[Amanaduial the archer]

"Aman, I must speak to you," Aman turned to see Cami standing behind her, looking a little flustered. "Its about a small room problem we're having."

"A small room problem? What would that be?"

Cami flicked her eyes across to Eodwine and Waen. Aman understood and excused herself from Eodwine's company, to which he nodded vaguely, preoccupied with the bird which had now deigned to perch on his hand. Stepping away, near to a wall and out of the hustle and bustle of the busy Inn, Aman repeated her question. Cami sighed. "Well, thats exactly it- the amount of rooms is too small."

"What?" Aman was shocked. She had realised they were busy, but all of the rooms were gone? "Surely not. How many are we over by?"

"Just one." Once again, Cami shot a pointed glance at Eodwine. "And it is true that guests have been asked to sleep in the stables before..."

Aman took a moment, then understood and her eyes widened in shock. "You would ask the Messenger of-" She lowered her voice once more. "-the messenger of the King of Rohan to sleep in the stables?!"

Cami looked unhappy and nodded, and Aman was about to protest again, when the hobbit held up a finger. "Wait, I have an idea, to stop this happening again in the future." She leant in conspiratorily, and Aman dd the same almost unconciously. "There is alot of room above the guest floors- the attic is really quite spacious, and if it were developed..."

~*~

Five minutes later the hobbit and the woman of the Ridermark stood confronting, and yes, that word is accurate, the attic. They had raced up the stairs on the wings of excitement at Cami's idea, but now the wings had folded themselves in and rather shuffled away in embarrassed silence. Aman had her arms crossed, rather unimpressed.

"Spacious, she said." Aman said heavily. "Lots of space, she said." She glanced at Cami, who was attempting to look unperturbed while chewing her lip worriedly.

"It seems to have got alot more crowded since I last looked..." She muttered. "Anyway, I have no doubt it will be spacious, once everything is cleared out."

"Ms Brandybuck, this isn't even an attic anymore- it's a museum!" Aman exclaimed, exasperated, and Cami couldn't help grinning. Aman pursed her lips and waded over to a rather odd-looking implement which stuck up above most of the rest of the junk. Carefully unearthing it, she examined it, attempting to straightening out a spike which had somehow got bentthen looked up once more at Cami. "Alright," she said at last. "Either this is some horrible item of hobbit-torture, or farming has severely moved on."

Cami's grin widened, but Aman kept a straight face. "No seriously, I think we could reveal alot about the hobbit underworld-"

"Its for sowing seeds."

"What?"

"For sowing seeds. That spike there is for poking the holes in the earth, while the seed rattles along that tunnel and drops in. I think. Very old fashioned, and not very effective, but still."

Aman looked around at the item in her grasp once more, then held up a dangling chain, mystified. "And this?!"

She turned and surveyed the room as a whole. "We need to do some serious work here. There must be decades of hobbity items-" She stopped as an idea struck her, one finger held up. A smile spread across her sharp features. Cami looked a little worried at Aman's expression, but Aman didn't turn as she replied. "I have just had a brilliant plan..." She said slowly.

"Well it will have to wait, begging your pardon, Miss Aman." Buttercup's flustered face appeared at the trapdoor. "Cook would like to see you. 'Sez that 'tis important."

Aman kept looking at the attic.

"Miz Aman?"

She turned at last, and nodded distractedly, then her eyes focused. "Right...I mean, right, yes. I'll be right down, Buttercup."

[ June 02, 2003: Message edited by: Amanaduial the archer ]