[Child of the 7th Age]

Cami surveyed the Inn up and down, trying to decide what her best plan of attack would be. The front door led to the public area; the back door to the kitchen. Either way, she might face a barrage of questions from Piosenniel or some of the staff as to her exact whereabouts and frame of mind the night before. She'd have to face these queries sooner or later, but it seemed prudent to defer the questionning until she'd enjoyed a long soak in a soapy tub and a fresh change of clothes.

There was a third option for entry, little known to most visitors at the Inn. It was not an option open to Men or even Elves, who for all their grace and agility still could not compact themselves into as tiny a bundle as a hobbit. Two small wooden doors, tilted at a slight angle against the outer wall of the Inn, led down into the cellar and served as a chute so that coal and peat could be stored over the long winter months. Cami has used this private entrance on more than one occasion, although she had to admit that it had been a number of years since she had last tried this particular trick.

She slipped her feet into the chute and began wriggling her body in, expecting to slide down to the bottom in just a minute or two as she remembered doing before. There she planned to pick herself up from the floor, dust off her skirts, and take the back stairwell up to her room where she could enjoy a bath and a change of clothing.

Cami waited a minute in the chute, but nothing happened. She did not seem to be going anywhere. She wriggled about in frustration, and managed to drop down another foot so that only the very top of her curly head was visible from the outside. With exasperation, she considered her predicament. Perhaps, someone had redone the chute and made it a little smaller. Either that, or she had added a bit more bulk since the last time she'd tried this trick.

In any case, she seemed to be stuck. She couldn't climb out, and she couldn't wriggle down. This was quite embarassing! Even worse than enduring a barrage of questions. She began to rue her hasty actions which had led her to this particular moment. As Cami had little choice in the matter, she sat back and waited, wondering if anyone would ever see her and come to pull her out.