The Buckleberry Ferry slowly cruised down the river at a leisurely pace, the five people standing on the boat's deck were travelling in silence as the oars broke the surface and rose up out of the water. They had been travelling like this for a long time after they had just escaped the Black Riders who had attacked them in the forest they had just left. This company was travelling to Bree to meet with the wizard Gandalf the Grey.
A few hours later the stern of the boat gently bumped the river's edge as they arrived in Bree. The four hobbits had come prepared mind you, had put on the hoods from their bags but poor old Harry who had been unprepared had to borrow one of Frodo's spare hoods which only reached his waist. As soon as they set foot on the soil of Bree it started to pelt down with rain (hence the need for hoods). They hid between the trees as they approached the gates of Bree, the rain stinging their faces. "Come on," Frodo whispered as they walked towards the tall wooden gate which separated the village from the now almost flooded road. Harry raised his fist and rapped on the door five times.
A shutter opened a couple of centimetres above Harry's head but it was quickly shut again and this time a lower shutter opened which was level to Frodo's face, Harry had to stoop to be in view. The man who had opened the shutter had a rattish face, a crooked nose, long greasy brown hair which reminded Harry of a certain Hogwarts Professor, he wore a brown hood and his dark eyes searched their faces.
"What do you want?" He asked in a gruff voice.
"We're heading to the Prancing Pony," said Frodo. The man suddenly slammed the shutter shut and then opened a door Harry hadn't noticed before. The man stepped out into the rain holding a lamp, "Hobbits?" He exclaimed "Four of ye and a man." Harry saw Sam hastily look back then towards the man who had started to say "You're a long way from the Shire, what business do you have in Bree?"
"We wish to stay at the Inn, our business is our own," said Harry quickly.
The man nodded slightly "Alright young sir, I meant no offence, it's my job to ask questions after nightfall." He said as they followed him through the gate "There's talk of some strange folk abroad, can't be to careful," he said dutifully as he closed the gate behind him as Harry and company walked down the winding road to the village of Bree.
They passed fields littered with livestock and Harry estimated that there was about two hundred houses in the main part of the village and a few hobbit holes Sam had spotted, they walked in silence through the darkened village, carts drawn by horses thundered past them and people shoved and glared at them as they passed. Fully grown men nearly as twice as tall as Frodo, Merry, Pippin and Sam barged past them and they had to swerve round them to avoid being trampled. Frodo suddenly put a hand out to stop them, and looked up at a creaking sign that flapped in the wind above their heads. They had arrived at their destination, The Inn of the Prancing Pony.
Harry hesitated as he put his hand on the cold metal of the latch but the sound of cheering and laughing eventually won him over and he opened the metal latch of the door and they walked into the brightly lit and warm interior of the Prancing Pony. They pulled their sopping wet hoods off their dripping heads and saw lots of men laughing and cheering as well as a few hobbits who where mixed in with the much taller men. "Excuse me?" Said Frodo to the barman who turned at the sound of his voice.
He had brown curly hair, bushy sideburns and a small brown moustache "Good evening little masters," he said warmly, looking down on them from his high bar "What can I do for you? If you're looking for accommodation we've got some nice cozy hobbit-sized rooms available," he said as a man pushed past them "We are always happy to cater for little people and small men Mr..."
"Underhill, my name's Underhill," said Frodo obviously copying Harry's idea of not revealing his true name.
"Underhill, yes" The barman muttered sceptically.
"We are friends of Gandalf the Grey," said Harry "Can you tell him we have arrived?"
The barman looked puzzled at this question "Gandalf?" He said "Gandalf?" He said again scrunching up his eyes as if trying to remember something which of course he was. Then his eyes widened "Oh yes!" He exclaimed "I remember, elderly chap, big grey beard and pointy hat." A glimmer of a smile started to appear on Frodo's face until the barman said "Not seen him for six weeks," and his smile faltered.
He turned to Sam, Merry, Pippin and Harry, looking worried. "What do we do now?" Asked Sam.
Half an hour later they sat at a table, mugs in their hands, food on their plates but they hadn't touched anything, except Merry and Pippin who were eating food faster than Ron Weasley. Harry looked down at his bread, thinking about Ron was painful, he will never see him again or Hermione or Neville or the Weasley Twins or Ginny. Frodo finally broke Sam, his and Harry's silence "He'll be here," he said "He'll come," but he sounded very uncertain about the mysterious absence of Gandalf. Neither of them noticed two men whispering to each other and staring at them.
"Get out the way!" Yelled a man as he pushed past Merry who had emerged appeared from the crowd holding a large pint of beer, but as he sat down it was clear Hobbits didn't know what pints were.
"What's that?" Said Pippin, his eyes wide in wonder.
"This my friend, is a pint," Merry said as if explaining it to a small child.
"It comes in pints?" Pippin exclaimed looking like an excited puppy.
"Mmm hmm," Merry said into his cup.
"I'm getting one," said Pippin hurriedly as he leapt off the bench and ran to the bar.
"You've had a whole half already!" Called Sam but Pippin had already vanished. Sam suddenly tapped Frodo on the shoulder "That fella's done nothing but stare at you," said Sam pointing with a hunk of cheese to a tall man, sitting in a corner next to the fire smoking a pipe.
Harry stopped a passing waiter "Excuse me?" He asked "That man in the corner, who is he?"
"He's one of them Rangers," said the waiter, darkly "He's one of them Rangers. They're dangerous folk, wandering the wilds, what his right name is, I've never heard but around here he is known as Strider." He said all of this very fast.
"Strider," Harry repeated. Frodo then suddenly looked quite ill, he had his eyes closed and he was swaying slightly "Are you alright?" Asked Harry but Frodo didn't take any notice.
Quite suddenly his eyes snapped open when he heard a loud "Baggins?" Harry followed Frodo's troubled gaze which was fixed on Pippin. "Sure, I know a Baggins," he said "He's over there, Frodo Baggins." He waved at Frodo, who looked like he wanted a hole to appear and swallow him up. Harry shook his head at Pippin's stupidity but Pippin kept on ranting on "He's my second cousin once removed on his mother's side and my third cousin, twice removed..." Harry couldn't here the rest as he ran after Frodo who was making a beeline for Pippin, Harry noticed when he was running after Frodo Strider stopped smoking and watched their every move.
"Pippin!" Whisper-shouted Frodo nudging him.
Pippin quickly spun round on his bar stool, beer decorating his front "Steady on Frodo!" He yelped but he accidentally nudged Frodo back as he turned round, only for Frodo to trip over someone's foot and fall backwards and the same golden ring Frodo had nearly put on flew out of his hands. Everyone saw the ring as it seemed to hover before falling down and landing perfectly on Frodo's outstretched finger. There were gasps and lots of "Where did he go!"s but Harry didn't know what they were talking about as he could see Frodo getting up.
"You cannot hide," said an awful echoing voice, like a knife being scraped across stone. Harry looked to see if anyone else could here it but they obviously couldn't as they were still marvelling over Frodo's supposed 'disappearance'. "I see you..." said the voice once again and Harry turned to Frodo and in front of him was a huge flaming eye its silted pupil was fixed on Frodo. "There is no life in the void... only death..." Frodo suddenly ripped the ring off his finger and seemed to become visible to everyone else again, he shook his head several times before Harry crouched down to ask Frodo if he was alright but a hand grabbed Frodo's shoulder and dragged him to a corner, it was Strider's.
Harry ran after Strider and heard him say "You draw to much attention to yourself, 'Mr Underhill'," before he dragged Frodo up the stairs and Harry quietly followed them up the stairs. Once they had reached the top of the stairs Strider opened a door and threw the poor hobbit into a room and Harry slipped through the door just before Strider slammed it shut. He dove behind an armchair and watched the scene in front of him unfold.
"What do you want?" Asked Frodo getting up again, a nervous edge to his voice.
"A little more caution from you, that's no trinket you carry," Strider growled.
"I carry nothing."
"Indeed," Strider said sarcastically "I can avoid being seen if I wish but to disappear entirely, that's a rare gift." He said putting out all the candles that lit the room with his finger before taking off his hood revealing a mane of long black hair, blue-grey eyes, a handsome face and a stubble on his chin and upper lip.
"Who are you?" Asked Frodo.
"Are you frightened?" Said Strider.
Frodo paused before saying "Yes."
"Then you are not nearly frightened enough, I know what hunts you."
Frodo stared at him. Without thinking he took a running leap and cleared the armchair just as Strider drew his sword and Sam, Merry and Pippin appeared brandishing a candelabra, a bar stool and a frying pan.
"Let him go!" Shouted Sam "Or I'll 'ave you Longshanks!"
"You have a stout heart, little one but that will not save you," Strider said, sheathing his sword and looking at Sam who still was holding onto his frying pan. "You can no longer wait for the wizard Frodo," he said turning to Frodo "They are coming."