Meeting the burglar
I had overheard my father talking with my uncle Balin, that the company of Thorin Oakenshield would meet in Hobbington in the Shire. The door would bear the rune for "burglar looking for adventure", this door would lead me to Mister Baggins.
I knew my husband would be furious that I followed him. But I also knew, I couldn't let him make this quest alone. Oh, he would grumble and shoot me glares for some time while he was actually relieved that I was with him.
That's how I found myself riding in the twilight between the green hills of the Shire towards Bag End.
After a loud knock on the door I heard a pit-pat of feet on the floor and the door was opened. There in front of me was a small man – he looked more like a child – with curly hair he looked at me exasperated and asked "What?! More dwarves?" I had to suppress my laughter and answered "Fannea at your service! And you must be Mister Baggins, no? Are they already here?"
I went inside and took my cloak of. I could hear laughter and yelling "Never mind, I think that answered my question." I followed the noise around a corner and came suddenly face to face with Dwalin, a fierce looking dwarf.
"Father! It's good to see you again" I hugged him with a grin on my face.
He laughed "Fennea, somehow I knew he couldn't keep you away. Do you have your weapons with you?"
"Of course Father! I never go out without them. On another note, is he here already? I kind of haven't told him I would be coming. I thought it would be better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."
"No lass, we're still waiting for him. And I never seen you ask for permission even when you where a mere dwarfling running around with your fathers sword and trying to sneak in to the training grounds instead of staying with the other females." said a laughing Balin.
It was true and drove my mother mad, my father found it amusing and taught me how to fight until I was better than most of the kings guards.
After we had to abandon Erebor it saved me my life many times and my mother was glad, that I know how to wield a sword.
I followed my father and my uncle to greet the rest of the dwarves. They sat around a table with Gandalf eating.
"Aunt Feannea!" I heard over the laughing and talking dwarves. My nephews Fili and Kili jumped up to hug me.
The rest of the group became quiet, they all rose and gave me a bow. "Oh none of that my friends." I hated it when they looked at me as above them, but they never stopped.
Kili looked at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes "Does Thorin know you are here?"
"What do you think? Of course not! He would have locked me in at home if he knew what I was planning."
I heard them all laughing and Gandalf came over "Sit down Fennea and eat with us. There is plenty and you must be quite hungry after your journey."
After our meal was finished and Ori asked where to put his plate the men started to throw the plates and bowls to Bifur in the kitchen. Bifur cleaned them. When Mister Baggins Wanted to stop the fun Bofur started a mocking song and the rest followed his lead.
Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
Smash the bottles and burn the corks!
Chip the glasses and crack the plates!
That's what Bilbo Baggins hatesCut the cloth and trail the fat!
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!
Pour the milk on the pantry floor
Splash the wine on every door!Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl;
Pound them up with a thumping pole;
And when you've finished, if they are whole,
Send them down the hall to roll!That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!
By the end of the song all of the plates and bowls, knives and forks where clean and piled on the table.
Knock knock knock!
"He is here!" said Gandalf and broke the sudden silence.
I sat half behind Bombur in hope that the my discovery and the following certain argument could be avoided till later.
Gandalf opened the door and there he stood Thorin Oakenshield with a raising eyebrow he drawled "Gandalf, I thought you said this place was easy to find. I lost my was twice. I wouldn't found it at all had it not been for the mark on the door"
He walked into the hall and looked at the Hobbit.
"Mark? There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago." Said the indignant Hobbit.
Gandalf answered him while closing the door behind Thorin "There is a mark. I put it there myself.
Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce you the leader of our company: Thorin Oakenshield
He walked around Mister Baggins and watched him with piercing eyes.
He began to question him "So… this is the Hobbit. Tell me Mister Baggins have you done much fighting?"
"Pardon me?"
"Axe or sword? What's your weapon of choice?"
He really didn't look as if he ever had a sword or a battleaxe in his hand.
"Well I do have some skill at conkers if you must know, but I fail to see why that is relevant"
The Hobbit answered defiantly and I had to cough to not let the others hear my laughter. Thorin wouldn't like such a cheeky answer. And I was right he answered Mister Baggins in a mocking tone
"Thought as much. He looks more like grocer than a burglar."
The rest of the company laughed with that comment even I had to chuckle a bit.
Thorin whirled around at hearing my laughter and glared at me.
"Fennea!" he growled. "What do you think you are doing here?
Come with me now!"
I rose from my seat and followed him outside. I knew he didn't want to argue in front of the others.
The door closed behind us and Thorin stood there with his arms crossed and raised an eyebrow.
"Thorin, love, you knew I would come. You might not like it but Erebor is my home too. I would never let you go alone. You might want to leave me behind in safety, but Love I'm a warrior and you wouldn't love me if I wasn't."
He sighed and rubbed his hands over his eyes. "Yes I suspected you would come. I hoped that when you didn't ask where we would meet that you would stay with Dis but in my heart I knew something was up. How did you find us?"
I smiled sheepishly " I heard Father and Balin talking about the Shire and Mister Baggins."
He chuckled softly and I knew he wasn't mad anymore.
"Come here." He took me in his arms and gave me a soft kiss. "It will be good to have you with me. Let's get inside again before they come looking for us to make sure we didn't kill each other."
Once inside again Thorin ate a bowl of stew and told them about the meetings with the other dwarven kingdoms. Our cousin Dain of the Ironhills would not come to aid us in our quest.
Secretly I was glad, I didn't like him. He was greedy and didn't like it that I choose Thorin over him.
Then began the talk of our Quest.
"Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a bit of light."
While Bilbo was looking for some light, Gandalf took a map out of his grey cloak and placed it on the Table.
"Far to the east over ranges and rivers beyond woodlands and wastelands lies a single solitary peak."
Bilbo leans over Thorins shoulder with a candle in his hand and reads:
"The Lonely Mountain"
"Aye, Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time." Proclaimed Gloin.
Oin elaborated "ravens have been seen, flying back to the mountain, as it was foretold.
When the birds of yore return to Erebor the reign of the beast will end."
"Er, what beast?" Mister Baggins looked a bit scared when he asked that.
" That would be a reference to Smaug the terrible chiefest and greatest calamity of our age…
Airborne fire-breather. Teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks.
Extremely fond of precious metals." Bofur commented.
"Yes I know what a dragon is." Said an annoyed Bilbo.
After a bit of male posturing.
Balin always the calm advisor pointed out "The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us but we number just 14. And not 14 of the best nor brightest"
That bought another round of arguing an you could hear Fili say: "We may be few in number but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf."
And you could hear Kili add "And you forget we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons n his time."
Gandalf stammered and spluttered a bit but wouldn't answer. I had the feeling he hadn't even encountered one.
Thorin brought the discussion back on track with a shout in khuzdul.
"If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too?
Rumours have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years.
Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected.
Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?"
Whit that the dwarves began to cheer and shout but my heart grew fearful, for the heart of Thror was ill with the greed for gold. And with Thorins talk about the wealth grew my fear for him. I saw in Balins eyes the same fear and knew he would help me should one of the others fall to the temptation of the gold. I wanted our home back and the gold was good for rebuilding it but it was not worth the lifes of our people.
I had zoned out and concentrated back on the conversation when Gandalf presented Thorin with a Key and told him it was a key to a secret passage which Thrain Thorins father used to escape Smaug.
Gandalf told us that the runes on the map spoke of the hidden passage and that the answer to open the passage lies somewhere in the map but he couldn't read it. But he knew of others who can.
"The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth and no small amount of courage."
With that we came to the burglar who didn't want to be one. After Gandalf assured us that he was indeed a burglar he was given a contract which contents together with Bofurs description of incinerations by a dragon made him pass out.
Gandalf tried to convince Mister Baggins to come with us but he would not budge.
"It appears we have lost our burglar. Probably for the best. The odds where always against us." I overheard as Balin spoke to Thorin. "After all, what are we? Merchants, miners, tinkers, toymakers. Heh. Hardly the stuff of legend."
"There are a few warriors amongst us."
"Old warriors"
"I would take each and every one of these dwarves over an army of the Ironhills. For when I called upon them they answered –even if I didn't want them to come" With that Thorin looked in my direction he smiled at me to show me he no longer wanted to leave me behind.
"Loyalty, honor, a willing heart. I can ask no more than that."
"You don't have to do this. You have a choice. You've done honorably by our people. You have built a life for us in the Blue Mountains. A life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor."
"From my grandfather to my father, this has come to me. They dreamt of the day when the dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice Balin. Not for me"
"And we are with you laddie. We will see it done." With that the two walked over to the rest of us and they began to sing. I sat on floor next to where Thorin was standing and closed my eyes. And I could see Erebor before me once again.
Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To find our long forgotten gold.
The pines were roaring on the height,
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.