Answers to reviews:
BurgerMann: I'm not sure yet. I may make it a foursome, haven't made a final decision in that regard. But it may ultimately stay a OC/Arwen/Shelob pairing.
Ryu Otsutsuki: Oh yeah? Let's hear it then.
Lilspooky221: Thanks.
Ghost23346: I'll think about it.
Artorias78: Who says they will? Liante has no reason to tell them, nor does he easily trust. Sure he'll somewhat lighten up on the quest and be a bit more friendly to the company, but he ain't gonna tell them something like who his parents are.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. I only own the OC Liante.
The following morning, Liante kept to himself. He hadn't slept all night as he could go several days without it. he made sure to give off the feeling of wanting to be left alone, and he clearly succeeded as none of the Dwarves bothered him. He left the Baggins home to go and check on Shadowmere, who snorted in greeting.
"Hey Shadowmere." Liante said with a almost soft smile as he stroked the horse's face. "What have we gotten ourselves into, old friend? Helping a group of Dwarves try to take back their mountain from a fire-breathing dragon."
Shadowmere snorted again and gave Liante a look, almost like he was saying 'You've faced worse than a dragon and survived.'
Liante chuckled. "I can always count on you to be by my side."
He glanced up at the sky, noticing that the sun was only just beginning to poke its nose above the horizon. His attention shifted when he was soon joined by Gandalf.
"Your Hobbit not coming?" Liante asked. With a heavy sigh, Gandalf shook his head. "Can't say I blame him. Hobbits don't stray far beyond the Shire and Bree. And not all are eager to go on their first adventure. Master Baggins doesn't seem the type who'd leave the comfort of his home."
"I have faith he will join us." Gandalf said.
"I would not count on it if I were you," Thorin said gruffly as the Dwarves filed out of Bilbo's house.
Dwalin grunted his agreement. "The Hobbit is too cowardly to leave his own front gate. He would not last a week out in the wild."
"We'll see if the Hobbit will surprise us then." Liante said, swinging himself onto Shadowmere's saddle.
As they got on the move, the Dwarves riding on ponies, Liante hung at the rear of the company on Shadowmere, shaking his head a little as the Dwarves started betting on whether Bilbo will turn up and join them, most of them betting that he wouldn't. Gandalf eventually moved towards the front, no doubt to talk with Thorin, or to keep an eye on him the very least.
Their progress through the forest had been steady, but it wasn't long before the son of Morgoth heard two frantic cries. "Wait! Wait!"
Liante turned his head and a brief look of surprise crossed his face. There was Bilbo, backed for an adventure, running to catch up with them, the contract Balin had given him in hand.
"Stop!" Liante barked at the Dwarves, startling them at the sudden loud volume of his voice but he didn't care as he gestured to the Hobbit. "We have a visitor."
It was at that exact moment that Bilbo came into the view of everyone else, puffing and panting. Liante had to admit, he was was internally impressed; they had travelled quite far beyond the borders of Hobbiton, and yet Bilbo still managed to catch them up. He must have been running the whole time. He had some endurance, that was for sure.
Bilbo ran past Liante and came to a stop in front of Balin. His chest was heaving, and he was clearly breathless, but still he managed to wheeze out, "I signed it!"
Balin inspected the contract closely. "Everything appears to be in order," he announced finally. "Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."
The Dwarves cheered, and Liante couldn't stop the slight quirk of his lips. Perhaps Gandalf was right about this Hobbit, maybe Liante will find himself proven wrong about the gentlefolk in the wild.
"Give him a pony!" Thorin barked, though he seemed unimpressed.
Alarm flashed in Bilbo's eyes. "No, no, no, no, that... that won't be necessary, thank you, but I-I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I-I-I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. I even got as far as Frogmorton once-" Before he could say more, Bilbo was lifted off his feet by the young Durin brothers and placed on the back of a pony. The startled hobbit yelped.
As they moved onwards, the Dwarves who lost the bet started to pay up those who won it.
"Come on, Nori!" came a shout from further up in the group, Oin from the sounds of it. "Pay up! Go on."
And several sacks of coins were promptly airborne, accompanied by disgruntled grumbles and joyous whoops.
"What's that about?" Bilbo queried, watching as several Dwarves caught pouches of coins.
"Oh, they took up wagers on whether or not you would show up," Gandalf told him cheerfully. "Most of them bet that you wouldn't."
Their lack of faith in him clearly disappointed the little hobbit, though he made an effort to pretend otherwise. "And… what did you think?"
A cheeky smirk appeared on Gandalf's lips, and then he swiped a yellow sack from the air. He gave a light chuckle. "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for second. As for Liante, he doesn't do bets. Never has, but I'm sure he knew you'd come."
Liante, from where he was at the back of the company, heard Gandalf and shot a look at the Wizard's back, hoping he felt the look but the Wizard purposefully ignored him.
Bilbo's nose scrunched up and he released a violent sneeze. "Oh, all this horse hair!" He grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm having a reaction." As the look of dawning horror slowly grew on his face, Liante guessed that whatever it was he was looking for was not there. His head jerked up. "No, no, wait! Wait, stop! Stop!" Everyone did so, swivelling in their saddles to stare at the hobbit. "We have to turn around."
Several quiet expressions of confusion came from the surrounding Dwarves.
"My dear Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked, furrowing his brows.
Bilbo's face was dead serious as he informed them, "I forgot my handkerchief." At this statement, a little bit of amusement cracked through Liante's cold expression. Shadowmere gave a snort, clearly amused himself. Liante patted his horse with a small chuckle.
Bofur, ever chipper and accommodating, tore a strip from the hem of his jacket. "Here," he called, throwing it to Bilbo, "take this." Bilbo caught the dirty piece of cloth with a grimace, holding it up in the very corner so as to get as little dirt on his fingers as possible.
His expression drew a laugh from the group around him, and a disappointed huff from their esteemed leader.
"Move on," Thorin barked over the noise, turning his pony and urging it to trudge onwards once more. The Company loyally fell into place behind him.
"You'll have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end," Gandalf told the halfling wisely, his voice firm but kind. "You were born into the rolling hills and little river of the Shire. But home is now behind you; the world is ahead..."
They stopped for the night in Bree, then continued on the following morning. Liante took up the role of remaining at the rear end of the company, to keep an eye out for anything that may attack them behind and because he didn't feel like talking or interacting with the Dwarves, Hobbit and Wizard unless he felt like it... though he was at the rear mostly because of the latter.
Eventually, they made camp on a ledge big enough for the horses and ponies. Thorin ordered Oin and Gloin to get a fire going as the company settled, though Liante never relaxed as he merely stood near the edge of the cliff, looking out into the forest ahead with narrowed eyes. He stood there, way after the sun had fallen and the moon had taken it's place, high in the air and bathing the land in it's glow. By now, most of the Dwarves had fallen asleep, with only Liante, Fili, Kili, Bilbo and Gandalf still awake. Fili and Kili because they were on watch, Gandalf because he seemed to be so deep in thought that he probably hadn't noticed how late it was, and Bilbo... well, Liante wasn't really sure.
Exhaling quietly, Liante returned to the camp and sat himself down against the wall, taking off his sheathed sword and dagger but placing them next to him just in case.
"That's some well made armour." Kili spoke up when noticing Liante sit down.
Liante glanced at him before looking at his armour. "It is. It's an armour I've had for quite a while."
Kili hummed. "So, Liante, how does one like yourself become so mysterious?"
Liante looked at the Dwarf, raising a brow. "Mysterious?"
"Well, you shroud yourself in a dark cloak, you barely speak to anyone nor talk about yourself." Fili piped up.
"Believe me, young Dwarves, I don't like to speak about my life." Liante said darkly.
Kili snorted. "Young Dwarves? You don't look older than us."
"I am much older than you think." Liante said with a sigh as he felt his shoulders begin to relax. When was the last time he ever began to relax around others? Oh yeah, around Arwen and when he was at Rivendell. "I'm... someone who has seen many things in the world and been to many places."
"Like where?" Fili asked curiously.
"Gondor, Rohan... Mordor." Liante said, expression darkening a fracture when speaking that last one. Mordor brought up memories, good and bad ones. Though, the bad memories Mordor brought up paled in comparison to the memories Liante had of his... father.
"Mordor?" Fili and Kili's eyes widened as they shared a look before looking at him with Fili asking. "What kind of foolish notion took you to that place?"
"My sister happens to live there." liante said with a grim chuckle.
"You have a sister?" Kili asked with surprise and a bit of a grin growing.
"Why would she live in a place like Mordor?" Fili asked at the same time as Kili.
Liante gave them both looks. He looked at Fili first. "She likes her solitude." he looked at Kili. "And I'd wipe the grin off your face, she wouldn't glance at you in that manner no matter how much you wished it."
"I can be quite charming." Kili grinned, getting a snort from his brother.
"And my sister will kill you if you tried to woo her." Liante said with some amusement at seeing Kili's face fall at that. He chuckled. "But I doubt you'll go all the way to Mordor just to try it."
It was silent from then on as Liante leaned back, closed his eyes and decided to get some sleep. Before he could though, a familiar screech pierced the air, one that made Liante's eyes snap open and sit up, grabbing his sword and he was on his feet in seconds. he moved to the edge of the cliff, staring off ahead with his eyes narrowed. That was either Orcs or Goblins, but it was more than likely Orcs.
As Liante continued to stare off, he noticed Thorin join him a bit away, but neither looked nor said anything to each other. Liante was also able to hear Balin speak to Fili, Kili and Bilbo.
"Don't mind him, laddie," he said quietly, voice gentle. "Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs."
'Don't we all have reasons to hate something?' Liante thought bitterly, thinking about his... father.
"After the dragon took the lonely mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf kingdom of Moria." Balin continued, sighing. "But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs led by the most vile of all their race: Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began," Balin's voice wavered for a moment, before he continued, "by beheading the King. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Death and defeat were upon us. That's when I saw him; a young dwarf Prince facing down the pale orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armour rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the Orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, nor song that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then... there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call King."
Liante glanced at Thorin who turned back to look at the Dwarves who had loyally followed him on this quest. Liante knew about the battle for Moria, had heard of it, as the Orcs made no attempt to hide the fact that King Thror had been beheaded by Azog the Defiler.
"But the pale orc," Bilbo muttered. "What happened to him?"
"He slunk back into the hole from whence he came," Thorin spat out bitterly. "That filth died of his wounds long ago."
Liante watched the Dwarf return to the camp, then returned his gaze back to the dark areas of the forest ahead. He narrowed his eyes, so sure there was something moving, so sure... that something was staring back.
For six weeks they continued like this; camp, travel, camp, travel. It was on this day their luck turned sour.
At around noon, their sunny streak ended. Rain fell hard over their heads. The rain did not bother Liante, who had his cloak hood up despite not feeling bothered. Liante has lived a long time, been in worse conditions, the rain was normal to him, no matter how hard it poured.
"Mister Gandalf!" Dori yelled. "Can't you do something about this deluge?"
Liante smirked. Gandalf's response was so... Gandalf. "It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you want to change the weather of the world then you should find yourself another wizard."
"Are there any?" Bilbo asked.
Gandalf looked down at him. "Any what?"
"Other wizards."
"There are five," Gandalf replied, turning his gaze forwards again. "The greatest of our order is Saruman, the White. Then there are two blue wizards... Do you know, I've quite forgotten their names."
"Alatar and Pallando, Gandalf!" Liante called from slightly further back.
Gandalf nodded. "Yes, that's right."
"And the fifth?" Bilbo asked curiously.
"That would be Radagast the Brown." Gandalf stated with a smile. Liante gave a small chuckle at the mention of Radagast.
Bilbo hesitated. "And is he a great wizard or is he... more like you?"
Liante couldn't hold back a small huff of amusement.
The wizard in question huffed. "I think he is a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals over human beings. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the east, and a good thing too, for evil will always look to find a foothold in the world."
Liante frowned, good mood gone in an instant. Could Gandalf feel it, too? A shadow had been growing in the world, spreading from the east. A threat. It had been doing so for quite some time now. A part of Liante, a very small part of him, whispered to who it could be,
Sauron.
They arrived at an old farm later that day, just as the sun was setting. The farmhouse was utterly destroyed. Liante narrowed his eyes at the sight as he was the first one off his horse and walked over to investigate the destroyed farmhouse. he took several sniffs of the air. A family lived here, that was for sure, and from the faint foul stench, they had been attacked by Trolls. Mountain Trolls.
Odd. Mountain Trolls have never ventured this far south, at least not since Sauron ruled the lands.
Liante only half listened as Gandalf suggested they continue on, but Thorin, stubborn as ever, refused to do so. Liante looked up when he noticed Gandalf storm off, most likely having had enough of Thorin and his stubbornness.
Dwarves were very stubborn, as stubborn as stone. it was why the seven Dwarf Lords weren't corrupted by the Rings of Power given to them. They weren't corrupted like how the Nine were, hence why Sauron wanted the Dwarves destroyed.
Shaking his head, Liante walked away from the farmhouse and made off towards the woods.
"Where are you going?" He hard Thorin ask gruffly.
"Hunting." Was the dark response he got.
Night had fallen, and the predators that hunted at night had come out to catch their dinner. But some animals remained out at this time, such as deer. One such deer, a doe, was in a small clearing, eating some grass. However, her ears flickered and she lifted her head, looking this way and that way, her instincts telling her that she was being watched... that a predator was nearby.
Remaining tense for several moments, but nothing happening, the doe relaxed and went back to eat, unaware of the predator in the trees above her.
Suddenly, a pair of legs came out of the darkness and snatched the doe into the bushes, the doe crying out in alarm before she was silenced, and the sound of flesh being torn was heard, followed by the sound of something eating. it soon went silent.
And then, out from the darkness of the forest and into the small clearing where the moonlight touched... came a giant Spider, about the size of a horse if not bigger.
it was black as night, which explained how it blended in with the darkness around it.. Eight huge legs kept it's body up, giant pincers and massive fangs covered and dripping with the doe's blood, several eyes that blinked. If anyone were to stumble in and catch sight of this spider, they'd be petrified with fear, which would only seal their doom and their fate as part of the Spider's meal.
The Spider went back into the darkness and returned to it's meal, feasting until it's hunger was satisfied. It's form was then covered in darkness and the Spider disappeared, replaced by a shirtless Liante who wiped some remaining blood off his mouth.
"That'll do." He muttered to himself, walking back to where he left his armour and put it on, then strapped his sword and dagger on his back. His hunger had been sated, so he would not have to feed again for a while. And considering he was around a company of Dwarves, he took a big risk transforming into his Spider form with them nearby.
If any of them encountered him while in that form...
Liante shook his head and started making his way back to camp, though it took him a bit of a while since he had gone very far in order to lessen the risk of being seen by the Dwarves. it had been hours since he left them to go hunting, but he was sure they could get along fine without him for a few hours.
The sun was beginning to rise when he finally made it to the camp and noticed it was empty, but the company's equipment was still here. He sniffed the air several times and detected a new one, not just Dwarves and a Hobbit.
Trolls.
Following it, Liante made his way to where he noticed a fire was going, and he heard voices. He ducked behind a large rock and glanced over to see the Dwarves and Bilbo had been captured by three Trolls, several of the Dwarves and Bilbo in tied sacks, while the rest of the company was about to be cooked.
'How did they get captured by Trolls?' Liante thought with a roll of his eyes, about to go do something to help when Bilbo spoke up.
"Wait!" All attention went to the Hobbit. "You are making a terrible mistake."
"You can't reason with them, they're half-wits!" Dori cried.
Bilbo ignored them. "Uh... I meant with, uh, the, uh, with the seasoning!" he stuttered out.
One of them cocked his head to the side, his interest caught. "What about the seasoning?"
"Well, have you smelt them? You're going to need something much stronger than sage before you plate this lot up," Bilbo said, somehow managing to sound... amused. A roar of outrage came from just about every mouth.
"Traitor!" Thorin shouted.
'What is that Hobbit doing?' Liante thought with a frown. Was Bilbo trying to save his own skin somehow?
"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" One of the Trolls asked, suspicious.
The other, however, pushed his friend out of the way. "Shut up and let the... flurgaburburrahobbit talk."
Bilbo sent the Troll a nod of thanks. "Uh... The secret to cooking dwarf is to, umm..."
"Yes, come on."
"It's, uh..."
"Tell us the secret." The Troll probed.
"Yes, I'm telling you. The secret is to... skin them first!"
Liante facepalmed.
The Dwarves were outraged, the threats and insults they were throwing his way becoming louder and more imaginative.
The Troll closest to Bilbo smirked. "Tom, get me filletin' knife."
"I'll skin you, you little-"
"I won't forget that!" Dwalin growled, interrupting Gloin midsentence. "I won't forget it!"
'Tom' sneered. "What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all."
The first one nodded in agreement to his friend. "'e's right. Nothin' wrong with a bit of raw dwarf. Nice and crunchy." The Troll grabbed Bombur and held him up over his mouth, apparently not bothered by the large Dwarf's struggling.
"No, not him! He's infected!" Bilbo shouted.
"You what?"
"Yeah," Bilbo said, "he's got worms in his... tubes." With a squeak, the Troll dropped Bombur back onto the pile of Dwarves on the floor. "In fact they all have!" Bilbo added quickly. "They're infected with parasites. It's a terrible business; I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't."
"Parasites! Did he say parasites?!" Oin roared.
"We don't have parasites, you have parasites!" Kili cried.
Bilbo sighed and rolled his eyes at the Dwarves. It was then that Liante realized the Hobbit was trying to stall the Trolls, trying to stop them from cooking them until the sun rose. Glancing at the sky, Liante saw the sun was just rising.
"Clever little Hobbit." Liante muttered with a small smirk.
The Dwarves soon started agreeing with Bilbo.
"I've got parasites as big as my arms."
"Mine are the biggest parasites. I've got huge parasites."
"We're riddled."
"I'm riddled."
"Yes, we are. Badly."
"What would you have us do? Let them all go?" The Troll narrowed his eyes at Bilbo. "You think we don't know what you're up to? This ferret's takin' us all for fools!"
Bilbo huffed, indignant. "Ferret?"
"Fools?"
Gandalf suddenly appeared on top of a rock behind the trolls. "The dawn will take you all!" he shouted.
"Who's that?"
"No idea."
"Can we eat 'im too?"
With a powerful thrust, Gandalf's staff struck the rock, splitting it in half. Sunlight streamed through the gap. Shouting out in pain, the Trolls quickly became motionless, their greasy, smelly skin quickly turning to cracked stone.
As the Dwarves started cheering, Liante jumped down from where he had been, smirking at the company.
"So, you lot have fun?"
And that's it for this chapter everyone.