Krampus is Coming! (A Yule Game)

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Balrog
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Yule is coming to the Shire and it’s a wonderful time of year! In the idyllic, bucolic land of the Shire, snow is falling in gentle sheets, covering the green hills with a pristine layer of white. Fires are roaring and chestnuts are roasting, and everything is right in the world.

Until one day when little Nico Boffin disappears. The only clue to his disappearance were goat hooves bigger than any goat has a right to be. Speculations abounded. Nico was a bully, a naughty, bratty hobbit lad who like to steal apples, poke his fingers in pies, and he even tried to steal Jorgyferret once!

The hobbit mothers and fathers knew what had happened. The thing they feared the most had come again. They had warned their children, as they had been warned by theirs, and so on and so on, that if they misbehaved Krampus would come. Now, it seems, he finally has!

Here’s how to play:
- RP your hobbit child hearing about the disappearance of Nico and arriving at the party tree to talk to your hobbit friends about Nico Boffin
- You are all bratty hobbit children so tell me why you’re bratty and why Krampus is coming for you
- When the horn blows (ie, when I have deemed the sign-up period has elapsed) run and find a place to hide (see the list below) but beware, Krampus is hiding too, and if you land in the same spot as him, he’ll stuff you in his sack and no one will ever see you again!
- Once a hobbit has been found a location, that location is no longer safe and cannot be used again
- Each round will last around 2-3 days
- You cannot hide in the same place on consecutive turns
- Last hobbit child standing is granted a reprieve and a warning to never be naughty again

Places to hide:
Rosie Cotton’s garden, under the party tree, Farmer Maggot’s mushroom patch, behind the Three-Farthing Stone, in Samwise Gamgee’s mayoral office, inside the New Mill, in Frodo Baggins’ study, Pippen Took’s ale cellar, behind the Green Dragon Inn, in a log behind Jorgy Underash’s home, in the Mathom-house, under Brandywine bridge, in Fang's doghouse, in Lobelia's silver closet, under Bag End's front porch, Buckleberry Ferry

Rules:
- No Godmoding, but the TR reserves the right if necessary
- Post at least 300 characters (3 lines of text give or take)
- Place your hiding location in bold at the bottom of your post
- Have fun
- Avoid colors I won’t be able to see
- Direct any OOC comments or questions to the OOC thread so we can keep the game nice and clear


Huge shout out to Sil for helping me devise this game
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

Arien
Arien
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Poppy Boffin

“Did you see it? Did you see it?” Poppy said breathlessly. She doubled over, leaning a hand against the Party Tree as she huffed. She had run all the way from the Boffin hobbit-hole, after looking at the round window outside her cousin Nico’s bedroom.

Goat prints! Prints bigger than any goat Poppy had ever seen. Her eyes were wide as coins. Now that Nico had gone, perhaps Poppy would get his presents! Poppy had never really liked him anyway. He always wanted to be the centre of attention when he was obviously stupider and not even as cute as Poppy. She would be the favourite grandchild this year!
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Black Númenórean
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Tom Brockhouse

News traveled fast in The Shire, particularly news about the disappearance of small children. Tom Brockhouse knew of the Krampus from the old tales, of course, but he’d never heard of a child disappearing. That had all changed this year, and he was going to investigate. His little sister Daisy had been annoying him lately, so he was hopeful that the Krampus might do him a favor and just take her away, too.

He tugged on the tail of his sister Pearl’s cat on his way out the door, then flung a knit scarf around his neck against the winter chill. Bundled up as he was, he waddled a bit more than usual all the way to the vast tree.

“Hi Poppy,” he said with a wave of a mittened hand. “What’s this about the Krampus? Have you seen him??”
she/her | Esta tierra no es mía, soy de la nocheósfera.

Black Númenórean
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Billy Blackwater

Now Billy Blackwater was not exactly a child anymore, but neither was he an adult hobbit. He was a young tween and while Miss Rosie had taken great pains to help him become a productive member of Shire society, he still had a great many naughty deeds of varying severity to his name. So when the goat prints had appeared, a deep chill had settled in his stomach. Or maybe that was the ice cream he had stolen from the Green Dragon. Either way, it was bad news for Billy. He took off sprinting through the snowy lanes looking for a place to hide- there were Poppy and Tom by the Party Tree! Maybe they had been naughty enough to distract Krampus from his own misdeeds?
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Chef
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Lobelia Sackville Baggins III

HA, served him right. After he and Lotho Junior Junior let her down at the the pivotal moment during last year's annual Try-To-Set-Bag-End-On-Fire caper, scampering off as soon as the Bounders arrived and leaving her stranded with a matchbook and 35 pounds of fireworks powder to explain away, she'd never thought of little Nico the same way again. He was new brat anyway, she realized now, and should have realized before. Her stock was old brat, of far finer vintage. Her grandfather had swindled a group of traveling dwarves out of all their beard oil when he was but a tween, so the family lore went, which he then used to great effect at the inaugural Try-To-Set-Bag-End-On-Fire caper. Her great-aunt Otholette, in her own youth, had berated a candied mushroom merchant in Michel Delving so severely and persistently that the field of Customer Service had to be invented purely to handle her. And now they dared to scare her, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins III, heir to a thousand generations of belligerence (or at the very least 3), with talk of 'Krampus'? There was no Krampus. A ridiculous notion. In all likelihood the Krampus of legend had been a primordial Sackville-Baggins who'd got fed up with neighborhood children pestering him for bits of fish or some moss or whatever they had back the old days (Lobelia 3 didn't care) and had taken the steps necessary to purge the community of their petulance. Not that that's how the SB's handled such matters nowadays, of course. But there was a certain charming simplicity to the old ways that L3 appreciated. As for Nico? Drowned in a bog, most likely. Or some other fate appropriate to a caper-abandoner.

Anyway, time go rob Nico's house while his family was out looking for him.

Arien
Arien
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Poppy Boffin again

“You look ridiculous, Tom,” Poppy sniffed, turning up her adorable button nose. “That scarf does not suit you one bit. It makes you waddle.”

She eyed him critically and shook her curly head a couple of times for good measure, admiring the way the sunlight glinted off her hair. No doubt about it. Poppy was the cutest, most kidnappable Hobbit child in existence. Why on Arda would anyone have stolen Nico when Poppy was around? She was probably in the most dreadful danger. Fortunately, with Tom here, should a great beastie appear Poppy could just push him over and run for it. Tom was so clumsy and padded, it would be terribly easy.

“Oh yes,” she lied enthusiastically. This would make everyone look at her. Especially that Billy Blackwater, who was nearly Grown Up and awfully interesting. “He had... he had eight legs and four mouths full of enormous teeth. Nico is no doubt shredded by now. SHREDDED.”
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Myrtle Knotwise

Myrtle lay on the flagstone floor of her parent’s bedroom in a thundering rage. She pounded the hard floor with her little fists, which hurt a lot, only making her howl more. Her parents had chosen to ignore this most recent outburst, and were finishing off second-breakfast in the pantry. This particular tantrum had been sparked by their refusal to let her play in Farmer Maggot’s field that morning.

“But I don’t CARE about stupid Nico Boffin!” Myrtle had wailed in protest when she’d discovered the bad news. “He ain’t bin taken! He ain’t! He’s pro’ly just got stuck in a hole in a tree or summat!” she had screamed, absolutely convinced of it. He was such a moron he’d probably just got lost on the way back from stealing mushrooms. Myrtle knew she was the only person in the world who was as good at stealing mushrooms and escaping without adults noticing as she was. Nico had probably just taken a wrong turn and fallen into a hedge, the clumsy idiot.

Well that wasn’t going to stop her having fun outside, especially now it was snowing. Myrtle stopped screaming, and headed straight for the front door of their family hobbit hole, which she opened and slammed shut behind her, running off down the path before Olga and Norbert Knotwise could stop her.

She didn’t even have her coat on, but she couldn’t reach it off the hook anyway, so out into the cold in her cotton blouse and red pinafore it was. She headed for the Party Tree, a well-known spot to pick a fight with other children when one was in a towering mood, as she was. Her spirits rose as she saw there was already something of a gathering. This must be 'cause of Nico... she thought gleefully, hoping everyone else was scared witless so she could taunt them.

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Peony Sackville

Wiping her eyes, Peony scowled and stamped her foot, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Don't WANNA stay in!" she yelled, flinging her arms out for maximum dramatic flair. "Dumb Nico." Not one to be restrained by her parents, she stormed out into the cold, making her way to the party tree. There were lots of other kids there, she saw, including her cousin Lobelia Sackville Baggins III. "Belia! Belia!" Peony said, tugging on her arm. "You hear about dumb Nico? I bet he just went off looking for some extra food. I bet there's no such thing as Krampus." She looked up at the sky, blinking against the falling snow.
they/them/actual hobbit in search of a merrier world

Balrog
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As the hobbits gathered and began to discuss the mysterious happenings, another snowstorm blows in. This is a not a gentle storm though, filling with fluffy white snowflakes. This was a howling squall, a tempest of hoary intent. First, the winds pick up, knocking the Bag End gate on its hinge over and over again like a portent of doom. Soon, the winds become so strong they knock over Bruno’s Mugwort’s applecart, spilling the precious red gems all over the sidewalk! Then the snow begins to fall. It comes out of nowhere; it comes almost from the ground up! Fog soon obscures the area and all the little hobbit lads and lasses can’t see more than ten feet in front of them! Oh this is a bad one!

But then it gets worse. Cutting through the roaring icy gale, is a horn. It sounds far away and somewhere up in the sky. But this is not just any ram horn, not unless that ram was bred in the caverns of Angmar and meant to ride out to battle alongside hordes of goblins, to crunch little hobbit bones into dust and gored Rangers by the dozen, the kind old grandfather hobbits would speak about on dark nights around a crackling fire. This horn shook the sky and threatened to split earth in two. Krampus was here.



Update: You will have 2-3 days to hide in one of the places listed above. I’ll give you as many posts to get there as you want but be sure to bold your decision at the bottom of one of your posts, otherwise I’ll have to assume you’re wandering about in the open air, just waiting to snatched up and stuffed in Krampus’ Sack.

Anyone is still free to join, just run in, tell me why your hobbit is naughty and find a place to hide!
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

Black Númenórean
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Tom Brockhouse

Tom scowled. “Wow Pansy, what’s got your panties in a twist?” It was not unlike Pansy to be unpleasant, but to poke fun at his seasonally-appropriate attire was a low blow. Tom seethed. Pearl was always telling him not to get so worked up about people’s rudeness or their mere existence, but he couldn’t help but snap back at them when they irked him or got in the way. Sometimes he even clapped back, or slapped back, if the offending party had bothered him enough. He’d allow that maybe he was a little warm and overdressed today. Whatever. That didn’t give this horrid snub-nosed cow the right to say such things. He gritted his teeth and tried and tried to remember Pearl’s advice, but as Pansy prattled on, he couldn’t stop his next outburst.

“I may waddle in layers of warm clothes, but I at least can look normal without ‘em. YOU, meanwhile, can’t do anything to improve your face. Really, it’s a wonder you’re not waddling about yourself, what with the giant stick up your—“

Before he could finish his insult, a gust of what felt like gale-force icy wind swept through Hobbiton and knocked Tom flat on his face in the snow. Bundled up as he was, he faced significant difficulty in first rolling onto his back, then flailing about to slowly regain his feet. He was so preoccupied with standing back up, in fact, that he barely registered the sounding of an ominous horn. Finally standing once more, he grumbled, “Good thing I stole Pearl’s favorite sweater to come out into the cold today.” He then waddled off in search of some shelter from the storm.
she/her | Esta tierra no es mía, soy de la nocheósfera.

Arien
Arien
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Poppy Boffin

“PANSY?” Poppy howled incredulously at Tom, her adorable apple cheeks reddening. She recovered herself swiftly and sniffed her cute little button nose. “I should have expected that a moron like you can’t even remember my name properly, Tom Brockhouse. Is it true your mama dropped your on your head when you were little... because you were too heavy?”

She snickered and was just about to turn and see what Myrtle was doing hurtling down towards them when Tom attempted more “wit”. “Oh yes, because you look “normal” and not like a pudding in pyjamas,” Poppy scoffed, when she shivered all of a sudden. Perhaps Tom’s woolly bulk had actually been a good choice, she reflected - about as much reflection as Poppy ever did save staring at her own for hours in any mirrored surface that she could find. Brisk snowflakes were beginning to brush down onto Hobbiton, with increasing force as the wind picked up.

“Here, you great goat! I’ll take that scarf off you and then you won’t look half so ridiculous,” she offered - so generously! She was totally doing Tom a favour, Poppy thought smugly as she reached out to grasp the end of the scarf. Brrrr. It really was getting cold. Perhaps she should go to the Mayor’s Office and try to keep warm there. Krampus wouldn’t dare interfere with the Mayor’s Office, would he?

off to Samwise Gamgee’s Mayoral Office
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Teddy Sandyman

Teddy was the grandson of the infamous former miller of Hobbiton, Ted Sandyman. None of the hobbit children seemed to ever want to play with Teddy. He asked his mom about it once, but all she said was "you should ask your father." Father was even less helpful and told Teddy "maybe when you come of age, but not before then." That time was so far away, when Teddy found out 33 was when a hobbit comes of age and he was only 8! It wasn't fair.

Not that Teddy actually cared to be around the other hobbit children. Cracked they were. He liked using that word for a lot of things, especially to describe most of the other children. He didn't know if it was true, but his mom said cracked was one of the first words he ever said. He bet it was true. It was always his favorite word.

When Nico disappeared most of the other children started telling wild tales about Krampus getting him. Nonsense. There was no such thing as Krampus. Teddy got into a fist fight with Nico once. Teddy said Nico was cracking if he didn't keep out of other people's business. Bad things happen to hobbits who stick their noses in matters that don't concern them. No surprise something bad happened to Nico, but to make up fairy tales about a Krampus that kidnaps naughty hobbit children is ridiculous. Teddy had the naughty idea of playing a cruel prank on the others.

"They don't want to meet Krampus? I'll show them Krampus." he said. But with the winds and brutal snowstorm suddenly coming in Teddy had to find a place to hunker down. He could plan a spectacular and naughty prank while waiting out the snowstorm.

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Tom Brockhouse

Apparently it wasn’t going to be easy to go and hide from this storm (or that foul shrew, Pansy).

“No, she dropped me because she’s a dolt!” Tom spat, wheeling around to face the snub-nosed, ill-bred lass following him. It was true, he was quite angry with his mother at the moment. She’d denied him the last of the sausages at second breakfast that very day, insisting on giving it to his younger sister, Daisy. He would never forgive either of them.

“Get off me!” he shrieked as Pansy jealously tried to take his scarf. “My idiot sister Pearl knitted this scarf for ME, not you!!” He spun rapidly to whip the scarf out of reach and promptly fell over again. When he managed to right himself a bit, the scarf was gone. On his knees in the snow, his cry of “Nooooooooooo!” edged out even the howling wind for the noisiest noise of the moment.

Still waddling, Tom took off to seek shelter in the Mathom-House. Perhaps there was an old scarf in there he could steal.

Going to hide in the Mathom-House
she/her | Esta tierra no es mía, soy de la nocheósfera.

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Myrtle Knotwise

Myrtle was delighted with the number of familiar children she came across as she arrived at the tree. She caught the tail-end of a dispute between Tom Brockhouse and Poppy Boffin - they were always arguing - and it was a particular favourite hobby of Myrtle's to join in with whoever appeared to be on the winning side of the argument. Seeing immediately that in this instance it was Poppy with the upper-hand, Myrtle through her head back dramatically and guffawed, with more enthusiasm than was perhaps strictly necessary, at the sight of Tom spinning around in a ludicrous, and ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to withhold his scarf from Poppy. "HA! Good one Poppy!" Myrtle yelled, for the wind had somewhat picked up, and yelling was as much as she could do to get her voice heard above the din.

Myrtle would never had admitted it out loud, but the change in weather was most unwelcome. She was, after-all, in just a few thin layers of clothing, with no coat, scarf, or hat, and plainly couldn't go home, given the magnitude of disciplinary proceedings which doubtless awaited her. She could feel her bones and muscles becoming quickly rigid with cold. She wasn't scared, in the slightest, of this Krampus thing people had been banging on about since Nico's disappearance. What an absolute load of twaddle. Myrtle had to see something with her own eyes to believe it, and even then not much phased her. For example, Farmer Maggot's dogs, who had a fearsome reputation among most, had formed something of an unlikely alliance with Myrtle. She kept them well fed on her frequent visits to the property, and they (more or less) let her be. And with the comforting thought that no one, not even her parents, would be able to find her there, and it might be something of a refuge against the dropping temperature, she headed off.

Going to hide in Fang's doghouse.

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Peony Sackville

Peony frowned as Lobelia ignored her, but she was at least used to being ignored as the smallest member of a large family. "Fine then!" she protested, stamping her feet. "I hope Krampus gets you too!" She turned and ran away from the party tree, but as she hurried out into the cold, she realized she had no idea where she was going, and that any hiding place was a long way for her small legs.

Instead she turned around and snuck around the far side of the tree, away from prying eyes, and sat down with her back to the trunk, holding her jacket close around her as the snow kicked up. "Why doesn't anyone care?" she pouted, crying enormous tears and generally feeling entirely too sorry for herself.

Hiding under the party tree
they/them/actual hobbit in search of a merrier world

Balrog
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All the hobbit children have scrambled, scampered, and scurried off now, hoping to find a place to hide from the evil patron of Yuletide. The snows blow and the winds howl, the cold bites and the ice freezes. From each of their hiding spots the hobbits can hear something jingling. Is that sleigh bells? The accompaniment of the stomping of rams’ hooves tell you no, no those are not sleigh bells.

The clears about and all the hobbits meet back at the party tree, those that hid and those that were too frightened to by the dreadful sounds of yule judgement. Everyone seems to be safe this time around, you all avoided Krampus, but when you go searching for answers (because you need answers darnit!) you find a little bell in Lobelia’s Silver Closet with the words “Gruß vom Krampus” carved into it. Lobelia’s Silver Closet is no longer a safe place to hide!

Just as the hobbit children recover from the shock, the horn rings out again. You can all swear you hear something massive crunching about in the snow. Was that shadow something bigger? The storm picks up again and soon everything is obscured. It’s time to run and hide again!


GM Update: Everyone who didn’t hide this round gets a pass but trying to sneak about in the open just makes Krampus’ job of hunting down the naughty children all the easier! If you don’t hide this next round, he will capture you and stuff you in his sack.
The game is still open to anyone who wants to give it a shot, there are still several more places to try and hide from the dread yule lord!
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

Orc Chieftain
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Elanor Starsley

Elanor Starsley was new to the Shire (she was originally from Bree, but her family had recently relocated to the Shire to give Elanor a new start, since she was always wandering into places where the Big Folk liked to congregate, so she was in constant danger of being stepped on or worse) but she wasn't new to trouble. There were rumors in some Hobbit families that she was secretly a Took, which might have explained a few things, but that wasn't the reason that Elanor was often caught creating trouble for those around her. The young lass was just trying to get the attention of a Hobbit boy that she had a secret crush on.

"Elanor, this boy is much too old for you." some told her, but that didn't stop young Elanor from trying to get his attention, but her latest scheme also got the attention of Krampus, and now she was trying to find a place to hide before she suffered the same fate as young Nico Boffin.

"But I wasn't trying to hurt anyone!" the young lass screamed, trying to defend her actions of trying to push another Hobbit lass off the nearest cliff when her crush seemed to be more interested in her than Elanor herself.

"Yes, but you could have. Luckily, her grandfather saw the incident and saved her before it was too late. Now you're in danger of suffering the same fate as the young Boffin lad."

"But I thought Krampus was just a legend!" the young Hobbit lass whined, trying her hardest to try and talk her way out of this, but her mother wasn't falling for it and told her daughter that she better go and find a place to hide before she was the next Hobbit lass to mysteriously vanish.

This last warning by her mother scared Elanor so much that she tried to find a place to hide as far away from the Shire as she could get, and since she was approaching the Brandywine Bridge (if Elanor got spooked enough, she would keep running until she found a place that was safe enough, even if she had to go out of her way to get there), she thought that she would try and hide there. Krampus couldn't possibly find her this far out, could he?

hiding under the Brandywine Bridge
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Arien
Arien
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Poppy Boffin

Poppy had found many things of interest in the Mayor’s office. The “Complaints Drawer” had been an especially rich trove. Poppy was pleased as punch with herself, having secreted a number of incriminating letters about her person: this had the dual purpose of acting as excellent blackmail material, and also as an insulating layer against the bitter cold outside. Tom’s scarf was also doing a good job - although it was a bit itchy. No wonder he was so fidgety all the time.

Padded with knowledge and paper, Poppy skipped out into the snowdrifts back to the Party Tree full of confidence. Why was everyone looking so nervous? They were all passing around a weird little bell with some funny writing on it. “Stuff and nonsense,” Poppy was scoffing, when a great knell rang out again. Everyone fled.

Perhaps it was too cold to be out here alone, after all... Poppy skipped off in search of more secrets, to

Frodo Baggins’ Study
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Tom Brockhouse

Wow, there was a lot of old stuff in here! Tom knew that the Mathom House held mathoms, but he’d been unprepared for the mountainous piles of random objects - presumably deemed unfit for display - he’d find in the back rooms. He poked at some old cushions, held up an ancient, dusty mirror to check his reflection (much more normal than that Pansy's face), and even nicked a lovely gold cameo brooch, featuring the profile of some ancient Baggins or other. He pocketed it, thinking what a nice Yule gift it’d make for his mother and thanking Krampus that he’d hidden here, since he hadn’t actually thought to get his mother anything until now.

He considered taking a little silver bracelet with some dangly charms on it for Pearl, but it’d be just as well not to give her anything at all. He needed his mother to clean and cook for him. He didn’t really need Pearl for anything at all. Except scarves. That’s right! He wanted a new scarf. He rummaged around until he found one. It was a little moth-eaten but still kept him warm as he braved the cold once more to check in at the Party Tree. If he could catch Pansy, he would simply take his old scarf back.

He didn’t stay for long to look at the oddly-engraved bell. It was just a scare tactic. Or so he told himself. But really, Tom waddled off to his hiding spot a bit quicker than last time now that they’d seen evidence of Krampus’ presence. Hmm. Perhaps he should have stolen something with which to bribe Krampus. Second best would be to simply shove someone idiotic at Krampus in his place should they meet. Who was disposable to him but affable enough not to suspect something? Pearl’s friend Jorgy Underash fit the bill!

Hiding in a log behind Jorgy’s place
she/her | Esta tierra no es mía, soy de la nocheósfera.

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Myrtle Knotwise

Strangely enough, Fang wasn't anywhere to be found in the doghouse. Myrtle plumped herself down on the floor, glad to be out of the howling wind, and wondering what to do next. It was very boring just sat there by herself, but she didn't want to return to the party tree until she could feel her fingers and toes again. She huffed and puffed air onto her hands and rubbed them together quickly, as she'd seen the grown-ups do when a nasty breeze somehow found its way into their hobbit holes. She was half tempted to see if she could start a small fire too. However, naughty as Myrtle was, even she felt like arson might be a little too far, and if she was too good at making a fire the whole of the Shire might burn down!

She hummed a little tune to herself, and then decided she was quite bored enough. She stood up, and just before leaving the kennel, her eye caught sight of a blanket on the floor, presumably where Fang slept. Well Fang was just a silly old dog, he didn't need a blanket! Myrtle helped herself to it, and fashioned it into something of a poncho. She wished she could have had a mirror to check it looked okay. The last thing she'd want to do is damage her reputation in front of the other kids. But then she heard the distant jangling of bells. How odd, that certainly didn't sound like anything Farmer Maggot would own.

She peered out the door, a little wave of unease sweeping through her, causing her to leg it back to the tree rather faster than she would otherwise have done. Just before arriving at the tree though, she slowed her pace. Didn't want any of the others to see she'd become unsettled.

"You're all SCAREDY CATS!!" she shouted at the rapidly dispersing group. "Well I'm not scared!" she added, blowing herself up to her full height. "But I am going to help myself to some mushrooms, if anyone fancies coming too," she added, making up an excuse for leaving, as she also didn't want to be the only one left alone at the tree.

Hiding in Farmer Maggot’s mushroom patch

Balrog
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As you all scamper and hide, you hear the dreadful, ominous horn blowing through the air again. The sound is so loud it flattens all the snowhobbits and all makes all the wreaths fall off their hooks. The crunching of snow under brobdingnagian hooves can be heard wherever you are, as well as the creepy, echoy giggle of the piskies he employs to help him look for his quarry. The winds blow louder, and the snow falls faster. Soon the entire world is covered in a thick blanket of white. But this snow doesn’t look like anyone would want to play in it. Who knows what’s creeping below the powdery white? The winds then die down, their gale force power being directed elsewhere for a brief time. And in that brief time, all the naughty hobbits find the little bell inscribed with 'Gruß vom Krampus’ behind the Three-Farthing Stone and you all know now that that location is no longer safe!

@Sil (Poppy Boffin) - you are safe! Hopefully gathering all those secrets can help you, maybe you could even blackmail Krampus if he finds you
@A Son From Amazon (Tom Brockhouse) - you are safe! Although if Pearl ever finds out you tried to throw Jorgy at Krampus she might never make you a decent scarf again
@A Son From Wish (Billy Blackwater) - you've been caught! Sadly, the fear of Krampus was too much for you and you were unable to hide in time! you tried to bury yourself in the snow but something smelly and goatish pulled you out and stuffed you in a giant sack
@Narv (Lobelia Sackville Baggins III) - you've been caught! The utter wickedness of your behavior has resulted in a very fun chase for Krampus who snatched you up and stuffed you in a sack with Billy
@Nia (Myrtle Knotwise) - you are safe! Your kindness to Fang has earned you some good will from the vicious and ferocious hound and he was able to bark a warning when a shadowy figure with horns drifted by
@Menolly (Peony Sackville) - you are safe! You were so filled with fear as you realize that Krampus is, in fact, real that instead of hiding, you freeze, only managing to hide in a snowdrift at the last second. this is your freebie, hiding in the snow only works once
@Lady of Shadow (Elanor Starsley) - you are safe! Hiding under the Brandywine bridge has paid off for you this round, but know you're soaked and covered in mud! Let's hope the boy you have a crush on doesn't see you

GM Update: You've made it through another round in relative safety! But you can tell he's closing in, you swear you hear the sounds of his hooves clomping through the snow. But what is that? Another sound, the evil chuckles of a snowhobbit built to help him look for all the naughty children! Look out, there are now 2 monsters looking to gobble you up. To those that have been captured, you are welcomed to continue posting, trying to escape, bargain with, or trick Krampus into letting you go. Good luck! you have 72 hours!
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

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Myrtle Knotwise

Myrtle made her rather slippery journey back to Farmer Maggot's mushroom patch, all alone, for no one had decided to come along with her. There had been a few occasions on the journey that she'd very nearly fallen flat onto her bottom, and was saved only by some quick reactions on her behalf to grab a low hanging branch. "BLAST YOU STUPID ICE!" she hollered as she skidded across the ground for the umpteenth time, this time colliding ungracefully with a snow-buried bush. Eventually she saw the flat fields ahead, and stepping carefully, and burying herself further into Fang's dog blanket, she hunched low and hid out of sight.

She wasn't sure quite how long she'd been there for, but it was certainly long enough for some impressive frost-formations to have settled on her eyelashes. Her ringlets had also frozen solid, and were now a rather dazzling, pearly white rather than their usual auburn. In the distance she suddenly caught sight of the large fearsome outline of one of Farmer Maggot's dogs - as he drew closer Myrtle recognised him as Fang. She wondered if he was coming to claim his blanket back. That would be no good at all. If Fang caught her in it and it displeased him... well that would probably be the end of Myrtle. She didn't even have any food on her to placate him with, which was a dreadful oversight. She dug her hands into her pockets just in case, but only found one small square of cheese, which she decided Fang wouldn't be interested in anyway, so she quickly ate it herself.

As Fang drew nearer to her, and Myrtle was beginning to think her only option would be to run for it, he stopped, still looking right at Myrtle with those terrifying eyes, and then howled a bark of warning. At least Myrtle was pretty sure she felt it was one of warning. How odd. It certainly wasn't to warn her about Farmer Maggot; Fang would die before betraying that grouchy old hobbit. But then she heard it, a hammering of hooves like she'd never heard before, a jarring jangle of bells, and then she saw it! A truly enormous shadow passed the edge of the field, ad it looked more gruesome than anything she'd ever seen.

Without another thought, Myrtle sprinted back to the party tree, where there was something of an uproar, as someone seemed to have found a bell with 'Gruß vom Krampus’ inscribed on it behind the Three-Farthing Stone.

"I saw him!" Myrtle squealed, her voice laced half with terror, half with excitement - that SHE had survived and had such a tale to tell. "Farmer Maggot's dog SAVED ME!!".

After regaling them all with her story, she left in an equal hurry to get away before the thing she'd seen made a reappearance.

Hiding behind the Green Dragon Inn.

Arien
Arien
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Poppy Boffin

KLOMP

KLOMP

KLOMP

Poppy’s teeth chattered, and not just with the cold. The crunching thump she heard was not the rapid beating of her own icy heart. It was the Krampus! She just knew it. Giddily she hugged herself, resulting in more crunching noises as the papers she had stowed inside her coat crinkled. Hastily, she stopped; the noise would give her away! That was, if Krampus could hear her over the howling of the wind. A thousand bells jingled, ringing in Poppy’s ears as she crept out and away - into the warm sweet beery dark of

Pippin Took’s Ale Cellar
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Elanor Starsley

"Yuck!" Elanor Starsley complained when she crawled out from under the Brandywine Bridge after the coast seemed to be clear. Yes, she did find a good hiding spot, but unfortunately, now the young Hobbit lass was covered head to toe in mud! "I hope my crush doesn't see me like this, or else I might end up becoming a laughing stock!"

To avoid such an embarrassing scenario, Elanor first washed herself off in a nearby stream before she headed back to find a new hiding spot, preferably one that ended up being less messy. "Who's laughing at me? I just washed myself in a nearby stream, so I don't think I resemble a Hobbit version of a mudpie!" Elanor screamed when she realized that what she was hearing was snickering, not laughing, and it wasn't directed at her, more at all the naughty Hobbit children! It seemed Krampus has found himself a sidekick, and since Elanor wasn't planning on running into them any time soon, she had to find herself a new hiding spot, and soon.

Finding herself close to Farmer Maggot's mushroom patch, Elanor thought that this would be a better hiding spot than her last one, since unless it was raining, she wouldn't be caked in mud when she crawled out after the coast was clear. She just hoped that she wasn't discovered by anyone thinking that she was trying to make off with one of his crops, like a member of the Took clan once did.

Hiding in Farmer Maggot's mushroom patch
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Black Númenórean
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Tom Brockhouse

Tom wriggled out from the log in which he’d concealed himself. As he stood up, he nearly tripped over several plates and bowls which had been, for some reason, piled up behind the odd lad’s house. “For fred’s sake, Jorgy,” Tom mumbled grouchily, rolling his eyes.

He was just about to pick up a plate and hurl it at Jorgy’s window when he was nearly knocked off his feet by the thunderous sounding of a horn. Then there came the sound of a terrible stomping of hooves. What monstrous being would be making such sounds?? Wild-eyed with fright, he dropped the plate and scampered off to find a new place to hide. As the snow thickened in the air around him, he pulled his moth-eaten scarf about his face to keep warm. He saw the other children gathered around the Three-Farthing Stone, checking out a little bell. Not pausing to say hello or to inspect the mysterious object, he scuttled off to hide on the Hill.

Hiding under Bag End's front porch
she/her | Esta tierra no es mía, soy de la nocheósfera.

Balrog
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The winds won’t stop roaring and the snow won’t stop falling. Soon, the piles of the once playful fluffy white staple of winter have become dangerously large. Could a snow drift become so heavy that it caves in a hobbit hole? If it’s the Sackville-Baggins’ hole then good riddance, right!? Lightning begins to flash across the sky. Lightning?! In a snowstorm? But above it all, beyond the roar of the angry winds, is the sound of bells. Iron bells and iron chains. The sound seems to be coming from all angles. One second, it’s beside you, the next, above you, the next, it’s behind you. Look out! As you duck the creepy long tongue of Krampus, falling ass over teakettle in the process, you land at the bottom of a snow drift. What are those markings? What is that creepy, echoey giggle you hear on the wind? Piskies? No, no it’s much worse. There’s only one answer. An evil snowman! How do you come to this conclusion? Well that’s up to you. Is a leap in logic? Absolutely, but here we are. Instinctively, you all know that both Inside the New Mill and In a Log Behind Jorgy Underash’s House are unsafe to hide in now. The net is getting tighter! Who can keep avoiding Krampus? Who will get trap in his sack of doom? Who can avoid getting beaten with a switch?

@Sil - (Poppy Boffin) - you are safe! You managed to sneak into Pippen Took’s own ale cellar! Grab a bottle on your way out. You’re already naughty, in for a penny and all that
@Tarawen - (Tom Brockhouse) - you are safe! While hiding under the Bag End porch you are assailed by a grumpy badger who has also taken refuge there. You can try to make a deal with him, but he is a badger, it would be safer to find a new hiding spot
@Nia - (Myrtle Knotwise) - you are safe! Terror at seeing the shadow of Krampus (and then recounting the tale to a bunch of stupid little babies who are too scared to peak out of their mother’s skirts) sure makes you hungry, you’re behind the Green Dragon and who is it gonna hurt if you grab a bowl of soup or a turkey leg?
@Menolly - (Peony Sackville) - you are caught! The shadow of Krampus, goat horns and all, falls on your hiding spot and… oh no! You’re whisked up, ripped from your hiding spot and stuffed immediately into Krampus’ evil, blood-red sack
@Lady of Shadow - (Elanor Starsley) - you are safe! You’re clean, if a bit cold, and surrounded by all those mushrooms makes your stomach growl. Are you sure you can resist the wonderful, earthy flavor of Farmer Maggot’s mushroom? They are legendary after all

GM Update: The places to hide are starting to shrink! But there’s still enough room for anyone to try and jump in and hide from Krampus. If you’ve been caught, feel free to detail your capture and how you try to escape!
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

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Peony Sackville

Peony squeaked in terror as a very large shadow came around the party tree. Legs trembling, she tried to run, but only succeeded in tripping over her large feet and going head over heels into a snowdrift. With her heart beating in her ears, she lay still, trying not even to shiver. Krampus! He was real!

Just as she dared to stir, she felt a hand clamp around her ankle, with nails strong as claws digging into her skin. "No no no no no!" Peony screamed, using her first favorite word. "You stop it! Let me go!" She kicked with her free leg, but it seemed to make no difference, and before she knew it, she was shoved into a sack. "Let me go!" she shouted again, kicking at anything she could reach. "It smells in here and you're not supposed to be real!"
they/them/actual hobbit in search of a merrier world

Black Númenórean
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Tom Brockhouse

There was a great shaking of the air as bells rang and chains clanked - were they nearby? Or were they far away? Tom couldn’t tell - and the howling wind made Tom worried that the porch of Bag End would simply blow up and away into the storm. And then there was a sudden growling - definitely close by.

Tom twisted his puffed-up form around to find the source of the growls. “Oh, EW!” he squealed when he saw that he was sharing his hiding place with a badger. He squirmed around to put a bit more distance between himself and the critter. He hated animals. He’d been known to yank tufts of hair out of Pearl’s cat, Socks, and to throw sharp stones at passing squirrels. Badgers were much, much worse than cats or squirrels. The little black and white animal showed him its teeth and held out two hands, making a grabbing gesture.

“What, you want me to give you something?” The badger nodded. “Well, that’s right out!” Tom sputtered. He was indignant that this creature should dare to demand something from him when this wasn’t even ITS porch to begin with. “No way I’m cutting a deal with a filthy thing like YOU!”

At this point, he had no choice but to emerge from under the porch and find a new place to hide. It wouldn’t do to share space with an animal, especially one that was probably really smelly (he couldn’t smell much in the blasting cold; his nose was numb). He waddled off to hop onto Buckleberry Ferry and hopefully just ferry himself away from all this trouble.

Hiding at Buckleberry Ferry
she/her | Esta tierra no es mía, soy de la nocheósfera.

Orc Chieftain
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Elanor Starsley

"These mushrooms smell lovely." young Elanor Starsley thought while she was hiding in Farmer Maggot's Mushroom Patch to avoid being captured by a creature she thought didn't exist. Why couldn't she leave well enough alone? Who cares if a Hobbit lad (who was much older than she was, so did she really think he would dump the girl he was currently interested in to go check out a lass that looked like she could be his long lost daughter) didn't know she even existed just because she fancied him because some of the Took clan seemed to cause as much trouble as she did?

Relieved that she wasn't discovered, she was clean (and cold, since it being wintertime, she didn't dry off as easily as in much warmer months) and starting to get hungry, so was seriously thinking of taking a few of Farmer Maggot's legendary mushrooms before trying to find a new hiding place. Just on the verge of doing so, she heard those fearsome bells again and a Hobbit lass screaming. "Uh oh, someone has gotten caught!" young Elanor mused, abandoning her plan of swiping some of Farmer Maggot's mushrooms before abandoning the location and heading in the direction of the Party Tree, where she heard the screams coming from. "What if Krampus is still there?" the young Hobbit lass mused as she headed in the direction of Sam Gamgee's Mayoral office. Krampus and his associate killer snowman (or snowwoman if that were even possible) couldn't possibly find her there, could they?

hiding in Sam Gamgee's mayoral office
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He who commands the Ruling Ring... commands all

Arien
Arien
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Poppy Boffin

She giggled in a slightly high pitch, her bubbling laughter mingling with the clanging of the bells. The sweet ale had darkened Tom’s scarf where Poppy had used it to wipe her lips. The stuff was more bitter than she had thought it would be, but it was awfully warning. Fortified by her stolen drink, Poppy wandered out into the whistling wind...

It was bitingly cold. Weird noises were rising on the breeze, and Poppy trembled with chilled relief as she heard a reassuring woof that was not some eldritch creature, but Fang. She crept into the doghouse next to him and dribbled a little ale into his bowl. “Hullo boy, budge up,” she whispered.

Hiding in Fang’s dog house
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Balrog
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It’s getting colder. How does it keep getting colder? You’re all sure the temperature can’t get any lower but somehow it does. Your fingers and toes and the tips of your nose begin to go numb. Is it Frostbite? Jorgy Underash would ask what Frost was doing in the Shire and why he was biting, but this is no time for jokes and puns! Krampus is about! Jorgy might be happily sitting by the fire drinking hot cocoa, but he’s still the strangest hobbit of them all. You all hear a horn but the direction is unclear. You hear footsteps but they sound like they are coming from beneath your very feet. Confused and bewildered, you decide that you’ve stayed there too long. It’s too risky staying in one place too long. Maybe it’s time to get someplace warmer.

GM Update: Sorry for the delay guys, this has been a week. My computer decided it desperately needed to update restarted without me saving the document with Krampus and the Evil Snowman’s hiding spots. Instead of being potentially unfair and picking again after everyone has already hidden, I’ve decided to give everyone a free round. Now go hide again!
Strange Fruit got holes in the flesh but it ain't gonn' spoil cause it never was fresh

Arien
Arien
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Poppy Boffin

She whimpered and cuddled in closer to Fang.

The ale was all gone. The wind was moaning outside: or was it the moan of little lost Hoppit children being gobbled by a hornéd beast? Perhaps it was the hornéd beast itself moaning, delirious with pleasure at the taste of little lost Hoppit children.

Poppy rehearsed under her breath ways to distract The Krampus. “Eat Fang, he’s much tastier than me,” she repeated to herself, although it was clearly untrue as Poppy was a juicy tender little sweet meat and Fang was a muscly dog who was no doubt stringy and, furthermore, smelt deeply suspicious.

This didn’t prevent Poppy from cuddling deeper into his ribs as the storm raged on. She had no intention of moving any time soon.

Still in the doghouse with Fang
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