[Susan Delgado]

******Shire******

"You want me to go where?" Hardo asked. "Displeased" did not do justice to how he felt after hearing what the Mayor had planned for him.
"Trust me, Hardo, it's a great honor." The Mayor's tone was persuasive to the point of pleading, but it did nothing to win over his reluctant clerk.
"Honor? Are you serious? You're sending me into the wilderness!"
The Mayor was getting annoyed now. "The center of the Kingdom of Man is hardly the wilderness, Hardo. Now, look, either go on this mission or go back to your family in Frogmorten and don't come back."
Hardo stared in shock. "What? You're firing me if I don't go?"
The Mayor sighed. He'd been dreading this part. "No, I'm firing you whether you go or not. You're getting older, Hardo. I think you need to retire for a while. You have been doing this job for more than sixty years; it's time to take a break. I thought you could accompany this diplomatic mission as an honorable send off. That's all."
Hardo was speechless. Ya, he was old, but he wasn't that old, was he? Seventy eight was still a hale and hearty age, wasn't it? He stammered a farewell to the Mayor and stumbled outside.

He fell asleep under a tree and was awakened by a gentle shaking. It was one of the Mayors other clerks, a young lass named Lark. She said the other delegates had returned and the Mayor wanted to talk to him. He went...

...And was sorely disappointed again. Two lads around the age of thirty and a little boy! How was he supposed to deal with this situation? He did not relate well to young people. He was certain it wasn't his fault. It was just that young people didn't know how to act these days, and so on and so forth. He continued in this vein for some time.