In the hollow of a tree of the east Meeting Grove was found a tightly wrapped package. Among its contents was a bundle of the letters attached here. Along with some pressed flowers, several honey-cakes and a postcard addressed to the ‘good fairies’ by one Wingard Puddifoot.
I write this unknowing of how or when it will be sent to Falathlorn. Enthusiastic as the postal service of the Shire are for their profession, it would be fanciful to expect them to run all the way to the Blue Mountans and back. Yet still I find myself required to give an account on exactly what has or has not happened since I have been gone.
In the likely case that those who receive this have not read my previous letters at Farathlorn, the dwarf Lorin was leading an expedition looking to scout the remains of the forest of Arassien for sources of lumber to sell to the Havens. I had joined them to ensure they only chose those canopies of trees which Edhelion had promised to them, trees that had already been marked long ago for shipbuilding when we still tended the forest. For it would be a diplomatic catastrophe were the dwarves to essentially poach from the woods that were once ours only so they could sell it back to us.
The lands between Farathlorn and the Shire have not prospered without our care, but a number of the timeworn trees could be seen up in the hills near the old lodge of Tham Amothir. Lorin wanted first to confirm with the hobbits where the borders of their land ended. So we stopped at Tighfield, the first village in the Shire along the East Road. Or rather, it was the village at the end of the old dwarven road, where the paved stones became a cobbled dirt path. A stone wall marks the edge of the village, and possibly also the Shire itself. My first sight of hobbits for a long while was a number of villagers with officious-looking caps pacing back and forth alongside it. The dwarves say these are called ‘Bounders’. A necessity to the Shire now that it is without the protection of the kingdoms of Men, they fulfil something of the same role as Wardens.
When travelling through the Shire we tend to keep a distance from the towns to avoid frightening the hobbits, but the dwarves had no such custom. Fortunately, Tighfield was evidently close enough to the Ered Luin for the residents to have become used to passing caravans. The village itself is largely a collection of farmhouses. By the road that passes through the village, the hobbits had set up tents selling produce not that far from the farms where they were made. There was not much to be said for the tents selling farm animals but I was impressed by the ropes which gave the village its name. The hemp fields are located at just the right distance from the southern bogs to allow for a fine quality of line. Should we ever trade with the Shire once more, the Falathrim will be sure to find it as useful for rigging as what we receive from the dwarves.
I found also a stall with several old books on the counter. With titles like The Art of Pipe-Weed and The Yonder-Candle they clearly originated from the Shire. I motioned to get the attention of the owner, a young hobbit who was busy reading his own copy of Barney’s Watch.
‘Oh my, one of the elves! With dwarves, as well. If you’re looking for rope I’d suggest one of the other tents, although I do have a Yonderboar left to sell’. Indeed, there was a single boar pacing in the stable behind him. Alas, it was too much to expect a book-stall in so remote a village.
‘Yonderboar?’ I asked.
‘Much sturdier than Hitherboar, and better to keep on farms.’ He apologised and swept the books from the counter into a bag, obviously his personal belongings. ‘I can offer her for three hundred pieces. She is the last animal to be sold from my uncle’s farm you see. Now Tom, he says to me, these boars should fetch a fine price, a fine price so don’t you come back until that bag is full of gold.’
It seemed likely to me then that some of it had been recently exchanged for books, which admittedly take more space.
‘He’s had to sell the land and move back with us down at Little Delving. Hopefully this will resolve his estrangement with my father, for I should tell you they have talked little since my cousin’s wedding.’
I thanked him before he began relating his family’s history and wished his uncle luck. ‘Not to worry’, he said cheerfully, ‘I’m sure someone will come along before sunset in need of a boar’.
‘His family should have sent someone older to manage the selling.’ Lorin commented. ‘A pig that size can be worth seven hundred pieces at least’.
He had been trying to get the attention of the head of the local Bounders, a hobbit busy in discussion with one of the farmers concerning the effectiveness of fences.
‘Now, you can hardly be expecting the Watch to tend your farm for you. Keeping the bounds of your own property is your own business, just as keeping the bounds of the Shire is ours.’
‘My farm was well tended to! That fence was gnawed through, and not by one of my boars. By more than one pest too I’d warrant. If you’d done a better job dealing with the shrews then my Snugblossom would still be safe and sound.’
Seeing a clear solution to this dilemma, I decided to interpose.
‘My condolences for your missing property, but you may be able to gain a replacement. There is a young hobbit down the road who has a Yonderboar that he is willing to sell. If you talk to him now you are likely to get it cheaply before he leaves’
He gave a few indignant words in response but eventually decided his time was better spent there. This allowed Lorin and myself to introduce ourselves and our purpose to the Bounder. His name was Frothard Took, though he was not, as he took some time to explain, one of the North-Tooks. The ruins of Tham Amothir, we were pleased to find, were outside the Shire after all.
‘Quite out of Bounds’ he said, ‘although I have a hard time reminding folk of that. I think it’s a good thing you Elves are finally taking some responsibility for it. It’s not right to leave ruins lying about for decent hobbits to stumble over.’
The farmer left with his new boar, seeming pleased with the bargain, to Frothard's relief. We also returned to the road, to examine the trees we had seen outside the village.
I doubted the grove of Arassien mentioned in the relics would actually be found at Tham Amothir. The contract referred to planned shipments of timber to be ferried along the ports of the Lhûn, which indicated a more northerly part of the forest closer to the Lune Rushes. But it was not a surety, and though I am reluctant to revisit old ruins it is no reason to overlook something this important. There wasn’t much left of it to see, in any case. The towers are mostly gone and the gate is barely recognizable. The local vegetation still thrived, having overrun the ruins as it returned to nature. Indeed, it was the only part of the area where the Arassien still prospered. That power of Cirdan’s which had preserved the forest still protected the woods of Tham Amothir, for he once possessed the Ring which offered resistance to the ravages of time. I believe now that he used Narya for more than just saving the hunting-grounds, but also to ensure a supply of woodland that would persist until the last passing of the ships, one that could not have persisted naturally without the presence of the Havens. Still, even had we found the trees of Tham Amothir marked for this purpose, I would not have wished the felling of this memorial to the High King.
‘It is an elven-rune, but one that signifies a place for clans to meet together and trade. The forest was considered unclaimed wilderness, so many met at its borders, though none stayed for long. The mark we are looking for will be easier to find, on the trunk. Although they will likely be different runes then what is used in these times.’
‘A good place for it’ Lorin remarked, ‘the hill overlooks a good deal of the road while offering protection from the north’.
‘This place did used to be a point of trade between Edhelion and the Shire. But the Silvan who lived here retreated south through the marshlands and relations with the hobbits became too scarce for the wandering companies to maintain it.’
‘It’s a pity this isn’t one of the sites. With most of the forest gone, would be easy to raise something more permanent here.’
Of course, to Lorin any potential logging settlement was but a step in the process of re-establishing trade with the Shire. This was something that was of increasing demand in the Ered Luin of late, and something he intended to capitalise on. I could see why Dwalin had sent the Landorrim for this expedition. A lifetime of living in the dwarven towns of the northern mountains made good experience for establishing new outposts to the east.
We returned to Tighfield to rest before setting out again to the north. The sun had gone down, but Frothard and some of the other Bounders were still there to greet us when we returned. I should say also that this was the point when I was informed we were under suspicion of boar-theft.
