Disclaimer: J.R.R. Tolkien owns all, save for characters not in his works.


We may not have it all together,

but together we have it all.


CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

T.A. 2941

It was late when she finally found their camp. The horse was exhausted as she slid from the saddle, untying her pack and dumping it on the ground. She patted the horse fondly, even though it was a giant when compared to her. Her shoulders slumped as she turned to her ride.

"Go find Nogoth," she murmured to it, "take your time."

The horse bobbed its head as if understanding her and slowly wandered away. Nuil turned her attention to the camp, frowning at the startling lack of dwarves. The fire was still blazing with a pot of boiling, burnt smelling soup. Their belongings were all laid out, with the exception of their weapons. Odd. She frowned, feeling unease creep into her chest. She was gone only one day, and they already seemed to have found trouble.

It wasn't hard to find their trail, the trampled undergrowth of the trees indicated that a pack of dwarves had recently come through. They certainly weren't subtle. She followed the dwarf made path until she came upon a clearing of upturned trees. The roots clawed at the air, covered in dirt and surrounded by broken branches. Nuil reached out and touched one, feeling the gritty dirt under her fingers and a shiver of unease crawling up her spine. What could have made these?

Something large, obviously, she thought.

She quickly followed the upturned trees, noticing a bright fire in the distance. With a frown she crept closer as the sound of three loud voices filled the air.

"-dawn ain't far away, let's get a move on. I don't fancy being turned to stone," said one. Nuil felt the breath leave her. Nogoth was right!

Trolls! Real live mountain trolls.

She covered her nose with her sleeve. By Aule they smelled something awful. It was the stench of decay and rotting flesh along with an almost fruity smell of wilting flowers. She gagged before creeping closer, eyes widening at the sight before her.

They just couldn't stay out of trouble, could they?

Some of the company were tied to a tree being turned over a spit. The trolls were adding more wood to the fire. She could see Dwalin, Bofur and Ori wriggling the most. Bifur was growling curses in Khuzdul that would put many to shame, and Dori was shouting reassuring things to Ori, who was pale. The rest were tied up in brown sacks piled at the base of a boulder to her right.

Bilbo's voice suddenly cut through the air. "Wait! You are making a terrible mistake."

"You can't reason with them, they're halfwits!" Dori cried. Bilbo shuffled, hopped, and rolled to his feet within his sack.

"Halfwits?" Bofur said. "What does that make us?" Nuil rolled her eyes, idiots, perhaps. Bilbo hopped forward like a little rabbit.

"I meant with the, ah, seasoning," he went on. Nuil's brows drew together. Just what was he doing? Drawing in a long breath, partly from exhaustion, partly from exasperation, she waited to hear and see what the trolls would do.

"What about the seasoning?" ground out the troll with a large dirty apron. He crouched down to look at Bilbo.

"Well, have you smelled them? You're gonna need something stronger than sage to plate this lot up."

He was instantly met with outraged yells. Several looked as if they wanted to wring his neck as they shouted at him. Bilbo tried not to meet their gazes, but swallowed thickly.

"Traitor!"

"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" sneered the other troll turning the spit.

"Shut up," the one in the apron snapped. "Let the uh, flurgaburburahobbit talk."

"T-t-the secret to cooking dwarf is . . .um," he paused looking stumped and suddenly out of words. Nuil could see this going in several ways, none too pretty. She hurried over to the dwarves by the boulder, crouching low behind a shrub.

"Yes? Come on then. Tell us the secret."

"Yes, yes. The secret is toooooo, skin them first!"

"What?!

"SKIN?"

"Tom, get me filleting knife," said the troll in the apron.

"Skin, I'll skin you first!"

"I won't forget that! I won't forget it!"

"What a load of rubbish!" growled the troll at the spit. Nuil gripping the knife at her side, tensed. "I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scarf 'em, I say, boots and all."

"''E's right!" cried the third troll, Tom. "Nothing wrong with a bit 'o raw dwarf." He leaned down to pick up one of them and Nuil jumped out, a yell passing through her lips as she lunged at his hand. The troll shrieked, stumbling back and clutching his fingers. "Another one!"

There was a pause, three trolls staring at her as she had appeared out of thin air, and gasps from the other dwarves. Bilbo stared at her with wide eyes, almost not believing she was there. The spell was broken when she spoke. The next words she spoke were certainly not her brightest.

"Touch them and you'll have to go through me."


It was a pretty lousy fight. Tom had snarled at her, lunging for her, only to end up cradling his hand after being sliced again. Nuil ducked as the other took a swipe at her, jumping when Tom went for her again. At some point the dwarves had begun to shout to her, urging her on, or when to move. She was slowly herded away from the dwarves, and as she ducked once more, her legs were knocked out from beneath her.

With a yell she slammed into the ground before flying into the air. She was held by her feet, up-side-down. Blood rushed to her head and she felt distinctly disorientated.

"Think you could get away, did ya?" Tom asked. "Not today, girly. I've always liked a bit 'o raw maidens. Soft an' juicy." He opened his mouth and dangled her over. His hot breath hit her, and she felt her insides churn. If her face wasn't red as a tomato she probably would look green. The dwarves shouted, outraged. Bilbo looked horrified.

"N-n-not her!" he yelled. "She's infected!" Nuil gasped, as did Tom moving her away from his mouth.

"You what?" demanded the troll at the spit.

"Yeah, she's got worms- in her . . . tubes!" Nuil's mouth dropped open.

"Bilbo Baggins!" she cried horrified. The rest of her retort was cut off when she was dropped down on top of Kili and Oin as Tom gave a cry of disgust.. They grunted and Nuil felt her vision waver slightly. She lay there for a moment dazed.

"In fact they all have. They're all infested with parasites. It's a terrible business, I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't," Bilbo went on. Kili wiggled from beneath her.

"We don't have parasites! You have parasites!" he yelled offended. He outcry was followed by several others until there was a THUMP and the dwarves fell silent. Nuil shut her eyes tightly against the ache in her limbs, pulling herself off Kili and Oin. Thorin was staring at Bilbo as if he suddenly had a brilliant idea. Kili looked at his uncle and seemed to come to the same conclusion.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm!" Oin confessed.

"Mine are the biggest parasites, I've got huge parasites!" Kili shouted.

"We're riddled!"

"Yes, I'm riddled!" Ori cried.

"What would you have us do then? Let 'em all go?" the troll from the spit stomped over to Bilbo. The hobbit seemed to like this idea and gave a small nod. The troll poked Bilbo, and Nuil rose to her feet ready to jump in. "You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!"

"Fools?" Tom said.

"Ferret?!" Bilbo cried indignantly.

"The dawn will take you all!" cried Gandalf suddenly appearing on the rock above the trolls, raising his staff.

"Who's that?"

"No idea."

"Can we eat him too?" Tom asked. Gandalf brought his staff down, splitting the rock and showering the area in the first rays of dawn. The trolls howled, cowering and trying to turn from the sun as it touches their skin. There was a crunching sound, like stones rubbing against stones as the trolls movements stilled and their voices faded. Right before their eyes stood three statues, the ugly smelly creatures now solid rock.

The dwarves cheered as Gandalf leaned on his staff to look down at them all.


Gandalf approached her as the dwarves set to work freeing each other and putting their clothing back on. Something Nuil would be very fine missing. They all smelled anyway, Bilbo wasn't wrong there. She probably wasn't much better off. The wizard peered down at her with a thoughtful look, seeming to look at her for the first time since she had met him.

"I see you escaped your brother."

"I did," she replied, a hint of regret creeping into her voice. Nuil didn't like inflicting pain, especially on her own kin, but it had to be done. Besides, she was gone for only one day and they had managed to get captured but trolls. Three incredibly dumb and foul smelling trolls. Gandalf hummed peering down at her with a look she could only describe as amusement.

"You are a hard woman to shake off, my dear," Gandalf told her. "I had hoped to keep you away from all this, but it seems you are to continue on."

Nuil's brow furrowed. "'Keep me away from all this'? What do you mean, Gandalf? Since I have met you, you have done nothing but ignored my presence and keep your distance. If you had wanted to tell me to stay behind it would have served you better to say as such, rather than let me be carried off." She glared at the wizard.

Gandalf's lips twitched as he fought an amused smile. This only made her growl, placing her hands on her hips. Confusticate wizards!

"You are rather like your mother," the wizard mused to himself. "But I see your father in you, far more than I had previously imagined."

"My mother?" Nuil echoed, confused. She was nothing like her mother. Her mother was elegance and beauty, with ladylike qualities. She was a hunter and a wanderer of the land, she didn't- wasn't, elegant or holding great beauty like her mother. If anything, she was pleasant to look at and a free spirit. Besides, what did her mother have to do with anything?

"She used to be quite a handful!" Gandalf laughed merrily. "Always running off into the woodlands for hours on end, playing in the little rivers . . ." he trailed off looking into the trees. "Meldamar was quite like you are now."

Nuil couldn't believe him, she had never seen this side of her mother. "What happened then?"

"Oh, she fell in love," he told her as if it were the most simplest explanation ever. "She grew into a mother when Noledhe was born. I say responsibility, it changes people my dear girl, and not always for the better." The wizards gaze landed on the dwarf making his way to them, looking meaningfully at her before giving the dwarf his attention.

"And where did you go, if I may ask?" Thorin asked coming to stand before them. His gaze landed briefly on her before reluctantly moving back to Gandalf.

"To look ahead."

"What brought you back?"

"Looking behind," Gandalf said, leaning on his staff. Thorin nodded. "Nasty business, still though all in one piece."

"No thanks to your burglar," Thorin said. Nuil frowned.

"Bilbo signed the contract, need I remind you," she cut in in the hobbits defense. "He is your burglar as well." Gandalf gave Thorin an almost exasperated look, while Thorin's brows drew together at her comment.

"He had the nous to play for time," Gandalf told the dwarf king. "None of the rest of you thought of that." Thorin looked to the ground with an almost reprimanded look on his face, knowing that the wizard was right. They had all just laid there, waiting for their ends. Thorin had gone as far as to bite the ropes in hopes to free himself. He didn't fancy his tomb reading that he was eaten by trolls, trying to reclaim Erebor. Not only would that be embarrassing, but equally humiliating. He supposed it wouldn't have been too terrible a fate, had it not been for his nephews.

The line of Durin eaten by mountain trolls. What a wonderful thought.

"They must have come down from the Ettenmoors," Gandalf went on, looking at the now stone, trolls. He looked to Nuil. "You're brothers were right, and perhaps we should have sought counsel with Master Nogoth."

"Since when do mountain trolls venture this far South?" Thorin said, bristling from the wizards words. Counsel with Nogoth? She would sooner brave the trolls again.

Gandalf gave them a dark and foreboding look. "Did you not hear my words before?" The wizard shook his head. Nuil remembered. 'Not since a darker power ruled these lands'. Gandalf huffed. "They could not have moved in daylight."

Nuil straightened, looking eagerly around. "There must be a cave nearby," she said. "They most certainly could not have shielded themselves under the shadows of trees." Thorin turned to the company, most of whom had now acquired all their clothing and were properly attired. Thankfully.

"Dwalin, Fili, Kili. Search for a cave," he called out. The three dwarrow nodded and hurried off. "The rest pack up camp. Oin, Nuilweyil needs your assistance!"

"What? No, I don't!" Nuil protested instantly, stepping away from Thorin. "I'm perfectly fine."

Thorin looked at her, then grabbed her shoulders and set her down on a fallen tree. Nuil opened her mouth to protest, but Oin was already in front of her.

"You cut yourself, lassie?" he asked peering at her face.

"What? Of course not. I don't inflict damage to myself when it's not warranted," she huffed watching Thorin back up and fold his arms. Oin leaned closer to her.

"Did you say, 'inflect my shelf when is not warren to ten'?" the dwarf gave her a puzzled look. Nuil rolled her eyes.

"No. I'm. Fine," she enunciated slowly. Oin gave her a disbelieving look.

"You have blood on your face, lassie," he told her matter-of-factly. Nuil frowned, reaching up to touch her face and feeling dried grit beneath her fingers. She pulled her hand away, rubbing the rust colored flecks in between her fingers. That wasn't her blood. Her brows rose.

Oh.

Thorin watched with a frown, wanting to know where the blood had come from, since there didn't seem to be a cut. He watched her give a small laugh and begin to rub the rest from her face.

"It must be Nogoth's," she murmured with amusement. "We had a bit of a tussle, before I left him."

"With blood shed?" Thorin asked, somewhat alarmed. Nuil smirked at him.

"My poor brother isn't used to dwarvish fighting," she said with a smug voice. "I don't think he's ever been head butted before." Thorin's brows rose, and he uncrossed his arms. As much as he hated the man, he almost felt sorry for him. Oin offered Nuil a wet cloth to wash her face with.

"Well, I'd imagine he was quite surprised a little thing such as you could do it," Oin told her, grinning. Nuil beamed at the dwarf. Oin nodded to him once he was finished and went back to the others. Thorin turned to look at Nuil, freezing when he saw the glare she was sending him.

"I would like to have a word with you."


Hey . . . I'm back. Sorry for the prolonged absence. I could give you all the 'I'm busy spiel' but it doesn't make up for it. I will be honest, I lost the fire that I had when I first began writing this. I'm not happy with some of the chapters (a lot of the chapters), but I'm working through my slump. I did finish NaNoWriMo, and I'm happy to say I've finished my first original story :)

I've reread the last couple chapters and if I have time I might go back and change them entirely. That being said, I am -sigh- busy this month too. I will try to post when I can and update. Thank you to all those who are still with the story, I greatly appreciate it, you are amazing. I will try to be better. Also Merry Christmas! It's my favorite time of year!

And to those going to see the Desolation of Smaug, yay! Been waiting for a WHOLE YEAR. Can't wait to see Mirkwood and Laketown and the Lonely Mountain. Smaug too. If you do see the movie this weekend, please, tell me what you thought! I love to talk with fellow fans about the Hobbit and LOTR, seeing as I have few people to talk to about it here. I will be going to see it too, so don't worry about telling me spoilers.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, thank you all for the reviews and favorites! You seriously keep me going when all I want to do is stare at the computer and do nothing. Happy (super late) Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas!

~filimeala