Throg's Lotro Journal 30 April 2007: A Sojourn In The Shire.

In order to get to Bree-Land from Ered Luin Throg had to pass through the gentle land of the Shire. The Shire is a scenic haven populated mainly by hobbits. While hobbits are of normal stature they appear to be in general less muscular than dwarves and you couldn't imagine a hobbit having the strength to wield a battle axe. The good hobbits of the shire showed great hospitality to our dwarven friend and he can certainly attest to the merits of their pies and ale. Throg was less taken with the obsessive smoking of pipeweed. Certain older dwarves have taken to the habit but when a friendly tavern-keep tempted Throg to try a pipe of his finest weed poor Throg was given to coughing and spluttering for a good five minutes. Once the coughing subsided the vapours from the pipe did engender a certain mellow calm and gave Throg a new insight into why the hobbits are such a peaceloving folk.

Mellow calm is all very well for farmer hobbits but not the stuff for a dwarf champion in search of treasure and adventure. Compared to the rugged mountainous beauty of Ered Luin the shire is a scenic rustic idyll. Far from the goblins, bears and bandits that one encounters in the wilds of his homeland the most dangerous creatures Throg had to deal with in the Shire were a swarm of stinging gnats. The Shire is a beautiful place to rest awhile but Throg chose not to stay too long for fear that such peaceful calm (not to mention the ale and pipeweed) would dull his adventurer's instincts.

Throg could not concieve of any great adventure starting in this oasis of tranquillity. At the back of his mind he recalls some reference to a hobbit who assisted the great Thorin Okenshield in the defeat of the dreadful dragon Smaug. It sounds unlikely. Perhaps his recollection is flawed. As a lad he always paid more attention to the battles and treasure than to the bit players in these stories. In truth Throg could not conceive of any great tale of stirring adventure starting off in this peaceful place.

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