[satansaloser2005]

Théodred finally joined the rest of the fellowship near the top of the mountain. This would have been much easier, he thought to himself with a perturbed look in his eye, if they had let us bring our horses. I am most displeased that I was instructed to leave Thunderbranch behind.

He glanced around at the rest of the fellowship, a group consisting of everything from an old (though proven wise) wizard Gandalf, a dwarf, a handful of elves (all whom, of course, thought themselves to be the best-suited, in more ways than one, for the mission ahead of them), an Orc (Théodred's fists clenched at the thought), and to Théodred's relief, his cousin Éomer and another man, who had introduced himself as Halbarad.

The most surprising of their company however, was the ringbearer herself; Lobelia Sackville-Baggins they called her. Upon their first meeting, Théodred thought he had been tricked, for no one stood before him; then he looked down and saw a halfling, a woman somewhere between the size of a small child and a large dog. Apparently, the woman belonged to the hobbit race, a people whom Théodred had always believed to be irresponsible, with a tendency to gorge themselves on fatty food and excessive amounts of wine. Théodred then understood why Saruman (he cringed at the mere thought of him) had disallowed the fellowship to use horses-it would be all too easy to crush the small female standing before him.

Still, it would be nice to be able to ride to our destination, as it would be both faster and more convenient. But I am not of a weak nature unlike, he paused and took a glance at those surrounding him, unlike some in my midst, but a man worthy of the task set before us. I fear the others will prove unhelpful during the journey, and if this happens my kinsman and I must be prepared to take over and complete our mission.

His thoughts were interrupted by a crazy little man, wandering about merrily and singing nonsense rhymes at the top of his lungs. Théodred had wondered why this man had accompanied them. Did this man have ulterior motives for coming with the fellowship, or was he just permitted to come for entertainment value. Wild though he may be, he seems harmless enough, as long as he maintains his distance. Théodred had the impression that Bombadil was safe, but that perhaps his hilarity was contagious; the last thing Théodred needed was a distraction during battle.

The company stopped for a brief moment, and Théodred decided to share his true thoughts about the state of their mission. "I see that our fellowship has made a hasty (and thus, I fear, poor) choice of ringbearer," Théodred began. "Such a responsibility as the ring should not be placed in the bumbling hands of a hobbit. Granted, she seems innocent enough now, but if our "lord" Saruman has put her in charge, I find it a grave miscalculation. Or perhaps this is his intent, to send us all on a journey to dispose of the ring only to leave our homelands without full protection." With this, he glared at Saruman and, unable to correctly read the responses to his statement, turned on his heel and marched on, determined to cover as ground as possible before nightfall.

He knew, as did the others, that the day would be plagued by accusations regarding the three traitors in the group, and that sundown would signal the end of the journey for one of the company. Théodred dismissed the thought and carried on.