I realized that my reckoning of our reading days was off by
one. Day Nineteen (now transposed here as Day Twenty) was actually the day we
finished reading “Many Meetings,” the chapter that details the time at
Rivendell prior to the Council. It’s important because readers are delighted to
discover, along with Frodo, that Bilbo is there. That’s how he ends up at the
Council – he’s been staying at Rivendell, more or less since he left Hobbiton
many years ago, with one brief adventuring foray into Dale – enjoying his
peaceful old age and working on his book.
It’s Bilbo’s presence, more than any of the other delights
of Rivendell – safety, comfort, food, fire, song – that will make it hard for
Frodo to leave. I think Elrond knows just how hard that’s going to be for Frodo,
which is why he asks him again, some time after the Council, if he’s absolutely
sure that he is willing to bear the responsibility of the Ring. Frodo affirms
his decision, bless him, even though you know his heart must be quailing.
They all end up staying in Rivendell for quite some time,
about two months, while scouts go out to discover news of the shadow’s spread
and to ascertain if the Riders managed to escape still intact or had to slither
off, formless, back to Mordor. It would seem that the latter is true, at least
for eight of the nine, which gives us some breathing room. Autumn turns toward
winter before the Nine Walkers are ready to set out.
Yes, I did say Nine Walkers. Elrond, in his wisdom, decides
to pit Nine against Nine. He says somewhat ruefully that even if he had a great
host of Elves, as in the Elder Days, it wouldn’t much matter, because it’s not
might they need now, but secrecy and speed. They’re not trying to start a war,
though they’re almost sure war is inevitable, they’re trying to find a way to
get Frodo and the Ring into Mordor, undetected, for his merciful errand of
destruction.
S. was curious to find out who Elrond picked for the team,
so to speak. Frodo and Sam were decided at the Council, and we’re relieved to
discover that Gandalf will be accompanying them too. In addition to these two hobbits
and the wizard, there are two men, Aragorn (whom S. says she still thinks of as
“Strider” for now), and Boromir of Gondor. Aragorn announces that he does plan
to eventually help Gondor – his sword has been re-forged for that eventuality –
but that for now, at least for many hundreds of miles, he and Boromir will
travel with the company of the Ring. Gimli, Gloin’s son, represents the
dwarves, and Legolas, whose father Thranduil long ago put a company of
adventuring dwarves in jail, will
represent the elves.
That leaves two spots open. I had forgotten how hard Pippin
lobbies that the last spots go to him and to Merry. He’s as persistent as a
puppy, and it’s Gandalf (who has a tendency not to underestimate the hobbits)
who persuades Elrond that perhaps loyalty is as good as any other reason to
name someone to the Fellowship. And so it is decided. And so the company sets
forth, after Bilbo and Frodo have some parting words. Bilbo gives Frodo his
mail shirt and his weapon, Sting. It’s a touching moment, recalling as it does their
love for one another and the nostalgia of Bilbo’s own adventuring days, but it
doesn’t lapse into sentimentalism, perhaps because we recognize that Bilbo is
clothing Frodo for battle.
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