The Shadow Walker

6. Bree. Not Much Improvement.

Bilbo continued on his miserable adventure as soon as dawn peeked through the treetops. I waited until he was a ways down the road, then I touched the branch I was sitting on. "May I request some assistance in getting down?"

Silence. The tree must've gotten a talking-to from the others about being friendly with sentiment creatures. I looked down and huffed. Mordor. I was a good twenty feet off the ground.

Well, there was no getting around it. I'd have to jump. I had no rope, nothing that could be used for a rope, and no other way down. I unhooked my satchel from my shoulder, and tossed it into the clearing. And watched it fall for far too long. Luckily, it wasn't carrying anything too fragile.

My swords, however, were a different matter. They weren't delicate, per se, but they had cost me a lot of money, and I liked them. I wouldn't try to hang onto them through the entire fall - that would be dangerous - but I could drop them a little closer to the ground. For my own safety, I unstrapped them from my waist and held them away from me. Then I swallowed hard and scooted off the branch.

The wind caught my hair, and I relished the illusion that I was flying. But the ground approached quickly, so I released my swords and prepared for impact.

My feet hit first. I dropped into a roll and flopped halfway across the clearing before the momentum faded. Pain flared up my legs from my ankles, and I groaned quietly, closing my eyes. Well... that probably couldn't have gone any better.

A loud hiss made my eyes snap open. Leaping at me was a mostly-naked... something.

"Where is it?" he shrieked, landing in top of me. His teeth sank into that sensitive area connecting my neck to my shoulders. With a surprised grunt, I punched his stomach. He wailed, and I threw him off.

He landed on all fours. "Where is the Precious?" he growled, glaring up at me with his nocturnal eyes.

"What in Sauron's name are you talking about?" I snapped, scrambling to my feet.

He bared what few teeth he had at me. Eew. Had that thing just bitten me?

I slowly circled toward my swords, him mirroring my movements. "Who are you?" I growled.

"Who are we?" He scoffed. "The question is, who are you?"

I smiled. "I am..." I dove, snatching up my swords, rolling, and leaping to my feet. "your worst nightmare."

The creature gave a scream and galloped into the forest, on all fours like a dog. The trees reached for him as he passed, but he was too quick for them and escaped. Unfortunately.

I exhaled, then quickly strapped my swords back on. I had to catch up to Bilbo, before that, that thing got him. Then I swung my pack onto my shoulder.

A dull throb emanated from where I'd been bitten. I touched it, then flinched when the pain spiked. My fingertips came away bloody. I needed to get that cleaned out, but it was more important that I keep up with Bilbo. Especially with that rogue thing on the loose.

I straightened my collar and wiped the blood on my pants. The bleeding wasn't bad, and would stop soon. I'd have a chance to rinse it out from my canteen at some point. Then, whenever Bilbo decided to rest for awhile, then I'd clean and bandage it properly.

*   *   *

We walked all day. At about mid-afternoon, a light drizzle started up, and it grew progressively heavier and heavier until we finally reached Bree a few hours after nightfall. Meanwhile, I had developed a cough, which became rather difficult to conceal as I followed Bilbo. He, however, just waddled along through the rain as though he wouldn't trade it for the world.

When we finally reached Bree, Bilbo boldly went to the front gate. I dropped back to stay hidden. Three knocks rang out, then a hinge creaked. "Ehh, a Hobbit? What be your business, this late at night?"

"Just going on a holiday," Bilbo replied.

"Aye," the gatekeeper agreed as he let Bilbo in. "I could use one, meself."

Bilbo patted the man on the forearm. "You should do what I did. Just... slip away."

"Eh. Can't. You never know what suspicious characters might get in without me here."

No kidding. While the man's back was turned, I left my hiding place and trotted to wall. The gate was too narrow for me to get in unnoticed, so I would have to go over the wall itself. It was about ten feet tall, and made out of rough-hewn logs.

The climb wasn't very difficult, but once I reached the top, I faced a new challenge. How to get down. Without being seen and apprehended.

A little ways to the right was a small livery stable, and right out in the open being soaked through was a pile of hay. I frowned. Stupid humans. Didn't they know moldy hay was dangerous for horses? Oh well. It would make a good landing site.

I awkwardly traversed the narrow top of the wall, finally getting into jumping distance of the haystack. I quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then I made the leap.

When I landed, I sank into the soft stack with a wet squelch. A new smell rose up around me, and I sighed. Manure. The humans hadn't set out good hay to get moldy; they'd set out should straw to... I dunno, soak into the rainwater and wash up and down their streets?

"I hate Hobbits," I whimpered as I pulled myself and my satchel out of the muck. "And wizards," I added vehemently. "And humans and horses and straw and... ughhhhh!"

Now. Off to find that despicable little Hobbit.