There was no concept of passing time for Gormbard, he had no idea if he had been down in his cell for weeks or months. It appeared that the Goblins were not going to leave him to starve as they had bought him food, but he was also sure that if they were trying to fatten him up there efforts were wasted as Gormbard was only brought an n occasional small bowl of watery grey gruel. Gormbard dreaded to think what the meat in it was but it was his only source of food and it seemed like an eternity between meal times.
Gormbard sat in his cell cursing the day he ever agreed to be The Mathom House’s errand boy. He should have settled down to be a Shepard or some other quiet carefree vocation. He was constantly hungry and feared that if he did not get some proper food to eat soon he would be skin and bone, he could already feel that his clothing was hanging a little looser than it used to. It was with this sudden realisation that he leapt up and went over to the bars of his cell. He had tried to squeeze between the thick iron bars on his first day of his incarceration but was unable to fit through the gap due to his typical Hobbit build developed over many years of second breakfasts, mid morning tea, lunches, mid afternoon tea, three course dinners and late suppers. However due to the lengthy time he had spent on his diet of Goblin food he found he could squeeze almost all the way through. He took off his jacket and waistcoat and with a deep breath he forced his way between the bars. There was a sudden panic when he found himself wedged fast but with another big push he fell out onto the floor, free from the confines of his cell. Gormbard quickly arranged the ragged blanket that had been his bed to look like a sleeping Hobbit and looked for an escape route.
Gormbard looked around the corner and down the one passage that led to the cave. There were two Goblins posted in the narrow corridor, which was so narrow that the Goblins were stood shoulder to shoulder with no room for Gormbard to sneak past.
Gormbard looked around the cave and his attention was drawn to a small metal grate high up in the roof. The rugged rocks were easy enough to climb compared to the drainpipes of Bree that Gormbard had climbed during his training. The grate was very rusty and covered with a layer of sacking, which blocked out the bright sunlight streaming from outside. A few minutes later Gormbard had loosened some of the mortar around the grate and he carefully pushed the grate up through the hole and hauled himself out.
Gormbard almost let out whoop of joy when he found himself out in the fresh air and sunlight, but he quickly composed himself knowing that he had no idea where he was and that at any moment he could bump into a Goblin sentry. As he parted the thick vegetation that had grown around the metal grate he could see that he was up on a cliff edge that over looked out over the rolling plains of the Greenfields. Gormbard grabbed onto some exposed tree roots and lowered himself down the cliff to freedom
