Chapter Four: Hobbiton
I watched as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting an orange light on the gently rolling hills and green fields. So this was the land known as the shire? I had heard of its rural beauty before but had never thought that I would ever cast my eyes upon it until now. While all lands seemed beautiful and untouched to eyes used to seeing worlds destroyed by industry, this land was something different entirely - it had a charm all of its own.
It almost reminded me of some of the rural areas of Mandalore, with the carefully tended fields of crops and homes built into the hillsides. Yet this was not a land of warriors, no, this was a land of farmers and gentle folk that knew little of the world beyond their borders. I wondered for a moment what they would think if they spotted me? Apparently, hobbits had very little to do with strangers and Thorin had warned me to keep out of sight of the locals until he arrived.
Thinking of the dwarf, where was he? He had told me to wait for him at the edge of the shire while he went to a meeting of his kin in the iron hills, and I'd been waiting for him since the early afternoon. While I didn't know him particularly well it didn't seem like him to be late, and I wondered if he was getting me back for my little stunt at the prancing pony? That didn't seem likely either - while the dwarven prince would find amusement sometimes in my antics, he wasn't much of a jokester himself. His meeting must have run late. I stretched back against a nearby tree and wished that Thorin hadn't insisted on me waiting for him - I knew where the meeting of his company was taking place and could have gone on ahead and waited there instead.
Thorin had quickly dismissed that idea, the company didn't know who I was and he wanted to avoid a fight - best that I wait for him and arrive with him. I was sure there would still be some fuss caused, but Thorin was not one to be argued with and I had gone along with the plan. The dwarf was my 'boss' in this venture and you didn't go upsetting the person holding the coin purse - it often had the undesired effect of them tightening the strings and cutting down their payment.
Besides, the wait gave me time to survey the landscape and add it to my map of the world. I pulled a rolled up piece of vellum - running fingers over the carefully drawn map that I'd been working on in the last year or so. I hadn't added much to the map beyond the familiar lands around my previous home - it felt like a grand achievement to be adding more.
I sat alone for what seemed like hours, the only sign of time passing being the darkening of the world around me. Eventually, it was too dark for me to draw - and I allowed myself to relax back into the tree and watch as a few windows lit themselves in warm amber light. It was getting late - very late and I started wondering if I should walk on ahead when a noise in the darkness drew my attention toward it.
Chiiinnnk, Chiiinnnk, chiiinnnnkk.
The sound was the distinctive shift of a mail shirt as it's owner strode toward me. I knew from the past few days that only one person walked with such determination - and that was Thorin. The dwarf loomed out of the darkness, almost as if it had birthed him from some deep void - and I could tell just from the stern expression on his face that he wasn't in the best of moods. I'd dealt with clan politics long enough to know exactly what had become of Thorin's task and I offered him a seat next to me that he gruffly denied.
"The di'kutla fools not listen then I take it?"
A flash of curiosity crossed his eyes, as it ever did when I spoke in my own language, before quickly being replaced with annoyance.
"Not without the king's stone"
It was stupid. So, damn stupid. I knew dwarves where stubborn but what people didn't answer their leader when called for aid?
"Shab Thorin, don't they have any loyalty to their kin? So what if you don't have this stone - you called for aid, surely they must answer"
He allowed his head to tilt upwards to look at the stars, and for a brief moment he looked tired and forlorn - a lost soul wishing for nothing more than his people coming together as one.
"If only they all saw it as you do, but they don't."
We slipped into silence, both staring out into the darkness and musing on what could have been. The quest laid out in front of us seemed an insurmountable mountain, looming tall on the horizon. I shook my head and pushed myself up with a frustrated growl - my hands holding to the tree beside me as blood rushed back into my sleeping limbs.
"Then we have double the work to do. Come on, let us go meet those that actually have some sense of loyalty and see what this burglar of Gandalf's is like"
With that, I strode into the darkness.
Thorin POV
As always Tracyn surprised me.
This human woman had walked into my life only a few months prior, and already I trusted her as if she were one of my own. She was a mystery, something beyond my understanding, and yet her unwavering support of my cause installed in me a sense of optimism that perhaps this quest was not as doomed as I might think. I watched her as she walked into the darkness, silent and deadly as the wind, and I wondered what kind of life she lived to make her such a way. While he had talked a few times in the past, I still knew very little about her - only that her father had taught her to hunt and that her family was long gone.
There was a sense that she didn't want to talk much about her past, and who was I to pry? It wasn't important to my quest and I figured she would tell me on her own when she so desired.
Her red hair bobbed in and out of sight as she travelled the terrain with practised ease. Sometimes stopping atop a hillock to scan the area, and sometimes dipping entirely out of view altogether. The movements where almost akin to those of the rangers of the north and I wondered if this was where she had hailed from. It seemed an interesting thought but her accent, and the strange language that she often slipped into was not of the northern men - so from where had she come? I prided myself on my knowledge of the world of men, but she didn't fit in it - like a strange gear that didn't belong in a tinkers toy. I followed after her, feeling suddenly heavy and very loud. My every step sounding thunderous in comparison to hers - she was but a whisper in the wind. It gave me reassurance that she would do well on this journey and I would not have to worry for her.
I only had to convince my kin of that. She had met a few of those that I had summoned to go on this journey, and I was not concerned on how they would take her presence - it was those that she hadn't met that I worried for. Dwalin, in particular, could be an issue. I knew him well and I didn't think he'd welcome a woman on this trip warrior or not.
Our journey to the meeting place was slower then I would have liked. The night was moving on and the snuffing of lights a sign that all others were already turning in for sleep, but not us.
A few wrong turns delayed our progress. All that Gandalf had told me was to look out for his mark on the door, but there were so many doors in the hillsides that we had to visit a few before we found our destination. The blue rune shining brightly against the green painted wood of the door and I watched as my female companion moved forward to inspect it with a suspicious eye. Her lips pressing together in a line of disapproval - almost as if she expected the rune to do something unnatural. I didn't have time to process her actions as I was already knocking loudly on the door. The sound echoing in the room beyond, and shortly after I could hear the sound of its occupant approaching the door before it swung wide open.
"I am sorry for our lateness, we took a wrong turn a few times. If it wasn't for the mark on the door I fear we may yet still be looking"
The Hobbit in front of me looked both annoyed and frustrated in equal measures. His eyes looking up at me as I handed my cloak into his waiting arms.
"Mark, what mark? There is no mark, I painted that door first thing this morning - and what do you mean by us?"
Bilbo trailed off as Tracyn walked in, his mouth hanging open as his eyes settled on the woman.
"There is indeed a mark, take a look. Now if you'd stop gawking I would appreciate some food - I am starved"
Tracyn didn't wait for directions from our host - she hardly seemed to wait for permission from anyone to do things. Already she had shrugged off her thick outer cloak and had made her way around the corner just as Gandalf appeared around it.
Tracyn POV
I stopped just before I walked into the elderly man and found my eyes moving up his grey robes to settle on a pair of stern eyes. He looked at me, and I couldn't help but feel as if he could see deep within me - at my very soul. It left me feeling unnerved as he 'hmmm'ed under his breath in a thoughtful way before casting his gaze to where Thorin and our host still stood.
"There is indeed a mark, I put it there myself Bilbo. Meet the leader of our group, Thorin Oakenshield - however, he has decided to not tell me he was bringing company"
Gandalf didn't seem to approve that Thorin had brought me.
"My apologies Gandalf, there was no time. May I introduce Tracyn Skirata, our scout"
I half tilted my head in Gandalf's direction
"Can she be trusted, this is a delicate matter we have to discuss Thorin"
"I trust her, that should be enough for you Wizard"
Gandalf didn't look reassured at all, he was still looking at me with that intense gaze of his - one arm reaching into his overcoat for a pipe even as he shook his head.
"Very well, but you should be more discerning of the company you keep. She is not all she seems to be"
I scoffed
"Trust goes both ways, how do I know I can trust you either 'wizard' ... now unless you have anything else to say let us get to business"
I pushed my way past and Gandalf offered little resistance. He even shifted a bit to one side to let me pass - smoke billowing through pursed lips. I put his suspicion to the back of my mind for I was sure he wouldn't be the first today to voice disapproval of my presence here. The sound of deep voices drifted from the room just in front of me, voices that trailed off into silence as I walked into the room - twelve sets of eyes moved almost as one to look at me. Some of the men in the room where complete strangers to me and seemed unsure of how to react. One, a stocky bald male was even getting to his feet with one hand clenched at his side. He didn't get far, as he was pushed aside by a young blonde haired male. I grinned as the young dwarf rushed toward me.
"Kili, come here you ragamuffin - how are you?"
I caught the blonde in my arms as he reached me and playfully bumped my head against his in greeting as the bald dwarf watched us in complete astonishment. Kili didn't seem to notice we were being watched, he was too focused on grasping my forearm with a tight grip in an all too familiar warrior's handshake that always reminded me of home.
"I'm well Lady Tracyn"
"Lady, Lady. For mandalores sake Kili enough with the lady nonsense. I assure you I am no lady"
He laughed hoarsely and punched his bunched fist playfully into my side. I responded by pulling him down into a headlock - I'd missed the company of Thorin's sister-son and was very happy to see him again.
"Uncle will have my guts if I don't address you properly"
I shook my head and turned just as Thorin and Gandalf walked in the room. Thorin looked like he was trying hard to contain his amusement, only a faint quirk of his lips evidence of his internal emotions. I pulled Kili around with me, giving his hair a rough rubbing with the palm of my hand.
"Thorin, can you please tell your nephew that I would prefer not to be addressed as Lady"
He sighed, rubbing his brow.
"Kili - just do as she says. You should know by now that Tracyn doesn't answer to any title in this land"
I let Kili free of my grasp and made my way to where Fili was sitting, the darker haired dwarf offering me a raised fist, and I responded by bumping my first against his. Fili was always the more reserved of the two brothers, and as always seemed rather amused by his brother's escapades. I settled back into my chair as Gandalf made the formal introductions of everyone in the room, his arm sweeping to each person as each name was said. I took note of each name and the fact that it belonged to for future reference and even gave a slight dip of my head as Gandalf introduced me to the group - which caused a new murmuring to fill the room and Dwalin the bald dwarf once more got to his feet with a growl.
"This is no place for a woman, not to mention that our business is not for the ears of a human"
Thorin turned to Dwalin with a scowl.
"As I told Gandalf already, Tracyn is here as per my request. As for our business, she already has some knowledge of it for we have discussed it some months prior as part of her contract - she is as trustworthy as any of you at this table. Ask my sister-sons for they have known her as long as I have"
Kili and Fili nodded in enthusiastic agreement but that didn't stop Dwalin.
"She is still a woman. She will only hinder, and not help - she should go back to cooking her man's meal"
I reacted instantly at the insult and reached for the beskad that I still had strapped to my side. The heavy metal blade sunk into the wooden table as I slammed it down with a satisfying thud, my body leaning over so that I was closer to Dwalin, my lips pressed firmly together in a part hissed growl. I ignored the yelp of terror that came from the Hobbit - my eyes focused on staring down Dwalin who seemed unfazed by my reaction.
"Come here and I'll show you exactly what this 'woman' is capable of"
"Enough. If I say Tracyn is capable of partaking in this journey then capable she is. Or would you question my word on this matter?"
Dwalin backed down at Thorin's words, sitting back in his chair with crossed arms and a disapproving scowl.
"And Tracyn, please refrain from trying to gut my kinsmen. I need them for the journey to come"
My body slipped back into my chair, and I pushed it back onto its rear legs as I shrugged my shoulders in a playful manner.
"Can't promise anything. He's safe as long as he keeps his opinions to himself"
Thorin would just have to accept that as what it was. I crossed my arms over my chest and watched as the meeting unfolded in front of me. With the introductions and arguments over the discussion seemed to flow a lot easier, though it still seemed that the meeting dragged long into the night and the morning was almost upon us when Gandalf finally drew proceedings to a close.
With luck, the next day would be a little less problematic - though I knew better than to hope for such a thing.
