The Golden Perch Inn

[Tevildo]

Tollers shook his head and dug in his curly toes. He could be very stubborn when he wanted. "I wouldn't be so sure about those trees, my friend! I've heard tales of Big Folk getting lost in the woods, falling asleep underneath a tree, and then vanishing, completely vanishing, by the next morning. I don't know what happens to the men but, whatever it is, it doesn't sound good! And they had maces and axes and swords to protect them. Believe me, these aren't the kind of trees that an Elf would take a liking to.....more like something akin to a giant spider or bat, aloof and mysterious and not all that fond of dwarves or hobbits!"

"But as to your request, I can certainly do that." Tollers sprinted over to the bar, took out a sheet of parchment and a writing instrument and brought them over to Kuric. "Here you go now," he said, as he pushed the materials over to the dwarf. Go ahead and invite him and see what he says. It can't do any harm."

"Now, I've got to be about my business. So if you'll excuse me." Tollers turned and left the table. He liked the dwarf but the fellow did seem a bit uppity. No sane person living in Buckland or the eastern part of the Shire would be silly enough to doubt the power and might of the forest. Tollers remembered tales from his granny who had talked about how the Trees had become angry in her youth and battled back against the Master of Buckland's hedge. That skirmish had even woken the wolves and the other nasty creatures who preferred to slink about in the shadows. The hobbit shuddered slightly as he remembered the creatures who had attacked them earlier. He wondered if their presence at the Inn could possibly be related to some ancient grudge or discontent among the Trees.

As he reached the kitchen, Tollers caught sight of one of the children whose lodging were next to Master Kuric. The lad had slipped into the kitchen and stuck his fist into one of Cook's apple pies that had been set on the window sill to cool. Now he was sitting cross legged on the floor and boldy licking the apples off his fingers. "There, there, none of that," Tollers scolded. "You're not supposed to be in here. And none of that stealing pie! Just wait for lunch." As the lad stood up to scamper away, Tollers grinned and called after him, "You're going to have a new neighbor.....a great dwarf warrior with a gigantic mace who is not even afraid of the wild woods. You might want to pay him a visit later today and see what's doing."

Then Tollers gave his attention back to the remains of the apple pie. There was a large hole on one side of the pie. Surely, Cook would not want to have her pie looking so raggedy. Taking a knife out of the drawer, the hobbit cut himself one generous piece and then a second, reasoning that he needed to even out the edges and make it look all proper and neat. He sat down and began to eat.

[Forest Elf]

Gable shook her head to clear her thoughts. She looked around the room again. She noticed that both of the Cir’s were in the room…she knew that Cir would be wanting to hear about the wolves, but first she had to find the kind people who had helped her.

She headed into the kitchen to see if she could make herself useful with anything since she couldn’t see anyone in the dining area who had helped her. She walked in and found Tollers eating some apple pie.

Gable bit her tongue to keep from laughing since she had seen the children leaving the kitchen. Once she could speak without laughing she said, “Hi Tollers. I guess I never did thank you for helping me with the wolf attack earlier…so, thank you.”

[Tevildo]

"That's alright Gable. No need to say thanks. I don't like wolves in the Inn any more than you do. But isn't it funny how those creatures came down and attacked. It's been a long time since anything like that happened. I'd love to know why they did that. What riled them up or made them hungry so they were desperate enough to approach the Inn? They had to have been pretty upset to do something like that. My granny used to say that when she was a wee lass, there were a few wolves lurking in the great forest near Buckland, but that they were kept back in their place out of Buckland and the Shire by Master Brandybuck's hedge. It almost makes me wonder if there could be some problem with that hedge. Maybe a hole or something? Or maybe the Trees are getting so restless that even the wolves didn't feel comfortable there?"

He glanced over at Gable and explained, "That hedge is a scary, scary sight. Have you ever been over to see it or to walk among the trees in the forest? And while you're telling me the answer to that, come sit down and have a piece of pie." Tollers gestured towards the pie with his finger. For some reason, he felt comfortable with this particular elf. He only hoped that Cook didn't notice that they were making a large dent in her apple pie.