October 28, TA 3019
28 October 2006 17:27:04Categories: Tolkien Calendar
They reach Bree at nightfall.
- Gandalf has gone away on his errand, and as Merry states, "Well here we are, just the four of us that started out together. We have left the rest behind, one after another."
The hobbits soon discover that things are not as they should be in Bree, and indeed, in the Shire as a whole. On this cold and rainy night, they meet an old adversary in Bill ferny and send him on his way with a final farewell nudge from Bill the pony.
After all the terror that Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry have faced over the past year, they are not much put off by the ruffians they find in Bree. They can hear enough to know that things do not go well in the Shire, but neither are these the same four young frivolous hobbits from months past. They settle in for a night's rest at Bree, and tomorrow they will set out for home and whatever else lies ahead.
Images © "Fellowship Journey" by Alan Lee.