[Child of the 7th Age]

Cami awoke in the middle of the night and glanced towards the place where Rose should be. Still no Rose! If she wasn't back by dawn, the guards might go searching and throw her into the Locks. The crew of the Star didn't need that! Cami sighed and wished she'd paid more attention when Bird had come by earlier.

She suddenly heard a sad 'neeker-breek' near the entrance to the alcove. A moment later, Bird perched on Cami's collar and shared her disapointing news. She hadn't found Rose. There were few people wandering about at such a late hour. She'd barely managed to search beyond the central cavern.

Cami sat up and yawned. "Alright, alright. You don't need to ask. I'm coming."

The two began at the far end of the camp, checking the Locks and the smithy with no success. Then they pushed their way into the old tombs. A strange place to be in the middle of the night! They searched four or five chambers, and were about to leave, when Bird heard a tiny scratching sound from the end of the passageway.

It was one of the oldest sections in the tombs, where Mithadan had knelt to honor Elros. There sat Rose! She was on the floor of the chamber, her back leaning against a marble stone, her eyes intently focused on something in her lap. Cami peered at her. She could see that Rose's pen was scratching across a piece of vellum torn out of Idril's Daybook.

Cami stared, and stared again. She had expected to find Rose exploring or swimming or getting into trouble. But sitting in a secluded corner and writing? That was strange indeed.

Bird had threatened to do physical damage to the missing hobbit when she was found. But she too was puzzled. "What are you doing?" Her voice was insistent.

"I'm adding a page to our journal," Rose intoned and went right on scribbling.

Cami was curious, and asked the girl to explain.

"I've found something. Something important. Oh, Cami, you're going to be so proud of me. I figured it out on my own. Just like you've been telling me to do." Rose's face glowed with youthful pride.

"I know where we're going, and it's not what you think. The hobbits, I mean. All along, you told me we'd end up in the middle of the Third Age. But I don't think that's right." She turned towards Cami and brightened.

"Go on," Cami encouraged her.

"I was sitting next to all these old stones and runes, when I started remembering the clues we discovered. The things we found out when we first came on the Star. The riddles, and the pictures, and dreams. And something hit me."

"Bird, do you remember that place underwater that you and Kali discovered? Before it collapsed, you brought up a stone picture of Ancalimon. That little hobbit house was at the base of Minas Anor, on the very first level of the city. Then, I remembered what Cami told me. How the Men of Numenor sailed up the Anduin, and built the fortress of Anarion just one year after the flood."

"And I wondered, how could there be a hobbit house on the bottom level of the city with a picture of Ancalimon unless there were hobbits living there soon after the flood?"

Cami's eyes grew wider as she listened to Rose. She searched her memory to recall what Ancalimon had said to them. Now that she thought about it, he hadn't mentioned the Third Age. He'd only spoken about hobbits and hobbrim, and the choice they would have.

She assumed they'd be going to the Third Age, because that was the earliest recorded history. But that assumption could be wrong. The Star would never have come to Beleriand or Numenor if they'd only looked at written records.

"Rose, you may be on to something, but we won't know for sure until Ancalimon sets course."

She hugged the girl. "I'm proud of you for putting all this together. There's one more piece of evidence to support what you're saying. Remember the stone relief of the ship and the hobbrim you and Bird found on your tour of the city? That crumbling wall looked older than the Third Age too."

"If if I had to guess now, I'd say we're probably heading somewhere along the Anduin at the time when Anarion arises and also the kingdom of Gondor. That is, if we can fight our way out of this place!"

One thing still puzzled Cami. She was troubled by that house in Minas Anor. As far as she knew, except for Gondolin, her people had never lived in big cities. In forests, on river banks, and by wide green fields. Even in towns like Bree. But never at the heart of a great kingdom. What were they doing there?

When they'd first found the clues in Minas Anor, she hadn't thought twice. They'd been focused on gathering information that would tell them where to go. But looking back on it, she did have questions. A hobbit house in an ancient Fortress-City was a strange thing. But she said nothing to Rose about her doubts.

The two hobbits hugged, and walked back towards Azraph's family. Cami was so pleased with Rose and her discovery that she made Bird promise not to punish the girl.

Bird shook her head and waved an antenna in the air. "Hobbits!" she retorted, with a snort.

[ October 28, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]