[alaklondewen]

Marcho and Blanco returned to the camp about midmorning, firewood in tow. They had made their trek through the forest and back without a hitch. Blanco inquired about the night before, but Marcho kept quiet, not wanting to make himself look weak in the eyes of his younger brother.

Most of the settlers already had their wagons packed and fires stomped out when the brothers arrived, so they were able to wrap up the morning’s activities easily, and soon the caravan had returned to the long road.

Although the morning had been clear and the sun showed promise of warm weather, as the day progressed, the travelers found themselves under a grey sky that moved over them from the west. Soon a cool drizzle fell, and their spirits fell with it. Some of the families were prepared for the rain and covered themselves with tarps, but many could not afford such things and resorted to using bed sheets and blankets. Of course, those were not efficient and the hobbits were soon soaked through.

The group only stopped once, late in the afternoon, to fix a meal, but the rain remained constant, so there were no fires to cheer their thoughts. The travelers remained relatively quiet as the miles slipped slowly by. No songs were sung today. The children remained in their wagons or on their ponies and did not run about in general merriment. Heads hung and shoulders drooped, and most everyone reveled in his or her own gloominess.

The rain eased and finally let up entirely as the early evening approached. One might have expected the group would have been thrilled to have escaped the shower, but they were too miserable to be very happy about anything at this point. They did, however, become more vocal, and although Marcho could hear their grumblings at the front of the line, he kept them moving far into the evening when they finally arrived at the next planned campsite.

The travelers quickly unpacked their camping supplies and worked on building another communal fire. After they changed into dry clothes and began to prepare for their evening meals, the tension that had been building all that day finally erupted. It all started with Mrs. Elsa Whitfoot who could not wait another moment to confront her husband about a small financial arrangement Kalimac had made with the Chubb children. It seems the husband left his wife out of the negotiations, and she was none too pleased. Well, Kalimac now found himself in some trouble with his wife, and he needed to get out of it, so the conservative hobbit called Mr. Harold Chubb over to release some of his frustration on, and point a finger to, the father of said Chubb children. Harold refused to be blamed for the Whitfoots’ miscommunication and stood up impressively to his employer. The Chubb’s wife and father saw what was happening, and soon the adults of both families were shouting and waving their arms and putting on a rather entertaining scene that the other settlers could not help but watch.