[Child of the 7th Age]

Cotman was about to slip out of the meeting when Maura pulled him aside and squeezed out a few last tidbits of information. He pressed the trader on how organized the search had been, and whether or not they'd used folk who had tracking skills.

Cotman shook his head. "That one's easy. There were plenty of complaints about how things were handled."

"At first, all the local hobbits turned out, including lots of folk who didn't know the first thing about scouting. They tramped all over the countryside and destroyed whatever clues existed. Not surprisingly, they came up with nothing."

"The Shirriff was under pressure, so he finally sent out his most experienced folk. These fellows knew what they were doing, but still came up with nothing."

On hearing this gloomy assessment, Maura thanked Cotman for his willingness to talk and bade him good evening. The latter hastily made a retreat back to the Inn, glad to be free of all the questioning and the feeling of frustration that hung over the room.

When Maura rejoined Cami, he pulled her outside for a moment, "This is going nowhere. We've come up with some good ideas about how to organize things here. But we still don't know who these bandits are, or where they're from, or what they want."

"Hob may be irritating, but he's right. Without knowing those answers, we can't really prepare or fight back. For all we know, these fellows may be skulking around in Hobbiton right now and overhearing everything we say!"

Cami made a face and sighed, "I hope it's not that bad. But what Cotman said gave me a sour feeling in the pit of my stomach. When I heard how those boys wandered off without the permission of their parents, all I could see in my own mind was a great big picture of Gamba and his brothers. Maura, you know how they are. I try my best, but it's not like Holly. I keep telling them to be careful and stick close to the Inn. Gamba kisses me on the head, tells me not to worry, and then proceeds to go off and do whatever he thinks best."

Maura nodded, "It doesn't make me comfortable either. I'll speak with Gamba again, and tell him what we've heard. I'm not so worried about the daytime. It's the hours after sunset when they need to stick close. I'll ask Lindo to keep a closer eye on things. That should help too."

"You know, Cami, there's one person who might be able to help us with all of this."

"I know, I know, don't say anything. I sat and thought about it all through the meeting. I haven't seen her in several days. Once or twice, I even looked up in the rafters and swore I say a black and white form hidden in the shadows. And another time, I heard a beak tap against the windowpane. But, when I turned to look, there was nothing.

Anyways, how many times can I ask my friends to go into danger to bail me out? Espcially when some of my own people are so suspicious. She looked imploringly into Maura's eyes, searching for an answer.

His words came back with no hesitation. But Cami, these are children, hobbit children, who have no defenses of their own.

"You're right, I know. Alright, let me start by talking to Pio and see if she thinks this is a reasonable idea. You go back into the meeting. I'll slip out and head for the Inn. We'll meet at the burrow later tonight."

"And, Maura," she added. "Would you make sure to track down Gamba and Lindo before you leave and talk to them?"

"Don't worry. I promise." With that, he turned and went inside just as Sam read off the list of hobbit who had volunteered to organize patrols to keep an eye on the roads after dark.

[ April 01, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]