[Child of the 7th Age]

Bingo rubbed his knuckles against his eyes and struggled to stay alert. It was near nightfall and he felt increasingly tired and cranky. His side had begun to hurt again, though not so bad as last night. Bingo was so weary that he was having trouble putting one foot in front of the other and staying on the path.

Things had gone a great deal better with Gandalf in the lead than they had before. The hobbits had made excellent progress through the morning, singing and listening to tales as they tramped along their way. For lunch, Gandalf had pointed out a shady spot underneath a thick grove of trees where a number of fine mushrooms grew. The hobbits had made a feast of the mushrooms and finished off their meal with fresh water and some berries that Reggie discovered growing just a short distance away.

Setting off after lunch, they had tramped steadily onward for several hours. But as the afternoon wore on and Gandalf gave no sign that he meant to stop for dinner, a number of the hobbits began to grumble among themselves.

"I wonder where this blasted forest ends," Bingo whispered to Sassy, being careful to keep his voice low. "And I wonder if Gandalf ever means for us to stop and have a bite of dinner. My stomach is grumbling miserably..."

Bingo's voice trailed off as Gandalf turned about, imperiously tilting up one eyebrow while looking sternly looking at the young hobbit, "Perhaps, Master Bingo, you'd care to spend another night underneath these trees? Because that is what is going to happen unless we continue going steadily orward till we come to the edge of the wood. Every tree in the vicinity surely knows we're here. With all our singing and chattering, it would be hard for them not to hear us. Or did you forget how the trees tricked you to fall into the ravine?"

So that's what happened, Bingo thought. I knew it was more than our clumsiness or unfamiliarity with the woods. With a sigh, Bingo nodded his head, "All right, Master Gandalf. I'll do as you say. I don't want to sleep under these trees tonight any more than you do. Still, it would be nice to know when and where we'll be bedding down for some sleep. It's a good thing that we've got a full moon tonight...."

With that Bingo closed his mouth and continued walking forward hoping that very soon the trees would end and there would be a place to set up camp.