"Long was the way that fate them bore
 O'er stony mountains cold and grey ..."
                     - - J.R.R. Tolkien 

Hider:   Tom Cooch 
Clues:   Moderate 
Terrain: Moderate 
Hidden:  10/06/00
 

CLUES

Strider and the four hobbits were now five days out of Bree. Their path had meandered through woods and marshes, where they were nearly eaten alive by the midges and Neekerbreekers.

"What do they live on when they can't get hobbit?" asked Sam.

The previous night they had watched white flashes in the eastern sky. Now Strider was leading them towards the highest of the hills in these parts. It had a conical top, slightly flattened at the summit.

"It is called Weathertop," said Strider. The Men of the West did not live here, but in the First Days they built a great tower here, called Amon Sûl. From there they kept watch for the enemy, and had there one of their seeing stones as well. But that is long gone, and now nothing remains but a tumbled ring."

They drew near the southern end of the path, and ascended towards the top. The last slope was steep and rocky. Strider stooped towards a cairn of blackened rocks, and picked up a flattened, whiter one from the top.

On the flat under-side Frodo saw some scratches. "There seems to be a stroke, a dot, and three more strokes," he said.

"The stroke on the left might be a G-rune with thin branches," said Strider. "I should say that they stood for G3, and were a sign that Gandalf was here on October the third." But the marks might mean something quite different, and have nothing to do with us."

"For myself, I believe that he was here, and was in danger. There have been scorching flames here; and now the light that we saw three nights ago in the eastern sky comes back to my mind. I guess that he was attacked on this hill-top, but with what result I cannot tell."

The ranger led the hobbits to a place of seeing on the northern edge of the summit. In that lonely spot Frodo for the first time fully realized his homelessness and danger. Signs of thunderbolts were all around. He thought of Gandalf and his rune, and sighted towards the top of a steeply descending trail. Clutching Strider's arm, he gave a cry.

"Look," he said, pointing downwards.
 

NOTES

The clues borrow heavily from J. R. R. Tolkien's opus The Lord of the Rings. A familiarity with this book, however, is not essential to unraveling the clues. 

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This letterbox is #18 placed by The Orient Express.