[Child of the 7th Age]

Gamba's punch went wide of the mark as rage welled up inside, making it impossible for him to see clearly. Cami instantly rushed forward, intent on protecting her son from the violence threatening to pour onto his head. She watched as Gamba's clenched fist hit the air. He spun around off balance, falling to the ground in an awkward heap.

Acting from a deep seated instinct for self-preservation, Halfred had pulled back his arm intending to land a punch against Gamba. It took only a split second for Cami's presence and Gamba's fall to register, but the split second came too late.

Already the blow had been launched. Halfred's clenched fist connected with Cami's lower jaw, as she crumpled into an unconscious pile, her eyes rolling upward. With no hesitation, Maura raced forward like an angry bull with a red flag waving in front of its eyes. He held his head down like a battering ram, and was about to throw himself at the shirriff, when Mithadan grabbed him by the collar and drew him back.

A large crowd had gathered beside the road to witness this event. Lunch patrons at the Inn as well as hobbits on their way to market stopped to gawk and whisper. Bilbo thought he'd seen enough. He tottered forward, clinging to a passer-by, struggling to his knees near Cami and begging for someone to bring him a cold cloth.

"Who's that?" muttered Peony Burrows to her neighbor. "I swear he looks familiar."

"Never seen 'im before," the young Bodo Boffin confided.

Dudo Baggins ran up to the elderly hobbit and stared him squarely in the face. He had no memory of the wizened face, but the eyes, with their hint of fire and wit, were hauntingly familiar. "Cousin Bilbo? Bilbo Baggins? Is that you?" His tone was one of distress. "But you disappeared thirty years ago!"

Bilbo fixed a flashing eye on the hobbits gathered in the circle. "Yes, and you can be sure it will be another thirty years before I venture here again. I'm visiting with my nephew Frodo."

At this point, all eyes turned toward the slender, quiet hobbit who stood at the rear of the assembly. A few more jaws dropped wide.

Bilbo glared at the shirriff, "You've just decked a woman, one who's never lifted a finger against you, I might add."

At this point hobbits began to whisper and point, some discussing the present incident and others inquiring about Frodo and Bilbo. At least one raised the question whether the two might have returning with the intention of reclaiming Bag-end.

"Where's that Frodo been?" Ruby Greenhand demanded.

Robin Brandybuck shrugged her shoulders, "Off on some adventure, I guess."

Bird wandered over to Maura, muttering as she went, "I knew this was bound to happen."

Maura turned and pleaded with Bird. "Please, you've got to help us. I need to stay with Cami till I'm sure she's alright. But my sister and her family are missing. Rose Goodchild, as well. Won't you help find them?"

[ March 14, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]