[Child of the 7th Age]

Branda had come down to the common room to have a bite to eat and a pint to wash it down. At least on the surface, it looked to be a cozy, comfortable scene with Men and Hobbits sitting near each other and enjoying the fine home-cooked meals that the Inn had prepared. Both the big and the little folk were sitting at their tables and eating their dinners as fast as they could.

This was one of the few Inns around that always seemed to be able to get provisions, even in the toughest of times. Branda had once heard a rumor about how they managed this rare feat in a time of blizzard and famine. He'd heard rumors that the Rangers in the area made a special point of looking out for the Inn, and guaranteeing that, one way or another, food would be found and gotten though to the Prancing Pony. Branda had also heard that the Rangers made this Inn their special headquarters and that it had a secret room in the back where Rangers came to rest and relax.

Branda wondered what a human Ranger looked like. He'd certainly never seen one. His friend had told him they wore special cloaks to hide their faces, and grew to nearly eight feet tall. He'd even heard there were very special hobbits who sometimes served as Rangers. What would such hobbits look like? He couldn't even guess.

He turned his head from side to side, trying to see if there were any strange-looking people who fit those descriptions. But he saw no one who looked suspicious or were wearing cloaks to conceal their features. And even the big folk didn't seem to be eight feet tall.

Some spirit of mischief seized him. A little voice inside his head kept saying: Go sneak in the back and look for that room and see if there are any strange folk there. Suddenly, he couldn't resist. He was glad Tomba was asleep in the room, and wasn't here to watch him look foolish. Fine thing! He spent half his time leturing Tom on the need for responsibility, and here he was taking off on some fool's errand just to see if the rumors in the Shire were true.

Branda got up as quietly as he could and walked around to the back of the bar, the place where barrels of ale and vats of wine were stored and brought out onto the floor of the common room. It led towards what looked like a large, dark storage closet. If I were going to hide a secret room , I'd probably put it here, he mused.

He crept silently towards the storage area, and was about to let himself in when he felt a tickling near his left ear. He turned about abrupty and was shocked to find himself staring into the face of Bullroarer. Branda cowered just a bit, and wondered what would come next.