Gormbard awoke to find himself in a small metal cell. At first he thought that the Bree watch had finally caught up with him, the last thing he could remember was hurrying along the road from Brokenborings to Oatbarton when he had been struck from behind.

Looking around he soon realised that this was no cell in Bree but one that lay within a damp cave deep under ground. Through the gloom he could make out a few similar cells to his own scattered here and there but all were empty. Suddenly a small crouched figure approached out of the darkness and to his horror Gormbard saw that it was a Goblin. The Goblin peered at Gormbard and then in a language Gormbard did not understand it spoke to others that were hidden in the darkness before moving off back down the small tunnel that seemed to be the only exit from this dank hole.

Gormbard checked his pockets and for his pack and found that his pockets were empty and his pack was gone, as too was his money and rings, all looted by the Goblins. Gormbard was not sure how long he had been in his prison or what time of day it was outside, but his stomach was telling him that it was many hours since he last ate. Maybe the Goblins would leave him to stave, or worse, maybe they would fatten him up for the pot. Gormbard shivered and tried to find someway means of escape.