Flammifer
Well-Known Member
After the Council of Elrond, almost 3 months is spent scouting. Parties of scouts are sent out north, east, south, and southwest. Some of them range up to 250 miles from Rivendell. All this effort for very little result. "In no region had the messengers discovered any signs or tidings of the Riders or other servants of the Enemy."
The only things they learned from all this scouting were learned in days, as they found three of the black horses drowned in the ford, and five more and a black cloak in the rapids below. The only other intelligence from all this scouting that we know of is the report that 'wild wolves were still gathering and hunting again far up the Great River."
That's a lot of effort for very little return.
Meanwhile, as all this fruitless scouting is going on, very little planning is happening. All the planning (or at least most of it) happens in the last seven days before they depart. The Company is not named until seven days before departure. They have only seven days to make plans and study maps (which Frodo does not really do, nor, it seems do most others. The other Hobbits presumably none (Pippin claims that he looked at the maps but could not remember them). Gimli and Legolas, who knows. Boromir not mentioned. Aragorn and Gandalf seemingly the only ones doing any studying and planning.) The Sword of Elendil is not reforged until the last seven days (is Aragorn carrying the broken sword as he scouts down to Tharbad?) They only have seven days to figure out logistics, supplies, and pack. (Not enough time for Sam to remember to bring rope.)
Of course, Gandalf and Elrond seem to already have planned the route. They know that they will be heading down near Gondor, as Aragorn says that the road to Mordor and that to Minas Tirith lie together for many hundreds of miles. When did they plan that? Presumably after getting the scouting reports and just before Elrond summoned the Hobbits to appoint the Company?
So, having delayed through fruitless scouting for almost three months, until 'winter first begins to bite' when ''tis evil in the Wild to fare', The company sets out late and with only seven days to plan and prepare?
What has gone wrong with Elrond's usual intuition?
The only things they learned from all this scouting were learned in days, as they found three of the black horses drowned in the ford, and five more and a black cloak in the rapids below. The only other intelligence from all this scouting that we know of is the report that 'wild wolves were still gathering and hunting again far up the Great River."
That's a lot of effort for very little return.
Meanwhile, as all this fruitless scouting is going on, very little planning is happening. All the planning (or at least most of it) happens in the last seven days before they depart. The Company is not named until seven days before departure. They have only seven days to make plans and study maps (which Frodo does not really do, nor, it seems do most others. The other Hobbits presumably none (Pippin claims that he looked at the maps but could not remember them). Gimli and Legolas, who knows. Boromir not mentioned. Aragorn and Gandalf seemingly the only ones doing any studying and planning.) The Sword of Elendil is not reforged until the last seven days (is Aragorn carrying the broken sword as he scouts down to Tharbad?) They only have seven days to figure out logistics, supplies, and pack. (Not enough time for Sam to remember to bring rope.)
Of course, Gandalf and Elrond seem to already have planned the route. They know that they will be heading down near Gondor, as Aragorn says that the road to Mordor and that to Minas Tirith lie together for many hundreds of miles. When did they plan that? Presumably after getting the scouting reports and just before Elrond summoned the Hobbits to appoint the Company?
So, having delayed through fruitless scouting for almost three months, until 'winter first begins to bite' when ''tis evil in the Wild to fare', The company sets out late and with only seven days to plan and prepare?
What has gone wrong with Elrond's usual intuition?