YES! A new chapter. I have nothing but time so I am back. I am not in school this semester so no school to do online.

Back in December I went to visit family for Christmas. I went to Maine and drove down to Rhode Island. I was sick, but thought I just had a bad cold. Turns out I had the swine flu. Never having the flu before I thought my symptoms were normal. Due to my PTSD I never fall asleep in front of people. Well, on the 24th and 25th I kept falling asleep everywhere.

I just thought all the traveling was creeping up on me because I have medical problems. Turns out, the flu was attacking my lungs. On the 26th I went to take a nap and my cousin found me unresponsive. My Uncle noticed that my lips and skin were blue and I was rushed to the hospital. I had double pneumonia and I was beginning to drown on the fluid in my lungs. I had 50% oxygen levels.

I was on a ventilator and in a medically induced coma for nine days. I almost died on the 26th of December. I am happy to report that I am back in good health and practicing social distancing.

Please everyone stay safe. I hope to brighten your spirits with more chapters. I have a second story I am working on now too, Song of the Sea which is a Pirates of the Caribbean fanfiction. Let's continue this story.

God Bless,

Melodie


I stayed to the back of the group as we lumbered through the trees following Gandalf and Thorin. Bifur walked beside me, silent, seemingly giving me time to calm down and think while still having that show of support. I was grateful for his company if nothing else. Part of me understood that everyone had been worried for my safety and just wanted to protect me, but it felt like no one was trusting me to protect them either. Why train me how to fight if you never were going to let me do so? I wanted to protect them as well. They were my family now and I was not going to sit back silently and watch them get themselves killed if I could do something about it.

Looking ahead, the troll horde was easy enough to find by the smell. I now knew what the rotting and decaying smell I had noticed on the breeze was earlier, troll. It made me gag and I could swear that I could taste it. The cave was large, well, it would have to be, and I was amongst those brave enough to venture inside. Some of the others, like Bilbo too overcome by the stench to want to brave the inside of the cave. Thorin made me walk next to him as we entered, just in case anything still lived inside the cave, and he offered me a hand as we slid down the slope of the mouth of the cave. The horde was full of treasures, gold, gems, jewels, weapons and other bits and bobs. It was all covered in a layer of dust and grime and the smell permeated off of everything. I over looked anything that might have the smell deeply embedded inside it in favour of something that could be cleansed easily.

"Oh, what's that stench?!" Nori exclaimed as we made it inside, the stench pungent and putrid and he pinched his nose between two fingers, some of the others waving their hands near their noses.

"It's a troll hoard. Be careful what you touch," Gandalf ordered us all and many of the dwarves coughed and retched at the smell, myself included before I held my tunic up over my mouth and nose. It muffled the scent slightly, but was replaced with the smell of my own body odor.

There were so many coins and treasure just loaded up in caskets all around us that it was difficult to not trip over all of it as you tried to walk in the space on either side of the huge piles. It seemed as if the trolls had found their fair share of treasure. My father had told me that trolls horded whatever they could find, even if it just sat unused. It wasn't as if trolls were going to go down to the nearest village market and buy any goods.

"Seems a shame just to leave it lyin' around. Anyone could take it," Bofur commented, toeing at some of the treasure as I followed Thorin and Gandalf deeper into the cave where the smell was the worst.

"Agreed," Gloin told the hatted dwarf before looking at the thief. "Nori, get a shovel," He ordered and the other dwarf grinned before he took of to get the shovel. I rolled my eyes at their antics and turned back to Thorin and who was fixated on something he had found. As I stepped closer, I saw that it was two swords covered in cobwebs. As I moved closer, so did Gandalf, inspecting his find.

"These swords were not made by any troll," Thorin said as he pulled them free of where they were resting, brushing the cobwebs aside as he handed one sword to Gandalf and kept the other for himself.

"Nor were they made by any smith among men," Gandalf added as he drew the sword in his hand out of its sheath a few inches to inspect the blade."These were forged in Gondolin by the High Elves of the First Age," Gandalf informed Thorin as he studied the markings on the blade and, realizing that they were Elven swords, Thorin started to put his away in disgust. "You could not wish for a finer blade," Gandalf scolded him immediately and, reluctantly, Thorin held on to the sword. He drew it out of its sheath a few inches as well, inspecting the make of the blade.

As he did so, my eye caught on something as the light fell on it, reflecting off of something with a silver look to it. I bent down and picked up a sheath that was matted with cobwebs. I brushed them off of my find in disgust before inspecting my find. It was the sheath of a large dagger. The handle was curved and inlaid with sapphires. The silver workings beautifully wrought. The blade was curved as well. More of an ornate dagger than a hunting dagger like the one I had taken from Fili.

"What is it that you've found my dear?" Gandalf asked me curiously and I showed him the blade. He hummed loudly as he took it from me and inspected it closely. "This is no Elven blade. In fact, I believe it is Dwarven in make. What do you think Thorin?" Gandalf asked and he showed the blade to Thorin who looked up suddenly as his name was said, sheathing his new blade.

"Where did you find this?" Thorin asked me in a choked voice as he snatched the blade from Gandalf's hands.

"It was here, behind where you found your blades," I answered him, showing him where I had discovered the blade.

"This was your father's. This was Frerin's," Thorin informed me as his eyes met mine. "I made this for him when he came of age. It was a gift. He had it with him during the battle at Moria's gates. I thought it was lost along with him," Thorin told me, his voice still rather gruff. He pressed the blade gently into my hands and wrapped my fingers around its sheath. "Your father would have wanted you to have this," Thorin told me as tears welled up in my eyes. He leaned in and pressed his forehead to mine, and I threw my arms around him. He hugged me tightly for a few minutes before we drew apart, each feeling stronger from the comfort of the other. Some of the dwarves had filled a chest with treasure, and they had begun to bury it in a hole they had dug in cave as Dwalin looked on in disgust.

"We're makin' a long-term deposit," Gloin told the judgmental dwarf and Thorin took my free hand in his and began leading me out of the cave.

"Let's get out of this foul place. Come on, let's go. Bofur! Gloin! Nori!" Thorin shouted, leaving no room for argument and Gandalf followed along behind us. I looked back at saw Gandalf brushing aside the leaves beneath his feet with his staff. He bent and picked up another sword, much shorter than the first two and hurried out of the cave behind Thorin and I.

I squeezed Thorin's hand as we walked into the fresh air and I breathed in deeply and he squeezed my hand back before I walked away to where Bilbo was waiting for us. He had retched too badly outside of the cave to even think of entering it. I headed over to the where the Hobbit was sitting just as Gandalf approached him as well.

"Bilbo," Gandalf said, drawing the Hobbit's attention to himself.

"Hmm?" Bilbo hummed as I sat beside him and he shared a soft smile with me. I really did like Bilbo. He was an excellent friend and I was always glad of his company. He, like Ori, had been educating me on the history of Middle Earth and its inhabitants.

"Here. This is about your size," Gandalf told him as he offered him the smaller sword he had just discovered amongst the troll horde. It was a small blade, more like a dagger, but for the hobbit it was a perfectly sized sword.

"I can't take this," Bilbo immediately said in protest, refusing to take the sword from the wizard as I inspected it.

"The blade is of Elvish make which means it will glow blue when orcs or goblins are nearby," Gandalf informed Bilbo as he pressed the blade into Bilbo's unwilling hands.

"I have never used a sword in my life," Bilbo protested, looking slightly frightened by just the idea of carrying it around with him.

"And I hope you never have to. But if you do, remember this: true courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one," Gandalf told Bilbo, looking to me as well and nodding.

Suddenly there was a loud crashing through the trees and Bilbo, and I shared a worried look as I stood quickly and grabbed the bow on my back and notched an arrow in it. I might not be the best shot, nothing like Kili, obviously, but at least I was getting better. It was also my only weapon besides my dagger and I knew from my father's lessons that being able to fight at range was better than getting up close to your enemy.

"Something's coming!" Thorin shouted in warning and the others armed themselves as I backed up and joined the others, pointing my bow towards the trees. Kili and Fili stood beside me, arms at the ready as Bilbo called for Gandalf.

"Stay together! Hurry now. Arm yourselves," Gandalf shouted an order to us and Bilbo drew his new sword from his sheath and looked at it before he followed those of us who had run off into the woods to meet the enemy head on and gain the upper ground.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" Someone shouted through the trees and I almost loosed my arrow straight at him, but Gandalf hit my bow upwards with his staff at the last minute and the arrow sunk deep into the tree to the left of the brown clad figure who was driving a rabbit drawn sled. He pulled up short beside us and my mouth hung open in shock over what I was seeing.

"Radagast! Radagast the Brown. Ah. What on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf asked of the other wizard as I took in the fact that his face and hair was covered in bird poo. Actual bird poo. It was easy to determine he was a wizard as he also carried a staff much like Gandalf's and he was dressed in brown robes made of some sort of rough spin material. He looked positively mad.

"Is that…actual shit on his face?" Kili asked me rather loudly and Fili elbowed him in the ribs, Kili yelping and smacking him back.

"I think it is, but don't be rude. It isn't wise to anger a wizard after all" I told Kili quietly before breaking them up from their argument. This was not the time nor the place.

"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong," The other wizard said quickly, and Gandalf looked worried at that and my mouth fell into a frown. It seemed that a lot of things were "terribly wrong" in Middle Earth.

"Yes?" Gandalf asked the other wizard with a look of concern. The wizard, Radagast, opened his mouth to speak, but shut it just a quickly. He opened his mouth again a second later but closed it once again.

"Oh, just give me a minute. Um, oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it. It was, it was right there, on the tip of my tongue," Radagst told Gandalf, before he curled up his tongue and looked up at Gandalf in surprise. "Oh, it's not a thought at all; it's a silly old..." Radagast said and Gandalf pulled a stick insect out of Radagast's mouth. "stick insect!" The wizard exclaimed. The dwarves and Bilbo all looked flustered, but I only made a face of disgust and took the stick insect from Gandalf before setting it down gently on a nearby tree. Radagast ushered Gandalf away from all of us so that they could speak privately. The others were still on edge and even though Gandalf had put his trust in the other wizard, Thorin seemed to think otherwise.

"The wizard should be glad Gandalf threw off your aim," Kili told me as he inspected where my arrow had sunk into the tree above us.

"It was just a reaction. I bet it wouldn't have been nearly as good if Gandalf hadn't surprised me," I told him, brushing it aside and changing the topic of conversation as he tried to argue against what I had said. "What do you think they are talking about?" I asked Fili and he shrugged as we looked back at the two wizards.

"Who knows. They're wizards. Wizards have always been a strange folk," Fili answered me, and I nodded and made my way over to the others as Fili and Kili watched Gandalf and Radagast.

"Adaira…," Dwalin said, approaching me and I met his gaze. He flinched slightly before he began talking to me in a low voice.

"What?" I asked Dwalin sharply as I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. He didn't get to speak however as Gandalf and Radagast joined us once more, the brown clad wizard making a b-line for me straight away.

"Really Gandalf? Are you sure?" Radagst asked the grey wizard over his shoulder as Dwalin took a step back as Radagast stopped in front of me, inspecting me.

"Quite sure. You know her?" Gandalf asked Radagast curiously as Thorin and the others frowned, watching our interaction.

"It's been over fifty years and I can still recognize her," Radagast told the other wizard as he suddenly put his hands on my face and tilted it this way and that, even checking my teeth. "A strong magic brought you here my dear, didn't it?" He asked me as he released my face.

"How do you know that?" I asked the other wizard and he smiled at me.

"I was the one who sent you away from here," He answered me and I frowned deeply.

"You did this?" Thorin asked the wizard angrily as he pushed past the others and stood next to me glaring up at the wizard who was seemingly unfazed by this.

"Well of course I did," Radagast told him, seemingly confused by the question.

"Perhaps and explanation," Gandalf told the other wizard as he joined us at my other side.

"Oh, yes," Radagast said before nodding thoughtfully. "I was out collecting moss in the Greenwood when I came upon a dwarf carrying a bundle in his arms. He said he was running from orcs. Nasty business," Radagast explained, and he shook his head and body slightly as if shivering. "I sensed it then you know. A strong magic surrounded him along with something dark. I brought him to my home straight away. The bundle he was carrying turned out to be a babe with the brightest eyes I had ever seen and hair a brilliant red," Radagast said, nodding to me and Thorin took my hand in his.

"They stayed with me for over a week as I tended to the babe. She was injured and a dark magic was making her ill. I purified the child as best I could, but some of the poison remained. I thought of what I could do for them and then the Valar decided on something much different. I dreamt of Eru and Aule and I was taught the way to send them far from here, were no evil could touch them. When the time was right, they would return here to Arda to fulfill their purpose," Radagast concluded as he took my face into his hands once more. "A darkness still clings to you my dear, but by the will of the Valar, a grace is within you as well," Radagast told me and I frowned deeply as he released my face.

"So, that is how this came to pass," Gandalf hummed thoughtfully. "You say this was the will of the Valar?"He asked in confirmation.

"Oh yes. Can't you feel it?" Radagast asked the other wizard.

"Indeed," Gandalf remarked as he studied me closely.

"What poison do you speak of?" Thorin asked Radagast sharply and the brown clad wizard shivered.

"Something that has not been felt for an age. The same thing now that poisons the Greenwood, Gandalf," Radagast answered Thorin before turning to look at Gandalf. Suddenly, a long and low howl came from beyond our clearing, deep within the trees and Thorin grabbed my arm and pushed me behind him as the wizards turned around.

"Was that a wolf? Are there wolves out there?" Bilbo asked us and I heard the fear in his voice. I reached for my bow once more and notched an arrow, pointing it in the direction of the trees.

"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf," Bofur responded and when I inhaled the breath hitched in my throat.

From behind a nearby crag, a Warg appeared and it growled down at us and it leaped into the midst of the Company, knocking down one of the dwarves. Thorin quickly moved forward and stabbed at the Warg with his new sword, killing it. Another Warg appeared as the first one fell and I aimed quickly as it attacked from the other side. My arrow stuck deep it its throat as Kili's shot right through its shoulder, the both of us bringing it down. It got back up however as it began to die and Dwalin cleaved at its throat with his ax felling the beast.

"Warg scouts!" Throin shouted and he quickly scanned the trees. "Which means an Orc pack is not far behind," He added and I reached for the hilt of the dagger tied to my belt, comforted by the heavy feel of it.

"Orc pack!?" Bilbo exclaimed worriedly, and he stumbled over to my side in a panic.

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf demanded of THorin and Thorin turned to face him, confused.

"No one," Thorin answered him as Gandalf rushed over to his side, getting scary once more as he had at Bilbo's home.

"Who did you tell?" Gandalf demanded once more of Thorin.

"No one, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on?" Thorin demanded of the wizard in kind.

"You are being hunted," Gandalf answered him and Dwalin moved a few paces closer to me as everyone stood on guard, even Bilbo holding his sword out in front of him.

"We have to get out of here," Dwalin told Thorin who nodded, his gaze flickering to me for only a moment.

"We can't! We have no ponies; they bolted," Ori informed us and I groaned internally. Of course our only means of a quick escape was gone.

"I'll draw them off," Radagast suddenly said and we all turned to look at him as if he was insane which I was starting to believe he was.

"These are Gundabad Wargs; they will outrun you," Gandalf told the other wizard who smiled slightly as he looked at Gandalf with a confident expression on his face.

"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits; I'd like to see them try," Radgast told Gandalf firmly before he mounted his sled once more and ordered his rabbit son wars. The sled started off through the forest once more, Radagast yelling loudly as he went to draw the attention of the Wargs and Orcs who were by now most likely searching the forest for us.

"Run," Gandalf ordered us and Dwalin grabbed ahold of my arm as we took off after the surprisingly spry wizard as he lead us around a different path than Radagast's through the trees. Ahead of us, as the trees thinned, I caught sight of a large open plain. Dwalin kept a tight hold of me, pulling me to my feet when I tripped over a fallen branch. His grip on my hurt, but there was no time to tell him to loosen his grip as we ran to the edge of the forest and hid behind a large rock as Radagast and his rabbits shot out of the forest far away from us, the Wargs chasing him.

"Come and get me! Ha ha!" Radagast shouted and Gandalf watched from behind the rock as Radagast and the Wargs disappeared in the distance.

"Come on!" Gandalf urged us and we made for the open plain. I had no idea what Gandalf's plan was, but I didn't like it. We were out in the open where we could easily be seen with nowhere to hide. In the distance, Radagast was being chased by the Wargs and one of them crashed while trying to catch him.

As we ran across the rocky plain, we could see the Wargs which were not too far away from us. Gandalf led us towards a large rock which we could hide behind for a moment as Radagast led them further away from us.

"Stay together," Gandalf ordered us and I grimaced at Dwalin's now crushing grip on my forearm.

"Move!" Thorin shouted at us and we ran for cover. I briefly saw Radagast as he drove his sled beneath an overhanging projection of rock; he ducked down, but the Orc on the Warg behind him got knocked off. As the chase continued, Thorin stopped dead in his tracks behind a rock so that he was not seen by the Wargs and we crowded behind it for cover. Ori started to run out of the cover and Thorin pulled him back by the collar of his shirt.

"Ori, no! Come back!" Thorin shouted as he dragged Ori back and Gandalf already was on the move once more.

"Come on! Quick!" Gandalf ordered us onward and as we continued running, Thorin turned to Gandalf.

"Where are you leading us?" Throin demanded, but Gandalf did not answer him. As the Warg scouts continued to chase Radagast, one of them stopped and scented the air.

We took cover behind an outcropping of rock and as we stood, trying to quiet our breathing, the scout and his Warg appeared on top of the outcropping, I renched my hand free from Dwalin's brusing grip and notched another arrow, standing beside Kili now, panting. Thorin looked at us both and Kili nodded, readying an arrow. We quickly stepped away from the rock and took aim, shooting the arrow sunk deeply into its shoulder, Kili's embedded deep in its side. The Warg and the orc on it fell near us, and Dwalin, Bofur, Bifur, and Dori quickly killed it. The sounds of our fight carried quite far despite our efforts to kill both Warg and Orc quietly and the other Wargs and Orcs stopped chasing Radagast as they heared the roars and screams from behind the rocks. I heard dark guttural words shouted across the plain and the Warg scouts howled as they stopped pursuing Radagast and began to pursue us.

"Move. Run!" Gandalf shouted and we took off through the grassy plain and I ran alongside Kili and Fili now. The Wargs began to surround us from all sides and I gritted my teeth.

"There they are!" Gloin shouted ahead of me as I willed myself to continued running even though my strength was failing me, my heart beating wildly and my breath catching in my throat every time I inhaled.

"This way! Quickly!" Gandalf ordered and we ran for only a few more yards before haling in a clearing as the Wargs converged on all sides.

"There's more coming!" Kili shouted to us as we stopped short and stood our ground.

"Kili! Adaira! Shoot them!" Thorin ordered and I dug my feet into the ground, finding my balance quickly. Looking around, Gandalf found a large rock and he ran towards it and disappeared.

"We're surrounded!" Fili cried from my other side, his swords raised as I stood in the middle of him and Kili. Kili and I began shooting at the Wargs and the Wargriders, killing some of them, but more quickly took their place.

"Where is Gandalf?" Kili shouted as he looked back, the wizard nowhere in sight.

"He has abandoned us!" Dwalin shouted in answer and we gathered close to each other near the rock which Gandalf had disappeared by. As one of the huge Orcs, most likely the leader of this band and his Warg approached us, Ori shot a rock at the leader with his slingshot, to no effect. Thorin pulled out his sword as Fili, Kili, and I backed up towards the others, being further from the rock than the rest of the company, Thorin only a few steps behind us.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin ordered us as Gandalf suddenly popped up like a daisy from behind a crack in the rocks behind us.

"This way, you fools!" Gandalf ordered us and Thorin looked back at the wizard for a quick second as the Orcs and Wargs descended upon us.

"Come on, move! Quickly, all of you! Go, go, go!" Thorin shouted at us and as the Wargs approached, the dwarves and Bilbo slid into the large crack in the rock, sliding into a cave. Thorin killed a Warg that got too close to him as Kili and I continued to shoot at them as we backed up towards the rock.

"Kili! Adaira! Run!" Thorin shouted to us fearfully and Kili and I shared a look before we lowered our bows and took off towards the opening in the rocks. Thorin and Kili jumpped into the crack but I felt a searing pain in my shoulder as a Warg jumped on top of me. I cried out in pain as its claws slashed deeply into my back and then, a horn sounded from behind me.

I reached with my free hand, almost dropping my bow and pulled my father's dagger from its sheath and stabbed backwards at the Warg who had me in its jaws. It yelped as I continued to stab at it and finally it released me, my shoulder shredding as its jaw opened and when it began to fall forward, I was pushed into the crack in the rocks, tumbling down an incline and hitting my head on a rock below. As I had fallen I had seen behind me, a group of men mouthed on horses, shooting and spearing at the orcs and wargs behind me. I felt arms reaching for me and low voices before I opened my eyes, finding myself in Fili's arms as he gently ran his fingers through my hair. One of the orcs, shot by an arrow above us, fell into the cave then and Fili quickly moved us away from it. Thorin who was at my side lunged forward and plucked out the arrow from its chest and examined its make.

"Elves," Thorin spat in disgust, tossing the arrow to the ground as I turned my throbbing head, feeling something sticky on the side of my face. There was a pathway at the end of the cave, leading away from the path we had come down.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?" Dwalin asked Thorin, his eyes darting between my uncle and me quickly.

"Follow it, of course!" Bofur said almost enthusiastically and I realized that all eyes were on me and Thorin.

"I think that would be wise," Gandalf in formed Thorin who nodded before returning to my side.

"Oin, do what you can for Adaira and quicky. Once we are safe we can tend to her wounds better," Thorin ordered and Oin quickly moved to my side and Fili lowered me to a sitting position on a rock.

"Very bad indeed," Oin said as he brought out cotton bandages and began wrapping them around my head. "I'll have to cut your tunic my dear," He told me and I nodded, feeling dizzy and nauseous. I leaned over quickly and vomited beside the rock I was sat on and Oin grimaced. "Best get it all out," Oin said as he carefully ripped my tunic open with a dagger. He grimaced even more deeply as he inspected the damage on my shoulder. "At the present I can do no more than wrap it," He told me and he quickly did so before Thorin told him we must move on.

Then there was an argument over who would carry me. Fili said he could do so, but Dwalin was the most vocal about this, saying he would carry me. It was finally decided that Dori, as the strongest of the company, even stronger than Dwalin, would carry me. He cradled me as if I was a child in his arms, Ori helping his brother to help me slide into his knitted sweater for the sake of modesty as my breast band could easily be seen through my shredded and torn began following the path ahead of us which was quite narrow.

It was no more than a crack between two tall cliffs. At times, we had difficulty getting through and Twice, it was two narrow to carry me and I was placed gently on my feet, Dori behind me and Bofur in front, holding onto me in case I feel as I squeezed passed the rock. One of the times, the rock behind me scraped along my back and I cried out in pain, Bofur quickly pulling me through and picking me up, only to hand me to Dori as we got through. The pathway eventually opened out into an open area and as I looked, dazed with pain, I saw that there was a valley below us.

A sprawling white city was built into the valet below and I gasped in disbelief. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen and it was there that I got my first look at mountains which surrounded the valley entirely. Dwalin came to stand beside Dori who was fussing over me and he had a strange look in his eyes when our eyes met for a brief moment. A soft breeze swelled around us and I closed my eyes in delight. It smelled of grass and flowers and sunshine and reminded me of the heathered hills of Hegg.

"The Valley of Imraldis. In the Common Tongue, it's known by another name," Gandalf told us and I opened my eyes, drinking in the valley below us.

"Rivendell," Bilbo said suddenly and I turned to the Hobbit in surprise. My father had told me about Rivendell once upon a time. It was the home of Elves. He never spoke of it in a bad light and told me that it was here that my mother used to visit after the Elves of the Greenwood broke their agreement with the Dwarves. My mother as even named Elf Friend by the Lord of Rivendell.

"Here lies the last Homely House east of the sea," Gandalf told us as I took in the valley in a ne wlight. It certainly was beautiful and peaceful.

"This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy," Thorin stated more than asked Gandalf angrily.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will to be found in this valleyis that which you bring yourself," Gandalf answered Thorin angrily as well and Thorin looked at the wizard with a death stare.

"You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us," THorin all but spat at the wizard as I felt a wave of nausea fill me once more and all I could hope for was not to vomit on Dori. Most likely I had a concussion due to my head wound.I knew my injuries also were long gashes and puncture wounds.

"Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. And Adaira could use some time to rest and heal from her injuries. The Lord of Rivendell is a renowned healer. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me," Gandalf told Thorin who nodded reluctantly as he looked at me and I held his gaze for a moment before we proceeded down into the valley below.