Book I Chapter 1: A Long-expected Party

The Road goes ever on and on,

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

~ Bilbo Baggins, Book I Chapter 1: A Long-expected Party

The village of Hobbiton in the Westfarthing of the Shire was buzzing with excitement in September of the year 3001 of the Third Age. Bilbo Baggins was turning one hundred and eleven years old on September 22nd, and was preparing a party of special magnificence.

Hobbiton is little described in The Lord of the Rings, but had been mapped and illustrated by Tolkien, so that its layout is well established. The village lay in the valley of the Water, a tributary of the Brandywine River, and most of its smials and buildings were on the south bank. Two predominant structures were on the north bank: Ted Sandyman's mill to the east of the Hill Lane, and the Grange to the west. The Hill Lane ran north from the Bywater Bridge toward Hobbiton Hill (commonly known as simply the Hill). Upon the Hill were situated Bagshot Row (where #3 was the home of Hamfast Gamgee and his son Samwise) and, on the higher slopes, the much more exclusive residence of Bilbo: Bag End Under Hill.

That month, Hamfast (usually known as the Gaffer) "held forth at the Ivy Bush, a small inn on the Bywater Road", speaking in praise of Bilbo to a rather sceptical crowd including Old Noakes of Bywater, Daddy Two-foot (the Gamgees's next-door neighbour), and Ted Sandyman. Bilbo's peculiarities (as well as those as his adopted heir, Frodo) and the upcoming party were discussed with great interest.

The grand party was to be held at the Party Field, located on the Hill between Bagshot Row and Bag End. A new entrance "was cut into the bank leading to the road, and wide steps aned a large white gate were built there."

Upon the Party Field grew the great Party Tree itself. At the time of Bilbo's party, the tree's boughs were hung with lanterns, and it was enclosed within a grand pavilion and the chief table was set beneath it. The pavilion has of course since been removed, but it seems that the lanterns and other festive decorations have become a fixture!

In the north corner of the Party Field, "an enormous open-air kitchen" had been erected, from which the vast quantities of food for the party guests were served. After the feast, games, gift-giving, and fireworks (the latter supplied by Gandalf the Grey), Bilbo made his farewell speech, then slipped the Ring on his finger and disappeared, much to the lasting scandal of his guests.

Welcome to 'The Road Goes Ever On'!

It is a fair tale, though it is sad, as are all the tales of
Middle-earth, and yet it may lift up your hearts.

~ Aragorn, Book I Chapter 11: A Knife in the Dark

As a long-time fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, I was intrigued when I learned that a MMOG based on the book was in development. Though I had never experienced one of these massively-multiplayer online games, I quickly took to The Lord of the Rings Online and have been an avid player ever since.

In the year-and-a-half or more that I've been enjoying the game, I've been consistently surprised and delighted by the care and attention to lore that Turbine has lavished on the virtual world our characters travel through, such that reading the book lends increased appreciation of the game, and often vice versa -- not to mention that this world looks stunningly beautiful! I think many LOTRO players will relate when I say that there are many times I have been questing when suddenly I'm compelled to stop just to admire the breathtaking views of this virtual Middle-earth that unfold before my eyes.

In this blog I will be following the action of The Lord of the Rings with commentary, quotations from the text, and in-game screenshots of the locations visited by the book's characters.

In the coming days, I'll begin with shots and discussion of the locations in Book I Chapter 1: A Long Expected Party. I hope that this will be a pleasant journey for all those who undertake to travel it with me, whether familiar with the book, the game, or both.

Shoulder your pack and take up your walking stick -- the road goes ever on!