They marched on and on and on…Later, Naya found herself walking with Bofur. "Does that axe in Bifur's head bother him? It seems an odd thing for someone to be comfortable with."
"Well, aside from the fact that he can no longer use Common Speech, it does cause him pain. When he was first injured there was nothing they could do. He is lucky just to be alive." He paused, "We were actually wondering if you might be able to help at all." He looked at her hopefully.
"Hmm. I don't know. It looks like an old injury and those are always tougher. Plus it is an axe….in his head… It would be an interesting challenge. I couldn't invest a lot of energy in it at this point unless you want to wait while I sleep it off for a day or two! I will take a look at the next rest."
When they stopped, Bofur called his cousin over. "Naya has agreed to take a look. She won't make any promises."
Naya stood in front of the dwarf. She could see just from the surface that part of the problem was that the skull had not healed tightly to the axe. When it wobbled, it must cause pain. "I will need to touch you, is that alright?" Bifur nodded eagerly. She put one hand on either side of the axe and closed her eyes. 'Looking' through solid bone was harder than just skin, but she could see that the axe was firmly embedded in his brain. There would be no removal today and probably never! She could see that there was a dense area trapped just under the edge of the blade. She might be able to 'push' that away. It may or may not affect his speech. The skull could definitely be encouraged to grow a bit tighter. That would help the pain. She opened her eyes.
"I can help with the pain at least short term. As active as you are, it will only last a few months. If I'm still around, I can always repeat the treatment. Do you want me to continue?" She made no mention of his speech. She didn't want to get his hopes up. Bifur again nodded eagerly. "Very well, it shouldn't hurt much, if at all."
Naya put her hands back and again closed her eyes. She stimulated the cells around the axe to close the wound a bit tighter. Then she 'pushed' the little dark patch away from the axe. It was a risky thing to try, but she did not think it would cause further damage, and Bifur might get lucky with some speech!
She opened her eyes. "Does that feel any better? It will take awhile to take full effect." Bifur stared at her without answering at first. Then, to everyone's amazement, he said, "Much better...thank you," in rusty but clear Common Speech! Bofur slapped Naya on the back in joy. "You did it! You fixed him!"
"Not completely, I don't think he will ever regain all his speech, but he should be able to make himself understood now." She noticed that the other dwarves had gathered around while she worked. All were smiling except for Gloin. He still had a fierce frown on his face. Still in the "Dislikes Naya" column. Dwalin, however, appeared to be smiling ever so slightly.
March, march, march on and on and on. Gloomy, damp, fetid Mirkwood. On this day, she and Thorin's 'one thing' conversation took on a serious tone. Naya started. "Did I ever tell you that I sometimes have visions?"
"Gandalf said your father mentioned them, but there were no details. What do you see?" Thorin was intrigued by this topic.
"It depends. Usually it involves some type of danger. I warned my brothers all the time about injuries they would face if they did something. Mostly, they ignored me, but eventually after being right often enough, they learned to be cautious." Naya remembered how her brothers laughed…at first.
"What are they like? How do you tell what they mean?"
Naya paused. "Most of them are dreams. The sooner the event is going to happen, the clearer they are. Unless it's something really horrible. (She thought of Balin and Moria.) Sometimes I only have one, but the more complicated ones come over and over. The more often I have a vision, the easier it is to figure out. Some of them are like being at the event. I just stand there and watch the action. Then I try to decide what I can change get a different result. Does that make any sense?"
"A little. Is there always something to change? I mean, are any of them just pleasant foreknowledge of a nice event?" Now Thorin wondered if he made any sense.
"No, they are always about bad things and it seems to be a map for things that can be altered. I have never had one that didn't have a better outcome if the subject only listened to my instructions." Naya was quite proud of her record. She had saved her brothers many times after they began to heed her words.
"Well, that is fascinating. I will have to remember to always listen to you! Now, about me…" He grew sad and serious. "You know about my father and grandfather, but did you know I had a brother?"
Naya sensed that this was not going to be a fun conversation. "No, I never heard anyone talk of a brother. What was his name?"
"Frerin. My little brother. He was Fili and Kili rolled into one! Always up for fun and games. Daring and bold. I think sometimes he acted as he did in order to get more attention. Since I was Thrain's heir, I think Frerin felt a bit left out. He was an excellent hunter and a good warrior." Naya reached over and took his hand.
"What happened? Erebor?"
"No, he survived Erebor. All my family did, amazingly. No, he fell at Azanulbizar, like so many others. I found him near what was left of my grandfather. I like to think he died trying to save Thror from Azog. Just another reason to hate orcs." Thorin's voice was low and sad. He squeezed Naya's soft hand. "But we must go on, no matter our losses."
"I'm so sorry Thorin. Life seems to have dealt your family a very bad hand. Perhaps this quest will change that and you will regain what you have lost."
"Perhaps." Thorin didn't sound too hopeful.
They came to the river her father had warned them about. "Don't let the water get on your skin. It will put you to sleep!" So, of course, the only one of the company to get wet was Bombur. They would now have to lug his carcass along until he woke up.
After half a day of this, everyone was tired. Naya, sitting by Thorin slapped her head and said "Idiot!"
Thorin looked offended. "What did I do?"
"Nothing, I'm the idiot. When we were children and shot a deer that was too big to carry, we used to build what we called a 'drag'. It made it much easier to get the deer home. We should try it with Bombur." She took a stick and drew a picture in the dirt. "It's very simple. Just two branches with a platform built across them. One dwarf pulls on each branch and the other end of the branch drags behind on the ground. We will need a bigger one for Bombur than for a deer, but if it works, two dwarves should be able to pull him versus four having to carry. And it should be easier."
Dwalin looked skeptical. "How can that be? He's still the same weight as before."
"I can't explain it, I just know that it worked. It's worth trying. You will wear yourselves out carrying him."
Thorin stood. "Come Dwalin. I never knew you to turn your back on a challenge. Let's cut some branches!"
It didn't take them long to find the material for the drag. They used smaller branches to make a platform and laid Bombur's cloak across to help support his weight. The dwarves heaved him onto the drag. Dwalin and Bifur picked up the two ends and put them over their shoulders. They leaned in and pulled forward. To their amazement, Bombur's bulk slid across the forest floor! They had to be careful not to get snagged on tree roots, but this was much easier than carrying his fat fanny!
Dwalin turned to Naya. "I offer my apologies. You are absolutely correct. This is much easier. Thank you."
Naya smiled at him. Move Dwalin closer to the 'Likes Naya' group. She had just scored some points!
Even with Bombur on the drag, progress remained slow. Their food was getting low and everyone was hungry. Valinaya had shown the dwarves and Bilbo how to find water captured in plant leaves. It was not nearly enough, but it was better than nothing. She was not sure what they could safely eat so made no recommendations.
Late one afternoon, they heard horns blowing in the distance. "What's that?" she asked. Beside her Thorin snarled, "Elves. It must be elves hunting. No one else would be in this forest."
"Elves!" she said excitedly. "Surely they would help us. Why don't we try to meet up with them!"
She was shocked when Thorin turned on her with a look of anger on his face. "Don't fall for the idea that elves are always kind and helpful. They are just as likely to leave you to die. Especially Wood Elves. I would not trust them within an inch of my life."
"But…but, elves aren't like that."
"And how would you know? Listening to stories in your forest? You need to be out in the real world before you can make statements like that. I know from experience that they will abandon you." Every inch of his body was tight with rage and anger. She had never seen him like this. She realized now she was seeing the Thorin that he had warned her about back at her cottage. He scared her. "What makes you say that? I need to know!"
"EREBOR," he yelled. "EREBOR taught me that!" He strode back and forth with quick steps of anger.
When he could finally speak, he told her how after the dragon had chased them out of Erebor, the surviving dwarves had started to march, somewhat aimlessly away from the mountain. They had little or no food, only the clothes they were wearing and not much else. Finally, in the distance, they saw what appeared to be an army of elves high upon a bluff. They waved and screamed at them to help them. "I have a vivid memory of Thranduil, their king, staring down and then turning away. They had not come to help, they had come to loot. When they saw there was no hope of treasure, they left. Never tried to see what we might need, never offered even a crust of bread or a night's shelter. I don't know how many died because of them. We had many injured that might have been saved if someone could have tended to their wounds. I will never forgive them, never. And I will never trust them!"
Naya was silent. "I didn't know. I always thought elves were these wonderful people who helped."
Thorin put his arm around her. "I'm sorry I yelled. But you need to learn that not everything is sweetness and light in the world."
"You think I don't know that? I wouldn't have left my home if all was sweetness and light. I just didn't realize elves were as bad as everyone else. That is so sad. Another blot on the world."
Thorin felt a little ashamed at destroying her vision of elves. "Well, Elrond in Rivendell did assist us with our map, and our supplies. So, they aren't all bad. Wood elves are another story. I will never trust them."
"Never is a very long time, Thorin. Never say 'never'."
"When it comes to Wood elves, I feel pretty confident saying 'never'" was the reply.
The drag is really a travois, but since there is no French in Middle Earth, I just called it a drag.