Middle Earth, the night that Thorin Oakenshield and Company arrived in Rivendell

I shivered in the cold night air and zipped my jacket up tighter. Nothing was visible on the ground below - no Orc camps nearby tonight, unless they hadn't made a fire. I smiled - we were lucky.

Suddenly, a device hooked on my belt started beeping. I picked it up, and pressed a button, causing the screen to light up with the image of a severe man with pointy ears. "Oh, Lord Elrond!" I exclaimed, surprised. Elrond almost never contacts me. "What's up?"

"I do not understand. The sky is certainly up, as is the ceiling, but I do not understand the meaning of the phrase, as I know you know what is up."

"Oh - my bad. I meant, what's going on?"

"Mithrandir has arrived in Rivendell," he said. "Galadriel is here, as is Saruman the White. The Guardians of Middle Earth are convening. I hope to see you."

I nodded. "On my way," I said, before the screen powered down again. I banked towards the east, and flapped my brown, blue-flecked wings to gain some altitude.

Oh yeah - did I mention I had wings?


I landed in the meeting pavilion in Rivendell about five minutes after my conversation with Elrond to find everyone waiting for me.

"Bad Wolf," said Elrond respectfully. "We have saved you a seat."

I smiled, folded in my wings, and sat down. "So, why are we meeting here?"

Saruman began. "Gandalf is leading thirteen dwarves and a hobbit to the Lonely Mountain, a foolish quest that could-"

I held up my hand, and turned to Gandalf. "The Lonely Mountain? Like, where that old dwarf kingdom was? What was its name, uh..."

"Erebor," supplied Gandalf helpfully. "The Company of Thorin Oakenshield is going to the Lonely Mountain to slay Smaug the Terrible, and to reclaim Erebor and become King under the Mountain."

"Right, but why are you helping them?" I pressed. "I mean, I know that they probably need your help, but is there a deeper reason?"

Gandalf nodded. "Yes, there is." He took in a breath. "A dragon on its own is not much threat, but if Smaug were to side with the Enemy-"

Saruman snorted. "The enemy?" he scoffed. "The enemy is gone. He is defeated! We are at peace!"

"He is returning," said Gandalf patiently. "A necromancer is residing in Dorgul-dur, with the power to bring back the dead."

"How do you know this?" asked Saruman doubtfully.

"Radagast found-"

Saruman interrupted again, rather rudely. "Radagast? His mind is muddled, and you should not believe anything that he may say without proof. For one, he eats too many mushrooms..."

I sat back in my chair, rolling my eyes. Saruman was prone to rambling on and on like this. Then I noticed Gandalf slowly taking out a thin, long package. He opened it to reveal - "Oh, my god," I said. "That's... that's a..."

"That blade was sealed in a vault so far underground that it should never have seen light again!" gasped Galadriel.

"Impossible," said Elrond.

"Where was it found?" I asked.

"In Dorgul-dur," said Gandalf grimly.