[piosenniel]

Rose was still sitting in the bar when Pio walked in. She was slowly sipping on a soda and staring dreamily into space.

Pio motioned for her to come sit in a booth in the corner, out of earshot and eyesight of most of the customers in the bar.

'I can see you've got a little case of wanderlust going, Rose. I know just how you feel - the open road, the adventure around every corner, a wealth of new sights and sounds that can make you quite dizzy with delight. It doesn't seem that long ago that I first started my travels with Gildor Inglorion and his Wandering Company of Kindred. Such a lovely, and rich life . . .', sighed Pio with a faraway look in her eyes.

'O! I would love to have done that!', said Rose.

'Yes, I know. Which is why I have come to you with this proposition. What would you say to an expedition to Gondor to see if we can retrieve the copy of The Red Book of Westmarch given to king Elessar. I believe it was called Thain's Book, and I know it was recopied during Eldarion's reign(Elessar's son) and given to the Hobbits. This is the volume which survives to this day. What I don't know, exactly, is where it is! In addition to this, I was thinking we might have a look-see for the Stone of Orthanc, the palantìr that King Elessar used during his reign.'

Rose's eyes lit up, then narrowed, 'Isn't that going to be a LOT of walking considering we have no idea where we're looking?'

'Well, Rose, that's where I thought your talents as a thief extraordinaire would come in handy. I thought we might head back to the Barrow Downs and from there to the Shire where we might pick Child's brain as to where she thinks those items could be located. & then, we might, perhaps, "borrow" Angara since that would cut our travelling time to a fraction.' Pio glanced at Rose, inquiringly.

'Sounds interesting', said Rose. 'When do we start?'

'As soon as we find someone who knows Child's address we can be off. Now, who might know it?', asked Pio.