The Mount Zoom Challenge - GAME

[Caranlondien]

Fog in the Kitchen

"Tea time!" cried Pippin jubilantly, racing through the halls of Bag End. "I've set the table and I made a surprise dish!"

"I hope you haven't been trying to re-create that recipe from the horse-eating-men," said Merry warily. Pippin chuckled uncertainly. The two hobbits set out in the direction of the kitchen. When they got there, they saw Frodo, Sam, and Bilbo looking disapprovingly at a stream of smoke pouring out of the doorway.

"Oops," said Pippin after a few seconds.

"Well, I suppose we'll have to go in and put out whatever's on fire," said Frodo resignedly.

The hobbits entered the kitchen in file, with Frodo leading. Sam was behind him, and after him came Pippin, and then Merry. Last came Bilbo. The kitchen seemed to stretch on endlessly. Suddenly Frodo saw a hopeful sign. On either side ahead a darkness began to loom through the mist; and he guessed that they were at last approaching the hearth, in which Pippin's cooking was presumably in flames.

"Come on! Follow me!" he called back over his shoulder, and he hurried forward. Before he knew it, he had entered the hearth. But now he seemed to be alone. "Sam!" he called. "Pippin! Merry! Come along! Why don't you keep up?"

He backtracked, but soon became lost. "Where are you?" he cried out miserably.

"Here!" said a voice, deep and cold, that seemed to come out of the ground. "I am waiting for you!"

"No!" said Frodo, but he did not run away. He fell to the ground and looked up. A tall dark figure leaned over him. Then a grip stronger and colder than iron seized him. The icy touch froze his bones, and he remembered no more.

------------------------

Frodo awoke with a sense of dread. But when he opened his eyes, he saw no smoke. He looked around, bewildered. He was covered in soot from the hearth, and lying in the kitchen. Bilbo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin were sitting quite comfortably around the kitchen table, finishing their tea.

"What happened?" demanded Frodo.

Pippin held out a cup of tea. "Oh, a barrow wight and his family had moved in to our hearth. They mistook all the smoke for fog, you know. Horrible sense of smell, barrow wights have. Anyway, I explained it to Pete--that's his name, you see--and he was quite happy to shove off. Said the place was rather lacking in treasure for his tastes, anyway."

"But," Frodo broke in, "but, he tried to kill me!"

"Old Pete? Never!" cried Pippin. "The sweetest guy, he is. And he has a lovely wife, and two adorable children."

Frodo looked around helplessly at the other hobbits. Merry shrugged. "Pippin's the one that talked to them, the rest of us were out cold." Sam nodded in confirmation, but Bilbo frowned.

"Not enough treasure?" he asked incredulously. "All the treasure I brought back from the Lonely Mountain, the One Ring, Sting, mithril armor, and countless other relics, and it's not enough treasure for him?"

"Some of us," said Pippin haughtily, bits of biscuit flying out of his mouth, "have discerning tastes."

[Caranlondien]

Once the tea had been finished and Frodo had recovered, he and Merry went to have a look at the maps.

"Northwest, straight for the Grey Havens!" cried Frodo.

"Okay, okay," said Merry. "I'm right next to you, you don't have to yell."

[Glirdan]

"ARGH!!!!" Sauron cried as he ran into the kitchen's. "THERE'S GHOSTLY GREEN THINGS FLOATING AROUND IN THE PANTRY!!"

"Yes, Master. I'm quite aware of that."

"WELL!? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT!?"

"I thought we could...hold on...What am I going to do about it!? I thought we were a team!?!?"

"YES, WELL, YOU SEE..."

"YOU'VE REPLACED ME!?!?!" Mouth yelled in anger.

"WELL, NOT REPLACED PER SE..."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!!!! YOU....Wait!! I think I have just come up with the perfect plan..." Mouth said slyly looking evily at his Master.

"MOUTH!? WHY ARE YOU...YOU WOULDN'T!!!" Sauron said horrified.

"You have no idea what I would or wouldn't do!!" and Mouth lunged at Sauron with a piece of rope which was convieniently placed beside him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Here ghastly ghouls!! Come get you're supper!!" Mouth cried into a speaker which echoed throughout the Mountain. He then looked at Sauron who was hanging outside off a pole. "It's okay Master, I have a theory and you're the best bait we have."

"MOUTH!! WHEN I GET DOWN FROM HERE, YOU'LL BE-"

"-sorr? Why? You betrayed me!!"

"NO!! I ONLY STARTED GOING OUT TO LUNCH WITH A RAT WRAITH!! THEY DO MAKE WONDERFUL COMPANY YOU KNOW."

"Oh!! Well in that case, I am sorry and you may harm me anyway you see fit."

"OH SHUT UP AND GET THIS THEORY WITH YOUR'S UNDER WAY!!!"

"Fine," then Mouth turned back to the speaker. "Here Wight's!! There's some fresh meat outside!! Come and-" Just then, he hear a rumble and the door burst open. He jumped off to the side as the Wigths rushed past him, through the window and outside to where Sauron was tied up. "That's it. Go outside, all of you..." Mouth muttered silently. Then he heard a shriek of pain. He looked up outside and saw that the Wight's were disintagrating as they got near Sauron. After awhile, all the Wights had disappeared.

"Well, that wasn't what I expected..."

"MOUTH."

"I thought they would have disintagrated because of the sun..."

"MOUTH!"

"Instead, I think that Master's soul sucked them into his own!!"

"MOOOUTTTHHH!!!'

"It's brilliant!! Go Mouth! Go Mou-"

"STOP YOUR CELEBRATING AND GET ME DOWN FROM HERE THIS INSTANT!!!"

"Oh!! Yes! Right away my lord!!'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"SO, MY SOUL IS SO EVIL THAT IT SUCKS UP OTHER EVIL BEINGS AND MAKES THEM DISINTAGRATE!?"

"I think so!"

"IT'S BLOODY GENIUS!!!"

"I know!! I didn't even know you could do that!!"

"WELL, NOW THAT WE HAVE THAT PROBLEM TAKEN CARE OF, CARE TO JOIN ME FOR TEA?"

"I'd be delighted!! Pass me the sugar please!"

"HERE YOU ARE!! COULD YOU PASS ME THAT HALF AND HALF CREAM?"

"Certainly!"

"RAT WRAITHS!!!"

"Squeak?"

"HEAD NORTH NORTH WEST!!! DID YOU KNOW THAT'S AN ACTUAL DIRECTION!?!? IT'S AMAZING IT IS!!!" And the Moutain sped off North North West.