[Child of the 7th Age]

Rose was allowed to take her pony with her, and Perry purchased another mount in the village stable.As Perry rode along the track with Rose, he pointed out various plants that could be used for different purposes. There were leaves that could be brewed for healing wounds and vines with fibers that might be woven into ropes. He had her listen for the songbirds in the trees and try to guess which was which.

Perry explained that she would need to learn to understand what was "normal" among the animals and flying creatures of the wood. For, quite often, the only clue you might have to a very dangerous situation or threatening weather was a flock of birds unxpectedly taking flight.

They stopped for lunch in the woods. Rose found a grove of berries much to Perry's delight, and they brought out the food that Rose's parents had given them. The girl looked up in surprise, "You don't hunt game for your lunch?"

Perry laughed, "Little lass, I've done plenty of hunting in my day, but if someone gives me decent, home-cooked food, I don't turn it down. And where we're going, we may even be able to get a free meal or two."

Rose looked curious, and Perry explained. "You'll get your wish anyway. We're going hunting for two quarry: hobbits and men. But not for dinner, or anything like that." Perry laughed. "I suspect a few of these hobbit messenger may be coming through Bree, and even if not, I've heard some uneasiness coming out of the men there. I just hope all this questing and travelling business out of the Shire doesn't stir up ire between the big folk and us."

"And another thing, that sword you're carrying won't be all that useful in the woods most of the time. You need to learn to handle a bow and some knives. We can pick those up in Bree."

Now take my bow and start practicing. Do it every day for at least an hour. And forge the sword, until you've got some skills with archery. A sword is not going to feed you when your belly is empty"

Then, he gave her several words of advice and sat back to watch. The first arrow fell down at the girl's feet, and the second buried itself in the ground. Finally, Rose managed to hit a tree but it was definitely not the one she'd been aiming at.

Perry growled once or twice at the results and silently reflected, Oh, no, she handles a bow like a girl! What have I gotten myself into?" But, out loud, he said nothing, and tried to offer a few more tips. At the end of an hour of hard work, Rose was beginning to come a little closer to the mark. He had to admit that she was quite stubborn. She refused to give up once she'd made up her mind. And that was not a bad trait, at least for surviving in the wild.

"How are you at sneaking up and spying?" he asked.

Rose's eyes lit up like a beacon. She said nothing but smiled ear to ear.

"Hah! Just as I expected. Well, you may be able to put your skills to use. I'd like to khow a little more about what these hobbits are planning, and also what the men are saying about these messengers."

Then they got up from their rest and mounted their ponies, continuing on the trail.

[ September 02, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]