First story of mine of The Hobbit fandom. A heads up, I watch the extended editions off iTunes so some extra scenes are there and some are original. Also this story begins after Bilbo and the others finish their dinner with the elves when Bilbo is walking around Rivendell. I have an idea where it will end but depending on what my viewers think of it, I may continue it further, perhaps even to the very end.
To those familiar with my other stories, this is another part of the story of Endymion.
To everyone else, enjoy the story.
This chapter is short for the sake of introduction. The next ones will be longer I assure you.
Enjoy.
"You are very welcome to stay here, if that is your wish."
The words of Lord Elrond continued to bounce around within Bilbo's head. It was the first time in this whole journey that he had felt even the slightest bit at home.
The rest of the dwarves mostly did not acknowledge his presence. Those that did really shunned him more than anything else. He supposed that was better than outright hostility. If Gandalf were not there then Thorin might have just thrown him out of the company by now.
Some of the dwarves at least were friendly. Such as Bofur, he was friendly to everyone. Sure he could not avoid speaking his mind most of the time but he was good hearted.
Then there was Kili, even though he did send him into the clearing to rescue the horses by himself, the young dwarf archer more than made up for it. Bilbo had at first thought the two brothers abandoned him. It turned out that instead of running away, they went back to get Thorin and the others. When Bilbo thought back to the trolls later he realized that there was no way him and the two dwarf brothers would have stood a chance against three trolls.
Bilbo himself was actually the one that saved them, or at least he thought so. It was the hobbit who distracted the trolls until the sun rose. He just bought time for Gandalf to arrive and help. The wizard said it was Bilbo who was the savior of the day but most of the dwarves just blamed him for getting them into such a situation. Bofur and the brothers at least were grateful to him.
Perhaps he really should accept Elrond's offer and stay here. Rivendell was quite a magical place. It reminded him a lot of The Shire, just missing the usual joyful hobbits.
The elves themselves were more than a little... dull. Compared the boisterous dwarves of the company at least. Hobbits tended to lean closer to a middle ground in behavior. They could be loud and greatly excited when celebrating but nothing like dwarves.
"Quite a peaceful place isn't it?"
The voice came from seemingly nowhere, startling the hobbit on his walk. It took a few seconds, but he soon noticed the figure sitting on a nearby bench.
"Pardon my manners, I did not mean to startle you." The person rose to his feet and moved closer to Bilbo. When he did, the hobbit got a good look at the stranger. Unlike the rest of the inhabitants of Rivendell, he was not and Elf, instead he was a Man. He wore a long black coat that obscured most of his body from view but that was not so strange. What was though, was his peculiar eyes. His orbs gleamed like polished silver.
Another odd thing about the Man, was his neck. It was covered in these strange markings. They appeared to be scars but were in symbols Bilbo did not understand.
"You must be Bilbo Baggins, I heard you arrived with the company of dwarves." The Man dropped down to one knee so that he was not towering over Bilbo as much. He had to be at least six foot tall, perhaps an inch or two taller even.
"Uh, yes. I did." Bilbo was stumbling around his words. In truth he had never really met a Man before. They were a rarity in The Shire and ever since he left, the company stayed mostly in the country. There was never any opportunity to meet one before now. "Who are you?"
The stranger smiled. "Many call me The Traveler, you can simply call me Endymion."
The Traveler? That reminded Bilbo a lot of Gandalf and his title of 'the grey'. Perhaps this Man was another wizard. That being said, Gandalf did tell Bilbo there was a total of five wizards. Saruman the White, Radagast the Brown, Gandalf himself, then there was the two blues whose names Gandalf could not remember. This man did not seem to have anything to do with the first three, all that left were the two blue wizards but with a title of The Traveler, Bilbo doubted this man was a wizard.
Before Bilbo could even ask, Endymion walked past him to lean against a nearby rail. "Rivendell is a peaceful and serene place." The Man turned to glance at Bilbo. "There are few places out there like it."
Bilbo moved to stand beside him. It felt a lot like when he had spoken to Elrond earlier. Endymion had a similar aura of mystery and majesty. Either that or it was simply the height difference. At least among the dwarves he was not considered that short.
"You should savor you time here before leaving, never know when you will get another chance." As Endymion spoke he turned to look back at the horizon once more.
Bilbo felt his heart sink a little. He actually had been considering staying here in Rivendell for a time while the company moved on. He meant it when he told Lord Elrond that he would not be missed that much.
As hard as he tried, he was not one of them.
He was no dwarf.
He was no burglar.
He was just a hobbit who should have never stepped out of his door. Bilbo was still trying to figure out what it was that made him go running after the company after they left before he woke.
"You miss home," Endymion's voice snapped Bilbo from his thoughts.
"What?" Bilbo looked up at the Man.
"You miss home," Endymion repeated. "Trust me, I know how it feels."
"What makes you say that?" Bilbo was more than a little curious.
"Why do you think I am called The Traveler?"
"I would assume because you do a lot of traveling." Bilbo's words brought a chuckle from the taller of the pair.
"You are partially correct my friend. I move from place to place because I have no home to go back to."
Bilbo was instantly reminded of Thorin and the dwarves of Erebor, their home was also lost but to a dragon. A mighty beast that to this day held the mountain.
"Nothing is left of that place save a barren wasteland." Endymion smiled sadly down at Bilbo. "So I travel a lot, I suppose the name stuck after a while."
Before Bilbo could ask further, Endymion turned to walk away. With his back to Bilbo he spoke. "Some of us fight for home and hearth, some for loved ones, some fight so that others don't have to know what it feels like to have no home to return to."
The hobbit was about to say something else but when Bilbo blinked his eyes, Endymion was gone. In his place was just empty air.
Bilbo turned back to the railing to look upon the setting sun on the horizon, Endymion's words turning over in his mind.
Fair warning, I have not read any of Tolkien's books in a very long while. I have only seen the movies so I use them for some references.
To see more stories about The Traveler Endymion, look at my profile for stories with the title "Saga of The Traveler".