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RL (Arizona) time is Tue Dec 04 13:16:09 2001 (+time).
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IC time is about 11 AM on Wednesday Foreyule (December) 17, 1424 S.R.
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IC Weather Conditions
The drizzle has changed to a light snow, drifting down in seasonably light
fashion over the hills and vales, just dusting the landscape on this
Foreyule/Yulemath day.
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The smell of sweet nectar wafts invitingly toward your nose as you enter the
garden.
Great Smials Garden
You see a large, sprawling garden. Several fountains (the water having been
diverted from the Stockbrook) spout water grandly into little pools bordered by
wildflowers here, and a cobblestone walkway leads you around each one, so that
you can feel a light refreshing mist on your skin. Statues dressed in creeping
ivy can be spotted towards the back of the garden, and stone benches dot the
sides. Weeping willows seem to be the head gardener's favorite tree, and quite a
few of them let their long, bending branches sweep the ground. No matter what
the weather, flowers bud gregariously here, and bright reds, yellows, whites and
pinks cover the landscape. Bluebirds share the garden with a few ever-chattering
squirrels, and besides the occasional fight over a nut, the place is very
peaceful and looks like a wonderful spot to rest. At the southern end of the
garden you see a narrow little path that runs south through a stand of
willows. Perhaps you should follow it and see where it leads to.
Obvious Exits:
The Vineyard Trail winds through a hall of willows towards a shady area.
Out leads to an open area before Great Smials.
Iron Gate leads through a metal entryway carved out of a tall hedge.
Contents:
Eglantine
Deluxe Buffet
Pile o' Mathoms
Took Family Plot
Great Smials: Vineyard
Omfast
A brown haired hobbit boy with freckles, a running nose and blue eyes. He is
barefoot (of course) and wears brown baggy trousers, a yellow shirt with olive
green patches at the elbows, and a big belt that must have been red a long time
ago. Around his neck there is a little leather thong with a wooden halibut
shaped talisman. In one of his shirt pockets, he has a small pipe. On his belt,
you can discern three little pouches, although it is hard to tell what they
contain. Perhaps a few pennies and some keys? It's hard to tell, the content
doesn't seem to make any sound. Perhaps it's just pipe weed.
Eglantine
Eglantine Took, Thainess of the Shire, displays elegance and dignity worthy of
her rank. Her once chocolate-colored hair is thinning, yet she has still managed
to assemble the curls into an elegantly-styled coiffure. Ornamenting it is one
delicate flower: an eglantine, her namesake, and the most beautiful flower of
the fall season. She herself is in the autumn of her life, but none of the
luster has gone out of her dark, piercing brown eyes. Instead, her age shows
itself in the wrinkles spanning out from her mouth, her forehead, and her
eyelids. It appears in her tight, thin lips, and in the gray strands sleeking
through her hair. She has not lost any of her plumpness with time, however, and
fills out her clothing well. The bottom of her silk, mint green dress fans out,
propelled by the layers upon layers of petticoats beneath. Revealing little, the
neckline of the dress stretches up halfway to her chin. Every possible hem is
decorated with scalloped lace, including her sleeve cuffs that resemble
halved-doilies. Gaudy rings line her chubby fingers, most noticeable being
particularly large golden one with the Took badger engraved upon it. On the
choker around her neck, the same badger is displayed as a cameo.
Carrying:
Nettle
A hobbit comes walking into the garden, wrapped in a winter cloak. His curly
hair is snow covered and his nose is rather red. He sniffs a bit and looks
around. He then starts to carefully walk along the paths, looking left and
right. Occasionally he stops and reaches into the hedges, doing something or
other. He blows the snow from his fingers and continues, his eyes fixed to the
ground.
Sitting below a willow tree is the Thainess Eglantine, her large dress spreading
out around her, making her look much like a flower herself. She certainly is the
brightest flower now, with the rest of the garden's colors muted under winter's
spell. She is sitting quietly, patiently, as if waiting for something.
Panadrin
Not a very tall hobbit but very round. It takes four hobbits holding hands to
circle him. His lighter than average brown hair curls around his ears and over
his brow and brings out the twinkle in his blue eyes. His feet have very curly
reddish brown hair. He looks about 35. He wears a red plaid waistcoat over a
white shirt and yellow trousers. He has a deep forest green cloak to keep him
warm with lots of pockets on the inside that can be seen when it flaps open. He
has a small pouch in the pocket of his waistcoat. It is on a gold chain strung
across his large middle on a small fob with an odd looking green polished stone.
Citro
A undersized hobbit with an average build, somewhere in his tweens. He has
short, corkscrew dark-brown hair. His hazel eyes peek out from a ruddy face. He
is wearing a rose-colored shirt, over which is a canary-yellow waistcoat with
gilded buttons. His tangerine trousers go down to his hairy feet, and are held
up by a large pink leather belt with a brass buckle. On his head is a
cream-colored hat, and on his back an indigo cloak.
A hobbit comes walking into the garden, wrapped in a winter cloak. The Hobbit
look around and sees Eglantine sitting below the willow tree and waves And Says
"hello"
Rubbing his neck and holding his head, Panadrin approaches the Thainess
Eglantine, snuffling a little, "I do not feel well at all, My neck is stiff, my
nose is stuffed and this snow, it is just too much." He thumps his head,
muttering to himself. "I do not know now...., what did I want to ask the
Thainess, ah yes. Mistress Thainess, Are you busy?"
Omfast continues on his path through the gardens. Slowly he approaches the
willow tree where the Thainess is sitting. As he approaches you note that while
he is obviously interested in the hedges in the garden, he is also eyeing the
hobbits carefully. As he hears the other hobbits talking, he approaches.
Suddenly he is caught in a nervous cough. He wipes some snow from his head and
looks around again. He steps even closer, looking uncertainly at the other
hobbits assembled.
The Thainess glances at first one of the questioners, then the other. "Good
afternoon to both of you. . . busy? Not quite at th emoment, although I shall be
soon. I am expecting someone. . . would you happen to be the hobbit applying for
the gardening position?"
"no, I am not the one, I had other business I wanted to discuss." Looking at
first one hobbit and then the other,who are standing nearby. " Well, I well,
actually, I was half half wondering about moving back to the Smials, I have a
had a room at the Green Dragon Inn for a long time now and the walk to
Tuckborough is starting to take its toll on my health." Panadrin sneezes loudly
"aaChoooo" and with a flourish pulls out a large red plaid hankee which was
hidden in his sleeve to wipe his nose.
Omfast says, "Ah, ah, well madam, that must... that might have been me." He
looks at the two other hobbits present and shifts his weight from one foot to
the other, fingers rubbing a button on his coat. "You see, I, ah-, applied for
the job, well I did not really apply for the job, but I heard about the position
available, and I ah, I came looking, asked ah- around, you see. Somebody must
have told you. Yes, anyway, I am looking for work as a gardener."
"Well now, who to attend to first? You-
"Well now, who to attend to first?" The elderly ladyhobbit peers up at Pandrin,
squinting at him to block out the sunlight streaming over his shoulder. "Since
the interview with the gardener might take a while, let's first settle this. . .
you are a Took, eh? I can't say I recognize you. . .who is your mother?"
Panadrin 's face redden's, "ah well, My mother was Coral Haywood Brandybuck
Took, and she has been gone many years now, It is a long and sad story, not
fitting for this time and place. You may however be familiar with my Twin,
Roldaric Took. My name is Panadrin Took." then Panadrin Bows very formally.
Eglantine nods thoughtfully as she listens. "Ah, Coral's son, one of the twins!
Of course you can move in. . . what do you do now- do you have a trade? A
family? Who is your wife?"
overwhelmed with the questions, Panadrin looks at the other two hobbits and asks
politely "May I..." Then looking at the Thainess. "the easiest question first,
no, I have not married, yet, no lads or lasses, but a trade.... Now that would
be telling and we could go on about that for days, simply put, I am a Pastry
Chef.
Panadrin bows again deeper and more elegantly than before.
"Ah, well then we shall just have to find a lovely ladyhobbit for you!" The
Thainess sounds positively delighted. "I don't know a decent hobbit who would
turn down a Pastry Chef for a husband. . . as long as you aren't part of that
dreadful EBS! What a disgrace to the Shire. . . but we shall have to talk later.
Which of you is the gardener again?" She looks questioningly at Omfast and Citro.
Omfast raises his hand, slowly. "I, I am, mylady." he says and bows. "I would
like to be the gardener, in any case."
Citro says "if any of you need a fine watch or need it cleaned, repaired, or
engraved I am around."
Citro takes a gold pocket watch, engraved with "C.B." and a large dragon from
inside his waistcoat. He looks at the time.
Citro returns the watch to his inside pocket.
Eglantine looks Omfast over, examining his personage thoroughly. "Good, good. .
. what was your name again?"
Omfast says, "Forgive me, mylady. My name, my name... I am Omfast Cotton, me
father is a farmer up in Bywater. He sent me to live with my uncle. Told me to
get a job, he did. The rea- reason I think I might make a good gardener is that
I know a lot about hedges, bushes, trees, and I know how to tend roses. I had to
help my mother a lot back home, you see. You can ask my Uncle. Bertam Clayhanger
is his name. Ah, you see my aunt Iris Rumble had a sister, Lilly, who married
into the Clayhanger family... I'm good with growing things, truly I am..." His
voice trails of.
looks at the would be gardener and the other hobbit, "Excuse me good hobbits, I
have another appoinment to keep, I must be leaving."
Surprised, Omfast jumps a little as he hears this, and turns around, "I am sorry
sir, I didn't mean to push ahead... So sorry..."
Bowing to the Thainess and again slightly to the other two hobbits, "Not at all,
sir, I respect your forwardness, You do seem to respect hedges, I saw how gentle
you were with the hedge around this garden, I just realized the time and needed
to excuse myself."
Eglantine nods thoughtfully as she listens to Omfast. "So, you have some
previous experience, it sounds like. The job isn't too difficult. . . we don't
have any major changes planned for the garden. We're just in need of someone who
can do some general upkeep. Our last gardener quit to move to Newbury. . . he
was in love with a lass up there. Last I heard, it didn't even work out! What a
shame!"
"Farewell," she adds to the departing hobbit. . .
Panadrin bows again at the Thainess "I will discuss the room situation with you
again another time, Thankyou." Turning to the rather shy quiet hobbit and the
gardener, good day kind sirs, thank-you for this time together" Panadrin turns
and quietly walks out of the garden
Panadrin steps out of the garden.
Citro says "good bye to the hobbit and hope to see you again. if you ever need
watch work or a wtach just mail me"
Citro steps out of the garden.
Omfast waves after the departing hobbit and then says to the Thainess, "Ah,
isn't that... uh... a shame, yes. He is not coming back? These gardens look
wonderful, and I'd love to work, here. Cleaning the paths shoveling snow in
winter, cutting the hedges in autumn, planting flowers in spring, I can do all
that and more. Does that mean I can start to work here? That would be so
wonderful. Where do I go, whom do I ask? Or... well, that is, if I get the job,
naturally..."
"Naturally, I shall have to speak with the Thain," Eglantine answers, her voice
drawling, as if bored. "I shall be sure to speak favorably of you. You are the
first applicant we've received thus far. . . I don't personally know much about
gardening- the kitchen is my arena."
"In fact," she continues, rising from the bench, "I think I shall be off fo r a
bit of tea. Thank you for dropping by. If you are selected for the position, a
servant shall get in touch with you."
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