[Child of the 7th Age]

evening of 30 October

Cami crouched low over Dandelion's shoulder and spurred the pony onward towards the town, avoiding the road for fear she would be detected. She chose instead to cut straight across fields and grasslands in hopes that these shortcurts would get her there before the men. All thoughts of continuing her search for Hob had ended. The last omenous words she'd heard had been those of the ruffian responding to Assiram's suggesting that they go have a look at the Smials: Why can’t we just get it done tonight?

"Get it done tonight" Cami's stomach lurched upward as she remembered the casual tone the fellow had used, as if he was speaking of ridding an old shed of rats or other vermin. "Get it done" undoubtedly involved breaking into the Smials, carting off whatever loot could be found and, far more seriously, using daggers and swords against Paladin and whoever was staying with him.

If the men moved in the dead of night, the hobbits would be abed, probably deep in sleep after downing a hearty meal, and totally unaware that someone was about to disturb their peace. At any given time, Paladin had a goodly number of hobbits staying with him, relatives of the family as well as servants helping take care of the household. That would mean several strong arms to defend against the outlaws if they managed to break in, but it also guaranteed large hoards of hobbit children who would be totally defenseless against such an attack. And if the assault came without warning when folk were sleeping, all the strong arms of Tookland would not aid them in the slightest.

Cami spurred her pony faster at the thought of what such carnage could mean. Slipping into town through the side streets and alleyways, she glanced hastily over her shoulder and was relieved to see that no one was following her. She went up to the front entry way of the Smials and was about to yank down on the bellcord and pound loudly on the door when she stopped for a moment to jiggle the knob. The knob turned easily in her hand and the door swung inward. Like most hobbits, the Tooks were careless about locking things up and actually preferred to leave the entrance open so anyone would feel free to visit and enjoy their hospitality.

Cami shuddered to think what would have happened had Asiram and his band gotten here first. Thank goodness she had overheard that conversation! Leaving Dandelion tied up near the front gate and rushing forward into the hallway, Cami called out Paladin's name. For a moment or two, no one answered but then a small hobbit lad came skipping into the corridor holding half a piece of cake in one hand, the rest smeared generously across his face. The lad responded with a friendly grin, "Miss Cami, is that you? Are you visiting Tookland? Come inside. We're eating now. I know the Thain will want you to stay and have supper."

Without waiting to explain to the lad, Cami barged into the large chamber, which had a fire burning brightly and two long tables laden with assorted platters and dishes that had been set out for everyone to eat. Out of breath and shaking, she raced over to where Paladin was sitting at the very head of the board, spilling out her story as quickly as she could. By the time Cami had finished reporting, all the hobbits gathered near the front to listen to what the Thain would say. Paladin's response was swift and direct.

"So it's come to that, has it? Well, we expected it all along and have some plans up our sleeve. Cami, those were no ordinary bandits you saw. I'm willing to bet these are the doings of the Chief and the Big Folk who've come to cause trouble in the Shire. No doubt Sharkey is involved as well!"

Paladin turned to face the men, women, and children staring at him with anxious eyes, "No sleep tonight, and I'm afraid our dinner will have to wait. You all know what to do! Bolco and Tom, block the front entryway as best you can. I don't think it will keep them out for long, but it will buy us some time."

He stared over at his wife, "Eglantine, get some good stout frying pans from the kitchen, just in case. Then mount the children up on the ponies and make for the safety of the old cave that stands north of town, just as we discussed before. Wait there until I come out to get you when everything's calmed down."

Cami glanced nervously towards the Thain, "But if these thugs can get in the front entryway, how will you defend yourself?"

He looked at her and beamed, "Just wait and see. The Smials protects her own very well."

Cami glanced over towards the entry way where hobbits were bringing in wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow filled to overflowing with dirt and depositing it at the front of the main hall in which they stood.

*******************************************

Within less than an hour, the job was done. Eglantine and several of the women had led the children and ponies to safety, along with an assortment of dogs and cats and other household pets. The Thain had covered over the only entrance to the main tunnel quite clevery with a wall of dirt. Few would have suspected that this blank wall was actually concealing the one tunnel that led to the main occupied wings of the house.

But how will you get out?" puzzled Cami, looking at the mounds of earth blocking their exit.

Paladin laughed and explained, "There's a back entrance that leads to the other side of the hill. I don't expect the henchmen will find it, but just in case we've stationed a few hobbits there with weapons."

Cami had noticed two other tunnels that led out from the front hallway. These were now totally open and unguarded, and actually branched back onto a series of storage sheds filled with old junk, unoccupied burrows, and numberless tunnels that had been deserted years before. This maze deadended at the far side of the hill, with no way for the intruders to get out except to retrace their steps and exit by the front gate.

"That should keep them busy," Paladin rubbed his hands together in delight. "Those tunnels extend back up to a quarter of a mile, twisting and turning and looping in on each other. And as far as that old junk goes, they're welcome to whatever loot they can find. I've been meaning to clean those storage sheds out for some time now!"

"We'll stay here behind the earth wall armed and waiting, These men have no common sense when it comes to digging and burrows so I expect that they will never guess what's behind the dirt. But, just in case, we'll pile up the tables in front of the door and keep our weapons handy. If worse comes to worse, and they do find their way in, we'll hightail it out the back way before they get anywhere near us. Things are nothing. It's my people I'm worried about. Then we'll gather at the trysting tree and come at them good and proper with a contingent of hobbits fully armed."

"Shall I stay here and help you?" Cami asked, her face brightening.

The Thain shook his head. "I've another task for you." He began explaining to her about the group journeying to the South Farthing, when Cami interrupted and said how she'd already spoken with Niluial.

"Good then! No need for explanations. Someone needs to get on a pony and gallop down to their campsite on the Shirebourne as fast as they can to warn them about the men. I don't like the looks of this. Even if these Big Folk give up and leave, they may be hunting for another victim soon. This whole thing is just too much of a coincidence to make me comfortable!"

With that, Cami said her goodbyes to Paladin, stopping only to shove some food into a bag she thought she might be needing later that night. She was led through the maze of tunnels to the exit at the rear of the hill, and one of the hobbits brought her pony along to meet up with her. For the second night in a row, she was to ride hard without any sleep. She clambered up onto Dandelion's back yawning and struggling to keep her eyes open, then kicked the pony in the withers and headed out into the night. The last thing she glimpsed out of the corner of her eye was the shadowy outline of three big horsemen thundering down the lane in the direction of Tukborough.

[ October 05, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]