The three of them started tracking Hennes the goat. It was Finnvi who spotted him heading towards the south. Hennes run ahead and they just followed him. A few times they tried to catch him using a piece of rope, but he was too nibble for them. Maybe an hour passed of this merry chase; Hennes leading the way and them following. At some point, however, a new set of ruins appeared in the distance, causing them to slow down. “Did your parents travel through here on their way to Bree?” Finnvi asked Marganil “Did they mention anyone living here?”
It was Thurintos who answered. “The rangers of the North have a community down here… I hope we run into them! It would be a hoot and a half!”
“Did they build fortresses?” Finnvi pointed to the ruins. Marganil could now tell that in front of them lay a ruined fortress. Its walls were still kept up in somewhat good condition despites the endless beating by the elements of nature without a hand to keep them in one piece.
“I think it looks Numenorean!” Marganil said with the air of an expert who did not know what she was talking about. “They look exactly like the Weathertop ruins!” The mention of the ruins brought back memories, which were enough to stop them on their tracks, and make them undecisive. Once again, Hennes decided on their behalf. With an absurd surety, the goat led them to the ruined fortress. He even made a goaty impatient sound when the humans hesitated to follow him.
“How probable is that we will face the same troubles twice in our lives?” Marganil tried to dispel their worries. “I spied some hills yesterday that looked like hobbit hills. Maybe we could have tea with hobbits this time instead of fighting wargs”.
“I’d rather drink tea with hobbits…” Finnvi muttered. By now they were passing through an ancient archway, which could have been a gatekeep to a ruined courtyard. The hunter cursed under her breath and grabbed both of her companions’ shirts. “Shit! There is a fireplace, someone is here!”
Marganil could see the fire as well. It was warm and well-tended, with an old kettle above it. Someone had had herbs in the water, how else could she explain the fragrant smell that filled the air?
Hennes jumped right into the middle of clearing. "Hennes!" She hissed to the goat, while at the same time a halfling approached the fire from somewhere on her left.
"Oi boy! Where have you been?", she scratched Hennes behind the ears. "You... Made friends? Big friends? You don't say..." The halfling started talking ever slower as Hennes made happy noises. "You ate the boots! I told you not to eat stranger's boots! They will think you have no manners" she lectured the young goat. "Now, where are your friends?"
"That'd be us!" Thurintos said as he walked out of the bushes. "We were traveling through these parts when we ran into your little companion. Or, more appropriately he ran into us. Oh, my name's Thurintos by the way, this is Marganil and the paranoid looking one is Finnvi!" he chuckled. "She wasn't too keen on exploring these here ruins."
"My name is Camri Curhonon, pleased to make your acquaintance!" The hobbit spoke in an unfamiliar accent that made her a bit hard to understand, but her words were accompanied by a bright smile. "Thank you for bringing my Hennes back to me. He is a little more adventurous than the rest of my flock, so he gets lost often. Oh, I must apologize about your boots though... " she pointed at Marganil’s chewed on pair, causing the young woman to blush.
"I never knew there were hobbits outside of the Shire" Finnvi had relaxed at the sight of the friendly hobbit and joined the other two near the campfire. "Is your village close by?"
Camri’s smile was warm, her face lit up with smile and sun wrinkles. "Come, travelers, share my tea as thanks for accompanying Hennes here. Then I can point you towards the right direction to the village... It is not far from here, but you will need to be careful behind those ridges for a few kilometers".
"That sounds great! Thank ya!" He said as he sat down next to the fire. "It seems you share the same hospitality as the hobbits up in the Shire. I like it."
"This Shire place has more hobbits, you say?" Camri asked. "There are stories we tell of some of our folk leaving a long time ago, moving up north! So, I might have relatives in a faraway land...." She smiled a little sadly. "I should go visit them some time. I'm of a mind to wander lately."
He chuckled as he started to pet the goat. "Anyway, what's there to be mindful of behind the ridges?"
"There are quite a few treacherous holes in the ground, hidden in the grass. And wild animals stalking at night, though they might pose less of a danger to three of you, big folk. And then you get there, to our beautiful little village. Maur Tulhau we call it".
"Maur Tulhau" Marganil repeated slowly, looking at Camri for instruction, who promptly corrected her accent. Hennes waved his little head in approval once she got it right. "Will you not join us to our trip to your hometown? We could buy me some new boots and you could tell us which is the best drink in the local tavern...”
Camri’s smile disappeared and her eyes filled with tears. Marganil panicked, what had she said to cause so much sudden distress? “Alas, I can’t go home. No, not yet. Not before, I…”, the kettle’s loud noise made all four of them jump. The halfling removed the tea from the fire and served them in their small wooden cups. Her hands were shaking at first, but the act of caring for others soothed her enough to finish her sentence. “I can’t go home without my little niece. I lost her!” Camri broke down to tears.
“Well, then we will find her!”
