[Child of the 7th Age]

29 October, evening

At the very end of the Stock road lay the town of Tukborough, tucked away in the recesses of the Green Hill Country. The town's one and only claim to notority was that it was the home of the Took clan, the branch of the Fallohides best known for their love of adventure and equally outlandish behavior.

The chief burrowing place of the Tooks was known as the Great Smials. It had been established almost four hundred years before by Thain Isengrim II, the twenty-second thain of his line. Generation after generation of Tooks had lived in the comfortable tunnels and nooks of the Smials adding layer after layer of burrows for a whole assortment of hobbits. Brothers, sister, cousins, servants, and various kin --all lived comfortably under the watchful eye of Thain Paladin who had staunchly refused to let the Chief's Men enter within its borders.

All this was old news to Olo, Brass, and Hob as they made their way on the final leg of the trip, hungry and exhausted after a long day on the road. Hob kept a careful eye on the roadway relieved that they'd met none of his former neighbors or friends, since these were unlikely to take kindly to a passel of three shirriffs, even without the presence of any of the Big Folk.

Yet, at the same time, he was becoming increasingly hungry and was wondering where they would ever find a decent meal. He even thought about traipsing into the town itself, perhaps hiding his cap with its bright blue feather, and trying to pass himself off as a mere traveler on the road and get a good square meal and a half pint to boot. He mentioned this plan casually to Brass who thought the idea a good one, but it was soundly vetoed by Olo who reminded the other two of exactly why they were there, sternly adding. "And it isn't to eat plates of venison or quaff down drinks!"

Under Olo's watchful eye, the three hobbits set up camp just outside of Tukborough, in a spot that was well concealed by overhanging gorse bushes yet still gave them a good vantage point on the road and any travelers who might pass by. The pickings for dinner were thin, and there was more than one complaint. But the group had to make do with leftover bread and a thin watery soup consisting of a few herbs and mushrooms and other plants tossed into a pot, which they'd managed to collect along the side of the road.

Brass bemoaned the lack of provisions several times, until Olo took charge reminding his companions that, if they did what Ferny said, they'd be sitting pretty in just a little while and could have as many haunches of roast and eel pies as they might desire. With the thought of food dancing in their heads, even that of Hob's, the three hobbits settled down for the night.

[ September 23, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]