Suddenly, Numnutz stumbled into the interior of old man willow. "Mind the step", screeched Iscur. As Numbnutz lay on the floor, a man bounded over him, the door slamming behind. "Slider!" exclaimed Iscur. "You are trebly welcome here!", she said, gripping his glass-coated fingers. "We have missed your inimitable guitar-playing".

She resumed her seat, and continued her banjo-playing, accompanying Fret's G-chord. As Slider pulled out his axe, and began to play slide, Merrygrin and Periodic could be heard fiddling with the door-handle, as well as their fiddles. Numbnutz opened the door to see what the noise was, and then removed the doorknob as Merrygrin and Periodic entered, fiddling festively. Numbnutz collected all the pan-lids he could, and, drooling out both sides of his mouth (the floor was level), began the percussion section.

Huwgee pottered around, helping collect more lids for Numbnutz, offering people microphones that they didn't want, and adjusting his mixer. Even Numbnutz had always wondered why Huwgee lugged a cake mixer around, but the roadie section of the Hobbit community was always regarded as even dumber than drummer Dwarves.

    *****

Mudyl awoke to find someone holding splinters of a lap-harp to her throat.

"What business have you here stranger?", asked a strange voice not belonging to the lap-harp holder.

Mudyl heard Corgwyn say "We're going to Harmoni-something to find a wizard to teach me harmonics."

"Alas, alack, and aloof", replied the voice. "D'kat, free the other; these pose no threat". As Mudyl arose, the voice introduced itself as Spawpir, and continued, "There are no more harmonics in Harmonia, and will not be until the G-chord and its brethren are free.

"How can this be achieved?", inquired Corgwyn.

"We have directions", replied D'kat. "We follow this map, and seek the G-spot".

"But in the meantime, let us have music", interjected D'kat, as Corgwyn stifled a snort of laughter at Spawpir's words. D'kat pulled out a cheap (but not too cheap) lap harp that she was using until she found a worthy replacement for the broken one. Spawpir joined in on bouzouki, Corgwyn played guitar, and Mudlarkian improvised, using the broken lap-harp as a bodhran.

    *****

"Let me tell you my story", said Kendalf, looking Rick O'the Fielding, (Elfking, Grand Poobah of music, and dilettante taxidermist) in his steel eyes. "A span of days ago, I left Fret and Numbnutz heading for the home of Iscur Treble. On my way here, I received a message from Little Hawk that Shatnir is stirring, and may soon plague the lands of men, dwarves and hobbits. Oh, and elves too, I forgot them. Anyway, I'm here to grab a couple of your poncy subjects; I need them to keep the hobbits in line, see things that are far away, seduce women who have something we need; all the traditional elvish roles in the quest".

"I'm afraid that only Red Wolf and Dawntreader are available at the moment. They also have some companions attached at present, but if you take them too, you can have them".

"Well, any companions of an elf will be fine. At least we know they won't be orcs, hey?", replied Kendalf. Rick grinned at this.

"Well, I guess you'd better be getting back to Fret", said Rick. "Red Wolf and the others will find you on your way out of the forest".

    *****

Kendalf raced into the clearing in horror. "No, no, stop that!", he wailed.

As the group stopped, Red Wolf looked up from his electric bass. "You know we play electric folk, in the manner of the yearly convention held at the fair elvish port".

"That's right", replied Dawntreader from behind his electric dulcimer. "Even if these newcomers play like a Bent angle, electric folk is still the way to go. Brad looked up from his inept but improving guitar playing with a grin and a puzzled look. Fortunately Kendalf didn't recognise Febig's species under his dark cloak.

*Janet Baxter will never sing like the prior mad singer*, Little Hawk sent to the elves.

    *****

[Well, I've brought some of the characters together. Note that there's a potential for conflict between the Irish music, the American folk, and the (British-style) electric folk. If someone wants to continue some of it, feel free. With apologies for the bolded electric folk puns.]