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Caranlondien · 05-13-2006, 11:08 PM

A Very, Very Warm Welcome

Having finished the Dorwinion wine in celebration of their narrow escape, the hobbits sat around the table enjoying a pipe with the recently arrived Gandalf. He had reached Bag-Endless-Fuel an hour or two ago, after several days' searching for the wayward hobbit hole. Upon hearing of their goblin-induced detour into a spider's web, the wizard laughed heartily.

"I bet he wouldn't find our near-death experiences so amusing if we weren't in the lead right now," whispered Frodo to Sam.

As the company puffed on their pipes, they failed to notice that a darker, thicker smoke was rising from the engine room below.

The hobbits listened politely as Gandalf recounted a particularly amusing decloaking incident that had occurred last week, hoping this meant that he'd not be decloaking this week.

Gandalf finished his tale. Frodo blew a smoke ring and sighed contentedly. "Ah, it's nice to be back on track," he said.

"It is indeed," said his uncle. Bilbo sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, prepared to have a bit of a nap. His plans changed, however, when Bag-Endless-Fuel gave a stomach-turning lurch and careened suddenly off to one side, spinning as it went. Finally the craft came to a halt.

The kitchen furniture went flying, and it took a moment or two for the chair's previous occupants to extricate themselves from the jumble of wood that was now strewn about the floor.

Standing, Sam volunteered to have a look from the chimney-top to see what was going on outside. Gandalf looked around, a frightened (and frightening) gleam in his eyes. He muttered something to himself and waved his hand through a cloud of smoke, which was now quite clearly not coming from the hobbits' pipes. Sam re-emerged from the hearth with the news that he could see nothing outside which might have caused their course-change.

"Well what could have done it, then?" asked Frodo. The other hobbits looked around uncertainly. Frodo turned to Gandalf. "What could have caused this?" he asked of the wizard. Even as he asked, he could begin to smell the odor of something burnt. Thick, dark smoke was pouring into the kitchen now.

"I fear this is the work of a power far beyond you," Gandalf replied gravely. "But let us hope I am wrong. Perhaps it is merely some trifle; That we're on fire, or something."

"On fire?" cried Sam. "You call that a trifle? The engine room's full of fireworks!"

The sound of Ted Sandyman's horn confirmed for them that something was, indeed, wrong.

"You can all go check on that," suggested a nervous Pippin. "And I'll start making elevensies." He quickly donned an apron.

05-13-2006, 11:08 PM	#37
Caranlondien Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bag-Endless-Fuel Posts: 339	A Very, Very Warm Welcome Having finished the Dorwinion wine in celebration of their narrow escape, the hobbits sat around the table enjoying a pipe with the recently arrived Gandalf. He had reached Bag-Endless-Fuel an hour or two ago, after several days' searching for the wayward hobbit hole. Upon hearing of their goblin-induced detour into a spider's web, the wizard laughed heartily. "I bet he wouldn't find our near-death experiences so amusing if we weren't in the lead right now," whispered Frodo to Sam. As the company puffed on their pipes, they failed to notice that a darker, thicker smoke was rising from the engine room below. The hobbits listened politely as Gandalf recounted a particularly amusing decloaking incident that had occurred last week, hoping this meant that he'd not be decloaking this week. Gandalf finished his tale. Frodo blew a smoke ring and sighed contentedly. "Ah, it's nice to be back on track," he said. "It is indeed," said his uncle. Bilbo sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, prepared to have a bit of a nap. His plans changed, however, when Bag-Endless-Fuel gave a stomach-turning lurch and careened suddenly off to one side, spinning as it went. Finally the craft came to a halt. The kitchen furniture went flying, and it took a moment or two for the chair's previous occupants to extricate themselves from the jumble of wood that was now strewn about the floor. Standing, Sam volunteered to have a look from the chimney-top to see what was going on outside. Gandalf looked around, a frightened (and frightening) gleam in his eyes. He muttered something to himself and waved his hand through a cloud of smoke, which was now quite clearly not coming from the hobbits' pipes. Sam re-emerged from the hearth with the news that he could see nothing outside which might have caused their course-change. "Well what could have done it, then?" asked Frodo. The other hobbits looked around uncertainly. Frodo turned to Gandalf. "What could have caused this?" he asked of the wizard. Even as he asked, he could begin to smell the odor of something burnt. Thick, dark smoke was pouring into the kitchen now. "I fear this is the work of a power far beyond you," Gandalf replied gravely. "But let us hope I am wrong. Perhaps it is merely some trifle; That we're on fire, or something." "On fire?" cried Sam. "You call that a trifle? The engine room's full of fireworks!" The sound of Ted Sandyman's horn confirmed for them that something was, indeed, wrong. "You can all go check on that," suggested a nervous Pippin. "And I'll start making elevensies." He quickly donned an apron.