Raju is questing!
Episode 1/27: Shivering in the cold as he walks through the dense forest, Raju thinks to himself, I might have travelled a bit too far this time. Taking a break to catch his breath, Raju sees a truck parked in the forest. Now that could help get me home.

Not seeing a driver around but noticing the truck is filled with wrapped packages, Raju assumes whomever owns the vehicle will return soon. Raju climbs into the back of the truck to wait, finding a perfect spot among the many packages to rest. Drifting to sleep, Raju fails to notice the owner return, or the truck driving out of the forest.

Raju is questing!
Episode 2/27: Thump! Thump! Thump!

Small bumps in the road send packages tumbling from the truck. Raju tumbles from the back of the truck along with them, dreaming of flying across the sky as his body becomes momentarily weightless. Seeing his home waiting for him, Raju wakes with a jolt finding himself rolling in the snow.

Raju is questing!
Episode 3/27: Raju lies on the ground, his head spinning in confusion and pain. Hearing disembodied voices, Raju tries to discern if they belong to other pets or not.

"Did you see that?"

"Quite a fall that was."

"Excellent form."

"The landing could use some work."

Raju shakes his head as his vision starts to focus, seeing a badger and porcupine nearby.

"What do you think these packages are?"

"Whatever they are they belonged to the hooman in that truck. Do you think that pet is okay? Should we check on them?"

"I'm sure they're fine."

Raju is questing!
Episode 4/27: Still groggy from the fall, Raju stumbles toward the badger and porcupine, who seemed to be arguing about the packages on the ground.

"Hoomans, they don't notice nothin', do they?"

"I'm certain the hooman will notice soon."

"That hooman just left them here."

"That doesn't make them yours."

"If the hooman wanted them, the hooman would have stopped."

"We should get them off the road, or another hooman may crush them."

"This far away from any villages? I'm surprised there even was a hooman at all."

"Look, they have names on the packages, they belong to someone already. Surely they'll return."

"Or they can just be mine now. Finders keepers."

"Leave them alone, Phillipinscal."

Raju is questing!
Episode 5/27: Making his way over, Raju notices something stuck to the quills of the porcupine. "Hey, you've got something there." The badger and porcupine jump startled, staring at Raju in surprise. Raju sighs, "You have something stuck on you."

The porcupine turns in a circle trying to see what the item is, the badger laughing. Finally grabbing it off himself, the porcupine looks at the item. "It says 'Hope'."

"'Hope'?" the badger asks incredulously.

Raju looks back and forth between the two of them, "Why is it carved out like that? Does it mean something?"

"I'm not sure, hoomans are peculiar," the porcupine responds.

"We should take it to someone who knows, maybe Wallace can tell us."

The porcupine smiles wide, "Ahh yes, the gnome gnomes all."

The badger elbows the porcupine getting pricked by his quills, "Ouch!"

The porcupine snickers.

Raju is questing!
Episode 6/27: Raju follows the badger and porcupine over the snow covered hills, into an icy garden, a boot-shaped house on the far end.

Crossing the garden, the porcupine warns Raju, "Be careful of the tulips."

What tulips? Raju thinks to himself.

"Gnomey likes his tulips," the badger adds.

Raju looks around confused as the porcupine knocks on the door of the gnome.

Raju is questing!
Episode 7/27: The gnome answers the door, "Balderlang, Phillipinscal! What brings you by this lovely day? And who is this with you?"

The badger and porcupine exchange looks, then stare at Raju. The porcupine looks back at the gnome. "Well Wallace... We just met by the hooman road, we don't actually know each other. But we found this and were uh - hoping you would know it's purpose." The porcupine laughs at his joke, the badger groans.

"Hmm..." Wallace moves his hat scratching his head. "I've not seen a hooman object such as this before. I don't know why hoomans would carve "hope" like this... Maybe we should go ask Wilferd, he has more experience with hooman objects."

Raju is questing!
Episode 8/27: Warm inside away from the cold, Raju admires the decor Wilferd has collected. Wilferd examines the hooman object. "I'm sorry to say I can't tell you anything more than you already know. You found this with some packages the hooman lost?"

The badger nods quickly, "The hooman just left them, surely they're not wanted."

"Hoomans miss the things they lose," Wallace the gnome counters. "The right thing would be to return the items to the hooman."

"How do we do that?" Raju asks.

"Can't we keep them?" the badger begs.

"Don't be so crude, Phillipinscal."

"I can help," Wilferd offers. "I know my way around hoomans, and I admit my curiosity has peaked over this object."

One by one everyone nods their agreement, except for Phillipinscal the badger. "I'll stay and watch the houses, I'm not going out in the cold if there's no reward."

"Knowledge is it's own reward," Wallace argues.

"So is a comfy chair and a nice warm fire," Phillipinscal replies as he sits beside the fire.

Raju is questing!
Episode 9/27: After finding their way back to the hooman road, Wilferd grabs a package putting it into a wooden cart. "Looks like the trail leads out of the woods."

Following the road through the forest, picking up packages they find in the road, a hooman village appears in the distance.

"We need to go in there?"

"Not sure hoomans take kindly to gnomes..."

"They'll just think you're a tiny hooman."

Raju is questing!
Episode 10/27: Wilferd follows tire tracks in the snow, entering the hooman village. Picking up an occasional wrapped package here and there, adding it to the cart.

Walking up to a building with a sign carved "Nursing Home", Wallace speaks up. "Some of these packages say 'Nursing Home' on them."

Raju looks at the packages in the wagon. "Should we leave them here?"

Balderlang nods, "We should bring them inside since the hooman meant them for here."

"Yes," Wilferd agrees, "But only the ones labeled for this place, we should still return the rest to the hooman."

Carrying the wrapped packages into the Nursing Home, they look around seeing many elder hoomans, some of them being helped by younger hoomans. Raju notices some elder pets around as well. "What is this place?" he asks.

"Sometimes when hoomans reach an old age they can no longer care for themselves," Wilferd responds. "They are brought to shelter like this one when that happens."

"Why don't their families help them?"

"Not every hooman family can, and the ones who are able to help, do so. Hoomans here are cared for and receive visitors, and some homes like this one, let them have pet companionship as well."

"Do you think this 'Hope' item belongs here?" Balderlang asks.

Raju ponders. "There is hope here, but I don't think that item belongs here."

Raju is questing!
Episode 11/27: Balderlang looks from a package in his hands up at a sign above a building. "I think this belongs here."

Wallace walks over reading the label on the package, looks up at the building sign. "I believe you are right." Wallace turns to Wilferd and Raju, "Do any of the other packages say 'Orphanage'?"

Raju nods as he looks through the wagon. "There's a few that say it, should we leave these here?"

Balderlang looks nervously at small hoomans running around the yard beside the building. "Yes but... maybe we shouldn't get close." Raju and Wallace join him watching the small hoomans running in the snow filled yard.

"There are no pets in this building?" Raju asks.

Wilferd shakes his head, stacking the packages under a tree. "Young hoomans like these and young pets are often kept in separate buildings while they wait for homes."

"Homes?"

"For families to take them home. Not every young hooman has a family, but they all hope for one."

Raju is questing!
Episode 12/27: Leaving the sounds of small hoomans playing behind them, a faint singing travels on the air. Coming to an open lot between hooman buildings, Raju sees hoomans singing, some putting packages into large crates before getting into vehicles to drive away, and pets playing in the snow.

Seeing a sign saying "Toy Drive", Raju notices some of the packages they've gathered say the same. Raju carefully moves between hoomans, adding some of the labeled packages to one of the large crates.

"Why are hoomans collecting packages and toys?" Balderlang asks, helping Raju put packages into the large crate.

"Some hoomans collect these items to give them to others," Wallace answers from behind them.

"Why not just give the packages directly?"

Wallace shakes his head. "The hoomans who give the items don't know the hoomans who will receive them. Most of these look like they will go to young hoomans, probably ones who live far from this village. Young hoomans spend much of this time of year hoping and wishing for certain toys, and others try to fulfill those wishes."

Raju is questing!
Episode 13/27: Balderlang notices the building on the far side of the open lot matches the labels of some of the packages; he starts carrying them over, tripping in the snow. Wilferd helps Balderlang back to his feet.

"These are all food!" Wilferd exclaims sniffing a package.

"Who would giveaway food?" Balderlang asks.

Raju helps gather the fallen packages, noticing the label "Food Bank" written across them. "What is a...'Food Bank'?"

"Our next stop!" Wallace cries pointing to the building near them.

"It's a place hoomans can go to get food," Wilferd explains. "Mainly hoomans who can't afford much food on their own."

Finding himself hoping the hoomans who need food will be able to get it, Raju takes out the strange object with "Hope" carved into it. Raju looks at it wondering if anything they are doing is related to the meaning of the object.

Raju is questing!
Episode 14/27: Following the trail of packages across a bridge, Wallace notices tire tracks off the road at the far end of the bridge. "I think someone stopped here."

"Not just someone," Wilferd says looking at the tracks. "These belong to the hooman we're trying to find."

"Why would they stop here? This isn't beside any buildings."

Wilferd sniffs the air, "I smell smoke."

"I think there are hoomans down here," Balderlang says looking where the ground travels bellow the bridge.

"Some packages are labeled for this bridge, we should take them down."

Despite thinking it strange to give anything to a bridge, Raju grabs some of the packages following the others down the hill. Raju fumbles with his package, surprised to see tents and fires under the bridge, hoomans and pets gathered around them. "Why are they here?" Raju asks.

"Not all hoomans can live in hooman buildings," Wilferd responds setting down his packages. "Hooman life can be expensive and difficult, sometimes it forces hoomans to live in places like this."

Balderlang adds his package to the pile, "I hope these have something useful for these hoomans and pets."

Raju is questing!
Episode 15/27: Wilferd excitedly picks up a package from the road, "This smells delicious!" He picks up another less excited, "This does not smell delicious..."

Raju picks up a package, it squeaks.

"Was that a mouse?"

"Doesn't smell like a mouse."

"Hoomans make toy mice that squeak."

"Why would they do that?"

"They make toy bones that squeak, too."

"Why would they do that?"

Raju is questing!
Episode 16/27: The trail of packages leads the group to a building with a sign reading "Animal Shelter".

"Ahhh..." Wilferd says in realization, "This explains the packages we've been finding."

Raju notices pets in the windows. "What is this?"

"Hoomans don't like pets roaming their villages," Wilferd explains. "The pets gathered in buildings like this one are waiting to be taken into hooman homes."

Balderlang carries some packages up to the building door, one of them squeaking as he sets them down. Raju adds his packages beside the door. "Why don't they have their own houses?"

"Not all pets want their own homes as we have them, some want the company of hoomans. But not all hoomans can care for a pet, so some of the pets are forced to wait in places like this one."

Raju watches the pets through the window, glad they are at least safe from the weather.

Raju is questing!
Episode 17/27: Raju shakes some of the snow off himself as it falls faster through the sky. Grabbing another package off the ground, he almost bumps into Wallace.

"Is that the truck?"

"It's driving away!"

"Don't waste your energy, we won't catch it running after it."

Raju sighs looking around, surprised to see a large building in front of them. "Where are we?"

"I'm not certain," Wilferd responds. "It says 'Veteran'... We have collected packages for here, we should take them inside."

Raju follows the others inside nervously, seeing a large dog sitting in a window watching them enter.

Raju is questing!
Episode 18/27: Entering into the building they walk down a hallway, the walls covered in medals, flags, pictures of groups of hoomans. Raju looks at the pictures curiously, some of them containing large ships and aircraft.

Together they walk into a large room, a big decorated tree in the center of the room. Mortals and pets scattered around the room, some using crutches or wheelchairs. Raju stares nervously as the large dog from the window approaches them.

"You with the lady?" The dog's voice was unusually gruff.

"The who?"

"The hooman lady, in the truck. Those packages are the same wrapping she always brings."

"We'vebeentryingtofindher," Raju spoke quickly, fumbling over his words. "To.. to return them."

"And we've been delivering the ones we can as well," Wilferd adds. "If I might ask... I know of many hooman dwellings, but I've not seen one like this."

"Humph." The large dog sits. "Hoomans aren't always kind to each other, sometimes they fight. Sometimes we pets join them in these fights. When the fights are over, not all hoomans can return to a 'normal' life, some lose pieces of themselves...not always physical ones. Not every pet can return, either. Some of us have to be here, some of us choose to be here - to provide some comfort to the only other creatures who know what we have witnessed."

Balderlang holds out the Hope object, "Do you know if this belongs here? The hooman lost it with some packages."

The dog stares at the word for a long, quiet moment.

"While that object may have some meaning to a lot of the hoomans and pets in the building, I do not believe it was meant for here."

Raju is questing!
Episode 19/27: Venturing once more into the cold, the tire tracks are hidden in the snowfall, no lost packages in sight.

"What do we do?"

"Which way do we go?"

"This way," Wilferd calls, sniffing along the road.

Raju hesitates wondering how Wilferd could sniff his way in all the snow, but is pleasantly surprised when they come across another package.

"Oh, the truck!" Raju looks where Balderlang points, barely sees the truck through the snow as it drives away. "It looks almost empty. We must hurry before we lose the trail completely."

Raju is questing!
Episode 20/27: Leaving the hooman village, they start traversing up snow covered hills, the truck's tracks quickly disappearing in the falling snow.

"It's getting colder."

"The snow is falling faster."

"I can't see."

"Don't slow down now, we must be nearly caught up."

Raju is questing!
Episode 21/27: "Is that the truck?"

"It's empty!"

"Is this the hooman's house?"

"What a lovely garden."

"What do we do now?"

"We have to return the other packages."

"What if they ask about the ones we don't have?"

"We tell them the truth."

"I hear music."

"There's lots of voices, maybe we shouldn't disturb them..."

"Oh come on already."

Raju is questing!
Episode 22/27: Knock! Knock! Knock!

Huddled together waiting on the porch of the hooman house, they stare at the door nervously as it opens. An older hooman woman smiles at them kindly, speaking in a strange accent none of them recognize.

"Oh my! You have my missing packages. Come inside, come inside!" She steps aside letting them enter her home, the entrance way bright and cheerful. "Thank you for returning them, I simply must get that old truck fixed. Do you happen to have the rest?"

"We delivered some of them," Wilferd explains. "The ones we recognized the labels for, we delivered. The rest we brought here."

The hooman woman smiles kindly, "I'm certain every single package is where it needs to be."

"We also.. found this." Raju holds out the object with "Hope" carved into it.

The woman's face brightens.

Raju is questing!
Episode 23/27: The woman leads the group into a room filled with hoomans and pets, a large tree in the center of the room.

"This time of year is very special to us," the woman tells them. "The holidays remind us of family, friends - togetherness. Though not all of us are able to be with the ones we love on the holidays. Some live far away, others are no longer with us. I once had no one to share my holidays with, so I started hosting this gathering to give others like me somewhere to come to - to celebrate - and to create new bonds."

She sighs happily watching those gathered in her home. "I have been granted more in my life than I need, so I return what I can to others who hope for more, for better, who need more than just hope."

"Is that why this says 'hope'?" Raju asks.

The woman smiles kindly. "Hope is different to every one of us, and this item is especially important today. Every year I have gifts made for those who gather in my home, each one has special meaning. I think you should return this to the people it was meant for."

Raju is questing!
Episode 24/27: Raju makes his way across the room to the hoomans the old woman directed him to, handing them the object. Surprised, Raju watches as their eyes brim with tears. They thank Raju for bringing their daughter back to them.

The old woman announces to the room, "It's time."

Raju joins Balderlang, Wallace, and Wilferd, watching as the old woman passes out gifts to each hooman and pet in the room. One by one, each opens their gift, tears filling their eyes. Taking turns walking to the large tree in the center of the room, each one hangs their gift on the tree.

Raju watches as the tree slowly fills with ornaments. Each ornament containing a name - printed, carved, or painted with care. With each one hung, soft voices carry through the room.

"My daughter."

"My mother."

"My son."

"My brother."

Raju is questing!
Episode 25/27: Thanking them for taking the time and effort to deliver the gifts she lost, the old woman surprises them with gifts to take home.

"A small thank you," she tells them, "for what you did today. You helped and gave hope to more people than you realize."

Filling their wagon, the old woman wishes them a well journey home. Raju is extremely grateful of the hospitality and gifts, though he isn't thrilled about walking through even more snow.

Raju is questing!
Episode 26/27: After trekking back through the hooman village and forest, the garden of Wallace's home is finally in view. Phillipinscal watches them pull a wagon of gifts up to the boot-shaped house, he quickly runs out of Wilferd's home to meet them.

"Oh? Did you bring me something?"

"Bring you something?" Balderlang asks in disbelief. "Why would... well, I suppose we may have."

Wallace looks at Raju. "Why don't you join us and stay a night or two? There's no easy way for you to get home while this snowstorm keeps up."

Raju watches Balderlang and Phillipinscal bickering and teasing each other over gifts, house sitting, and hunting trucks. "I think that sounds wonderful, Wallace."

Raju is questing!
Episode 27/27: Crowded, but cozy inside Wallace's home, they work together decorating a tree to commemorate their trip. Passing the gifts around, everyone takes turns opening bags and boxes.

"Oh! It squeaks."

"Beard oil - how wonderful!"

"This is my favourite candy! How did she know?"

"I love the new sweater-vest."

"Is this...?" Raju stares in surprise, opening a box finding a replica of the ornament they returned to the hoomans.

The others fall silent seeing "Hope" elegantly carved into the wood, Raju hangs it carefully on their tree.

"I should invite my sister for a visit," Balderlang says quietly.

Raju nods, thinking of the friends and family waiting for him at home.
Raju has completed the quest! Please select another pet as visitor, so it can also take part!