I came near to perishing...we were strung out in file along a narrow track with a snow -slope on the right going up to the horizon, and on the left a plunge down into a ravine. The summer of that year had melted away much snow, and stone and boulders were exposed that (I suppose) were normally covered. The heat of the day continued the melting and we were alarmed to see many of them starting to roll down the slope at gathering speed: anything from the size of oranges to large footballs, and a few much larger.They were whizzing across our path and plunging into the ravine...I remember the member of the party just in front of me (an elderly schoolmistress) gave a sudden squeak and jumped forward as a large lump of rock shot between us. About a foot at most before my unmanly knees."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?"
-Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 14 2010, 9:17am
Post #13 of 75
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Today in Middle-earth.
July 14, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
...""The summer is getting on down below," thought Bilbo, "and haymaking is going on and picnics. They will be harvesting and blackberrying, before we even begin to go down the other side at this rate." And the others were thinking equally gloomy thoughts, although when they had said good-bye to Elrond in the high hope of a midsummer morning, they had spoken gaily of the passage of the mountains... ...They had thought of coming to the secret door in the Lonely Mountain, perhaps that very next first moon of Autumn—"and perhaps it will be Durin's Day" they had said. Only Gandalf had shaken his head and said nothing. Dwarves had not passed that way for many years, but Gandalf had, and he knew how evil and danger had grown and thriven in the Wild, since the dragons had driven men from the lands, and the goblins had spread in secret after the battle of the Mines of Moria. Even the good plans of wise wizards like Gandalf and of good friends like Elrond go astray sometimes when you are off on dangerous adventures over the Edge of the Wild; and Gandalf, was a wise enough wizard to know it."
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 14 2010, 9:27am
Post #14 of 75
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That's awesome, dernwyn! He's used this in BOTH The Hobbit and LotR at Caradhras! WOW!!!! Thank you for this!! He really has been on this Quest, hasn't he :) Writing from his own adventures!
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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dernwyn
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Jul 14 2010, 10:15am
Post #15 of 75
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Dragons and goblins and Moria, oh my!
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There he goes again, letting another hint of the greater world of Middle-earth seep into the story, leaving us asking: Moria? Do tell, please!
And nothing is as it seems, now that one is fully in Faerie - that is, over the Edge of the Wild...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?"
-Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 15 2010, 9:23am
Post #16 of 75
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Today in Middle-earth
July 15, 3018 (S.R. 1418)
1. Gandalf is held prisoner atop Orthanc.
(not from the appendices)
..."...a dark smoke hung and wrapped itself about the sides of Orthanc. I stood alone on an island in the clouds; and I had no chance of escape, and my days were bitter. I was pierced with cold, and I had but little room in which to pace to and fro, brooding on the coming of the Riders to the North.'"
2. Frodo makes his plan to leave the Hobbiton while enjoying a splendid summer in the Shire.
(not from the appendices- no text)
...Frodo walked the paths and visited the valleys and hills he had travelled so often with Bilbo, and some of his own. He'd always found solace on his wanderings, but now he felt apprehensive as he rested in a grove of trees and enjoyed the soft breeze from the West.
July 15, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. Frodo speaks with Aragorn and Arwen.
(not from the appendices)
..."...Frodo went to the King as he was sitting with the Queen Arwen by the fountain, and she sang a song of Valinor, while the Tree grew and blossomed. They welcomed Frodo and rose to greet him; and Aragorn said:
... 'I know what you have come to say... ...you wish to return to your own home. Well, dearest friend, the tree grows best in the land of its sires; but for you in all the lands of the West there will ever be a welcome. And though your people have had little fame in the legends of the great, they will now have more renown than many wide realms that are no more.'
...'It is true that I wish to go back to the Shire,' said Frodo, 'but first I must go to Rivendell. For if there could be anything wanting in a time so blessed, I missed Bilbo; and I was grieved when among all the household of Elrond I saw that he was not come.'
...'Do you wonder at that, Ring-bearer?' said Arwen. 'For you know the power of that thing which is now destroyed; and all that was done by that power is now passing away. But your kinsman possessed this thing longer than you. He is ancient in years now... ...and he awaits you, for he will not again make any long journey save one.'
...'Then I beg leave to depart soon,' said Frodo.
...'In seven days we will go,' said Aragorn. 'For we shall ride with you far on the road, even as far as the country of Rohan. In three days now Éomer will return hither to bear Théoden back to rest in the Mark, and we shall ride with him to honour the fallen. But now before you go I will confirm the words that Faramir spoke to you, and you are made free forever of the realm of Gondor; and all your companions likewise. And if there were any gifts that I could give to match with your deeds you should have them; but whatever you desire you shall take with you, and you shall ride in honour and arrayed as princes of the land.'
......Queen Arwen said: 'A gift I will give you. For I am the daughter of Elrond. I shall not go with him now when he departs to the Havens; for mine is the choice of Lúthien... ...I have chosen, both the sweet and the bitter. But in my stead you shall go, Ring-bearer, when the time comes, and if you desire it. If your hurts grieve you still and the memory of your burden is heavy, then you may pass into the West, until all your wounds and weariness are healed. But wear this now in memory of Elfstone and Evenstar with whom your life has been woven!'
...And she took a white gem like a star that lay upon her breast hanging upon a silver chain, and she set the chain about Frodo’s neck. 'When the memory of the fear and the darkness troubles you, this will bring you aid.'"
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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dernwyn
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Jul 15 2010, 11:48am
Post #17 of 75
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That "dark smoke" wrapping itself about Orthanc makes me think of tall factory smokestacks, spewing out thick, smelly black smoke, which then drops and hangs in the air about them...
"If your hurts grieve you still": No one, not even Arwen (or Gandalf), could know what the full effect of bearing the Ring would be for Frodo...but they wanted to make sure that whatever his needs would be, he would be fully cared for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?"
-Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 17 2010, 11:43pm
Post #18 of 75
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Today in Middle-earth.
July 16, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Tremendous Thunder-battle in afternoon. Shelter in a cave. Goblins capture them.
(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
..."...they were sheltering under a hanging rock for the night, and Bilbo lay beneath a blanket and shook from head to toe. When he peeped out in the lightning-flashes, he saw that across the valley the stone-giants were out and were hurling rocks at one another for a game, and catching them, and tossing them down into the darkness where they smashed among the trees far below, or splintered into little bits with a bang. Then came a wind and a rain, and the wind whipped the rain and the hail about in every direction, so that an overhanging rock was no protection at all. Soon they were getting drenched and their ponies were standing with their heads down and their tails between their legs... ...They could hear the giants guffawing and shouting all over the mountain-sides.
..."This won't do at all!" said Thorin. "If we don't get blown off or drowned, or struck by lightning, we shall be picked up by some giant and kicked sky-high for a football."
..."Well, if you know of anywhere better, take us there!" said Gandalf, who was feeling very grumpy, and was far from happy about the giants himself.
...The end of their argument was that they sent Fili and Kili to look for a better shelter... ...Soon Fili and Kili came crawling back, holding on to the rocks in the wind. "We have found a dry cave," they said, "not far round the next corner; and ponies and all could get inside."
..."Have you thoroughly explored it?" said the wizard, who knew that caves up in the mountains were seldom un-occupied.
..."Yes, yes!" they said, though everybody knew they could not have been long about it; they had come back too quick. "It isn't all that big, and it does not go far back."
......As they passed under the arch, it was good to hear the wind and the rain outside instead of all about them, and to feel safe from the giants and their rocks. But the wizard was taking no risks. He lit up his wand—as he did that day in Bilbo's dining-room that seemed so long ago, if you remember--, and by its light they explored the cave from end to end.
...It seemed quite a fair size, but not too large and mysterious... ... They got out their pipes and blew smoke rings, which Gandalf turned into different colours and set dancing up by the roof to amuse them. "
2. They are captured by the Goblins during the night.
..."It turned out a good thing that night that they had brought little Bilbo with them, after all. For somehow, he could not go to sleep for a long while; and when he did sleep, he had very nasty dreams. He dreamed that a crack in the wall at the back of the cave got bigger and bigger, and opened wider and wider, and he was very afraid but could not call out or do anything but lie and look. Then he dreamed that the floor of the cave was giving way, and he was slipping—beginning to fall down, down....
...At that he woke up with a horrible start, and found that part of his dream was true. A crack had opened at the back of the cave, and was already a wide passage. He was just in time to see the last of the ponies' tails disappearing into it. Of course he gave a very loud yell, as loud a yell as a hobbit can give, which is surprising for their size.
...Out jumped the goblins, big goblins, great ugly-looking goblins, lots of goblins... ...There were six to each dwarf, at least, and two even for Bilbo; and they were all grabbed and carried through the crack, before you could say tinder and flint. But not Gandalf. Bilbo's yell had done that much good. It had wakened him up wide in a splintered second, and when goblins came to grab him, there was a terrible flash like lightning in the cave, and smell like gunpowder, and several of them fell dead.
...The crack closed with a snap, and Bilbo and the dwarves were on the wrong side of it! Where was Gandalf? Of that neither they nor the goblins had any idea, and the goblins did not wait to find out...
......said one of the drivers... "...Several of our people were struck by lightning in the cave, when we invited these creatures to come below; and they are as dead as stones... ...[and they had] this!" He held out the sword which Thorin had worn, the sword which came from the Trolls' lair.
...The Great Goblin gave a truly awful howl of rage when he looked at it, and all his soldiers gnashed their teeth, clashed their shields, and stamped. They knew the sword at once. It had killed hundreds of goblins in its time, when the fair elves of Gondolin hunted them in the hills or did battle before their walls. They had called it Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver, but the goblins called it simply Biter. They hated it and hated worse any one that carried it.
..."Murderers and elf-friends!" the Great Goblin shouted. "Slash them! Beat them! Bite them! Gnash them! Take them away to dark holes full of snakes, and never let them see the light again!..."
......Just at that moment all the lights in the cavern went out, and the great fire went off poof! into a tower of blue glowing smoke, right up the roof, that scattered piercing white sparks all among the goblins... ...Suddenly a sword flashed in its own light. Bilbo saw it go right through the Great Goblin as he stood dumbfounded in the middle of his rage. He fell dead, and the goblin soldiers fled before the sword shrieking into the darkness.
...The sword went back into its sheath. "Follow me quick!" said a voice fierce and quiet; and before Bilbo understood what had happened he was trotting along again, as fast as he could trot, at the end of the line, down more dark passages with the yells of the goblin-hall growing fainter behind him. A pale light was leading them on.... ...On they went. Gandalf was quite right: they began to hear goblin noises and horrible cries far behind in the passages they had come through. That sent them on faster than ever, and as poor Bilbo could not possibly go half as fast—for dwarves can roll along at a tremendous pace, I can tell you, when they have to—they took it in turn to carry him on their backs... ...Quite suddenly Dori, now at the back again carrying Bilbo, was grabbed from behind in the dark. He shouted and fell; and the hobbit rolled off his shoulders into the blackness, bumped his head on hard rock, and remembered nothing more."
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 17 2010, 11:45pm
Post #19 of 75
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Today in Middle-earth.
July 17, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Bilbo's lost in the caves
(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
..."When Bilbo opened his eyes, he wondered if he had; for it was just as dark as with them shut. No one was anywhere near him. Just imagine his fright! He could hear nothing, see nothing, and he could feel nothing except the stone of the floor.
...Very slowly he got up and groped about on all fours, till he touched the wall of the tunnel; but neither up nor down it could he find anything: nothing at all, no sign of goblins, no sign of dwarves. His head was swimming, and he was far from certain even of the direction they had been going in when he had his fall. He guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking... ...He could not think what to do; nor could he think what had happened; or why he had been left behind; or why, if he had been left behind, the goblins had not caught him; or even why his head was so sore. The truth was he had been lying quiet, out of sight and out of mind, in a very dark corner for a long while....
......in slapping all his pockets and feeling all round himself for matches his hand came on the hilt of his little sword---the little dagger that he got from the trolls, and that he had quite forgotten; nor do the goblins seem to have noticed it, as he wore it inside his breeches.
...Now he drew it out. It shone pale and dim before his eyes. "So it is an elvish blade, too," he thought; "and goblins are not very near, and yet not far enough."
...But somehow he was comforted. It was rather splendid to be wearing a blade made in Gondolin for the goblin-wars of which so many songs had sung; and also he had noticed that such weapons made a great impression on goblins that came upon them suddenly.
..."Go back!" he thought. "No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!" So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter."
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 17 2010, 11:52pm
Post #20 of 75
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Moria seems to be the pride and the bane of the dwarves. Whkat a tease!!!
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 18 2010, 12:28am
Post #21 of 75
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possible for me to continue to read this story... this, and knowing that Sam followed.
If your hurts grieve you still and the memory of your burden is heavy, then you may pass into the West, until all your wounds and weariness are healed. But wear this now in memory of Elfstone and Evenstar with whom your life has been woven!'
...And she took a white gem like a star that lay upon her breast hanging upon a silver chain, and she set the chain about Frodo’s neck. 'When the memory of the fear and the darkness troubles you, this will bring you aid.'"
"...until..." Like he could return when he was healed. Of course, we learn that no one returns from Valinor; but I clung to the hope that Frodo "could" return if he wanted to so I could cope with his leaving. Sam breaks my heart...
Another thing I wondered about is when Arwen says that if Frodo's memory of his burden grieves him, that he could leave... but she also says that if the memory of the fear and darkness troubles him, that her gem (the Evenstar) would bring him aid. Not aid strong enough to find peace we learn as time goes by. Maybe she hoped it would be enough.
And the power of this gem to bring aid from darkness. Is it part of a matched set with the other part being... maybe... a Ring? Both found in Lorien? A gramma, mama, grandaughter thing? I'm kinda brain-fried right now. ... sleep... sweet sleep needed... ;)
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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(This post was edited by grammaboodawg on Jul 18 2010, 12:29am)
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 18 2010, 11:04am
Post #22 of 75
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Today in Middle-earth.
July 18, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Bilbo's lost in the caves
(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
..."Now certainly Bilbo was in what is called a tight place. But you must remember it was not quite so tight for him as it would have been for me or for you. Hobbits are not quite like ordinary people; and after all if their holes are nice cheery places and properly aired, quite different from the tunnels of the goblins, still they are more used to tunnelling than we are, and they do not easily lose their sense of direction underground... ...Also they can move very quietly, and hide easily, and recover wonderfully from falls and bruises, and they have a fund of wisdom and wise sayings that men have mostly never heard or have forgotten long ago.... ...The tunnel seemed to have no end. All he knew was that it was still going down pretty steadily and keeping in the same direction in spite of a twist and a turn or two. There were passages leading off to the side every now and then, as he knew by the glimmer of his sword, or could feel with his hand on the wall. Of these he took no notice, except to hurry past for fear of goblins or half-imagined dark things coming out of them. On and on he went, and down and down; and still he heard no sound of anything except the occasional whirr of a bat by his ears, which startled him at first, till it became too frequent to bother about. I do not know how long he kept on like this, hating to go on, not daring to stop, on, on, until he was tireder than tired. It seemed like all the way to tomorrow and over it to the days beyond."
July 18, 3018 (S.R. 1418)
1. Gandalf is still held prisoner in Isengard.
(not from the appendices-no text)
...Gandalf bent his mind and reached out, hoping to find others who could aid in freeing him from his high prison, but it was in vain as Saruman's web prevented even his thoughts from escaping. Unbeknownst to both, there was one who saw him a vision or a dream, but he was new to such things and so did not understand its meaning.
2. Frodo continues to prepare to leave the Shire for Rivendell.
(not from the appendices-no text)
...Frodo began to sort through piles of paper and shelves of knick knacks. "What should I take and what should I leave behind?" Each consideration brought back memories and stories of his life with Bilbo. He had to make careful choices to support his ruse; but in his heart he felt a mounting sadness as he bid farewell to all he knew and loved represented by each trinket, every book, and the piles of precious papers written in Bilbo's hand.
July 18, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. Éomer returns to Minas Tirith.
(from the appendices)
..."...Éomer of Rohan came riding to the City, and with him came an éored of the fairest knights of the Mark. He was welcomed; and when they sat all at table in Merethrond, the Great Hall of Feasts, he beheld the beauty of the ladies that he saw and was filled with great wonder. And before he went to his rest he sent for Gimli the Dwarf, and he said to him: 'Gimli Glóin's son, have you your axe ready?'
...'Nay, lord,' said Gimli, 'but I can speedily fetch it, if there be need.'
...'You shall judge,' said Éomer. 'For there are certain rash words concerning the Lady of the Golden Wood that lie still between us. And now I have seen her with my eyes.'
...'Well, lord... ...and what say you now?'
...'Alas! ...I will not say that she is the fairest lady that lives.'
...'Then I must go for my axe,' said Gimli.
...'But first I will plead this excuse,' said Éomer. 'Had I seen her in other company, I would have said all that you could wish. But now I will put Queen Arwen Evenstar first, and I am ready to do battle on my own part with any who deny me. Shall I call for my sword?'
...Then Gimli bowed low. 'Nay, you are excused for my part, lord,' he said. 'You have chosen the Evening; but my love is given to the Morning. And my heart forebodes that soon it will pass away forever.'"
July 18, 3020 (S.R. 1420)
1. The Shire and all the realm of King Elessar enjoy the peace and healing of the Great Year of Plenty.
(not from the appendices-no text)
July 18, 3021 (S.R. 1421)
(not from the appendices-no text)
Frodo quietly makes plans to leave the Shire. He recalls these same preparations three years before. Then there was little hope as he weighed the choices and the fate of his possessions. Now, he was finding them new homes with those who would remain, and it gave him comfort. This time, he smiled as he considered each item and imagined that this is what Bilbo must have felt as he tagged an umbrella, a mirror and a case of silver spoons.
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
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dernwyn
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Jul 18 2010, 12:23pm
Post #23 of 75
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To me, it's a kind of "band-aid": enough to tide Frodo over, until he could seek healing in the West. "Use as often as necessary to ease psychological pain." Note that Arwen has him wear it in the same fashion as the Ring: on a chain about his neck...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?"
-Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915
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dernwyn
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Jul 18 2010, 12:39pm
Post #24 of 75
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Morning and Evening and darkness of night
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It's easy to forget that hobbits have a sort of tunnel-sense - as would dwarves! No claustrophobia for Bilbo and his companions, deep beneath the Mountains. Still, this is no fun spelunking adventure, and Bilbo is doing well to keep his head as he tries to find a way out.
The day of the Elves is ending: Gimli is right, the Morning has been passing away, and now only the Evening remains. This is one of those passages that always makes me feel as if I've missed a lot of history, here...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?"
-Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 19 2010, 5:12pm
Post #25 of 75
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Today in Middle-earth.
July 19, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Bilbo's lost in the caves
(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
..."Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature. I don't know where he came from, nor who or what he was. He was Gollum—as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face.... ...Gollum lived on a slimy island of rock in the middle of the lake. He was watching Bilbo now from the distance with his pale eyes like telescopes. Bilbo could not see him, but he was wondering a lot about Bilbo, for he could see that he was no goblin at all.
...Gollum got into his boat and shot off from the island, while Bilbo was sitting on the brink altogether flummoxed and at the end of his way and his wits. Suddenly up came Gollum and whispered and hissed:
...'Bless us and splash us, my precioussss! I guess it's a choice feast; at least a tasty morsel it'd make us, gollum!' And when he said gollum he made a horrible swallowing noise in his throat. That is how he got his name, though he always called himself 'my precious.'
...The hobbit jumped nearly out of his skin when the hiss came in his ears, and he suddenly saw the pale eyes sticking out at him.
...'Who are you?' he said, thrusting his dagger in front of him.
...'What iss he, my preciouss?' whispered Gollum (who always spoke to himself through never having anyone else to speak to). This is what he had come to find out, for he was not really very hungry… …only curious; otherwise he would have grabbed first and whispered afterwards.
...'I am Mr. Bilbo Baggins. I have lost the dwarves and I have lost the wizard, and I don't know where I am; and I don’t want to know, if only I can get away.'
...'What's he got in his handses?' said Gollum, looking at the sword, which he did not quite like.
...'A sword, a blade which came out of Gondolin!'
...'Sssss,' said Gollum, and became quite polite. 'Praps ye sits here and chats with it a bitsy, my preciousss. It like riddles, praps it does, does it?' He was anxious to appear friendly… …until he found out more about the sword and the hobbit, whether he was quite alone really, whether he was good to eat, and whether Gollum was really hungry. Riddles were all he could think of. Asking them, and sometimes guessing them, had been the only game he had ever played with other funny creatures sitting in their holes in the long, long ago, before he lost all his friends and was driven away, alone, and crept down, down, into the dark under the mountains.
..."Very well," said Bilbo, who was anxious to agree, until he found out more about the creature, whether he was quite alone, whether he was fierce or hungry, and whether he was a friend of the goblins.
..."You ask first," he said, because he had not had time so think of a riddle...
[Well into the Riddle Game…]
......Poor Bilbo... ... He began to get frightened, and that is bad for thinking, Gollum began to get out of his boat. He flapped into the water and paddled to the bank; Bilbo could see his eyes coming towards him. His tongue seemed to stick in his mouth; he wanted to shout out: "Give me more time! Give me time!" But all that came out with a sudden squeal was: "Time! Time!"
...Bilbo was saved by pure luck. For that of course was the answer.
...Gollum was … …getting angry, and also tired of the game. It had made him very hungry indeed. This time he did not go back to the boat. He sat down in the dark by Bilbo. That made the hobbit most dreadfully uncomfortable and scattered his wits.
..."It's got to ask uss a quesstion, my preciouss, yes, yess, yesss. Jusst one more quesstion to guess, yes, yess," said Gollum.
...But Bilbo simply could not think of any question with that nasty wet cold thing sitting next to him, and pawing and poking him. He scratched himself, he pinched himself; still he could not think of anything.
..."Ask us! ask us!" said Gollum.
...Bilbo … …gripped on his little sword; he even felt in his pocket with his other hand. There he found the ring he had picked up in the passage and forgotten about.
..."What have I got in my pocket?" he said aloud. He was talking to himself, but Gollum thought it was a riddle, and he was frightfully upset."
..."Not fair! not fair!' he hissed. 'It isn't fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it's got in its nassty little pocketses?"
...Bilbo seeing what had happened and having nothing better to ask stuck to his question. "What have I got in my pocket?" he said louder.
..."S-s-s-s-s," hissed Gollum. "It must give us three guesseses, my precious, three guesseses."
..."Very well! Guess away!" said Bilbo.
..."Handses!" said Gollum.
..."Wrong," said Bilbo, who had luckily just taken his hand out again. "Guess again!"
..."S-s-s-s-s," said Gollum more upset than ever. He thought of all the things he kept in his own pockets: fish-bones, goblins' teeth, wet shells, a bit of bat-wing, a sharp stone to sharpen his fangs on, and other nasty things. He tried to think what other people kept in their pockets.
..."Knife!" he said at last.
..."Wrong!" said Bilbo… "…Last guess!"
...Now Gollum was in a much worse state than when Bilbo had asked him the egg-question. He hissed and spluttered and rocked himself backwards and forwards, and slapped his feet on the floor, and wriggled and squirmed; but still he did not dare to waste his last guess.
..."Come on!" said Bilbo. "I am waiting!" He tried to sound bold and cheerful, but he did not feel at all sure how the game was going to end, whether Gollum guessed right or not.
..."Time's up!" he said.
..."String, or nothing!" shrieked Gollum, which was not quite fair—working in two guesses at once.
..."Both wrong," cried Bilbo very much relieved; and he jumped at once to his feet, put his back to the nearest wall, and held out his little sword. He knew… …that the riddle-game was sacred and of immense antiquity, and even wicked creatures were afraid to cheat when they played at it. But he felt he could not trust this slimy thing to keep any promise at a pinch. Any excuse would do for him to slide out of it. And after all that last question had not been a genuine riddle according to the ancient laws.
...But at any rate Gollum did not at once attack him. He could see the sword in Bilbo's hand. He sat still, shivering and whispering. At last Bilbo could wait no longer.
..."Well?" he said. "What about your promise? …You must show me the way."
..."Did we say so, precious? Show the nassty little Baggins the way out, yes, yes. But what has it got in its pocketses, eh? Not string, precious, but not nothing. Oh no! gollum!"
..."Never you mind," said Bilbo. "A promise is a promise."
..."Cross it is, impatient, precious," hissed Gollum. "But it must wait, yet it must. We can't go up the tunnels so hasty. We must go and get some things first, yes, thing to help us."
...'Well, hurry up!" said Bilbo, relieved to think of Gollum going away. He thought he was just making an excuse and did not mean to come back. What was Gollum talking about? What useful thing could he keep out on the dark lake? But he was wrong. Gollum did mean to come back. He was angry now and hungry. And he was a miserable wicked creature, and already he had a plan...
......as he slipped suddenly from Bilbo's side, and flapped back to his boat, and went off into the dark. Bilbo thought he had heard the last of him. Still he waited for a while; for he had no idea how to find his way out alone.
...Suddenly he heard a screech. It sent a shiver down his back. Gollum was cursing and wailing away in the gloom, not very far off by the sound of it. He was on his island, scrabbling here and there, searching and seeking in vain.
..."Where is it? Where iss it? Bilbo heard him crying. "Losst it is, my precious, lost, lost! Curse us and crush us, my precious is lost…!"
..."...What has it got in its pocketses?" The sound came hissing louder and sharper, and as he looked towards it, to his alarm Bilbo now saw two small points of light peering at him. As suspicion grew in Gollum's mind, the light of his eyes burned with a pale flame.
..."What have you lost?" Bilbo persisted.
...But now the light in Gollum's eyes had become a green fire, and it was coming swiftly nearer. Gollum was in his boat again, paddling wildly back to the dark shore; and such a rage of loss and suspicion was in his heart that no sword had any more terror for him.
...Bilbo could not guess what had maddened the wretched creature, but he saw that all was up, and that Gollum meant to murder him at any rate. Just in time he turned and ran blindly back up the dark passage down which he had come, keeping close to the wall and feeling it with his left hand.
..."What has it got in its pocketses?" he heard the hiss loud behind him, and the splash as Gollum leapt from his boat.
..."What have I, I wonder?" he said to himself, as he panted and stumbled along. He put his left hand in his pocket. The ring felt very cold as it quietly slipped on to his groping forefinger.
...The hiss was close behind him. He turned now and saw Gollum's eyes like small green lamps coming up the slope. Terrified he tried to run faster, but suddenly he struck his toes on a snag in the floor, and fell flat with his little sword under him.
...In a moment Gollum was on him. But before Bilbo could do anything, recover his breath, pick himself up, or wave his sword, Gollum passed by, taking no notice of him, cursing and whispering as he ran.
...What could it mean? Gollum could see in the dark. Bilbo could see the light of his eyes palely shining even from behind. Painfully he got up, and sheathed his sword, which was now glowing faintly again, then very cautiously he followed. There seemed nothing else to do. It was no good crawling back down to Gollum's water. Perhaps if he followed him, Gollum might lead him to some way of escape without meaning to….
..."…My birthday-present! Curse it! How did we lose it, my precious? Yes, that's it. When we came this way last, when we twisted that nassty young squeaker. That's it. Curse it! It slipped from us, after all these ages and ages! It's gone, gollum."
...Suddenly Gollum sat down and began to weep, a whistling and gurgling sound horrible to listen to. Bilbo halted and flattened himself against the tunnel-wall. After a while Gollum stopped weeping and began to talk. He seemed to be having an argument with himself....
......"Then let's stop talking, precious, and make haste. If the Baggins has gone that way, we must go quick and see. Go! Not far now. Make haste!"
...With a spring Gollum got up and started shambling off at a great pace. Bilbo hurried after him, still cautiously…
...…So they came to a dead stop. Gollum had brought Bilbo to the way out after all, but Bilbo could not get in! There was Gollum sitting humped up right in the opening, and his eyes gleamed cold in his head, as he swayed it from side to side between his knees.
...Bilbo crept away from the wall more quietly than a mouse; but Gollum stiffened at one, and sniffed, and his eyes went green. He hissed softly but menacingly. He could not see the hobbit, but now he was on the alert, and he had other senses that the darkness had sharpened: hearing and smell. He seemed to be crouched right down with his flat hands splayed on the floor, and his head thrust out, nose almost to the stone. Though he was only a black shadow in the gleam of his own eyes, Bilbo could see or feel that he was tense as a bowstring, gathered for a spring.
...Bilbo almost stopped breathing, and went stiff himself. He was desperate. He must get away… …while he had any strength left. He must fight. He must stab the foul thing, put its eyes out, kill it. It meant to kill him. No, not a fair fight. He was invisible now. Gollum had no sword. Gollum had not actually threatened to kill him, or tried to yet. And he was miserable, alone, lost. A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in Bilbo's heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering. All these thoughts passed in a flash of a second… …And then quite suddenly in another flash, as if lifted by a new strength and resolve, he leaped.
...No great leap for a man, but a leap in the dark. Straight over Gollum's head he jumped, seven feet forward and three in the air; indeed, had he known it, he only just missed cracking his skull on the low arch of the passage.
...Gollum threw himself backwards, and grabbed as the hobbit flew over him, but too late: his hands snapped on thin air, and Bilbo, falling fair on his sturdy feet, sped off down the new tunnel. He did not turn to see what Gollum was going. There was a hissing and cursing almost at his heels at first, then it stopped. All at once there came a bloodcurdling shriek, filled with hatred and despair. Gollum was defeated....
.......A pang of fear and loss, like an echo of Gollum's misery, smote Bilbo, and forgetting even to draw his sword he struck his hands into his pockets. And there was the ring still, in his left pocket, and it slipped on his finger. The goblins stopped short. They could not see a sign of him. He had vanished....""
2. The Company is trapped in the trees.
(determined from text)
...""Must we go any further?" asked Bilbo, when it was so dark that he could only just see Thorin's beard wagging beside him, and so quiet that he could hear the dwarves' breathing like a loud noise. "My toes are all bruised and bent, and my legs ache, and my stomach is wagging like an empty sack."
..."A bit further," said Gandalf.
...After what seemed ages further they came suddenly to an opening where no trees grew. The moon was up and was shining into the clearing. Somehow it struck all of them as not at all a nice place, although there was nothing wrong to see.
...All of a sudden they heard a howl away down hill, a long shuddering howl. It was answered by another away to the right and a good deal nearer to them; then by another not far away to the left. It was wolves howling at the moon, wolves gathering together!
......"What shall we do, what shall we do!" he cried. "Escaping goblins to be caught by wolves!" he said, and it became a proverb, though we now say 'out of the frying-pan into the fire; in the same sort of uncomfortable situations.
..."Up the trees quick!" cried Gandalf...
...…Just at that moment the wolves trotted howling into the clearing. All of a sudden there were hundreds of eyes looking at them… …In a minute there was a whole pack of them yelping all round the tree and leaping up at the trunk, with eyes blazing and tongues hanging out....
......Gandalf, listening to their growling and yelping, began to be dreadfully afraid, wizard though he was, and to feel that he were in a very bad place, and had not yet escaped at all. All the same he was not going to let them have it all their own way, though he could not do very much stuck up in a tall tree with wolves all round on the ground below. He gathered the huge pinecones from the branches of his tree. Then he set one alight with bright blue fire, and threw it whizzing down among the circle of the wolves. It struck one on the back, and immediately his shaggy coat caught fire, and he was leaping to and fro yelping horribly. Then another came and another, one in blue flames, one in red, another in green. They burst on the ground in the middle of the circle and went off in coloured sparks and smoke.… …Very soon all about the glade wolves were rolling over and over to put out the sparks on their backs, while those that were burning were running about howling and setting others alight….
..."What's all this uproar in the forest tonight?" said the Lord of the Eagles. He was sitting, black in the moonlight, on the top of a lonely pinnacle of rock at the eastern edge of the mountains. "I hear wolves' voices! Are the goblins at mischief in the woods?"
...He swept up into the air and immediately two of his guards from the rocks at either hand leaped up to follow him. They circled up in the sky and looked down upon the ring of the Wargs, a tiny spot far far below. But eagles have keen eyes and can see small things at a great distance. The lord of the eagles of the Misty Mountains had eyes that could look at the sun unblinking, and could see … …the tiny flashes of fire, and hear the howling and yelping come up faint from far beneath him....
......the flames were under Gandalf's tree. In a moment it spread to the others. The bark caught fire, the lower branches cracked.
...Then Gandalf climbed to the top of his tree. The sudden splendour flashed from his wand like lightning, as he got ready to spring down from on high right among the spears of the goblins. That would have been the end of him, though he would probably have killed many of them as he came hurtling down like a thunderbolt. But he never leaped.
...Just at that moment the Lord of the Eagles swept down from above, seized him in his talons, and was gone.
......Over them swooped the eagles; the dark rush of their beating wings smote them to the floor or drove them far away; their talons tore at goblin faces. Other birds flew to the tree-tops and seized the dwarves, who were scrambling up now as far as ever they dared to go.
...Poor little Bilbo was very nearly left behind again! He just managed to catch hold of Dori's legs, as Dori was borne off last of all; and they went together above the tumult and the burning, Bilbo swinging in the air with his arms nearly breaking....""
July 19, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. The funeral escort of King Théoden sets out.
(from the appendices)
..."At last the day of departure came, and a great and fair company made ready to ride north from the City. Then the kings of Gondor and Rohan went to the Hallows and they came to the tombs in Rath Dinen, and they bore away King Théoden upon a golden bier, and passed through the City in silence. Then they laid the bier upon a great wain with Riders of Rohan all about it and his banner borne before; and Merry being Théoden's esquire rode upon the wain and kept the arms of the king.
...For the other Companions steeds were furnished… …and Frodo and Samwise rode at Aragorn's side, and Gandalf rode upon Shadowfax, and Pippin rode with the knights of Gondor; and Legolas and Gimli as ever rode together upon Arod.
...In that riding went also Queen Arwen, and Celeborn and Galadriel with their folk, and Elrond and his sons; and the princes of Dol Amroth and of Ithilien, and many captains and knights. Never had any king of the Mark such company upon the road as went with Théoden… …to the land of his home.
...Without haste and at peace they passed into Anórien, and they came to the Grey Wood under Amon Din; and there they heard a sound as of drums beating in the hills, though no living thing could be seen. Then Aragorn let the trumpets be blown; and heralds cried:
...'Behold, the King Elessar is come! The Forest of Druadan he gives to Ghân-buri-Ghân and to his folk, to be their own forever; and hereafter let no man enter it without their leave!'
...Then the drums rolled loudly, and were silent."
I really need these new films to take me back to, and not re-introduce me to, that magical world.
TORn's Observations Lists
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It's time for some BS!
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