The Road to Ket
For [a fortnight??] Dopey plodded down the road to Ket.
At first he strolled easily, passing through the bucolic acreage skirting
Wichtboden as if on one of his afternoon strolls. Soon, however, the verdant woodland became unfamilliar and the hobbet took to sleeping under the exposed roots of great trees at night when strange creatures prowled the woods.
At last, as he clambored to the summit of a short hill, Dopey spotted the warm glow of city lights in the distance.
"Why, oh why didn't I have the foresight to bring a pony!" Dopey moaned as he stumbled towards town with aching legs.
A horrible suprise awaited him at Ket: at the gate, a pair of fat hobgoblins stood sentry!
Unsure of the local ordinances concerning hobbets, Dopey slipped past the gaurds under cover of night and slunk towards the town square. Here he encountered a dilemma: two inns flanked the square. As the hobbet could not read the signs, nor comprehendthe vernacular, how was he to determine his intended distination? Dopey at last concluded that he would be wise to begin with the tavern which was not swarming with goblins. Thus did Dopey finally arrive at the Jolly Noose.
At the Sign of the Jolly Noose
It was already dark when Dopey entered the tavern. With a preternatural deftness, he slipped through the churning labyrinth of patrons. Dopey ducked the swirling scabards of mercanaries and dodged the fecund bottoms of prostitutes. The hobbet was enveloped by the discordant melody, vociferous inebriates, thick bordello stench, and the muggy heat of hubbub.
Confused and desperate for cool night air, Dopey wormed his way to a window and peered forth. A gallows stood prominently outside. Dopey gulped.
Tearing his eyes away from the grisly reminder that he was in bigfolk territory now, the hobbet decided he needed a strong drink. He turned from the window and found himself face-to-belt with a stranger in a long dark cloak.
"Quickly" breathed the bigman. "you have been spotted and followed by the goblins. Observe: even now they are combing the tavern for your person."
Dopey leaped out the window and into a pile of cabbages. "Oh bother it all!" the hobbet lamented, "How will I ever find these Mr. Hrodelberts now?"
Conclusion
The next morning, Dopey awoke to find himself in the back of a cabbage cart rolling along the road to Mafred's encmapment. Unsure how to proceed, he seeks any persons or ventures that might lead to the completion of Phandaalf's directive.