It had been a quiet few days for Gormbard, apart from his regular chores the only task Master Foxtail had given him was to go meet a Dwarf that he had request help from. Master Foxtail had a good number of Mathoms that required some delicate restoration on and he knew that the Dwarfs had unprecedented crafting skill. The Dwarf was to meet Gormbard that Friday in The Green Dragon, which meant that Gormbards plan to use one of his disguises to do a bit of snooping would not be happening.
The Dwarf arrived precisely on the hour and he and Gormbard went to an unoccupied corner of the Inn. The rest of the Hobbits were around the fireplace dancing and drink but Gormbard and the Dwarf both noticed a Hobbit trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. Gormbard had heard the others refer to him as Ralgo. When Ralgo realised he had been spotted he had the impertinence to make accusations that Gormbard had been sneaking. Both Gormbard and the Dwarf left the Inn but the Hobbit continued to harass them in a most childish manner before returning to the Inn.
When Gormbard returned to his rooms in the Mathom House he found a note pushed under his door. It was a letter from a friend back in Bree who often sent Gormbard bits of information about comings and goings in the town. Coincidently this letter informed Gormbard that the same Ralgo from the Green Dragon was a regular at the Prancing Pony. It was in the Pony that Ralgo had been spotted fraternising with a group of Long-shanks This was most irregular as the other members of the Mathom Hunters rarely visited such places and certainly did not associate with the race of Men on a regular basis.
Gormbard started to think, was this Ralgo working for someone else and spying on the Mathom Hunters from within? Was his goal to steal some hidden Mathom in their Halls? Gormbard wrote to his contact in Bree and asked him to keep a closer eye on events in Bree.
* * *
It was a few days after the events at the Green Dragon when Gormbard noticed a large group of Hobbits congregating in the Square at Michel Delving. They seemed to be checking various bags and getting ready for some kind of trip. Out of curiosity Gormbard followed them northwards towards The Hill and then into the woods beyond. Gormbard tried his best to keep up but he was a town Hobbit and crawling through Bracken and trees was not something he was used to. As he struggled to keep up Gormbard noticed he was being followed. Every now and then Gormbard caught sight of a Hobbit dressed in furs and wearing an unsettling mask made from a skinned bear. At his side he held a lethal looking crossbow. Gormbard tried to double back but each time the Hobbit managed to evade him, then the strange Hobbit disappeared altogether and Gormbard found himself alone in the woods. Gormbard tried to pick up groups trail but he had wandered to far from the paths. Gormbard finally gave up and headed back to civilisation.
The next day Gormbard was given his first wage from the Mathom Society, with it he decided to buy a burrow of his own. He would keep his rooms at the Mathom House but having a place to call his own was something he had wanted since leaving Bree. A small but adequate burrow was found in the village of Dampdale. It was situated on Wending Way and although the garden was a little overgrown Gormbard was sure that a few Mathoms of his own would soon turn it into a respectable looking place for him to settle down.
