[Mithadan]

It was late that evening when Mithadan finally returned to his chambers, only to find that Bird had returned before him and reported his encounter with Maeglin to his friends. Pio, Bird, Child and Rose were all waiting for him when he walked in.

"Mithadan," cried Child. "Are you all right?"

He smiled and nodded. "I take it that Bird has informed you of my chat with Maeglin. We must take care tomorrow to never walk about alone. He may attempt to seize one of us and force some answers to his questions."

Pio scowled and asked frostily, "Why did you tell him about the fate of Gondolin's traitors?"

"It was the only way I could answer without giving him the satisfaction of knowing that Gondolin will fall," he replied. "Thank you Birdland, by the way. I'm sure the next question would have been more difficult if he didn't try to slay me outright." Bird nodded graciously.

He turned to look out the window for a moment. Then he faced his companions once again. "We have some decisions to make. I visited the Hobbit holes. I counted about 150 burrows. There may be 1000 hobbits or there may be slightly fewer. We cannot rescue them all. We must decide if we will rescue any and, if so, when. We must also decide when to make our escape. Then we must all get as much rest as we can. Tomorrow will be a long day and night."

[ August 07, 2002: Message edited by: Mithadan ]

[ August 07, 2002: Message edited by: Mithadan ]