Uncle Bilbo? I was reading your book, and I had a question...

Uncle Bilbo? I was reading your book, and I had a question. It took me and my friends less than a month to get from the Shire to Rivendell. And that was after taking a detour through the Old Forest, and then taking a long detour wandering through on foot through trackless wilderness, being stabbed, and slowing down enormously.

Meanwhile, when you went on your journey with the Dwarves, you started in late April, and didn't get to Rivendell on Midsummer's Eve, despite having no reason to leave the roads and ample provisions.

It took you almost twice as long to reach the valley. What were you DOING on that journey?

2 words, dwarven orgies

Dwarfs have stubby legs

It's been a while since I've read any of the books, but if I'm not mistaken Frodo and friends actually took the shorter route through Moria. They wanted to go south first, around the mountains but that was deemed too dangerous due to Sauruman fucking about.

That wasn't the case when Bilbo went on his journey. Or did Bilbo go through Moria too? I honestly can't recall.

I was trying to fit the ring through my dickhole.

I succeeded

Read the post, he said "Shire to Rivendell".
Rivendell is before the Misty Mountains, and thus Moria.

You had four other hobbits, a horse, and an experienced Ranger. Along with the need to rush as fast as possible.

He had 13 dwarves, their tons of supplies, 14 ponies, and no need to rush.

>Rivendell is before the Misty Mountains
Fuck, you're right. I mixed up Rivendell and Lothlorien.

I don't think Bilbo ever went to Lothlorien.
He went to the Misty Mountains and got trapped in the Goblin/Orc caves, which may or may not be Moria, though.

>He went to the Misty Mountains and got trapped in the Goblin/Orc caves, which may or may not be Moria, though.

It's not. See Pic related.


They went through the High Pass, quite a bit north of Redhorn Pass that the Fellowship tried to use, or Moria when that failed.

Bilbo and the dwarves weren't being chased.

I know they tried a different pass, but my "May or may not be" was because Dwarven Settlements might be fuck-huge and run down the length of the Misty Mountains.

I don't know enough to say either way.

Moria is mentioned to be beneath three mountains, Celebdil, Caradhras and Fanuidhol. It doesn't extend that far north.

Fair enough

Plus Bilbo's journey took place just under a century before Frodo's. Odds are good there were fewer roads leading that way back then as well so there was probably more cross country.

And you can DEFINITELY tell they weren't in any hurry in The Hobbit, they take a pretty leisurely pace, Bilbo makes plenty of comments about picturesque hills rolling by and summer meadows and how this adventuring lark might not be as bad as he feared.

GIven that the state of civilization seems to be in constant retreat in Arnor before Aragorn ascends the throne, you'd think things would be in better shape, not worse.

But that is before he got the ring.

Maybe, but the Dwarves reclaiming Erebor must have had some kind of effect. Trade routes at the least.

When the Necromancer arose, his evil was so great it gave the sun and moon pause, and slowed their progress across the sky.

Days and nights are just slower than they were back in Bilbo's day. Why d'you think Hobbits have eleven meals of the day, because they're greedy? It's on account of them having 96 hour days to push through.

I'm fairly certain Arnor had more or less completed its decline. If anything Angmar was likely more recent to folks from the area than Arnor was. So things were probably about as bad either way. With Sauron returning in LotR though, the dark things of the world became more active.

Not west of the Misty Mountains.

I could have sworn hearing somewhere in the chapter in Bree having Barliaman (or someone) saying that the roads have gotten worse still, but I don't have my copy in front of me to be sure.

Must be very awkward since you don't know whether they're male or female until the last moment before insertion.