Holly looked about as she entered the tavern. The buzz of conversation had come to a halt as she and Olo entered the room. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks as all eyes stared at them. Then she looked back at Olo and both of them burst into laughter, more from relief than from any actual hilarity.
This broke the silence in the room and once again the rest of the customers turned back to their former conversations, the incident of the returned hobbits quickly forgotten in the ebb and flow of other gossip.
Holly made her way to where Bird was sitting, well into her cups by now, and sat next to her. Olo had gone to get them two pints of house ale, and had stopped to talk with a friend of his on the way.
She sat on the rug and pulled her knees up under her chin, her arms clasped about them. Staring hard into the flames she wondered about the road ahead. What had seemed so familiar now had the hint of shadow on it.
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Eldest, that’s what I am . . . I knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.
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