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Reginald wasn't at all sure about his decision. He hadn't been since his legs had started to ache and he had grown tired of telling himself that he could not worry about what the darkness held. He needed only to keep his head about him. And his possessions close.
That first sleep -- which he had not settled down for until morning, so that he had a good distance between himself and Bree -- that had made him want to turn around and return home to his bed. But that would have only made things worse, and besides that, his legs had to carry him all the way back first.
He had made it into Shire lands now, and found himself slightly refreshed by the pleasant atmosphere of Hobbit holes and pastures. It was a little nice, in a way, to feel big, though he would never say that to a Hobbit. He had known a few in Bree, as acquaintances. But somehow it was different -- this was entirely the Hobbits' world that he was wandering into. He was a stranger in more ways than one, and that rather felt good.
Reginald could not stand another day without a real meal. He knew that he could not go throwing his coin away left and right, and that he had to learn to live on the road as adventurers did and such...but he deserved it today. He had made it long enough. And he could not pass by every Hobbit inn without enjoying their hospitality...this was part of seeing the Shire, certainly.
Having been directed quite flatly to the Golden Perch Inn in Stock (he apparently was rather blind to have missed the sign), Reginald gingerly stooped and entered and let his eyes adjust to the interior. He heard a woman shouting about beans and thought he would faint with hunger. He found an empty table and threw himself onto a bench, nearly ripping his cloak and bag off to unburden himself.
Glancing around the inn, he noticed at least one other woman of his stature if not necessarily his kind. "Could I have whatever it is I smell...you said something about beans?" he asked of the first Hobbit maid who came his way. Without really thinking about it, Reginald was putting on a good show of 'lost and pathetic.'
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