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Cook sets a task for Benat
‘Something you can do, eh?’ Cook took another sip of her ale and ran some chores needed doing through her mind. She wondered if the man fished or hunted, but then recalled what Ginger had said about his not eating any meats. Well, all for the best anyway. If she sent him off to the woods or the stream there were sure to be reports of a marauding giant looking to harm the good folk of the Shire. The shiriff and his men were sure to be called up and it would be an interminable time before the whole misunderstanding was unraveled. No, she should keep him on the Inn grounds . . . less apt to be trouble that way.
Her face suddenly brightened as a thought came to her. There were a number of large, downed trees near the groundskeeper’s cottage. They’d been used for the repairs on the place before Derufin and Zimzi had moved in. Perhaps Benat could see to getting them to the Inn’s back yard and he and that other fellow . . . now what was his name? - the one with the missing left boot - they could buck and split them for the stove and fireplaces.
Calling for a wee refill for the both of them, she posed her proposition to Benat . . .
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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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