Da and I went out to check the animals in the far pasture to make sure
all was good with them. As we crossed the road,we both noticed that the
ground had been churned up by the passing of many horses. I guess that
the two riders we saw were not the only ones looking for Baggins.
Rosie left at to open the Green Dragon and Ma started the laundry with
the help of my two younger brothers.
After checking the animals and finding them undisturbed ,we went to the
barns to start preparing or equipment for the harvest that was soon to
start.
After supper Da and I went to the Green Dragon to have a pint and wait
for Rosie and Merrigold to get off work. As soon as we arrived, Rosie
left her post pulling drinks and pulled Da and I aside.
There was a big commotion up in Hobbiton and around the Hill last night,
she said. I think we should go up there and see if the Gaffer is safe.
"
We agreed and I ran back to get our cart and horse while Rosie asked for
her and Merrigold to have the rest of the evening off. Old Ted was not
happy to lose his two best barmaids at the same time but seeing the the
old Gaffer was one of his oldest friends, he let them go .
The ride to Hobbiton was dark and eeire as there was no moon out to
light the way but the horse knew the way and the road was smooth and
straight. As we approached the town we saw that every house and
building had a torch or two lite and shining out into the night. That
is except the houses up on the Hill, it was totally dark. I lit a
second torch and handed it to Rosie as we approached the gate to Bag
End. The gate was broken down and the once beautiful green front door
was hanging on one hinge. I took the torch off the cart and with Da
close behind carrying his cudgel we cautiously approached the door. We
could hear a moaning coming from the house and fearing someone might be
seriously wounded, I threw caution to the wind and rushed in. There
sitting on the only unbroken chair was Lobelia Sackville-Baggins. She
looked at me with blank eyes and started to moan again. As far as I
could see Ortho and Letho were nowhere to be seen. Merrigold took
Lobelia by the arm and led her out of the ransacked house to our cart,
putting an old blanket from the cart over her shoulders.
Da went further into Bag End to see if anyone else was there but there was no sign of Ortho or Letho.
I and Rosie went down to the gaffer's , nothing appeared out of place
the gate and door were intact but there were No lights on there either.
I went to knock on the door only to have it swing open on my touch.
Deep in the dark house I heard a voice challenging me to come for him at
my risk. I identified myself but he still would not come out and I was
not sure what weapon he had. Many of the oldsters still had swords and
bows from the great war that Brandobas Took and a large army of Hobbits
defeated a group of Orcs trying to invade the western Shire.
Rosie called out to him that she was here to see Samwise and he came
staggering out of the dark hall carrying a sword that was as tall as
himself. Seeing her, he dropped the sword and began to shake and cry.
We wrapped a blanket from the couch around his shoulders and managed to
get him to the cart also. I locked the door to Bagshot row and we
rode down to the town to get help securing Bag End and start a search
party for Ortho and Lotho.
When we got to Hobbiton there was a small crowd to meet us. Everyone
tried to speak at once trying to tell us of the events of last night.
My main concern was the location and condition of Otho and Lotho. The
mayor came forward and tried to get order but it wasn't until I climbed
up on the cart and demanded the crowds ATTENTION THAT WE STARTED TO GET
THINGS ORGANIZED.
The mayor took over sending Olo Proudfoot to see that the door was
secured and replaced as soon as possible. Several of the women of the
town took Lobelia and Hamwise to the Inn to warm by the fire.
Hamwise insisted that a dark man on a horse had taken Frodo and Sam and
ridden off into the night. Since, we four knew this was not true, we
kept our council until we could speak to The gaffer alone.
We were getting ready to leave when the search part returned with both
Otho and Lotho in tow. It seems that they had managed to escape through
a window in the back of Bag End and hid in the woods, all the while the
black rider searched the house with Lobelia ranting and raving at them
to leave her stuff alone . Insisting that Baggins had moved to a
Cottage in crickhollow over by the Brandywine River.
The Sackville-Baggins were put up on a room at the inn and we took the
Gaffer with us to the farm.
By the time we reached home the gaffer was asleep in the back of the
cart and we were all very concerned for the safety of our friends.
Soon it was harvest time and everyone was too busy all day and too
exhausted at night to even think of anything but getting the hay and
other crops in before the weather changed for the worst.
After the harvest was in and the last of the animals slaughtered, sold
or hosed cozily in the barns there was time to visit the Green Dragon in
the evening to enjoy the company of our friends.
The news from the Inn was not comforting. Rumors abounded of strange
and distributing sightings and happenings. One of the most concerning
to me was the tale told by a Ferryman from the crossing on the Brandywine
to the Old Frorest Road. Late one night in early October , he heard a
commotion and much yelling. As he went to go and investigate he froze
in terror and could not move to the door. He swears that he must of
fainted because when he awoke he was on the floor by the door with a
burnt out torch lying next to him. He was so lucky that he had not
burnt up himself and his house but that wasn't the strangest part. The
ground was all churned up as if a large group of riders had past his
house to the Ferry landing and his Ferry was gone. There was no sign
that the riders had reached the ferry because their tracks stopped short
of the pier. His ferry was found a couple days later by a group coming
from the Old Forest Rd tied as neatly as you please to the landing on
the forest side of the river.
The toll taker at the Brandywine bridge was found clinging to the toll
booth in the river and the gates at both ends of the bridge had been
destroyed. Hoof prints of many horses were also evident at the bridge.
Later we heard that an alarm had been raised one night in Buckland and
later Fredegar Bolger was found unconscious in the woods near the
Crikhallow Cottage.
As the year wore down to the end the weather became increasingly hard.
For Yule we had a huge blizzard that kept everyone in their own steads
until well past the turning of the year. We kept ourselves busy with
mending tools and that would be needed for the spring planting, and
caring for the animals in their barns.
Ma spent most of her and Rosie's time spinning and weaving to make new
clothes and things for Rosie's hope chest. The Gaffer was still living
with us and as time passed he excepted that Samwise had gone off with
Mr. Frodo and had not been kidnapped by the dark riders that night. We
heard no news from Hobbiton that hard winter but that seemed a good
thing. As the weather warmed to spring, we once again started going to
the Green Dragon in the evening, Rosie and Merrigold both still tended
bar for Ted as they could with the weather as it was.
One night a traveler, who had come down the East road from Bree, had a
terrible tale to tell. The Prancing Pony Inn in Bree was attacked in the
night and all of the horses and ponies were stolen from the stable.
There were no injuries to the town folk but the bedding in one of the
rooms was shredded beyond repair. The door and window smashed as the
intruders entered and left. Most of the town claimed they had heard
nothing. The room that was destroyed had been let to a group of four
hobbits earlier that day but for some reason they had gone to the room
of a Ranger that had been hanging about the Inn for the past week or
so.
The traveler had no information about the hobbits after they left with
the Ranger the following day. He told us that that particular ranger,
had a reputation for underhanded dealing and was known to associate with
Elves.
A few days later as travelers became more frequent from Bree we heard
that there was a huge battle on one of the former fortresses of the old
kingdom. There was lots of flashes of light and shirking and fire in
the night but no one knows the out come as the next morning it was as if
nothing had happened.
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