Here and back again , the story of … you'll see what
-chapter one-
(It will make me very happy if a nice little review will show himself , telling me your opinions/suggestions!)
The story of a hobbit who seeks adventure and who knows, some precious treasures lying in some abandoned ruins...and of course guarded by a dragon, Smaug, if possible. Does it sound familiar? Of course it does, after all it is the story of Bilbo Baggins and his dwarven friends! But it's a little different from what you know. Here it begins:
Bilbo Baggins was a little hobbit from Shire, burning with desire to go in a long term adventure with some good friends. And strangely, his wish came true, because one day some dwarves had come to his house.
"Is there anybody home?"
"Yes, me. Who're you?"
"A small group of friends. Let me introduce ourselves:
We are the dwarves from the mines,
And we live there since age times.
We've came seeking your advice,
Because you're the only one here wise.
Seven dwarves we have came,
And we will give you our name:
Balin,our brave king,
Gloin, with his mighty ring,
Ori, seeking for power,
Dwalin,making others cower.
And ..."
"OK , OK. I've got it. But why me? From what I know, dwarves are not that king of people who're seek for advice. And especially a king. Am I not right?"
"Almost. But we had received an order from our master, in fact, he is our best friend, and he told us that he needs you for our mission."
"What mission?"
"You will soon find out. He is our friend since long time ,he really needs some help now, and we're the only guys who can do something for him. We're looking for a … let's say a valuable ,ancient artifact. He heard about you a lot; and of course, let us know everything. It seems you're the only one who we can trust. Can you help us in our quest?"
"Maybe. But I can't understand, how could I possibly help you? I don't even know to fight."
"This is not a problem. Our problem is that we need to pass stealthed and, you see, we're dwarves. We cannot have the same diplomacy as you do. Besides, we will need some clues in our way, maybe to ask somebody about directions, and you can do this without rising any suspicions."
"Let me think... perhaps I'll join you, but what do I get if we succeed?"
"If you're asking about money, you won't be even able to count them. But for us...it's not about money. But I must tell you that our friend instructed us not to leave here without you."
"In this case, I don't have a choice, do I?"
"Of course you have. Here it is: you go with us willingly, and we remain friends, or we'll have to drag you all over the road down to The Emerald Pass, where the orb is hidden!"
"Balin! What have you done! It supposed to be secret!", said Gloin.
"Oops! Sorry. My mouth seemed to betray me. Well, it sometimes happen. Anyway, he has to be informed, sooner or later."
"So be it, said Bilbo. I'll come with you, and I bet we are going to have fun together. Maybe you were right, dwarves really need to learn how to speak if they want to obtain something."
"Then hurry. Until tonight we have to make it to the Forest, and maybe even leave behind the Shire."
"We're leaving now?"
"Do you think we have time to wait? said Balin. The sooner, the better."
Within half an hour, Bilbo was well equipped and ready to go.
"Take this sword also, you will need it!"said Gloin and gave him a nice shiny short sword, which was encrusted with elfish signs.
"But I told you before, I am not a skilled fighter. Besides, you will protect me, right?"
"You never know, Bilbo. And I suggest you to practice a little. Arrow is a skilled warrior, his sword is as quick as his arrows!"
"Interesting, answered Bilbo, starting to smile. Now I know your friend's name.
He surely wasn't mistaken when he told you to take me with you!"
Gloin tried to fix the problem, and said:
"It is clear that we need a speechcraft teacher, but now we have to move along. And we better hurry."
They leaved the Bag-End, with their cloaks covering them entirely, straight to Lothlorien woods . Bilbo looked back for one more time, and he couldn't stop from thinking that he'd better remained home.
When they passed the last border of the Shire, a dense forest was stretching ahead, and they stopped right in front of an old oak.
"There we are, said Balin. Now we have to wait."
"Wait for what? Asked Bilbo."
"For Arrow. He must arrive any moment."
"If he's not here already! You are a little late, aren't you?" said a voice coming from the tree and a man showed himself, standing on a branch.
"So, you are Bilbo Baggins?"
"Yes. And you must be Arrow, am I right?"
"Those dwarves, they talked a little more, didn't they?"
Bilbo felt very proud to remark:
"They really need to learn how to keep a secret."
"Let's stick to our journey. For your own knowledge, I've only picked you for this job because your father helped me a lot, and he gave me this map, along with the promise that I will take you with me. I couldn't deny that, but this means that YOU have to learn what's humiliation, because my dwarves are not as stupid as you thought. They told you that we need you for you skills?"
"A kind of. But... were they joking?"
Arrow burst into laugh.
"No. In fact,they were flattering your big ego, trying to get you here without attracting any attention. I bet they had a great time!"
"So I'm a poor hobbit, afterall, isn't it?"
"No, Bilbo. Your father was a great hobbit, and he never let me down. I hope you will do the same."
"Who need help now? asked Balin.
Bilbo made a sad face and said:
"I'll try."
"Hey, don't take it personally. I'm sure in time you will get used with it. If you need a friend you can trust, believe me, Arrow is the guy. He's tough, but he has a really nice heart, hidden by his harsh appearance. OK?"
Balin's speech seemed to rise Bilbo's moral.
"Maybe we will get along well, afterall."
(To be continued soon)