"What are orcs? And a witch-king?" Really, Sam, what did you expect. Look how curious and excited he is now, it's like a baby Merry eating up every Gandalf story ever. The hobbit-thing kept mentioning such awesome things, and Kas' need for hero stories won over his need to be manly and stoic.

The mention of wizardry makes him laugh, though, and he shakes his head. "Nah, I don't know any magic. I'm one of the scouts! We use bows and daggers and sneak around, mostly. Like rogues."