Carl arrived early and alone, as usual. Bullroarer clapped him on the back and set him to helping shift the casks of drinks into position and setting up the trestle tables. It was good to be back home, he thought, where the only worry now was what should he have for dinner, not what might be having him for a meal!
Done, he sat at ease near the roaring fireplace, and tended to it now and then as he smoked a pipe and sipped the excellent hot spiced wine made by Mistress Took. He was looking forward to seeing his companions once again and to meeting their families. He smiled to himself, thinking of Gaddy and Daisy, and Robin and Dinodas, and Giles and Autumn, wondering how their families had received the news of their new ‘interests’.
‘Well, I’m sure to find out later.’ he said to himself contentedly, dipping himself another mug of mulled wine from the pot near the fire.
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‘Many are the strange chances of the world,’ said Mithrandir, ‘and help oft shall come from the hands of the weak when the Wise falter.’
– Gandalf in: The Silmarillion, 'Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age'
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