A/N: No space enough for the whole title in the right place, sorry!
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Chapter 4 - In a hole in the ground there was a lot of dwarves
They walked about two hours when they heard a blood freezing sound. It was like a howl, but for it's low tone it must belong to a very big wolf.
"Is it close?"
"Is it meant at us?"
"Let's get out of the road and find out later!"
So they did, running the best they could, taking advantage of some boulders to hide from the view of the road while keeping the general direction to the east. The howls were getting closer, and they could hear some harsh cries too.
"We must get away from this pack. They are hunting something, and we don't want them to think of us as prey, too."
"What are they?"
An image of a big black and white dolphin like creature came to her mind. "Orcs! Not the San Diego Sea World ones, though!"
They kept trying to hear east while avoiding the howls and the shouts. While running from one boulder to another, they suddenly saw Radagast's rabbits running at an astounding speed, that big wolves with some freaky punks mounted on them. The weird Istar (whatever that meant, but they heard him addressing himself by this name) ducked under a low stone where a "big bad wolf" and his rider hit their heads. They saw some figures running from a boulder to another too, and wondered if they were the orcs actual prey.
"Here, I found a hole!" Called Iris from behind a boulder. "It can at least protect our backs, let's hide in!"
The other two run to her, making their best not to be noticeable by the orc pack. They slid down the steep path behind the boulder and found themselves in what looked to be the beginning of a tunnel, dimly lit from some cracks at the top of it. The sound of chase went on outside, getting closer.
"We don't know where this path leads, and I don't want to be got into a trap if it is blocked somewhere from here. We should wait until it is safe outside and find our way east again. Meanwhile," said Ellen, already prompting herself as she was saying it. "lets get ready for battle if it turns down here. One last stand to protect ourselves, and remember to take down as many as you are able. No mercy on them, for they would have none for us."
She got a better grip on her bastard sword in her right hand and the short one in the left, as she used to at boffering mock fights. Although the weapons changed to what belonged to that world, just like themselves, they still had the same weight and feeling from when it was just polyurethane foam made, and she hopped she would be as able with this real swords as she was at home with her boffers. Lily had already proven her archery skills with the real arrows, and it seemed Iris would have little trouble with her twin short swords. But none of them actually ever killed someone, and their mock swordplay training included safety rules so they were used to avoid hitting head, throat and groins. They would have to overwrite years of that training in a matter of minutes, it seemed.
There was a change in the sounds outside, from chasing to actual fight. They heard screams and awful gnarls and howls, and shouts. A voice was really close to them as it shouted "This way, you fools!" and then there was someone else inside the hole. Lily had her bow ready to fire but Ellen put her hand with the short sword up, signaling her to wait. The old man looked down at her and nodded. "Wise enough."
Soon there were dwarves and more dwarves coming down the hole, and a hobbit too, all of them armed somehow – axes, maces, blades of many sizes and shapes. The last three ones rolled down the steep path, a blond one and two dark haired. The oldest of them had some gray streaks in his hair and a beautiful sword in his hand. Lily took note that it was not of dwarven make, although she didn't know how she knew it. This one looked at them seeming more angry than surprised.
"What in Durin's name is this bunch?"
"A bunch of beauties, I deem!" The dwarven archer muttered under his breath, and the blond one chuckled in response. The elven woman put her weapons down beside her on the dirt floor in sign of peace and looked at him.
"No proper time for formal introductions, sir, but you may call us Loyalty, Honor, and Willing Heart." The three females bowed as if previously agreed. "At your service!"
At this moment the shouts outside grew louder, and the sound of hooves could be heard close to the opening of the hole. Suddenly a horrible corpse fell down at their feet. The one who seemed to be the leader took off an arrow that stuck in its chest and threw it away with a grimace of disgust.
"Elves!"
A half bald dwarf with bluish tattoos on his head and arms got past the three strangers as if they weren't there at all and took a look at the stone path behind them.
"Shall we tread this way?"
"It seems a good idea." The troop went the small tunnel down following the answer of the old man clad in gray. Gray! The color boomed in Ellen's head as she ran after the dwarves with the tall man behind her. She turned back and whispered to him.
"Mister Gray?"
"Yes?"
"Greetings from Mister Brown. He is looking for you."
"Thank you, lady, he already found us this morning. He told me about you three. We have a long walk yet to reach the place we are heading for. We can talk better then. For now, be in peace."
Although feeling more secure for being no more in the open field, and walking with a troop of well armed guys, the girls were getting more and more uneasy as the day wore on. The dwarves made a good pace even with their short legs and seemingly heavy packs, and it was hard on them, mostly on Iris.
Two or three hours later the leader of the dwarves finally called for a halt, in a place where the walls were somewhat apart. Ellen dropped to the ground with her nieces beside her, all of them grabbing for their water bags that in another world were made of plastic, but now were leather made. Their heavy breathing had not even calmed down when the bold dwarf faced them with a look of mistrust in his stern eyes.
"It might not be the best place for proper presentations, but some questions must be answered nonetheless."
Ellen rose to her feet and took a deep breath. She was used to stern looking directors, arrogant peers, dictatorial company presidents and to be interrogated by boards of shareholders, but they all used to wear suits and ties and to reach higher than her breasts. But then, none of them wore a sword and an axe like his, so it seemed wise not to mock with him. Much.
"And what questions you might have for us to answer, sir? We are willing to make any doubt clear, as we have nothing to hide. We'd like to know to whom we are answering, though, so we may address you and your company with the proper respect."
The gray clad old man stepped in.
"It may be my task to make some introductions here, for I know something of both parts. Thorin Oakenshield, this are Ellen, daughter of Nyda, and her nieces Lily and Iris, daughters of Wolfram, son of Nyda. Respectable ladies, this is Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrór, son of Thráin, his nephews Fili and Kili" He addressed to two young ones last to fall into the hole. "and masters Balin and Dwalin" That were a senior one and the half bald tattooed one. "Óin and Glóin" Another senior and a red haired and bearded one. "Ori, Nori and Dori" Two seemingly young ones and a white haired one. "Bifur, Bofur and Bombur" That was the most weird triad, one with the head of and axe in his head, one with a Dali's moustache and one with the biggest belly any of the women had ever seen before. "and Bilbo Baggins, from the Shire."
All of them, save Thorin, made some kind of greeting gesture, even if only a nod or a grunt. The girls eyed each one of them as they could in the fast presentation mister Gray made.
"Are you telling me this three are same family?" The bold dwarf asked Mister Gray without looking at him. "No deference to blood purity, it seems."
The little hobbit girl turned up to him with no constraint. She had seen enough of racial prejudice on her previous world to admit it to happen to her in this one.
"Sorry, mister Oakenshield, but in our family we value more the purity of principles than any other kind of purity."
He looked down to the only hobbit girl in the party and wondered if this kind of behavior was usual to hobbits or if he just had an enormous bad luck.
"Why are you here? Why were you hiding in the tunnel entrance? Why are you coming along? Where are you going to, and why?"
"If a partial report is enough, sir, I'd say that only goodness knows why we are here, that we were hiding for the same reason as you, that we are coming along because there is no other path, and that we are trying to go home, because we are lost in a way you have no idea." Answered Ellen, counting on her fingers. "A full report may be delivered at the proper time and place."
"For the moment, and maybe more than it, they are going the same way we are, Thorin." Mister Gray stepped in. "And they seek advice from the same person."
"I don't want to speak to that elf, Gandalf! Our mission must be as secret as it might! None out of us must know about the map!"
"Are you having trouble with a map, too?" The dwarf girl asked and Mister Gandalf Gray smirked.
"It seems you gave yourself about the map, to these ladies at least, Thorin." The dwarf closed his eyes, angry to himself. "Take things lighter on yourself, a burden is easier to be carried when it is shared."
Lily went to Ellen's backpack, which was a little apart from the dwarves troop, got the map and unfolded it for them to see. Balin came closer, looked at it, and then shook his head.
"Just a geographic map."
"Maybe, but this geographic map has leaded us into so much trouble you cannot imagine, sir! We must go to someplace out of this map to get home, it seems." The young dwarf lady told him. "Mister Radagast mentioned a mountain, more or less here." She pointed right out of the map and the old dwarf gave her a stern look. "We must go there to get home."
"What do you know about this mountain, lass? Why do you have to get there?" Balin asked, suspicious, and Thorin eyed her sharply. She got on unaware of the tension around her.
"Mister Radagast said there is a legend about a Gate in this mountain that may lead to our home."
"Just to make it clear, misters, our home is really very far from here." Ellen added.
"How far?" Asked Thorin exchanging glances with Balin. Gandalf intervened.
"If me and Radagast understood it rightly, and there is little hope of us to be wrong, far enough for none of us living under this sun to have gotten there. "
"What do you mean? Speak clearly, wizard!" Thorin demanded.
"Their home is under another sun. They have not come from the same Eru's song that made all of you, and all that you know in this world."
"Are you saying they are otherworldly?"
"Yes."
"And that they are looking for the mythical Gate of Erebor?"
"Yes."
"This is gibberish!" Thorin looked angry again. "There is no sense in all this talk, the Gate is a legend, there is no such thing as other worlds!"
Balin put a hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him down.
"Thorin, there are more things under the sun that we can imagine! You say the Gate is legend, but then, dragons are legend to most people; the Arkenstone is legend; would you say Valinor is legend? If not, if Valinor exists, as we know it exists, and it is another world, then why cannot exist more worlds beside ours?" The old dwarf reasoned. "We started this journey of behalf of prophecies, following dreams! And now we find three warrior ladies in our path, who must go find a legend in our own home! You may call it chance, but I call it serendipity. They can be a valuable adding to our company."
Thorin puffed hard.
"Legends won't help us to get back Erebor. I will not drag a bunch of unknown women who tell a weird story claiming to be otherworldly and trying to get into our home, most possibly interested in our gold. And I won't call anyone warrior until I see someone in action, for anyone can carry a stolen sword having no skill at all."
"We are no thieves!" Cried Lily, disgusted.
"Sires, please, we don't want to make any trouble to anyone, we just want to go home!" Iris pleaded. "We know almost nothing from this place, we don't know the way! "
"I understand your doubts, mister Oakenshield, and if my blood was hotter I would have the pleasure of showing you how skilled we can be and, being you king or not, to teach you some good manners under the gentle strokes of my swords." Ellen thought it was far worse than the board of shareholders, as Thorin shouts attracted the rest of the dwarves and the hobbit to their debate. "But I know you have lost too much in your live and will lose more before the end, so my place is not to fight you, but to be beside you, and you will judge for yourself if we are worthy of your company. If I understood it right, we are going to the same place, you, to fulfill your quest, and us, to go back home. We will not get back home if you don't fulfill your quest, so, we need your success to reach ours; on the other hand, you believe you don't need us. You're probably right, but nonetheless I'll be bold enough to say that one more bow and four blades more wouldn't make your company weaker." She reached for her long sword beside her backpack, unsheathed it and went down on one knee, presenting it to Thorin. "I, Ellen, daughter of Nyda, offer my services to Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, and his Company, from now on until the day I'm able to reach my home, or the day I die, what comes first. I offer my services out of my own free will and for no piece of gold or any other payment but the means of going to Erebor."
Thorin was in shock. It was unexpected. He called that elf a thief and a liar, and there she was, knelt at his feet, facing him with resolute gray blue eyes, offering him her services freely, with an amazing sword in her hands. He took the hilt in his hands and examined the weapon hurriedly, wishing he had more time for this, but that could come later. His eyes widened when he read the runes on the cross-guard and looked down at her, making up his mind.
"Arise, Ellen, daughter of Nyda, member of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield, and from now on kneel to no one else."
Why you should not skip next chapter:Because they reach Rivendel and Thorin finds out the girls don't have experience in real warfare and Thorin gets very, very upset.
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