[Firefoot]

Sondo shook his head with a sigh at the motionless figure on the ground. Big Folk, he decided, are awfully easy targets. Much easier than squirrels, or birds, or even Sassy. The last brought a reminiscent smile to his face. So far, the Big Folk were proving everything that he had assumed true: they were slow, unobservant (Marroc had snuck in right under his nose!), and apparently stupid (he had turned right toward the rock throw without a thought of defense!). He had no time to dwell on it, though; already he was hearing some shouts from the other side. They needed to get out of there quickly.

He went to join Marroc and Rory who were methodically sorting through the supplies in one of the saddlebags. They were finding some food, thankfully, as well as other amenities. At least the Big Folk were smart enough to bring along proper supplies.

Rory was chuckling. "That was a mighty hit, Sondo pal."

Sondo cocked his head. "It was an easy shot." He glanced down at the supplies. "Have we got anything to carry this stuff in?" Sondo asked the two.

Marroc shook his head no. "These saddlebags would be very unwieldly to carry around, and the men don't carry packs." Sondo frowned thoughtfully. He was good at improvising, and an idea came to him shortly. Marroc and Rory waited expectantly.

"They have some blankets, right?" he asked. "We can tie the stuff up in those. That should be easy enough to carry away from here." He helped them unfold a couple of blankets small enough for hobbits to carry, and then they started heaping supplies onto them. Sondo dragged another of the saddlebags over.

"Take what you can out of this," he said, "and then tie 'em up. We need to be finishing up here, before our friends can get into any trouble over there. I'm going to go try to free their horses."

He left Rory and Marroc to their work and slowly approached the seemingly monstrous beasts. Their hooves looked quite capable of crushing him. The nearest one, a tall bay, snorted uneasily and lifted its front feet up a few inches. Sondo hesitated. He wasn't afraid. Of course not. He took out his short knife and took a step closer. Then he realized that their reins, which had been tied to the branch of a tree, were out of his reach.

"Hey, I'm going to need some help," he called to Marroc and Rory. The tension seemed to have spread to all of the horses. They did not look comfortable around Sondo at all; the feeling was mutual. Sondo could ride a pony well enough, but that was about as far as his connection to animals went. He hoped one of them wasn't about to kick him or anything. He swallowed his discomfort and continued, "Could one of you give me a leg up? They're tied out of reach."