Gazette founder alive and well!!

The happy reunion with her daughter, of whom she thought she had died shortly after her birth, took place far, far away in a city called Caras Galadhon. So what happened to her and why did we not hear from her earlier? I had the honour of interviewing Yola Plumblossom.

Bramblebury Gazette: First of all, welcome back! I know that many of our readers have been looking forward to the moment of your return. Even when the sparse news we had, made us fear the worst.

Yola Plumblossom: Thank you, Peppy, and all who gave me a warm welcome back: my family, my old friends and also many new friends who only knew me from stories. Let me just say, I am very happy to be back and not in hiding anymore.

B.G.: Many of our readers will be wondering about that. What happened to you and why did you go hiding?

Y.P.: *chuckles* The answer to that could fill an entire Gazette edition. But I'll tell you as much as I can.

B.G.: Maybe you can tell us how and why you disappeared?

Y.P.: I can and I will, but I'll have to watch my words carefully to avoid censorship by certain authorities.  I was at work in Angmar at the time, a far away land, full of evil, looking for ways to expand it's influence. *Yola pauses* We were a group of expert burglars, pre-eminent in sneaking and not being seen. Our task was to go to a certain orc camp and make an estimate of their numbers and to see what tribe, or tribes, we were dealing with.

B.G.: Isn't that dangerous?

Y.P.: *nods* It is, but our capability to travel in stealth makes it doable. It always went as planned, except for that gruesome day..  The orcs knew we were coming. They knew! And they ambushed us and killed each and everyone of my team. *Yola gasps at the awful memory*

B.G.: Are you alright Yola? *Yola nods, but shivers* But how? How did the orcs know you were there?

Y.P.: There is only one answer to that: We were betrayed! Someone told the enemy the where and when of our mission.

B.G.: You say all of you team was killed. But surely as you sit here, you were not! It is however as the authorities wanted us to believe. How did you survive the massacre? Were you stealthy enough? Did you keep your cover?

Y.P.: Sadly no. I was in the middle of that fight. It was against all odds: they outnumbered us and were heavily armoured and armed, whereas we were just lightly armed. I got hit by orc swords multiple times. One nearly slashed my throat, one cut my face, another stabbed me in the leg. I lost consiousness then, for loss of blood.

B.G.: So you were heavily wounded and could easily have died there and then!

Y.P.: Yes, I nearly died there. I really thought it was the end of me. When I regained my senses. I managed to crawl away from the pile of bodies I was in. Proud to say, a good number of those bodies were orcs we had still managed to defeat, before... before the battle was lost. So I crawled away, camouflaged myself and waited for my last breath to come.

B.G.: Still you felt you were going to die, although you had survived?

Y.P.: *nods* I was in a bad state. Had lost too much blood, I thought. I went in and out of conciousness a few times. Each time I thought it was the last I'd have seen of this world. But in the end I was still alive albeit with a handicap. I had a severe limp, and I had lost my voice. Speaking was painful and my words came out distorted. But I had survived!

B.G.: *cheers* I am so happy you did! Well, but our readers will be wondering: Why did you not report in and tell everyone you were alive?

Y.P.: To understand that you must realise I was betrayed. Betrayed by someone I thought to be my friend. Worst of all, it was a hobbit. Who? Well, that is of no concern anymore. Enough said about that. But I felt betrayed and had lost all confidence in the world around me. So I went into hiding. Not just to protect myself, but also not to lead any harmful elements to the ones dear to me, like yourself, Peppy. It was very hard realising you and my dearest friends would all be mourning over my death, but I just had to keep you all safe.

B.G.: I understand that now and I hope so will our friends. Many of them did not believe the story of your death anyway!

Y.P.: That is a bit silly of them, but I appreciate their loyalty very much. Without it, it might have taken me more time to be ready to step forward again, forward into the good life. Anyway, before it came to that, I had to regain my strength, heal my wounds and regain my abilities. I was like a young lass again: I had to learn almost everything anew: my burglar skills, my cooking and tailoring skills, even talking. It took me quite some time. All the time I went about masked, with a black cape, which made it easier for me to hide whenever I needed to.

B.G.: But now you are back! How did you decide it was the right time to come back?