The rest of the evening passed uneventful, save for the loud snores of Kalvis that did not allow much rest to the convalescent Eoden. By sunrise, they packed their things and departed. Although the weather did not help much, they could not afford any more delays. So they rode under random rains and chilly winds for the next four days, until some civilization came to sight about two miles from them.
All but the wood elf Lisse seemed happy. The forest ended to give way to an entire city of stone and buildings at the skirts of a mountain. And a beautiful city it was.
"At last we get some progress! What place is this according to your maps?" Said Kalvis to Eoden.
"Dale, unless I'm mistaken." He replied with some uncertainty, still a bit numb after his accident.
They continued on horse until they reached the gates, where they asked for a place to spend the day. The thought of warm beds and good food was very appealing to everybody.
"Where are we?" Asked Fariwyn to the guard at the entrance.
"You are at the glorious city of Dale, m'lady!" Responded the man.
"How long until we reach Erebor?" Asked Kalvis, who was the most interested of the entire party because of his sentimental reasons.
"It's right behind us. You see that mountain there? THAT is Erebor. But no one outside of the city walls enters there unless they have an appointment" Said the guard.
"We have an appointment indeed, I am sure the dwarf King will receive us. Now, shall we go on?" Said Fariwyn boldly, knowing they had all the needed evidences to be allowed in.
After all the necessary words were exchanged, the party was told how to reach the guest lodgings near the tavern and they were granted passage. Eoden looked around at the many wood and stone buildings within, some were fairly tall. Lisse's senses were all over the place in an annoying way; The different smells and sounds felt overwhelming at times. The amount of people on the path, the street, her eyes darted from one side to the other.
"This is as far as I can go. You should be fine past this point. I shall return to the woods" Said Lisse, turning with no second thoughts and disappearing into the crowd without waiting for an answer.
The rest of the party unmounted their horses and handed them to the stable boy, after grabbing their bags to continue on foot. Eoden tipped the boy, and carried his and Aeryn's belongings. Kalvis did the same with his and Fariwyn's things. They all followed the blacksmith directly to a building that had weather beaten sign hanging at the entrance with a dog carved on it. The wording was written in both Khuzdul and common language. The perfectly symmetric shape of the iconic letters got the blacksmith's attention, but he could not understand them for the life of him. The common language letters read The Shaggy Dog in a very stylish font.
"This must be the place. The sweet scent of ale brought me here. It must be a fresh brewery." His lips curled into a smile, while his eyes were lost in childhood memories. "I'm going in. Are you coming, love?" He said to Fariwyn, as he pushed the bouncy doors of the tavern for her to enter.
"I can't wait for a bath, it sounds heavenly." Those were the voiced thoughts of Aeryn, who longed for some comforts for a change.
Everybody got in with no second thoughts. They immediately occupied a table to rest their swelling feet. The varied scents of food and the warmth of the place would revive the dead. Kalvis and Eoden moved directly to the check-in area. The blacksmith slapped the only two silver coins he had, which he saved from what Fariwyn paid him in advance to get her sword fixed.
"Room for two for a week, with meals included and plenty of ale" Kalvis gave the inn keeper a stern gaze.
"Upstairs, end of the hall" Replied the man after handing Kalvis the key.
"I'll have the same as him." Said a disoriented Eoden while paying for his room and an extra one for the halflings.
Each went upstairs to their respective rooms to drop their bags and make sure they got what they paid for. Then they returned to the women who waited at the tavern downstairs.
Kalvis handed his key to Fariwyn, "Get yourself comfortable while I get a taste of their ale" before he could reach the barrels, Fariwyn pulled him by the arm outside of the tavern to talk.
"Kalvis, we can't sleep in the same room together! Not yet" She whispered urgently. "Rumors will start the second you proclaim yourself. We must tread carefully! Trust me, I know from whence I speak." She begged him softly.
The blacksmith facepalmed, "By my beard, you are right. And I just spent the only coin I had. How stupid I am!"
Fariwyn pulled him close and placed a chaste kiss in his cheek above his beard. With a softened gaze, Kalvis began to close the distance between their faces for a deeper kiss, when Eoden reached them unannounced, startling them both.
"What sleeping arrangements have you made?" He said.
Kalvis cleared his throat, "Man, you just came at the right moment! Is it ok if you and I share the same room while the ladies share the other? It's only until me and Fariwyn marry, then we can switch. I must not add more shame to her reputation than I already have. I know you understand."
"Is everything alright?" Said a worried Aeryn when she saw the troubled looks on the others. Fariwyn pulled her apart to talk, while Eoden began to grasp the blacksmith's suggestion with an uneasy stare.
"Don't give me that look, we are not going to share the same bed, rest assured! Besides, I will probably spend more time drinking than sleeping!" Said Kalvis and he meant it, for the scent of ale was calling him fiercely.
After the sleeping arrangements were clarified, everybody went to their respective rooms to change into dry clothes. The ladies were so exhausted they fell asleep, while the guys went downstairs for a few rounds of ale. As the night passed, Eoden stumbled drunkenly upstairs for a slumber as deep as death before the beaming sunlight from the window roused him to wake in late morning.
Kalvis never made it to the room, he dozed off on a tabletop with an empty mug in hand and his face dipped into his plate. The blacksmith smelled strongly of ale, among other things. His drunken deep slumber was interrupted by a bucket of chilling water from one of the wenches. He inhaled deeply, his curls plastered all over his face, neck and shoulders as he abruptly lifted his head to gasp for air and rub his eyes off the unexpected bath.
"Good afternoon, sleepy head. I thought you would never wake" Purred the wench that woke him up with a sexy tone that meant more than what she spoke.
"Wh.. what was that for?!" Exclaimed Kalvis, all startled, after cursing in the Khuzdul language. It took him some time to compose his thoughts and remember where he was at.
"There are some nobles that desire to speak with you" Said the wench, making herself aside to give way to a group of dwarves that surrounded the blacksmith, overwhelming his still numb brain with questions.
"Where did you learn that song you were singing last night?" Asked the eldest of the bunch.
Kalvis sheltered his eyes from the sun rays that filtered through one of the windows, "What song? What are you talking about?" His breath smelled of ale.
"You were singing the man on the moon, I recognized the tune!" Said a second dwarf that had a locket hanging on his chest.
"Oh that! Well, I learned it in Bree since my early childhood. A Halfling by the name Baggins used to sing it all the time" Responded Kalvis.
"Bilbo Baggins of the shire?" Asked the third dwarf with a funny hat, his eyes gleaming with fond memories of that Halfling.
That's when Kalvis removed his hair from his face and rose from his seat, towering over them by a head. "Yes him, I think that was his full name. Why?"
They all widened their eyes when they saw his features. The oldest of the dwarves whispered something to the one with the locket, who nodded in response and fled out of the tavern. The four dwarves, including the one that left, looked battle hardened, worn out and old, with gray hair. One of them was misty eyed with the emotions of those memories of old, while the bald of the bunch glared unimpressed.
"Who are you and where did you learn our language?" The bald one demanded while looking up to establish eye contact.
"Your.. language? I would not call a few curse words a learned language. As for who I am, I shall give you my name after you give me yours…" That response was not nicely taken by the old warrior, who immediately launched a threat towards the blacksmith.
"I would twist your neck in a jiffy if you were slightly shorter!" His threat was interrupted by a fat hand on his shoulder from the eldest, who eased him down with no words. The threatening warrior moved aside.
"My name is Dori. The tough one here is Dwalin, and the one in the hat is Bofur. We are the dwarves of Erebor, who once belonged to the company of Oakenshield 84 years ago. We are legend around here. And your name is?" Said Dori with a darling smile.
"I am Kalvis, the one they call Hammerhand; a half dwarf in search for my heritage. I came here with a few companions" He yawned deeply, scratching the back of his head. The hangover gave him a throbbing headache.
"You are coming with us now. That's not a request" Said the one named Dori, grabbing Kalvis by his forearm and pulling him without his consent.
Kalvis waved his arm free from the dwarf's grasp, "Get your hands off me! I'm not going anywhere without my companions!" He was not fond of having some stranger put their hands on him.
Eoden arrived just in time to see his friend harassed by a gathering of age riddled dwarves. Knowing his friend's temper of a half dwarf all too well, he could reasonably expect the tempers of the others to be twice as much.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Eoden crossed his arms over his chest, standing tall before the dwarven company. "What business do you have with my friend, that you would forcefully deprive him of his companions?"
"Aye, why should I go with you?!" Bellowed the blacksmith.
"To see the king, you will have plenty of time to discuss your quest with him directly!" Said the one named Dori, when the delightful presence of the golden princess graced the place.
"I would greatly appreciate it if you fine gentle-dwarves would unhand my betrothed and escort on these unknown lands. I am certain you would not like to leave a lady alone in unknown lands, would you?"
All of them turned to see Fariwyn. The blacksmith's annoyance ceased suddenly, leaving him perplexed and speechless. He felt self confident for being all smelly and in his only rags that had seen better days in comparison to her.
"A female from the race of men? Is this a joke? You certainly have no notion of what true beauty is, lad!" Responded Bofur.
"I am right here you know..." Said Fariwyn with a hint of irritation.
"I cannot expect any of you to understand, for it is of my knowledge that your women have beards. I could not bring myself to feel attracted to a male with breasts…" Spoke Kalvis with all the intention of offending. "… and as I said before, I did not come alone. My companions are coming with me, or I am not going anywhere. Not even Mahal can make me!" He demanded.
There was plenty of whispering between the three dwarves. Dori nodded and addressed Kalvis, "Very well, if that's what it takes, then so be it!"
"But that's not all, allow me to pick a few items first, and then we are going with you" Kalvis referred to the axe he retrieved from Moria, not a month past.
Once he got the items he needed, the party headed to Erebor with the dwarves. On their way, they met with the one that fled. They all were eager for their king to see their… unusual… guest, especially his features that they recognized in a jiffy. For years there had been rumors about some stranger from faraway lands, who bore the unmistakable traits of the Durin sons and would grace their lands to bring a happy medium with the world of men. These rumors came flying for years with the ravens.
"It is in the portents, and the portents say that a humble man will become lord by the fourth age of Durin's Day" Insisted Gloin.
"Oh, enough of the niceties! You have any idea how many impostors have come every year by this time, claiming to be THE ambassador of peace? I am sure this is but another clown" Said the old warrior Dwalin unimpressed, and rather annoyed.
"But you saw his face! He is the living portrait of..." Bofur could not finish his sentence when the hand of Dori silenced him from his indiscretion.
"If he is the one or not, I am sure King Dain will know!" Said Dori.
They finally arrived to the gates of Erebor, where dwarf guards stopped them. After the proper words were exchanged, the party was granted pass. They were all mesmerized while walking along the corridors inside of the mountain. Eoden was fascinated to be escorted by those who he heard tales of so many times, despite the ill lingering history between the Rohirrim and those of dwarven kind, for that was another story from long ago and one still well remembered. Kalvis was awestruck with the impressive architecture of the dwarves. He could not bring himself to believe such tiny and greedy creatures were capable of marvelous constructions.
"And I hardly expected this place to be just a deep hole into the heart of a mountain. This is simply… I have no words!" Exclaimed Kalvis while looking at columns, tapestries and stained glass designs.
"Indeed, my friend. It feels like we are walking through a piece of history." Said Eoden with a look of astonishment as he followed where the elder dwarves lead them.
They were asked to wait in a chamber with many benches, until the King was ready to see them. After waiting for what seemed to be hours, finally a dwarf herald appeared on scene with an announcement, "The king will meet you now. Come forward."
Kalvis rose from his bench, holding hands with Fariwyn. The rest followed, but they were stopped at the door save for the blacksmith. "Not you, the King only wants to see the one named Kalvis. The rest will have to wait here" Said the herald dwarf adamantly.
Kalvis protested, "But they are my companions, they have come with me from afar!"
"The King has given straight orders. They wait here. You follow me!" Kalvis looked at his friends, eyes widened and nervous.
"It will be alright, love. I have faith in you, now go. The sooner you agree, the faster we will be done and over with" Said Fariwyn surprisingly, which denoted a more mature princess. She placed a kiss on Kalvis's cheek and turned to resume her seat.
Kalvis walked forward beside the old dwarf herald, while looking back like a stray child until a door closing behind him made him loose his companions from sight.