abnormal tragedy

Chapter 8: members

The council was over, everyone had gone their separate ways. They would be leaving in a week's time, which should give everyone enough time to get to know each other and plan an appropriate route. The hobbits were excited to go on the quest, and were pestering Gandalf for details about the other members of the fellowship. Once they realised that Gandalf would not help, they turned to Rowan and she voiced her thoughts on each of them.

"You guys already know my brother, so I'll tell you about the rest of them. Gimli is totally cool. He's got a great beard and he's really nice," Rowan said thoughtfully. "He frightened me a bit when he tried to destroy the ring," confessed Sam. Rowan nodded, "I think he got over-excited. Gimli is very passionate. Maybe Bilbo might know more, after all, Gimli's dad was one of the dwarves with Bilbo when he went off to fight the dragon." The hobbits were oohed and ahhed at the realisation that they had in fact heard of Gimli before. "And Legolas! Bilbo told us about him too!" brought up Merry.

"Yeah, though he seemed less..." Pippin tried to think of the right words. "Less of a prickly douchebag? An arrogant asshole? " Rowan offered. Pippin laughed at her words, "Something like that."

"He looks the exact same as Bilbo's pictures, even though it's been 60 years!" exclaimed Sam. "Elves age very differently to the rest of us, so that's not a surprise. In saying that, I think that he has matured a bit" Rowan explained. Gandalf nodded, "The young prince has certainly changed from Bilbo's days, and for the better I would say. You should form your own opinion of him."

"What about the other man?" asked Frodo. "Boromir? He's alright. I talked to him for a bit and he was really nice... maybe a bit awkward" Rowan mused. Frodo bit his lip, "He wants the ring for himself."

"Not for himself, Frodo," Rowan corrected, "For his people. He genuinely thought that the ring would help, which is entirely misguided. Hopefully we can beat it out of him by the time this trip is done." Gandalf 's expression turned from agreeable and contemplative to disapproving and exasperated. Merry and Pippin punched their fists and cracked their knuckles, "Right you are Rowan, right you are." Sam huffed and crossed his arms, "Don't you worry Mr Frodo, we'll make sure nothing happens to you."

Frodo smiled softly at his friends and Rowan could see that he was grateful for their help. "Thank you everyone," he then turned to her, "I think I would like to properly meet the others in the fellowship. After all, we're going to spend a long time together. "

"A fine idea!" complimented Gandalf. Rowan agreed, and asked a nearby elf when lunch would be served. "And I was wondering... what are the chances of everyone eating together? Or at least, the people in the fellowship?" Rowan enquired. The elf looked stunned, but could not refuse the pleading eyes of the hobbits, "It would take some time to prepare food suitable for all of you... Well, I suppose we could host a dinner? I will have to alert Lord Elrond." Rowan nodded, "You do that."