[Child of the 7th Age]

Tomba motioned Daisy forward, the two small figures craftily ducking in and out from behind bushes and trees, coming ever closer to where the Trolls sat. Within a short space of time, they had made their way forward within a stone's throw of the Troll's encampment. Now they stopped and crouched down behind a rock to try and listen to the Trolls' conversation and get a better idea what was happening.

For a split instant, Daisy stood frozen in the night, her jaw dropping wide as she considered the amazing sight in front of her. There were two Trolls, both of them male. Each looked to be at least three times larger than the very tallest big person that Daisy had ever seen. Tomba quickly grabbed onto Daisy's breeches and insistently tugged her down again, then placed a finger in front of his lips with a 'shh..' to make certain that she stayed quiet. The Trolls were deeply engaged in conversation, grumbling about how events had not gone very well in recent days.

"I tell ya' my belly is achin' plenty, Ted. And I'm purty sick of snow."

"Me too, George, but what yer want me to do about it? We ain't had nothing to eat 'cept rabbit stew for the past five days. And there ain't been enough of that, neither."

"Aye, little puny rabbits they was. They barely made a toothful."

"What I'd give for a nice fat man stew, or one of them other things that tastes so good! What do yer call them things that be pretty small, but real sweet? They be real good in pies."

"Ted, ya must mean them hobbit pies we had once, when Bert brought us a treat all the way from Bree. It makes my mouth drool plenty."

Daisy looked grimly over at Tomba. The lad could see the girl turning a subtle shade of green. Don't worry," he whispered to her. "These trolls look to be plenty dumb, and, as bad as they are, they don't eat their dinners raw. They'll truss us up and keep us safe until they can do the cooking."

"I hope you're right!"

"I'm sure of it."

Then the two hobbits set out to do their little deed, which they'd practiced a hundred times before.

First, they silently slipped backwards behind the trees and came hobbling down the road in plain sight of all, moaning and groaning loudly.

"Jack, how could you lose our pony? Now, I'm tired and cold and my leg hurts from when I tripped over that tree root."

'Don't blame me, Folco. I didn't lose him. He just decided to go in another direction, and he's taken all our knives and arrows with him."

There was more to their little skit, but they never got the chance to act it out. It took the Trolls only a second or two to come lumbering over and snatch them both up by their collars.

"Lookee here. A real treat! Here's our pies. Not just one but two. Now George, yer better tie that 'un up" At this point he nodded straight at Tomba. "We'll have him first. I'll just git wood for a good fire in the cave." Then he wrapped the ropes tight around Tomba's legs and hands so the hobbit was trussed up like a turkey.

"This one looks even better. He'll be dinner tomorrow night." Then the other Troll took Daisy and dropped her tied up into a big cloth bag. He knotted the bag two times at the top and set it into a locked cupboard where many bones and other nasty looking things were lying around, the poor remains of their earlier dinners. Fortunately, Daisy couldn't see any of those horrible things since everything was dark inside her bag.

Ted went outside to gather wood for the giant fire he planned to make, and George went looking for a few tasty winter roots to add to the pies.

Tomba knew they'd have only a few moments to set things in motion. The hobbit wiggled and squirmed till he managed to get his hands free. Then he rolled over by the table and found a rusty kitchen knife that one of the Trolls had dropped earlier that morning. He sawed away for several minutes until his legs were free.

When Ted came back to the cave for just a minute looking for his pocket knife, Tomba threw himself on the ground and lay very still, holding the ropes tight against his chest until the Troll went out again. Then Tomba sneaked over to the cupboard. There'd be no time to look for keys, and the hobbit wasn't big enough to bash the door open. The only way was to pick the lock. Tomba slipped a thin piece of copper out of his pants and carefully inserted it in the keyhole. With the hands of an expert, he turned and twisted the tiny metal piece until he heard the tumbrels click. Within a moment, he'd managed to open the door and slice Daisy out of the bag. The girl had cleverly wriggled free of her ropes already so they were ready to go in just a short time.

The hobbit pair slipped out of the cave long before either of the Trolls returned, and crept cautiously over to the edge of the camp. Then Tomba began jumping up and down, calling out taunts and jibes, "Hey, what happened? You didn't tie us tight enough. Betcha' can't get us now."

Ted and George took one look at their dinner escaping, and began charging towards the hobbits who took off running into the night in the direction of the wargs' lair. The hobbit relay had begun.

[ January 31, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]