Thorin looked at the crowd of men before him. Dwalin had managed to get probably thirty dwarves at this early hour. Times were hard and every bit of manual labor and money were something to be prized. The fact that these men had given up their opportunity to work today touched Thorin's heart.

"Everyone is well aware of what has happened to my nephew. The man we are in search of today is the assassin. Some of you may know him as Nolan Dyre, the man who has been working in the forge." Slow murmurings began throughout the crowd. They were truly astonished that a man who had seemed so harmless could be the man they were about to hunt down. "He is highly skilled with making, as well as using weapons. Be cautious and prepared for attacks of all kinds at all times. I do not know the full range of skill this mad-man possesses, but I do know that it is wide.

"I will be leading a group of men north. Dwalin is taking a group of men south. Dori will be leading a team west, and Gloin will be leading a team east. There will also be a team that will be standing guard throughout the mountain. Be on the look-out for anything that may give a clue as to where he is: footprints, recent camps, torn pieces of clothing. We do not know if he is on horseback or foot. We shall return tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on what we find. If anything is found, call for a raven and send forth a message to each team leader."

Thorin took a breath and eyed the crowd before him once more. "Thank you for your willingness and time. I know this is not the most appropriate of times to call you from your work, but I feel as though now is the only time to begin. We cannot allow this monster to terrorize those of Middle Earth any longer. He will be found and severely punished, of that I have no doubt. May Mahal be with you all. Now let us be off!"

Thorin was surprised at the thunderous battle cry that came from the small group. Weapons were raised as if in battle and ponies startled all around at the raucous. But, the dwarves before him were a hearty group and more than willing to hunt down the beast of a dwarf who had attempted murder upon their prince and would possibly cause more terror to Middle Earth. Thorin was well-pleased.

Thorin nodded to Dwalin who stood beside him. "Be swift. Be cautious."

Dwalin clapped him on the back then turned to gather his group. Thorin mounted his pony and counted six dwarves. It was smaller than he would have liked, but it was enough to get the job done.

"All right men, let's ride!"


Fili must have dozed off after playing what had seemed like a thousand rounds of stone, parchment, dual-blades because when he next woke it was because Kili was shaking him and calling his name rather frantically.

"What is it?" he asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Someone is outside." Kili said, his voice rising.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. I have listened closely since you decided to sleep. There is someone outside."

Of course Kili had stayed awake. He was too anxious to sleep or even blink.

Fili listened for a moment, trying to hear anything that may give an indication as to who was outside their home. Then he heard footsteps, but of a pony, not a dwarf. He listened even more closely and discovered that there was more than one.

"Ponies." He whispered.

Kili leaned against the wall and tried to calm his breathing. They both startled at the knocking of the door. Fili withdrew his blade and pressed an ear against the hidden door in the floor. He heard a murmur of voices then stopped as he heard the familiar call.

Two barn owl hoots, two knocks, one brown owl hoot, three knocks.

Fili released the breath he had not known he was holding and tried to send a small smile to Kili. Kili sat with his knees to his chest, knife in hand, and eyes wide and alert. His shaking stopped upon hearing the call, but he made no effort to return his brother's smile.

Fili listened as the front door was opened and then as Thorin's deep voice called quietly for his two nephews. When he was sure his uncle was nearby, Fili tapped twice on the floor- or ceiling above Thorin- and began to pull the string. He opened the trapdoor slowly and allowed the staircase to unfold. He saw a rough hand reach up and take hold of the rickety steps and held them in place.

Fili climbed down the stairs and met his Uncle at the bottom.

"Are you all right?" Fili asked.

"Yes, of course. I am in charge of checking the northern half and wanted to make sure you two were all right in passing. I stopped to gather some things for the men." Thorin looked up and Fili turned to see what had caught his uncle's attention. Kili had come to the opening.

"Kili, come here, please."

Kili sheathed his knife and did as his uncle commanded. Kili looked even smaller than he normally did beside his Uncle- vulnerable. Fili felt a surge of protection sweep through his veins even stronger.

Thorin clapped a strong hand on Kili's shoulder. "Kili, look at me."

Kili looked up and tried to hide the fear in his eyes. "I don't want him to hurt you, too," he whispered.

Fili leaned heavily against the wall. Thorin showed no indication that he had heard Kili's words, but Fili did see his mouth twitch ever so slightly.

"Kili, he will not so much as touch me. I will not allow it. And he is never going to touch you or any other being in Middle Earth again. Not even the elves." Thorin added with a little disgust.

Fili snorted in laughter at that last admission. Kili did not find the humor in it. Instead he wrapped his arms around his uncle's waist and waited patiently until Thorin returned the embrace. He did and Kili had never felt safer in his entire life.

Thorin pushed himself away and held Kili at arm's length. He no longer looked like the growing warrior-prince. He looked like a scared dwarfling. "I do not think hiding in the attic is completely necessary. I imagine it is rather cold up there." Thorin looked at his nephews for an answer, but none came, so he continued. "That being said, I believe if you stay well-hidden down here, you shall be safe. If something would happen, and I truly believe nothing shall, then you should probably seek shelter in the attic. I, myself, was rather surprised to see the ladder coming down. It was very well hidden." He looked over Kili's shoulder and grinned at Fili. Fili returned the grin.

"Keep your weapons close and avoid the windows. I will return as quickly as possible. My men are waiting for me outside the barn."

And with that Thorin left.

Kili looked expectantly to his brother at the shutting and locking of the door. "What do we do now?"

Fili looked at the stairs and debated upon hoisting them back into the ceiling. He decided against it thinking that it would save time in the case of an emergency. He shoved himself off the wall and walked toward the kitchen.

"Now we wait."


Thorin and his group had been riding for five hours and nothing had been found. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that the beast they were in pursuit of was not headed in this direction, but still he did not stop. He knew his men were needing a rest, as well as the ponies, and decided that at the next clearing, they would make camp for a short time.

Something in the back of his mind also twitched with- well Thorin wasn't quite sure what it was exactly. Guilt? Regret? Maybe it was just nerves? But whatever it was, it was pounding against his conscience hard. He berated himself for not considering it earlier, but now it was consuming his thoughts.

Why hadn't he sent someone to stay with Fili and Kili? Why hadn't he sent his nephews to someone?

Balin would have been a well enough option. The old scholar was aging but could still wield a sword as mightily as he could a pen. He could have sent them with Bofur, though the longer he thought about it, Thorin decided Bofur wasn't much of supervision. Oin may have been busy, but if he wasn't, he would have kept the boys in line. Kili also could have used a check-up. But, it was too late now. The decision had been made and there was nothing he could do about it.

"We make camp- fifteen minutes. Then, we mount up and ride on." Thorin announced from his pony.

A murmur of assent came from the small group and soon dwarves were dismounting and ponies were being watered. Thorin fed and watered his pony, but found he had little appetite himself and passed upon the offer of jerky from Gil.

"When this is all over, come to the tavern and drinks will be on the house!" Gil announced, trying to break the sullen mood of the group.

"Free ale- count me in!" one man- Thorin learned his name was Bregg- answered.

Thorin looked at his friend and thanked him for joining him on this journey.

Gil waved it off as nothing. "Don't mention it. You know that's what friends are for. Besides, Lyse would sooner chop my head off if I didn't do something to bring justice for young Kili."

Thorin chuckled, the deep sound resonated from his throat but held no humor. "I highly doubt that, but I appreciate it all the same. You and your wife have been too good to my nephews."

Gil patted his king and friend on the arm and started up a conversation with one of the men beside him.

After the allotted time was spent, the group remounted their ponies and went on their way. They rode until night had encompassed the forest around them. The bright moon above did little to aid their way, so they decided to make camp and head back to the mountain at day break.

Gil volunteered to keep first watch. Thorin spread his bedroll on the ground and attempted to warm himself. The bitter winter temperature was seeping into his bones. He tried relentlessly to calm his thoughts enough to sleep, but they would not. Something inside Thorin stirred and set his nerves on end. He needed to get home.


"Fili, do you think Uncle remembered to close the barn doors?"

"Yes," Fili answered without looking up from the book he was reading.

"And do you believe he would have any reason to let Millie out of her stall?" Kili questioned.

"No. I would think not."

"Then why is Millie walking around outside?" Kili whispered.

Fili closed the book and quickly stood. He walked over to where Kili was and looked out the window. There in the front yard, neighing nervously and kicking about, was Kili's pony.

"Attic, now!" Fili demanded as he withdrew his dagger and crawled to the windowsill.

Kili stopped at the doorway after realizing his brother was not following him. "What are you doing?"

Fili did not answer. He held up a finger to his lips, indicating for Kili to be quiet, and pressed himself as firmly as possible against the wall. He hoped that the windowsill overhang and the shadows of the night would be enough to hide him. Kili crouched in the doorway, ready to spring into action. He refused to leave the room for fear that Fili would need him.

Fili listened as Millie's nervous neighing suddenly stopped. He hoped with everything in him that she had simply found nothing to be afraid of and wasn't in fact lying dead in the yard. He heard a small gasp from across the room and realized that Kili had heard the sudden quietness, too.

A shadow passed by the window. Fili held his breath and refused to move. He hoped Kili was doing the same, but forced himself not to check for fear that the simple action of moving his eyes would be enough to give away his position. After what felt like hours but was in reality only a few short seconds, the shadow moved. Fili allowed himself to breathe and waited a few more minutes before moving.

When he was satisfied that the coast was clear, he crawled over to Kili and laid a hand on one of his shaking shoulders. He crawled into the hallway and around the corner. Kili followed behind. Fili glanced behind his brother to check the window and seeing that nothing was there, he motioned for Kili to climb up the stairs to the attic. To his surprise, Kili eagerly did as told and was soon reaching down his hand to assist his brother.

The sound of shattering glass broke through the eerie quiet of the dark house as Fili closed the ceiling. He quickly clamped a hand over Kili's mouth, and the two brothers sat stock-still with their weapons in hand.

Fili was beginning to think that no one had entered the house, but had only broken a window to scare them, until he heard the distinct sound of quiet footsteps in the hallway below them. Beside him, Kili trembled and held a death grip on the hilt of his knife.

Both brothers could not stifle a surprised yelp at the sudden pounding on the ceiling beneath them.

"Knock, knock!" a deep voice called.

Both brothers refused to answer, though they knew their location was known.

"I believe the correct response is, 'Who's there?'"

A blade appeared through the rotted wood and missed Fili's foot by mere inches. He rolled away from the door frame and to the back wall. Kili joined him. They both frantically searched the room for something that would hinder the mad man's entrance, but found nothing except blankets and cardboard boxes.

The blankets though, Fili thought he may be able to use. He quickly gathered the largest blanket and held it, unfolded, before him. Kili looked at him skeptically but said nothing.

The blade finally had the intended effect and suddenly the hidden door fell through and the stairs came down. Fili had hoped the madman would be caught off guard by the stairs and that they would hinder him, but to his dismay, he soon saw a rough hand reach up and grab the top step for support.

When the man was standing before him, Fili charged upon him and threw the blanket over his head. The man stumbled and was caught off guard by the sudden obstacle, but he was much larger than Fili and soon disentangled himself. During this time though, the brothers had jumped to the hallway below.

Fili pushed a hand onto Kili's back and spurred him forward. Then he was suddenly flying through the air as some great force picked him up by his tunic and threw him in the opposite direction. He landed heavily against the wall and fell to the floor.

He heard his brother scream his name, but he could not form coherent thoughts enough to respond. A figure appeared before him where he lay dazed on the floor. He realized that it was the crazed dwarf and he had a death grip on Kili's neck.

"I see I did not fulfill my duties the first time we met, little prince. It is a shame that we should have to do this again. And now, we have an audience." He sneered.

Fili tried feebly to push himself up off the floor, but found he could not move.

"Kee… Kee…" he wheezed.

"Let's try this again," Nolan smiled and withdrew what Fili recognized as Kili's hunting knife.

Fili watched in horror as the knife made a path toward his little brother's neck, but then he felt a swift kick to the side of his head, and the world went dark around him.


Hi! Thank you sooo much for reading along so far! You do not know how much I appreciate hearing from y'all. I really pay attention to the tips and suggestions and reviews you offer and try to use them wisely. So, thanks again for everything! And keep the reviews coming :)