Sailing Away RPG

[Encaitare]

Reggie didn't know why Rory was being so distrustful. He knew that there were people in the world who were more subtle than the Big Folk they had encountered, people who would get you to trust them before tricking you. The worst experience he'd had with this, though, was just when some of his cousins, very mischievous people, had told him that the strangest fish they'd ever seen was swimming lazily in the Brandywine, and if he leaned over the water just a little further then he'd be able to see it. Of course, they'd pushed him in, and though it was all in good fun he'd learned to be a little more wary. Yet there was a benevolent look in Gandalf's eyes which made Reggie trust him immediately, almost as if it seemed to him that the old man was incapable of actually telling a lie.

"Of course he's who he says he is!" Reggie insisted, eagerly climbing down into the ravine. "Who else would be able to blow smoke rings like that? And who else would leave medicine for Bingo?"

"He's no ruffian, that's for sure," said Marroc.

"Indeed I am not!" said Gandalf. "Now, young Master Brandybuck--" here, all the hobbits (except Sassy) wondered if he was addressing them until he continued, "--let's have a look at your side."

Bingo obligingly lifted up the side of his shirt. A mottled bruise marked the flesh over his ribs, but when Gandalf kneeled and gently prodded the area Bingo did not wince. "It is, as I thought, broken," Gandalf announced, rising. "You seem to be mending nicely, though. There is certainly no need to lie down and die!" At this he chuckled, making Reggie feel lighter at heart.

"Thank you for helping us, sir," he said earnestly. His brother was going to be alright, and they were all going to get out of this awful forest in one piece -- hopefully rib included.

[Crystal Heart]

Sam couldn't believe his eyes. Gandalf the Grey! And he was going to help them in their adventure! It was far more then Sam had ever believed would happen. He was stunned into silence, unable to think of anything remotely intelligent to say to the man that had seen almost all of Middle Earth. He was friends with the most amazing people and yet here he was, helping them on their adventure. The thought it self was mind boggingly.

"Sondo, what can I do to help?" Sam asked his quietly, not wanting Gandalf to hear him asking. Sam didn't want Gandalf to think that he was not bright enough to figure out what needed to be done. Sam wrung his hands slightly as his eyes watched Gandalf. He blinked a couple of times. Truly this had to be just a dream. Or a mistake of some sort. After he blinked he saw that indeed Gandalf was still here.

He snapped out of his short ravine of thought to hear what Sondo would tell him. He wanted to be helpful. To show that he was a brave and noble hobbit. He wanted to show that he was much more then what many hobbits in the Shire thought he was. He was determined to show Gandalf the Grey that he was worthy of great things too.

[Firefoot]

Annoyance flashed in Sondo's eyes at Sam's innocent question. Just do whatever you see needs to be done! But Sondo could not say this, of course; or rather, he could, but he wouldn't. Sam wasn't trying to be so dependent, after all.

"Ah, I don't think there's a whole lot to do. Just hang tight for a moment; I think we're getting ready to move on." Sam seemed a little disappointed, but there wasn't a lot Sondo could do about it. He gave Sam an encouraging grin and looked around, trying to remember what he was about to do. Oh, yes, Rory. He approached Rory, who was still watching Gandalf skeptically at the back of ring of hobbits. He leaned over toward Rory and whispered so that not even Gandalf would hear: "Hey, I understand where you're coming from... but even if it's not Gandalf, it's basically our only hope, right? I have no idea how we would ever get out of here on our own. As long as we get out of this horrible place, I don't suppose it really matters whether it's Gandalf or some ruffian that leads us out. Right?"

He didn't get a chance to hear Rory's reply, though, for right at that point Gandalf spoke up. "Now, if you are ready, we can go. I believe there is no more to be done here."

Sondo nodded. "We're all packed up and ready. So how are we getting out of this ravine?"

Gandalf stood. "Come, and I will show you." The hobbits shouldered their packs and followed Gandalf a short way down the ravine, back the way they had come. Very soon, they came upon a spot where Gandalf had tied a rope to something up above the ravine.

"Um, we've already tried this," someone said apologetically. "It didn't work."

"But you did not have me with you then," answered Gandalf. "You must trust me." Then, he murmured a few words under his breath, and Sondo understood them not. He was fair confident that they were not in the Common Tongue at all, and a sense of wonder filled him. Was this some kind of magic?

"I will help you up the rope one by one," explained Gandalf, "and do not fear, for the rope will hold." And miraculously, the rope did hold and each hobbit made his (or her) way to the top of the ravine, partly climbing the rope and partly lifted by Gandalf. Last of all, Gandalf came up with them, much easier since he was so much taller than any of the lads. Sondo hoped that Rory's doubts were now allayed; who else but Gandalf could make such a feat work?

"We should have just enough time to make it out before night falls," said Gandalf, taking up his staff and leading the way. Sondo was shocked to find that with Gandalf leading the way, the forest behaved. There were no roots that tripped or branches that hung low or ravines which opened before them. They did still feel menacing though, and the air still felt stuffy, or else it might have been counted a pleasant trek. Gandalf said very little, save to answer a few of their questions, and not always satisfactorily. For example, they had not yet figured out just what Gandalf was doing here in the first place, nor would he give them any more of an answer than that he was helping them. After a long spell of silence, Sondo finally got up his nerve and stepped up alongside Gandalf. "Master Gandalf? Would you tell us about Ol- I mean, Mister Bilbo?" He already knew the tale by heart; at least, the tale as the hobbits told it (and those accounts tended to differ on more points than one), but Gandalf would know how it really went, after all.

Gandalf paused for a moment before thinking. "Very well. I will tell you a part, for it is a long tale indeed and some of it would be best not told under cover of this forest. But I will tell you about the trolls." Sondo quickly agreed, though he personally would have preferred to hear about the dragon. So Gandalf launched into the story and Sondo and the others listened avidly, having never heard the familiar story told this way.

But as he listened, he also began to think. What made Bilbo's adventure so much more adventurous than theirs was? Bilbo had come back with treasure, perhaps, but had that been the point? What had Bilbo really gained from his adventure - what was he gaining? Could it be - had he really been having a 'real' adventure all this time without really even realizing it? Perhaps so. It was worth thinking about, but later - once he got used to the idea.

Gandalf was finishing his story: "'Dawn take you all, and be stone to you!'" Lucky for them that Gandalf had come along, thought Sondo. And lucky for us, too.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Bingo rubbed his knuckles against his eyes and struggled to stay alert. It was near nightfall and he felt increasingly tired and cranky. His side had begun to hurt again, though not so bad as last night. Bingo was so weary that he was having trouble putting one foot in front of the other and staying on the path.

Things had gone a great deal better with Gandalf in the lead than they had before. The hobbits had made excellent progress through the morning, singing and listening to tales as they tramped along their way. For lunch, Gandalf had pointed out a shady spot underneath a thick grove of trees where a number of fine mushrooms grew. The hobbits had made a feast of the mushrooms and finished off their meal with fresh water and some berries that Reggie discovered growing just a short distance away.

Setting off after lunch, they had tramped steadily onward for several hours. But as the afternoon wore on and Gandalf gave no sign that he meant to stop for dinner, a number of the hobbits began to grumble among themselves.

"I wonder where this blasted forest ends," Bingo whispered to Sassy, being careful to keep his voice low. "And I wonder if Gandalf ever means for us to stop and have a bite of dinner. My stomach is grumbling miserably..."

Bingo's voice trailed off as Gandalf turned about, imperiously tilting up one eyebrow while looking sternly looking at the young hobbit, "Perhaps, Master Bingo, you'd care to spend another night underneath these trees? Because that is what is going to happen unless we continue going steadily orward till we come to the edge of the wood. Every tree in the vicinity surely knows we're here. With all our singing and chattering, it would be hard for them not to hear us. Or did you forget how the trees tricked you to fall into the ravine?"

So that's what happened, Bingo thought. I knew it was more than our clumsiness or unfamiliarity with the woods. With a sigh, Bingo nodded his head, "All right, Master Gandalf. I'll do as you say. I don't want to sleep under these trees tonight any more than you do. Still, it would be nice to know when and where we'll be bedding down for some sleep. It's a good thing that we've got a full moon tonight...."

With that Bingo closed his mouth and continued walking forward hoping that very soon the trees would end and there would be a place to set up camp.

[Primrose Bolger]

The old man in grey walked briskly along, his strides short enough for the band of rag-tag children to keep up. There were grumbles as empty bellies protested their lack of food, but a word of encouragement from Gandalf and a bit of dried fruit and nuts helped them to push on.

It seemed to get darker as they neared what the man said was the edge of the forest. Sassy supposed it was because the sun was beginning to near the western horizon, though the trees ahead of their little band seemed to crowd in over the track they were following as if to drive them back into the forest.

‘Stop that!’ Sassy yelled as a small branch dipped down its leafy fingers and scratched her cheek. She was last in line and she could hear the tree creak as it bent toward her. She felt the malice of will as another branch whipped down to bar her path. Mustering her courage and her speed, the little girl ducked beneath it, feet flying as she pushed into the middle of the Hobbit line. Her panic had set the others now behind her running, too – to get away from whatever imagined horror had made Sassy run.

The group jostled up close to Gandalf just as he raised his tall staff and tapped the branches of two lowering trees, murmuring some uncaught words to let him and his companions pass. ‘Well, here we are,’ he said, stepping through the opening now between the trees. His feet met the soft grass of the clearing beyond, the last light of day softly lighting the tips.

He stepped to one side, just in time to miss the jumble of Hobbits that came piling through the narrowing portal. They fell over one another in their haste. Last was Sassy, who was almost through when a sharp ended branch snagged the edge of her cape. With a determined tug, she ripped it free and rolled backward, head over heels to the clearing.

‘Stupid, mean trees!’ she yelled back at the shadowed forest. With a big sigh of relief she picked herself up and stumbled over to where the others were. Gandalf was urging them toward a small, clear brook, saying this would be a good place to set up camp.

Sassy took one last look at the forest behind. The exit they’d come through had now closed, and she could almost hear a foul, dry laughter that chittered among the leaves. She turned away quickly and ran up to be near the old man.

[Kitanna]

Things were going a good deal better for the hobbits since Gandalf took the lead. Marroc trusted Sondo as a leader, but even he would never have been able to get them out of the forest. Now with every step the hobbits drew closer to the edge of the forest. Unfortunately with Gandalf in the lead they weren't stopping to eat and the wizard made it clear he had no plans to stop.

Marroc felt his stomach growl. He hoped the forest ended soon so they could stop and eat and rest their weary feet.

Marroc moved closer to Gandalf. "Is it true, do the trees really trick you here?"

Gandalf turned to him. Amusement in his eyes. "Have you heard none of the stories, young Marroc?"

"Of course I have, but I never thought any were true. I thought they were just stories to scare us." Marroc had been told hundreds of tales about various things he should be wary of. He barely believed any of them. Now he wished he had listened better to his elders.

"Even legends have some truth to them, Marroc." Gandalf said simply and turned his attention away.

Marroc thought about it for a moment and nodded to himself. He'd have to keep that in mind for any future adventures.

[Firefoot]

The little brook that Gandalf had pointed out looked like absolute heaven. The sun had now all but set, and none of them had eaten anything of substance since lunch. Sondo wondered how they had ever gotten through a couple days with hardly anything to eat, before they encountered those ruffians.

The hobbits quickly had a small fire going and the aroma of cooking meat filled the air. Some dry bread and fruit was passed around while the meat cooked, and those were gone in a matter of minutes. Luckily, the meat did not take long to cook and everyone was soon satisfied. Having eaten, most of the hobbits were ready to drop off; few of them had gotten much sleep the night before and it had been a long march.

Before doing so, however, Gandalf had a few word of advice for them. "You have come quite a ways north of where you entered the forest," he told them, "and you are almost home. If you follow this little brook for perhaps a mile, it will run into the Brandywine River. Keep the river in sight during your march tomorrow, and the Old Forest will give you no trouble. Your march tomorrow will be unpleasant, but not terribly difficult. Here between the Brandywine and the Old Forest is marshlands which are inhabited by little more than stinging insects. A full day's march will take you to the banks of the River Withywindle; I do not recommend trying to cross it during the night, nor should you camp too close to it's shores. You will have to use your wits to get across, but I have no doubt that you are capable."

"But wait!" said one of the hobbits. "Why are you telling us this? Won't you be with us?"

"I will not; I will probably be gone by the time you awake tomorrow," answered Gandalf. "I have important business elsewhere, and I have no doubts that you will not need my aid to get home. Your journey has been hard, but all of you have grown from it. Use what you know, rely on yourselves and each other, and you will be fine." Sondo had mixed feelings about this. On one hand, Gandalf's leadership had been vitally important in saving them from the forest, and could continue to be helpful, but under Gandalf's leadership, he had become just another of the group. "Leader" had merely been a nominative role, yet another blow to his pride. To top it all off, their trip had not really been any more adventurous than before Gandalf came; in fact, it may have even been less so. So, in all honesty, Sondo could not say he would be entirely sorry to see Gandalf go.

A few hobbits pleaded with Gandalf not to leave them, but while Sondo wasn't one of them, he wasn't obvious about it, either. One of those things he had learned was that he couldn't be a leader without having followers, a prospect that had been threatened more times than he liked.

Gandalf could not be moved to remain with them, and the talk eventually died down as the hobbits drifted off to sleep.

~*~*~*~

The sun was casting its first rays upon the land when Sondo awoke the next morning. Gandalf was gone, even as he had said, and Sondo was the leader again. The last stage of the journey was before them; here was his last chance to prove that his plan had not been an utter disaster. He knew he had made a real mess of things more than once, but not today, he wouldn't. Not today, and not for the rest of the trip.

With that in mind he got up, and a few others who were by now awake joined him. The rest were up once breakfast started cooking. They ate, put away their bedrolls, and shouldered their packs, ready to set off. Sondo led the way down the creek. The day was warm, and the creek shallow, so Sondo soon switched to walking in the creek. The cool water felt good on his feet as it swirled and bubbled past. And then - there it was! The Brandywine River, which none of them had seen for several days past, became visible. A broad grin lit Sondo's face. "Almost home, now," he murmured.

They turned north to follow the river. His good mood was quickly dampened as the ground became soggy, opening into shallow meres and pools. The insects were horrendous, biting and buzzing about their faces. Swatting at them in irritation, he nearly tripped into a pool of greenish-water. Cursed swamp. Sondo set his jaw. He had beaten ruffians and evil trees; he would not be ousted by bugs and marshes.