Night falls upon the Misty Mountains. Amid the cold stars a waxing moon picks out a troop of black figures creeping up the snows, whispering in goblin-voices.
'Curse the moon!' hissed one of the bandy-legged goblins. 'Curse it and its treacherous light. Why are we out here anyway?'
'Word has come down from the top,' answered the large one in front: 'a caravan of those bearded stunties has been sighted, coming from out of the East. It's reckoned they will be here by dawn, so we're going to jump them.'
There was a murmur of excitement.
'Just like the good old days, eh?' whispered the one. 'We're gonna gut those rock-chewing rats good and proper!'
'But it ain't the good old days,' said a goblin at the back. 'Nar! And I wouldn't be worrying about no rock-chewers out here either, there's worse things.'
'Garn!' mocked another. 'Don't you worry about any bloody-handed Elves or tree-tarks. They're big plans for them, I hear.'
'It's not them I'm talking about,' hissed the rear goblin. 'There's something else out there.'
'There's always something out there, you belly-aching maggot!' growled the leader.
Hushed laughter broke out, and the rear goblin gnashed his teeth.
'Something's slipped, I tell you,' he muttered. 'What about those sentries on the high pass two nights ago? That wasn't the pretty knife-work of Elves: the mess was unbelievable. It was something worse.'
'Worse?' whispered one who looked at him uneasily.
'There's a bear loosed out there,' he answered; 'bigger than usual. That's what I heard, a huge black thing. Even the Wargs have gone quiet. And they says there might be more than one.'
'They like to say much,' snorted the leader, 'but you won't be saying anything if you don't follow orders. Fool! Now shut your trap.'
The rear goblin sneered. 'You might have forgotten the bad days,' he spat, 'but some of us haven't. They're still out there. The ones who hunted us, and drove us from our holes. The bear-men!'
At this a shudder ran through the troop.
'I tell you, they've come back to finish the job!'
'And I tell you,' snarled the leader, 'If---'
