"RING OF DARKNESS" by Nick Perumov
A continuation of J.R.R.Tolkien’s "Lord of the Rings" – Middle-Earth 300 years later.
Book 1: "The Elven Blade"
Summary by Nadya Neklioudova. Version 1. Free translation; I tried as best as I could to keep up with the style but I apologize if it doesn't match or sound right... And please excuse all spelling mistakes, they will be corrected.
This is only a translation-summary of the book by a fan, for fans. It is written by Nick Perumov, as stated above. Published in Russian by "Severo-Zapad" ("North-West") in St-Petersburg, Russia in 1993. Please don’t sue me, I gave all the credits and I’m not copying the work, I’m only translating/summarizing it. But if anyone finds any copyright infringement on this and wants this offline immediately – please send email to kaoru-k@usa.net and I will take it off immediately unless some great disaster happens, but please don’t sue me. I AM NOT MAKING ANY MONEY OF ANY KIND OFF THIS. This is only a free translation/summary for fans, by a fan. And please don’t copy my work and say it’s yours either, or I’ll sue you. :)
Part 1
Chapter 3: "Beyond the Turn" (SUMMARY)
The dwarf woke up himself and woke Folco up, saying that he should be leaving Buckland today, going to Bree then to Annuminas, and asking to buy a pony from Folco’s Uncle Paladin. Uncle Paladin sells a pony to Thorin, again getting double the market price for it. Thorin packs up, packs the captured Nidding with him, and leaves, thanking Folco for his hospitality and the chance to read some of the Red Book, and that it’s too bad that Folco can’t travel with him. Thorin then leaves, saying "it’s too bad hobbits aren’t more adventurous". (Translator’s Note: it’s kind of a hard expression to translate, um, that will have to do for now... it’s more like "...hobbits are people who sit at home too much")
Folco goes back to his room, only to be pestered by daydreams of journeys, then his Uncle Paladin. His Uncle tells him to get himself together and take the turnips to the market. Folco wonders why he should listen to Uncle Paladin while Thorin can freely go off on an adventure, and decides not to obey his Uncle and pack up instead. Uncle Paladin blows up, saying a true Brandybuck should never disobey his elders, and yells at Folco to go and load the turnips on the cart.
Folco instead tells Uncle Paladin in a calm voice to stop yelling at him and go load the turnips himself if he wants to. Uncle Paladin goes crazy and rushes to Folco, about to slap him, but Folco stands back and points his sword at him, telling him that he’s had enough of turnips and being slapped around, and that he’s leaving and "goodbye". With this, the young hobbit tosses the bag with his belongings over his shoulder, walks past Uncle Paladin who appears to be frozen with astonishment, and proceeds to the kitchen. Folco gets some food, walks past his uncle again, takes the best pony out of the stable, and leaves, going past a group of local hobbits who don’t dare stop such a warlike hobbit like him. (who said hobbits weren't adventurous?)
Folco leaves, going on the East Road, pursued by the ancient Brandybuck alarm, which he dismisses.
Folco soon reached the Hedge, and the borders of the Shire. He passes through the Gates, with the Brandywine Bridge to his left and an old sign that reads in the Elvish and Common Tongues: "Here lies the land of the free Hobbits, under the protection of the Northern Crown. I command: may the foot of a Man not cross this border, now or in the ages hereafter, and may the Shire be ruled by its people only. Should the need arise for a Man to speak with a Hobbit – he may come to the Bridge of Baranduin River, send a letter by Shire mail, and await an answer at an inn. Given in the Fifth Year of the Fourth Age, Annuminas, with the hand of Elessar the Elfstone, King of Arnor and Gondor." (Translator’s Note: a plague on Aragorn and his formal language... :) )
Folco stands near the Bridge, with the Old Forest and the Barrow-Downs (the areas around which are being re-settled after having been abandoned for ages, or so Folco hears) to the East. Folco joins a hobbit string of carts – so he wouldn’t have to ride on the East Road alone. The hobbits on the carts tell him that "strange things started happening since two years ago. Strange men attacked, robbed and killed people on the Road – Hobbits and Men alike. The hobbit elders sent a plea to the King’s Steward in Annuminas, he sent his men. The Arnorians caught a few of them, it was quieter again, but even now one can sometimes find a dead body on the roadside... Since then hobbits travel this Road to Bree and back only in groups."
Folco found the carts’ pace too slow after a while, and bravely rides ahead of them through the evening mist, only to find what the hobbits warned him about – a cold, dead hobbit body on the roadside. The poor fellow has a deep gash across his forehead. The frightened Folco makes a marker on the road, so someone can give the hobbit a proper burial.
Folco rides on as evening falls and the sun sets, and soon he hears the same long, wailing howl he heard from his warm, comfortable room in Brandy Hall. The pony, as well as the hobbit, start getting wary and ride on. Folco remembers the elven song of Elbereth, and sings it, while helplessly wondering what happened to the poor dead hobbit on the road behind. He decides he would tell the Bree-landers about the body.
Night completely fell on Middle-Earth, when Folco finds a surprised Thorin on the Road at last. The hobbit, panicked, tells Thorin of the body he found and the howl he heard, as they approach the Barrow-Downs. Suddenly they hear voices singing sadly and monotonously, from no other place than the Barrow-Downs! Thorin and Folco hide in the roadside dirt and watch many riders and carts pass by them, going into the Barrow-Downs and singing. As the people disappear into the Downs, Folco notices that the nearest Stone on one of the hills starts glowing with a red light, followed by the other Stones!
The hobbit and the dwarf don’t like this one bit, and get the heck out of there. They finally reach Bree, and Thorin pays at the gates to be allowed through.
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