One Who Sticks Closer than a Brother by Lindelea
harrowcat · 17 September 2006 · Chapter 6: Misery Loves Company
Poor Tolly seems to be in good hands but I do feel sorry for the trackers. However, vows to swear off the hard stuff when in the middle of the after effects are kept only rarely!
Author's reply
Too true. So, you mean that if a bottle of brandy is presented to him, the hobbit won't simply pour it out? He might actually come to *drink* the stuff, eventually?
Larner · 16 September 2006 · Chapter 5: Every Dog Has His Day
Yes, the proper plan, after all. Wonderful that Tolly's going to get proper treatment from the start.
Author's reply
Yes, hobbits are for the most part wonderful folk. These farm folk don't even recognise Tolly (even though the farmer was a part of the muster, and so was Tolly--of course, Tolly was riding up front, near the Thain, and they were further back), and yet they'll treat him like one of the family. Thanks!
Larner · 16 September 2006 · Chapter 4: Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Regi has some rational reasons not to believe Pippin's news, but then he's not known what Pippin knows. And now they recognize the absence and are starting to do something about it. Too bad, really, that Ferdi can't follow through, but I certainly understand why not.
Author's reply
That is so true. You know, hobbits might hear tales of the Palantir and still not understand what it does or how it works. *We* understand, having television (and even camera phones, nowadays) but their technology was so limited, and their magic the ordinary sort that had to do with hiding themselves in a twinkling, or nurturing growing things, that the magic of the Palantir might be beyond the comprehension of most. Do you think so? Of course, Frodo was extraordinary, and Sam, though fairly ordinary, had already seen Rivendell and other wonders by the time he saw the Mirror of Galadriel, and so he was primed to believe what he saw there. But I don't think ordinary hobbits, who'd lived all their lives in the Shire, would be quite so quick to understand, just as you said. Ah, Ferdi, we'll be giving him a bit of a breather, in this story. He gets to cuddle with his Nell and their children and not be worried about anything.
harrowcat · 16 September 2006 · Chapter 5: Every Dog Has His Day
Well at least Tolly is on his way back to a warm bed! I absolutely love the description of the dog. My parents have a flat-coated retriever. A dog that is used for similar purposes but is quite a bit bigger so not a hobbit dog and I love him dearly. He was tramping with his master on this icy morning. The animals had been fed, the cows milked, the eggs gathered, the pigs slopped, and all was in order. The harnesses were all mended, the plough was oiled, the roofs and buildings were in good repair, and thanks to the farmer’s sons, plenty of firewood had been split for the foreseeable future. And so the farmer accompanied his eager dog, walking through the tall, frosted wire-grass towards the Tuckbourn, running water that would not be iced over, a likely place to find a few wintering waterfowl. Must be nice to tick everything off and have time for some fun. Especially after just getting back from the muster!
Author's reply
I only wish I were as good a manager as some of the characters I write. I know the right thing to do, but do I do it? No, I'd much rather go for the instant gratification and let the other stuff slide, but I pay for it. Yikes. Thanks!
Larner · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 3: Look Before You Leap
Definitely feverish and out of his head for the moment. Poor Tolly. Hope they find him very soon.
Author's reply
Somebody will find him soon, I think, for this story will not be paced as molasses-in-January slow as the last one was, thank goodness! Whew.
Larner · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 1: For All the Wrong Reasons
Oh, dear--we are muddled, aren't we? Poor Tolly, and poor Meadowsweet!
Author's reply
Definitely muddled. Poor hobbits! One has to hope the author will have pity on them.
Larner · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 2: Better Late Than Never
And indeed they do show where they stand--they show it all too well, I fear.
Author's reply
They certainly do, for the most part. However, you cannot tar all ruffians with the same brush. Some are truly evil, and others are... well, let us simply say they have their reasons.
Dreamflower · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 5: Every Dog Has His Day
Yay for the anonymous farmer! At least poor Tolly won't have to lay in the middle of the stream until the search party shows up!
Author's reply
Yes, the fellow will have to have a name, won't he... but am too tired tonight to think what it might be. His sons are Ted and Ned, at least, but I don't remember if he had a name, himself, or not. Thanks for dropping by and stopping long enough to leave a note! I really ought to work on your bunny (dh has taken the little hobbits out for ice creams) but I think I'd rather go to bed early! It has been a long week. Whew. But think good thoughts, for there is adventure brewing. Thanks!
harrowcat · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 4: Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Dear Lindelea please tell EF that this particular reviewer took a long time to come out from behind the keyboard. I lurked in many of the white spaces beyond the margins (to quote Larner) before I dared to declare myself in a review. It is the great responses that I get and the buzz of those interactions that keep me reviewing. I seldom, if ever, have anything intelligent to say but on the rare occasion that authors let me know that something I said has sparked a thought or idea I go around for weeks with a secret grin on my face. EF do jump in but, be warned, it is decidedly addictive!
Author's reply
I'll tell EF what you said. Who knows, she just might start leaving thoughtful feedback instead of sneaking in to read and sneaking out again like a gollum.
harrowcat · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 4: Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Oh Meadowsweet. Sometimes it is good, right and proper to confide all your worries and fears. Sometimes it helps to put things on the right track!
Author's reply
Poor Meadowsweet. She's just afraid that Tolly *wasn't* in trouble with the Thain, but that her question started Regi thinking that he *ought* to be. Still, Pippin's grown a lot since the last time, and I think Meadowsweet will find he's fairminded and a bit less inclined to fly off the handle. It helps that his son is safe in the Smials at the moment, too.
Larner · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 0: Introductory Note
I appreciate the setting of the stage, at least. Computer briefly down again--it keeps happening, doesn't it? So again am borrowing time at work.
Author's reply
Dratted computers. They can be the best of tools and the worst of bothers. We're trading in our phone line for cable internet. Hopefully the computer won't die of shock at the change.
Dreamflower · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 4: Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Well, Pippin's exactly right, there *is* a perfectly reasonable explanation--though as we know that doesn't make it a *good* explanation! Poor Tolly is going to be in sad shape when they locate him, but at least they're sending searchers out. And poor Meadowsweet, not understanding any of it! Diamond's fears are reasonable ones for a mother, but Regi is being overly suspicious--sheesh, Pippin *knows* Sam, and he *knows* the King, you'd think Regi'd take the Thain's word for it that he knows what he's talking about. I like Pippin's firmness that he will not allow himself to be swayed into jumping to conclusions again. It caused enough trouble already. I know they'll find Tolly before he freezes to death, but I do hope things won't be too terribly dire...
Author's reply
Goodness, we're an hour late in starting school. Both young hobbits awakened with a tummy ache, but are feeling better now, so we're going to go ahead with our day. Hmm, I never thought of the connection (or lack of such) between reasonable and good before! I'm glad they're sending searchers out. You know if it were Ferdi, he'd pull an amazing Strider-feat and follow the trail without half-trying... LOL Poor Regi. He is, for the most part, a most unimaginative hobbit. But he does a good job of following orders. Poor Tolly. I don't know if the freezing water would have helped his fever, or precipitated him rapidly towards pneumonia... But there's an ace up the Muse's sleeve, yet.
Bodkin · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 4: Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Meadowsweet seems to be scared stiff by the knock-on effect of all the alarums and adventures of the last years - and I can't blame her. I hope Pippin and Diamond are able to convince her that she has nothing to worry about - not that way, anyway. (I'd love Tolly's released men to be found - and be harmless innocents. It's not as if he's lacking in judgment - or suspicion. And not every man deserves to dangle from a rope.) Of course, Tolly's absence is worrying in other ways. How long has he been in the water now? Too long! I'm glad to see Pippin isn't jumping to conclusions, but standing firm in his trust of his loyal hobbits. Long may it last!
Author's reply
It might be hazardous to their health for Tolly's released men to be found, considering they were in violation of the Edict. Of course, Elessar himself is in the Northlands for another fortnight or so, and I suppose they might be able to appeal to the King himself, with the hobbits' backing. (Without the hobbits' backing I'm sure they'd be strung up without hesitation on the Rangers' part. But you're right, not every man deserves such a fate.) However, we'll see more of those Men in this story, at some point, rest assured. Thanks! Reviews keep the Muse quietly murmuring away. Funny how that works. (I keep telling EF that, but she says she can never think of something intelligent to say. I tell her to leave a "WOW THIS ROCKS!!!!! U R AMAZING!!!" or something like that, for authors she likes, but so far as I know she hasn't, yet. ...or, you haven't got one of those yet on SoA, have you?)
Bodkin · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 3: Look Before You Leap
Oh no! Hobbitsicle! Fingers tightly crossed that Wren decides to rush back to a warm stable in preference to hanging loyally around her collapsed master.
Author's reply
Well, have been consulting with Sulriel about that... so all "horse" behaviour in the next few chapters has her stamp of approval. The Muse aims for realism, as you know. (So much as possible, anyhow.)
Bodkin · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 2: Better Late Than Never
Meadowsweet won't be happy when she realises she let Tolly disappear when he was ill - but she could hardly know there was anything wrong with him! Hindsight always suggests ways you should have known though and she's bound to feel guilty. Though the where's-Tolly squad probably won't feel so bad. Tolly has the kind of job that means he's not always where he's expected to be. But I hope they start looking soon. Or he'll be hyperthermic as well as everything else!
Author's reply
Oh, that hindsight, certainly it can drive one mad. (Though not literally, thankfully.)
harrowcat · 14 September 2006 · Chapter 3: Look Before You Leap
Oh dear! Some of you authors are getting far too good at cliff-hangers! *g* We will keep reading you know - even if you don't leave us dangling off cliffs or clinging to icy rocks! *shivers and grins* Now we don't need Tolly replicating Ferdi's tumble down the stream! At least he is likely to get the mud washed off!
Author's reply
Sorry about that! I seem to organise chapters in cliff-hangers... guess it keeps my interest in the story, not to want to leave the characters hanging too long. The thought had crossed my mind as well, that Tolly has at least washed off the mud, at least up to his knees. Poor wet, bedraggled hobbit, who would ever recognise him as one of those high-and-mighty "Great Smials Tooks"?
Dreamflower · 13 September 2006 · Chapter 2: Better Late Than Never
Of course, Meadowsweet thinkgs Tolly's gone out to work early, and his co-workers just think he's hungover and late...wonder when they will put the peices together? I liked Pippin's and Regi's discussion. The subject of the edict, or of the idea that being banned from the Shire is a solution to things, is a problem you and I have both grappled with. Now that the Shire is once more an active part of the Kingdom, it will be harder to maintain the illusion that shoving the Shire's troubles over the Bounds solves anything. Men who have broken the Ban deliberately are subject to harsh and summary justice; hobbits who have been wicked enough to deserve banishment are prey to the dangers outside the Shire. Or if the troublemakers *do* survive, it would be to spread their sorts of trouble and wickedness elsewhere. For generations, hobbits have gone about with blinders on, and now, for some of them, the blinders come off, and they begin to realize how sheltered they have been. At least when it comes to Men who have broken the Edict now, they are not simply run out of the Shire, but actually turned over to the authority of the King!
Author's reply
Sometimes it's hard to put all the pieces together unless you get everyone in the same room at once. Will have to see about that. In any event, they'd better get cracking. The Edict is a thorny problem, isn't it? I wish JRRT had written more about it, the whys and wherefores, and what role it might have played in the ultimate dissolution of the Shire. Thanks!
harrowcat · 13 September 2006 · Chapter 2: Better Late Than Never
Now that is dark discussion for the first business of the morning. At least everybody agrees that it is unlike Tolly to be late. Just how long will it be before thet discover him missing!
Author's reply
Not my favourite breakfast topic, for certain. And as far as your ending question... well, it could take a little time, seeing as how everyone has their own assumptions. We'll just have to hope for the best.
Bodkin · 12 September 2006 · Chapter 1: For All the Wrong Reasons
Poor Tolly! I hope someone notices he's gone soon - although they'll have no reason to suspect he's gone off to search for poor drowned Ferdi. It's all been a bit much for him. (Hardly surprising, really. Probably the only thing that keeps Ferdi from having a breakdown is all those bangs on the head ...)
Author's reply
Yes, poor Tolly, especially since it turns out that Ferdi "drowned" four years ago, rather than two, so it's even more distant in the past. That's it! To keep a hobbit from having breakdowns, simply bang him on the head periodically. They ought to have tried that with Frodo. Perhaps he wouldn't have had to sail West after all.
demeter d · 11 September 2006 · Chapter 0: Introductory Note
hey! I have not read all of your past work. But just from "A Matter of Appearances", Tolly seemed to be a loyal friend. I would like to read more about him.
Author's reply
I'm glad to hear that. I'm rather fond of Tolly. He and his brothers are interesting characters. You can read something more about him, if you wish, in "In the Greening of the Year" which is to be found at http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterlistview.asp?SID=3022 It's one of my relatively shorter stories, and one thing I like about it is that it gives Eglantine a chance to shine. And thanks for the vote of confidence. I felt a little funny, starting to post a story with an OC in the starring role. I wondered if I'd end up just talking to myself, in a manner of speaking. And so, again, thanks!
FantasyFan · 11 September 2006 · Chapter 1: For All the Wrong Reasons
Oh, poor Tolly. I almost feel sorry for putting him through this! Seriously, he's quite muddled, isn't he? This fever that is going around is very nasty, and then when you combine it with his grief and guilt and anxiety, he could be in real trouble. I wonder how long it will be before he's missed, and how much longer it will be before someone thinks to consult the milkmaids? And I wonder if that bank is any more stable now than it was two years ago? As always, I'm glad to see a new story starting. Write on! (And I meant to ask - any new stories coming from the young ones? I love to read their efforts too.)
Author's reply
Are you a "voting" member of the MEFAs? The little ones have stories there, under the author names Glassadar and Dinossiel, in case you'd missed them in the crowd. (I feel as if I can say this as I'm not pushing my own stories...) Mmm, lovely review, good food for thought, especially as the story is not yet outlined and anything can happen. Thanks!
Dreamflower · 11 September 2006 · Chapter 1: For All the Wrong Reasons
Uh-oh. Poor Tolly, already delirious...well, at least he was *seen* riding out, even if the maids don't know why...
Author's reply
Yes, it's a good thing that Wren is distinctively smaller than the average pony. And great of heart. Poor Tolly. It's time to spread the h/c around, I'm afraid. Whew. Thanks!
harrowcat · 11 September 2006 · Chapter 1: For All the Wrong Reasons
Ooh great start Lindelea. Can't wait for more. I am feeling sorry for Tolly already. I do hope that life doesn't get so busy and stressful that writing has to be abandoned and the same wish for myself on the reading front.
Author's reply
Thanks for the good wishes, and I will turn around and send the same wish off to you, for it is pleasant to share the fireside and not just sit here talking to myself! And so long as EF is sitting on the new chapter of "Thain" and Bill the Pony is snoozing, I might as well dabble in this story.