Caleb was going to miss Rivendell.
He was going to miss eating breakfast in mostly peace, coffee in the morning, a soft bed when he went to sleep. The library and the gardens and the ability to take a bath in fucking peace. He never realised how much he missed the little things in life that he had taken for granted until their stay in Rivendell, and he was already planning a way to maybe, possibly, stop Thorin from insulting Thranduil straight up in Mirkwood so maybe they could spend a day or two in relative comfort again. He had asked Elrond if there was a way to enter the woods with a guide in place, and apparently all they needed to do was wait for a patrol to pass by.
Apparently, Thranduil kept border patrols around the woods, and Gandalf had just conveniently forgotten to mention that. Once again, Caleb was hit with the sudden urge to strangle one of the most powerful beings of Middle Earth for being an idiot.
With the thought of not being imprisoned in mind, Caleb felt at least mildly better when following the company as they left the last homely house this side of the Misty Mountains.
Cat didn't look pleased to be leaving, either, her brows furrowed and lips pursed in thought. Caleb was slightly concerned, the feeling increasing when Nori tried to start up a conversation with her and was shot down. Something had happened in Rivendell, something that had hit Cat and made her...solemn, almost. It scared him, honestly, because Cat was one of the few in the group who kept them talking, kept them laughing and actually fond of one another. Even Bilbo was getting a much warmer reception, and much earlier on than anticipated.
"Don't look so downtrodden." Caleb snapped out of his worry at Kili's voice. The dwarf was smiling at him, a soft thing, and it made Caleb's heart do a funny thing in his chest. "We're nearly half way there. If you thought Rivendell was good, well, wait until Erebor! I've heard that it's halls are beautiful, and the gold there enough to rebuild an entire city ten times over!"
"You've never seen Erebor?" Caleb managed to ask and Kili shook his head.
"Too young." He said in explanation. "But it was the original home of dwarves, so it must be amazing - even if by now it must stink of dragon." His lips twitched up then, and he elbowed Caleb in the side playfully. "Luckily for us, we have a resident dragon expert on our side."
"Oh, piss off." Caleb muttered, causing the dwarf to laugh and turn to catch up with his brother. Caleb turned his head, catching Bilbo's eye and was surprised to see how Bilbo's expression went from wistful to guilty. "Something bothering you?"
"No." Bilbo said hastily, too hastily, and both Caleb and Bilbo winced at that. "Alright, yes. A bit. It's not...not a big issue." He waved a hand absently. "Just...going to miss having decent meals at decent times."
"Personally? I'm going to miss the library." Caleb replied, earning a quiet laugh from the Hobbit. "And the quiet. I've never been one for too much noise."
"But...but you're adventuring with a bunch of dwarves." Bilbo sounded like he couldn't quite wrap his head around why Caleb had decided to take that action. Of course, Caleb knew he couldn't tell Bilbo why he had come. Not yet, at least - too risky.
"We must away, ere break of day, to find our long-forgotten gold." Caleb said, earning him a confused look. "That's what they sang, but they aren't just finding golden splendours - they're finding a home. Reclaiming it, as it were. Home isn't necessarily a place but...but it helps. A place to return to, after everything. Bag End will still be there after all of this - my home, too. This is a chance for them to recover it and I...how can you hear them speaking of Erebor, and not want to help if you can?"
"But at the cost of your...your life?"
"No one's going to die." Caleb said, voice stern, and even he felt surprised at how certain of that he was. Wouldn't that change too much, change the very course of history? Or, well, the future stories to be told. He hadn't wanted to change too much, but he thought of golden braids and ice blue eyes and a warm smile and found himself not caring too much about the consequences of saving them. All of them. It felt right, but Caleb wondered how much of that was his personal attachment to the sons of Durin, and how much was purely logical. "We're smart and not stupid enough to charge headfirst into battle. If we keep that in mind, we'll be fine." Bilbo bit his lower lip, chewing it hard enough that Caleb feared it might bleed. It seemed the Hobbit had finally decided something, and ran a hand through his curly hair.
"In Rivendell, I...overheard something." He said, choosing his words carefully. "Elrond mentioned a madness, in Thorin's line. If...if that's true, what if -"
"He succumbs to it?" Caleb hazarded a guess and though Elrond was right, felt a sudden flush of anger rise in him. "He won't die because of it. His grandfather didn't die from it, as far as I remember, and though I do not know much of his father, I'm pretty sure it didn't off him, either. Thorin is strong, and he has more than gold to fight for. Remind him of that, if this supposed madness takes him, and he...he'll be fine."
"You can't promise that, though." Bilbo retorted, and Caleb noted the slight tremor in Bilbo's hands. "He doesn't like me much at all, but if he dies -"
"He won't, I promise." Caleb said, and oh, now he'd made it he'd have to follow through. The hardest part of making a promise. "Come on, before they're halfway across the mountains and have left us behind."
It was Bilbo who moved first, nearly jumping at the sight of Thorin, who had definitely been listening to their conversation. He scurried on, and Caleb paused in front of Thorin.
"You truly believe those words?" The king's voice was low and soft, considering, and it made the hairs on the back of Caleb's neck stand up.
"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't." Was what Caleb managed in response, and Thorin nodded once, then again.
"...I don't...not not like Master Baggins." Thorin said, and Caleb snorted at that.
"Well, you're doing a brilliant job of showing it." He said, and carried on before he started cackling at the stunned look on Thorin's face.
Oh, but Cat was going to have a field day with that.
XoooX
Despite how beautiful and majestic the mountains looked during the day, Caleb realised that climbing them was not easy and was beginning to hate it when the rain started. If anything, that made his mood all the more foul, and his fear of slipping and plummeting to his demise all the more real.
Then it began growing darker, and Caleb could feel his pulse suddenly skyrocket at the sudden realisation that he couldn't see too far ahead, counting on the dwarf in front of him to keep their balance and that if he followed, he too would remain stable.
He stubbornly did not look down. He could not do heights, especially when falling was an option. Maybe it wasn't necessarily the fall, but the sudden crash at the bottom that scared him. He would never understand thrill seekers, those who would throw themselves off cliffs and into the icy waves beneath them, and he supposed he never would.
"This was a terrible idea." Cat said from further ahead, and Caleb caught the tail end of a curse when she nearly lost her footing. His heart leapt into his throat, but a hand reached out and the fact Cat was still cursing and not screaming meant that she hadn't fallen. "It's wet and dark and cold - are we sure we should have followed the path as early as we did? Shouldn't we have waited until we can fucking see?"
"Darker in the mines, Lass." Bofur replied, annoyingly cheery even in the lashing rain. "Though I am a toymaker by trade."
"Great. I feel so much safer." Cat muttered, and Caleb felt himself moving closer to the cliff face. "Let's not mention the fact I can barely see - does anyone else hear the thunder?" Sure enough, lightning streaked across the stormy sky, illuminating the wide eyed, pale face of Bilbo for a split second, followed soon by the too loud rumbling of thunder. "This is going to get worse - we can't stay out here! It's suicide!"
"We have to find shelter!" Thorin's stalwart agreement of Cat's opinion was startling in a way that told Caleb and the rest of the company that the situation was dire. Even when Thorin did agree with Cat's views, it was never so bold enough as to outright state it. Caleb bit the inside of his cheek hard, startled when he tasted the iron of his blood.
That was when the rock flew through the sky and hit the side of the mountain with a resounding crash, that had the entire group scrambling closer to the face of the mountainside to avoid getting caught up in the falling debris and falling with it into the abyss just beneath their feet.
"What the hell?" Caleb's exclaim was lost amongst the sound of thunder and the sheets of rain bettering the mountain sides, but Bofur's cry was not.
"This is no mere thunder storm - it's a battle!" He was pulled back to the side of the cliff by his cousin when a flash of lightning illuminated the stone giant.
They were impressive on the big screen, but nothing could compare to seeing the beast in reality. Beasts they were - created by Melkor, if Caleb remembered correctly, though his knowledge may not be as clear considering he was clinging to sheer rock in a desperate attempt to not fall off the mountain and die. He planned on surviving this venture, despite the fact that rock giants were deciding to play dodge ball - or dodge rock - while the company was on the field. It reminded him of how the most famous giants in Norse mythology were beings of chaos, and it didn't bode well with him. A lot of Middle Earth took inspiration from said mythos, and the fact the giants were not at all friendly, he could see why.
It took him a second to remember where the second giant came in, and only because the cliff face they were against had the audacity to move.
The giant was part of the mountain, undisturbed until the other threw a boulder at it, and of course the second beast had to retaliate. The ground beneath their feet shook with tremors as the giant gained it's bearings and moved to attack the other, splitting the company apart. Caleb heard Fili's yell for his brother, and knew he'd miss by mere inches to grab his hand. He knew that Cat was too far away to be on the same side as him, and prayed to every deity he knew of that she was safe, along with Kili. They were on solid ground, they had the easy part.
He knew that this side would hit the cliff side. Caleb had the sudden, unnerving fear that his mere presence would disrupt everything. That Bilbo would fall, that Dwalin wouldn't make it, that Fili's sudden, tight grip on his wrist would cause some of the most important members of the company to fall.
It was terrifying, trying not to let the crumbling ledge strike fear into his heart, to not let the panic of everyone else fill him with doubt. To not scream when the cliffside nearly met his face. It was too fast, he realised, faster than it had been before. They weren't going to make it -
And then everything slowed down.
It was like someone had slowed down a video, only it was real, and Caleb could see a thousand moves played out behind his eyes, millions of ways this could end, millions of threads but only one could be chosen.
Not the one that meant they didn't jump, not the one that had them remain still. Not too late a jump, not too soon - a thousand silver threads of fate, and he saw the one that would keep them safe, that would have them all hit the ledge.
He reached out with a hand, and he pulled it.
Time sped up, and the party jumped as he had seen, all hitting the cliffside with grunts of pain, and Caleb had scraped his hands against harsh rock. He heard Fili's heavy panting in his ear, saw a curl that was Bilbo's hair - a change. He hadn't fallen, this time, clinging for his life. The thread Caleb chose didn't allow that, and he felt himself breath out a heavy sigh.
He would wonder about the threads later, the confusion of a thousand choices playing out in slow motion in front of him, and heaved in breaths of musky air as the sound of their names were yelled as the second half of the company met them on a mountain path.
XoooX
A cave was found further up ahead, and Caleb was sopping wet and cold. His hands stung, along with his knees and his muscles ached. He was grateful when Thorin ducked inside, which meant they were setting up camp for the night. Caleb took his pack off, along with his cape, his clothes mostly dry beneath it. They lit a fire, cooking up what rations they had, and Caleb allowed himself to breathe deeply, to try not to panic at the realisation that he had seen threads that wove the foundations of this earth before an untimely demise.
"Caleb?" Cat's voice was a whisper, and urgent. Caleb sighed and got to his feet, though it took no effort to follow her to the back of the cave they were taking refuge in. "First off, your hands? Are you hurt?"
"Just scrapes. Nothing big." He murmured in reply. "Secondly?"
"I spoke with Galadriel in Rivendell." She hissed and Caleb blinked. That had been unexpected, as Caleb hadn't expected Cat to be the one to seek out answers - he had spent hours in the extensive library there, finding books with help from Erestor, researching what may have brought them there and coming up blank. He'd never thought to request the help of even Elrond with this. "It's confirmed - the Valar are behind whatever this is. They've...weaved us in. It's why we can fight, ride horses, and know things we probably shouldn't."
"Well, it's confirmed, at least." Caleb agreed. "It explains what just happened out there...Cat, I saw the threads. It was like...everything slowed down, and I could see a million different ways that could have played out. I chose the thread that kept us safe and it worked." That was what scared him, that power to choose one path and have it change things too drastically. This wasn't that case, but if he tugged one that changed things irrevocably? That...that was too much, too powerful. He didn't want to think about it, although Cat looked impressed, amazed - and also slightly sheepish."That isn't the final statement, is it?" Caleb watched as Cat bit her lower lip, hard enough to nearly draw blood.
"I think we should tell them. Not, not everything." She cut in hastily before Caleb could say how terrible an idea that was. "But enough. That we're not from this world, or that...that the gods sent us with knowledge to help on this quest. The second one probably would make more sense, be more of a reasonable thing. The Valar sent Gandalf here, right?"
"To help with Sauron." Caleb added, eyes flickering to where the dwarves had set up, a few casting the two anxious looks. Would anxiety turn to betrayal, if they told them the truth? Caleb didn't think he could handle it, if that was what would happen. "Look, we'll have to think about it some more. Right now? We're wet and tired and in the middle of the fucking Misty Mountains. Sleep on it, and we'll talk more tomorrow, alright?"
"Promise?" Cat held out her pinky, a childish thing that they hadn't done since they were ten. Caleb felt something in him ache at that, a reminder that despite everything they were both still nineteen. Still so young in comparison to the rest of the company. Hesitating only slightly, he locked their pinkies together.
"Promise." He agreed, and set up his sleeping bag next to Cat's, closer to the company.
Caleb closed his eyes to sleep, and was awoken by Thorin's yell and the floor disappearing under them, the strange weightless feeling in the pit of his stomach that was the prelude to hitting the ground below, what Alice must have felt while falling down a rabbit hole.
Of course.
Of course he had forgotten about fucking Goblin Town.
XoOoX
This is stupidly short but this part was hard and I just want to ditch it until I can get to later parts where the influence of the gods is more evident.
It already is here - regarding Caleb and threads. If you can guess the Valar involved, or even what real life mythological figure it's based on, you get a cookie, though only virtual, which is probably safest for all involved.
Hopefully the next chapter will be better and longer. And quicker in the writing process. Hopefully.
Hope you enjoyed, and please drop a review! - Jazz xx