Chapter 4 – Elves and Bilbo’s Bright One

The next day, after another marvelous night’s sleep in the Elvish bed, I had spent the morning at the smithy’s, tending to some gear that had broken during my journey. Then I had gone back to the armory for another round with the swordmaster. The duels had been fierce, and had quite tired me out, even though the master called a halt from time to time in order to tutor me in some new finesse. I was now dusty and sweaty, but thoroughly satisfied with the events of my visit so far. As I walked back to my quarters, I found a merry group of Dwarves and Halflings gathered on the spacious East Porch, bantering among themselves as they waited for the summons to luncheon. Meriadoc and Peregrin, who insisted that I call them Merry and Pippin after our session together at sword practice, waved at me and called my name.

“Boromir! Come up here, laddy, and join us!” Glóin boomed. I was a little surprised by the heartiness of his invitation. I did not think the Dwarf had taken much notice of me yesterday. I stopped and grinned at the crowd.

“Thank you, Lord Glóin, and I certainly will, but I am just now straight from the swordmaster, and I must go wash before I sit to the table with you!” I replied.

“Oh, nonsense! Come up here now!” Pippin sang out in his high clear voice. “You should have seen how dirty we were after a month in the wild and days of rain! Strider got to where he couldn’t tell us apart anymore for all the mud!”

“Yes, come on up, we don’t care how you look,” urged Merry from his perch beside him. “You look practically ready for a feast, according to our scale of opinion now.”

“Right! You’re fine! That’s nothing!” roared Glóin. “Why, you should have seen Master Baggins and me after we came out of that dragon’s lair! Talk about dirt! We were covered with such filth and rubbish as never seen or smelled before! You’ve a long way to go yet in learning about battle-grime!” He turned to Bilbo. “What do you say, friend hobbit?”

“Well, Glóin, that may have been true of you and me at the time, but I manage to stay tidy now that there is plenty of convenience,” Bilbo said. “Always enjoy civilization when you’re in it, that’s my motto.” He gave me a look over. “We’ll wait, Boromir, we’ll wait. We’ll save you a seat at the table. Very fine manners you have, and I vote that you keep them that way,” he finished, with a sharp glance at Merry and Pippin. Glóin snorted at Bilbo’s response, but his attention was already turning to some other topic of conversation, so I waved to the little ones as I continued on my way, and promised to join them soon.

Elrond’s table was empty when I entered the dining hall, but the other tables were filled with folk, and there was a chair waiting for me next to Pippin and Merry. I sat down to much fuss and comment from the hobbits, and Pippin fetched me half an ale and a tall drink of water before I finished filling my plate. The only Halflings present were Bilbo and the younger two. I wondered if Frodo was not recovering as quickly as Bilbo had led me to believe, but I did not want to ask straight out and perhaps seem too forward on the subject.

Fortunately Samwise arrived at the table just then, and others voiced the question on my mind. “Everything all right?” Bilbo asked first with an anxious frown.

“Yes, where have you been all morning? Don’t tell me Frodo has slept this late! We must get that lazybones up and about, Sam. Bad reputation for a Baggins, to miss this many meals in a row,” Merry remarked.

Samwise seemed none too happy with Merry. “Both of you yourselves are to blame, and no mistake, for the whole situation. There wasn’t hardly a decent wink of sleep last night, what with all the carrying-on up there,” he groused. “I’m not waking him up, and this is no time for you to come knocking either, Mr. Pippin,” he continued with a dark look. “I’m getting lunch and then I’m going back to sleep myself. Let’s just leave the visiting alone a bit, can we?”

“Whatever are you talking about? We weren’t up that late!” retorted Merry. “That seems a bit hard, Sam.”

“Well, no sooner than you left, but Strider came back from wherever he went on his trip, and because the door was still open,” and here Sam cast a meaning look at the two younger Halflings, “nothing would do but he must come in to see Mr. Frodo. And then Elladan was with Strider, so he came in too, and then his twin brother showed up, and then Mr. Frodo asked Strider if he wasn’t hungry after his long journey, and so we had another meal.”  Sam looked somewhat abashedly at Bilbo. “And they stayed up talking in Elvish about who knows what until all hours of the night. I’m beginning to think these Elves don’t sleep at all, sir.”

“Hmph! I wonder that Aragorn, of all people, would keep Frodo up so late,” Bilbo said with a touch of exasperation. “What on earth was he thinking?”

“Well, if truth be told, sir, it was Mr. Frodo who wanted them all to stay. You can’t really put all the blame on poor Strider. And no sooner than we finally packed them off and got a bit of shut-eye, than Elrond comes in at the crack of dawn with a dose of that bad-tasting medicine, and we didn’t get back to sleep again until practically breakfast time.” Samwise paused to indulge in a jaw-cracking yawn. “So just give him a bit, and he’ll be up when he’s ready, and like I said, don’t come knocking, because it won’t do you no good. I’m not letting anyone in.” He stopped talking in order to turn his attention to the heaping plate that Bilbo had pushed in front of him.

“Well, Sam, get some rest, then!” Pippin said, unfazed by the other hobbit’s tone.  “I hate to hear you sound so grouchy! We can keep ourselves entertained without cousin Frodo a while longer. Tell him we’re sorry we ruined his sleep, and we’ll come visit again as soon as you let us in.”

A roar from the Dwarves’ side of the table interrupted us. I was somewhat aware that they had been trading riddles and playing a game, and now Glóin’s son, Gimli, seemed to be collecting a bet from three others, much to the amusement of the rest of the group. Stacks of gold coins were changing hands.

When I looked back to the hobbits, Bilbo had risen and was patting Sam’s back. “I’m going up to sit with him now anyway, Samwise, so go on to your room and get a real sleep,” he said. “Who’s with him now?”

“Gandalf,” came the reply through a mouthful of bread and butter.

“Perfect! I’ll go look in on my bright one. Get some rest now, Sam-lad.” He looked over at me and the other two little ones. “Are you warriors sword-fighting again this afternoon?”

We all three of us laughed, and Merry and Pippin looked up at me eagerly. “What about after your tea?” I proposed, having discovered yesterday that no mealtime went unnoticed by a hobbit. “I need to see to my horse, and to my gear at the smithy’s.  And besides,” I continued, with what I hoped was a menacing look, “I shall have to gather my strength before I fight you two dragon-slayers again. Shall we meet on the East Porch?”

They agreed readily, and I left with a chorus of thank-you’s following me out the door. But I walked to the stable with darkened thoughts, my sunny mood completely gone.  Obviously, the Elves had Frodo’s allegiance. That meant they had control of the Ring, and Elrond had been clear that it should never go to Gondor. I shook my head in frustration as I thought again of Faramir, his life in danger every day as he battled the advancing power of Mordor. No one else at the Council had dreamed such a dream as mine. No one else needed the Ring’s help as much as I. None of these people had lived with the horrifying Enemy at their very door, losing good men in battles every day, and watching their people’s hearts fail for lack of help and hope. The Ring should be mine. It still could be mine . . . Its power would mean victory for my City. 

And yet, as I walked the flagged pathway shaded and scented by Rivendell’s trees, my black mood lifted and faded away. The Ring might yet come to Gondor in the end. Fate had brought me here, and that was a hopeful sign. Indeed, as Bilbo said, it seemed impossible here to worry overlong about anything.

I sincerely hoped that Frodo Baggins was regaining his health, for I wanted to better my acquaintance with him very soon.