When the three young hobbits entered the long and quiet hall at the back of Elrond's house, Old Bilbo Baggins looked up from his doze by the fire and beamed with delight. "Frodo, my lad! How wonderful to see you!" Bilbo held out both hands to his nephew; Frodo took them and bent down over his uncle's chair to give him a kiss on the cheek. Bilbo returned the kiss, then looked beyond Frodo at the other two hobbits. "And Merry and Pippin--hello! Whatever brings you lads to Rivendell? I thought you went back to the Shire months ago."
"We did," said Frodo, "but we came out again to return to Minas Tirith."
"Frodo's been solving a murder or two for the King," Merry added. "We're just on our way home now."
These comings and goings appeared to confuse the elderly hobbit, though he took great interest in all the adventures they'd been having, was very proud of Frodo's success as a detective, and insisted that Frodo write it all down. He asked after Sam, and whether or not the gold he'd sent as a wedding present had been received. He was delighted to hear about the new baby. It was harder, however, to make Bilbo understand that Saradoc Brandybuck had died and Merry was now Master of the Hall; as far as Bilbo was concerned, his contemporary, Old Rory, was Master still.
Frodo found it heartbreaking to see his uncle, whom he had always considered the cleverest hobbit in the Shire, with his wits wandering so. While Bilbo still showed occasional glints of his old sharpness, his mental condition had obviously grown worse since Frodo's previous visit to Rivendell. That nearly incoherent letter he'd received last spring should have warned him. Bilbo was 115 now, nearly 116--an age few hobbits attained. Gandalf had said that Elrond's skill as a healer would sustain Bilbo until it was time for them to go to the West, but that day was rapidly drawing near.
When Bilbo grew tired, he ended the conversation by simply dropping off to sleep. Once his head drooped, the young hobbits rose quietly from their seats on the floor around Bilbo's chair and went out. They did not say a word to each other as they exited. They'd had little opportunity to talk privately during their long ride from Minas Tirith, since Gandalf had come with them so far, and now that they were alone together, didn't know what to say.
It had been a tense and awkward journey for the trio. Even though he and Merry had little chance even for a kiss or cuddle along the way, Frodo felt self-conscious and apologetic whenever he noticed how Pippin was watching them. He didn't want to flaunt. In fact, he would have retreated tactfully and left Merry to Pippin if his cousins had shown any sign of wanting to reunite, but Merry kept Pippin carefully at arms-length, and Pippin didn't seem to be angry or jealous about this cool treatment; instead, he looked oddly abashed, as if he were the one who'd done something wrong and had the most reason to feel guilty.
Gandalf met them on the latticed veranda outside the hall. "I've been looking all over for you. Chambers have been made ready for you near Bilbo's. You've been given three rooms--you may arrange things as you like amongst yourselves. There is also a courier leaving tomorrow morning for the Gray Havens. If you wish to send messages to the Shire and tell them of your return, he will carry them for you." They would only stay in Rivendell for a few days, but it would be at least three more weeks before they reached Buckland and the borders of the Shire. A swift Elven horse would cover the same distance much more quickly than their ponies.
But before Frodo could go on to find his room, the wizard put a hand on his shoulder and added, "I've had a few words with Lord Elrond, Frodo. He wishes to see you this afternoon, and hear your tale of the death of Elspar."
Merry and Pippin waited for him farther down the veranda. "Well?" asked Merry when Frodo joined them. "How do you want to 'arrange things amongst ourselves'?"
Frodo realized that they were asking him to make the decision, and he made the most diplomatic choice. "I think we each ought to have our own rooms," he answered. "It's best, under the circumstances, until we can sort things out."
"I don't know what you mean," Merry said pointedly. "It's already been sorted out."
This made Pippin look penitent and he brushed past them swiftly, head down, and mumbled something about taking the room at the end of the hall and "getting out of your way."
"You don't need to treat him like that, Merry," Frodo said after Pippin had gone.
"Yes, I do," Merry retorted. "It's better that I keep him away from me. If I don't, we'll only be right back where we were when we left off. Everything'll be just as it was before, and I won't go through that again. I can't." His eyes grew sad, and Frodo saw how hard this was for him to do, but he was determined to do it. "I have to be Master of the Hall, as Father would want. And Pip will have to do as his family wants, sooner or later. I'm going to write Mother and Uncle Merry and tell them I'm on my way home." Then he asked, "What about you, Frodo? Will you write to Sam?"
Frodo nodded. "But I don't think I'll tell him- ah- everything. I can't explain what's happened in a letter." He wasn't certain what he was going to tell Sam when he did go home. The truth would be difficult, and painful.
"Are you going back to live at Bag End?"
"No, not right away. I'll have to gather my things and have a talk with Sam, but I plan to stay awhile in Buckland to be near you and see you settled in as Master. You'll need your friends about you, and if you won't have Pippin, you'll need me all the more."
Hearing this, Merry gave him a small smile. "Yes, I will." He held out a hand, and Frodo took it. They went to find their rooms.
"But I won't live at the Hall," Frodo continued. "I want peace and quiet to finish my book. I'll take one of the cottages. Crickhollow, if it's empty. After that..." He didn't know. He couldn't see that far ahead.
After Frodo had settled his belongings into the room next to Bilbo's and written a short note to send to Sam, he sought out Elrond. As he went around the house and the gardens, plazas, and gazebos that surrounded it, he saw how much Rivendell had changed since he'd been here last. The master of Rivendell was preparing to leave, and many Elves had already gone to the West ahead of him. The great halls were silent and the courtyards once filled with people were now empty.
He found Elrond in the lower hall at the front of his house, again in conference with Gandalf. "We've been discussing Bilbo's journey to the West, and yours too, Frodo," said Elrond once he had welcomed the hobbit to his home. "Have you seen Bilbo since your arrival?"
"Yes, I've just spoken with him." Frodo answered solemnly. "He's sinking, isn't he?"
"His mind and strength of body are not what they once were," Elrond affirmed. "The power of the Ring sustained him beyond the normal years of your kind, and now that it is destroyed, he ages rapidly. He must go to the West soon--and will go, under my protection. We plan to leave a year from now in the autumn. You may come with us, Frodo. Gandalf has told me of my daughter's gift to you."
In spite of Bilbo's fading condition, Frodo hadn't expected to hear that they would be leaving so soon. "And if I'm not ready-?" While he was grateful for the opportunity to go the Undying Lands, he'd begun to feel much better since Arwen had given him her token. He thought he'd be able to stay on in Middle-earth for many years more. "Must I give up my chance if I don't want to leave yet?"
"No," Elrond assured him. "You may come later, if that is your wish. Though I will go soon, Elves will remain on these shores for some years to come--longer than the life of a hobbit. When you are ready, you have only to travel to the Gray Havens beyond the western borders of your homeland, beyond the Downs and the White Towers. You will be taken then to the Undying Lands."
"And I will wait, and accompany you," said Gandalf.
"You, Gandalf?" Frodo hadn't realized. "You're going to the West too?"
"It is where I come from," the wizard answered. "My time here is also done. I have seen Aragorn through the early days of his reign and given my counsel when asked for it, but he doesn't need me to guide him... any more than you do, Frodo. You will go on and do very well at whatever work you do, for as long as you choose to stay in the Shire. But I think you will be glad of the company of an old friend when you travel to a new land."
Frodo smiled in relief, and agreed that he would, very much.
After this, Gandalf left him to speak with Elrond alone. "I've also heard about your work, Frodo," Elrond said dryly. "You have a talent for finding out that was said to happen in the past, isn't so."
Frodo knew the half-Elven lord wasn't referring to his recent investigations in Minas Tirith, but the work he'd done last year, when he'd looked into the death of Lady Aredhel in Gondolin and had discovered that her murderer was not her husband Eol, as tradition had had it for thousands of years. The truth behind the Lady's death was not one that Lord Elrond, as a descendant of King Turgon, would find pleasing.
"Gandalf tells me that you've made a discovery in Minas Tirith that concerns me," Elrond continued.
"Yes, my lord. It has to do with two Elves who were once in your service, long ago. Elspar Olorodin and Dadenmiel." Frodo saw that Elrond was immediately interested when he heard the names. "I'm afraid it's bad news."
He told Elrond how Elspar's body had been found in the sealed tunnel beneath the citadel, and how his odd dreams of the Elf's ghost and his research in the city's library had led him to find who had put it there. He tried to give Elrond the brooch with the green gem, but Elrond would not take it.
"It is not meant for me," he said. "I see now why Gandalf speaks so highly of your talents, Frodo. He does not exaggerate. It is interesting to hear how you gather your pieces of information and assemble them to find the truth--but in this instance, there is one important piece you are missing. If you come this even-tide to the gallery above, I will provide that last piece."
That evening after a quiet dinner with Bilbo and his cousins, Frodo went up to the gallery as arranged. Elrond wasn't there, but another Elf sat in the dimly-lit corner behind the statue which once held the broken sword Narsil, eyes closed as if he were asleep. The Elf looked pain-wracked and withered, as if he'd been tortured in mind and body. His hair was ash-white and his skin parchment-thin stretched over prominent bones, but Frodo recognized him instantly: this was the Elf from his dreams.
The Elf's appearance came as a surprise: Arwen had said that Dadenmiel was a young Elf like herself, born since the beginning of the Third Age, and he should therefore appear to be as youthful as she. Something terrible must have happened to age him so frightfully before his time.
Frodo hesitated shyly by the statue, not wishing to wake the Elf if he were asleep, when the Elf spoke: "I've been awaiting you, Little One, if you are the periannath my lord Elrond told me would meet me here." And then he opened his eyes to find the hobbit standing before him.
"Yes, I am he," Frodo answered. "And you are Dadenmiel, Elspar Olorodin's companion?"
"No," the Elf answered, "I am Elspar. From the tale you bring, I fear it is Dadenmiel who is dead."
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