A/N: Hello. My brother and I saw Fire and Ice a few days ago. And while we became interested in the potential story, also for Teegra (guilty :)), we noticed a lack of stories revolving around Fire and Ice. This is my attempt to correct that oversight, as well as a few adjustments to Fire and Ice itself. Don't worry, though. You'll still see Teegra the way you saw her before, what with the impressive rotoscope animation, but her role as Damsel in Distress will change later on in the story. You can expect to see her and Larn in the next chapter. By the time you finish reading this, I will already be working on a new chapter for this story to post it, for those of you who want to see Teegra. Until then, enjoy. :)
Prologue: An Unexpected Company
Long ago, at the end of the last great Ice Age and the beginning of the third age of Middle-Earth, there arose in the North a powerful queen. Her name was Juliana, and her ambition was to extend her realm to all the regions of the known world. To this end, she sought the Dark Lord, Sauron, and gathered an army. It was consisted of orcs, goblins, the Nazgûl, and subhumans to prey upon those who threaten them. Together, they bore a son and named him Nekron. And him, they tutored in the black arts and in the powers of the mind.
When Nekron came of age and attained mastery of those powers, while Sauron sought to build the One Ring from the forge of Mount Doom, the mother and son seized control of the region of ice. And from their castle called Ice Peak, they sent a giant glacier rumbling south where no village or people could stand against its relentless onslaught. Elsewhere, Sauron had proven his might with the One Ring and forced the armies that fought him to a desperate measure, retaliating swiftly enough to cut Sauron's finger off, thus, casting him to the sands of time. However, the ring became a force of its own, for Sauron's very corruptive essence resided inside it, plaguing men with greed and betrayal. Even worse, Nekron and Juliana sought to retaliate for the loss of their husband and father. And so the remnants of humanity fled south and huddled for the warmth of the volcanoes of a mountain region ruled by a generous king named Jarol, from his fortress, which men called Fire Keep. However, many are still left to defend themselves against Nekron's men as they didn't wish to leave their home behind. And the Hobbits believed that the glacier had a limit for how long it can last. But alas, they will soon be proven wrong.
And still, Nekron pushed the ice ever southward into the temperate zone toward Fire Keep, encountering many indigenous species such as Dwarves and Elves and driving countless of the multitudes away for his father's ring and retribution. And no one dared guess at the outcome of a meeting in the field of battle between Fire and Ice.
One day, at Hobbiton, a Hobbit (a short-sized man with hairy feet) was cleaning his plate with a cloth before he set it aside on the rack before taking a pipe and going outside to blow rings of smoke, content with the peace he has received. Just then, however, a blue cloaked man with a pointed hat, a long, white beard, and a wooden staff dashed just in front of the rings, clearing them away as he spoke unto the Hobbit.
"Bilbo Baggins?"
"Uh, yes?"
As the man answered, he walked toward Bilbo while waving the leftover rings away with but a wave of his staff.
"I'm looking to hire a burglar."
"Burglar? Heh, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place."
"You mean you do not wish to share a grand adventure?"
"Dear me, no. We Hobbits are plain, quiet folk. Adventures make one late for dinner."
Knowing full well how soon Nekron will invade the other valleys until none are spared, the man summoned lightning behind him as the clouds momentarily darkened before he addressed himself.
"Enough. I am Gandalf. And Gandalf means me!"
Having heard his name before in rumors, Bilbo began to become aghast with surprise. If he was here, it must be for very good reason.
"Gandalf? Not the wandering wizard?"
"The same. Listen."
As Gandalf pointed to the rest of his company which consisted of thirteen Dwarves, they revealed themselves as they sung.
"Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek our long-forgotten gold"
As the Dwarves showed themselves to Bilbo, he'd become rightfully more surprised than before as he wasn't expecting any guests of late. Nevertheless, the leader of the company took the liberty of introducing himself and his companions.
"Thorin and company, at your service. Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, and Ori. Oin, sir. And Gloin, sir. Call him Bifur. And him Bofur."
Just then, the last Dwarf arrived with two ponies by his side as he spake.
"And, uh, Bombur at your service."
"We are all at your service."
Later, Gandalf and the Dwarves were invited to eat at Bilbo's house, although he didn't necessarily invite them by technicality. As they ate, those that were finished were quickly putting away the dishes as if they owned the place. Bilbo was becoming greatly concerned about the possibility of them breaking the plates. The Dwarves took notice of this and made a song to rile him up as they didn't think he'd be quite good burglar-material at first.
"Chip the glasses, crack the plates
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates
So carefully, carefully with the plates
Blunt the knives and bend the forks
Smash the bottles, burn the corks
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates
So carefully, carefully with the plates"
After the round of dinner had ceased, Bilbo was beginning to grow tired of their company and wanted them to leave, but did not wish to be rude about it. And besides, he'd always wondered this since he first laid eyes on them.
"What do these Dwarves want in Hobbiton?"
Gandalf was the one to answer Bilbo's query as he spake.
"They have come for tea, and for supper, and for you, Burglar Baggins."
As the sun set, Bilbo listened to the song the Dwarves sang again, but this time, felt a powerful feeling inside him which enabled a certain trait from his family tree to take hold: that of his grandmother, Belladonna Took. She always had a love for excitement and danger. An adventure provided both of those things. As Bilbo listened, he felt his want for his peace waning as the Wandering Wizard spoke to him.
"Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek our long-forgotten gold"
"There's a magic in that music."
"And it moves through me."
"You feel the love of beautiful things."
"To go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine trees and the waterfalls..."
"To carry a sword instead of a walking stick."
"Just once."
Once their song had ended, Thorin banged his spoon on the table before he spoke up to make a toast for the night that they've had.
"Gandalf and Dwarves, we are met tonight in the house of our friend, this most excellent Hobbit, Burglar Baggins. May the hair on his toes never fall out."
"Hear, Hear!"
As the Dwarves put their cups together, Bilbo became perplexed as to his sudden title as Burglar, to which Gandalf resolved.
"What is this 'Burglar' business?"
"If you prefer, you can say 'expert treasure hunter.'"
"Well, yes, I do prefer that."
At that moment, Thorin spoke up again to get to the heart of the matter.
"We shall soon start on our long journey. Our object is, I take it, well known to us? All of us?"
Regrettably, Bilbo didn't know why he'd been recruited in the first place as he have his answer.
"Uh, it is not well known to me."
"Really? Then we must inform our Burglar."
With that, Thorin cleared his throat before he spoke their object to him.
"We seek a treasure, that which is rightfully ours. Far off the east, beyond the Misty Mountains and the dark forest of Mirkwood, there will you find Lonely Mountain. And it is also there that you'll find the treasure that consolidated Dwarves' ownership of the Lonely Mountain: the Arkenstone."
With that, as Thorin and Gandalf narrated, it showed the peak of the mountain met with lightning bolts before it showed the inside where the Dwarves spoke with each other whilst some of them mined with candles above them while others carted their load to a giant furnace where the result was cooled off to forge weaponry and jewelry fit for a King, especially one that resided Under the Mountain as this particular Majesty received a goblet by Thorin when he was a young lad as his grandfather's jewel on the Crown gleamed white.
"Long ago, this was the home of my people, and was ruled by my grandfather, Thrain, King Under the Mountain."
"The Dwarves of yore made mighty spells while hammers fell like ringing bells. In places deep where dark things sleep, in hollow halls beneath the fells. Goblets they carved there for themselves and heaps of gold where no man delves, there lay they long and many a song was sung unheard by man or elves. For ancient king and Elvish lord, there many a gleaming golden hoard, they shaped and wrought the light they caught to hide in gems on holt of sword. On silver necklaces they strung, the flowering stars on crowns they hung, the dragon fire in twisted wire they neared the light of moon and sun."
Later, Thorin and one of his companions were riding a pony towards Lonely Mountain before they took notice of a giant glacier headed toward them as a powerful wind gusted over the trees, blowing them down as Nekron shouted out, expanding his frigid fortress as precipices emerged and sentenced the trees to freeze as it approached Thorin and his companion, who took great haste in attempting escape only to be swept away in its freezing chilly wind, tossing them to another side of the forest as Thorin and Gandalf spoke.
"Undoubtedly, all this wealth and the Arkenstone was what brought the Ice Lord. He needed its magic to fuel his iceberg enough to ensure total conquest."
"The pines were roaring on the height, the winds were moaning in the night. The glacier was treading, its chills spreading, the trees like icicles gleaming with light."
As Thorin and Gandalf continued onward, it showed the people of Dale becoming aghast with fear as the bell ring while Nekron's glacier suddenly broke apart once it towered above them, sending the debris onto the buildings and streets, even unto the river as the water itself began to feel colder than before as it plowed through the village of Dale before showing Nekron advancing on the Dwarves himself as he gripped one telekinetically before chucking one aside as they scattered while Nekron laughed sinisterly upon taking Thrain's life and his Arkenstone as he walked on the ice bridge that he created to get to Lonely Mountain before adding it as the center of the glacier before it went away as Thorin and his companions looked on.
"And below us, in the valley, lay Dale, a town of mortal men."
"The Bells were ringing in the Dale. The men looked up with faces pale. The Ice Lord's ire, more fierce than fire, laid low their towers and houses frail. The mountain chilled beneath the moon. The Dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom, they fled their hall to dying fall, beneath his feet, beneath the moon."
"We must away, ere break of day
To win our Arkenstone from him"
As Thorin finished his tale, he began to vent his anger before the other Dwarves followed suit.
"Curses to the Ice Lord. Curses to Nekron! He killed our men and stole the Arkenstone."
"Curses to the Ice Lord Nekron!"
With that, Gandalf added the worst part of the tale.
"And it is not even the most dire part. The Arkenstone can do more than signifiy the Dwarves' rule under the mountain: it is also used to grant Nekron's Glacial Fortress invincibility, so that time will never melt it down."
Hearing this, Bilbo was beginning to feel worried for what could happen as he inquired of Gandalf what they had in mind.
"Is this the adventure you've planned for me? To help you recapture the Arkenstone?"
"None other."
As Bilbo began to faint, he made a small squeaking grunt as Gandalf stopped him from completely fainting before he explained the reason for his inclusion.
"There are thirteen of you. Very unlucky. Mr. Baggins will make it fourteen."
As Bilbo became aquiver with dread, Thorin didn't seem to have any faith in him as he spoke.
"A splendid lucky number you've found for us."
"No arguments. Let us have the contract."
With that, Thorin handed Gandalf a piece of parchment before Bilbo read it very closely.
"'To Burglar Baggins: terms for your professional services. One-fourteenth of total profits, traveling expenses guaranteed, funeral expenses, if necessary. Sincerely Thorin and company.' Funeral expenses?"
"Do you find the terms acceptable?"
Before Bilbo could answer Thorin, Gandalf spoke for him.
"Of course he does."
"But, but, but I—"
"And so, tomorrow begins your greatest adventure."
As Gandalf made it clear, the Dwarves cheered for Bilbo's inclusion as Bilbo became nervous for what is to come.