SORRY I AM TERRIBLE AND SORRY THIS IS AN ENTIRE YEAR LATER I LOVE ALL OF YOU. Of course I own nothing and I hope you enjoy this next chapter, if anyone still reads this? Anyways, I love y'all and thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a review. They make my day.
Chapter 6: The Trolls
Nimroel stared at Fili, listening with horror as he relayed the bad news. Beside her, Kili shifted uncomfortably in the grass and she could hear Fili panting loudly. What were they going to do? Telling Thorin was certainly not an option, but they didn't have the slightest idea where the horses had gone off too.
It was just at that moment that Bilbo's mop of curly hair appeared over the hill. He eyed the three of them before making his way down the hill to where they were standing.
"I've been sent to inform you that dinner is ready," he said grumpily. Clearly the job of messenger had offended the hobbit.
No one answered and Nimroel noticed Kili send his older brother a worried look. Realizing that something was amiss, Bilbo clasped his hands behind his back and let out a small cough.
"Um, excuse me. But maybe I'm missing something," he began again. "The food is ready and it smells fairly appetizing this time at least. So, come and get it."
"Daisy and Bungo are missing," Fili repeated dully.
"Daisy and Bungo are – wait what?" Bilbo demanded, his small face reddening with surprise. "What do you mean, missing?"
"As in, they were here before and now they are not," Kili snapped.
"Well, that's not good. That is not good at all. Shouldn't we tell Thorin?" Bilbo wondered aloud, his face turning from red to white in a matter of seconds. Hearing their uncle's name mentioned Kili and Fili's faces both turned and glared and the hobbit. Nimroel couldn't help but agree with the two young princes, Thorin did not need to know.
"Uhh, no. Let's not worry him," Fili said, " As our official burglar, we thought you might like to look into it." It was obvious that Fili had no idea what to do. Bilbo's mouth fell open, but it was clear he did not know how to refuse.
"I'll go look with you Bilbo," Nimroel offered gently and the hobbit offered her a grateful smile.
Kili led them over the hill to the edge of the woods where the remaining horses stood pawing the ground, their eyes wide with fright. Nimroel whistled softly and approached Eago who snorted and skidded away from her.
"Something has upset them greatly," she murmured, clutching her bow and notching it with an arrow. Moving through the ponies to the edge of the woods, a new smell came to mix with that of the horses and grass and hay. It was the rancid smell or raw meat accompanied by something much darker, and much fouler.
"Look at the trees," Kili said, pointing at several massive oaks that had been knocked askew as if by a giant hand. Without a word, the four of them moved into the darkness, each of them drawing weapons with the exception of Bilbo who made sure to walk at the rear of the line.
After several minutes of walking in silence, a light came into view and they crouched behind an old, rotting log. Squinting, Nimroel could make see a massive bonfire just within a clearing and two huge figures. Grimacing, her suspicions had been confirmed. Trolls. Although she had never seen one, she had read about them in her scrolls and knew the signs of their attacks. That explains the destroyed farmer's cottage she realized sadly.
"What is it?" Bilbo whispered fearfully, grasping the fallen tree desperately.
"Trolls," Kili confirmed.
At that moment another massive figure moved its way through the woods towards the clearing, clutching two squealing horses under its arms.
"He's got Myrtle and Minty! I think they're going to eat them, we have to do something," Bilbo shrieked, his voice almost reaching hysteria. Nimroel, however, was focused on the brute's slow, clumsy movements. She could hear their gravely conversation up ahead and she felt her stomach tighten in anticipation. She returned to the conversation beside her to hear Fili instructing Bilbo on different owl hootings before he was ushered over the log.
"Wait," she whispered fiercely, jumping over the log after the hobbit. Her mind buzzed with fury at the two dwarf princes. How can then send him out here? He doesn't even have a sword. However Nimroel held her tongue knowing they would never listen to her. Bilbo halted his muttering about brown and barn owls when he heard her call after him.
"You go to the right and I will go to the left," Nimroel thought wildly, uncertain of how to instruct the hobbit but knowing he was looking to her for guidance. "We'll both work our way over to where the ponies are and cut them free."
"Y-y-yes," Bilbo stuttered, nodding to himself more than to her. "Yes, sounds like an excellent plan." He made a motion to go but Nimroel stayed him with her hand.
"Be careful," she said with a smile before dashing off to the left, her movements quick and silent.
She worked her way through the trees, circling the clearing and ever drawing nearer. She could hear the trolls discussing their meal and she grimaced, her stomach curling in distaste.
"Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrow," one of the trolls complained.
"Quit yer' griping. These ain't sheep. These is West Nags!"
"Oh, I don't like `orse. I never `ave. Not enough fat on them."
"Well, it's better than the leathery old farmer. All skin and bone, he was. I'm still picking bits of him out of me teeth," the troll in the apron complained. Nimroel felt her hand tighten around her bow at the comment and suddenly she felt much braver, despite the beasts' massive size and hands that could squash her with ease. She tried to listen for Bilbo, but the trolls were loud and the hobbit's movements were almost imperceptible.
Nimroel attempted to block out the conversation as she approached the pen where the ponies shuffled nervously. Their habits were disgusting and their manners worse than even the Sackville Bagginsses. Peering through the gloom, her perceptive eyesight allowed her to spot Bilbo as he popped out of the bushes right next to the pen. She felt a surge of pride as his success, but the feeling was quickly dampened as she watched him work. He clawed viscously at the ropes, peering over his shoulders often to see if they trolls had noticed him, but they were to absorbed in their argument to have seen the small hobbit. The ropes, which were as thick as Nimroel's thigh's, wouldn't budge and Bilbo had nothing to cut them with. Wait she thought desperately as she picked up speed, moving more carelessly through the woods and around the pen so that she might help Bilbo.
However, the hobbit had taken notice to something and began to move away from the ponies towards the fire. Nimroel watched in horror as Bilbo began to move towards the trolls, his feet hesitant and his eyes wide in fear.
"You fool!" she hissed under her breath, arriving to the spot where Bilbo had been only seconds too late. "Bilbo, come back!" But he couldn't hear her. Nimroel watched in horror as he danced behind the troll's feet, moving to grab the knife that hung at the creature's hip. If she shot the troll it would turn around and see Bilbo, but if she left him there he was certain to get caught out in the open. There had to be a third way.
"Think, Nim, think!" She muttered to herself, crouching next to the pen. Suddenly, an idea came too her and she pulled her hunting knife from her boot. Using all of her strength she cut at the ropes that held the gate closed. She worked as fast as she could, keeping Bilbo in the corner of her eyes as she worked to lose the ponies. Her hope was that the creatures would bolt, distracting the trolls and giving Bilbo a chance to escape. A nagging thought in the back of her mind told her that the plan would reveal her location to the trolls, but she sawed on anyways, pushing her knife further and further into the rope.
It was just as the last strands of the rope fell away that Nimroel heard a great shout from beside her. While she had been focused on getting the gate opened and setting her diversion into motion, Bilbo had lunged for the knife and was now clutched firmly in the grasp of one of the trolls.
"Argh! Blimey! Bert! Bert! Look what's come out of me 'ooter! It's got arms and legs and everything," the troll shouted, it's forehead scrunching in its confusion.
"What is it?" Another troll asked, circling closer until all three were centered around Bilbo.
"I don't know, but I don't like the way it wriggles around!"
Nimroel felt bile begin to rise in her throat and she fought to remain calm. They needed help – there was no way she would be able to fight one troll on her own, let alone three, but she didn't have time to leave Bilbo and go get help. Unsure of what else to do, Nimroel threw the door to the horse pen open and sent the horses running out towards the fire.
Immediately all three trolls stopped discussing Bilbo and focused their meager brainpower on the ponies as they galloped past them. The troll holding Bilbo threw the hobbit to the ground where he smacked the ground with an uncomfortable crunch.
"Bilbo! Over here!" She called as loud as she dared. To her horror, one of the trolls turned in her direction and began lumbering over to the pen to locate the source of the call. In the meantime, the other two trolls had returned their focus Bilbo; all the ponies had escaped in the direction of the dwarves. Nimroel crept low to the ground around the horse pen, her eyes focused on the large, lumbering troll that was searching for her while she listened to the trolls discussing her friend.
"What are you then? An oversized squirrel?" One of them asked.
"I'm a burglar- uhh, Hobbit," Bilbo whimpered.
"Can we cook `im?"
"He wouldn't make more than a mouthful, not when he's skinned and boned!" One of the trolls poking and prodding Bilbo pointed out. By this time Nimroel had safely made it around the pen to the edge of the trees.
"Perhaps there's more Burglar-Hobbits around these parts. Might be enough for a pie."
"I think there's another over this away," the troll following Nimroel shouted and the other two trolls hooted with glee.
"Are there any more of you little fellas `iding where you shouldn't?" They questioned the squeaking hobbit. At that moment the troll following Nimroel caught sight of her honey colored curls and let out a shriek of delight.
"Aye there's more of 'em!" He shouted, dashing forward. Nimroel turned and leapt into the trees, twisting and turning around the trunks. She knew the brute would not be able to turn quickly, and so after running leading him in several circles, she dashed up a tree and pressed herself against the trunk, willing her ragged breaths to fall silent. Below her the troll crashed through the underbrush, cursing loudly the tossing his head left to right looking for her. Finally it lost interest and moved back out into the firelight to help his friends decide what to do with Bilbo.
It was just as the third troll was rejoining his friends that it happened. Leaping from the woods Kili landed with a shout just inside the clearing, brandishing his sword.
"Drop him," the young prince howled. The trolls stared in shock at the young dwarf.
"You what?" One of the brutes asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion.
"I said drop him," Kili repeated, and then with a yell he charged forward brandishing his sword over his head. Behind him, out of the trees the entire company appeared, all waving their weapons and giving their greatest battle cries. The dwarves danced around the trolls feet, moving with speed Nimroel did not know was possible and cutting and jabbing at their ankles. Nimroel wasted no time and ran out along a sturdy branch until it began to dip under her feet, where she crouched and fired arrows at the trolls. Although they did little harm, with each hit the creatures hissed or howled, feeling the sharp sting of her arrows as they bit into their skin.
And then, as soon as it had begun, it was over. One of the trolls dangled a limp Bilbo over the fire and the dwarves were forced to throw down their weapons. Nimroel shuddered at the furious glare Thorin sent Bilbo and she retreated back into the safety of the trees.
As the dwarves were all stuffed into bags, Nimroel tried to consider ways to defeat the trolls on her own. She knew that she could never fight them off alone, but without the ponies she was unsure how to divert their attention long enough to free the dwarves. Arrows would do nothing against their thick hide, nor would her hunting knife. As she crouched in the branches she racked her brain, attempting to remember everything she had read about trolls. Their only soft spots were under their arms and behind their ears. They were unintelligent and slow and hid in caves during the day. They hide in caves... she thought, and with a shock she clapped her hand over her mouth. Trolls turn to stone in sunlight Nimroel remembered. All she needed to do was buy time. By the time she had reached this conclusion, several dwarves were tied to a spit and twisting over the fire and the trolls were discussing how best to prepare them.
"They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage," the one turning the spit suggested. Several groans echoes from the dwarves and had she not been horrified at the idea she would have chuckled.
"Is this really necessary?" Dori moaned.
"Ooh, that does sound quite nice," another troll admitted.
"Untie us, you monsters!" Oin shouted, wriggling to get free on the spit to no avail.
"Never mind the seasoning; we ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away, so let's get a move on. I don't fancy being turned to stone," the troll wearing the apron shouted. Her thoughts being confirmed, Nimroel began to crawl out along the branch and restring her bow. Down below, Bilbo too seemed to have had an idea and he squirmed his way to his feet.
"Wait! You are making a terrible mistake," Bilbo shouted, and Nimroel felt her face break into a large smile. He too had caught on to what must happen. "Uh, I meant with the, uh, with, uh, with the seasoning," Bilbo continued. This seed to catch the troll's attention and they halted their conversation.
"What about the seasoning?" One of them demanded. Nimroel notched her arrow and pulled it back to her cheek.
"Well have you smelt them? You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up," he said, shaking his head in a very knowledgeable manner. Nimroel let out a small chuckle and released her arrow. It whizzed through the air and landed with a slight thunk directly between the shoulder blades of one of the trolls. Not wasting any time, Nimroel scurried back into the safety of her tree before turning to watch what was happening. For several minutes the trolls laughed while their friend danced around, unable to reach the arrow imbedded in his skin. Of the dwarves in the bags, Nimroel saw Kili glancing into the treetops. He must have recognized her arrow. Finally, when they were tired of watching their friend hop about in anger, they yanked out her arrow and tossed it into the fire, returning their attention to Bilbo.
"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" A troll demanded, but he was silenced by his companion.
"Shut up, and let it talk."
"Uh, th-the secret to cooking dwarf is, um—" Bilbo spluttered.
"Yes? Come on."
"It's, uh—"
"Tell us the secret."
"Ye-yes, I'm telling you, the secret is … to skin them first!"
"Oh you idiot," Nimroel whispered to herself, sending the hobbit a furious glance from up above while the dwarves screamed angrily at the hobbit. Not waiting to see what the trolls did she crawled back down the branch and released another arrow, this time striking a different troll on his neck. Blackish blue blood spurted from the wound and this time he ripped the arrow from his neck, howling with rage.
"We didn' catch all these things," the troll shouted, waving the arrow above his head as proof. The three trolls stepped away from the fire and began to scan the edge of the clearing, never bothering to search in the trees. Down below Kili's eyes were fixed on her tree and she slid out just far enough to show her face before sinking into the shadow once more. The dwarf prince gave her a slight nod before leaning over and whispering into Thorin's ear, who turned to stare at her tree as well.
When the trolls finally gave up their search for her, they returned to the spit, one calling for his filleting knife. Peering up through the leaves, Nimroel saw that the sky had lightened immensely and she began to feel a surge of hope. Only a little longer. Below her, she heard a slight rustle and saw a gray cloak whip through the underbrush below her. Gandalf had returned to them.
"What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all."
"`e's right! Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf! Nice and crunchy," another troll concurred, and Nimroel drew another arrow. The biggest troll swiped at Bomber and dangled him high in the air until his face had turned beet red.
"Not—not that one, he—he's infected!" Bilbo shouted desperately and the troll lowered Bomber a fraction of an inch.
"You what?"
"Yeah, He's got worms in his … tubes." Again Nimroel released an arrow, striking the third troll behind the knee. The animal shouted in fury and once again they all paused to search for her in the woods. Nimroel watched their search, biting her lip and glancing up at the sky which was not changing colors fast enough for her liking.
"In fact they all have, they're infested with parasites. It's a terrible business; I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't," Bilbo warned, taking on his most professional voice.
"Parasites, did he say parasites?" Oin asked, disgusted.
"We don't have parasites! You have parasites!" Kili shouted, offense written clearly across his face. The rest of the dwarves joined in, furious that their cleanliness had been insulted until Thorin kicked Kili in the head and they all fell silent.
"Mine are the biggest parasites, I've got huge parasites!" The youngest prince shouted, finally understanding what was happening.
"We're riddled," Nori agreed.
"Yes, I'm riddled."
Nimroel snuck out along her branch once more, this time shooting all three trolls with three rapid, consecutive shots. Howling in pain, the trolls did not know whether to search for her or listen to the dwarves as they shouted about their parasites. And suddenly, above all the din one voice rang loudly.
"The dawn will take you all!" Gandalf cried, and with a tremendous crack he split wide the boulder he stood upon and streams of sunlight shot through. With shrieks the troll's lifted their hands, which was the last thing they ever did before their arms ceased to be anything but stone and they were frozen solid in rock.
Leaping down from her hiding spot, Nimroel scampered across the clearing and helped cut the dwarves free along with Gandalf. They moaned and groaned and not one of them thanked her, but she smiled despite their negativity, happy that her plan had worked.
Off to the side, Thorin and Gandalf were talking, their voiced getting louder and louder.
"No thanks to your burglar," Thorin snapped, and then to her dismay he turned and pointed a finger at her. "And you? What were you doing? You were free the whole time. Why did you not come untie us?" He demanded, his voice quaking with anger. Nimroel hung her head. She knew that she should explain her plan, but could not find the words to defend herself. Shaking his head in disgust, Thorin followed Gandalf down into the trolls cave, leaving Nimroel standing alone.
"You were stalling weren't you?" A voice asked from behind her. Turning, Nimroel saw Kili leaning against the broken boulder counting his arrows.
"Yes, I could not have taken on those trolls on my own and I was frightened that they would see me if I attempted to untie you."
"You did well. You're lucky Bilbo thought of the same thing," he stated, giving her a serious look as he pulled his quiver over his head. Nimroel remained silent, unsure of how to respond to his compliment.
At that moment, Gandalf returned out of the gloom, bearing the terrible stench of the trolls and holding something in his hands.
"This is for you, Nimroel," he said, placing the long, silver item in her hand. Nimroel's eyes widened as she recognized it to be a blade, one that was finely wrought and extremely old.
"This is an old elvish blade, though an insignificant one, it will serve you well in close combat," Gandalf advised, and Nimroel thanked him, strapping the formidable weapon onto her belt.
