III OF DODINAS AND DINODAS

Little is known of Dodinas Took and his younger brother Dinodas ere they left the Shire, though it is known that Dodinas meet Bilbo Baggins in the Prancing Pony in Bree. He asked a boon of Bilbo, and gladly Bilbo lent them no small portion of the treasure he had won from trolls. How the trolls were turned to stone and this treasure won is told in other tales.

Dodinas and Dinodas took the money and left for Wilderland to establish an inn. They met Beorn, who was greatly amused by them, and granted them permission to found an inn close to his house, which they named the Easterly Inn.

It was at this time that the great toy market of Dale was re-established, and a great many toys were made in newly-reclaimed Erebor. By the encouragement of Borri the young dwarf, Dodinas commissioned a set of such toys, which recreated the escape of Thorin’s Company from the wolves. The ingenuity of the Dwarves was such that two players might compete against each other with these toys using carefully written rules.

The shipment of toys was sent through Esgaroth, where Irminsul, a councillor of the Lake-men, was given it to his charge. Irminsul had been a trader in Dorwinion wine and had recently been elected to the council. He assembled together many of the Fellowship of Mirkwood and would travel with them to see to the safety of the box in person.

He was joined by Amalina of the Woodmen, Elanor of the Dúnedain, Halfdan of Dale, Valin Brandbeard of Erebor, and Idril of Dol Amroth. Idril was a knight of Gondor and a Guard of the Tower; and had been sent to Esgaroth as part of an embassy from Turgon, Steward of Gondor, as a sign of good will, to build bonds of friendship between the North and the South.

After much disagreement, they set off with a fisherman, who would take them on his boat to the Old Forest Road, though he liked not the race of Dwarves. In a moment of madness, Valin the Dwarf thought the fisherman insulted him, and that Dwarves should build magnificent boats of stone instead of sailing on mannish boats of wood. The fisherman thought Valin had gone mad, and demanded he get off the boat, but Valin instead threw the fisherman into the Celduin where he may have drowned, had he not been saved by Valin’s companions.

The fisherman cursed the party, and they set off into Mirkwood under an ominous pall. They did not know then that the fisherman was the grand-uncle of Jonar, which would cause much strife.

It came to be that they passed weary through Mirkwood, for they could not catch any food save for the black squirrels, which tasted foul, and were forced to travel around obstacles set out for them by the Beast of Mirkwood. When they were almost out of the forest, the trees in great anger wove their magic upon them, bringing all save Halfdan into a great sleep. The roots of the forest rose up against them and though Halfdan laboured to protect his sleeping companions, they would all have been slain if not for the Wizard Radagast who chanced by, though Halfdan knew him not.

Radagast bade the trees to subside their malice for a time, and the Fellowship were saved, though he left despairing at the party who had blundered through Mirkwood. Soon afterwards, they came across the Easterly Inn and there presented Dodinas with the magnificent toy set, and Elanor brought Dodinas much happiness by playing a game with him, which she won. It came to be revealed that Dinodas had been meant to go to the Shire and back again, to fetch vital supplies, though he had not yet returned and was much delayed. This troubled Dodinas and the Fellowship, and they agreed to set off towards the Misty Mountains in search of Dinodas, though not before they rested at the inn for several days, for they had been greatly wearied by their travels.

It was at this time that the Celecrist of the Dúnedain heard rumour of a pale figure who stalked Mirkwood in search of something precious. It was said in the markets of Esgaroth that the Woodmen believed the figure hunted them, and that it drank their blood.

Celecrist was impatient, and strode off into Mirkwood to hunt the figure, of which he knew very little. None know why, but he left for the Woodland Realms, where no Woodmen lived. There he met Aerandir of the Silvan Elves, who could tell him but little of this figure.

“There is no such creature in these realms, and my king would not have us venture so far from our realm just to hunt down one lone fiend who troubles naught but some villages of the Woodmen. Pray tell though if you know of Elanor, or Nînfîniel as she is now known to us?”

Celecrist knew Elanor, for they had journeyed together and were both of the race of Dúnedain. He learned then how she had fallen in the Enchanted Stream, and how Aerandir despaired that all grace that once lived within the line of Númenor was utterly spent.

Celecrist knew his errand to hunt the pale figure was to bear no fruit and made to return to Esgaroth, though he was captured and bound up by spiders on his return, to be rescued only by Aerandir, who despaired even further for the blood of Númenor. Celecrist returned to Esgaroth with raft-Elves, singing songs of Nînfîniel which impressed the Elves not.

Once in Esgaroth, he realised there was little else for him to do there that might help protect the free peoples of Middle Earth, and so resolved to return home, and travel once more across Mirkwood. It was on this journey though that he encountered the Beast of Mirkwood. He made to stealth past the Beast, though the Beast could not so easily be outwitted, and would have slain him, had not Celecrist revealed the heirlooms of his royal forebears. The Beast was filled with great fear and ran, though he vowed to wreak a great vengeance on the entire race of the Dúnedain.

After he had fled from the forest, Celecrist too came upon the Easterly Inn, and rejoiced, for he had a great fondness for hobbits. He joined there with the others of the Fellowship, and they set off for the Misty Mountains to find the missing Dinodas.

Dinodas was found together with his guards from Bree in an old ring fort at the foothills of the Misty Mountains, long since abandoned. They assumed watchful positions and found a hidden passageway inside the old fort, though they could not find the means to block it off. Then a war-party of Goblins laid siege to them, and in despair, some among Dinodas’ guards would have surrendered, were it not for the great speech of Idril, which resounded in their hearts and bade them to fight.

Battle was joined, and though many goblins were slain by arrows, Celecrist was injured by a great many spears, ere Valin Brandbeard smote the goblin leader, Uburhz, to death with his mattock. Elanor had been standing by the passageway, though hobbits are skilled at disappearing quickly and quietly, and she saw not that Dinodas fled in fear through the passageway during the battle. He was quickly captured by the goblins, who took him to their lair amidst the foul tunnels beneath the mountains.

The Fellowship followed the goblins into those tunnels and it was Halfdan who made his way by stealth into the goblin lair and there found Dinodas who had been chained and forced to cook for the goblin’s feast. Halfdan found hammer and chisel amongst the goblin’s smithy but could not strike apart Dinodas’ chain. This attempt alerted the guards outside, though they were slain quickly by the rest of the Fellowship ere they could raise an alarm.

Irminsul imitated Dinodas’ voice to fool the goblins when more guards called across the tunnels so that they might buy more time. It was Valin then who freed Dinodas, splitting the chain with the hammer and chisel, and though Dinodas was keen for vengeance, the party returned whence they came, and left the goblins to their feast.

Dodinas and Dinodas were overjoyed to reunite in the Easterly Inn, and their fears were eased when the Fellowship promised to pass word to Gailavira at Woodmen-Town about the goblin caves. Gailavira would lead a band of Woodmen herself into the caves and slay many goblins that the mountains might be made safe.