[Child of the 7th Age]

When Vanwe and Aman trudged down the attic stairs carrying an assortment of "mathoms", Cami took off her bartending apron and came over to have a look. She stared at the items that were heaped up on the table and absently began to thumb through the piles. "Look at all this!" Cami rhapsodized, her fingers lovingly stroking the green feather boa while she stared approvingly at the rearing squirrel.

Aman had ducked behind the main counter to find herself and Vanwe a drink after all the hard work they had done. Without looking up, she casually said, "Yes, can you believe that useless stuff? Whoever would save so many things? We're going to put these in the trash. And there's a hundred times that many still upstairs. It'll take us days to get the place cleaned out, before we can even think of using a hammer or paintbrush."

Aman began fiddling with some flasks and bottles stored behind the counter. She picked out a nearby table, beckoning Cami and Vanwe to come join her, while she poured them some drinks.

The small hobbit didn't even bother sitting down. She gave the Innkeeper a look of pure exasperation, and cried out, "You can't be serious! You're going to throw out all these beautiful mathoms?" Cami hovered protectively over the feather boa and the assortment of other interesting items that the two women had discovered. "Why, these are valuable. Any hobbit in the Shire would absolutely die to own many of these amazing mathoms. I'm not going to let you throw them away!"

With that cry of defiance, Cami threw her body protectively over the nearest pile of treasures and glared over at Aman. She could never understand the attitude of the Big Folk when it came to mathoms. Even Piosenniel had been like that.

Cami was forever dragging in ten or twenty treasures that she'd picked up in various ways. Most were gifts from friends, but others were little things that folk had sold her over the back fence for a penny or two. Pio was always asking her to pick them up or find them a secure storage place, suggesting that the rooms would be tidier and more organized if it weren't for Cami's plethora of junk. Big folk just didn't understand how important it was for hobbits to live with all their lovely treasures surrounding them, even if they made the room a bit untidy.

Cami stood up and confronted Aman. "You can't just discard these. If you put them out back in the trash barrels, you might cause a riot. Every young hobbit in the area, and a few of the older ones as well, will be picking through the barrels and quarrelling over who gets to haul these treasures away."

Aman put her hand on her hip and stared back at the small hobbit who was defending her stash so vigorously. "Cami Goodchild, just what do you think I should do with all these things and the hundreds more we're going to find upstairs? The Inn will be buried under an assortment of junk, unless I find some way to get rid of them."

Don't worry about that," Cami assured Aman. "All the hobbits in the Shire will be pounding a path to the Dragon once they hear about the treaures that are here. Just put them in the storage shed for now. When you finish cleaning everything out, we'll set up tables in the courtyard and invite everyone to have a look. Then, for just a few pennies each, the hobbits who live nearby and own own guests will be able to purchase these treasures. Every one of them will find a loving home. I can promise you that. Hobbits are always looking for ways to increase their supply of mathoms."

Cami looked over at Aman, triumphantly beaming from ear-to-ear.

[ June 12, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]