The Golden Perch Inn

[Child of the 7th Age]

Tom sprinted to the head of the line and bumped Daisy to the side so he could be the first to reach the doorway. In an instant he had inserted the key in the lock and pushed back the door, beckoning the rest to follow. The others trooped in behind him and began scouring the chamber from top to bottom, opening drawers and inspecting under the bed. It did not take long for Tom to find what he was searching for. There, sitting on the nightstand in full view of them all, was an intricately woven torque with narrow twisted bands crafted of bright gold. Right next to it, Tom saw a ring of gold with three bold stones in a straight row.

Tom reached down and picked up the ring, carefully inspecting the jeweled piece while cradling it in his hands. The stones caught the sunshine that poured in through the window, flashing bright in their glory: a ruby glowing red; an emerald green as a sward of grass following an afternoon rain; and, in the middle, brightest of all, a generous sized diamond that gleemed and sparkled like a brook of running water. The piece was so beautiful that it took away Tom's breath, and he was not a hobbit lad who was easily impressed. The others ran over to where their brother was standing and crowded in to see what he had found.

"Treasure, it's treasure for sure," Tom exclaimed with excitement holding out the ring. "Probably stolen from a dragon or taken from an Elf lord in battle. This dwarf is too greedy....to steal both a necklace and a ring! We'll have better manners than him. Let's leave the gold necklace here but rescue this poor ring." He slipped it inside his vest pocket.

One of the younger children ran to the door and began to open it to go out into the hall, but Tom sprinted over and yanked the offender back. "No! Too dangerous!Someone might see us. We have to escape without anybody noticing and find a place to hide our treasure." Tom thought for a moment and then pointed directly at the window. "We can climb through to the outside here. There's a path through the garden with lots of bushes so no one can see. It leads to the other side of the Perch, straight to the trap door with steps down into the cellar. That's a perfect place to hide treasure." He glanced around at the others, "Come on. Hurry! We don't want to get caught here."