Chapter 4: Leaving the Shire
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC.
Rate and Review :) Just to let you guys know that this may be my last upload for the remainder of the week as I work the night shift on Social Media for the company that I work for. I'll be working on the chapter when I have a couple of hours spare, but I can't guarantee I'll have done enough to get it uploaded. As you were.
After watching their interactions from before, it was surprising to see that the Dwarves could move a lot quietly as they cleaned up the Hobbit's home. Aside from an empty pantry, it was as if they had never been there and caused quite the mess with their little party. Carefully putting his armour and cloak on, Glyndwr took a final look around the house to make sure they hadn't left anything.
"Well…that's that." Balin said, feeling a little disappointed.
"Come on…we've a mountain to get to." The Welshman said with a small smile.
"That we do, lad…"
Glyndwr waited until the other Dwarves filtered out of the house before closing the door gently and following them down the road. Some other Hobbits were already awakening and were shocked to see thirteen Dwarves, a Wizard and a Half-elven walking along their roads. Glyndwr merely smiled at them and gave them polite greetings.
"Must you speak to every one of them?" Thorin grumbled.
"Better to be polite than ignorant." The Welshman said.
"Well save the niceties…it's not as if you will be returning to this land."
Rolling his eyes, Glyndwr deliberately carried on, earning snickers from Fili and Kili and Gandalf even got in on it as well. It was as they got back on the horses and were on the move that they heard a familiar voice, only on this occasion, he wasn't exasperated.
"Wait! Wait!" He approached them and they stopped moving. "I signed it." Balin took the contract and looked at it in detail.
"Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." Balin said with a smile and the others cheered, even Glyndwr had a grin.
"Give him a pony." Thorin said gruffly.
"No, no, no, no, that-that won't be necessary, thank you, but I-I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I- I-I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. I even got as far as Frogmorton once-WAGH!" Bilbo is cut off as he's lifted onto the pony.
Glyndwr chuckled as they began to move once more, this time keeping pace with the rest of the Company. Fili and Kili kept pace with him, sniping at one another as brothers do, further adding to the Man turned Half-elven's amusement.
"Maybe you could settle this for us…" Kili said.
"Settle what?"
"We're both making bets on what you did on your world."
"I see…and what do you have so far?" Glyndwr grinned. This would prove to be interesting.
"Well you're not a fighter…that much we do know. So does that make you a healer?" Fili asked.
"We call them doctors…and no. I wasn't."
"You seem curious to learn…were you a scholar?" Kili asked and the other chuckled. At one time, he had been a university student but the course was more a hobby than a practical decision. "I'll take that as a no…"
"Were those the only two you could come up with?"
"Well it seemed they were the most likely options. What were you?"
"I was a bartender." He said, outright laughing when the others all turned to him in shock. "It's why I'm so used to you being loud. I used to work in a bar in the centre of the capital and when it was a weekend, it got busy and loud."
"An elf tending a bar?"
"Back then, I wasn't one…I was a Man back then."
"That makes more sense." Fili said and the other rolled his eyes.
After travelling for a long time, they stopped as the sun began to disappear over the horizon. As the others set up camp, Glyndwr had perched himself on a rock with his bow and sword right by his side, his newly enhanced eyes scanning the area. He jumped as Fili and Kili sat down right by him before he turned his gaze back out to the land before him.
"Any dangers?" Kili asked.
"Nothing…the forest surrounding this land is clear…" Glyndwr said.
"Good, because you're going to do some training." Fili said, his voice leaving no room for argument.
"But I volunteered to be on watch."
"That is why Kili is here, Elf…" Thorin walked over to them. "The burglar doesn't have a weapon so we can't train him. You do, and from what Gandalf has told us, you only know the basics of using a sword. Kili can take your watch, but I want you in fighting form." The King in Exile said with gruffly and the other nodded. "Fili will train you first."
"Don't worry…I'll go easy on you to start." Fili drew his own blades.
"Okay…" the other said nervously.
Taking his cloak off and putting it on top of his supplies, Glyndwr drew his sword and held it in a two handed grip and his feet parted in a ready stance. The Welshman did his best to ignore the fact that they were being watched closely by the main warriors of the company. Fili gave all of three seconds before unleashing a flurry of strikes that Glyndwr barely parried with little grace.
"What happened to going easy?"
"This is easy…by Dwarven standards. I could pit you against Dwalin if you would prefer." Thorin said in a mocking voice.
"I don't particularly care for your tone…" he said, retaking his stance with a little bit more confidence much to the surprise of the others. If only to wipe that smirk off of Thorin's face, he would do his very best with what little he knew.
"That's the spirit…" Fili encouraged as he too retook his stance.
As they went through the motions, Fili shouted instructions on his stance, his movements, even his blocking technique. They soon began exchanging blows, Glyndwr mostly on the defensive, but his movements more fluid. The fair-haired Dwarf lunged forward then, as if to stab him and using his sword, Glyndwr blocked the attack, Fili's sword sliding along the Elven blade.
"Very go-" The elder prince was surprised as it was Glyndwr who slashed at him, the Dwarven prince having to dodge.
"Well…" Kili chuckled, before returning to his watch.
Fili picked up the pace with his strikes and the Welshman parried them a little more easily. It was when Fili went to strike at his feet that Glyndwr surprised them. He stepped on the blade and it fell from the Dwarven princes grasp. Kicking it towards the rest of the supplies, Glyn gave a slight grin at Fili, who grinned back.
"That's a mistake I won't make again…"
"Well I should hope not…lest you end up weaponless."
Glyndwr was surprised when Fili drew a knife and threw it. Bringing up his arm, he was glad he was wearing his bracers as the Elven metal easily deflected it, although he certainly felt the impact. With a look of surprise from Glyndwr, Fili took a bow with a smirk.
"I'm never weaponless."
"I see that now."
"It's good to see your Elven reflexes have kicked in…" Fili readied his sword.
"I'd be inclined to agree…"
Despite the fact that his Elven traits had begun to kick in, he still had some limitations. Glyndwr began to tire and as his sword was lowered, Fili brought him to his knees by clipping the back of his legs with the handle of his throwing axe. As the Welshman went to recover, he felt the cold of the blade pressed against his neck.
"And that concludes this first lesson…" Fili said, taking the sword away from his neck.
A round of applause went up and the Dwarven prince bowed with exaggeration before turning to the Half-elven and bowing before him too. Clutching his aching wrist from when he parried the throwing knife, Glyndwr stood and bowed back.
"Instinct is always good in a pinch…adrenaline helps too. Still…some training will always be good. I'll teach you more." Fili said with a grin, grabbing his other sword and sheathing both weapons. "How's the wrist?"
"Sore…nothing I can't handle, really."
"Glad to hear it."
They soon settled down for the evening. Most of the Dwarves had already fallen asleep but Fili, Kili, Gandalf, Glyndwr and Bilbo were still awake. The Welshman was busy making sure his bed was as comfortable as he could get it. As he finished, a scream could be heard in the night and the ones who were awake were a little alert.
"What was that?" Bilbo asked.
"Orcs…" Kili answered seriously.
"Orcs?" Bilbo asked, ever so slightly nervous.
"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them." Fili said just as seriously as his brother.
"They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood." Kili continued and Bilbo turned away, now clearly frightened. Both brothers chuckled and Thorin spoke up.
"You think that's funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?" He asked angrily.
"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili said, sounding like a chastised child.
"No you didn't." The King sneered. "You know nothing of the world." He walked off and Balin walked over to them.
"Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs lead by the most vile of all their race: Azog, the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King."
"Brutal…" Glyndwr muttered.
"Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him: a young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armor rent…wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog, the Defiler, learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, no song, that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call King." Balin said almost proudly.
"But the pale orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo asked.
"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." Thorin growled.
The following day, Glyndwr was all too easily reminded of Wales as they rode through the forest in what could best be described as a flood from the sky. Though warm, he was soaked through and that made him somewhat miserable as they rode along.
"Here, Mr. Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori spoke up.
"It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard." Gandalf said, the only one who was more or less the same in demeanour despite the less than favourable weather.
"Are there any?" Bilbo asked.
"What?"
"Other wizards?"
"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman, the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards; you know, I've quite forgotten their names." Gandalf said casually.
"And who is the fifth?" Bilbo asked.
"That would be Radagast, the Brown."
"Is he a great Wizard or is he...more like you?" At this, Glyndwr chuckled whilst Fili and Kili snickered at the causal insult.
"I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the East, and a good thing too, for always Evil will look to find a foothold in this world."
"Even the forests?" Glyndwr asked when he stocked laughing.
"Even the forests, Master Magnus. At one time, there was an evil fortress in the forest of Greenwood, known as Dol Guldur. It is mere ruins now, but it was one of the largest of evil fortifications in Middle-Earth."
Soon they reached an old, ruined farmhouse and to the relief of the other Dwarves, Thorin declared that they would be camping there. He handed out jobs to the others before turning to Glyndwr with a look of indifference.
"Master Elf…you can scout around."
"Right…" He said, grabbing his bow, quiver and sword, but leaving his armour. The lighter he was, the better.
Carefully walking through the forest with his bow in hand and an arrow on the string, Glyndwr soon happened upon the two young brothers and the ponies. His footsteps were surer as he walked up to them.
"Uncle has you scouting again?"
"It seems my Elven sight has some benefits…not that he would admit that."
"Dwarves are naturally stubborn, but one thing he will never, ever do is compliment an Elf or a being that is like an Elf." Kili said and the other sighed.
"I serve a purpose…nothing more, it would seem."
"Don't let him get to you like that…you're more than just an Elf with a few useful gifts to us at least." Fili reassured and the other smiled.
"Thank you, Fili…well I'd best get back to scouting, lest your uncle burn my face off faster than any dragon ever could…"
"You do that, Glyn…we'll see you around."
Glyndwr had finished scouting by the time the sun had begun to descend and he returned to camp just as Bombur had finished dinner. Gratefully accepting a bowl, Glyndwr found himself a corner and began to eat. Though it was simple, it was nevertheless hearty and warm, something the Dwarves appreciated after the rain from earlier.
"Notice anything on your scouting trip?" Thorin asked gruffly.
"All clear as far as I could tell…though I could smell something rather atrocious…likely an animal."
"At least you're serving a purpose."
"Listen…I know you don't like the Elves…I know you have good reason not to…however I am not one of them."
"You have the choice to become one." Thorin said gruffly. "I'm not unlearned in the ways of Elves and Half-elven…I was a prince…and such diplomacy with them was required during our time of peace and I learned about them and about people like you. I know you could become one."
"So that gives you the right to tar me with the same brush when I'm not even native to this world?" Glyndwr raised his voice, surprising the others. "Check the circumstances of my appearance and you will find you've got no reason to hate me. I was once a man, I come from a different world and this choice to be an Elf or not has been given to me with no input from myself. So back off." He said firmly, earning quite the death glare from the king.
"No one speaks to me like that…"
"Someone should. I'm going for a walk…" he put his armour on and grabbed his weapons.
"We stick together…"
"I'll be with Fili and Kili. At the very least, they treat me with some respect."
Just as he was about to leave, Fili burst into the camp, shouting about trolls…
And we'll call it a day by there. It's shorter than the last one, I know, but I'll make up for it with the next one. Promise :)