An Adventure of Hobbit Proportions RPG

[littlemanpoet]

Gaffer Hugo was a happy hobbit in the main. He liked having enough coin - which he did - to be able to do what he wished. He liked having a nice little cart and old Mosy, his pony, to pull it, as often as not wherever Mosy's nose chose to take it. When he retired, he had sold his big drover's cart for something more manageable, and was quite pleased with his new one. He had it painted bright green. It was still big enough to do an odd job now and then for a grocer or butcher who needed something taken to one of the inns.

Gaffer Hugo liked it, too, that Snatch sat right next to him on the cart's big bench most of the time. Snatch was three years old, a true bred North Farthing Tunnel Dog, which meant he was small as dogs go; it also meant that his body was strong and he could jump very high for his size. His fur was short and bristly, his snout strong, his ears short and pendant, his eyes bright as sunshine in a pond. His bark was loud and brisk and high pitched, and he used it often whether in greeting or chasing game. True to his breed, Snatch chased game into their burrows, and had a nack for snatching them when they thought they was safe; and so his name.

Gaffer Hugo was not in his cart, but in the home of his grandson Rudy. It was a fine house Rudy owned, for house it was instead of a hole - these Bucklanders were strange, even when they were Hugo's own kin. It felt a little odd to sleep above ground, Hugo thought, but it was all right. Hugo had just got up from a good night's sleep. After stretching and cracking and rubbing his old achy knees and toes and fingers, he let Snatch out for a morning romp; he checked in on Mosy, who was doing fine, for Rudy kept a fine stable too. Hugo went back inside where he could smell the rashers of bacon and the eggs and cakes on the griddle. He sighed with delight and patted his tummy in anticipation. Mira could cook a fine breakfast.

"Good morning, Mira! It smells wunnerful in here!"

[Finduilas]

The rain of yesterday and last night had left the field wet and bright green. As Mira got ready for the day, she kept looking out through her round window into the garden that bordered the hobbit dwelling. The air was fresh, and Mira was happy.

As Mira started to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, she whistled, but stopped abruptly when she remember father didn’t like whistling. “Oh well,” she thought, “I’ll just get out sometime today, and whistle as much as I like.”

Mira was wanted to talk to somebody, but neither Gaffer Hugo, nor Rudy were around, though Mira knew they were both up.

“I want to see someone today. Maybe... I haven't seen Tansy in several months. I wonder if Gaffer Hugo would mind taking me.” She thought, deciding to ask him when she saw him. By this time Mira had gotten griddle cakes frying, the bacon beginning to crisp, and was starting to cook the eggs.

Mira wasn't too surprised when she saw Hugo at the door, who greeted her with a, “Good morning, Mira! It smells wunnerful in here.”

She turned around smiling, “Why thank you. And good morning to you. Did you sleep well?” When he answered in the affirmative, she continued, “Oh, can you take me to Brandy Hall to visit Tansy? I haven't seen her for so long!”

[Boromir88]

Rudy liked the rain. He never understood why everyone else seemed to hate it. Rain was refreshing, the drip-drip-drip on the rooftop was quite relaxing, and it was cooling. In fact, as long as it wasn't ice cold rain, Rudy could not think of a reason to dislike rain.

Rudy woke up to the fine smell of bacon cooking. He loved bacon too; it was his favorite. His younger sister, Mira, always was a great cook. That was a good thing, because Rudy never was much of a cook. He knew how to cook eggs, but that was about it. Before Rudy found out there was another cook in the family (his mother, Rosemary, was another good one) he was forced to make his own meals. Eggs are tasty, but when you have to eat them two or three times a day, they lose their appeal. Rudy tried to make bacon once, but that didn't turn out so great. Two of the pieces were still raw and had a rubbery texture. The other two pieces were charred and tasted like ear wax.

Mira made great bacon; she really made great everything, but bacon was Rudy's favorite. It has been a while since Rudy has had any. The last time Mira made bacon she ended up asking Rudy if she could cross the Brandywine and go all the way out to Woodhall to see some friends. That was a little over three months ago. At times Rudy felt bad for Mira, how she is couped up at their house in Crickhollow. She has to get out, and be on her own, eventually...right? No, she's still far too young. What really made Rudy say yes was the bacon. By now Mira definitely knew how to get a "yes" out of Rudy. There really is no harm in travelling through The Shire...is there? As long as she never asks to go parading though the Old Forest; no amount of bacon will get him to say "yes" to that.

Then it suddenly hit Rudy: 'Oh no...the bacon...what does she want this time?' Rudy didn't bother changing out of the clothes he slept in. He went racing out of his room, but stopped when he saw Gaffer Hugo in the kitchen with Mira.

“Oh, can you take me to Brandy Hall to visit Tansy? I haven't seen her for so long!”

"What's this!" Rudy exclaimed. "Brandy Hall? Visiting Tansy? How can you ask such a thing from the Gaffer? Mira you should know better. You will have to excuse her, Gaffer, sometimes she forgets her manners."

[littlemanpoet]

"Manners?" Hugo retorted. "I've seen worse manners in a Sackville Baggins!" He patted his vest pockets. "Now what have I done with my right off the plant corn cob pipe?" He looked from side to side in the kitchen as if his pipe would somehow be seen other than where he had placed it (which was beside his bed).

"Anyways, I'd like to see Brandy Hall myself. I'll take you, Mira! And Rudy, why don't you come too? We can make a holiday out of it! ... soon as I find my pipe. Mmm! Smell that bacon!"

With that, Hugo seemed to forget all about his pipe and pulled a chair from the table, took a big hand towel and tucked it under his chin, and picked up fork and knife in eager anticipation.

[Finduilas]

Gaffer Hugo was about to reply, and Mira was sure it would be yes, when Rudy barged in. Mira was disappointed with how he responded to her idea.

"What's this! Brandy Hall? Visiting Tansy? How can you ask such a thing from the Gaffer? Mira you should know better. You will have to excuse her, Gaffer, sometimes she forgets her manners."

She brightened up again immediately when Gaffer Hugo spoke in her defense. As he sat down she served him, giving him an extra piece of bacon as a thanks.

“Yes, Rudy, do come. It will be a lovely day, perfect for a ride. And you'll enjoy yourself.” She almost added that he could boss her around more thouroghly if he came, but refrained, as she would prefer to have him in a good mood. She served him a full plate, then filled her own, covering the remaining cakes and bacon for her father.

As she sat down, she asked, “So when can we start?”

[Thinlómien]

As usual, Tansy had been the first one to wake up. She always slept very lightly and seemed to need less sleep than her other family members. She was already up and around, walking in the garden and enjoying the fresh air, when someone finally woke up.

"Tansy! What are you doing here?", Robin Bogsworth asked curiously.
"Oh, good morning, father. I was just having a morning walk."
"In this weather?"
"Yes... A little rain every now and then harms no one."
"When you've done with your problemsolving walk, do come in, I'm hungry and Maylily's not up yet."

The old man closed the backdoor with a slamming sound. He was always too careless with things like that, just like his son, Tansy thought. They both got into accidents on daily basis, but Robin Bogsworth had survived his life with minor injuries, unlike his son.

"Tansy!" a croaking voice called.
"Grandma Daphne, I'm coming", she said and ran to the old woman's window.
"Close the window! Who on earth has opened it! It's so chilly here inside. No, don't close it just yet! What is that expression? I can see you're up to some mischief again." The crone made disapproving sounds with her tongue. "Always doing this and always doing that. Won't you ever settle down and..." The rest of her words were swallowed by a violent cough. Tansy closed the window and hurried inside to see if her grandmother was alright. When she reached the room, her grandmother was snoring loudly. Tansy shook her head. Grandma Daphne knew she was planning something and Dad had seemed to suspect something as well. Better to talk with them as soon as possible, she concluded.

Her mother was already making porridge when she arrived at the kitchen.
"Look at yourself, all wet and brow creased like an old woman's! What have you done and what is troubling you?" Maylily asked.
"Where's dad? And Fred?"
"Robin has gone to fetch Fred to come to have breakfast with us. Even though if you ask me, it should be you, not him, doing it, you're the young one with a strong back..."
"No problem, Maylily!" Robin's voice came from the corridor. "I and Fred are handling this just well. Besides, I will get stiff if I never get exercise."
"Men", Maylily sighed. "But Tansy! What are you idling there! Go to wake up that friend of yours, if she prefers her porridge hot!"

[Gwathagor]

With a sudden rush of feathers and beaten air, a large grouse exploded out of
a low lying bunch of shrubs.

WHAP!

The bird dropped senseless out of the air, struck by a stone from Brown's
sling. As it hit the ground, he dashed over and seized the bird before it
could regain consciousness. He dashed its head sharply against a tree to kill
it, then tied it by its feet to length of cord on his knapsack, where hung
three fattish quail.

He had been hunting opportunistically all that morning, as he walked along the
hedgerows and through the thin woodlands which bordered the fields. Like most hobbits, he was a good shot with a sling, and, as he walked quietly (except for when he whistled, which he did very loud and very well), he would often come upon small hedgerow creatures while they were yet unaware of his presence, or startle them suddenly out of their hiding places.

Presently, he was walking along a low stone wall that, though it now lay in shambles, had probably once marked the boundary of a farmstead. All that remained now was a broad, gently sloping field of green grass.

Hullo! There IS something else left. Ahead, where the wall appeared to make a right turn, was the remains of a small farm cottage. Its thatching had long since disappeared, and the windows were hollow and empty, but the sturdy stone walls still held their mortar.

Brown was well-travelled, and stone buildings did not give him much pause, as they might hobbits who had never passed out of the central regions of the Shire. The stone walls of the cottage and the long, low wall surrounding what had been the farm stood memorial to the battle between the farmer and the earth; the stones used to build the structures had evidently been pulled from the field in an attempt to make it fit for cultivation.

So many rocks...no wonder they left. I would. Give me the woods and the wild any day.

He stepped over a fallen beam through the doorway of the cottage. His foraging instincts, developed by years of rambling, insisted that he at least take a quick look around for anything of use, though the most he expected to find was perhaps an old stove or a rusty tea-kettle. And he proved to be absolutely right. He found both of these things, evidently abandoned in the defeated farmer's hastily beaten retreat.

And this brought up an issue rather dear to his, as to any hobbit's, heart: Speaking of tea...I haven't eaten since breakfast. Thereupon he sat down in the midst of the fallen timbers and broken glass upon an old stool that must have been also overlooked, and removed his knapsack. He did not mind eating second breakfast cold, especially since he was in mid-hike at the moment. Besides, he was eating it rather before the hour this particular morning. It made sense to get in a meal while he could, since there might be some proper leftovers down at Fred and Tansy's, and he would then have the good fortune to have eaten a second second breakfast. This made him smile.

As he ate, he pulled an old book from the rubble, its leather cover warped and cracked. Munching on an apple, he opened the book on his knee and began to read from the first badly damaged and yellowed page.

MERIADOC BRANDYBUCK'S
LETTERS AND SPEECHES
with Elucidations
by
Carl Brandybuck
Vol. I-II