Chapter
Alrighty here's chapter 4 coming your way! Hope ya'll enjoy and please remember to review!
Also! Sorry for any typos or things like that! I don't have a beta reader or anything! But if anyone would like to if definitely be up to offers! Thanks!
Always remember that I do not own the Hobbit or any of J.R.R Tolkien's work! I do however own my OC and this fanfic so let's keep it that way!
It was now the third day of their traveling. The day had been nice for majority of the day until it started raining. Really it was a downpour.
Skylar had the hood of her cloak up for a while but it was useless after the rain started to soak through. She pulled the hood off and pushed her hair back with one hand.
"Eh Mr Gandalf? Isn't there something you can do about this deluge?" Dori asked Gandalf.
Gandalf glanced back at Dori momentarily," It is raining Master Dori, and it is going to rain until the rain is done. If you want to change the weather you'll have to find yourself another wizard."
"Are there any? Other wizards I mean," Bilbo asked Gandalf. He was slouched slightly on his pony, clearly cold.
"There are five, there is Saruman, the strongest of our order, then there are the blue wizards," Gandalf pursed his lips slightly," I've quite forgotten their names. And then there's Radagast, the brown."
"And is he a great wizard? Or is he more like you?" Bilbo asked and Skylar chuckled a bit.
Gandalf glanced back slightly with a mildly offended look on his face," I think he's a great wizard. Lives a solitary life looking over the vast range of the Mirkwood forest."
Bilbo was quiet after that and Skylar rode up next to him. He didn't notice her right away but she noticed his shivering. The rain was starting to die down so Skylar unclipped her cloak and tossed it over Bilbo's shoulders.
He jumped slightly and glanced at her before he looked at the cloak that was around his shoulders. Grasping it with his hands he tugged it around his shoulders but still looked over at her with confused eyes," Don't you need this? It's still raining and it's cold."
"I'm not cold Bilbo, but you are. Where I'm from it was cold all the time except for summertime of course. So the cold hasn't really bothered me all my life," Skylar said with a smile and a shrug. Her mind wandered to her home in Montana. She missed it dearly but didn't know how to get back," I miss it there."
"Don't you visit?" Bilbo asked.
Skylar shook her head," No, I can't. It's...a really complicated thing Bilbo."
"I see, well I do hope you get to visit someday," He said with a hopeful smile.
She chuckled," Me too."
"Look, the rain stopped," The hobbit said looking up at the sky as the group came out of the forest and into the open.
"It did, that's nice. I like the rain but not that much rain," She said reaching into her pack and grabbing a rag. Skylar dried her hair off as best as possible before fixing most of it back up," Good thing my hair is black, that means it'll soak up more heat and dry faster."
Skylar knew they'd be coming to a stop soon when she saw the old crumbling farm house just a little ways ahead of them. Once Thorin and Gandalf reached the remains of the house, they both dismounted and everyone else followed suit.
"We'll camp here for the night!" Thorin called out to the group and Skylar started unstrapping her pack.
Her gaze averted to see Gandalf inspecting the remains," I think it would be wiser to move on."
Thorin turned to look at him and Gandalf looked at him with hopeful eyes," We could make for the Hidden Valley."
"I told you already," Thorin replied in a dark tone," I will not go near that place."
"Why not?!" Gandalf insisted," The elves could help us, we could get food, rest, advice!"
"Help? A dragon attacks Erebor, what help came from the elves then?" Thorin asked with a venomous tone to his voice," Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls. The elves looked on and did nothing! You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather and betrayed my father."
"You are neither of them," Gandalf said, clearly trying to reason with the stubborn Dürin dwarf," I did not give you that map and key to hold onto the past."
"I did not know that they were yours to keep!" Thorin spat back at him.
Gandalf grumbled irritably before he turned and stalked off and away from the dwarves. Bilbo looked on at them worriedly," Everything alright? Gandalf, where are you going?"
"Too seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense," Gandalf replied through a grumble.
"And who would that be?" Bilbo asked, his eyebrows creased in a worried expression.
"MYSELF, Mr Baggins!" He shouted in reply before stalking away faster.
Skylar just shrugged, she knew that the wizard would be back in good time. Then she froze in her tracks, this would be the night with the trolls. A sigh escaped her, wouldn't that be wonderful.
The sun was starting to go over the horizon now and all the dwarves were starting to get hungry. After everyone got their things from ponies, everyone led them a little ways into the forest where they tied them up.
Thorin looked at his nephews," Fili, Kili, stay here and watch the ponies."
They nodded at him and everyone else headed back to campsite where Bombur had dinner cooking already. Skylar grabbed her blanket out of her pack and put it up against the log that a few dwarves were sitting on. She sat on the ground and leaned back against the log and sighed. As tired as she was, she knew she wouldn't get rest.
"Alright lads, come get yer supper!" Bofur called out it the group.
Skylar sighed again and stood back up before coming forward and grabbing a bowl of stew and sitting back down. She ate hastily, really she hadn't realized how hungry she actually was.
She finished fairly quickly and washed her bowl out before reseating herself. Her solitary was disturbed when Dwalin sat down beside her. Skylar smiled at him as she brought a hand up to rub over her stiff neck. She groaned slightly twisted her neck to one side until a loud crack was heard.
Dwalin caught her eye with the slight grimace on his face," That didn't sound too good."
"My spine is just irritated for being on a pony all day," Skylar replied with a chuckle.
He gave a half shrug," Understandable I suppose."
Her eyes narrowed when she saw a dark red gash across his forearm. Almost unconsciously she reached over and took his forearm in her hand
He jerked his arm back but she kept a grip and inspected the cut," What did you?"
"I'm not sure, must've just scraped it on a branch or something. Don't worry about it lass," Dwalin stated and she turned to fully face him.
"No, I'm going to take care of it and you are going to deal with it. If you leave a cut like this unattended it could get infected and that would suck," Skylar said reached into her pack and grabbing a rag.
"Fine," He said, not wanting to argue.
Skylar smiled at him and poured some water onto the rag before she cleaned the cut as well as she could. After she was done she wrung the rag out and sat back in her spot.
"Thank ya lass," Dwalin said quietly," Only other person who does things like that for me is Ori."
"Well, I would hope so," She said with a smirk.
He patted her shoulder gently and graced her with a small smile," Get some rest Skylar, you need it."
Skylar looked around and saw that Bilbo wasn't in the camp. How long ago had Bilbo gone?
Suddenly Fili came running into the came," Uncle! There's trolls and they have Bilbo!"
Thorin looked up at him and gave a nod before standing," Come on!"
Everyone stood and followed Thorin with their weapons in tow. As they approached the trolls camp they could hear Kili shouting at the trolls.
"I said, drop him!" Kili shouted, making a spin with his sword.
Before Kili could make a move everyone charged through the bushes to make an attack. It was a flurry and it was one of the most exciting things Skylar had done since living in Middle Earth. In fact this entire quest was.
Skylar wasn't quite sure what she was slicing at but all she made sure of was that it was troll. She was mid slice when everyone stopped to see that the trolls had Bilbo in hand.
"Laid down your arms! Or we'll rip his off!" The trolls spoke and Skylar took a step back until she was standing beside Thorin.
Her eyes met his and she nodded a little before he scowled and tossed his sword to the ground.
Honestly, Skylar wasn't sure how she felt at the moment. She had been stripped down to her under armor leggings, one of the only things she had left from him, along with the cuddle dud shirt she wore. Her arms were crossed inside the burlap sack and a irritated scowl was on her face.
She was laying in the back of the group next to Thorin. Her scowl looked over to meet his. He sighed," I'm not sure we'll get out of this."
"Well, I'm sure that we will," Skylar stated with a slight raise of her eyebrows.
He raised his own in a return," So sure about that?"
She gave a curt nod," Positive."
He made a small noise but said nothing more as they heard the trolls talking about the way they'd be cooked.
Then Bilbo's voice cut through the chatter," Wait! You're making, a terrible, mistake."
"I mean with the seasoning!" Bilbo continued on, with more explanation.
"Oh shut up! What do you know about cooking dwarf?" The troll, William, questioned.
"Quiet, let the flurgaberberahobbit talk," Bert said looking curiously at the hobbit," What about, the seasoning?"
"The secret to cooking dwarf is..."
"Yes, go on! Tell us the secret!" They insisted.
"Yes, I'm telling you the secret is...to skin them first!" Bilbo exclaimed and very displeased voices came from all the dwarves.
"Tom, get me filleting knife," Bert said gesturing for the knife.
"What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on!" William said from his post where he turned the spit.
"He's right, nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf!" Tom exclaimed picking up Bombur and dangling him over his mouth," Nice and crunchy!"
"N-not that one! He-he's infected!" Bilbo exclaimed, scrambling to save them.
"You what?" William said looked at Bilbo irritably.
"Yeah, he's got worms in his...tubes!" Bilbo said with a slight shrug," In fact they're all infected! They're infested with parasites, it's a terrible business, I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't."
"Parasites?! We don't have parasites!" Kili yelled in opposition.
Skylar looked over at Thorin and gave him a look. He gave a nod to her before kicking Kili in the back, who looked at him with draw brows.
All the dwarves were silent for a moment before Oin broke the silence," I've got parasites as big as my arm!"
"I've got the biggest parasites! I've got huge parasites!" Kili shouted in agreeance.
The dwarves that were tied on the spit joined in and Skylar couldn't help but chuckle quietly at them," We're riddled!"
William stepped dangerously towards Bilbo," What would you have us do then? Let 'em all go?"
Bilbo shrugged slightly, as if he wanted to agree but wasn't sure that would go well.
William stuffed a finger in his direction," You think I don't know what you're up to! This little ferret, is taking us for fools!"
"Ferret?!" The hobbit exclaimed in an offended tone.
"The dawn shall take you all!" Gandalfs voice rang out and Skylar looked up at the wizard with a relieved smile.
"Who's that?" William inquired.
"No idea," Came the answer from Bert.
"Can we eat him too?" Tom asked curiously before Gandalf brought his staff down, cracking the rock down the middle and bringing the sunlight onto the trolls.
They all cried out in pain as they were turned to stone by the rays of light. A silence settled for a moment before all the dwarves cheered.
Skylar looked over at Thorin with a smile and she was pleased to see that he wore one as well. There was a long process of everyone being untied and removed from the burlap sacks. Skylar stretched, relieved to be out of the bag, it was rather uncomfortable.
She saw Gandalf tap his staff onto one of the now stone trolls, so she approached him slowly. As she walked up to him, so did Thorin.
"Where did you go to if I may ask?" Thorin asked, his brows drawn slightly.
"To look ahead," Gandalf stated.
"What brought you back?" He continued.
A small smile was on Gandalfs face," Looking behind."
"Well, it's certainly a good thing you arrived when you did," Skylar stated as she walked up to stand by the dwarf king and wizard.
Gandalf gave a nod to her," It's a nasty business, still you're all in one piece."
Thorins head quirked to the side just slightly," No thanks to your burglar."
"He had the nerves to pray for time," Gandalf said to the dwarf," None of the rest of you thought of that."
Gandalfs gaze flicked to her momentarily and she frowned at him. She didn't need to do anything, for one she knew Bilbo had it under control.
The gray wizard turned his attention back to the stone trolls around them," They must've come down from the Ettenmoors.
"Since when do mountain trolls venture this far south?" Thorin asked gruffly.
Gandalf shook his head," Not for an age, not since a darker power ruled these lands."
There's was an ominous feeling in the air and Skylar shook her head," They couldn't have travelled in daylight."
Gandalf nodded his head in her direction and Thorin perked up slightly," There must be a cave nearby."
"Everyone! Search for the trolls cave!" He called out to the group and slowly everyone started dispersing to look for it.
Thorin went to head off but he stopped and looked at her," You. Come with me."
She raised an eyebrow at him but shrugged and walked off into the woods with him," If I had to guess, we'll know we're close when we smell something horrible."
Thorin side glanced at her and gave a chuckle," Agreed, I don't think that trolls hoards are known for their fantastic scent."
"No, they are not," Skylar said with a smile. She was glad to be able to just talk to Thorin like this. When he wasn't wound up so tight, he was actually very laid back.
He gave her a small smile before it fell and he looked past her," There."
Her head whipped around and she spotted the entrance to the cave. They approached and Skylar recoiled at the scent," Oh, Jesus that's bad."
"Oh what?" Thorin asked with confusion on his face and she realized he was referring to the language she used.
"Oh, nothing, just the smell you know," Skylar stated, with a gesture to the cave and a nervous laugh.
Thorins piercing blue eyes observed her for a moment before giving a nod," Everyone! We found it!"
Soon after Thorin called out to the dwarves, they all started appearing until everyone was there.
"Bofur, Gloin, Nori, Dwalin! Come with me!" He called out to said dwarves before he glanced back at her," Are you coming or staying out here?"
"I'll come," Skylar said before walking forward to join Gandalf who had slipped in front of Thorin.
Skylar couldn't hold back a gag as she entered the troll cave with Gandalf and the five dwarves behind her.
The complaints of the dwarves weren't reaching her as she walked around the cave. She saw Thorin approach the swords and he set the torch down as to use both hands.
He pulled one out and observed it," These swords are not made by any troll."
He handed the sword to Gandalf and pulled out the other. Gandalf pulled the sword out of the sheath slowly and blew off some of the webs," Nor are they made by any smith among men."
Thorin was observing the sword with a interested face until Gandalf spoke again," These were forged in Gondolin, by the High Elves of the First Age."
Thorin had just started to put his hand around the handle before he recoiled in disgusted at the mention of elves. He started to put the blade back before Gandalf caused him to cease," You could not wish for a finer blade!"
Hard eyes were on Gandalf for a moment before he unsheathed the blade slightly and looked upon it. Skylar smiled slightly at him and turned back towards the exit hoping they'd leave soon.
She glanced at the dwarves that were burying a chest of gold and then at Dwalin who stood looking over them with a mildly irritated face, as usual. He glanced at her and she smiled and patted his arm as she walked by him," Be nice."
He made a snort of ignorance and she just chuckled at him. Not a moment later Thorin started heading for the exit.
"Come on, let's get out of this foul place. Bofur, Gloin, Nori, Dwalin, let's go," He called to them and waited until they were following to walk out himself.
Skylar followed shortly behind. They walked out and she pressed her lips together when she saw Bifur handing Kili the ox skull.
She strode past him and looked at his confused face with a smile," Just go with it Kili."
"Y-yeah, that was my plan!" Kili exclaimed out of his confusion.
She shook her head and walked to join the group where she sat on a log and closed her eyes for a moment.
The moment was disrupted though when Thorins voice rang out once more," Something's coming!"
Then everyone was up and swords were drawn.
