The Fangorn Thief Hunt

[The Good Hunter]

Image by yours truly

It's been a very nice and peaceful day in Fangorn, the trees are happy and the wind is whistling, and the waters are flowing. Treebeard is content that everything in the world is as it should. But what is this? Just as he's about to settle in for a well deserved mid-morning nap a tiny squirrel appears, chittering and chattering at such a desperate rate that it even flusters the calm and unhasty Ent! The squirrel is so upset and so flustered that the poor thing can't get out her words in a manner that anyone can understand. She's so upset that once she tells Treebeard the terrible, horrible news, she passes out. Thankfully, Treebeard was able to discern what she was talking about. Something has been stolen, by someone, and that person was going toward some place. Poor Treebeard wasn't able to get much else out of the squirrel though.

So now the game is afoot! Help Treebeard and find whoever it was that stole the thing and where they're hiding!

You Must Find:
The Culprit
The Hiding Spot
The Item

Possible Culprits
Skwovet, Needlecrown, Dart the Nuthatch, Tenebrous Sciurida, Mr. Black, Square the Squirrel, Quagomar, Fleeg, a Hasty Huorn, a Clever Creban

Possible Hiding Spots
Treegarth of Orthanc, Glade of Growing, The Old Mail Tree, Ent Moot Point, Derndigle, Elinmead, Ditherdell, Fern Falls, the Banks of the Limlight, Treebeard's Hill

Possible Stolen Items
Oversized Acorns, A Stone with Weird Lines, A Clay Jar of Ent-Draught, A Particularly Shapely Pinecone, Giant Raspberries, An Elm Effigy, A Stick-Turned-Trumpet, A Black Diamond Apple, One of Treebeard's Leaves, A Peculiar Flower


Ranks
Level One: Fuin, Drifa
Level Two: Lady of Shadow, Romeran
Level Three: None
Level Four: None

How it Works
1. Investigate possible sneaky activity using one of the options from each category above
2. To win the round, you must correctly select the culprit, the hiding spot, and the stolen item
3. Anyone can join at anytime
4. You may select the same combination as another player
5. RP your guess in at least 100 words

Get a-Huntin' Hoom-Hum!

[Lady of Shadow]

Naelia didn't help any of the freeps much, but she was the best thief hunter out there (as well as investigating rumors that her nuisance of a half-sister had escaped yet again and made it as far as Fangorn, so the minioness wanted to check that out as well), so she thought that she would help them out just this once. Perhaps the dastardly denizens that tried to take things out of the Dark Lands moved on to Fangorn since Naelia was too good of a thief hunter! "It seems my reputation percedes me, but since I was able to stop them in Mordor, let's see if I can do it in Fangorn as well!" the minioness thought to herself as she began to search the mysterious wood known as Fangorn.

She didn't have to search far, since on her way to one of the Ent's residences known as Derndingle, she came across something known as A Clay Jar of Ent-Draught of all things. "I wonder what the creatures known as Ents use this for?" Naelia thought to herself as she continued to search for the person (or rather, creature) responsible for making off with something that didn't belong to them. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn that she saw the minion known as Fleeg dart behind the nearest tree (or was it one of the Ents)."Oho, here's someone I'm familiar with!" the minioness thought to herself as she continued to follow the denizen of her own kingdom.

[Moriel]

Old Man Saguaro wasn't quite sure how he had gotten here, but now that he had, he would join in the hunt. Thievery was a terrible thing, and though he was much more used to birds nesting in the holes in his limbs, he was quite happy to have a squirrel aboard one of his arms today, telling him all about the whole sordid business. Or at least, as much as he could understand- squirrel was a very fast language, and though Old Man Saguaro spoke quite a bit faster in general than his Fangorn counterparts, his speech was still normally quite slow compared to most creatures, and his thoughts too. But he was a thoughtful old cactus, and so first considered that Ent Moot Point might be a likely place for a thief to hide their spoils, considering most probably thought it unlikely, particularly if the stolen thing was A Clay Jar of Ent-Draught. But who would do such thing? If there were someone malicious enough to do it, it would be Tenebrous Sciurida!

[Drífa]

Mister Black's eyes shifted, and his nose twitched. Rumours were going around the forest: a thief, a theft. One of the delicate forest lovelies, a small, pretty squirrel, had sounded the alarm. Mister Black had thrown a beady eye her way on more than one occasion. She always responded with a flick of her tail but never tarried - always too busy with gathering and gossiping. And now, obviously, with sounding alarms. There was only one possible suspect that Mister Black could think of: Square the Squirrel. He was shifter than Mister Black's eyes as far as he was concerned. And qua, what a hoarder. Not long ago, he spotted StS by the Fern Falls. He had been blowing on a Stick-Turned-Trumpet in the most soulful way, making Mister Black sway to and fro as he was caught up. Aware suddenly of the black squirrel, swaying to the notes, StS dashed into the undergrowth, hiding his instrument away in his hoard, no doubt. Could the culprit have stolen from the pretty sow? Mister Black was sure he had.

[Romeran]

Fangorn was a good distance from Minas Tirith, but Romeran had been instructed that to learn how to survive and track he needed experience afield by himself. What he didn't expect was finding himself involved in a thief hunt. Rangers were known for that sort of thing: hunting, tracking, bringing people to justice and the like so Romeran decided it was a good use of his time. What was particularly unusual was that he didn't even know what had been stolen let alone who had stolen it or where they were hiding. For all he knew it could be something as silly as some Oversized Acorns. Romeran laughed at the thought of a hunt to recover some acorns. Who would even steal such a thing, probably Square the Squirrel, he figured squirrels liked alliteration and so probably had names which started with the letter 's'. And knowing squirrels they would probably go hide in the Treegarth of Orthanc. Romeran laughed at the absurdity, then remembered he still had no idea what he was even supposed to be looking for.

[Zôrzimril]

Someone shook Skwovet’s little tree in the Glade of Growing. They shook it so hard that she fell right out of it and bonked her head on theirs! “Skwovet! Skwo! Skwovet!” she shrieked in surprise and dismay, rubbing her noggin. What a rude awakening! Who would do such a dastardly thing? She hadn’t had a chance to catch sight of the culprit, but she thought she heard someone shrieking, “You son of a bleep blop!” from a nearby tree. Was it the perpetrator? Or simply a neighbor indignant on her behalf? Maybe she ought to ask her friend Dart the Nuthatch if he’d seen anything suspicious whilst swooping about. It must be about breakfast time now. Skwovet licked her lips and sniffed eagerly at the air. She sure could go for some Giant Raspberries right about now . . .

[The Good Hunter]

Round One:
The Culprit HAS been found
The Hiding Spot has NOT been found
The Item has NOT been found

Now get back to hunting!

[Moriel]

Saguaro felt sure he was on the right track in thinking that Tenebrous Sciurida was the culprit, but clearly that devilish beast was cleverer than to hide his spoils in so obvious a place. No, no, that timorous beastie was much more likely to choose somewhere like Ditherdell, more out of the way and less inviting. But Old Man Saguaro wasn't afraid, and said as much to his squirrel passenger. But what were the spoils? Tenebrous was a foul, loathsome little thing, or so the cactus had heard, and thought grimly that the thief might have some nefarious plans in mind for An Elm Effigy.

[Drífa]

Chasing after Square the Squirrel, Mister Black remembered he had a leaf letter to mail. He had not been able to persuade the delicate, pretty squirrel with his eyes and decided words of love might be the bait that would help him catch the lovely prize. Luckily the chase had them running right by The Old Mail Tree. Keeping an eye on StS, Mister Black dropped off his note and was soon following the thief once more. And it was a good thing too, for he saw that StS no longer carried the stick-turned-trumped but now had a A Collection of Maple Leaves stuck between his teeth. Surely he had stolen those too?

[Romeran]

As silly as it sounded, Square the Squirrel still seemed like a prime target for whatever that rascal had stolen. But he wasn't oversized acorns, he had found those and he weasn't at the Treegarth as Romeran had already checked. But what else would a squirrel covet so much that he would steal? Knowing squirrels, as one does, it seemed likely to be A Particularly Shapely Pinecone. Deciding to seek out the pinecone, he considered where the squirrel might have taken it. He decided to try the The Old Mail Tree after all if he planned to send it to someone he may be hiding there.

[Lady of Shadow]

Could Naelia have found the culprit already? "So it was the minion known as Fleeg after all!" the minioness thought to herself as she continued to search the ancient wood known as Fangorn for his hiding spot as well as the item he stole.

Trying her hardest not to get lost in this ancient wood, Naelia now found herself in a place called Ent Moot Point trying to find evidence of the item that might have been taken. "If I was an Orc goblin and I had been sent to spy on an ancient species, what would I take from them?" the minioness thought to herself, trying to get into the head of who she thought was guilty of the crime. As she was contemplating this, she came across A Black Diamond Apple. "Is this what the creatures known as Ents use as some kind of nourishment?" Naelia thought to herself as she continued to search a land that would be a worthy hideout if Mordor ever fell and she was lucky enough to survive...

[Zôrzimril]

What was that Skwovet character up to? The Squirrel narrowed his eyes and peered suspiciously toward her tree. He hated that fluffy fool, Skwovet. Hated her!! “Gnnnnghghghghghgh!” he screeched (an impressive feat given the lack of vowels). He hated Skwovet almost as much as he hated Jake the Dog and that stupid, disgusting goblin, Fleeg. They were ALL sons of a bleep blop!! In Skwovet’s case, The Squirrel bore her a grudge: she had once taken the last Black Diamond Apple from a wedding buffet and hadn’t even offered to share it despite his having obviously gotten in line to fetch one, which left him both furious and hungry. He would have to head for The Old Mail Tree to send some angry letters and hope they would be published for all the world to see their shame!!!

[Fuin Elda]

The Three Brothers

They had discovered thievery was afoot in Fangorn. And they had not been invited to partake - an egregious offence to raccoons. They would have their fun though sowing absolute chaos and in a way help the thieves remain hidden... well at least partially hidden and in that way elbow their way into the caper invitation or not.

With that they let out a screech warning about Dart the Nuthatch hiding a particularly shaped pinecone in Elinmead. It quite sounded like one of them had gotten their tails stepped on by Treebeard himself but it was effective.

[The Good Hunter]

Round Two:
The Culprit HAS been found
The Hiding Spot HAS been found
The Item HAS been found

Treebeard is impressed with all your skills, a little confused since none of your guesses were right, but impressed nonetheless

[Moriel]

Alright, so it hadn't been the Elm Effigy, but Old Man Saguaro was still sure that the culprit was Tenebrous Sciurida, and that the foul thing had hidden his treasure in Ditherdell. The enormous cactus rooted around with much coyote laughter, hoping that it might flush the zombified wretch from his hiding place. All that he could observe it doing however was sending tremors of fear through his squirrel passenger. Modulating his voice and his prickles, Old Man Saguaro attempted to imitate the more soothing rumblings of his ba-ra-room'ing cousins, but it came out a but like scraping fingernails on something horrible. But he tried. His search became more furious- perhaps it was the Black Diamond Apple that Tenebrous has thieved?!

[Drífa]

Ditherdell is where that cagey Square the Squirrel has his hoard and the stolen item in question. Mister Black was certain of it. Taking a moment to assess the situation, he picked up a slender stick and began to make markings in the dirt - quick calculations. He twitched his nose, scratched more marks in the ground then chewed the end of the stick. It had to be the Collection of Maple Leaves. He could imagine the pretty squirrel fanning her lovely face with the leaves during the hot summer months. And in the Autumn, they would turn colour, and she would wear them like a tiara. Rousing himself from these images, he threw down the stick and scuttled off after the thief, StS.

[Lady of Shadow]

"Where was the trecherous Fleeg hiding out?" Naelia thought to herself as she tried to pinpoint the minion's hiding spot. She was a minion herself, so if she were the culprit, where would she hide in order to throw others off her trail?

The minioness now found herself searching in a place known as The Old Mall Tree. "Interesting place for a hiding spot." Naelia thought to herself as she began to look around for the goblin. As she was doing so, she almost tripped over the Collection of Maple Leaves of all things. "What would a goblin want with a collection of leaves?" the minioness who was hunting one of her own in a land that wasn't overrun with them... yet... thought to herself.

[Romeran]

Romeran was still thoroughly convinced that the thief was that dastardly Square the Squirrel but if it was not the pinecone nor the acorns then what had the rascal stolen. If pressed on the matter, Romeran decided that it must have been A Collection of Maple Leaves which had been the target of the squirrel's heist. It was either that or perhaps a different location as Romeran was, for no particular reason other than a personal disdain for squirrels, convinced that the thief was indeed the squirrel. But where had the beast hidden? He decided after a time that he had likely taken them to Elinmead.

[The Good Hunter]

Round Three:
The Culprit has NOT been found
The Hiding Spot HAS been found
The Item has NOT been found

Hoom-hummm hooom...

[Romeran]

Convinced now that perhaps his previous enthusiasm towards the squirrel being the culprit perhaps it was, in fact, Dart the Nuthatch, that dastardly devil! Romeran began his hunt again for a new quarry. But what could they have taken? If it was not the maple leaves nor was it the acorns then perhaps his second guess had been right after all. It was A Particularly Shapely Pinecone which they were after, he was sure of it. But where would Dart have taken it? There were still several options and Romeran had no reason to believe it was one more than the other, but since he was already there, Romeran decided that Dart was probably hiding in Elinmead and that he would continue to look for the rascal there.

[Lady of Shadow]

It seems that Naelia was wrong about her fellow minion and it was actually somebody native to the kingdom! Or at least that what some of the rumors amongst the other hunters were getting at. "Back to the drawing board." the minioness thought to herself as she continued to search The Old Mall Tree. As she was beating herself up over a simple mistake (which she often did, being a minion, since the consequences were dire if one were to make a mistake, at least in Mordor), she came across something referred to as An Elm Effigy of all things. "Well, they are tree creatures." Naelia thought to herself as she continued to search Fangorn for the person (or rather, creature) responsible for the crime. Just as she was about to throw in the towel, so to speak, out came Dart the Nuthatch, wondering what someone like the minioness was doing in the ancient wood known as Fangorn. "What are you up to?" Naelia accused the creature.

[Moriel]

Things were becoming clearer.

Through the squirrel grapevine, delivered directly to his ear(?) by his squirrel passenger, Old Man Saguaro had been informed that Dart the Nuthatch, of all creatures, had been spotted flitting about in a suspicious manner!! How unexpected! Perhaps this was still one of Tenebrous's plots, but for the moment Saguaro focused his attention on the Dart. He had also become aware that he had been entirely mistaken in eliminating the Elm Effigy from his list of suspected stolen goods- no wonder, with the forest in such an uproar, and he, a desert dweller, just doing his best! Old Man Saguaro wailed in the manner of some unknown nighttime wanderer as he searched, hoping to frighten the culprit. He still had a feeling about Ditherdell, and wasn't about to give up on it yet. Spines prickling, limbs swelling with outrage, spurred on by the incessant chattering of his passenger, the cactus pressed on.

[The Good Hunter]

Round Four:
The Culprit HAS been found
The Hiding Spot HAS been found
The Item HAS been found

Hoom-hummm hooom... Treebeard believes you are getting closer, or maybe not; you are all very silly after all

[Lady of Shadow]

Naelia now knew what the missing item was: none other than A Particularly Shapely Pinecone! "How could I have missed such an obvious item?" the minioness thought to herself as she continued to search in the place known as The Old Mall Tree for the creature known as Dart the Nuthatch. Probably because she didn't know these lands very well and only travelled to them if there were rumors that a particular Elven prisoner (mostly that nuisance of a half-sister of hers that went by the name of Lathana) escaped yet again! "Will that She-Elf ever learn?!" Naelia thought to herself, shaking her head at such defiance.

[Romeran]

He must have been getting close to the conclusion now. It was Dart the Nuthatch at this point it was certain of it and there was only one of two things he could have stolen, but Romeran was still convinced that it was A Particularly Shapely Pinecone but the question was where had he hidden it? Romeran's previous guess had been wrong and worse still he discovered that someone else had already looked there for that same thing! How foolish of him. Well if it wasn't going to be there then it must be Ditherdell. With his next guess in mind, Romeran stomped his way towards the hiding place to see if he was right.

[Moriel]

Things had not, in fact, become clearer.

Old Man Saguaro was still utterly convinced he was in the right place. There was something about Ditherdell that set his teeth on edge- or would have, if he had any. And just as sure (or possibly surer) as he was of the place, he was sure that Dart the Nuthatch was the thief. With a name like that, how could they not be?? Darting hither and thither, zeroing in on things to steal, until finally, bullseye!! A thievery most foul!! But what had Dart stolen? The Elm Effigy was perhaps too large for such a creature to carry. No, Old Man Saguaro thought, more nefarious than that- Dart must have made off with A Particularly Shaped Pinecone. Who knew what misdeeds the bird could get up to with such a particularly shaped prize?!?! No, no, they must be stopped at all costs. The cactus wailed again, a coyote in the night. Or whatever time it is.

[The Good Hunter]

Congratulations @Lady of Shadow! Naelia has found Dart the Nuthatch attempting to horde a Particularly Shapely Pinecone away in the Old Mail Tree. Treebeard is quite disappointed in the little bird, especially since he has so many pinecones available that he would be happy to give out.

You have now reached Fangorn Thief Hunter Level One. What does that mean? It means that Treebeard himself has given you a stick. It doesn't do much, aside from doing stick things, but he wanted to show his appreciation for all the hard work you've done on his behalf.

But just as things have calmed down and the little squirrel has been given her pinecone back, a particularly disheveled racoon bursts on the scene, wailing that someone has taken something and they went off somewhere.

The hunt begins again!

[Moriel]

So he had been in the wrong place all along! If he'd been able to reach it, Old Man Saguaro would have scratched his head in bewilderment. But as it happened, another disturbance was afoot: a particularly disheveled (for they were more of than not some level of disheveled) raccoon burst onto the scene, wailing and screeching about something being taken from them, too! Never fear! Saguaro wailed back, Old Man is here! This time, surely, he would be the one who aided the animal with retrieving their stolen goods. But who would be so daring as the thieve from a raccoon? Obviously, Tenebrous Sciurida was back on the subject list. The whole thing with the nuthatch might've been an elaborate ploy all along! And what might a raccoon's prized possession be? Giant Acorns were a rare and delicious thing for any forest dweller, perhaps they had had a cache stolen! And Fern Falls, not too far away, was full of well-camouflaged hiding places. Old Man Saguaro stumped off in that direction, muttering darkly to himself.

[Lady of Shadow]

"Caught one! Now, let's see if I can do it again!" Naelia thought to herself, wondering if some of these thieves wandering the free lands of Middle-earth would ever consider life as a minion. "Though if they take something from the Dark Lord..." the minioness shuddered at the thought, and tried to concentrate on apprehending the next thief.

Now Naelia found herself wandering in a place known as the Glade of Growing, trying to find evidence of something out of place or a creature of Fangorn (or perhaps even Mordor, since she could have sworn she saw the goblin known as Fleeg wandering around the area) that seemed to be up to no good. "What would a minion be doing in Fangorn, if they're not helping to apprehend a thief when in between missions?" the minioness thought to herself as she came across something known as A Stick-Turned Trumpet and wondered what the creatures known as Ents used it for. "Is this something they use to entertain the masses?" Naelia thought to herself as she began to get suspicious of a denizen of her own land once again (even though she was wrong about him before, but there was always a first time for everything).

[The Good Hunter]

Round One:
The Culprit has NOT been found
The Hiding Spot has NOT been found
The Item has NOT been found

Hoom-hummm, Treebeard isn't as impressed as before, but he supposes everyone has to start somewhere

[Romeran]

Romeran had been so close with the previous hunt having guessed correctly the culprit and the item but not been able to find the correct hiding spot. This time, Romeran hoped his thief hunting skills might have improved. It was a new hunt and it was anyone's guess now. There wasn't much yet to go on, but Romeran began to suspect it was Mr. Black I mean with a name like that what else could be expected? It was known across the land that the ent draught was in high demand and might fetch an excellent price, perhaps it was A Clay Jar of Ent-Draught which he had taken? But where might they hide such an item? There were a number of options, perhaps it was Treegarth of Orthanc where he had gone to hide, Romeran went to check it out.

[Drífa]

Mister Black listened as the angry raccoon, snarling, screeching, screaming, and squealing, chirped out their grievances to Treebeard, distracting the black squirrel from watching the pretty sow depart with the particularly shapely pinecone. It would appear that another theft had taken place in the forest. And the object was precious to the raccoon. He wouldn't put it past the creature to have lost something silly like A Clay Jar of Ent-Draught. But, who could have stolen the jar? Fleeg ? Mister Black had heard that this particular goblin fancies himself a businessgoblin. Perhaps he is trying to sell the clay jar via The Old Mail Tree post? There was possible coinage in such schemes. Mister Black was not interested in coins, mind you. Unless, of course, they were made of nuts and wrapped in cellophane.

[The Good Hunter]

Round Two:
The Culprit has NOT been found
The Hiding Spot has NOT been found
The Item has NOT been found

Hoom-hummm, well at least you're all narrowing it down to where they aren't and that's work too, Treebeard supposes

[Drífa]

He was surprised to find not Fleeg but Square the Squirrel at The Old Mail Tree. The postage must have been too expensive; the weight of a clay jar. He hadn't seen the other squirrel since the theft of the sweet sow. He wondered what the presumed hoarder had been up to since then. He looked like he was packing something in his cheek. Could it be, A Black Diamond Apple? Mister Black had heard that those apples made quite an impression when carried in one's mouth. And where did StS obtain such a fruit? Last place Mister Black had seen one was at Ent Moot Point. Two young love-raccoons had been admiring one. Maybe Square had been there, hoping to score and stole it. And that is why the older raccoon was in such a huff about it?

[Lady of Shadow]

It seemed that Fangorn's latest thief continued to elude Naelia. "If I were guilty of a crime if I was a member of a more honest race, where would I hide in order to avoid capture?" the minioness thought to herself, trying to get inside the thief's head, since it seemed the only other minion in the ancient forest was co-operating (for the time being, anyway).

She now found herself in Derndigle once again, looking around for anything that didn't seem to belong in such a place. Not being a native to the kingdom made this task a tad more difficult, but she could have sworn she saw Needlecrown (whatever creature he or she was supposed to be) searching around the area, looking for something. "Oho! Up to no good, I see?" Naelia thought to herself, as she began to follow the creature she suspected of making off with something known as An Elm Effigy. Thieves were thieves, no matter what kingdom they called home, and the minioness was determined to apprehend them, since maybe then this Treebeard character could point her in the right direction of where Lathana was planning on going next, in order to avoid re-capture once again.

[Romeran]

It appeared Romeran's guess from before was incorrect on any level. It seemed however that no one was having any particular luck in this occasion so perhaps it was of no particular fault of Romeran's. But the job of a thief hunter is never over and so he began his searching for clues. It was at Elinmead that he found his first clue. There was scant evidence, perhaps that the Giant Raspberries which were so coveted in this region had been stolen. Romeran searched around the area looking for evidence of who might have taken the berries. He crouched down and looked at the ground where he saw some footprints, it looked like some sort of squirrel but not those of Square. Perhaps it was Skwovet who had taken them!

[The Good Hunter]

Round Three:
The Culprit HAS been found
The Hiding Spot HAS been found
The Item HAS been found

hoom-hummmm-hmmmmm, it all seems to be coming together now, Treebeard assures the poor raccoon that his items will be recovered forthwith, then looks at the thief hunters expectantly

[Romeran]

Finally it seemed that some amount of progress was being made. His previous estimation had been wrong, of course, but they had narrowed it down considerably at least. Romeran decided that perhaps some of his guess had been correct and that indeed the missing items were the Giant Raspberries but perhaps it was the place or the culprit that he had gotten wrong. Wandering through the woods looking for prints or clues or signs of the thief, Romeran eventually found his way to Ent Moot Point, somewhere he hadn't visited before. For a brief time he was distracted by the strange clearing and wondered at its purpose. Was this some sort of meeting point for Ents? How did Ents send out the notice to meet anyway, he supposed perhaps that was what the old mail tree was for. He searched around the area before discovering the strangest set of footprints he'd ever seen. It was no squirrel or similar, no it must have been Needlecrown! The dastardly thief, whatever the creature was.

[Drífa]

Square the Squirrel was still packing something in his cheeks. But the more Mister Black observed the other creature, the more he began to think that it was not an apple at all but, Giant Raspberries? Mister Black had heard that berries also made quite an impression when carried in one's mouth. Besides, the area around Ent Moot Point was covered with berry bushes. It was a perfect sunny location for the fruit. And the terrain was wonderful for wooing. Why, one time, Mister Black chased a pretty grey squirrel under the bushes for hours - the fallen raspberries make the grey's shapely paws and whiskers a pretty pink, which was quite alluring. But nothing ever came out of that chase. Indeed, was that not a pinkish tinge Mister Black espied around StS mouth?

[The Good Hunter]

Round Four:
The Culprit has NOT been found
The Hiding Spot has NOT been found
The Item HAS been found

Hooom-hummmmm, it seems you're getting closer now, the little raccoon seems cheered up now

[Romeran]

The process of elimination was beginning to take place. There were only a few options left. It seemed clear that Romeran's initial guess that Skwovet must have been the culprit, there was no other option. And Romeran was certainly sure that the dastardly beast had stolen the Giant Raspberries, other people had guessed as much and it had been confirmed. The question then, was where had Skwovet hidden them and himself? It seemed that Romeran had been on the right track previously but had searched Elinmead and since it was not there and it was not Ent Moot Point, there was only one more place for Romeran to check: Derndigle!

[Drífa]

Then suddenly, before Mister Black's eyes, StS spat out a slimy acorn, twitched his nose as if in relief and high-tailed it into the bushes. All Mister Black's hunches were for not as his gaze went from the bushes down to the nut. The other squirrel wasn't packing the stolen item in his cheek!! Who was? Looking about him, the black Mirkwood squirrel pondered his lack of judgment. He was just about ready to give up his amateur sleuthing, when without warning, he saw the 'chubby skwirrel' Skwovet racing past him with the Giant Raspberries bulging from under its armpits; her eyes darting nervously from side-to-side. Mister Black had never taken to this particular squirrel. She seems just a little too presumptuous for his likings; 'skwirrel' indeed! Nevertheless, he scuttled after her as she made her way towards Elinmead, sure that this time he had found the thief.

[The Good Hunter]

Congratulations @Romeran! You have found Skwovet attempting to horde some Giant Raspberries away in the Derndingle. Treebeard is quite annoyed with the chunky little squirrel, but he supposes it is in a squirrel's nature steal and horde so he can't stay upset for too long.

You have now reached Fangorn Thief Hunter Level One. What does that mean? It means that Treebeard himself has given you a stick. It doesn't do much, aside from doing stick things, but he wanted to show his appreciation for all the hard work you've done on his behalf.

The little raccoon once again has his little paws the giant raspberries and he disappears into the foliage. Everything seems quiet and peaceful. Too quiet and peaceful. While Treebeard does love a good long silent meditation, he feels there's something off about this silence. Would you be will to see what might be amiss?

The hunt begins again!

[The Good Hunter]

Important Note!!

Due to the brilliant suggestions of one @Drifa, the options for culprit, location, and item have changed and, going forward, the winner of each round will get to add two entries in each category. With that being said, please note that there have been changes to the OP and make your guesses accordingly. No one has posted this round so I can reset and pick new people, places, and things.

What could go wrong with a potential horde of thieves and dozens of places for them to hide their ill-gotten booty? Not a thing I say!

[Drífa]

Mister Black often wondered if he was considered a possible thief in the eyes of the other forest residents? He did, at times, have a stealthy looking about him. And the black Mirkwood squirrel had to admit; he did steal from his neighbours on occasion, especially when he was down on his luck and had not gathered enough stores for the winter or when he was just down-right lazy. He would not pass up the opportunity to sneak off with someone's Giant Raspberries say from somewhere like, Fern Falls? Yes, he could do that. And what an easy way to discover who the thief was. All he would have to do was look in the mirror.

[Lady of Shadow]

Giving someone else the chance to apprehend Fangorn's latest thief in the last round, Naelia was on the hunt once again. It seemed the latest thief was looking for new places to hide, so that the minioness would have to up her hunting capabilities, so to speak.

She now found herself in a place called Treebeard's Hill, checking to see if there was anything that didn't belong in such a place (but since she wasn't a native of Fangorn, sometimes she found this task a tad tricky). Out of the corner of her eye, Naelia could have sworn she saw someone known as A Hasty Huorn that seemed to be up to no good. "Are these creatures related to Ents?" the minioness thought to herself, since she never heard mention of them where she came from (either that, or since minions like herself often had some bad experiences with some of the free folk, they just didn't talk about them much, unless they were plotting some takeover of Fangorn itself). She vowed to keep a close eye on this "Huorn" until she had more evidence that he was innocent of all wrong doing.

While she was contemplating this, she came across A Peculiar Flower of all things, and her mind drifted back to why she was sent to Fangorn in the first place but was sidetracked by rumors of someone (or rather, something in a place as mysterious as Fangorn) acting much like she would act when she was forced to live in Mirkwood for a time against her will: her nuisance of a half-sister, Lathana, who had to test Naelia's patience by continuing to try and escape the Dark Land and attempt to return to her homeland (even though she had no more family there, at least that she was aware of). "Good luck on that one!" the minioness scoffed, as she got back to the task at hand: catching thieves in a land she wasn't that familiar with, but would make an excellent "base camp" if Mordor were to ever fall and she was lucky enough to survive it.

[The Good Hunter]

Round One:
The Culprit has NOT been found
The Hiding Spot has NOT been found
The Item has NOT been found

Now get back to a huom-hoom-hunting!

[Fuin Elda]

The brothers were back once more having taken a substantial nap and woke up to quite a bit of huom hooming from well they weren't entirely sure. Possibly an ent? Hopefully an ent and not a huorn those things could be quite dangerous as it was they decided they were going to try to find Dart the Nuthatch figuring he would have an oversized acornthat they would do hopefully be able to eat.

The three of them very quickly began debating on where they might find the bird in question, and finally they decided he would likely be on the Banks of Limlight with that they started off towards the river and began looking for places that the nuthatch might be hiding a very large acorn.

[Drífa]

Luckily, Mister Black wasn't a thief. He was simply misguided at times. The character Fleeg , on the other hand, seemed to have a bad reputation and the feet that fit the boots (robber boots). Why once Mister Black saw him scoop up A Collection of Maple Leaves right out from under the maple tree's nose. Mister Black thought for sure that the seven-toed foot of the tree would come down and squish the culprit, but nay, he got away. And a short time later, Mister Black saw Fleeg showing off the leaves, down at the the Banks of the Limlight - bold as can be - as if he had never snatched them in the first place

[Romeran]

Some small success Romeran had had in the previous round of the hunt but before he could even revel in his success the next round had begun. Back to square one, it seemed, as Romeran wandered again through the Fangorn Forest. Word on the grapevine, or perhaps ivy-vine? Romeran wasn't sure that this particular region was amenable to growing grapes, was that something had been taken from Treebeard. Perhaps, he thought, it was One of Treebeard's Leaves which had been taken. The old Ent seemed particularly fond of his leaves and Romeran considered it to be quite the wicked thief to have stolen them. On his way to Ent Moot Point where he believed there was a good chance to find whoever had taken the leaves, he started to keep his eyes out for any suspicious activity. Up in a tall tree in the highest branches sat a Clever Crebain nibbling on some leaves, curious he thought, trying to get a better look at what the bird had taken.