[Arawethiel]

Falco stared distrustfully at the old man while Rosie rushed forward to release him from the snare. "I'm sorry, sir," she said earnestly to him, "we didn't mean for this to happen!" She stepped back after finally disentangling the old man from the snare.

Not even saying a word of thanks to Rosie the old man grumbled and turned to pick up his pipe and clenched it firmly in his teeth before scowling back down at the two hobbits. "And just what are two of you halflings doing out here anyhow? This is far from any hobbit town."

Falco saw how he kept fingering an old rusty sword while he talked and stepped in front of Rosie before she could answer him. "We were on a boat when we and our other companions got caught in the storm yesterday. Our boat sank but we all managed to get to shore." Falco responded to the old man still not liking the way he was gripping that sword.

"Companions! You mean there's more than two of you?" The old man looked thoroughly disgusted by the thought of running into more than the two hobbits he had seen already and began puffing furiously on his pipe.

"Yes, there are eight of us altogether." Rosie answered him while stepping past Falco and up to the old man despite Falco's attempts to stop her. Falco tried to pull her back but she shrugged him off and asked the old man in a hopeful voice, "You live in this area so perhaps you could help us sir? After the storm we got disoriented and don't know where we are. Could you help us get back to Buckland?"

"Rosie what are you doing!" Falco hissed at her. "We don't know anything about this man!"

"Quiet Falco, he could be our only chance to get back home." Rosie said back to him silencing any further protests.

"Me help you hobbits?" The old man said incredulously. But then a cunning look passed over his features and the old man smiled down at Rosie in a way that unsettled Falco. "Why of course I'll help you hobbits get back home. What kind of man would I be if I turned down people in distress?"

Rosie smiled happily back up at him and said "Thank you so much sir! Falco and I will lead you back to our camp and then you can tell our other friends the good news!" The old man laughed and said "Of course little lassie and the name is Bill Cummerbund or Old Bill for short."

"Thanks Old Bill." Rosie smiled at him again and then began to scurry back to the camp with Old Bill following slowly behind her. Falco paused long enough to pick up the five birds they had collected before he took off after them wary of this member of the Big Folk from all the stories he heard back home.