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They rode forward at a steady canter. It was crucial to get the speed right – too slow, and they wouldn't reach Buckland on time, too fast and their ponies would tire, and they wouldn't reach Buckland at all. Pervinca fidgeted with her dagger. She hadn't needed to use it yet, and she hoped she wouldn't have to. Somehow, she doubted that, though.
Suddenly, Pervinca caught sight of something that made stop short in her tracks. The blood drained from her face. Everard glanced at her, and then caught Negrinard's eye, who nodded in acknowledgement, worry etched across his face. Cautiously, they reined up either side of her.
A party of Ruffians lay up ahead. In the center, heavily bound, were two hobbits. One of them was quite large, and well above the respectable size for a hobbit to be. Everard knew that wavy dark hair, those bright blue eyes. They belonged to Pippin. But it couldn't be Pippin. Pippin was gone, and besides, he was much smaller than that. But apparently Pervinca was entirely willing to overlook these details.
Before Everard or Negrinard could stop her, Pervinca shot off towards them, desperate to free the hobbit she believed to be her brother. Her companions glanced at each other in alarm, than took off after her.
Pervinca galloped down towards the Ruffians, her eyes and dagger glinting dangerously, her face a raging storm. She was flanked by Negrinard and Everard as they desperately tried to stop her. They were quite a terrifying sight, but as the Ruffians saw them charging towards them, they laughed. After all, what chance did a scrawny hobbit-lass and two reluctant hobbit lads stand against them?
Even Drinlo nearly cracked a smile at the ridiculousness of what they were attempting, but the temptation vanished when he caught sight of Pippin's distressed face. Drinlo edged closer to him. "Do you know them?" he whispered hoarsely.
Pippin nodded, his face as pale as that of a ghost. "She's my sister," he replied.
The trio was much more effective then they appeared, but they stood no chance against the Ruffians. Even so, there was a hint of annoyance in Pippin's eyes. "Come on, Vinca," he muttered, "you can fight better than that." Drinlo certainly hoped so. She was holding her own, angrily and ferociously hacking at any of the Ruffians that stood in her way, but her defenses were pathetic. She would have been long dead had her two companions not been guarding her so cautiously.
The number of guards surrounding Pippin and Drinlo suddenly increased. The Ruffians grabbed Drinlo, who then looked up to see that Pippin was being held up high, a dagger at his neck. "Lower your weapons!" the lead Ruffian cried.
Drinlo's mind raced fervently, as he felt the cold, sharp steel against his own neck. Their three 'rescuers' were doomed to failure, but they had cost the Ruffians about five men already. Afterwards, they'd keep Pippin, and possibly his sister if they knew who she was, being the children of the Thain. But as for the rest of them, the Ruffians wouldn't risk keeping them any longer. They were going to die. Unless…
"Rollin!" he cried, as loud as his tired, sore throat would allow.
And then everything went black.
Rollin sighed. If twenty hobbits had been travelling to Tuckborough, they would have been there by now. But the Ruffians were drunk and lazy, so they had only covered a third of the distance.
The main dilemma was a matter of stealth. There weren't always trees and bushes for the hobbits to conceal themselves. It was difficult to stay out of sight, yet close enough to be able to reach Pippin and Drinlo quickly if needed. A party of twenty loud, clunky, armed men was easier to spot than five hobbits, but the original plan of keeping them surrounded at all times wasn't going to work.
Rollin solved the problem by setting his party in a curved formation, about three hundred meters behind the Ruffians. It was unlikely they'd be seen, and even if they were, the Ruffians would probably think nothing of it. So long as they didn't shout, they wouldn't be heard. If something was to happen, and they needed to break Pippin and Drinlo out early, it was a simple matter of charging forward, and attacking the Ruffians from behind. The only problem now was knowing if there was a problem.
Rollin solved this by having someone scouting forward on foot, at all times, but he had his doubts about this. If something happened, would a scout be able to get back to them on time? And what if the scout was caught? Of course, all this was most likely irrational, considering they probably wouldn't need to ambush until they neared Tookland, where there was plenty of bushland they could hide in, according to Pippin. But Rollin wasn't sure it would still be there, and besides, that was his little brother in the Ruffians' camp, as well as the son of the Thain.
Rollin looked up to see the hobbit that was currently supposed to be scouting sprinting towards him. Rollin reached down to support him, and the hobbit grasped his arm gratefully. "Draffo?" Rollin asked, "What has happened?"
Draffo took a deep, shaky breath. "Three hobbits attacked," he replied breathlessly. "Tried to rescue Captain Peregrin. They're failing…"
Rollin chewed his lower lip. Of all the inconvenient things that could have happened… Suddenly, he heard his brother's cry, rolling over to them. "Rollin!"
Rollin needed no more convincing. "Charge!" he shouted.
Everard couldn't believe it. Minutes ago, Pervinca had been calm and composed. Now she was going crazy. Never before, to the best of his knowledge, had she ever allowed herself to be overcome by her emotions the way she was now. And now they had charged into a fight there was no way they could win. So much for the plans they had to free the Shire. Although, the fact that Pippin had just turned up made Everard suspect that their plans would have to be discarded anyway.
Now they were battling for their lives, in a fight they couldn't win. When the lead Ruffian seized Pippin and held him above their heads, demanding they lower their weapons, they swallowed their pride and complied. Pervinca's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry," she whispered to Everard and Negrinard, but her eyes were fixed on Pippin. "Why did I-" The rest of her sentence was lost, as the other captive cried out somebody's name.
What happened next was a blur. More hobbits attacked from behind, and the next Everard knew, he, Pervinca, Negrinard, Pippin and five other hobbits were battling side by side. With nine fighting Hobbits, they quickly dispatched the Ruffians.
As the last few Ruffians fled from the scene, Rollin knelt down by his brother's side. Pippin edged over towards him. "They hit him in the temple with the hilt of a dagger. Hard. But he's strong. He'll be alright"
Rollin nodded, cradling his brother's head in his arms. Pervinca stepped towards them. "Hello brother. Would you introduce us?"
Pippin blinked quickly. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "Everyone, this is Pervinca, my sister. And this is Everard, who's a friend of ours. And Negrinard, another friend." Quickly he introduced the six hobbits who were, as he told them, accompanying them to Tookland to free the town. "But if you've escaped, then has something happened?"
Pervinca shook her head. Hurriedly she explained their plan, and how it had come about. Pippin laughed, and gave her a quick account of what had happened in the Shire, and told her of their plan to get into Tookland. Which Pervinca, thank you very much, had just ruined.
Negrinard rolled his eyes. "What a drama queen," he said. "Pippin, it would have been easy to get into Tuckborough. The Ruffians are keeping people in, not out. You didn't need to… be captured."
"Well I didn't know that!" replied Pippin indignantly. Everard raised his eyebrows.
Rollin sighed, as the day's events whirled through his mind. He had volunteered to be on watch, as he doubted he would be able to sleep. It was a warm night, so they had no need of a campfire. Not that they could risk one, anyway.
He glanced at the sleeping figure of Pippin, then back down at Drinlo. To Rollin's relief, Drinlo had woken up twice in the last few hours. He would recover quickly, Rollin knew. He always did. Even as these thoughts crossed Rollin's mind, Drinlo's eyes began to flutter open. Rollin instinctively seized his brother's shoulders, and held him down as Drinlo began coughing.
Eventually, the coughing ceased, and Rollin helped his younger brother into a sitting position. Drinlo took in two, shaky breaths, than looked up at Rollin's concerned face.
"So we made it," said Drinlo. "You took your time, charging."
"And you took yours, coming around," replied Rollin. "But this is your third time, waking up. Do you remember anything, after the ambush?"
Drinlo's brow creased in thought. "No," he said finally. "Why, what happened?"
Rollin shrugged, than indicated Pervinca. "That's Pippin's sister," he said. "Her name's Pervinca, and she came here with two others. They're Tooks."
Drinlo didn't respond. Rollin glanced at him, and saw that his eyes were trailing the horizon, frozen in fear. Rollin studied where his brother was pointing, then sprung up, and began to wake the others. Drinlo followed his example.
But the time it took for seven hobbits to wake up was not enough, and even if it had been, they really wouldn't have stood a chance. There was a massive onslaught of over fifty Ruffians coming towards them, and before Drinlo knew it, he was, once again, at their mercy.
Once the hobbits were all tied up on the backs of their respective ponies, which were being led by the Ruffians, the party turned around. The Ruffians had recognized Pippin, and were now headed for Hobbiton.
Finally some action! And a cliffy…
I'll try and update soon.
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