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I'm going to carry on the translation as better as I can with my best effort.

Here I offer you the next chapter. I hope enjoy it!

*~~~~~~~ CHAPTER 2: RHEIN ~~~~~~~~*

They rode for several days until they reached the village where Gandalf had arranged to meet the dwarves.

"When I left them we arranged to meet in that inn after nine days", he pointed a small house with a drawing of a ram on the door "we arrived just in time."

They came to see the place better. Doors and windows were wooden and the worn grey facade gave it a rustic look. On one side was a small shed for travelers mounts. Gandalf spotted the background a group of fourteen ponies, confirming the arrival of the dwarves.

"The sensible thing is that I first meet with them while you take care of the horses. Go into the inn after ten minutes and go to the second floor, there is a large enough room apart from the rest and to treat our issues."

Gandalf left her the care of the mounts as he headed for the door of the inn. At the bottom was the tavern where most travelers were taking a break to cool their throats, while the top floor was for the rooms. At the back of the tavern were the dwarves, some of them in the bar and others sitting at a long table. Some talked serenely while others drank their beer mugs and joked with food. Bilbo was smoking his pipe as he looked anxiously through the window, waiting for his old friend, who had gotten into this adventure still was not convinced, returned with good news. Thorin was chatting with Balin when he noticed the presence of the magician. Bilbo saw it too, which made him a long puff of his pipe and released slowly with a sigh of relief. Gandalf went first to talk to the landlord to ask for the keys to the large upper room to which he had referred. Fortunately there were no other large group stayed in place so that the room was free. Gandalf waved his cane as he walked to the stairs. Thorin looked nodded and rose, the twelve dwarves and Bilbo followed him. Some of them did so reluctantly because they were having fun down there, but they left their jars with the hope of returning to finish them after a while. When dwarves came, Gandalf was waiting against the wall. On the first floor were most of the rooms, including ones who had booked, but the second floor rooms available some more appropriate for other purposes, as the conversation that they would perform. Gandalf led them to a large room at the end of a corridor and closed the door behind him. In the center of the room was a long table with chairs around it. As was natural, there weren't chairs for everyone, so the dwarves settled seats improvising as best they could with what they found there. Thorin sat in the center with Balin and Dwalin and the magician was placed right in front of them, his back to the door. Gandalf returned to Thorin his map, who kept it carefully next to the key of Erebor. All onlookers watched the magician without daring to break the silence. Finally was Thorin who formulated the questions in a deep and authoritative voice.

"Well? What are the news you bring us? Did you find what you were looking for?"

All eyes were focused on the magician, who nodded wearily.

"We have a long journey full of unknown dangers yet. You managed to gather a group of brave and loyal warriors with very different qualities, but I'm afraid of that is not enough. So I decided to find someone else for our mission, someone experienced and had been instructed to recover treasures in the past", said addressing each of these. Thorin tensed when listened the word 'treasures' "and after much soul searching I came to the conclusion that the best person to help us in this endeavor would be a bounty hunter."

"A bounty hunter?" Thorin asked him visibly upset. "Have you talked about our plan to a villain?" The rest of the dwarves began to murmur among themselves.

"It didn't mind you when you asked me for getting a looter" He said looking Bilbo, the rest of the looks also focused on him, who under his head uncomfortable.

"That was different. The bounty hunters working only for their own benefit, not accountable to anyone. No matter who they follow or what they ask in order to get their reward. How do we know that will not betray us to get the treasure?" He sounded increasingly angry and his eyes scanned the face of the magician in search of some hidden information that would have revealed yet.

"My suspected friend, no one will take your people what is theirs. The person that I have gotten is confidence, I give you my word that won't betray us."The rest of the dwarves seemed convinced magician's words because he had never failed them, but Thorin kept his piercing gaze on him.

"And what will earn for himself helping us?"

Then three shots were heard coming from the door, all present were startled. Gandalf smiled and got up to open the door.

"I think you can ask him yourself" the door opened, giving way to an unknown figure "I present to Rhein, our new ally."

All dwarves watched in silence the outline of his new partner. Gandalf was disguised Iriel as a mighty warrior. She wore a pointed helmet that concealed her face, leaving an opening for her eyes, which were partially covered by her fringe, the only visible sign of her hair because the rest was collected inside the helmet. Just below the eyes, there was a slightly silver mesh that connected the helmet to the height of the ears and down to his neck concealing the lower half of his face. Gandalf had chosen this piece for Iriel could eat and drink ahead of the dwarves without exposing her face. A rigid leather jacket wrapped her body, hiding his feminine shapes, giving her a squared and straight body. Below it there was a thick gray shirt with long sleeves and metal bracers on his forearms. Also she wore dark gloves cut at the end of her fingers. Iriel had bothered to cut and get dirty her nails to make their hands looked more masculine. At the bottom she wore baggy pants and brown leather boots covered with hair that reached to below the knees. All she had been able to keep from her clothes were the worn coat and the belt with their weapons.

Iriel bowed slightly as she entered. Everybody watched him with curiosity without suspecting the trick. She also wanted to have a look at their new fellow travelers, but when she looked up she ran into some intense and piercing blue eyes that seemed to look for an opening within her thoughts. This feeling made that a small discharge travelled across her body feeling a shiver. Thorin's gaze would be a problem that would have to continue to face later. Gandalf closed the door behind her and said she could approach the rest of the group.

He took advantage of this moment to take a quick glance at all present. At first she sought her fellow hobbit was sitting on a box in a corner of the room. His eyes betrayed how uncomfortable he felt among many dwarves and his appearance was considerably away from being a warrior or a looter. Only Gandalf knew why he had chosen him, she was sure there would be a good reason for it, the Istari never acted without a reason. Beside him there were two very handsome young dwarves with naughty face that smiled mischievously, one blonde and one brown. They should be Fíli and Kíli. Gandalf had accurately described all dwarves during their trip, so she thought would be able to identify them all. The dwarves were in the habit of braiding their hair themselves, each one with a different and characteristic style which made easier to differentiate his thirteen companions. Learning the names of each one had been more complicated, Iriel had been practicing with them along the way as a tongue-twister that ended up dominating them. It was time to test her memory.

In the opposite corner of the room she looked at one of the dwarves sitting on the windowsill. He wore a funny hat and his gesture reflected sympathy. That should be Bofur. Below the window was a chubby dwarf sitting on the floor, Gandalf had not exaggerated when he spoke of the remarkable Bombur's overweight. Beside him stood a dwarf frowning at her, what the heck was in his head?, An axe? Oh god ... Iriel believed that Gandalf was kidding when he described Bifur, the dwarf who only spoke in khuzdul, the language of the dwarves, but now she could see with her own eyes that it was true. Beside him, on one end of the table, were three dwarves on an old trunk that barely had room for all three could reaffirm their asses. In the center of the three was one with the braided beard around his face, giving it a gentle and friendly appearance, Dori should be sitting with his two brothers. To his right was the little brother, Ori, she recognized him for his haircut and his baby face. Ori was looking at her with the crooked mouth while was trying not to fall off the trunk, just as his two brothers had barely left space. Across was Nori. Iriel had to make an effort not to laugh as his crest and braided beard reminded him of a large starfish detail that seemed pretty funny considering that this tough race rarely away from the mountains.

At the opposite end of the table, near Bilbo, had another couple of dwarves, this time sitting in chairs. One of them had curled hair and beard braids consisted of two curved upwards. He held a twisted trumpet with one hand. Gandalf had warned her that Óin was a little deaf. Next to him was a brown-orange haired dwarf with numerous trim his beard. It was his brother Glóin, who had ventured into this mission with the hope of a prosperous future for the younger generation, among whom was his son Gimli. Finally focused on the center of the table where three figures were watching barely moving. To the right was the most aged dwarf of the Company. The years had completely grayed Balin's hair and his face softened emanating wisdom and patience. On the other side stood a burly figure with arms crossed over his chest. His face hardened his look like a fierce warrior and the tattoos on his hands and his head helped to reinforce this image. Dwalin's hands covered with iron fists. And finally, in the center of the table between this disparate pair of brothers, was the leader of them all: Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thrór, the legitimate King Under the Mountain. No one could deny that he had the regal bearing of a king. Despite the years and the suffering of his people should have taken a toll on him, he still had that look authoritative nobody dared to contradict. When Iriel heard angry words from the other side of the door had been attracted to this deep voice that seemed to emerge from the depths of a cave, but had been his piercing eyes that had more impact upon entering in the room. Those blue eyes emanated a strange force was not able to understand or resist. Gandalf's voice brought her out of her thoughts bringing her back to reality, a reality that had yet to gain the trust of his companions to be accepted.

"Rhein is an expert bounty hunter, possesses traits of the race of men and halflings. His ability to explore the unseen terrain can be very useful in the dangerous lands that we still have to go" as the words of the magician's covered her with praise, Iriel wondered herself if two years of inactivity would had rusted her skills, she trusted that wouldn't be the case or she would have serious problems during the trip and could not show these stubborn dwarf what she was able to do.

"I ignore his skill to hide but obviously he has not chosen a very appropriate clothing to go unnoticed." Said the king of the dwarves in a mocking tone that made some of the dwarves let out a small laugh. It was Gandalf who responded with a stern look and a cheerless voice darkening the heart of their companions.

"Fools, the bounty hunters working in the shadows. Do any of you know the face of any of them? Of course not, if their identities were known nobody would reveal any information that could serve to achieve his objective. Also they would be the target of other villains. People who commission the work do not want to provide information to be disclosed and many undesirable would do anything for access. Thus a bounty hunter always hides his identity to protect himself and his commissions."

It was true that the bounty hunters should take precautions with their identity, but not to the point of traveling hidden behind a mask, at least Iriel not know any that he had done it, however, the clever and impressive words of the magician had achieved its purpose again. The room regained former environment and dwarves, still shocked, murmured among them apparently convinced by the explanation. Only one of them had not been intimidated by the words of the magician but decided it was best not to answer him now.

Iriel and Gandalf stood in front of the dwarves, on the defensive, so Balin tried to put a bit of calm to the situation.

"We are honored that you want to join us in this adventure, but I hope you understand that we must take precautions with strangers, it is a very important mission for our people."

This time it was Iriel who spoke with the deeper voice that was able to deliver. Speaking through the metallic mesh covering her face also caused that her voice sounded distorted and even deeper. It was not the first time that the revelation of her title of bounty hunter had raised doubts among her peers, so she didn't blame the dwarves by distrust her, every precaution was little in the case of an assignment as momentous as this. If they wanted to recover their mountain could not afford a single mistake and issuing information could be dangerous if it arrives to the wrong ears.

"I understand your fears and I give you my word that I will not disclose to anyone any information of your intentions or anything that can harm you. I am knowledgeable of your sad story and how your home was snatched from you. I feel highly honored to participate in such an important task as you are preparing to carry out for your people."

"And why risk your life for the tragedy of another race? So just for the satisfaction of helping someone?" Asked Thorin after the altruistic discourse Iriel had uttered, he didn't believe he was willing to risk his life only in exchange for gratitude. "There was a time when races enjoyed with their partnerships between different kingdoms, the support arose whenever it was requested. But those days are past, now no one cares or takes a risk by outside issues that will not benefit them. You really want us to believe that you do not wish any reward for your services? I've seen at other times as the promises of alliance and aid are just words that fade in time to meet face to face with danger."Concluded staring at some distant memory. The pain that transmitted Thorin's words was also reflected in his eyes. Iriel was silent a few seconds looking for an appropriate response, it would not be easy to convince the king of the dwarves. The rest of the group was infected with this sudden feeling of sadness. Bilbo recalled the conversation he had with Balin nights ago by the fire. The long-lived dwarf had told him how the elves had been denied their help when the city was ravaged by the flames of the dragon, since Thorin had severed all bonds with them with the intention of never forget this betrayal. He won't forget or forgive. Bilbo knew that under that warrior appearance there was hidden a heart covered by painful scars.

"I will not deny that my actions in the past have been influenced by the benefit that could be obtained with them. However, I have never been very interested in precious treasures. I don't seek the gold of your people, Thorin Oakenshield, if that's what you're worried" she said giving him a sincere look. The king gave special attention to this part of the conversation, "but I must confess that there is something I'm after a while. Stories. Gandalf told me Erebor had an impressive library with many archives including legends and songs forgotten. I would take a look."

Gandalf smiled. The reckless adventurer who had met seemed to have matured quite a bit over the years. Thorin was silent for a moment but seemed to relax a little his defensive stance because of her last words. He turned his gaze to the magician who stood beside Iriel, leaning on his cane, his eyes warning him that he would regret if he let out the help he offered him. Finally Thorin looked away and crossing his arms answered:

"Balin, prepares the contract as the looter's one. Instead of fourteenth part of the profits, Rhein will have access to all the writings of Erebor, if the dragon has not burned them down over the years. If he agrees with it and signs it, he can join my Company."