An Adventure of Hobbit Proportions RPG

[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.

[Thinlómien]

When they came out, Tansy could instantly say everything was not alright. Brown's face was serious, Rudy was paler than Tansy had ever seen him and Mira was crying. Gaffer Hugo was laying on the ground, unmoving. It was not difficult to guess what had happened.

Tansy took a few quick steps to where Mira was sobbing by her gaffer's side. She wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged her tight. That, of course, made the girl cry even more. Tansy stroked her hair and let her cry. She knew there were no words to make it better.

After a while, Mira pulled away from her and wiped her face with her sleeve. She looked up at her brother. "I don't want to go home now. We have to find the Entwives. Gaffer Hugo would have wanted us to. We have to find them, for him."

Tansy looked from one sibling to another. She could see both sides of the argument, all too clearly. Weren't these the exact same two sides, the responsible child and the adventurer, that had always been fighting in her own heart? She took a deep breath. Suddenly, she knew.

"You only must go home if you are truly needed there right now." She said this to Mira, resting her hand on the girl's shoulder, but she let her eyes travel to Rudy by the end of her sentence.

[Gwathagor]

Brown looked around at the scared, pale faces of the other hobbits, who now stood in a circle around Gaffer Hugo's lifeless form. Of course the expedition could not go on. They had just been out to have some fun before, but real life had taken a hand. Rudy and Mira would have to see to Hugo's burial, break the news to the family, and so on. And the others would likely be disheartened by the tragedy, which had cast a sudden dark pall over their merry adventure - which of them would wish to continue given the circumstances? It hardly seemed right.

Snatch wiggled his way through the legs of the observers and bounced up to Gaffer Hugo. Ordinarily he would have wanted to romp, but he immediately sensed that something was amiss. Snatch approached, sniffed Hugo's feet, and stepped back. Nothing happened. He barked sharply, and still Gaffer Hugo did not move. Snatch leapt up on the platform, sniffed Hugo carefully, and began to lick his face, whining softly all the while. The solemn band watched silently, and Mira cried on Rudy's shoulder.

Brown felt suddenly that he was intruding upon this mourning family, and, without a word, walked slowly back into the inn. They wouldn't be leaving for a while yet, he knew.

Sitting down at his bench again, he began to think. And, as he thought, he realized that there was no reason he couldn't continue north on his own, even if the others had no will to go on.

[Kitanna]

The stranger appeared to be struggling with his food. Peony wasn't inclined to see the poor fellow choke on his food, it would be a waste of food and of life. She jumped from her seat and hurried to his side. Her brother, Nick, was often the culprit of eating too fast and so Peony knew how to handle this.

"Come on, now," Peony gave his back a good hard smack and whatever he'd been eating made its way back up and onto his plate. "There now. Best to chew your food next time, friend." She smiled and patted his back. Color was returning to his cheeks, that was always a good sign.

"Thank you," he rasped.

Peony turned and it seemed her group had left. She was a bit hurt they had simply left her behind. She gave the stranger one more friendly smile before heading out herself. It'd be no good being left here, having to go home before the adventure even began.

Outside her mood changed almost immediately. Gaffer Hugo was just lying there. Rudy and Mira were crying and she felt her own eyes tearing up. But he couldn't be dead, right? He had been alive minutes before.

"You only must go home if you are truly needed there right now." Tansy said, putting her hand on Mira's shoulder.

"But how can we go on without Gaffer?" Peony choked back a loud and unseemly sob. "He wanted to be as much a part of this as the rest of us."