[Undómë]

Rowan and Prim brought out two more large skillets of eggs and ham and several more baskets of toast. Then, seeing that most of those gathered in the common room had filled their plates and gotten their mugs of tea or ale, they fetched themselves their own generous helpings of food and cups of sweet, hot tea with cream. They sat down at a table near the door from the common room to the kitchen and tucked into their meal with gusto.

The Shiriff had climbed up on one of the smaller tables mid room and was entertaining questions and suggestions from the gathered crowd. ‘Now that’s a good idea,’ he said pointing his half piece of well buttered toast at Gaffer Longhole. ‘I do recall when Andwise went missing, back up in the hills. Got a nice big search party together. Broke ‘em up into smaller groups and sent ‘em out.’ He took a bite out of his toast and munched it for a bit. ‘Problem is, back then we knew in a general way where Andwise had gone off to.’ A number of fellows sitting with the gaffer nodded their heads at the Shiriff’s point. ‘Of course, we haven’t yet asked if anyone’s seen anything that could point us in the right direction,’ Rusty continued. ‘There were some reports of late of a couple of suspicious looking fellows down south along the river. Big folk, they were. Making their way in a northerly direction according to my sources.’ The Shiriff’s glance fell for a moment on the Ranger, his brow raising slightly before moving on. ‘Course I don’t know why Big Folk would be in the least concerned about Miz Cela.’

‘Well, maybe she caught them at something, or knew something about them they didn’t want spread about,’ offered one of younger Hobbits. Hamfast, it was, a lad known for his vivid imagination and ability to spin large tales from small happenings. ‘Maybe it was them that kidnapped her.’ In his mind, Hamfast was already sorting through the dire conclusions of this storyline. Master Smallburrow reined in Hamfast’s imaginings a bit saying it was best not to start tales before there was some real evidence.

‘Is there anyone here,’ the Shiriff went on, ‘who saw anything earlier this morning as they made their way to the Inn? Any little thing out of the ordinary on the road?’ He glanced round the room. ‘Or any odd noises or goings-on heard in the night here round about? It was a mild night last night . . . any of you who slept with your windows open hear something that might help us. Think hard.’ He looked at some of the younger folk who were staying at the inn. ‘Were any of you sneaking about last night, hungry or thirsty, and looking for a bit of food or something to drink. Did you see or hear Miz Cela or anyone else?’

As the Shiriff waited for someone to come forward, Rowan leaned in toward Prim. 'Let's go back to Cook's room and poke around a bit.' Prim's eyes widened at the suggestion. Rowan nudged her on the arm. 'Come on, Prim. We can't just do nothing. I'm sure if we look hard enough we can turn up some sort of clue; don't you think?'