Pale green beryl-colored bottles clanked in the back of Merry Brandybuck's pony cart as the wheels thumped and bumped over the occasional rough patches in the road. Good thing he'd remembered to wrap them in old cloaks and blankets packed with straw. Merry's cargo was Barliman Butterbur's greatly renowned Elessar Ale fresh brewed. Such drink was becoming harder to get by the day, as the wagons to and from Bree left their routinely-trodden tracks more and more silent and untravelled.
"Beef and brew" the invitation had said, written in Bilbo Baggins' loose sprightly hand. No mention of mushrooms, so Merry'd brought along a sackful just in case. He smiled at the thought of getting together with just Bilbo, Frodo, Pippin, and Sam. While the dinner party at the Green Dragon had been a night to remember, he was looking forward to what rollicking mirth a handful of Hobbits could muster.
Merry came clad in a mail shirt glinting white and rhythmically clinking to match the afternoon sun latticing light through chattering leaves. He came with shield bearing the Rohirric emblem of a milky steed galloping smoothly against a green field, ... to inspire more speed in his pony, he jokingly told himself.
Under Merry's seat lay a "whacking stick" of stout black hawthorn. With what his cousins Doderic and Celandine had seen of Men prowling and sneaking about outside the windows of quiet, law-abiding Hobbits, it made good sense to be cautious. His thoughts drifted to his newlywed Estella … Merry felt a twinge of regret on leaving her behind, especially after such reports. But the party was to be an all-boys event, and Estella was sensible enough to manage just fine left to her own devices in the smial at Brandy Hall. Meanwhile, he'd left a poem in her honor for her to find while he was away. He'd penned it that very morning with the quill and ink she'd given him, then hidden it away in a canister of flour.
Meanwhile, the miles whirled by under the steady cadence of hoof and wheel, bringing him closer to his group of close friends.
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