Hollows Last Hope: Part 1-an emergency
It was a day like any other... one in which a certain gnome would roll from his cot, scratch at a veritable bouquet of hair that never seemed to make up its mind on which side of his head it would be when he awoke, and lazily grab his pole in order to go drown some worms in the nearby River Foam. His room was small, but he was small and so that really was of no large matter to him. On his way out the door, he passed by his adventurer's pack, and he would sigh and wonder if this might be the day when his own adventures might begin, the day he'd start to write tales in which he was the hero, or at the very least a sidekick in the same.
His optimism had grown dullish of late however. He'd scraped up what valuables he could find in his family cabin on the river near Golden Falls, and he'd collected nearly a months worth of tips which he kept hidden beneath a creaky floorboard, to purchase the sort of gear as was available and possibly needful when adventure came knocking. It wasn't much really, but it had been exciting for the little gnome to pack it downstairs, sit it next to his story stool, and just have it nearby for that moment wherein - as all the great stories detailed - adventure would come blustering into the tavern and declare him vital to some quest or other!
"Oh no, get some rest, you've a long journey ahead of you I'm sure," he said to the pack as he passed it by for his late-morning fishing.
As he made his way through the kitchen, he palmed a handful of dough off the kneading board when nobody was looking and sauntered out the back. It wasn't much of a breakfast to be sure, but to one as laid back as this particular gnome was, it didn't really matter that much. He supposed that one day he'd be less inclined to lollygag his way through life, that day when adventure would come knocking, but until then he was content to lounge away the daylight hours under a tree on the bank near a deep pool and daydream about waist-deep snow or torrents of rain out on the trails of adventure...
He'd determined this particular day like any other, to claim a spot just downriver from the Ferry Dock where a few shade trees would keep off the heat of the autumn sun, and where he might overhear conversations of any who might cross hither or yonder bank. He'd just crossed the street leading him to the Low Market when he saw a few local folks making their way up the street in the opposite direction. When the gnome waved and smiled, they merely gave the briefest of nods before hurrying along their way. Wondering if his hair had decided to form itself into something particularly offensive during the night, he glanced over his shoulder, wondering at what might be considered rudeness in this little town.
That's when he noticed the line in front of the Herbalist's shop, and something deep in the pit of his small stomach seemed to tug him in that direction. Confusing this with hunger, he stuffed the remainder of the bread dough into his mouth and kept going, but his stomach was not satisfied! That odd sensation continued until out of irritation he turned himself about to prove to his annoying gut that it was obviously confused!
Amazingly, the sensation did not cease, but rather compelled him to move himself in that direction! Shaking his head at the oddity of the thing, and half-admitting to himself that this might be something interesting enough to postpone his morning nap over, he decided to indulge this bizarre gut feeling and see what the gathering was all about.
"Nomerendal, you're becoming as bad as the Three Blind Witches in your Booger-stories you tell to frighten children!" he chided himself.
Ahead he spotted a dwarf he recognized but had never chatted with much, for he didn't seem to approve of Nom's lazy lifestyle. "Yolla-you!" he called out, "Bullstagen isn't it? What's all the to-do about?"