Toby and the Orc

[Virtual Crack Rock]

Chapter One

As the rooster crowed its morning call and the sun crested the horizon, little Toby Proudfoot swung his small, but very dignified, hobbit feet out of bed.

"Today is the day," he said with a grin.

This was no ordinary day, no, not at all. Today was the day for young Toby’s first adventure. This would be the day the name "Proudfoot" was recorded in the history books next to such names as Baggins, Gamgee, Took, and Brandybuck. What exactly young Toby planned to do to get into the history books, he had no idea.

He quickly got dressed and grabbed his small wooden sword, Sting, which he had named after the great blade of Bilbo Baggins. After he belted on his sword he headed for the kitchen to say good-bye to his mother. Two years ago his father had given him Sting, which he had carved himself. Two months later his father had left on a trip to Bree for some outside news. He never returned.

His mother had grieved for months, and sometimes he still thought he heard her crying after she thought he was asleep. As he rounded the corner and entered the kitchen, he saw his mom sitting at the table. She was staring into a cup of tea and he noticed her eyes were wet with tears. Some hobbits would have turned tail and waited for the grief to subside. But not Toby; he was a real gentle-hobbit, just like his dad. He ran to his mom and clutched her in his small arms.

"Oh, Mom, it will be all right," he whispered.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Toby-lad, what would I do without you?" she asked, as she playfully tousled his hair. He smiled and took the seat next to her.

"Well, Mom, it’s finally the day I go on my Big Adventure," he said, with a very stoic face. She only smiled and patted him gently on the shoulder.

"Well, Son, I have something for you. It is for your Big Adventure. I would only use it when you are in great need, though." She got up and went to the counter. She had her back turned to him so that he couldn’t see what she was getting. Finally she came back and laid a large leather pack before him.

"Look inside, Toby," she said with a smile. His eyebrows narrowed and his tongue poked out of his mouth as he fumbled with the small leather strap, trying to relieve the pouch of its contents. Finally, after an awkward bout with the small silver buckle, he hit paydirt. As he folded back the leather flap he saw what was inside. Toby gasped in disbelief.

"Mom, is this what I think it is?"

"Yes, my dearest, that is the Phial that Galadriel gave to Frodo."

He couldn’t believe it! This had to be the greatest gift he had ever received! Well, besides Sting, he thought, as he patted the hilt of his blade without thinking about it.

"But, Mom, I don’t understand. Where did you get this?" If for a moment his mom looked flustered and confused, he didn’t notice.

"I . . . uh . . . well, Toby, I have sworn by the Elven Code not to reveal that," she said finally. He looked at her suspiciously.

"Mom? What Elven Code?"

"Why, the Elven Code of Finrod, of course." His face brightened visibly at this.

"Oh, of course, I should have known," he said, with an air of false authority. "Everyone knows that code. Yes, I wouldn’t tell me either, if I were in your place."

At this his mother had to suppress a giggle with her hand. She was still worried about his Big Adventure. This was the day she had finally agreed he could go and play in the nearby woods. She had been over-protective of the lad, this was known by all of Hobbiton. She was viewed by many as an eccentric, but she didn’t care. She only needed Toby to be happy. The loss of her husband still weighed heavily on her heart. But as long as she had her little Toby, and he was happy, well, then she was content.

She watched her son lovingly as he held the small Phial and looked at it with wonder. Of course she had purchased the bottle last week and had kept it as a surprise. As Toby held the bottle and stared deeply into what was none other than ordinary well-water, he truly believed he could see Earendil’s Star. He leapt to his feet and hugged his mom again.

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Son. Now go out and have a good time, and beware! to all dragons who go out in search of young maidens today! Captain Toby Proudfoot will be your doom!"

He puffed out his chest visibly at this and clutched the hilt of Sting. "Mother, evil will not prevail this day, not while I go forth to meet it." She smiled and shooed the young hero out the door so that she could tidy up the Hobbit-hole.

[Virtual Crack Rock]

Chapter Two

Toby passed quickly and quietly through Hobbiton. A few of the older Hobbits nodded. He knew later they would all whisper and pass rumors about him and his "crazy mom," as she was known to some of the younger, crueler Hobbits. He didn’t care; he knew the truth. So what if people saw her still mourning the loss of her husband? She had the right. If that made her crazy, then so be it. He guessed that made him crazy, too. After all, he did still cry sometimes before he went to sleep. He missed his dad, was all.

As he traveled through a small field just outside of Hobbiton, he imagined he saw legions of undead warriors rushing towards him. Sting leapt from its sheath. It was no longer wood; now it was cold hard steel of cunning Elven design. He grinned with the thought of a fine morning battle. Fools, he thought. There are no more than one hundred, no, ten thousand, of them, definitely no match for my fell sword hand. As they advanced, with his doom proclaimed in their cold, sightless eyes, they drew their pale wraith blades. "Sir Toby, yes, I am a Knight of Gondor, Personal Guard to Aragorn himself," he added as an afterthought. Sir Toby swung Sting about with the cunning skill of a veteran knight. He dropped the blade and looked at it dumbly for a moment. Then he quickly picked it back up as if nothing had happened. He raised Sting above his head, poised for battle.

If you would have seen little Toby just then, you would have chuckled. There stood a figure just under three feet tall. His face was smeared with dirt, like some tribal war-paint. His hair was mussed from running in the wind, and there he was ready to attack thin air. Only it wasn’t thin air to Toby. What stood before him was an entire army sent from Mordor to conquer the Shire. I am the Shire’s only hope, he thought. His eyebrows suddenly came together; he smiled in grim defiance, and the light of battle gleamed in his eyes. "Attack me if you will, foul denizens of Mordor. But know this: I am your bane, and I deliver your doom!" He liked that last phrase, and decided to say it again. "I am your bane, and I deliver your doom!" The black legions of Mordor charged, but they were no match for the veteran Knight. The battle was quick and decisive. Only Toby was left standing. He wiped the sweat from his brow and sheathed Sting. He swept a judgmental eye over his fallen foes. "Not bad for a day’s work, I suppose," he said with authority. He was beginning to get his first hunger pains and realized it was getting close to lunchtime, and that he should probably head back soon. "Oh well, just a quick peek in the woods, and then I’ll head back."

[Virtual Crack Rock]

Chapter Three

As he neared the forest he noticed he was growing tired; he had not slept much the night before, and his sword arm was sore. Well, you can’t slay ten thousand, no, thirty thousand creatures and not feel it. I might be a Knight . . . he thought for a moment. I might be Lord Commander of Aragorn’s Knights, but I’m also still just a Hobbit. Yes, that sounded much better. Finally he was here. He reached out and touched one of the trees. All this time, and finally, I can go into the forest, he thought. Hmmm. Now that I’m here, I don’t want to go in as badly as I thought I did. That’s when he decided to head home.

But when he turned to leave, that’s when he heard the sound. He had never heard a sound quite like that. While it scared him, it also beckoned to him. Whatever it was, it was in pain. When it finally came down to "plain old hobbit-sense," and his curiosity, well, curiosity prevailed. He walked cautiously, moving stealthily from tree to tree. As he walked deeper into the forest, he noticed there was a small clearing. He quietly snuck to the last tree near the clearing and peeked around its trunk. On the far edge of the clearing, near a fallen tree, lay a figure. Something was wrong with its shape. Without realizing it, Toby had drawn out the small Phial and held it tight to his breast. Then he approached the figure. "Hullo, there, Mister, you all right?" Then It rolled over, and Toby screamed. Suddenly he felt very odd and disoriented, and he realized he was going to faint. He looked one last time at the living nightmare and fainted.