Background
If the ghost of Halson Cleary is really to blame for the haunting of Wistmead and the Curse of the Eerie Acres, Bingo is certain that you and his cousin Dinodas will be able to get to the bottom of it.
Objective 1
- Talk to Dinodas among the misty trees
You have come with Dinodas Boffin into the misty woods that border Wistmead in search of the spirit that troubles the Shire.
- Dinodas: 'This was a bad idea, and I regret it already! Let's turn around and tell Bingo we didn't find anything. What do you say, <name>?'
- 'I know he's depending on us, but he doesn't have all the information, does he? He thinks I don't believe in ghosts, and not only that: he thinks that will be an advantage to us on this endeavour. But he's mistaken! Won't my belief in haunts and spectres and ghostly apparitions serve as an even worse disadvantage?'
- 'Oh, harrumph, fine! We can keep going. But I am not happy about it, not happy about it at all!'
- Dinodas Boffin says, "I suppose we have to keep going, <name>?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "The faster we move, the sooner we're done with this!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Did you hear that? Oh, maybe it was my imagination."
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Is that... a farmhouse?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "It looks like no one has lived here for a long time.'"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "You'd better check it out, <name>. I'll wait here."
Objective 2
- Check the front of the farmhouse
- Check behind the farmhouse
- Check the west side of the farmhouse
- Check the east side of the farmhouse
You and Dinodas have found a dilapidated farmhouse in the middle of the misty forest. Can these be the Eerie Acres of which the specter spoke?
- The door is locked and barred and cannot be opened from this side.
- No one now rests upon this side porch, if anyone ever did.
- The forest encroaches upon the rear of the farmhouse.
- The door to the cellar appears to be unlocked
- Dinodas Boffin says, "What did you find over here, <name>?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Oh. A cellar door. Brrrr!"
Objective 3
- Talk to Dinodas by the cellar door
Dinodas is looking at the cellar door on the west side of the farmhouse.
- Dinodas: 'Well, the door to the cellar is locked, so I guess we'd better turn around and go back home...
- 'What's that? The door is unlocked? Oh dear, oh dear. There could be anything lurking down there, <name>! Do we really have to go down there?'
Objective 4
- Open the door on the west side of the farmhouse and enter the cellar
The door on the west side of the farmhouse is unlocked and will take you and Dinodas into the cellar beneath the farmhouse.
Objective 5
- Make your way through the haunted farmhouse with Dinodas
You have come with Dinodas to the haunted farmhouse at Eerie Acres, and the two of you should make your way through the cellar to uncover its secrets.
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Oh, I do not like this..."
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Oh no! What... what is this?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Can it be? It's Green-eyes... from the scary story!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "He is gone, thank goodness! And now we should go too... onward, I guess!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "I hope that is the last frightening thing we will see here!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Oh, now what? Do you hear that?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Longo Proudfoot... trapped in his larder! What a terrible fate!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Will that happen to us, <name>? Will we be trapped here forever?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Oh dearie me! We cannot think like that, but must push ahead anyway!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "I don't like this one bit, <name>!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "I don't see anything out of the ordinary now..."
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Oh no! What is this?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "These fish are not REALLY here, are they?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "This reminds me of that scary story... the one with Odo Grubb! It sends a shiver down my spine!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "It is gone, just like the others. Let us keep going, <name>!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "What new horror awaits for us ahead?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "What manner of cellar is this? It is unlike any I have seen!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "I feel eyes upon us, <name>! Eyes... right here!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Well, go on then, spirit! Let's see what terrible vision you have for us!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Nothing, eh? Ha!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "I think we may be through the worst of it, <name>."
- Dinodas Boffin says, "This house must have already run out of frights for us. Ha!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "I charge forward with newfound courage!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Hmm, another door."
- Dinodas Boffin says, "After you, <name>."
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Stairs? Ah, you can go ahead, <name>."
- Dinodas Boffin says, "I will catch my breath and meet you at the top"
- There is something peculiar about these stairs.
- There is something most peculiar about these stairs...
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Is this... is this the top? It had... it had better be!"
- Dinodas: 'Finally! I have to say, <name>, I am not sure how all these stairs fit inside the farmhouse. It locked quite a bit smaller on the outside, didn't it?'
- 'A pox on ghosts and spectres! Why can't things be just as they appear?'
- 'I suppose we have to keep going. Maybe the next trick will be that this spooky building is actually not as scary or as haunted as it appears? Here's hoping!'
Objective 6
- Make your way into the main room of the farmhouse
You have finally arrived at the main room of the haunted farmhouse.
- Dinodas: 'Finally! I have to say, <name>, I am not sure how all these stairs fit inside the
- 'Is this... is this the top? It had... it had better be!'
Objective 7
- Help Dinodas withstand the fear that threatens to overpower him
You have come to the main room of the old Cleary farmhouse with Dinodas Boffin, and must not give in to the fear that threatens to overwhelm the young hobbit.
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Ooooh, I don't like this, <name>."
- Dinodas Boffin says, "A sudden gust of wind!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "My torch went out!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Hullo?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Are you awake, sir?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Oh dear! I think this fellow is dead!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Is this... is this Halson Cleary?"
- Halson Cleary? says, "Who has disturbed my vigil?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Oh my!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "Are you... are you the ghost of Halson Cleary?"
- Halson Cleary? says, "Shunned by my neighbours..."
- Halson Cleary? says, "Left alone..."
- Halson Cleary? says, "Left to die..."
- Halson Cleary? says, "The time has come to levy my curse upon them!"
- Bingo Boffin says, "Stop right there!"
Reinforcements have arrived: a whole brood of Boffins!
Objective 8
- Talk to Bingo in the haunted farmhouse
Bingo and his cousins have come to the main room of the old Cleary farmhouse, willing to stand with you against the Skulking Ire!
- Bingo Boffin: 'I did some thinking, <name>, and I decided I could not let you and young Dinodas face this danger alone! So I set my misgivings aside and prepared to follow the two of you, and don't you know it but my other cousins had much the same idea!'
- 'Something about this spirit's story strikes me as quite suspicious. I think we should get to the bottom of it, and at once!'
Objective 9
- Stand with Bingo as he confronts the mysterious spirit
Bingo and his cousins have come to the main room of the old Cleary farmhouse, willing to stand with you against the mysterious spirit... but will it be enough to oppose the fiend's malice?
- Bingo Boffin says, "I don't believe you are Halson Cleary at all."
- Bingo Boffin says, "I have read a number of scary stories to celebrate the season..."
- Bingo Boffin says, "... and that is simply not how otherworldy spirits behave!"
- Bingo Boffin says, "No, you are something else."
- Halson Cleary? says, "You are well-read for one of the hole-dwellers."
- Bingo Boffin says, "I think you will find us quite a surprising folk!'"
- Halson Cleary? says, "I am the Skulking Ire, and I speak for he who no longer can."
- Skulking Ire says, "Halson Cleary died years ago, hated by his neighbours."
- Skulking Ire says, "They called him eerie, and off-putting, and strange."
- Skulking Ire says, "They mocked him. They insulted him."
- Skulking Ire says, "His rage and his hate drew me here."
- Skulking Ire says, "He died in this very chair, and no one wept for him."
- Bingo Boffin says, "You are wrong, spirit!"
- Bingo Boffin says, "You say Halson Cleary had no friends?"
- Bingo Boffin says, "I have proof that says otherwise!"
- Bingo Boffin says, "<name>! Catch!"
- Bingo tosses a satchel of envelopes to you, and you grab it from the air!
Objective 10
- At long last: deliver the mail (0/5)
Bingo has given you the only weapons that might harm the Skulking Ire: the letters Ivy Redsmith wrote to Halson Cleary so long ago.
- Ivy Redsmith: 'Dear Mr. Cleary, I had a delightful visit with you, and am already looking forward to ours of next week. As I promised I will bring some fresh produce from my father's garden. You will not believe the crunch of our carrots, they are truly something! When next I visit, I will help you clean the weeds out of your own garden. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but I find gardening to be very rewarding. Very sincerely yours, Ivy Redsmith'
- Ivy Redsmith: 'Dear Mr. Cleary, Thank you once again for another lovely visit! I hope you don't feel too badly about what your neighbours have been saying. They seem a poor lot, mean-spirited and unwelcoming. Pay no heed to their insults, and I will not either. Looking forward to our next visit, Ivy Redsmith.'
- Ivy Redsmith: 'Dear Mr. Cleary, This winter has been very bad, hasn't it? I am sorry to tell you the weather must keep me at home; I cannot visit this week. But I promise to bring some soap and towels with me when next I visit. I will scrub away the mean things you neighbours wrote on your fence in no time. Warm regards (even in the cold!), Ivy Redsmith.'
- Ivy Redsmith: 'Dear Mr. Cleary, Has it already been two months? I cannot believe it, but I know it is so. I have never seen snow like this. It began as a winter's lark, but now... I am sorry I have not been able to visit. There is no sign of the weather's improvement, and my family's worries deepen every day. I promise I will see you as soon as the winter ends! Waiting to see the sun again, Ivy Redsmith.'
- Ivy Redsmith: 'Dear Mr. Cleary, They say this terrible winter might soon be done, though they have said this before. I hope this time they are right, for it has taken its toll on my family and on my friends. Our food is nearly gone; they say it will be a time of famine unless something can be done. Do not think I am being forward, but... I am worried for you, Halson. Your home was in no state to weather such a winter as we have had. I hope your neighbours at last showed you kindness. Could they have given you shelter, shared their food and found warmth in the hearts for you? I hope they have. They would be cruel hobbits indeed if they have not. Are my letters being delivered? I have heard no word from you for more than a year, Halson! You could not possibly have stayed in your home this whole time. Could you? Worried, hungry, and afraid for you. Your dear friend, Ivy Redsmith.'
Objective 11
The Skulking Ire rages within the old Cleary farmhouse.
- Skulking Ire says, "No! No! Stop this nonsense at once!"
- Skulking Ire says, "Enough!"
- Bingo Boffin says, "The Long Winter had been like none the Shire had ever seen."
- Bingo Boffin says, "Hobbits died of hunger and cold, even among their friends and their families."
- Bingo Boffin says, "Ivy Redsmith wanted to help Halson Cleary but the Winter prevented it."
- Skulking Ire says, "This changes nothing."
- Skulking Ire says, "Halson Cleary was hated by his neighbors."
- Skulking Ire says, "They whispered cruel things about him, and they let him die!"
- Skulking Ire says, "His rage drew me here!"
- Bingo Boffin says, "Yes, you said."
- Bingo Boffin says, "I have been thinking about that."
- Bingo Boffin says, "There are places in the world where evil spirits dwell."
- Bingo Boffin says, "Marigold has told me quite a lot about some of them."
- Marigold Boffin says, "I have! Such spirits make the land more like themselves, just by being there!"
- Bingo Boffin says, "You strike me as a Barrow-downs sort of chap."
- Skulking Ire says, "So?"
- Bingo Boffin says, "I think you left the Barrow-downs and settled here at Cleary's Acres."
- Bingo Boffin says, "But I think you came here BEFORE you say you did."
- Skulking Ire says, "What does it matter, hole-dweller?"
- Bingo Boffin says, "It matters."
- Bingo Boffin says, "It matters because I think it was your presence that caused Halson's neighbours to dislike him."
- Skulking Ire says, "I say it was not!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "What did you say your name was? The Skulking Ire?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "You're more like a Skulking Liar!"
- Fosco Boffin says, "That'll teach him, and no mistake!"
- Camellia Boffin says, "Ha! Oh my!"
- Griffo Boffin says, "That's the way, Dino!"
- Angelica Boffin says, "You tell him, Dino!"
- Esmeralda Boffin says, "That's a good one!"
- Skulking Ire says, "Are you not afraid of me?"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "I'm not? I'm not!"
- Bingo Boffin says, "You arrived and Halson's neighbours felt uneasy."
- Bingo Boffin says, "They knew something was not quite right about Cleary's Acres."
- Bingo Boffin says, "But they didn't know what it was."
- Bingo Boffin says, "It was you. It was you the whole time."
- Skulking Ire says, "This does not change anything. Halson Cleary died."
- Skulking Ire says, "He died alone, with only me for company."
- Bingo Boffin says, "He did. Knowing this won't bring him back."
- Bingo Boffin says, "But if I could tell him that he was missed, I would."
- Bingo Boffin says, "I would tell him that even when he felt most alone, there were still hobbits who cared."
- Skulking Ire says, "Stay back!"
- Bingo Boffin says, "Did Halson think you were a friend?"
- Bingo Boffin says, "Did he suspect you were to blame for his solitude?"
- Skulking Ire says, "Leave me be!"
- Bingo Boffin says, "No. I think you are the one who needs to leave!"
- Bingo Boffin says, "Hobbits won't fall for your tricks any longer!"
- Dinodas Boffin says, "And take your curse with you!"
- Skulking Ire says, "Bah!"
- Angelica Boffin says, "Yes!"
- Fosco Boffin says, "You can't frighten us!"
- Esmeralda Boffin says, "Ha ha!"
- Griffo Boffin says, "And don't come back!"
- Camellia Boffin says, "A job well done!"
Objective 12
- Talk to Bingo inside the old Cleary farmhouse
Bingo is within the old Cleary farmhouse.
- Bingo Boffin: 'The Skulking Ire is defeated, <name>! He won't be bothering us anymore, not if he knows what's good for him! Now that he is gone, I expect hobbits at Wistmead will no longer feel the effect of his presence. It is not soon enough, if you ask me, but better late than not at all!'
- 'I wish we could have done more to help Halson Cleary. His is a sad story, and while I am glad to have at last put an end to the villainy of the Skulking Ire, we are much too late to help poor departed Mr. Cleary. Better late than never, did I say? It is hard to be later than this, two hundred years gone, but still I hope he find some rest in it.
- 'I should like to make arrangements to bury him. I shall inquire with the Mayor, and perhaps the Quick Post can be made to foot the bill; had they delivered Ivy Redsmith's letters, some measure of pain might have been avoided! No, I will not judge postmasters long-gone. The Skulking Ire had a hand in the dereliction of their duties.'
- 'I think Halson Cleary should like to be buried in his garden. We will set Ivy's letters with him, and may he find peace at last within the memory of her.'
Objective 12
- Talk to Dinodas inside the old Cleary farmhouse
Dinodas is within the old Cleary farmhouse.
- Dinodas Boffin: 'Did you see that, <name>? Skulking Liar, I called him! Oh, if only Celandine had been here to see my incredible bravery and courage! You'll tell her, won't you?'
- 'It's funny. I was frightened when we came to the forest, and then again when we arrived at the spooky farmhouse hidden within. I was beside myself with terror when you told me the door to the cellar was unlocked. And each new vision we beheld as we made our way through the Cleary farmhouse increased my horror tenfold!'
- 'But when it came right down to it, when we confronted the spectre and so many of my brothers and sisters were beside me... well, things didn't seem quite as scary anymore. How very strange! Even so, I look around me now and all the spookiness begins to creep back and I tell you I am ready to go! Yes, let's leave while we have the opportunity, <name>! Brrrr! What's the hold-up?'
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