Chapter Ten
Bilbo awoke as the babies started to cry later that night. He groaned, before getting up and feeding them. Thorin still hadn't returned and no doubt was still with the builders trying to straiter out the tunnels after the collapse. Bilbo changed both babies, before depositing them into the two slings, hanging one across his front and the other on his back. Now that he was awake he didn't want to go back to sleep, not until Thorin could be beside him. He thought of the children of the minors that had been injured and opened the door. He was surprised to find that the same guards were on duty as before, trying to avoid sleep, as was plain when they jerked awake when the door opened.
"The elevators are clogged with people, the next shift of guards can't come through." Gor explained tiredly and Bilbo smiled at the other guard who he didn't know.
"I don't really want to go back to sleep yet, not with Thorin talking with the builders, I'm going to do a bit of baking. I could also brew some tea for you if you like."
"Alright." Gor agreed and the other guard nodded, Bilbo smiled at them both, before going into the kitchen. He was glad that he had a lot of different ingredients. He spent the next several hours baking sweet bread, making enough for a small army and taking up nearly all of his pans as he did so.
"What are you baking all of this for?" The guard asked and Bilbo smiled.
"For the families of the minors, I thought they could use a bit of a treat, after what happened." Bilbo said and Gor smiled at him.
"You are very kind." he said and Bilbo grinned in return, before packaging up the various loaves, muffins and sweet pans full of the bread. He made small packages of baked goods and continued the baking all over again after the first batch was done. By the time he baked enough, his hair was full of flour and he was grinning like a loon. He finished the baking and frowned. "I'm not sure of how we're supposed to get these down there." He admitted and the guards laughed.
"I have some friends that might be able to help, once the elevators clear a bit more." Gor offered and Bilbo nodded.
"Thank you." Bilbo said and smiled at the dwarf, before yawning. "I think I could sleep now, my head is a bit clearer." He said and walked back to the bedroom. He laid the babies back in their cradle and went back to the bed. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but the images of the hurt dwarves wouldn't leave his mind, he knew that there was nothing he could do, but he hated that others were suffering below. He wished Thorin could be beside him and longed for Thorin to comfort him, but Thorin was dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy and Bilbo couldn't sleep properly without knowing that he was completely safe. Thinking that the tunnels wouldn't collapse again was one thing, them not collapsing again was something again. Having nothing to do, he decided to start on the baby blanket, he liked the easy repetitive motion and had done about half, by the time Thorin returned home. The dwarf tracked in rock dust and was plainly exhausted. "How is it going?" Bilbo asked.
"Fifteen dead and another four might join them. We've cleared out some of the tunnel, before stopping for the day and bracing it with wooden beams."
"Fifteen dead?" Bilbo asked and Thorin nodded, it was plain that he was too tired to talk much more.
"Do you want help getting undressed?" Bilbo asked, there were fifteen dead already, fifteen people that would never see their families again. It was hard to hear and harder still to see how the deaths weighed on Thorin.
"I could use it." Thorin replied and Bilbo helped him unbutton his shirt, gently taking it from his shoulders. Thorin took off his pants and sighed. "I'm too tired to wash."
"That's fine, don't worry about the bed, not with everything that's going on." Bilbo said. "Though sleeping with bits of rock in your hair and that dust can't be very comfortable, let me help you get it out first, alright?" Bilbo asked and Thorin nodded, he bent forward and Bilbo removed pieces of dirt from his hair, before running his hands through it and freeing it from as much of the dust as possible. He then climbed into bed, Thorin laid down and put his arms around Bilbo, falling asleep instantly. It was plain that Thorin had worked himself to exhaustion. Bilbo looked at Thorin as he slept, trying to calm himself after what had happened. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but still the faces of the injured dwarves haunted him. He couldn't rest, not until he did something for the families of those that had been lost. In the hobbit, portraits were drawn after a person died, so the family would have something to remember them by. Bilbo knew what he was about to do, was one of the hardest things he had done in his life, but he needed to do it. He used the breast pump and bottles they had gotten what seemed like a lifetime ago and left the bottles on the desk in case the babies woke and needed to eat. He then took a sketchbook and some paper and his charcoal pencils. The guards on duty stared at him, as he passed. "I'm going back down, I need to do something, anything and I can't sleep properly until I do." Bilbo said and the dwarves nodded.
Bilbo found that the elevator had been locked on their level, in case Thorin needed it again he imagined. He took the elevator down with the other guards to the lower levels. He saw the bodies and turned to one of the healers. "I want to make drawings of those that died for their families, its a tradition in the Shire." The healer couldn't really say anything, as Bilbo was Thorin's consort and Bilbo knew that. One by one, he pieced together mangled faces and made them whole again. He drew some somber and some joyful according to the lines on their faces. The hardest to draw was a young dwarf, who barely looked old enough to be with the builders. His life should have just begun, but instead he was lying under the white sheet. He drew his face, turned towards the morning light a look of wonder in his eyes, staring out into the distance. He covered the shroud once more and put away his pencils, turning to the healer he handed him the drawings. "Can you see that these get to the families?" He asked, his eyes filling with tears.
"Of course." The healer said and his own eyes glistened slightly, before he turned away. "These are very good."
"Thank you, I just wanted to give their families something to remember them by. Its not much, but its all I can do." Bilbo said and the healer nodded.
"I wish that wounds of the spirit, would close as easily as wounds of the flesh." The healer said and sighed. "You captured their likeness well, I work for the builder's hall and I've seen these men often."
"I studied their faces and how they lined with age and experience." Bilbo replied and shrugged. "I also baked sweet bread, I wish I could do more."
"As do I." The healer said. "You need to get some rest, I could give you a sleeping tonic, if you find you can't get your mind off of...the events of today."
"That would be appreciated." Bilbo said and the healer nodded, he handed Bilbo a small vial.
"Take a drop of this and you should sleep for four to five hours."
"Is it diluted?" Bilbo asked.
"No, but the dose we give children is one part water, to one drop of the tonic."
"Thank you." Bilbo said, before turning from the healer and walking along the row of the injured. He knew that he would never forget this day. The tunnel was mostly cleared of rubble and Bilbo was surprised at the progress that had been done. He walked along it, for a moment.
"Come back we're not sure its safe yet." Gor warned him,as he approached the last beam. He started back as he heard a creaking above him and ahead, he hurriedly backed up wedging himself against the stone, as the wall in front of him caved in, only one beam holding steady above his head. This tunnel clearly wasn't safe, was his first thought. His second was to look frantically for a light, before realizing that he didn't have one on him. He was in a tiny space and it was dark, as well as cold. He heard people dimly from the other side, the board above him creaked and he was surrounded by stone. Stone which was unyielding and suddenly terrifying. He felt frantically along the ground desperately searching for anything, knowing that there had to be a way out, a way through. His hand met a pickaxe and he swung blindly at the stone ahead of him, a shard came off, the size of his fist. He wasn't built for such labor, but he continued on, he had to get through somehow, he had to hope that the cave in was a shorter distance on this side then the other. He continued to swing blindly, as several rocks tumbled down around him. They struck at him, but he continued on, something in him snapping, alone there in the dark. He screamed, the scream was deep and primal, coming from a place in him he didn't even know he had. He continued to feel for an opening, any opening and continued to hack through the mountain. He wouldn't die like this, under this heap of stone and rock, he wouldn't leave his children without one of their father's. He wouldn't leave Thorin alone, he attacked the rock, chipping through it and leaving rocks scattered behind him. He was mindless, except for one thought, to get out. Just as he felt open air and darted through the small opening, the beam cracked. It didn't matter because he was out of the tunnel, he was on the other side.
The opening was small, he could walk a dozen paces in the dark and reach the end of it, he felt on all sides, but found that there was no way out. He was lucky that he had found his way into the one part of the tunnel which was still structurally sound. Still he was in the dark and alone, it was cold and then he tripped over the body. Someone moaned softly and Bilbo tried to see through the blackness. Hobbit eyes were good for seeing in the dark, but this was more then just dark, it was blacker then anything the hobbit had ever seen. Even Golum's cave had held more light then this small passageway. He felt the other man, trying to find something, anything to help them. The man groaned again, as Bilbo searched through his pockets, he was clearly injured and Bilbo hoped that he had been unconscious. Still the fact that he had remained here, might mean that the air pocket they were in might soon run out of air. He found the dwarf's pocket and a bit of flint He took out the papers and charcoal pencils, lighting them, the brief light was enough to show the cave in around them. The man's lantern was tipped on its side, but was luckily still sound. Bilbo hastily lit it and looked at the man, a boy really and saw that the boy's angle jutted out at an odd angle. He stared at the broken bone for a moment, unsure of what he could do if anything for the boy. The boy's eyes opened and he stared at Bilbo. "Its alright lad, we'll get through this, you'll see."
"My leg, it hurts." The boy said and Bilbo nodded.
"I imagine that it does, do you know where that side of the tunnel leads?" He asked the boy and the boy nodded.
"It goes on for about forty feet, but it will take a while to dig all that out. What happened? where are the others?"
"Most were closer to the entrance when the mines collapsed and they injured but whole." Bilbo replied, he didn't want to tell the boy about those who had died, not while they were in the middle of a cave in. "Do you know how long the light and air will last?"
"Depends on how long I've been here, a space this size can hold one person for three days, but two for only a day and a half, before it gets hard to breath." He replied and Bilbo nodded. "The lamp will hold for a day and a half, if we're lucky."
"Are there any tunnels beside this one, that we might make a passage to?" Bilbo asked and the boy shook his head.
"No, this was a new tunnel that we made to get to a seam that some of the old timers remembered." He said and Bilbo nodded.
"What about the older tunnels?"
"There used to be a tunnel to the other side of this one, but it caved in after the dragon came."
"I see." Bilbo said and sat down. "Well what do you suggest we do?"
"I won't be of much help, no matter what we decide, not with my leg like this." The boy said and Bilbo nodded, he could see the boy was pale and might have the start of a fever.
"I'm not a builder, or a minor like you lad, I haven't ever had to get myself out of such a situation. What would you suggest?"
"Its clear that the passage from the direction you came from, even if its the long way round, it might be easier to try to go towards the cavern. We don't have any bracing beams, which means whatever work we do would be a risk."
"Still its better then waiting here and doing nothing. They aren't likely to reach us in time."
"They aren't, how long have I been down here?"
"Seven hours, by my count." Bilbo said. "I've got a pickaxe and we might be lucky and there might be more pockets such as these." He said and the boy nodded.
"Right, Mahal will protect us, at least that's what my father always says." The boy said and Bilbo smiled.
"I'm going to try to work our way out, you tell me which rocks to go after alright?"
"Its better to start your way at the top and work your way down." The dwarf said. "I'll help where I can, I can at least drag some of the rocks you clear." He said determinedly, Bilbo smiled at him and under the youth's instruction managed to clear the first rock.
"Maybe if we don't try to clear the whole tunnel and only a small passage, we'll stop it from caving in?" Bilbo suggested. "We aren't building a tunnel after all, just trying to get out of here." He said and the boy nodded, together they worked towards clearing out a passageway, some five feet up from the ground. It was hard going and it had to be wider then Bilbo had originally thought to get the rocks through. He didn't know how long he worked, but he fell into a rhythm, with the boy slightly behind him, pushing the rocks back towards the air pocket. Finally after what was hours of work he managed to get through to the other side, the boy followed behind him. They came through to a cavern and Bilbo sat down on the ground exhausted. The boy was worse off, he shivered from the cold and Bilbo felt his forehead, frowning when it was hot to the touch. How the boy had stayed awake was beyond him, but they had managed to make it to the other side. Now they were in an old part of the mines, one that didn't seem to have any tunnels leading to it. He looked around and saw a group of people on the ground, he walked over to him and was glad that they were only asleep. They were most likely minors, as those killed in the cave in had been. He went over to one of the oldest and gently shook his shoulder. The man's eyes snapped open and he stared at Bilbo. He said something in Khudzul and Bilbo shook his head.
"I'm sorry, I only speak common."
"Of course you do, I should be the one apologizing. Have they found a way through, where's the king if your here?"
"I was foolish to trap myself in another collapse, apparently the tunnel that was being used isn't structurally sound. I found a boy in a air pocket, his leg is badly broken."
"I see, well I will try to do something for him." The man said and stood. "None of us here are healers, we were to be the first mining party." He said and laughed. "Apparently they declared the tunnel safe too soon." He added and walked with the hobbit back to the boy. "I think we can set this, using one of the shovels...Too bad we don't have any sleeping tonic to make sure he's out while we set it." Bilbo remembered the sleeping tonic the healer had given him, what seemed like a lifetime ago. He handed it to the old dwarf and he smiled. "excellent, do you have anything else on you?"
"Just the lantern I'm afraid, I wasn't prepared to go exploring the caverns of Erebor." Bilbo said and the dwarf chuckled.
"Very few are their first time out, hello Tir, it would be you that got in to trouble."
"Sorry Overseer, but its not my fault, it seems to find me more then I it." He said and the Overseer laughed.
"I see, well drink some of this and I'll set your leg." He said and the boy nodded, soon he was asleep and the Overseer cracked his leg again in the opposite direction, Bilbo winced but realized that the boy's leg did look straiter, as the Overseer bound it with a shovel. "Since we have to just sit on our hands and I am already awake, would you like to see the mine?" He asked. "I can lower you down on one of the ropes if you like."
"I've never been that curious about mines, but I suppose I should know what my people do." Bilbo replied and the overseer smiled at him.
"I won't let you go very far down, but you can hack and the seam if you like." He said and Bilbo nodded, he followed the dwarf and the Overseer put a belt around his waist, placing the lantern so it hung off of it on one side and a chain hung off on the other. He then handed Bilbo a pickaxe and lowered the hobbit down into the mine. The hobbit stared at the stone, using his feet to propel him forward, as the Overseer called advice from above. Then he felt something, he couldn't explain, rashly he pulled up a second chain that had been stuck into the earth and hooked it to his belt, before down it. He then took a third chain, despite someone calling from above, telling him no doubt to stop. He only went part way down this one, before striking again and again with his pickaxe. He saw it first as a glimmer, so faint that he thought he imagined it, but as he struck one last time, his pickaxe revealed a stone that shone with a vibrant silver light. Unlike the Arkenstone, it was pure silver, it looked as though someone had melted starlight and it felt like pure love and hope, it felt like all he wanted for Thorin and for Erebor, what he wanted the kingdom that was becoming his own to become. He smiled then, taking the stone from the rock, as he was pulled upward.
He settled the stone in his shirt, holding fast to it. Not really hearing the miner that yelled at him, just letting the light and warmth pass through him. "I had to do it, something wanted me down there, I don't know why yet, or what it was, but I will in time." That was a complete and utter lie, he knew why the stone had come to him, it had come to him because it was time. Time for a better Erebor, time for a people that had been broken to become once more. Even if a little hobbit from the Shire had to be the one to make it so. Bilbo smiled then, he knew what he had to do and how he would spend his days. He would spend them in making a better world for his sons to grow up in. Thinking of the babies put a fire in his heart and the stone gave him strength. Yelling a war cry that was worthy of dwarven warriors, the hobbit ran at the wall, hammering at it with his pick axe. The dwarves stared at this fierce little creature, as he preformed a seemingly pointless task, before they rose up and joined him. Gathering what supplies they could, they worked together, until as they reached the air pocket, Bilbo heard the sound of a pickaxe from the other side. "We are here!" He called. "Let us be the ones to shatter our prison!"
"Is that you Bilbo?" Thorin's voice asked from the other side, astonishment clear in it. Bilbo smiled and tried to hand the pickaxe to the Overseer.
"It is you that saved us, it is you that should strike the final blow. We tried many times to free up the tunnel before you came and brought us new hope." Bilbo nodded and hit at the wall with the pickaxe breaking through to the other side and into Thorin's arms. Thorin was laughing and crying at the same time, as he picked Bilbo up and kissed his forehead and ears.
"I thought I would never see you again."
"We should leave these caves my heart." Bilbo said and Thorin nodded, together they walked from the caves and Bilbo spotted his babies, being held by Rinar. He ran over to Fili and Kili, scooping them into his arms and holding him close to him. The dwarves left the tunnel and someone started seeing to the boy's wounds at once, as Bilbo smiled down at his two boys, the love in his eyes shining more brightly then any gem, save the one that was nestled at his breast. The hobbit was a sight to behold, he was covered in rock dust from head to foot and smiling fit to burst.
Fili opened his eyes and looked up at him, his eyes so innocent and trusting. "I'll take care of you my lamb, nothing bad will ever come to you, while I'm here." Bilbo said and kissed the baby's forehead. He yawned then, his eyes closing for a moment of their own accord, before he snapped them open. "How is everyone?" He asked and the healer that was looking after the boy smiled.
"This young one will live, thanks to you and who knows how long it would have been, before we managed to get through to the miners, if we didn't have Thorin and you working to free up the tunnel. The Overseer assures me that you were sent by Mahal and that no earthly being could do what you did."
"I just wanted to be with my boys and Thorin again." Bilbo said and smiled at Thorin.
"How could you do something so dangerous Bilbo? I can't believe that you went into a tunnel that was still being excavated, its a miracle you are alive. "Lets go back home my love, this day has seemed endless."
"I'll ride with you, if that's alright? I find my own bed calls to me and enough folk here are well enough for me to answer." Oin asked and Thorin nodded, together they rode the elevator, back up to the house. The guards ultimately had to rouse Thorin, as he fell asleep holding onto Bilbo. Bilbo however they could not wake and a tired Oin reassured Thorin that the hobbit was simply exhausted. Thorin had Oin help carry the babies, but wouldn't let go of Bilbo for anything. He cradled Bilbo close to him and smiled as the hobbit nestled against him. Even sound asleep, Bilbo knew him. Thorin gently kissed Bilbo's forehead, before walking from the elevator and back to the bed. He found that he was too tired to bother with changing either of them and simply laid Bilbo on the bed, before accepting the babies from Oin.
"You need not walk to your house, if you don't wish to Oin, there are plenty of beds here."
"Thank you Thorin, I will accept your offer." Oin said and smiled at the king, before taking his leave. Thorin sighed, falling on top of the bed and pulling Bilbo into his arms, a moment before he let sleep take him.
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