In the Shadow of the Star: Part 1

[piosenniel]

Pio urged ‘Falmar to a slower speed, and guided him off the dirt road that joined Bywater to the Great East Road. They picked their way carefully under the shelter of the trees, being careful not to slip on the pebbly scree of the steep slope down from the roadway. The hard, fast pounding of hooves on the packed dirt of the road's surface had alerted her there were riders coming her way, and she slipped behind some dense shrubby undergrowth until they had passed.

‘What is this, now?’ she asked herself, seeing the Shiriff and several of his deputies go clattering by on their ponies. Armed with bows on their backs, knives in their belts, and staves gripped firmly in their hands, the Hobbits raced in the direction from which she had come with grim faces and a fiery purpose in their eyes.

‘Falmar stood stock still as they passed, watching the ponies run by. One turned his head slightly, noting the great grey horse hiding in the shadows, but his rider urged him on with his heels. ‘Falmar walked cautiously from beneath the trees when they had passed and made her way back onto the road. Pio wondered if she should turn round to see what the Shiriff and his band were doing, but ‘Falmar shook her head, her mind bent on taking her rider away from harm.

With a great leap she broke into a run, heading east once again, putting distance between herself and the last dusty sighting of the Hobbits and their steeds.