The Seventh Adventure

[acodispo]

"How do you keep your scramble from getting brained when you back change to Hobbet form?" inquires Ursa.

Oh, now it all makes sense!

A shape-changing-gone-too-far seems obvious in hind-sight but I definitely didn't think of it.

[mushgnome]

Beppo finally gives the human guardsman the 'slip' down by the docks. The dockside neighborhood has a particularly unfriendly feel to it. The Miskatonic River brings corrupt humans from the towns of Dunwich, Arkham, and Kingsport! Luckily for Beppo things are pretty quiet this time of year, and he has no further encounters. The whole world is in a post-holiday lull, not a lot of travellers. Every house has a big, mean dog: they bark and snarl at Beppo, racing up to the fence or straining at the end of their lead. And he sees an unusual number of black cats around the neighborhood.

Now that Beppo is not being tailed, are there any more sights he would like to see around the Village?

Beppo's thief skill to lose the tail: 1d6 = 4, success.

I've been a little bit off my DM game. Sorry if I was curt with you the other day! Beppo is a lovable and mischievous scamp; keep up the good work.

[mushgnome]

Meanwhile back at the House of Pancakes...

Frederick confirms Noh's theory: "Ursa has always been obsessed with shapeshifting, her entire life. But she's found it very difficult. It's not an ability that comes naturally, to Druids. I've never seen anything like this. All I know how to do is keep her comfortable, give her herbs, and put salve on her frostbite."

[Scottenkainen]

Seeing so many black cats makes Beppo wonder if witches are watching him -- which makes him more nervous than the guards shadowing him did.

Now he beats a hasty retreat back to the pancake house for some much-needed warming up...or as warm as he can get without alcohol.

Using the front entrance, he stomps his feet and brushes snow out of his foot hair. "Not a fit day out..." he complains loudly. Looking around, it seems only Frederick, Noh, and Ursa are still there from earlier. "Have I missed anything?" he asks them.

((I appreciate the detail about the animals; it's easy for us to DMs to overlook details like that.))

[mushgnome]

Frederick says welcomingly, "You made it back alive, Beppo! Were the humans kind to you? Did they shower you with hugs and kisses?"

[mushgnome]

Just then, there is a loud thump from the back storeroom. Frederick exclaims, "Bless my soles, what could that be? Would you excuse me a moment, please." He waddles off to the back room to investigate. Crafty Beppo (who is attuned to the art of deception) notices that Frederick shields with his body so that Beppo and Noh can't see past into the room, and he shuts the door tightly behind him. It sounds like he is moving heavy furniture around in there.

[acodispo]

After a minute or two, and some mysterious noises (including what could surely be construed as the clinking of large amounts of coins), the storeroom door presumably pops open and a fair-sized young hobbet, besmudged and begrimed with soot, dirt, dust, and incongruously wielding a big warhammer and a wooden shield, strides into the main room. He looks tired & a bit strung-out, but excited. He pulls a battered spangenhelm off his head and looks around.

"Hello, N'oh! It's been a bit! How're you? And hello," he says when he sees Beppo, "I'm Wilibald Whitfoot! My friends call me Willie. You can call me Willie if you want!"

[mgtremaine]

Shortly thereafter a smaller Hobbet dressed in leather armor and with scratched up shield wanders out of the backroom. "I'm exhausted, any chance of something special to eat Frederick? I need food, bath and bed probably in that order." Kiplyn realizes there are other in the room and gets quieter.... "Oh hello, my name is Kiplyn nice to meet you."

[kipper]

They are followed by a hobbet wearing a suit of plate mail. She removes her helm to reveal a thin-faced aged hobbet woman with a mass of red hair. She raises an inquisitive eyebrow at Noh (not having seen him in a while), but simply glares at Beppo before realising what she is doing and changes her action to a formal nod "Dame Simonetta Clytie LaJolle," and then limps over to a seat at one of the tables. She pulls out a scented kerchief and begins fastidiously cleaning her face and hands.

[Scottenkainen]

Hugs and kisses? Beppo had thought. What kind of humans did Frederick know...?

"Well, bless me, but this does not look like a hobbet adventuring party!" Beppo said. "Greetings to you all. I am Beppo, Beppo Filbriggle. I journeyed far to come here in the dead of winter, for I heard adventure could be found here. Yet if it is, I suspect it is monopolized by you lot. I have found no evidence of any all day!"