[Nogrod]

"Old minds
create limping rhymes,
my dear Eomer of Rohan...
That's sad but true,
so bad and nothing new",

Tom hummed more to himself than to others who had already passed a long way before him. But somehow he had heard the few words made while he slept.

"Now this sure is the quietest company I've had since the early days... and we'd need to talk if the traitors are to be found."

He rised up and straightened his colourful clothes before picking his stuff.

"But we should not talk just anything." He murmured while he gathered the last objects he possessed. "Digging ourselves into the creatures we are and only coming up with ideas that we should do in everyday life or which are expected from us just aren't good enough at this moment. If you men or elves doubt the Uruk please give a reason to it, if you Uruk want someone's blood give us a reason for it... gnarl-gnarl-gnarl... Uh-oh... you will get older and grumpier one day too and then you will see that stereotypes do not help you in trouble and that maintaining a jolly face is a burden indeed..."

Tom looked unexpectedly energetic with his concerns at the moment - or was it just that he was missing his wine-skin still?

"Ahh... there you are... Now where was I? Nothing seems to be wrong after all! A good skin of wine, beautiful hollies around and a whole forest of flowers around! Hey dol! Merry dol! Ring a dong dillo!"

Suddenly he froze as a thought entered his mind concerning the fellowship.

"If someone needs to be sent back from this company let it be one who has not bothered to open his mind as yet. And with opening one's mind I mean actually saying something out of what one could conveniently hide behind - the mask of everyday expectations - or just stayed away from discussions."

Slowly he shook his head as he felt he had somehow been very much un-Tom-Bombadillish. You're getting old Tom, really old. Maybe you should just turn back home to Goldberry. This adventure is not doing good for you...

Happily he realised just then that there was a bunch of really beautiful harebells only a few yards away from him towards the way the other companions had walked... and then another bunch a bit more forwards... and another after that...

"Hey dol! Merry dol! Hey-ho-hey! Ring-a-ding-a-delly!
Here go the harebells, ding-dong along, to my Goldberry!"