The Diary of Bellin Curlytoes

I woke up really early this morning, it was very difficult to sleep because I’ve been so excited about getting a pony.  There’s a nice horse farm near Bree where Eleangil said that I would be able to get a nice little pony from.  I might drop by Fredemac’s smial on my way to see if he’s got any nice carrots going spare that Arnica doesn’t need.  Ponies like carrots so I think it might be a good way to make friends.

Getting my pony!

No one told me I had to take a riding test, well I think it’s just a way to deliver new ponies to the pony hire places.  The ponies have been friendly enough though and we reached all of the places without too many problems.

The timed run was a bit of a challenge what with all of the fences to get over and they didn’t even lower them for my pony.  Luckily the pony knew what to do so I just held on and we managed to complete the course on time.

The most difficult bit was making my mind up over which pony I wanted.  I kept walking along the stables and there was this one pony that kept nudging me as I walked by.  I eventually figured out that he could smell the carrots I had in my bag, I decided that he was the pony for me.  We shared the carrots and then headed back to the Shire.  I want to introduce Carrot to Elea, Krispli and Spud.

Back in Bree.  I mostly spent yesterday recovering from that spider ordeal and catching up on letters home.  I sent some interesting looking stones to spud and a bit from one of those spiders just to prove how big it was.

I’ve been feeling a little restless today so I went for a wander to the north of Bree and gathered a bit of ore to practice my crafting, I’ve learnt how to make traps to use with my hunting.  While I was out I bumped into Eleangil gathering some branches for her crafting.  We had a bit of a chat and I told her how I had been feeling; she thinks that I’ve just got a taste for adventure.  I wasn’t sure at first, but she told me about these places north of Trestlebridge just up the road and places even further away than that; then she asked me whether I wanted to go home or visit these other places.

The fields of Bree

Well I didn’t think that was really very fair, to get me all interested and then to ask me a question like that.  But she reckoned that was the point; adventuring is like a little itch, you try to ignore it but it just itches more so you go out on a journey to make it ease up and it does for a little while and then it comes back again only next time you have to travel further to make it stop.  Who’d have thought that looking for a new vase could do all that?

I think I might take a little look up north, it can’t hurt and I might find a vase for Mam or at least some more interesting things to send to spud.

I was having a quiet spot of breakfast near the piggy fountain in Bree when I saw one of the dwarves from last night.

Piggy fountain in Bree

We had a little chat and I told him about my plans to check out this inn, he asked me if my profession was taking me that way.  He laughed when I said that I was a Bounder but we don’t patrol that far from the shire, I thought he was being a bit rude about Bounders but it turns out that he meant a trade.  I don’t have one, I’m just going to get this vase and go home again.  A trade might be good though I could make and collect things to sell for a little extra coin as everything seems so expensive.  We discussed the different options and I decided to become a weaponsmith, so the dwarf – Krispli is his name – took me to speak to the master of apprentices in the nearby craft hall.

There was such a fuss when krispli saw the tools I had been given and he started pulling stuff out of his pack, ore and ingots and such like.  There’s all sorts of crafting stuff in here including some ovens that set my stomach growling; so I decided to have second breakfast while I waited and read the notes I had been given on how to make blades and such.

Workshop in Bree

By the time I had finished Krispli was just finishing off some shiny new tools for me and there was an elf talking to him.  She looked very pretty, but then elves generally do, it turns out that she is krispli’s travelling companion and her name is Eleangil.  She seems very nice though, she was laughing at Krispli complaining about me being given shoddy tools.

So it was afternoon before I set off for this place called the Lonelands.  Eleangil and Krispli walked part of the way from Bree with me and Krispli showed me how to use my mining pick.  We had a very nice picnic by the road and just as I was getting ready to go they both gave me some more presents and it wasn’t even their birthdays.  Eleangil gave me a lovely new bow that she had made and Krispli gave me some new armour which looks a lot tougher than the stuff I’ve been collecting.

There’s bandits everywhere you go outside of Bree and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more than a few wondering around in Bree, I’m sure those shopkeepers are over-charging.  At first I was surprised to find hobbits here but now it seems that all sorts eventually make their way to Bree.

Hobbits in Bree!

When I was younger Mam told me that hardly anyone ever sees elves but now it seems there’s groups of them everywhere I go and yet it’s us hobbits that people are surprised to see.  I have noticed though that these elves don’t seem to like being stared at, I asked one where I might find a nice elf make vase and she – or perhaps it was a he I can’t really see any difference between male and female elves – looked at me like I was as mad as old Bilbo.

There’s lots of dwarves too, they seem much friendlier although they tend to act all grumpy.  If you start them talking about ale or ore though they’ll tell you lots of interesting things mostly about ale and ore though; don’t mention the price of coal though they moan more about that than Delving hobbits do about pie fillings.

I got chatting to a group of dwarves in the Prancing Pony, well it seems that they usually favour the Ivy Bush at Hobbiton so we had a lovely evening discussing the shire taverns and various brews.  They all agreed that the best taverns are in the shire, I think it’s all to do with the nice clean air you get in the shire.

Anyway it all made me feel a little sad about being away from home for so long, the dwarves noticed and tried to cheer me up by telling me tales of their adventures and asking me why I was so far away from home.  They told me about this inn at the edge of Bree land called the Foresaken Inn, which doesn’t sound terribly inviting; well there’s a long-legs there that collects really old pots and vases from nearby ruins.

I think I might try to make my way there tomorrow it sounds promising.

Got to Bree, it’s very big and crowded and smelly.  There’s so many people and horses that I nearly got flattened walking through the gate.  I went to see the mayor to complain but they are very busy at the moment because of the bandit problems so I’ve decided to just buy a vase and head back to the Shire as

Outside the Prancing pony

soon as I can.  You wouldn’t get this sort of problem in the Shire, we Bounders are so much better at keeping order.

Bree is a very strange place, they seem to have lots of statues of boars everywhere you look.  But that isn’t the strangest thing, you’ll never believe it but there’s hobbits living here.  I don’t know how they manage it, they’ve got to be stranger than all the Brandybucks in Buckland.  They do like to chat though even if they don’t know much about the Shire, I think a few wanted to adopt me as a country cousin.

The Prancing Pony is the main Inn in Bree, it’s not so comfortable as the Ivy Bush and it smells a lot of woodsmoke and the ale is a bit strange tasting but they do have some very generously sized mugs called a ‘pint’.

I haven’t been able to find a vase yet, someone suggested that I should try this place called the Barrows so I’m going to try to get a good night’s sleep and try there tomorrow.