30 October
Niluial watched Dury and Josh and other hobbits stuffing there faces with sausages and pancakes and many treats. Cami had been right about that second breakfast. Niluial huffed and sighed so many times and yet no one picked up that she wanted to go already. Let's get on with it! Niluial thought. There's no sense sitting here while the better part of the morning slips by. What was wrong with these folk? It was as if they really didn't want to go!
Niluial stood up unable to sit still and gathered her things and packed her bag and stampeded down to the nearby stream. She picked up a smooth pebble and threw it in the water. And then another and another and soon ten minutes had gone.
She mumbled a few words to herself and groaned a little more. Ok so I am a bit of a moaner but they must learn to live with it and learn to keep track of time, food is not important Paladins leaf is! Niluial heard a distant cry "Niluial, it's me. Cami..."
Niluial glanced up and saw Cami in the distance on her pony. Niluial ran towards her to greet her (and of course be nosey and find out as much as she could). "Any luck? Have you seen Hob? Are you coming with us?" Niluial asked. Cami looked confused and couldn’t answer one question for another one was thrown at her.
"No, no, and no!" Cami responded shaking her head. "I've seen nothing of Hob or his companions. I must have asked two dozen folk, and no one has caught a glimpse of any Shirriffs in these parts. I've scoured the central part of town from one end to the other, including the market place and the Great Smials itself."
Niluial looked at Cami with a depressed expression. "You and your friends will have to go ahead without me. I'm really sorry, but I refuse to leave this place until I give Hob a piece of my mind! He and the other Shirriffs must be camped somewhere on the outskirts of town. I'll ride out on Dandelion and have a look all about the surrounding countryside. They can't have vanished into thin air."
With that, Niluial and Cami parted for the second time that day. Cami mounted up on her pony and smiled and waved at Niluial and Niluial waved back. Niluial walked back to her friends and was happy to see that all the company had finished eating their second breakfast and they were all packed up with their packs and weapons strapped to their backs. Paladin was just finishing speaking to them and final goodbyes were said to the few friends who had come along to bid them farewell. They all set out and headed eastward on the main road that ran towards Stock.
Niluial looked at Josh wondering Josh is acting strangely today. She tried to get his attention but he did not look over his shoulder. Niluial sat sighed and looked over at Tim and yet he was too busy dreaming of his precious Lilly. Today was most certainly not Niluial's day.
[ September 29, 2003: Message edited by: Niluial ]
[ September 29, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]
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