there was Staddle on the other side of the hill, Combe in a deep
valley a little further eastward, and Archet on the edge of the Chetwood.
Lying round Bree-hill and the villages was a small country of fields
and tamed woodland only a few miles broad.
Two months and six days since the horror of Carn Dûm was unleashed. July 28th, 2954.
Kol was a young man, even by the standard of Men, but he had grown up fast as trouble had struck his family at a young age. Bree was a boring place for most young men to grow up in, Combe, the small town east of Bree was even worse. Farming and herding, those were the hot topics, perhaps some forestry with the timber men of the Chetwood. That however doesn't excite men with wanderlust.
Kol was one of those young men who needed excitement, and Combe was not the place to scratch his itch. A dwarf venture had come through, seeking some sell swords, a handful of men from Bree went along, but Kol missed his chance. A good thing too for rumors were that dwarf, Vara, was back in town after a terrible disaster.
Kol's friends, were talking all about it. Today the group of friends were gathered up at their old haunt, a fishing hole in the valley, of one of the many little streams that eventually found its way to the Midgewater. He companions had invited Kol to join them.
Pacing back and forth was Benton, he was a year younger than Kol, his parents owned a farm, like most, and he worked that farm of course. Short cut hair, his pants always had holes in the knees, and his boots were never well tended. His family was struggling recently with a bad crop, and he always worried about one thing or another.
Sitting on the edge of the fishing hole, legs dangling over the rock was Macey Longhole, a Hobbit who's family had until recently lived in Staddle, but because of a scandal with her older sister and a boy from the Sandheaver family, moved out to Combe to try and escape the rumor mill. Macey was always smiling, her feet were curly haired, and her cheeks round and rosy just about any time of year. She was the elder of the group and had a rock in her hand and tossed it into the water. "Calm down Benton, I'm sure Kol will be here in a few minutes."
Benton wasn't so sure, "Maybe we should forget this, this is a bad idea. I'm going home...."
Just then Kol arrived...