[Child of the 7th Age]

Shoving and jostling through the crowds, the boys pushed towards the stall that belonged to Dauran, the trader.

Gilthor stared over at the cloaked figures of Gamba and Kesha. ”How old are you?” He barked, “ Maybe seven or eight?”

“Old enough, and big enough.” Kesha growled under his breath.

“Look, I don’t care how old you are. But if Dauran thinks you’re little, he might not trade fair. Let me handle it. I’ll take a cut.”

Kesha and Gamba eyed each other dubiously, then shrugged their shoulders. “Alright, we’ll be watching,” Gamba promised.

Dauran and Gilthor haggled back and forth and finally agreed on a price for the rope. Then, the trader handed Gilthor a large pile of copper coins. The boy started to push most of them into his own pocket, and offered Gamba two small pennies.

“No fair,” Phura objected.

“Sorry that’s my cut.”

The tallest boy who’d said nothing the whole time now stepped forward. “Gilthor, give them the coins. Keep two for yourself.”

“Brodda, whose side are you on?”

“I know what’s right. Give them the coins.” Brodda stopped and raised his fists.

“Alright, here they are,” Gilthor shot back, spewing the coins across the ground with a quick flick of his wrist.

As Kesha and Gamba scrambled to retrieve them, the boys' cloaks fell away for an instant revealing two pairs of very large feet, one green and webbed and the other quite furry.

Everything broke loose at once. Gilthor and his two friend hurled themselves at Gamba and Kesha. The boys wrenched away and began running down the aisle of stalls, slipping in and out between the other customers, with Brodda following immediately behind.

Gilthor's voice rang out over the marketplace as he shouted at Dauran, “But that fellow did have green, webbed feet, and the other one looked like a rabbit. They’re dangerous. You should get them.”

“Sure lad,” the trader laughed, “And you have a pointed head and twelve fingers. Now get going.”

After the trio had made their escape, Brodda guided them into an alcove. “Take my advice, both of you. Use those pennies to buy shoes.”

“You’re not going to tell on us?” Kesha asked, with eyes wide and frightened.

“No, my father hails from the North. He’s told me many stories of Woodland Elves. They're different, and you're different too. I don’t know what you are, but you're not bad.”

“Follow me. I'll find you some old shoes. Then we'll go to the Inn together.”

Kesha turned to Gamba and grinned broadly. “We’re right behind you, Brodda. Keep going.”

*********************************************

Cami had spent a leisurely afternoon, swopping stories with Andril and dreaming about the road that lay ahead of her. So Gamba hoped to go to Greenwood. Cami smiled. Ancalimon had warned her to steer well away from Rivendell, yet never actually stipulated where the hobbits should head, or who their helpers might be.

Cami hated to admit that the boy's stubborn insistence on Greenwood might actually have something behind it. Not an easy place to live, she thought. Full of beauty and trees! But there would be less pleasant things making their way into the forest in just a few years. Hopefully, they'd have time to organize and plan before dealing with anything like that.

Cami was wondering if she had the energy to walk down to the galley to round up some food when, suddenly, Phura pushed his head inside the doorway, a haggard look upon his face.

"Azraph and I, and Kali and Daisy, have searched this ship twenty times. Others have helped us. We can't find my brother or Kesha anywhere.

"That's not possible!" Cami's fingers stiffened. "We pulled the gangway up to be sure everyone stayed on board. I saw the boys leave the main deck to go below. It doesn't make sense."

Phura shrugged his shoulders, worry surging over his features, "Maybe not, but then where are they? When I talked with Roka, all he would say is that Gamba promised him a treat."

A treat?....something clicked ominously in Cami's head. Just yesterday, she'd talked with the boy about the sights of Minas Anor, including the amazing number of treats that could be purchased in the central market. And, as far as figuring out a way to leave the ship, that hadn't posed any difficulty for either of them when they'd gone on their late night swims.

Cami grabbed Phura's arm and pulled him down the ladder to the deck where the supplies and storage bins lay right next to a series of small doors that could be unlocked to offload provisions once the ship docked in a port. One look at the tangled mess on the floor with the doorway still gaping open told Cami everything she needed to know.

"Let's go. I'll come with you," Phura was about to leap out of the ship onto the dock below."

"No!" She shook her head fiercely. "None of the hobbrim can be seen in Minas Anor. You know what Ancalimon said. I'm sorry Phura, but you just can't do that."

He pulled back with reluctance, but had to acknowledge she was right. Cami quickly responded, "I'll go. I think I know where the boys headed. I hope so anyway."

"You can't go by yourself!"

"I won't. I promise. I'll get Bird or Pio or Mithadan to help me." She sounded more confident than she felt.

"How will you do that?"

"Don't worry. Leave that to me. Phura, get my bow, and your large cloak to cover me. Also go to Pio's chamber and bring two of her large daggers that lie there on the table." Cami hoped the Elf would forgive her boldness in this, but she felt she had little choice.

Cami quickly exited the Star the same way the boys had done and hurried along towards the central market. Leaning against the large oak that guarded the entrance to the plaza, she whispered fiercely inside her head, Pio, Bird, Mith, someone, help me. We've lost Gamba and Kesha. They're wandering around Minas Anor. Meet me at the entrance to the central market as quickly as you can.

She stood and waited, hoping and listening for an answer, hesitant to strike out on her own in a world that had not seen a hobbit for over 4,000 years.

[ December 12, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]