The Revived Tolkien Trivia

[HareBrain]

Yes, very helpful of His Tentacleness to give a "clue" which sent everyone in the wrong direction!

My question, which will probably take someone all of thirty seconds to answer, is this: What links a pub chat with a hazardous crossing?

(Edit: before Clansman rushes in and gives an answer I'd never thought of to my sloppily worded question, I should say that the thing that links them is found nowhere else (I believe, though I'm probably wrong knowing me) and I'll want two quotes.)

 

[Clansman]

It also narrows it down to one book...

 

[HareBrain]

Hm, rather more than thirty seconds, then. Everyone seems to have said "pass".

And it might be a good idea to pass over Clanny's last post, since it might be only half true.

 

[Werewoman]

Oh, what the hell....I can make a fool of myself as well as the next person, right?


I'm going to guess Weathertop - it's the only thing I can think of that was between The Dancing Pony and Frodo's mad dash across the river to Rivendell after being stabbed by the Nazgul.

Then there was the ring as well - Frodo used it in the pub and again on Weathertop so there's another link that crossed my mind...

If I'm on the right track, I'll search up the quotes, otherwise....I punt

 

[Grimward]

Not sure that everyone said "pass" so much as "I'm too blasted busy with Christmas stuff to have proper TQT search time", HB.

I thought I was onto something yesterday, but I focused on "Dragon" instead of "Pass". Reconsidered, there are a number of possibilities. I think I will deliberately shoot a little wide here (unless, of course, this is what you were looking for, but it seems extreme, as you will see...), just to see what others come up with; all you asked for was a link between a pub chat and a hazardous crossing, so....

Then he called those tidings good; for the dragon lay at Cabed-en-Aras, where the river ran in a deep and narrow gorge that a hunted deer might overleap, and Turambar thought that he would seek no further, but would attempt to pass over the gorge.

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXI, Of Turin Turambar, p. 221.

Interestingly, The Children of Húrin uses 'passage' and 'passed' in the corresponding chapter (The Death of Glaurung), but not 'pass' to describe Cabed-en-Aras.

And the link to the pub chat? A familiar one....

But to resist any attempt from the East to regain the lands of Angmar and the northern passes in the mountains there were now only the Dwarves of the Iron Hills.

From Gandalf's pre-Thorin Oakenshield chat rumination, where he "stayed at Bree", presumably in The Prancing Pony, in...

The Return of the King, Appendix A, Part III, Durin's Folk, p. 1052

Of course, since 'pass' isn't actually used in the chat itself, there are any number of liberties taken here, where the reason for the chat and the dialogue of the chat itself are not specifically indicated by your challenge....

(Read: angling for clarity on "pass" and the specific pub chat....this should open the door for several other such word links....in the Spirit of Christmas let no one say that I'm above sharing)

 

[HareBrain]

Werewoman, you're a bit off the mark there. Grim, a noble effort. But remember that in my challenge (or the edit to the challenge) I said that the linking quality/thing is found nowhere else?

In fact I have now found one other occurrence, which I believe to be it within the books allowed, so to satisfy my own sense of completeness I shall amend the question:

What links a pub chat, a hazardous crossing, and a journey to an isolated dwelling?

(I still only want quotes supporting the first two.)

Fair point about Christmas; some people clearly have strange priorities . I'll hold off giving any more clues unless they're asked for.

 

[Werewoman]

You mean there's more than one Weathertop??

 

[goldhawk]

You mean there's more than one Weathertop??

I think he means there's more than one crossing. There's the crossing of the Midgemarshes, the crossing of the Last Bridge, and the crossing of the Loudwater. And possibly others. That's if, of course, the pub is the Prancing Pony and the isolated dwelling is Rivendell.

 

[HareBrain]

Right, Christmas is over now. Get to work!

Just a small hint, after all that Weathertop/Rivendell stuff, "links" can mean something other than a physical connection. As in the sense, "what do they have in common?"

 

[Grimward]

That's no help; I've been working that angle all along!

Fine. Another tracer shot wide of the mark, even though it ignores the fact that Clanny was only "half right".

Just then all the others came round the corner of the road from the village. They were on ponies, and each pony was slung about with all kinds of baggages, packages, parcels, and paraphernalia.

(Outside The Green Dragon Inn, as the dwarves greet the "very puffed" Bilbo.)

The Hobbit, Chapter II, Roast Mutton, p. 29

And that was the last time that they used the ponies, packages, baggages, tools and paraphernalia that they had brought with them.

The Crossing of the Misty Mountains

The Hobbit, Chapter IV, Over Hill and Under Hill, p.55

"As soon as we were asleep," went on Gandalf, "a crack at the back of the cave opened; goblins came out and grabbed the hobbit and the dwarves and our troop of ponies - "

Gandalf, telling the tale of the Hazardous Crossingof the Misty Mountains to Beorn at Beorn's Lodge, Isolated Dwelling #1

The Hobbit, Chapter VII, Queer Lodgings, p. 111

Then darkness fell as he passed again. The ponies screamed with terror, burst their ropes and galloped wildly off. The dragon swooped and turned to pursue them, and was gone.

Outside the secret door on The Lonely Mountain, Isolated Dwelling#2

The Hobbit, Chapter XII, Inside Information, p.197

Even gave you 4 quotes with "ponies", an extra Isolated Dwelling, and quotes for each dwelling. Sticking straightly to your guidelines, HB, the first 2 quotes describing the Pub Chat and the Hazardous Crossing are also linked by baggages, packages, parcels, and paraphernalia, as well as ponies. Tis an extra wide shot with the intention of reigning this one in a bit.....

 

[HareBrain]

Grim, I cannot remain unmoved by such heroic efforts, so I will tell you that you have the correct pub, the correct crossing, and the correct isolated dwelling (though I'm not saying which of your two it is), but the wrong connection. If you read my other posts/clues again you'll see why it can't be any of the things you mention.

This should now be easy, so extra self-satisfaction-points for all three quotes!

 

[Grimward]

I'm "kicking" myself!!!!

'All right,' said Sam, laughing with the rest. 'But what about these Tree-men, these giants, as you might call them? They do say that one bigger than a tree was seen up away beyond the North Moors not long back.'

The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter II, The Shadow of the Past, p. 43

When he peeped out in the lightning flashes, he saw that across the valley the stone-giants were out, and were hurling rocks at one another for a game, and catching them, and tossing them down into the darkness where they smashed among the trees far below, or splintered into little bits with a bang.

The Hobbit, Chapter IV, Over Hill and Under Hill, p. 54

Some say that he is a bear descended from the great and ancient bears of the mountains that lived there before the giants came.

The Hobbit, Chapter VII, Queer Lodgings, p. 106

'Giants' respectfully submitted as the link, then.....

 

[HareBrain]

Hurray! Well done, Grim! And here's a stone giant's bell, made of granite and approximately two hundred tons in weight, and, sadly, quite useless. The floor is yours.

 

[Pyan]

...sadly, quite useless

I don't know...it'd be handy hanging outside the Gates of Moria, to alert Dwarves four levels down and seven halls over that the Eru's Witnesses were calling with pamphlets..

 

[Grimward]

*muffled sound from within giant bell*

Hey! Let me out!

*Receiving no answer, the side of the bell begins to heat up, and the shape of a rune appears. The fiery one escapes thru the Gap created by the rune*

And this time, it (see below) DOESN'T stand for Gandalf....

*Eru's witnesses ask for a donation*

Great. I should've stayed in the bell!

*Grabs the massive bin over in the corner marked "Incorrect Submissions" and floats it over to the EWs with a thermal*

What?!! They just asked for a donation....they weren't specific...

While they're busy, I will take my queue from HB. This may be easy, but I like its ring:

Two trees are linked, in short book and long,
Once by command, again in a song

Solve, solve away, distinguished colleagues!

 

[Pyan]

Alder and Willow?

Fear no alder black! Heed no hoary willow!
Fear neither root nor bough! Tom goes on before you.

A command, from Tom Bombadil, after rescuing Merry and Pippin from Old Man Willow.

The long book: FotR - Book I - Chapter VI - The Old Forest

Lullaby! Lullaby! Alder and Willow!
Sigh no more Pine, till the wind of the morn!

A song, by the Elves in Rivendell, on Bilbo's return from Erebor...

The short book: The Hobbit - Chapter 19 - The Last Stage

 

[Clansman]

My goodness. Grim, I think you just dislocated something.

Gasp! I really must remember to check what page I am on before posting.

Does Pyan get a ringing, New Year's Bell? Nice wings, Py!

 

[Grimward]

He does indeed, Clanny sir! Knew he couldn't resist it when I mentioned song!

Mr. Py, a hearty congrats first of all on your Super Moderatorship (one of the honorifics for said title will now, of course, be "Your Greenness"). And yes, a brand spanking new, shiny New Year's Bell is awarded to His Greenness, along with the floor!

Py, Marky, Clanny, HB, WW, Cece, GH and all earlier posters to this thread, I'd like to thank you all for helping to lighten what in some respects was a rather dark year for me, and extend my best wishes to you all for a Happy, Healthy, Tolkien-Filled 2009!

 

[Pyan]

Mr. Py, a hearty congrats first of all on your Super Moderatorship (one of the honorifics for said title will now, of course, be "Your Greenness"). And yes, a brand spanking new, shiny New Year's Bell is awarded to His Greenness, along with the floor!

Thank you, thank you...

...my best wishes to you all for a Happy, Healthy, Tolkien-Filled 2009!

Heartily concur, and wish everyone the same.

Now, why would the Elves not like a Frenchman to mention Paris?

 

[Werewoman]

He does indeed, Clanny sir! Knew he couldn't resist it when I mentioned song!

Mr. Py, a hearty congrats first of all on your Super Moderatorship (one of the honorifics for said title will now, of course, be "Your Greenness"). And yes, a brand spanking new, shiny New Year's Bell is awarded to His Greenness, along with the floor!

Py, Marky, Clanny, HB, WW, Cece, GH and all earlier posters to this thread, I'd like to thank you all for helping to lighten what in some respects was a rather dark year for me, and extend my best wishes to you all for a Happy, Healthy, Tolkien-Filled 2009!

Py originally informed me of this thread, and frankly, I thought I knew Tolkien better than most people, but upon reading some of the answers, I am immediately humbled and in awe of your superior knowledge.

How many times have you turkeys read them anyway?? Geez! What, you keep a stack next to the loo to entertain yourself while having your morning constitutional?

Don't answer that question, okay.....