"What of it?" Thorin asked.
"I don't know what business you had with the elves but I don't think it ended well," the man said. "No one enters Laketown but by the leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He will see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil,"
The man climbed onto his barge again. Chances of us getting onto that rather unsafe looking thing (yes, I just travelled down a raging river in a barrel and I'm deeming a barge unsafe) were growing slimmer. The man tossed a rope to Balin. Thorin mouthed to Balin in desperation.
"Offer him more," Thorin urged Balin.
"I'll wager there are ways to enter that town unseen," Balin said with a cunning little smile.
"Aye," the man grunted. "But for that, you will need a smuggler,"
"For which we will pay double," Balin promised.
The man gave him a suspicious look.
As we got onto the barge, Bilbo and I helped the man with the ropes.
"What's your name?" Bilbo asked politely.
"Bard," the man grunted. "And yours?"
"Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins," Bilbo replied.
Bard looked at me questioning.
"Rosalie Kindrick," I muttered, avoiding his eye.
Somehow we found ourselves on the barge, travelling slowly through the lake. It was freezing. The added wetness off my clothes didn't help. The barge pushed ice aside as we drifted silently through the fog.
"Watch out!" Bofur cried.
The man (expertly steered the barge through the rocks that appeared out of nowhere. Oh please don't let us go Titanic, I pleaded. The rocks, on closer inspection, turned out to be ruins.
"What are you trying to do, drown us?" Thorin demanded.
"I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing," I pointed out.
"I was born and bred on these waters, Master Dwarf," Bard grunted. "If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here,"
"That's cheery," I said grimly.
"Oh, I have enough of this lippy lakeman," Dwalin complained. "I say we throw him over the side and be done with him,"
"Err we need him," I pointed out.
"Ohh, Bard, his name's Bard," Bilbo answered angrily.
"How do you know?" Bofur asked in surprise.
"Uh, I asked him," Bilbo replied.
"I don't care what he calls himself, I don't like him," Dwalin complained to Thorin.
"We do not have to like him, we simply have to pay him," Balin said cheerfully. "Come on now, lads, turn out your pockets,"
I reached round to the small pouch filled with money. I pulled out a handful and put it in the pile. It didn't look like much so I added some more. I have no concept of what this money is or how it works. The other dwarves began emptying their pockets of money and valuables.
"How do we know he won't betray us?" Dwalin asked Thorin quietly.
"We don't," Thorin replied darkly, watching Bard.
I watched as Balin counted the money.
"There's, um, just a problem- we're ten coins short," Balin announced.
I went to reach into my pouch to get the last ten but Thorin stopped me.
"Gloin. Come on," Thorin insisted. "Give us what you have,"
"Don't look at me," Gloin replied, looking sway. "I have been bled dry by this venture! And what have I seen for my investment? Naught but misery and grief and-,"
Something caught my attention. I unsteadily stood up and turned to face the way ahead. The fog thinned and there it was. A fantastically tall mountain standing before us. Judging by the dwarves faces there was no doubt in what that mountain was. The Lonely Mountain. I felt a sense of sadness upon seeing it. Our adventure is almost over. There's still the dragon, I reminded myself. Then what?
"Bless my beard," Gloin breathed. "Take it. Take all off it,"
Gloin handed Bard a sack of coins he had previously been withholding. Bilbo coughed and gestured towards Bard, who was approaching us.
"The money, quick, give it to me,"
Unlike Thorin, Bard didn't sound majestic when commanding. Yet there was something there that you could follow.
"We'll pay you when we get our provision, but not before," Thorin growled.
"If you value your freedom, you'll do as I say," Bard hissed. "There are guards ahead,"
I looked passed him to see a town lazily rolling towards us.
"Into the barrels, quickly," Bard hissed, pulling his barge to a halt.
We all clambered back into our barrels. "Shh," Dwalin hissed. "What's he doing?"
"He's talking to someone," Bilbo replied. "And he's… pointing right at us!"
A moment of silence.
"Now they're shaking hands," Bilbo concluded.
"What?" Thorin asked sharply.
"That villain!" Dwalin announced. "He's selling us out,"
All of a sudden, a pile of dead fish came pouring into my barrel. I let out a cry of surprise as the fish completely enclosed around me. I began to cry silently, shaking in fear but I forced myself to remain still. The stench of the dead fish was unbearable.
"Oh god," I heard Dwalin mutter as the barge moved forward.