[Child of the 7th Age]

Helen,

You have a point about mustiness. I can easily get rid of the key with a bit of an edit, and have Sam remember how carefully Rose had cared for the things in the wardrobe.

First, as to how the wardrobe got there, ..... When Frodo inherited Bag-end, Bilbo had obviously left all his things there except for the little he took and the clever mathoms which he gave to his friends. Some of these things left behind in Bag-end would have been family heirlooms. When Frodo made the decision to leave the Shire, he probably got all these old family treasures together and tucked them carefully in the wardrobe in the second-best bedroom (Sam's and Rose's bedroom at that point), and casually told Sam and Rose they were welcome to use anything there.

After Frodo left for the West, Rose probably went through these things and was surprised at what was there. They probably did use a number of the household items, but I think they might have saved those things which were extrememly personal.

The dress is definitely a family heirloom...and personal. It is the dress that Bilbo's mother wore on the day of her wedding. There is a haertfelt note with it which his mother Belladonna Took wrote shortly before her death, wishing Bilbo all the best things in life and asking him to keep the gown and share it with the woman he will marry and later with his own daughters or daughters-in-law. Bilbo had kept it out of sentiment and also thinking that Frodo would marry, and that it would be given to his wife. But all those dreams never came to pass!

Now, we have Cami.....

Given this note and what the dress was, I'm not sure Sam would have suggested his wife wear it.

The book on the Brandybucks belonged to Frodo's mother Primula Brandybuck, and has a very personal inscription for Frodo inside the cover. Interestingly, it relates the geneology of the Brandybucks, way back when they were the Zara-Gambas, long before coming to the Marish.

I thought their family history might prove useful at some point, perhaps at the very end of the game. For now, the book will be tossed aside and no one will look at it.... It will go with Frodo back to the West because of the inscription from his dear mother.....and that would also be the safest place for it!

sharon