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Location: 27.88S, 66.37W |
In the northernmost regions of the Shire's Eastfarthing, the small village of Scary can be found tucked into the southern edge of shadowed hills that run east to the River Brandywine. None can be sure of the origins of the region's name, but the labyrinth of twisting caves beneath the Hills of Scary, known to most as the Brockenbores, as well as the mysterious way the shadows seem to cling to those hills in the evening hours, might give the traveler in this region cause to reconsider their choice of path.
To the east of Scary can be found a small but important quarry, used by Hobbits from throughout the northern and eastern regions of the Shire for a variety of building projects. It is said that the quarriers at times happen upon rare and wonderful artifacts in their digging, although where these treasures originated remains a mystery to all who hear the tale.
When designing Scary's environs, the art staff at Turbine was given the rare chance to add a bit of mystery to the usually-peaceful Shire. Apart from the name itself, which calls to mind an area of darkness and the unknown, the source material is quite vague on the village and its surrounding hills and caves. What is known for sure is the location of the town, as found in the maps drawn by Professor Tolkien himself as well as a few brief mentions late in the sixth book of The Lord of the Rings, in the chapter entitled The Scouring of the Shire, where it is learned that a band of Hobbits used the caves to hide from the oppressive Men who invaded the Shire during the War of the Ring. It is interesting to note that the term "Scar" has its origins in the English word meaning "Rocky Cliff," which may have inspired the original naming of this region.
Scary
Quick Facts
A village in the uplands of the Shire
A small settlement that lay in the hilly region that formed the northern parts of the Eastfarthing, which also gave its name to the surrounding stony hills. Tolkien associates the name with the English word 'scar', meaning 'rocky cliff', and from among the rocky lands around Scary much of the Shire's stone was quarried. During the War of the Ring, the Scary quarries were used by Sharkey's Men to store their loot, and after Sharkey was defeated, much of this was recovered by the Shire-hobbits.
