The Bounders were all stood around the corpses of three men. They had been discovered at dawn by a farmer out on the road between Budgeford and Scary. All three lay neatly side-by-side and it was not until the farmer had looked closer that he discovered they were in fact dead and not merely sleeping peacefully, each one had been felled by a blow to the head. At their feet lay numerous objects that appeared to be of Hobbit make and would in fact turn out to be the same objects reported missing from Budgeford and Stock some days earlier.
All three men were dressed in a similar fashion and matched the descriptions given of a group of Brigands that had been causing trouble over the last few months with repeated attempts at crossing the Bounds.
The Bounders were confused but pleased that someone had done their job for them. The corpses were removed and buried in the woods away from the road. The items were returned to their very grateful owners and the Bounders decided not to pursue the matter further.
Within hours no sign of the three men were left and a shower of spring rain had started to wash away the set of heavy hoof prints that led northwards.
