Reviews (336)

Author's reply

Quite amazing! Bill has certainly grown in wisdom and confidence. He is also in very familiar territory, and he has his mother's stories to guide him here. Have no fears; this particular cliffhanger is quickly resolved in the next chapter. Thanks!

Author's reply

You live in Alaska! I have heard it is a beautiful place. We were planning an "Alaska cruise" to see some of the sights I've only see on video, just before Covid shut down the cruise industry, and I'm still sorry we were never able to make it work. We had only discovered cruises a year or two earlier and thoroughly enjoyed the short all-in-one vacations they provided. I'm also thinking that Alaska is where Fiondil located his Elf Academy, though I might be wrong. "No fleas", you say, but I'm told the mosquitos are enormous and bloodthirsty, is that right? It's easy to feel confused with a narrator like Bill who has his own names for the other characters. Just to clarify, throughout Part 1 and Part 2, Bill's name for Frodo is "(the) Master" because the pony connects so strongly to Sam – and Sam defers to Frodo. Also, the place where the Black Riders first attacked Aragorn and the four hobbits was a "bowl-shaped dell with grassy sides ... at the bottom of a sheltered hollow ... on the western flank of Weathertop". (The text inside the quotation marks here is directly quoted from FOTR, though not in the same order as in the book, and the italicized words – if I didn't mess up the formatting here – were taken directly from the original text, combined to make a new description, and inserted into the chapter). Also, in the interest of clarity, I said "first attacked" just now because they encountered the Black Riders again at the Ford. Beg pardon if I am belaboring the point; I'm feeling rather muddled this evening. Thus, Bill is remembering that both Gandalf/Shadowfax and Frodo (along with the rest of the party that started out from Bree, including Bill) were attacked on Weathertop by the Nazgûl, and he's thinking he ought to hurry past that great hill on his way to Rivendell. (I used to have a horse that would always hurry past a certain point on the trail we often rode where once a dog had barked at her. Equines can have long memories of upsetting events.) Hopefully that clears up any confusion. For my part, I often find pronouns difficult except when I use them (since I know exactly which character I'm referring to – I don't know whether to finish that statement with a sigh or "LOL"). When I encounter a lot of "they" or "he" or "she" in a passage someone else wrote, I can start to lose the thread and my mental movie of the action can blur. Thus, when I've made an assumption in writing a scene, or taken too much of a shortcut in describing something, I really appreciate it when someone asks for clarification. In short: Thanks!

Author's reply

An animal's capacity for love and loyalty, along with trust, never ceases to amaze me. Thanks for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts!

Author's reply

In case it wasn't clear, Bill's objective at this point is Rivendell. The horse and pony are bypassing Bree on their way to the East-West Road, or that is their intention at least. They are just out of easy sight for someone peering over Bree's walls or looking out from the Bree Hill, and passing south of the town towards the Chetwood and parts east. I'd imagine they would not retrace Aragorn's twisting path through the woods but would instead take a more direct route, travelling on the Road or not far to one side of the Road, just as they did when they were travelling northward while following the Greenway. But you know what they say about best laid plans... (Thanks!)

Author's reply

How I have loved travelling with Bill on this journey! (And the next chapter has turned out to be quite satisfying, to my mind at least. Hopefully it will sound plausible to you as well. (!) As long as I don't relapse with whatever this bug was, a cold or a mild case of the flu despite – or maybe "mild" because of – the flu shot I got recently and end up in bed again, I plan to post the next chapter on Friday.) Thanks!

Author's reply

I'm glad to hear you're reassured on that point. Of course, we have Tolkien's word for it that Bill arrives in one piece, albeit "lean" and "shaggy". The gap-filler that occurred to me to account for Bill's time in Bree, waiting for Sam, makes me smile, so I hope it will cheer you as well. I didn't want to write his arrival in his stall at The Prancing Pony and then abruptly begin the next chapter by describing Bill's reunion with Sam ten or so months later! The thought was jarring, somehow. Thanks again for reading and pausing long enough to share your thoughts!

Author's reply

Definitely. I suppose that "Every cloud has a silver lining" has a similar context. (I think "context" is the right word... my brain is mush, a lively discussion is taking place in the kitchen just a few steps away from where I'm typing, the cat-with-the-peacock-voice is intermittently chiming in, and I cannot think straight. However, it is delightful to have human companionship again, so I'm not complaining. "background"? "underlying meaning"? "connotation"?) Thanks!

Author's reply

Yes, those pesky wolves, howling round the fences, and those dark shapes in the woods, definitely a point of concern. But we know that Bill arrives safely in Bree, and Shadowfax is there when Gandalf needs him not long from now, so that ought to help. Thanks!

Author's reply

Not long! Soon Bill will reach Bree, and then there will be a little gap-filling before Sam returns, and then the final part of the journey and Scouring of the Shire and a bit more gap-filling before Sam rides Bill to the Grey Havens. My goodness, the story is practically galloping along!

Author's reply

Exactly! The equines' logic may not be completely sound here, but instinct does fill in some of the gaps left by a lack of map-reading skills. Thanks! Hope you and yours had a good t-day.

Author's reply

Won't that be a wonderful moment! (And totally unexpected for all the mortals of his acquaintance, I should think...)

Author's reply

Definitely! A little more difficulty between here and Bree, but it won't be long before Bill is safe with Butterbur (and Nob and Bob). Of course, the story won't be quite over at that point... Thanks!

Author's reply

That would be quite a satisfying solution, all told. You might even say they deserve each other. I'm happy to say that Bree is just ahead, though our intrepid travellers intend to go around rather than through the town at this point. Thanks!

Author's reply

I have been enjoying loitering with hobbits too much, I fear. My self-indulgence has slowed down the flow of the story, so I need to set my teeth or gird my loins or whatever the proper expression is and just get on with things! But I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Bilbo's explanation, as recounted by Sam, along with Bill's pleasant memories of his hobbits.

Author's reply

LOL, indeed! Looking back, I remember how that scene bothered me – Bill was there, quite prominent in the scene, and then, suddenly, he was gone. Yet none of the bushes looked big enough to hide the pony. Long before I began this story, Dana and I used to joke that Frodo jammed the Ring onto Bill's ear to "disappear" him when the crebain flew over, while laughing about Bill's delusions of grandeur (a carrot in every pocket and mountains of sugar cubes everywhere!), rather like Sam imagining himself making Mordor bloom when he was wearing It. And then, of course, being the well-grounded pony he was, he merely shook his head to clear it when Frodo found him again – for he wouldn't have been able to wander far, wearing hobbles – and reclaimed the Ring from him. It was part of our ongoing discussion of how to write a "legitimate" tenth-walker story. I remember another version we discussed was from the POV of a flea, hitching a ride on one or another of the Travellers. But that was before I started writing snippets of Bill's thoughts, which eventually expanded into his story. Thanks for reading and pausing long enough to share your thoughts! Author Reply: (I meant that Dana and I were laughing about Bill's perceptions of power with the ring on his ear, not that Frodo was laughing...)

Author's reply

Y'know, I'm not sure I could have written this gapfiller about Bill's journey back to Bree if it hadn't included frequent appearances by hobbits. They seem to be my motivation almost as much as Bill's. Yup, you are caught up now. If RL doesn't sandbag me again, I'll be posting a new chapter every Friday and Monday (or thereabouts) as I was before. Thanks for reading and stopping long enough to share your thoughts! I appreciate the encouragement.

Author's reply

I'm right there with you! Radagast implied other pressing obligations, so your impression about him not being available to come to their rescue sounds accurate. Hopefully you'll find reassurance in Barliman's description of Bill's appearance upon arriving in Bree: shaggy as an old dog and skinny as a rail – which (to my mind, at least) implies the pony was lean and tough but also intact. Whew. Thanks again!

Author's reply

I don't think that Ferny would be able to get away with claiming Bill for his own. Too many Bree-folk saw Bill depart with the Travellers. Not to mention, Ferny would have put a spike in his own wheel, in a manner of speaking, by boasting afterward about how much Barliman had paid him "for a broken-down pony", as if Bill's old misery had outsmarted the innkeeper somehow. Thanks for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts and impressions. You've brightened my day! Author Reply: p.s. That said, your feedback has led me to add a bit to a future chapter related to the interaction between Ferny and Barliman. So thank you again!

Author's reply

Thank you! Animals' capacity for love and loyalty sometimes takes my breath away. This afternoon, Elder Cat has been curled up on the dining room chair next to me, keeping me company while I've been reading fanfic, though he'd be much more comfortable on the couch, I should think. (((hugs))) I hope this reply finds you and yours well.

Author's reply

I am in complete agreement with you! Especially the part about not back to his old misery! Thanks so much for your encouragement.

Author's reply

LOL! Sort of like, "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time", I suppose! Thanks for reading and pausing to share your thoughts.

Author's reply

Bill has certainly grown! He's learned hard lessons in his life, associated for a time with Elves (not to mention Wizards), and brushed elbows with other noteworthy companions. I like to think all that would make him wiser than the average pony in the end. (I loved it when I read through "The Grey Havens" again while writing the draft of this story, and saw that he'd graduated from pack-pony to riding-pony. He strikes me as something like the multi-purpose Morgan horse; I remember reading that such horses were recognized as having the power to pull a plow or cultivator on weekdays and a wagon filled with produce on market days, as well as the capability to drive in style to church on Sunday in front of a carriage filled with the farmer's family, and could also serve as a riding horse with the stamina for distance travel and smooth, comfortable gaits to accommodate a rider.) What fun! I grew up reading every "horse story" I could get my hands on, and so it's been especially satisfying to combine my passion for horses with my love of LOTR in imagining Bill's journeys.

Author's reply

Things are moving along... I think you'll find their parting satisfactory. (And of course, we can look forward to their reunion on the ride to the Grey Havens!) Thanks!

Author's reply

When I think on it further, I believe that every member of the Company grew along the way, though for Boromir, understanding came almost too late. But I'm glad that he, too, learned what he needed to know in the end. Thanks!

Author's reply

I must admit that your influence is strong here, for I think it was in your writing that I first came across the names presented in one of the passages deleted from Tolkien's draft, long before I acquired my own copy of HoME: And then Gandalf arose and bid all men rise, and they rose, and he said: 'Here is a last hail ere the feast endeth. Last but not least. For I name now those who shall not be forgotten and without whose valour nought else that was done would have availed; and I name before you all Frodo of the Shire and Samwise his servant. And the bards and the minstrels should give them new names: Bronwe athan Harthad and Harthad Uluithiad, 'Endurance beyond Hope' and 'Hope unquenchable'.' Alas, poor Frodo.