The caravan arrived at the Bullroarer’s Sward and made course for the Hobbit villages occupied by the brigands. They were to stop there for a day or two, to let the armed company scout ahead and make sure that the road was clear. The brigands stopped into the safe camp and rested there, while the Dwarves started sweeping the land carefully, with the intent to kill any curious or threatening folk, they could not endanger anything. The men and the Dwarves on the carts ran straight to the barrels and started drinking, after being on the road for days. They were all drunk before the night has fallen and their loud laughter and shouts could be heard as far as Oatbarton where the Hobbits could hear them.
Half of them had fallen asleep when a man in red was seen walking into the camp, those that still had some wits stopped talking and followed him with their gaze. One could say that they were afraid… He walked up to the man in charge of the camp and spoke in a loud voice, so that the others could be heard. “We captured two men asking for information; it seems that one of your men has sung… Make sure it won’t happen again!” his words made the men stir and look around at each other in fear, the man in charge of the brigands nodded and apologized with a breaking voice, something that provoked the rage of the slim man who hissed in anger! “I do not want your apologies; I want you to try harder! Try harder or die! We won’t accept failure and you know it. They are being transferred to Angmar as we talk. If you fail again some of you will be transferred there as well…” and grinned, showing his white teeth, under the hood that covered his face.
His last sentence made the men stir more and those that held bottles let them fall from their hands, trying to sober up, that much was the fear that the three red clad men instilled in them. The leader of the brigands nodded once with a serious face and gleaming eyes, trying to not show his fear, only determination. The man left as quietly as he came and the leader started shouting orders and kicking those on the ground, every man was now awake and listening carefully. Their minds were mostly fixed on how to escape the fate of going to Angmar rather than obeying the orders of the fearsome man. A company was sent out to the Northeast to make sure that they were not to be caught by surprise again and the rest manned the camp to make it into a fort.
