[Child of the 7th Age]

Perry and his young companion, whom the ranger had nicknamed Arrow, made their way along the trail, cutting through the woods on a southerly track. They had walked hard and long the whole day, making as few stops as possible. They were trying to reach the Old Ford, which stood at the juncture of the Old Forest Road and the River Anduin. It was a town largely populated by big folk, but some rangers, both hobbit and Dunedain, were stationed in the region.

The girl, with her boundless energy, had run ahead. Perry continually warned her to be quiet and cautious. She was naturally adroit, but sometimes apt to forget silence was required. This was evidently one of those times.

Ahead of him, Perry heard a call from Rose that sounded half way between shock and fright. He immediately sped forward along the path with a grace and speed that belied his years. A note of fear was evident in Arrow's voice.

Perry ran up the small bluff, noting the signs of an ancient kuduk hole dug into the lower bank. From the few items scattered about, he could easily see that hobbits had been there lately. From the nature of the debris, it must have been a family. He sprinted up to Rose, "Are you all right?" grabbing her by the shoulder.

Rose nodded in horror and pointed to the edge of the ridge. Then she sqautted down and covered her mouth as if she was about to retch. The blood and few ripped clothes left on the earth told a simple story. On the same hillock lay the body of a dog, rigid in death except for a swarm of ever moving flies. His mouth and teeth lay open with the flesh of a hobbit still clenched within his jaws.

"How? Why?" the girl asked.

"It happens, too often, it happens."

"But this was a simple family, look at the baby's wrappings here and there."

"Aye, a family," Perry sighed, "And it seems to me from the look of the ground, that the dog sunk his teeth into the elder one, the Da."

"A mad dog?" Rose whispered.

"No mad dog this. A hunt party, out looking for quarry with more sport in it than a deer or even a wild cat."

"Shall we move the dog's body?" Rose asked.

"No, leave it be. To you, it may be nothing good. But there are creatures here who will draw life from it. And now I am afraid, little one, that they'll be little sleep for us tonight. We must rush down towards the Old Ford. We'll parallel it but stay out of sight of the road. Perhaps I'll run into some who can help us. I'm going to find out who has done this thing and why."

They began striding cross country at an even faster pace. Arrow was sprinting to keep up. After about two hours, with dark falling over the woods, they stopped for a moment just outside the Ford. Perry looked at the girl's sword which was still strapped abou her waist. He looked at her with some concern, "Do you really know how to use that thing? Because you may need it."

She nodded, "A little, plus I'm a fast learner."

Her answer did not settle the misgivings in her uncle's heart. But they strode together into the town. The girl could not help but notice how little fear stood on the ranger's face.