In search of dragons ...

Large Field(#32475Rnto)

This is a peaceful field the grass is ankle-high and bright green in colour, while patches of wildflowers sprout here and there. Three white sheep are grazing peacefully near by, though as you pass- they look up and stare- stalks of grass stuck between their teeth that dazed sheep-expression on their white faces. A few large trees grow here and there, providing shade when shade is needed, and a path runs across to the east, disappearing into the stand of trees that grows there.

Obvious exits:

Vineyard leads to Vineyard.

Secluded Pond leads to Secluded Pond.

Orchard leads to Orchard.

================================== Bree Time ==================================

Real time: Tue Jan 06 14:44:45 2009

Bree time: Dawn <06> on Hevensday of Autumn - November 17,1445

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous Moon

Breelands Weather

The dawn autumn air is cool but pleasant around you. The night sky is cloud-filled and gloomy. The moon is above the horizon and in its waning gibbous phase.

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It is a crisp, bright November day. The sun, almost at its highest by now, slants down upon the woods and fields, and birds twitter in the bushes, fluttering here and there as they seek out the autumn berries. Here, in a large field at the edge of the village of Combe, sheep graze contentedly amidst the green grass, creating a pleasant pastoral scene.

But wait - what\'s that moving amongst the brambles? Something brown and curly is struggling to free itself - a sheep in trouble?

[Nob(#16122)] A young man moves along the edge of the field, skirting both sheep and houses, as he doesn\'t want to disturb either. And he doesn\'t - the sheep lift their heads to watch him pass, then return contentedly to chewing. And if anyone sees him from the village, they aren\'t rushing out to welcome him in, either.

The movement catches Gidon\'s eye as he is about to vanish into the trees again, and he stops, squinting with the effort to see what it is.

The brown thing squirms and heaves and then bursts free of the brambles, sending a couple of brass buttons flying. Not a sheep after all, it seems. Young Brandebras Bywater brushes himself down, making a face at the sight of the missing waistcoat buttons, then starts patting at his pockets, turning round and generally showing the signs of looking for something he\'s not finding. \"Bother!\" he exclaims. \"I must have left my notebook.\" And a moment later he\'s down on his hands and knees attempting to crawl back in to the brambles.

[Nob(#16122)] Gidon freezes as the hobbit appears, then glances at the trees as if calculating distances. But Brandebras\' dive back into the bushes brings a laugh instead of flight. \"You\'re crazy,\" the boy says, shaking his head. \"Y\'just got out an\' now you\'re goin\' back in?\"

A muffled reply comes from the bushes, Brandebras\' bottom being the only part of him that is still visible. \"But it\'s my /notebook/! Got all my drawings an\' stuff - ah, there it is! Looks like I sat on it.\" The hobbit sounds a little sad about that.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Notebook?\" Gidon asks curiously, and slightly disdainfully. \"What\'d\'you want somethin\' like that for? Ain\'t nothing but bits of... \" He stops and takes a step closer. \"Drawings?\"

The answer is a while in coming. Brandebras grunts, brambles quiver and the seat of his trousers tears a little, but that is all - the hobbit does not re-emerge \"Of sheep an\' cows an\' things,\" he answers eventually, adding a moment later. \"Uh, I seem to be stuck. Would you mind giving me a hand, whoever it is back there?\"

[Nob(#16122)] There is a pause. Then perhaps Brandebras can feel the release of tension as one after another, thorns are coaxed from their hold on his person. \"There,\" Gidon says. \"Careful.\"

\"Ahh - ohh.\" With a relieved-sounding sigh, Brandebras eases himself gingerly backwards until he is out of the brambles\' grip. \"That\'s better!\" the hobbit declares. \"Thank you, Mister - oh, it\'s you.\" He blinks owlishly at Gidon. One of the hobbit\'s hands is clutching a very muddy notebook with the other he feels the seat of his trousers.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Welcome,\" Gidon is saying as Brandebras backs out and stands up. Then there is that \'oh, it\'s you\'. The boy stiffens, jerks a nod and starts to back away.

The hobbit looks quite distressed at that (or perhaps that look was just for the discovery of his ripped trousers). \"Wait. I didn\'t mean to be rude. You\'re - Gwidon, was it? No, that\'s not right.\" He blushes a little for his memory lapse. \"Nice to see you, anyway.\" He holds out his free hand ready for the other to shake.

[Nob(#16122)] Gidon halts uncertainly, looking down at the little hobbit\'s hand. \"Gidon,\" he says after a minute, and gingerly puts out his own hand.

Brandebras shakes the proffered hand enthusiastically, then lets go and gestures round the field. \"I was hoping that if I hid and watched, I might see something,\" he confides, low-voiced.

[Nob(#16122)] The boy\'s eyes follow Brandebras\' hand. \"Er,\" he says, seeing nothing but sheep. Green grass. A few trees. More sheep. \"See what?\" he asks, and he is not quite able to entirely hide a tone of voice that is wondering if his current companion is quite all there.

Brandebras seems to realize that he is indeed not quite all there, for he falls silent for a while, gazing at the ground. Then he stoops to pick up a twinkling brass button. He fingers it as he belatedly tries to answer the question. \"Well ... you know what they\'re saying in town. About the ...\" his voice lowers again, then he murmurs under his breath, \"dragon.\"

[Nob(#16122)] Gidon\'s forehead creases into a frown. \"I ain\'t in town much,\" he says apologetically, and leans a little closer. \"Sayin\' \'bout what?\"

\"The ... dragon,\" Brandebras repeats, more uncertainly now. \"It dropped a cow right on top of someone - near killed them!\" He sounds quite shocked. \"And I didn\'t see it.\" Now the shock is replaced by chagrin.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Dragon?\" Gidon parrots. He looks skyward, then back at Brandebras. \"Ain\'t no such things as dragons,\" he tells the hobbit firmly. \"They\'s all dead, th\'dwarves kilt \'em. My da said so.\" But a cow falling from the sky... There is a shadow of doubt in the boy\'s face.

I didn\'t think there were either,\" Brandebras admits. \"I thought they were just one of Mister Leafturner\'s stories - you know how he goes on about that Mad Baggins fellow with all the silly tales. But if folk have seen one ...\" He trails off uncertainly. \"Who is your da, anyway?\"

[Nob(#16122)] Gidon shakes his head. He doesn\'t know about Mr. Leafturner, or his tales, and who is this Mad Baggins anyways. The question brings a stillness and a sideways look. \"Martin,\" the boy says finally. \"Martin Leafthicket.\"

Brandebras tilts his head. \"I don\'t think I know him,\" he murmurs, sounding a little surprised. Surely a Bywater should know everybody!

\"Anyway,\" he returns to the earlier topic of conversation, \"I thought if I hid somewhere near where there\'s sheep or cows, then I might see something when it - the dragon, I mean - well, you know. If I was covered by bushes I\'d be quite safe, wouldn\'t I?\" He is starting to sound a little unsure about that.

[Nob(#16122)] \"What do you want to see a dragon for anyways?\" Gidon asks. \"I mean, if there was one... ain\'t they kind of, well, hot?\" He steps nervously a little closer to the safety of the woods.

Brandebras blinks. \"I - uh, hadn\'t thought of that,\" he confesses, absently twiddling the button he still holds in his hand. \"How far? Say, do you think dragons /roast/ their sheep before eating them? There\'s an awful lot of dry brush round here ...\" Now he\'s looking quite worried.

[Nob(#16122)] \"I don\' know,\" Gidon says. \"All I know is what Da tol\' me.\" He pauses, frowning with the effort of memory - a small boy sitting by a fire with his siblings, their father telling tales... \"Said they breathe fire,\" he says finally. \"I think.\"

\"Has your /Da/ seen a dragon, then?\" Brandebras presses, fidgeting uncomfortably.

[Nob(#16122)] \"\'Course not,\" Gidon says. \"There ain\'t any.\" He shifts, bare feet silent in the grass - or nearly silent anyways. \"Reckon he was just tellin\' tales,\" he tells Brandebras.

Brandebras shakes his head. \"Lots and lots of people have seen it - they can\'t all have been making it up,\" he protests. \"Even a dwarf said it\'s true, and they should /know/ about dragons.\" Vehement his words may be, but obviously something is starting to bother him, for he keeps glancing round and, occasionally, up at the sunny sky.

[Nob(#16122)] \"They seen it?\" Gidon asks, startled. And now he too looks up at the sky, worriedly. \"You... \" his voice is already soft, but he drops it still further. \"... don\'t think there really /is/ one... do you?\"

\"I think ...\" Brandebras drops his own voice to match Gidon\'s, and glances round again. \"I think that next time I should choose a better hiding place. Somewhere that, um, doesn\'t burn easily.\" He stares worriedly at the mangled brambles.

[Nob(#16122)] \"Like th\'swamp,\" Gidon says, and then clamps his mouth shut and looks as if he wishes he could take the words back. \"Pond maybe?\" he asks, a little bit louder. \"Or... why d\'you want to see one anyhows?\" he asks again. \"That\'s like pokin\' at a bear in his den so\'s you can watch it eat you, or something.\"

\"Oh, no, no,\" Brandebras assures Gidon. \"I wouldn\'t want to poke at it, just ... see it. A legend come to life! Wouldn\'t it be magnificent?\" For a moment his nervous twitching stops, and his round face holds an expression of awe. Then that fades, and the worry is back. \"A pond - like Staddle pond, you mean. You don\'t think a dragon would come to Staddle, do you?\"

[Nob(#16122)] \"I don\' think a dragon would come t\'any of Bree,\" Gidon says firmly. \"What\'d it want here? Don\' they just like gold an\' stuff? Who\'s got that?\"

An innocent question. Yet it produces quite a startling response. \"I - ah, I think I\'d really better be getting home,\" stammers Brandebras. \"Nice to meet you and all that.\" Then, without bothering to look for his second dropped waistcoat button, and still with a rip in his trousers and a muddy notebook in his hand, the hobbit takes off across the field, nimbly scrambling through the gap in the wall and running along the road at top speed, seemingly heading towards Bree hill, or perhaps Bree town itself. \"Gold,\" he moans to himself as he runs. \"Why does Torebras have to be so /rich/?\"