An Adventure of Hobbit Proportions RPG

[Valier]

Bunny was not at all satisfied with the strangers reply. His expression was startled and his face was too flush to be not falsifying something. With a dissatisfied "hum" Bunny eyed the hobbit up and down, then reached and scratched Snatch on the head and said "good boy"! Looking Rudy in the eye she signaled for him to follow her back to the table. With another puff and a bit of a snarl from Snatch Rudy motioned for him to follow them as well.

Back at the table Bunny said almost in a whisper"He cannot be trusted I fear" , with a smile still on her face. " Our surroundings we must be more aware of too. So mind your tone and volume" I think we should slightly alter our route North, so as we can find out if Mr. Micheal is indeed up to no good. Thank goodness for Snatch! I am sure he will alert us on the road if Micheal or anyone else for that matter comes near."
"Let us not linger 'ere too long. My belly is full and I feel rested enough. Is everyone else almost ready to go?"

[littlemanpoet]

Gaffer Hugo was proud of Snatch. Smart dog! And hearing Bunny favor his pet made him feel warm all over. He decided that he rather liked his granddaughter's friend, even if she was prone to trip on her own hairy feet and get into other scrapes.

When Hugo heard Bunny's question he smirked. "Go? This early? Why, I haven't even had my third helping of bacon yet! What's the rush, Bunny?"

[Thinlómien]

"And I haven't finished my cup of tea," Tansy added, but smiled at her young friend. "Look, Bunny, I don't think we should be so worried about that guy." She screwed up her eyes a bit. After her eyesight had got worse in her tweens, she had learned to pay attention to people's postures and ways of moving if they were too far away for her to make out their exact facial expression.

Tansy looked at her younger friend and smiled. "I think he looks just a bit nervous and frightened, poor boy. I have no idea why he was following us - if he even was, I didn't notice it but I take your word for it - but I doubt his reasons are sinister. I'm inclined to agree with Peony - that lad would be very silly if he was planning to attack us in any way, one against seven hobbits, a dog and a pony." She couldn't help grinning at her own words when she added the pony to the list. She felt silly but she hadn't been on such a careless mood for a while. And for sure, the stranger was nothing she would worry about.

She took a sip of tea. It was good tea with nice touch of nettle and raspberry. She decided to make a fair share of raspberry tea when she got home, she had forgotten how good it was. And nettle too. Nettle soup would be excellent.

"But how can we know he's alone?" Brown asked, interrupting her musings.
"We cannot," Tansy replied calmly, flashing a smile at him, "but if we have to continue on this topic, I'd rather talk with him than about him. I say we either finish our breakfast and continue as if nothing had happened, or - if he really troubles you so much - invite him to our table and ask him some questions. But let's not frighten him any more than we have this far. He seems like a sensitive case." A mischevious glint came to her eyes. "Maybe Brown could even offer him a pint?"

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

After the two hobbits departed from his table, Michael's senses calmed a little. He returned to the rest of his breakfast, however leering at the travelers' table, unobtrusively if possible. He was open-eared, trying to catch something the people in the group may be saying. What are they going to do? A sudden horrible thought now hit Michael. They sure did not believe him. Sure they didn't, of course, he was never good at lying and he knew it. Why, why he had to lie... the feeling of alarm that left him just a while ago had returned with renewed strength. What now? And what are they-

But suddenly, Michael's ear caught a few words from the other table. The green-gray-eyed lady said it. "...invite him to our table..." Michael could not believe his ears. Would he really be that lucky?

But at that moment, the piece he was just chewing got stuck in his throat, and he choked. He reached for his cup, but alas, it was already empty. The loud sound of his coughing filled the whole room, as he attempted to catch his breath and get rid of the piece he swallowed the wrong way.

[littlemanpoet]

"Summat needs to give our friend over yonder a pat on the back, I'm thinking," Gaffer Hugo drawled. "Poor lad's like to catch his death from first breakfast to hear him. Sorry way to die." He grinned as he stuffed one more rasher of bacon in his mouth and chewed happily.

The hobbit seemed to have gotten his wind back with no help, but the wheezing and hacking made Hugo want to leave. So he got up.

"Ow!"

And sat back down again. "Confounded ankle! Rudy, Brown, can you give me a hand up? Sorry to be such a bother."

His ankle was not getting any better. Of course, bouncing on a pony was probably no good for it; nor was being a hundred and more years old, for that matter. But there it was, and it wasn't about to change, so he knew he'd best live with it. One thing for sure, he was not about to be told he couldn't come on this adventure just because of a bum ankle; and if anyhobbit even considered passing such words by his or her lips, that hobbit was going to get an earful, no danger.

[littlemanpoet]

Brown and Rudy helped Gaffer Hugo up, helped him negotiate around the tables, and through the front door and into the courtyard. Snatch pranced along with. Mosy was waiting there, packs on his back, standing next to a platform. It was a gorgeous day! The sun was already halfway up the sky and there was not a cloud to be seen. A pleasant breeze soughed through,

Rudy and Brown helped Hugo up to the platform, then stood on it to help hoist him onto Mosy's back.

"Ready, one, two, three, up you go!" cried Rudy.

Gaffer helped with his one leg, and up he began, but suddenly a hand grabbed his chest somewhere inside and squeezed for all it was worth, and Hugo grimaced. His arms fell to his chest and he moaned. Brown and Rudy did not let him go as he sank to a sitting position on the platform. The hand in his chest just kept squeezing harder.

So this is it, then, Hugo thought to himself, I s'pose I was in for it sooner or later. Good-bye Rudy, good-bye Mira, good-bye Brown and Snatch and Mosy, good-bye all the rest of you.

Gaffer Hugo knew no more.

[Boromir88]

"Gaffer! Wake up! Wake up! You can't go...not yet, not yet! I can't do it by myself, Gaffer." Rudy fell to his knees and began to sob. Snatch had laid his head on Hugo's lap.

Rudy heard a voice call his name, it was Mira's. She must have noticed him and Brown carry the Gaffer out of the inn. Rudy looked up at Brown, "Get Mira inside! Keep her inside the inn, until I figure what to do," he was wiping the tears from his eyes, trying to gather himself, it wasn't working. Before Brown even had the chance to do what Rudy asked, Mira had rushed past both of them and hopped onto the platform, next to the Gaffer's body.

She started shaking him, and was whispering something, but amidst her cries Rudy couldn't comprehend it.

"Mira," she didn't look at Rudy "our Gaffer's...gone"
No response.
"I think it's time we head back home, back to pa. It's what-"
"No!" she cried "Gaffer's going to wake up...we're going to find the Entwives, with Bunny, and Tansy, and Peony, and everyone...all three of us."
"Mira..."
"No! He's going to wake up."

Rudy turned back to Brown, "I have to go inside. I have to tell the others we're going home. We can't go on. You understand?" Rudy was looking for some kind of reaffirmation, from Brown, that he was making the right choice. But Rudy didn't have to tell the others, for they were already outside.