Disclaimer:  These are not my hobbits.  I did nothing here except *borrow* a few characters from J. R. R. Tolkien in order to write a story because I’m not very original.  I am making no money for this story now and do not plan to make any money for it in the future.  If, however, anyone would like to pay me *not* to post it, then I will consider your offer.  (Anything over $10 should be more than enough to get me take this post down.)  I don’t think that would count as making a profit from the story.  It would just be making a profit for removing the story.

Any mistakes in canon, spelling, formatting, grammar, or location ARE MINE! Americanization are also mine, thank you very much!  This story was not beta’d or Brit-picked because I waited until the very last minute to write something and it is hardly fair to send something off to be beta’d on the very day you need it.  So, I now claim responsibility for all errors in this fiction.  

If anyone else would like to dispute my claim on this, and has solid proof that they made any of the mistakes in this fiction, then you are welcome to do so.  Just post a comment to this story letting me know which mistakes are yours along with proof as to *why* they are yours and I will personally  post an addendum stating which mistake(s) is yours and apologizing for taking credit for your work.  I will list your name prominently so that everyone can take note of your mistake(s).

This does not mean you may claim credit for the mistakes in this work if you have made similar mistakes in other works.  It only applies if you have been responsible for screwing this story up or if you have copyrighted a certain type of mistake, thus making that mistake yours for all time.  If you’ve gone to that sort of trouble, then you can probably sue me for using your *mistake*.  

Thank you for reading this prologue and if you should do so, thank you for reading the story that follows.  If you *do* read the story, send me your name, and date of birth and I promise to drink your health next year. As you can tell from reading the story, I enjoy drinking.

GW  09-22-2011