An Adventure of Hobbit Proportions RPG

[Gwathagor]

Brown grinned widely.

"Then it'll have to be Rudy," he said. "I don't take too kindly to strangers myself."

He laughed at himself, drained his mug, and pushed back his plate. Then he leaned back in his chair and stretched, while out of the corner of his eye he took a good, long look at the strange hobbit. He seemed to be doing his best to not notice them and appeared very absorbed in his breakfast.

[Valier]

Bunny's ears perked up at the conversation going on between the men. No one seemed to want to talk to this stranger. She looked to where their glances were directed. There sat a normal looking Hobbit, thoroughly engrossed in his breakfast.
Bunny had not even noticed him earlier as the others seemed to have, which embarrassed her some what. She was way too busy chatting up a storm with the other lasses. Living in a house with all brothers, she relished the time she had alone with other girls.

Bunny gave a mischievous grin at the boys, loudly cleared her throat so all their eyes would follow her and pushed back her chair and rose. Smoothing her skirt and hair unconsciously, Bunny made her way through the quieting inn towards the table the stranger occupied.

As she neared she held out her hands in greeting. "Hello there! Kind sir...My name is....OOOOOFFFFFF!!! and down she went. Her wretched toes were always getting in the way! Her face reddened.

"My name is Bunny, Bunny Took." She stated from her spot on the floor. The stranger held out his hand to help Bunny up. " My companions and I have noticed you may be following us.....Are you? and if so why?"
Bunny again straightened her skirt and now stood with hands on her hips looking as stern as one can after just falling onto the floor.

[Boromir88]

"Then it'll have to be Rudy," he said. "I don't take too kindly to strangers myself."

"It looks like Bunny's taking care of our stranger. Besides, I never heard of no hobbit that steals from other hobbits. It's called bor-..." Rudy was cut off by Bunny's sudden spill.

He didn't mean to laugh so hard at the site of Bunny falling down, but he couldn't help himself. "At least we won't be short of any entertainment on this adventure." he told Brown and the Gaffer.

He did feel bad for laughing out loud the way he did. Now, Brown's talk of hobbits going bad, had Rudy wondering about this stranger. He wanted to go find out who was this hobbit.

"I better give our little Bunny a little help." he chuckled. "Will one of you two remind me to get some biscuits before I leave? I forgot after all the excitement in Stonebow, I don't want that to happen again!"

Rudy walked over to the table where the stranger was sitting. Bunny had just asked the stranger why he was following them. He looked at Bunny and smiled "Sorry to intrude, just thought I'd say, you gotta watch out for those floorboards, they like to jump right out in front of you. You should have seen the time when Mira had made breakfast. She had just cleaned up a spill, father went into the kitchen and slipped on the wet floor. I was behind him, saw exactly where he fell, but was laughing so hard I proceeded to walk where he did and took a spill right next to him."

Rudy wanted to make sure Bunny had no hard feelings by his slightly rude laughter. Plus, he wanted to have a reason for going over to the strangers table in the first place. "Hello, sir." he said addressing the hobbit. "You may call me Rudy, and what should I call you?"

[Kitanna]

Peony had noticed the stranger for a fleeting moment on the road, but she gave no heed to him. Even now, after easedropping on the men's talk, she saw no need to be worried about him. He didn't seem like a hobbit "gone bad" as Brown has said. He seemed to be no more than an embarrassed tweenager.

Bunny was prepared to engage the stranger in conversation. Though her own two feet betrayed her and she stumbled before him. Rudy soon joined Bunny, Peony guessed it was to find out about this mysterious hobbit. While they gathered what information they could, Peony hoped to gain some insight from Gaffer Hugo and perhaps even Brown. If they thought this hobbit was a threat, she wanted to know.

Peony turned her chair toward Gaffer Hugo and Brown's table. "Do you really suspect him of being a hobbit that's gone bad?" Peony glanced at the stranger again. She didn't see any real sign of trouble in him. "I can't believe he'd be trying to harm a big group like us."

[Finduilas]

Sitting down to breakfast, Mira felt much more tired then she would ever admit to anybody. Walking all day wasn't a usual pastime with her, but she knew that she was strong enough to get over it, but it might take a few days. She was feeling very talkative, since she was tired, so she listened into the 'mens' talk. Mira had already noticed the stranger in the inn, but she didn't think anything wrong about it.

When Bunny tripper over her foot, Mira blushed for her. She went even redder when Rudy started laughing. Well, she thought, at least he's in a good mood, but that doesn't give him a right to laugh at the poor dear. She noticed however, his speech to Bunny, and could tell from experience that he was apoligetic for laughing.

She watched thoughtfully as Rudy addressed the stranger, and dearly hoped that no one had been right in thinking him dangerous.

[Gwathagor]

"I can't believe he'd be trying to harm a big group like us."

"Well, of course, it IS unlikely," replied Brown. "But I've heard of hobbits going bad - turning burglar, or worse. I've even met a couple of rascally types myself. Once, when I was on the road to Long Cleeve, I was set upon by a couple of..."

His voiced trailed off as he noticed the worried looks on the girls' faces. He leaned back and tried to look nonchalant as he studied the rafters. Assuming his best careless expression and shrugging, he said, "But there was no harm done, and we're certainly in no danger. As you say, Miss Peony, we're a large group - and you mustn't forget Snatch." Here his tone changed to one of mock seriousness. "He's quite the ferocious little beast, aren't you, Snatch? Anyway, I daresay I could handle two or three rascals, should any come our way. Set 'em to the rightabouts."

He broke off, grinning and chuckling at the prospect of a good fight.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

The young hobbit looked very nervous and even more confused after Bunny performed her tumble. Then Rudy appeared and started to talk to Bunny. During his speech, the stranger's eyes switched from Bunny to Rudy nervously, and it could be told from his expression that his brain is racking. But if the hobbit had any thought of quietly leaving while they were engaged in talk, it was soon dashed. Rudy turned towards him and spoke.

"Hello, sir." he said addressing the hobbit. "You may call me Rudy, and what should I call you?"

The tweenager's face was once again red as if he just came out of warm bath.

"He-hello," he stammered. He had "My name is Mi-Michael." He blushed even more, his face now resembling a dead ripe tomato. "Michael Smallburrow. It's - it's not that I have been following you, miss... sir... I... only remembered I have to visit my friend who lives here..."

He quickly turned away and quaffed off his cup. This way, Bunny and Rudy could not see his teeth was rattling. And what they definitely could not see was the lone traveler's inner struggle: he did not know what to say, how to act now that he was discovered. Of course he had been following them. But what in the Shire did he think? He did not know clearly himself. He was curious, yes, after he heard, back there on the road... and then... but what now? What to do now? His temptation was to just leave it be, forget the group... talk himself out of it and disappear... if only he could... he knew well that that they won't belive him, sure they won't, sure they won't... and now he was already in it...

And then, there was the opposite urge. But he was not courageous enough to tell them, it didn't even cross his mind. Now he wished he did not lie a moment ago. He had no friend at Budgeford whom he should visit. But any possibility of continuing the discussion was ruined now. They will simply say "Ah, so you are just visiting your friend, sorry then", and go away. Why, why did he lie? He will never see them again. And besides that, he felt guilty of lying. He did not lie often, but in situations like that it happened before he could have enough time to think...

And what should he tell them now? He could no longer pretend to be drinking from an empty cup. Please, he thought, let them say something!