Ch 25 What is Inevitable

Her meeting with Gandalf was short and almost silent. Ildri said nothing to him when he asked her two questions, only stared at him. Bard had joined them, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed next to his daughter, amusement evident on both of their faces. Once the wizard excused himself and left, Bard walked over to her.

"If you are ready…" Bard gestured to the open door. "Unless he didn't stand by his word."

"No, I believe he did." She looked out the front door, at the sunlight spilling over the stone steps. She hadn't been outside other than her balcony and the ride over here in weeks. With hesitant steps, Ildri approached the doorway. Same as before, she lifted a hand to feel a barrier. There wasn't one. With a deep breath, she stepped through the entrance and into the fresh air and sunlight.

Bard watched his guest, lips thinning at the obvious joy on her face. "We are going to start with a line of homes. It was lucky we made it through most of the winter without an incident and now it's time to relocate. If you are ready?"

She was already halfway down the stairs with her face upturned to the sun. "Lead the way." At this point, there wasn't much she wouldn't help him with.

He descended the steps with her and led the way through the town, greeting others as they passed. More than one curious glance was thrown her way, but no one said anything to her. These townfolk were different than others she had met in the past, Ildri felt no malice or selfishness from them. Did their experience with Smaug and the Orcs humble them or were they like that before? Not having been in the battle other than the last bit, she only heard tales about what happened. Bard came to a stop at a corner of a street and crossed his arms, looking up at the tall structure.

"Is this it?" Ildri looked up the lanes on either side and then the building itself.

"It appears to be the most intact aside from where everyone resided for winter. But looks can be deceiving."

"That they are." There was wisdom in this group of men she was staying with for now. "What do you want me to look at?"

"Can you tell me if it only looks sturdy or do you need magic?"

That was the question really, did she have the ability to tell with just her eyes. Asking the earth and using its magic wasn't one they had really touched on, focusing more on other elements. Approaching the building, Ildri laid a hand upon the cold, smooth stone and pushed out an inquiring thought. Magic rippled under her hand and shook the ground.

Bard didn't have a chance to say anything and barely took a step forward when her skin suddenly lined blue and a flash of white took his eyesight momentarily as the earth trembled. When the light dissipated, he barely had a moment to leap forward to catch Ildri as she crumpled to the ground, skin paler than the moonlight. Footsteps thundered down the cobblestone lanes and shouts called out to him. Percy was the first to arrive and knelt next to Bard while the others stared up at the building in astonishment.

"What happened?" The old man asked of their new leader.

"I'm not sure," Bard more than confused about what had just happened. "It was all so quick and…" He then noticed the whispers and looked up.

The line of homes looked brand new, not a stone or crack on the surface. It was like the attack had never touched this one spot. The wizard had apparently been wrong in worrying more about the destruction of Dale by the girl rather than what could happen to help. There was probably a reason, but as Bard continued to stare at the structure, he couldn't imagine why. She had fixed it without meaning.

"Take a group and survey the inside, see if you find anything wrong. If there are bodies, you know what to do." Bard picked up the girl bridal style and walked away, the crowd parting to make way while murmuring to one another.

Instead of bringing her inside, Bard picked a bench outside near the town courtyard and laid her down in the shade. Tilda was next to him in an instant, then Sigrid. They had been collecting fruit from one of the trees surrounding the yard when their father came to their section. They had felt the earth tremor while in one of the trees minutes before and used it to their advantage for scavenging.

"Da, is she ill?" Sigrid laid a hand on Ildri's forehead.

"Just sleeping." He looked over his daughters, "Are either of you hurt? Where's Bain?"

"Nothing happened to us and Bain is down with some of the men, clearing some stone."

Bard wavered for a minute, unsure whether to stay with the female wizard or go check on his son.

"Da, go. If she wakes up, we will comfort her." Sigrid insisted while gently nudging her father.

He stayed where he was for a few more moments before taking off to where he knew the group was supposed to be today. It took some time, running through the streets and avoiding other workers. They all had questions about what the tremor was but Bard didn't spare a minute for them. Finally, he reached the north wall and skidded to a stop.

"Bain!"

"Sire, over here!"

Bard spun to the left and over to the team leader, Connell. "Where's my son?"

Connell looked over his shoulder and moved aside. Whatever had shaken the earth had collapsed part of the wall, sending piece everywhere. Most of them had gotten away with little to no harm, however, there were a few broken bones and knockouts, Bain being one of them.

"Son! What happened?" Bard all but pushed the other man away from where he was holding pressure to Bain's head wound.

The leader recapped the sudden destruction and what they did immediately after to help the workers. Bard listened with his lips pressed tightly together and inspecting the gash on Bain's hairline.

"It's over now, get the severely injured back up to the center of town and I will see if the dwarves can lend a healing hand." He picked his son up while Connell began shouting instructions to the other men. Bard didn't pay much heed to anyone else as he left them behind, making his way quickly back to the courtyard where he had left Ildri. Hopefully, the dwarves were already on their way since she was one of theirs.

"Bain! What happened to him?" Sigrid jumped from her seat next to Ildri and ran over to them. She ended up skirting around her father as he walked over to the bench and laid Bain down next to Ildri.

"He was hit by a stone," Bard said quietly. He was inspecting the wound again and noticed the bleed was slowing. "There are others, see what you can do to help them."

Sigrid cast a glance at her brother before running off into their home and gathering up any loose linen for the wounded. It wasn't long before they arrived and others not involved came to help. Their only doctor wasn't enough for everyone since broken bones were a serious issue. Percy returned with the second wave of folk and took charge, ordering and organizing the wounded by the seriousness of injury. It was when more shouts echoed through the streets that Bard finally took notice of anything other than his son.

"About time, I was wondering if the tremors had reached Erebor or not."

She didn't have a chance to say anything as the thudding of hooves came fast and skidded to a stop.

"Ildri!" A dark-haired dwarf and ginger Elf appeared first, looking around frantically, then the grey wizard from before. "Where is she?"

Sigrid stood and approached them a few steps, drawing their attention to her. "She's over here."

Kili and Tauriel rushed over, dropping on the other side of her away from Bain and began inspecting her. Bard watched them a moment before clearing his throat, drawing only the Elf's attention.

"Can you help him?"

Tauriel looked back at the woman lying unconscious to the boy on the ground next to her. She was torn between which one to help, one of necessity and the other from duty. The decision was made for her when Gandalf finally joined them.

"Attend the boy, my dear, I will look at my fellow wizard."

She moved at his words. It made sense for her to take care of the boy since they weren't sure what her Elf magic would do to Ildri's. Tauriel crouched next to Bain and laid a hand on his head, opposite the wound. A few minutes after closing her eyes, she opened them and smiled slightly at Bard. "He will be fine." She then placed her other hand over the large cut and began the healing chant that would work on him.

A slight light shined from her hand and Bard watched in fascination along with his two daughters. They weren't the only ones however, some of the townfolk had noticed were gathering around them. Tauriel stopped speaking and removed her hands, standing up.

"He will sleep for a while."

"Thank you," Bard couldn't think of any words to express his gratitude.

"Please, help us." One of the town women stepped forward and pleaded the Elf.

Tauriel looked taken back for a second before looking at Kili. His attention moved from Ildri to herself, then the people around them.

"If you want and can, we owe them that much," Kili spoke softly, wondering if this was his fault for bringing Ildri here.

"Oin is already lending a hand himself, perhaps if you do also, we can get everyone situated before dark." Balin had joined them also, making his presence known.

After a moment's hesitation, Tauriel nodded and allowed herself to be taken away by the people of Dale. Gandalf continued to inspect Ildri with Bard, Kili, and Balin as an audience. Finally, he straightened and sighed.

"She just appears to be exhausted and sleeping, will you tell me what happened?"

Bard ran through the events of earlier quickly and watched as the grey wizard's brow furrowed in thought while looked at Ildri.

"How peculiar."

"Gandalf," Bard grabbed the arm of the old man. "I need to know, was this an act of balance? She did a wonderous a great thing for us, was the ensuing destruction bound to happen?"

"I cannot be sure of that," Gandalf was wondering that himself now. "We don't know the extent of her powers now, nor before really. With the…circumstances as they are now, it is questionable if we should find out."