Author's Note: Hello everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We have at last reached the part where the action starts; in this chapter, but definitely in the ones after this. I hope you'll enjoy it! Let me know what you think in a review!


Chapter 4: Deluge

The fourth day came and saw the Company of Dwarves – accompanied by one Hobbit and an Elf – at last following a rocky path up the steep slopes of the Misty Mountains. As they got higher, the air around them became thinner and thus, conversation was sparse between the Company members. Moreover, a seemingly never-ending downpour of rain had soured everyone's mood and left few in the mood for chatting. This allowed all members plenty of time to think.

At the back of the line that filed up the small, rocky path, Bilbo was feeling quite miserable. Again, as his wet hair was plastered to his face and his walking stick hit the rocky, slippery path beneath him, he was reminded of Bag End. Of the warm hearth that he could be sitting at, nursing a comforting cup of tea and thinking of nothing but what he would have for dinner that evening. Instead, he was out in the cold, in the wet and quite possibly risking his life while hoping that the quest would not end for him with the rotund Dwarf in front of him falling back against him.

Bombur was panting quite heavily, leaning forward out of fear that the mere act of standing upright would send him rolling back down the hill. Right in front of him walked his brother, Bofur, looking the least downtrodden of all members despite his floppy hat leaning to one side due to the water that had gathered on it. He was whistling a merry tune as he kept a watchful eye on the back of his cousin, who he in turn was walking behind. The Dwarf in question, Bifur, was thinking… – well, we can only guess what he was thinking. My guess is that he was simply enjoying the pitter-patter sound of the rain as it fell on the axe imbedded in his head. However, it might of course be anything and everything else. Or indeed, nothing at all.

Somewhere up the line, another Dwarf was being carefully monitored. Ori, younger brother of Dori and Nori, was clutching his bag – filled with his precious writing tools – in front of him, hoping to somewhat shield his belongings from the rain with his body. His eldest brother was walking behind him; his other brother in front of him. Both Dwarves now and then cast looks at their younger brother, scowling at one another when they would happen to catch the other doing the same thing.

Behind the trio walked two pairs of complaining brothers. The youngest, Fíli and Kíli, were muttering amongst themselves, annoyed by the cold, the wet and the rocky, uneven ground beneath their feet. The other pair, Oín and Gloín expressed similar complaints, albeit at a somewhat louder volume.

The front of the line was made up of four striking figures. Last was Dwalin, who with his broad frame and the large war axes strapped to his back made for quite the intimidating sight. He occasionally scowled at the sky or at the path beneath his feet, but otherwise remained largely silent. His brother and the most diplomatic of the Dwarves – although that perhaps in itself was not such a large feat – was in front of him. Balin was silently observing the final two members of the Company, his face deceptively empty. He had picked up on the tension between his leader and the strange Elven lady from the first moment she had revealed her identity – and he wondered how long it would take before the dam would burst.

Ardhoniel, although perhaps the least bothered by the elements, was feeling quite miserable. The Company leader had called her to the front before they had entered the narrow path in case they would need her knowledge of the area. With that act, he had separated her from Bilbo and likely the only person who would be willing to speak to her. Then, after she had joined the front of the group, the Dwarven King had not spoken another word to her. As Balin had correctly picked up, her patience with the Dwarf's insufferable attitude had just about worn out.

Last – and leader – of this strange Company was Thorin Oakenshield. He walked tall and proud at the head of the line, refusing to bow his head to shield his face from the rain. Thunder rumbled in the air and with the heavy rain fall, his eyes could barely see more than a couple of feet in front of him. For this reason – and his poor eyesight – he did not see the gigantic boulder until right before it hit the stone wall above them, raining small rocks and debris down upon the Company.

When he lowered the arm that had been shielding his face, they were suddenly in the midst of battle. Thorin could not believe his eyes when a large creature detached itself from the mountainside opposite from them. The creature, made completely of large rocks that formed crude limbs, picked up another large boulder and threw it in their direction. This brought Thorin back to himself – and his Company's rather precarious situation. 'Run! Hurry!'

The Company members did not need to be told twice. As one, they flew along the narrow path that up until a few minutes ago, they had been climbing slowly and with some difficulty.

He reached a bend and since the rain of rocks had stopped, Thorin deemed it safe for him to stop and assess the state of his Company. That is when it happened.

The stone beneath him shook as suddenly, another stone giant separated itself from the very mountain they were standing on. He watched in complete and utter helplessness as the path crumbled with half of his Company on the other side – which so happened to be the left knee of the rock giant!

'Kíli,' he cried out, noticing his sisters-son was among those that were quickly moving out of his sight as the giant was hit by a boulder and his knee crashed into the mountain wall.

For several, horrifying moments Thorin feared he had lost his nephew. Memories of them together played in his head. He had been too hard on the young Dwarf, he realised only now that it was too late. Next to him, Fíli was still desperately calling the name of his younger brother. With some distance, he noted that the She-Elf had her hands on his shoulders, to keep the young Dwarf from running out to the edge.

He had lost all hope when the giant's body fell down into the depths and, on the small ledge behind it, was revealed the remainder of his Company – all alive and well.

Fíli flew past his uncle – at last released by the Elven lady – and pulled his brother into a tight embrace. "I thought I lost you, nadad,' he spoke softly, his voice vibrating with the sentiment. Ever since his brother was born, he had protected him. All those times that Kíli had gotten into trouble, he had always been there to get him out. And now he had almost failed in his task.

'I am all right, Fíli,' his brother whispered back in a shaken voice. Despite his words, the younger Dwarf clung to his brother a little longer before he let go. The two turned just in time to see a look of confusion cross the face of Bofur, before he called out. 'Where's the Hobbit? Where's Bilbo?'

A loud screaming was his response and, as one, the Company turned to look over the ledge. There, dangling above the abyss, with nothing but the strength in his arms keeping him from falling, was their Burglar.

The moment she noticed the absence of the Hobbit, Ardhoniel started panicking. She knew he had been with those who were on the knee of the stone giant. Did not all make it out alive, after all? Then, seeing him hanging on the ledge, her heart leaped again. As the others flocked around the Hobbit, she quickly pulled open her rucksack. There had to be a rope in there, she knew.

Having located it at last, she looked up just in time to see Thorin himself drop down the ledge. With one hand on a protruding rock, he used his strong upper body to grab the Hobbit and hurl him up to the awaiting hands of the other Dwarves. And that is when his grip slipped.

She watched helplessly, the rope forlorn in her hand, as Dwalin pulled his King and closest friend to safety. As the pair dusted themselves of, she heard the burly warrior make mention of the Hobbit's well-being. The King under the Mountain sniffed in response.

'He's been lost ever since he left home. He had no business coming on this Quest; he should not have come. Let's go,' he nodded to the path.

The rest of the Company soon followed after him, all dazed by what happened and shocked by their leader's harsh words – yet none daring to oppose him. As the last Dwarf had passed her, Ardhoniel turned back to the Hobbit, who had now gotten to his feet as well.

'Do not take his words to heart, Bilbo. It could have happened to any of us.'

He sighed and made to move passed her. Then he stopped to look into the Elleth's sincere grey eyes and must have found something there that made him speak a little of what weighed on his heart. 'It could have. But it wasn't, was it?'

She wanted to say more to him, tell him that she would not have let him fall, but they quickly caught up with the rest of the group – and she found that discussing the matter in front of the Dwarven King would likely only aggravate the situation.

The Company had come to a halt in front of an opening in the rock wall and a quick glance confirmed Ardhoniel's suspicion: they had encountered a cave.

'Elf,' Thorin barked and again she was surprised that he remembered she was still there – even though he did not quite seem capable of remembering her name. When he saw her eyes turn in his direction, he continued 'You are familiar in these mountains. Do you know this cave? Is it safe?'

Her eyes returned to the cave for a moment, as if assessing it, then she nodded. 'It's safe.'

'We camp in here tonight. No fires, no cooked food. Get some rest, we start at first light.' Little did our Company members know that they would not see the first light of the next day.

~ nadad = brother