Kossoth's eyes opened smoothly and his head turned slightly to regard Kestrel and what he had said.  With a simple nod in understanding he rolled over and reached out to pull his quiver of arrows closer as well as his compound bow as he regarded the now sleeping bear.  After a few moments longer he got up and quietly collected his things.  In short order he moved to just beyond the edge of the firelight where he disappeared into the darkness.  He was moving so slow that it was unlikely he was going far and more likely setting up a position to defend if anything else came.

The rest of the night passes quietly and when you wake up your party is bigger, but bearly. ;-)

Come morning Kossoth heads out as soon as he can to scout, even if the group isn't ready to leave yet, to find out if anyone had been watching from the dark beyond the campfire and to get an idea of where the bear had come from.  Though he wasn't going to stray too far since unless more came to light they had a job to do and it was at least another day away travel for the slower individuals in the group...

In reply to Kossoth Zan (msg # 76):

You only find his meandering trail after looking close, he was truly just hunting for food, he got a whiff on the wind and went in search until he found you. The wind didn't really blow in one direction in here for some reason, mostly, but not always. No sign of anyone else watching though. Just bear tracks.

The party breaks camp and breaks their fast, sharing with Boddynock their rations. He eats like a bear. He takes easily to Ulle and Astrid because they fed him the most, but he was friendly to all. The biggest danger was getting cut by a claw when he knocked you over to give you a kiss!
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:33, Thu 09 Dec 2021.

"Such a sweetie!  His temperament speaks well of his gnomish caretaker and trainer.  And Kestrel raised a good point, regarding that person - where are they?   Such an unusual, well trained pet wouldn't be left to wander.  However, Boddynock shows no signs of recent trauma, either.  It is a little puzzling..."   

She addressed the animal: [Language unknown: "Ove, loelevni str n maill amend pail it pausil redourver ratvirart un e. Unsafi ng an ntivenome? Us lini vor hisdinsan rosom, he it to, e ncear, er lathi..." ]

As they head out, Ulle takes point again. He wonders at the bears presence, but not overly so. It was a much gentler version of the species than he was used to.

Kestrel, again takes the rear position in the group. He sticks to the edges of the road, and frequently disappears in the trees watching for anything suspicious.

Boddynock walks beside Ulle. Seeming to have chosen him at the moment. A source of food.

Kossoth as before stayed a good distance in front of Ulle reading the path and smelling the world around to detect things before they surprised him.  His long legs made it easy to keep up front and just as easily retreat if confronted with numbers too large to deal with.  While he was good back home convincing the animals to deal with him rather than run or attack these strange creatures here he had little to no experience with.  Better to observe and figure out before sticking his hand in only to realize at the last moment that it is actually fire.

Scratching the bear behind the ear, Ulle hopes they find a stream from which to try and gather some fresh fish for his new companion.

Dressed, tummy full from a warm breakfast and caffeinated up with a mug of strong tea (with honey), Sister Piestar is ready to hit the road once again. She certainly hopes they reach town soon however, and can find a place to soak her sore feet.

Tending to stick near Astrid, she will wander away when Kestrel and the Grey Elf confer, still nervous around him and uncertain if she should be intruding into what she thought might be Full-Elf business.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:21, Sun 12 Dec 2021.

You travel the rest of the day uneventful and get to Pindangoogly around 5:00, the town appears empty! but you hear loud noises from the tavern.

Astrid cocked her head, listening to the noise: "Hark, allies -- I believe that's destiny we hear knocking?    Either in the form of a party too good to miss, or an idiot drunkard without coin or patron for another round?  Only one way to know for sure -- "

With no more ado, the intrepid mistress of spell, sword, & social shenanigans began to head for the tavern...

The idyllic beauty that you have been used to seems to wane as you round the next hill. Nestled between a few smaller, rolling hills in a miniature valley lies an area devoid of trees. The underbrush has grown thick here, except for a small clearing in the center of the valley, where a small stone well stands. Lying next to the well is a wooden cart, on which the wheels match the track in the path you have followed for the last few days. Small shovels, picks, and buckets litter the clearing, and can be found sticking out of bushes. Rabbits are jumping everywhere, exploring the cart and finishing off patches of wildflowers. No one can be seen.

As you continue through the abandoned town, the sounds of laughter, tavern music, and dancing on wooden floors brushes past you as a breeze. You move around a hill to find a larger barn-sized wooden building, built into the side of the hill. An ornate, four foot high wooden door leads directly into the hill. Seated right next to the door is a large stone with a flat surface. Upon the surface is painted the rear end of a rabbit as it jumps down a hole. The door to the hill is slightly ajar, and the inviting if somewhat putrid smells of an alehouse full of revelers waft forth.

The Rabbit Hole Inn

The cute, charming sign was an example of the sort of thing that Astrid loved about human culture.  As for gnomes, were different in so many regards, but the sense of humor shared more in common than either race would probably want to admit.

But, the smell an example of what she didn't  like.   Didn't gnomes tend to practice better hygiene?  Mine workers notwithstanding-?

Her nose wrinkled, "Bleh.  Ugh!  Well, that sure dampens my zeal!"  Scowling, hesitating, whether she wanted to go into this place at all.    She did have a scarf in her pack, with which she might cover her nose and mouth...
This message was last edited by the player at 19:23, Sun 12 Dec 2021.

The sight of the rabbit's hole, as it jumped into a rabbit hole caused Ulle to chuckle. It reminded him of adolescent jokes about rabbits that other cultures might have made about horses or camels. If that was an example of Gnomish humor, he would enjoy their company.

The low door sill however, was not quite so pleasing, and the Flan warrior was not, by any stretch, the tallest member of the party.

Poking his head in the door, he calls out. "Hey, do you allow bears in this place?" Half curious, because he did not want to leave the bear alone outside, and half curious if the person who collared the animal might be inside.

As the group approaches the village, Kestrel moves to join the main group. Glancing over the small valley as they approach, his face pinches at the sight.

"Typical, I suppose for miners...cutting down every tree...all this brambly brush is because the trees are gone.

That's odd," he notes pointing at the tools lying all around, "Most workers take care of their tools, regardless of what their work is. And from what I know of gnomes they are generally a thoughtful people."

As the pass through what looks more and more like an abandoned town, Kestrel is troubled to hear the sounds of revelry coming from the tavern.

"This is not right," he mutters. The elf stops to examine the ground, looking for tracks that do not belong, specifically, kobold tracks.

If he spots kobold tracks: Kestrel calls out, "Hold up!" to his companions and will show them what he found.

If he does not spot kobold tracks, he will follow his companions toward the tavern, he will draw his sword before reaching the door, and will pause before entering.

---

Not sure if you will just play this out in posting order or not.

You are greeted by cheers and such by hundreds of gnomes! Half a dozen kids rush Boddynock and start hugging him and he snorts his happiness in greetings to the gnomes. They obviously understand his speech!

The Inn itself is packed with gnomes of all ages, from babes in arms to doddering elders, all of them partying as if it was Brewfest! They are drinking freely and singing off-key, and, if the bucket that was just emptied on your heads is any sign, playing pranks with abandon. They all turn and laugh heartily as you are drenched, a serving girl pressing mugs into your hands as you stand there dripping. "Welcome to the Rabbit's Hole Inn! Relax! Enjoy! That was a bucket of our finest beer we just served you," smiles the young gnome, "Here's on you can drink the normal way!" Voices call out inviting you in as you consider an appropriate response.

As you look around, the place is quite crowded, nowhere to stand even barely, let alone sit!

An older fellow, so drunk he can hardly stand, takes notice of your plight. "Oy, you big folk havin' trouble? Sittin' on tables? Stuff'd too small fer ya? 'Sokay. We gotcha covered. We got the Big Room!"

"The Big Room!" the entire village calls back, laughter heavy in the air. Instantly about six young men go running to one side of the inn and open a door, leading to the barn sized wooden room you saw from the outside.

"Come on!" the men call. "Things are closer to your size over here!" They look inviting, but the sounds of a village's stifled chuckling never sounded so ominous before.

PARTY!
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:36, Sun 12 Dec 2021.

Kestrel's suspicions are thankfully dashed by the bucket of beer splashing across his face. He steps back out to sheathe his sword, and wipe his face, before returning to the doorstep in time to be handed a mug of beer.

"What's the celebration for?" he asks the serving girl.

In reply to Kestrel Duskwalker (msg # 92):

"We're sad. So we're having a party!" she says in reply.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:38, Mon 13 Dec 2021.

"What a waste of good beer," Ulle said, licking his fingers clean. Stooping low to find under the lintel, Ulle entered the room, then headed for the big room, figuring the best way to move forward was to fall for the wee ones pranks and get them over with.

Well sadness would explain Kestrel's observation about the discarded and poorly cared for tools. She suspected the sadness would have something to do with their reason for being sent here, but there was no reason to rush things. Let them tell the tale in their time and manner.

It had been awhile since she had needed to stoop so low to pass through a doorway, but after those in front of her had entered, she would join them, passing, one assumes, into the big room as well.

She had met a few gnomes in her time, though not in their own environs, and the sight of everything being their size, instead of her own, was a unique experience, and one that wasn't all together pleasant. It made her wonder how it felt when they traveled to the lands of her own folk though. Was it easier to be small in the world of the large, or the other way around? She wasn't sure.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 13:47, Mon 13 Dec 2021.

In reply to Ulle (msg # 94):

Inside the big room, everything is huge. The tables, the chairs. Chairs are table high, tables chest high, a true reminder of how it is for gnomes in a human tavern. They laugh and start climbing into the chairs and on the tables, partying off their little asses!

Cal isn't so sure that "mining problems" are the sole cause of the sadness, so he asks:

"What's making everyone sad?"

Kossoth had to truly bend low to enter the small door and was grateful he hadn't been Ulle and had beer dumped on his head.  When they had been taken to the 'big' room it wasn't that much of an inconvenience for him.  Still he spent plenty of time listening to the chatter of the 'sad' gnomes partying as well as those that were answering the questions his group members were asking.