[Child of the 7th Age]

The snowstorm raged on. Days passed and then a full week. Nitir and the others on the council were surprised by the fierceness of the weather. They had suspected the season might prove harsher than usual, since the few animals seen scampering through the woods had sported thick, luxuriant coats. But none of the hobbits, even those oldest and wisest in weather lore, had predicted the squalls would start so early.

All work in the fields was suspended. Men and women still labored in the timber ranges, cutting down the great pines. Even this, however, proved more and more difficult. They had to trudge a long way to reach the stands of virgin forest. But the huge drifts of snow, which loomed like cliffs overhead, made it harder for the small hobbits to push their bodies forward.

It was the Orc commander who finally put an end to this charade. The Orcs had no love for these wet, frigid conditions, but couldn't allow the timber cutters to venture on their own without the guards. Bit by bit, the system of labor began breaking down. By the end of that first week, Durshkakh ordered the Orcs back to their warm buildings, which had been well fortified by clever hobbit hands before the winter began.

The hobbits themselves were sent out on chores even in the heavy blizzards. Both adults and children gathered firewood, or went hunting for game. A great deal of the wood ended up in the fireplaces of the Orcs, but not all. Nitir noticed how the hobbits were becoming increasingly skilled in the arts of deception and burglary. They managed to conceal logs for their own use in small caches which the Orcs never found. Some of the boys even learned how to pick locks. They grew adept at slipping in under the very noses of the guards and coming away with treasured armloads of food and kindling which were so desperately needed by the community.

Maura worried about the effect all this might have on the lads' behavior and outlook. But, for once, Nitir could offer reassurance. She sensed that, at least for hobbits, such skills had their rightful place in life. Indeed, she felt quite certain that hobbits should learn more about the ways of secrecy and stealth. She assured Maura that hobbits would be a free people someday. And the worst that would come of such burglaring was a tendency for youngsters to borrow mushrooms and cabbages from their neighbors' gardens

Right now, however, Nitir was not thinking about gardens, or crops coming to ripeness under the summer sun. She stood in front of the Workhouse, leaning against a heavy block of ice. She was pushing and pulling it with all her strength, trying to bring it inside with the intention of warming it near the fire. That way, there would be drinking water for the children. Before she forced the door shut, she turned to look at the bleak landscape about her. Its frozen rivers and chilling winds did not look very hospitable for any visitor who dared to brave the roads. But perhaps there was another way. She turned her eyes towards the heavens. But all she saw were swirling snowflakes that plummetted down in unending lines and threatened to block out the light of the sun.

[ August 15, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]