The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - The Lonely Star -- Chapter 4

mark12_30 · 12-06-2002, 05:44 PM

Phura, Azraph, and Kesha suddenly jumped up; they had been sitting on the bow, dangling their webbed feet over the tossing waves.

"Get Gamba!" Phura told Kesha, and Kesha's webbed feet slapped across the deck and he hurtled down the ladder. Phura smiled. A hobbrim's webbed feet did make it harder to walk quietly like a hobbit would. They would practice, he decided.

Phura and Azraph stood on tiptoe, and barely discerned the glimmer of faroff mountain peaks. Soon Gamba joined them. "Where?" he demanded. They pointed. He stood on tiptoe also, straining, and then a gasp of delight escaped him.

It was followed by tears, which he dashed away; they remained there and stood together, eventually joined by Andril, and watched the mountains slowly, slowly grow larger.

Days passed, and still they spent most of their time on the bow. Cami joined them frequently, and Rose, and Andril; but the three hobbrim and Gamba hardly left the rail. The four little boys played across the deck and down in the hold; Gamba did not worry about them, although he often held Maura. The weather was fair, the swells relatively low, and Ban, Asta, and Roka all stayed well away from the rail. The three Hobbrim and Gamba stared and stared at the horizon til their eyes hurt.

"Look at it, " Gamba would mutter. "One after the other, and another one after that. Do they never end?"

"It's like a forest of Meneltarmas, " Kesha said once, and Phura smiled.

They really had little to compare it to. Phura struggled making his own comparisons. It reminded him of a work detail, all in line, marching off to the mines, shovels and picks on their shoulders. Azraph joked that the mountains were standing in line waiting for dinner, and that was the image that ended up sticking in their imaginations.

Weeks later when they would finally arrived at Minas Anor, and realise that Mount Mindolluin was the front of the line, Kesha would say, "So that's the kitchen?" And among themselves, that was what the three Hobbrim and Gamba called the city. Years and years later, Gamba would always associate the vast range of the White Mountains with dry crusts of bread and wrinkled apples. That Cami told him there were tombs in Minas Anor would not help matters.

But now, today, they were mesmerised with the blue bay, and the snow-capped peaks, and the miles and miles and miles of green and purple shore that stretched on before them. None of them had ever imagined anything so vast. Gamba wanted to go and explore, but Cami reminded him that they had a long ways to go.

[ December 11, 2002: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

12-06-2002, 05:44 PM	#451
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Phura, Azraph, and Kesha suddenly jumped up; they had been sitting on the bow, dangling their webbed feet over the tossing waves. "Get Gamba!" Phura told Kesha, and Kesha's webbed feet slapped across the deck and he hurtled down the ladder. Phura smiled. A hobbrim's webbed feet did make it harder to walk quietly like a hobbit would. They would practice, he decided. Phura and Azraph stood on tiptoe, and barely discerned the glimmer of faroff mountain peaks. Soon Gamba joined them. "Where?" he demanded. They pointed. He stood on tiptoe also, straining, and then a gasp of delight escaped him. It was followed by tears, which he dashed away; they remained there and stood together, eventually joined by Andril, and watched the mountains slowly, slowly grow larger. Days passed, and still they spent most of their time on the bow. Cami joined them frequently, and Rose, and Andril; but the three hobbrim and Gamba hardly left the rail. The four little boys played across the deck and down in the hold; Gamba did not worry about them, although he often held Maura. The weather was fair, the swells relatively low, and Ban, Asta, and Roka all stayed well away from the rail. The three Hobbrim and Gamba stared and stared at the horizon til their eyes hurt. "Look at it, " Gamba would mutter. "One after the other, and another one after that. Do they never end?" "It's like a forest of Meneltarmas, " Kesha said once, and Phura smiled. They really had little to compare it to. Phura struggled making his own comparisons. It reminded him of a work detail, all in line, marching off to the mines, shovels and picks on their shoulders. Azraph joked that the mountains were standing in line waiting for dinner, and that was the image that ended up sticking in their imaginations. Weeks later when they would finally arrived at Minas Anor, and realise that Mount Mindolluin was the front of the line, Kesha would say, "So that's the kitchen?" And among themselves, that was what the three Hobbrim and Gamba called the city. Years and years later, Gamba would always associate the vast range of the White Mountains with dry crusts of bread and wrinkled apples. That Cami told him there were tombs in Minas Anor would not help matters. But now, today, they were mesmerised with the blue bay, and the snow-capped peaks, and the miles and miles and miles of green and purple shore that stretched on before them. None of them had ever imagined anything so vast. Gamba wanted to go and explore, but Cami reminded him that they had a long ways to go. [ December 11, 2002: Message edited by: mark12_30 ] __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.