WWXLV: The Fellowship of Saruman

[Meneltarmacil]

Oh, and I have plenty of time to spare now, unlike before when I had to hunt for food and scout for enemies, so I will be able to participate more in discussions of treachery.

This place...I can tell there are plenty of Orcs here, mountain-goblins most likely, the likes of which I have no love for. They have no sense of duty and honor like we Uruks do. Yet besides them, I can also smell... something else, something that seems familiar, a memory of Orcs past and fills me with apprehension. And twice now I have seen what appeared to be a cloud of fire and smoke moving around as if it were alive far below us. The sooner we leave here, the better, I say.

But enough about unknown dangers for now, and back to our more immediate problem.

We have here this quote from our good Tom Bombadil:

Wake up Radagast my friend! We have no time to this kind of thing anymore. Are you trying to force me to stand up against you after I have voted my dearest friend and your kin out? Try to be more constructive - or are you not interested? Because the traitors are safe at the moment so it's just fine whoever of the top-candidates right now get sent away and you don't feel any urgency to bring in your own thoughts about the vote?

He sounds kind of desperate for Radagast to start talking here. It has a sense of "I don't want to have a reason to turn against you" feel to it, or at least as I see it. And we already know what that nasty wizard turned out to be in the end. Could Tom be trying to keep a partner in crime from looking too suspicious?

Elrohir, I'm still waiting to learn why you voted for me near the beginning of our quest. Was it really just because I'm an Orc?

And Halbarad, I'm really not sure I can honestly keep letting you off the hook for this long.