Visiting Walthus Proudstump

The next morning, Sirca is the first to be up. The sun is not yet at its zenith and she wants to use the day to return to the Brinestump Swamp and find the goblin village. Nikta, who had found shelter for the night in the haystack of the stable, is also awake. He is just doing his morning combat training to stay fit, as he says. Over a quick breakfast, the two Davirens tell Hosk about their nightly experiences, Elisabeth's rescue and the death of the Soggy Monster. Daviren is visibly worried and once again strongly recommends visiting the hobbit Walthus Proudstump and asking for advice. The other three friends of the group are also quickly located and so they all set off together for the swamp shortly before midday, which can be reached after a short journey along the coastal road. Only in daylight does the full size of the swamp become apparent. It stretches a good two miles from north to south and perhaps a mile from east to west, as far as the Varisian coast. On the eastern edge and far to the south you can see the edge where the ground drops between twenty and forty feet, forming the swampy lowland. The coastal road follows the eastern edge here and disappears into the distance. The swamp itself is crossed by a number of watercourses that flow lazily westwards towards the open sea. The sun has driven away the morning mist and is reflected on the open water surfaces. Here and there small clusters of birch, eucalyptus or swamp oak mark drier areas, but there are no signs of buildings or even settlements.

As on the night before, the adventurers climb down the narrow path along the cliff and reach the swampy basin. They follow the path through the swamp again. The weather becomes uncomfortably warm and a multitude of mosquitoes, attracted by the sweaty smell, attack the group. They cross the two wooden bridges they already know. At a third wooden bridge, a large snake that had been lurking in the shadows under the water's surface suddenly shoots out and tries to grab Sirca. Sirca is just able to save herself by jumping back quickly and thus avoids the danger of being pulled into the water. Lian bravely steps forward and secures the crossing of the bridge with sword and shield, but the snake does not show its face a second time. The path turns west and heads towards the open sea until it ends on the shore of a small bay. A little way off stands a small two-story house, already showing its age, with slightly moss-covered wooden walls and a slightly sunken roof. One or two of the wooden shingles have already come loose and need to be reattached. At the south corner of the house there is a small courtyard separated by a brick wall about 10 feet high. The grass in front of the house has been cut and someone has planted flowers in the beds next to the front door.

Sirca and Hanrin step forward and knock on the door. Nothing moves. Only after repeated and energetic knocking does a voice ring out, “Go away. There is no one at home.”
“Are you Walthus?” asks Sirca, “Vogt Hemlock sent us”
“Yes, we are supposed to find the goblins and neutralize them,” adds Hanrin.
"Goblins? There are no goblins here." The door opens a crack and a hobbit with curly brown hair looks out. He looks exhausted and his face shows a few bruises and scratches, as if he had fallen or been involved in a fight. "The goblin village is in the southeast. Go back the way you came and turn right before the first bridge. Then go straight ahead and you can't miss it. And hurry. I heard that the goblins are preparing to attack Sandpoint and want to kill all the humans. You should act quickly and prevent this."
Despite the haste that seems necessary, Hanrin still wants precise directions to the goblin village and Walthus, the hobbit, becomes increasingly impatient and urges them to leave. His behavior does not match the description that Daviren gave of the hobbit. Is he perhaps being threatened by someone? Lian calls on the power of his goddess Desnas to detect evil creatures and indeed, he senses an evil presence in the house, very close to the hobbit.

Nikta was not idle either. He approached the brick wall to the south and cast a glance over the wall. Behind it is a small courtyard covered with grass, herbs and flowers. On the right hand side, a door leads into the house. Nikta decides to pull himself up on the top of the wall and rolls over the wall on his stomach. He jumps almost silently to the ground on the inside. He hears a rustling and just sees a small snake, perhaps a hand long, disappear between the grass. He scurries over to the door and opens it a crack. The door is not locked and leads into the living room of the small house. The living room is very messy. The comfortable wing chair has been moved, the carpet is wrinkled, some flower pots have been knocked over so that the plants are lying crumpled on the floor and the soil is spilled. The hobbit Walthus is standing at the opposite door, still talking to Sirca and Hanrin. No one else is visible in the room. Nikta quietly draws his rapier, takes two steps forward and confronts the hobbit. The hobbit turns to Nikta in shock and asks, "How dare you break in! I haven't tidied up and I can't receive visitors." Since Walthus is obviously not threatened by anyone and he himself is the unfriendly, malicious character that Lian sensed here, the group finally decides to leave him alone and go again. Nikta has already left the house, but Sirca is still not convinced. Daviren had spoken of a loner but nevertheless friendly and helpful hobbit. "Something is not right here, friends."

Fushigi, who had been staying in the background until now, rushes forward. "I have another question, Mr. Walthus." She pushes the door open with her shoulder, grabs the astonished hobbit by the arm and pushes him into the middle of the living room. A shiver seems to run down the hobbit's arm, spreading across his entire body, and seconds later Fushigi sees the creature in its true form. A spherical, bald head with empty eye sockets sits on slender shoulders. The mouth is just a narrow slit from which a pink, forked tongue occasionally darts out. The arms grow in length and end in long, sharp claws. The creature's skin is a mixture of dark brown and mottled red. Fushigi grips tighter while calling her friends for help. She turns so that the creature is trapped between her and Lian, who is rushing in. He raises his sword and brings it down on the creature's head, but hits it on the shoulder as the creature dodges to the side at the last second. Sirca, who has now caught a glimpse of its true form, calls out in shock, "A shapeshifter!". The creature now grabs Fushigi itself and pulls her around with all its strength so that it is trapped between the creature and Lian and Lian cannot land a second blow. However, Nikta, who had entered the house behind Lian, jumps over the banister, stands next to the shapeshifter and stabs with his rapier. The shapeshifter sinks to his knees, Fushigi breaks free and puts an end to the unnatural existence with two quick blows from her fists. Hanrin and Sirca also enter the house. "Shapeshifters are very devious beasts. They usually seek out lonely victims, kill them and take on their appearance. They can imitate the shape deceptively, but do not have the knowledge of their victims. Nevertheless, they can remain in their new shape for weeks or months without being discovered or exposed. I want to know what happened to the real Walthus.”

The friends search the small house. In the basement, in addition to the living area, there is a cozy dining room with an adjoining pantry and a room with cages full of mice, toads and small birds. Apparently the food for the pets that Walthus Proudstump keeps, the snakes in the enclosed courtyard. On the upper floor there is a small workshop, an unused guest room and the hobbit's bedroom. The bed is made and an upside-down book on the bedside table gives the impression that the resident will be back in the evening. Just as Liam bends down to look under the bed, he hears a quiet voice from the corner, "Hello? Is anyone there?"
"Yes, we are friends from Sandpoint. We killed the monster that was lurking on the ground floor. You can come out wherever you are hiding."
A hidden door opens in the corner. "The monster is dead - that's good" and the real Walthus Proudstump emerges from a secret chamber. The hobbit is still very exhausted from the fight against the shapeshifter. He tells his friends that the shapeshifter surprised him in the house yesterday and almost killed him. Only the bite of one of his snakes distracted the creature long enough for Walthus to rush upstairs and hide in his secret protective chamber. It's hard to imagine what would have happened if the shapeshifter had found him there. Walthus offers the group to spend the coming night in his house. He also prepares a delicious dinner, turnip stew with moorhen, and tells them about his life in Brinestump Swamp. Walthus can confirm that the goblin village is located southeast of his house. However, he advises returning to the coastal road via the fishing path and following it a good two miles south. There, another path, the old fish trail, branches off and eventually leads to the village of the Toadlicker Goblins. The direct route through the swamp would be far too arduous and would involve the risk of getting stuck in the mud or getting lost altogether.

As dusk falls, the friends prepare their camp for the night. Everyone looks for a quiet corner, in Walthus' guest room or in the living room, and falls asleep with the conscience of having done a good deed by rescuing the hobbit.