I want to thank everyone who added this story to their favorites and their follows! It means a lot to me! So, to show my love to everyone who has done this, I decided to put out the next chapter early!
Also, a special thank you to Dhalmi93. I've already started on that little one shot. :)
Enjoy!
Both the ponies and the company were tired from the journey, two days they had been without a good, proper rest. Allanna was ready to fall asleep in the saddle, thankfully her horse had other ideas and would nip her in the leg if she started to doze. Thorin came upon the remnants of a farm house, it was abandoned and worn with only the barest of support keeping it standing. Thorin turned his pony to face the group,
"We will camp here for the night." A collective sigh of relief was heard from the company.
The company then took to getting the ponies and horses fed and taken care of as supper was discussed amongst everyone. Gandalf and Allanna moved into the destroyed home, examining it thoroughly.
"Fili, Kili, Look after the ponies, stay with them." Thorin told his nephews before turning and seeing Gandalf and Allanna looked at the inside of what was left of the home.
"Oin, Gloin. Get a fire going." Thorin slowly moved towards his two taller companions.
"A farmer and his family used to live here." Gandalf said to no one but Allanna listened.
It was tragic to think of what could have happened to the farmer and his family. Allanna turned to Gandalf, the feeling of unease had settled over her,
"Gandalf, we should not linger here. It has a foul feel upon it." Allanna turned to face Gandalf to see that he shared her feelings of unease.
"You are quite right my dear." Gandalf agreed,
"I think it would be wiser to move on." The wizard announced, knowing that Thorin was close enough to hear, it prompted the Exiled King to move towards the doorway,
"We could make for the Hidden Valley."
"I have told you already Gandalf, I will not go near that place." Thorin spat as he moved further into the home, passing Allanna.
"Thorin, please, see reason." Allanna pleaded softly but received a glare from Thorin.
"Why not? The Elves could help us. We could get food, rest, advice." Gandalf followed Thorin only just and watched the stubborn king with Allanna shaking her head, she knew the answer to this whole line of questioning.
"I do not need their advice." It was no secret that Thorin had a distrustful and hateful attitude towards elves, no dwarf really did for the matter, but this Exiled King needed to see that he needed far more help than he was willing to receive.
"We have a map that we cannot read. Lord Elrond could help us." Gandalf added but Thorin's face mirror his growing aggravation.
"Help? A dragon attacks Erebor, what help came from the Elves? Orcs plunder Moria and desecrate our sacred halls." Thorin growled angrily,
"Thorin, listen to reason, please!" Allanna pleaded again before his gaze settled upon her.
"The Elves looked on and did nothing. You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather, who betrayed my father." Thorin lowered his voice and moved towards Gandalf and Allanna, as much as he hated the Elves the conflicting emotions he felt within his heart were just as real.
"And you are neither of them. I did not give you the map and key for you to hold onto the past." Gandalf looked on the verge of hitting Thorin,
"I did not know that they were yours to keep." Thorin fired back and that was when Allanna stepped in, the men were close to being chest and chest.
"That'll be enough." Allanna pushed on Thorin and Gandalf to keep them apart but Gandalf didn't give anytime for anymore speaking between the two of them because he began to walk away.
"Gandalf!" Allanna hollered as she moved from Thorin, seeing the wizard walk past everyone.
"Gandalf, something wrong? Gandalf, where are you going?" Bilbo asked as the company watched Gandalf walk past Bilbo.
"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense." Gandalf angrily told the hobbit.
"Who's that?"
"Myself, Mr. Baggins!" Gandalf mumbled something else before walking off, the entire company watching him go with worry and tension written upon their faces.
"Bombur, we're hungry." Thorin seemed completely fine with Gandalf walking off and it concerned Allanna.
"Thorin." Allanna moved over to him as his stormy eyes turned up to hers, seemingly waiting for an argument to ensue.
"Was that wise? To provoke Gandalf?"
"I will not speak of this." He looked away from her as he spoke,
"Thorin, we need Gandalf-"
"All that I need is here, in this company." Allanna huffed and threw up her hands,
"Save me from the stubbornness of dwarves!" Marching off, she needed to be alone for awhile, away from the dwarves so she could collect her thoughts.
"Uncle?" Thorin looked to see Fili coming towards him as his brother went to take some of the ponies far enough away that they could barely be seen but so that the company was not bothered by them.
"Will Gandalf and Allanna be back? She took her weapons with her." Fili looked after the woman who was disappearing into the nearby thicket.
"Help your brother with the ponies." Thorin commanded and his nephew did as he was told.
Thorin did not know if either of their taller companions would return, he could not regret his actions or his words, he was a King and had to act as such.
"You think they'll come back?" Kili asked his brother when he came back from speaking with their uncle,
"I hope so. The sun is beginning to set and it is bound to get dangerous is she is out there by herself." Fili grabbed the reins of two ponies and led them off.
Bombur was almost finished making stew when Allanna came back, she seemed to be calmer but her eyes told a different story.
"We were worried about ya lass." Balin commented as she walked up to the ruined house.
The sun had since set, she had been gone for quite some time. Bombur called for supper and each member of the company grabbed a bowl and lined up for the stew Bombur had made.
"Thank you Balin, I just needed to clear my mind." She smiled but felt Thorin's eyes on her.
Bofur and Bombur chuckled until they received a glance from Thorin,
"He's been gone for some time..." Bilbo looked around at the darkened landscape, the only illumination was given by the moon light.
"Gandalf will come around. Always does." Allanna reassured the hobbit as Bifur handed her a bowl,
"Thank you Bifur." She gave the odd dwarf a smile to which he just nodded and nodded to her with a grunt.
After grabbing the stew, she watched Bilbo go to where the heirs of Durin were supposed to be. Eating away from the group, she kept an eye on her surroundings, surveying for something that could possibly sneak up on the company.
"Bombur, it's not a bad stew. I've had worse." Gloin laughed,
"Dori could have cooked it." Nori added and the company laughed.
"Hilarious." Dori sighed irritatedly as Allanna walked back over to the group.
Thorin was eating his stew silently until Allanna moved and sat next to him, she sat next to him but did not give him an idea on her mood. He had learned that she was able to conceal many things when she chose to, it was misleading.
"Are you in a better mood my King?" Thorin could only sigh, her mood was still foul.
"I have said it twice and I will say it again. No, I will not seek help from the Elves." Thorin had assumed she would questioned him on his choice but when he looked to her, she did not seem to care about his answer.
"I did not ask you if you would seek the Elves for help, I asked if you were in a happier mood." Nothing escaped her sharp eyes, she was adept at reading others which did not always give him favor.
"No." Allanna nodded before lapsing back into silence once more and it wasn't until she spotted Fili and Kili running down from where they had been stationed to the house that she made any noise.
"Trolls! Trolls have gotten the ponies!" Fili and Kili huffed together as they fought to catch their breaths.
"Bilbo?" Allanna sat up quickly and looked for any sign of the hobbit coming down as well,
"Grab your weapons." Thorin ordered, Allanna was right behind Thorin as he led the party through the thicket, as quiet as they could manage.
Once they found the Troll campsite, Kili was the first one out.
"Hold his toes over the fire, make him squeal!" Said one Troll, and said troll yelled in pain when Kili drove his sword against the back of the troll's leg, then squealed when Kili's sword hit the troll's shin and brought the beast down.
"Drop him!" Kili hollered,
"You what?" A troll looked at Kili in disbelief.
"I said, drop him." The trolls growled at Kili before Bilbo was thrown into Kili.
The rest of the group ran and attacked the trolls, each member trying to hit the troll's tough skin to bring the giants down to the ground. Allana fought besides Thorin and Fili, striking the trolls on their knees or their sides. Dodging flying dwarves and flailing trolls was no easy task, several times she was knocked to the ground with a dwarf on top of her or on her back. Trying to gain a foothold as she slashed and cleaved with all of her might, sticking one in the gut and ducking to avoid a fist, but also to release a troll's grip on a dwarf or two. Allanna gave a hit to a knee and a slash to the side as the ponies whinnied in fear, but when she turned one of the trolls grabbed Bilbo.
"Bilbo!" Fear and worry coursed through her but she would have been too late.
They rallied to Thorin when they saw the trolls holding Bilbo up, his arms and legs in their grasp, pulling only just to make a point.
"Bilbo!" Kili charged forward but Allanna grabbed him,
"Don't!" Their eyes all went to Bilbo,
"Lay down your arms or we'll rip his off." The only troll who wasn't holding Bilbo said but the company was still poised, ready for a battle.
Thorin was the first to stick his sword into the ground, the others looked at him in disbelief. Allanna threw down her sword and looked up at the trolls menacingly. The others followed suit and were taken by surprise when the trolls grabbed them and began to remove their armor. Allanna fought the hardest but was thankfully not put on the spit to roast, she lay in a sack with Fili on her legs and Kili on her chest. Everyone wriggled and waggled, arguing and yelling as the trolls talked about how to cook them.
"Wait!" Bilbo rolled and tried his hardest to get to a standing up position, when he did, the hobbit hopped closer to the trolls.
"You're making a big mistake!" He yelled,
"What?" The trolls looked at Bilbo in confusion.
"I meant with the seasoning."
"What about the seasoning?" The head cook troll asked as he moved closer to Bilbo,
"Well, have you smelt them? You're going to need something a lot stronger than sage before you plate this lot up." There was a collective complaint at Bilbo's comment.
"What do you know 'bout cookin' dwarf?" The troll sized the hobbit up,
"Shut up, let the flugarburglarhobbit talk."
"The secret to cooking dwarf is...umm..."
"Yes? Come on. Tell us the secret." The troll impatiently said.
"Yes, I'm telling you the secret is...to...skin them first." Bilbo announced quickly, much to the dwarves dismay.
"What! Bilbo if I get out of here!" Allanna was about ready to kill the hobbit if only she could escape the sack,
"Tom, get me filletin' knife." The troll motioned for the other troll to give him the knife he spoke of.
"What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skin on!" The troll turning the spit commented.
Bilbo looked to the side only just and Allanna happened to look in the same direction to see a very hasty Gandalf speed past with the sun slowly creeping up over the rocks.
"That's right! Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf." One of the trolls came over and picked Bombur up by his feet,
"Bombur!" The company collectively yelled,
"Nice and crunchy!"
"N-Not that one! He's infected!" Bilbo almost sounded convincing,
"What?"
"He's...got worms in his...tubes." Bilbo quickly said, the troll made a disgusted sound and dropped Bombur on Gloin and Kili's legs, eliciting a groan from the pile.
"In-In fact, they all have. They're infested with parasites! It's a terrible business. I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't." Bilbo continued, Allanna looked at the hobbit in confusion, what was he aiming at?
"Parasites? Did he say 'parasites'?" Oin angrily asked Kili and received a nod from the younger dwarf,
"We don't have parasites. You have parasites!" Allanna rolled her eyes at Kili then looked to Thorin who looked at her.
Then she realized what Bilbo was trying to do despite the dwarves bickering, Thorin delivered a swift kick to Gloin and Allanna followed suit with hitting the two brothers that were laying on her. It caught their attention well enough. They all looked back at an almost stoic Thorin and Allan before looking to Bilbo and the troll.
"I've got parasites as big as my arm." Oin offered,
"Mine are the biggest parasites. I've got huge parasites!" Kili shouted and the dwarfs on the spit joined in.
"I'm riddled!"
"Yes, we are, badly!"
The trolls looked at each other in disbelief before one approached Bilbo with an angry look upon his face,
"What would you have us do then? Let 'em all go?" The trolls growled,
"You think I don't know what you're up to?" The troll poked Bilbo harshly.
"This little ferret is taking us for fools!"
"Ferret?" Bilbo looked at the troll offendedly,
"Fools?" One of the trolls spat.
"The dawn will take you all!" Everyone looked up to where the booming voice came from,
"Gandalf!" Allanna cheered.
"Who's that?" The trolls looked up to Gandalf,
"No idea."
"Can we eat 'im too?" A troll pointed at Gandalf and was greeted with Gandalf's staff piercing the rock hiding the sun.
Screams of pain followed as the trolls surely turned to stone, their positions mirroring pain and confusion. Cheers of happiness followed the trolls turning to stone, Allanna couldn't have been happier even Thorin gave her a smile of relief. Once the trolls were complete stone, Gandalf dismounted from above and came down to help the company out of the sacks and off of the spit. Allanna saw no reason to redress in her armor away from the group, which earned her stares from Fili, Kili and their uncle. Once properly dressed, Thorin addressed Gandalf
"Where did you go to, if I may ask?" Thorin questioned as he walked up to Gandalf.
"To look ahead." Gandalf replied with a short grin, Allanna moved closer and hugged the wizard.
"And what brought you back?"
"Looking behind. Nasty business but all in one piece." Gandalf hugged the woman on his front so she could let him go.
"No thanks to your burglar." Thorin seemed relieved that Bilbo had played for time.
"He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that." Gandalf looked at Thorin then to Allanna who flushed in embarrassment,
"I would have were it not for the foot in my back." Allanna looked to a chuckling Gandalf and Thorin before scoffing and rolling her eyes.
"Gandalf, I wonder..." Allanna started as she looked at the now stone trolls then up at Gandalf inquistively,
"They must have come down from the Ettenmoors." Gandalf answered her unfinished question.
"Since when do mountain trolls come this far south?" Thorin looked to the wizard quizically,
"Ah, not for an age." Gandalf looked to Allanna,
"Not since a darker power ruled these lands." Allanna went wide eyed at Gandalf's suggestion, it meant more than anyone would ever know, Thorin looked at Gandalf, sensing the unease within the wizard and the DĂșnadan.
"But they cannot move in daylight." Her eyes shifted from Gandalf to Thorin as she moved closer.
"Then there must be a cave nearby." Thorin looked around, if there was a cave that meant there was a possibility of more foul creatures coming from where the trolls had come from.
"I will scout around if I may." Allanna bowed to Thorin and he nodded but he did not let her go by herself.
It did not take long for either of them to find the cave the trolls must have used for safe passage during the daylight hours, all they had to do was follow the smell of troll. Allanna hollered for one of the dwarves to bring her a torch from the troll's cooking fire before anyone descended into the darkness. Waving her hand in front of her face, she tried to will the stench away as the company moved into the troll cave.
"Ugh, what is that stench?" Nori covered his nose as the company descended.
"That the smell of a troll-hoard master dwarf." Allanna replied as she followed behind Gandalf, minding her steps as she did so.
"Be careful what you touch." Gandalf warned as they continued onward, the sounds of coughing and dry heaving coming from the dwarves who had entered with the trio.
"I do not like this." Allanna whispered to herself,
"Agreed." Thorin knew she wasn't speaking just about the smell, the fact remained that trolls had come down from the Ettenmoors and crossed too far south, it did not sit well with them.
As the others seemed to delight in finding gold, Allanna kept close to Gandalf or Thorin, worry marring her features.
"What's that?" Allanna saw a shine that had reflected the light of Thorin's torch, she pointed where the shine was coming from and Thorin moved forward.
The pair saw swords, a half dozen of swords covered in spider web. Thorin picked one up after the other until a particular longsword caught his eye, setting his torch down safely, he lifted the sheathed blade and moved the blade from his scabbard, the glint of the sword drew Allanna in. Then picked up another sword that had a curve to it's blade, Gandalf moved towards Thorin to stand next to Allanna. Thorin handed Allanna the bigger of the swords and she pulled the sword only just from it's scabbard.
"These swords were made by no troll." Thorin commented,
"Nor were they made by any smith among men." Allanna handed the sword to Gandalf and watched him study the blade before she looked to Thorin's newly acquired blade as he drew it.
"No, these were forged in Gondolin."
"By the High Elves of the First Age." Looking to Gandalf in astonishment, she saw his eyes were on Thorin, who was looking at the blade in disgust and he moved to place the sword back where he found it.
"You will not find a better blade Thorin. The High Elves saw to it." Allanna waited for Thorin to give, he looked at her and she nodded.
"I promise you this my king, the High Elves of Gondolin made weapons with no equals." She promised him and so he was inclined to believe her.
When they turned around, they saw the rest of the company filling a small chest full of gold and burying it. Moving past the dwarves, she looked at them curiously as Gloin looked up at her,
"We're making a long-term deposit." Allanna chuckled and shook her head at the antics of the dwarves,
"Let's get out of this foul place." Thorin commanded with the wave of his hand motioning towards the entrance, the company happily agreed, following their leader out of the cave.
