Chapter 1

The sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows over the cobbled path on which Samwise Gamgee was riding his pony, Bill , on his way home from the Hobbiton market. Samwise, or Sam as he preffered to be called, was one of the only hobbits in the Shire that actually rode on anything bigger than a donkey. But then, Sam was one of the only hobbits to actually ever leave the Shire at all.

As Sam pulled Bill into the path that led to his hobbit house, he remembered how, seven years ago, he had come home from a much longer trip with three other hobbits. Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peragrin Took, or Merry and Pippin, were still living in the Shire but Frodo Baggins had gone sailing for distant lands with his Uncle Bilbo and the powerful wizard, Gandalf. Together, these five friends, along with many others, had set out to destroy The One Ring, evil token of the dark lord Sauron. Frodo and Sam had thrown the ring into the fire of Mount Doom in Mordor, destroying it. Sauron was no more.

Now Sam was married and had children, but he never forgot the adventure that he had taken part in. Looking back, it only seemed like yesterday.

Sam sighed as he came up to his house and went round the back to untack Bill before going inside. It was just starting to get dark, so his wife, Rosie had already lit the fire. Sam's heart went out to the figure sitting with a pile of blankets in a chair right next to the fire. His small daughter, Elanor had turned around at the sound of the opening door and now gave her father a feeble smile as he walked into the room.

"Hello, Daddy," she almost whispered. Sam sighed inwardly. Before last summer, Elanor would have come running to great her father at the door, rather than sitting here trying to keep warm. Before last summer she had laughed and played along with all the other hobbit children instead of staying here all by herself. Before last summer, the fever hadn't struck.

Sam was pulled very suddenly from these deppresing thoughts as something not unlike a battering ram cannoned into him, nearly knocking him over. "Hiya Dad! Youve been gone for ages. Did you bring me anything, huh, huh?" Sam recovered and calmed his son, Frodo down by telling him that he had bought both his children a little something and they could have it if they sat down quietly. This was a feat much easier for Elanor than it was for Frodo, because unlike his sister, Frodo was about as quiet and willing to sit down as a hyper-active cave troll.

Sam pulled two small presents out out of his pockets: a miniture carved wooden horse for Frodo and a little wooden jewelry box for Elanor. Whole both hobbits were enjoying their presents, Rosie Gamgee called Sam in for dinner. Her face was serious. Once out of earshot of their children. Rosie explained. "Elanor had another coughing fit today. She almost couldn't breathe! I think she's getting worse, Sam." Sam agreed. But there was more frightening news. "You know Bob Bracegirdle? Well his son died of the fever not two days past! And he wasn't as bad as what Elanor is now. Oh why, why isn't there a cure?"

Rosie was now close to tears, and Sam wasn't feeling much better. If people had started to die of the fever already, had Elanor any hope at all? But he did his best to calm his wife down. "There is a cure, dear, we just have yet to find it." but even as he said it, doubt clouded his mind.

Later on in bed, Sam looked at Rosie sadly. Even she was starting to look pale. What if she got the fever as well and they both died? The hobbit tried to console himself by saying that someone might still find a cure, but it was hopeless. If there was one in the Shire, the doctors would have found it by now.

As Sam blew out the bedside lamp, he thought, "But what about outside the Shire? Surely others living in distant lands would have knowledges for such sickness."The only thing was, no one seemed to want to risk leaving the safety of the Shire. It looked like it was up to him. But he'd need help. Sam thought. Who else was daring enough to go with him?