Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. I only own the OC Liante.
The Great Eagles carried them throughout the night, and Liante was inwardly grateful for the opportunity to get some sleep and let his body recover its lost strength. The Company as a whole worried about the poor state Thorin had been left in after his fight with Azog – even after several hours he had not woken, his body limp in the claws of the eagle that carried him.
Was Liante worried? Maybe a little.
The sky was a blur of vibrant oranges and yellows when the Eagles deposited the ragtag group on top of a large pillar of rock, crudely carved into the shape of a great bear that pointed its face towards the rising sun.
Liante gave the bird that had carried him a parting pat of thanks. "Give my uncle my regards." He whispered to it. The Eagle gave a sound before it took off again with a single beat of its enormous wings.
He turned then to Thorin, who had awoken and was being braced on either side by Kili and Dwalin, but he was quick to shake them off. His eyes were pinned on the visibly relieved form of Bilbo Baggins, and Liante was at once surprised and not to see the intense look on the Dwarf's face.
"You!" he growled, advancing on the Hobbit, whose smile had withered under the severe tone of Thorin's voice. "What were you thinking? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say you were a burden? That you would not survive in the wild? That you had no place among us?"
A stirring of indignation on Bilbo's behalf stirred in Liante's stomach, but he forced his face to remain impassive even as Bilbo shrunk back even further from the approaching dwarf.
"I've never been so wrong in all my life."
Liante's brows rose just slightly when Thorin at last closed the gap between him and Bilbo, crushing the Hobbit into a fierce hug of gratitude, relief, and friendship. All around him the dwarves began to cheer, and Gandalf wore a proud, if not smug, smile. Bilbo patted Thorin awkwardly on the back, looking overwhelmed and surprised by the sudden show of friendliness.
Thorin drew back after several moments but continued to hold Bilbo by his shoulders. "I am sorry I doubted you," he said, and even a blind man could tell he was completely sincere.
"No," Bilbo said quickly, shaking his head, "I would have doubted me, too. I'm not a hero. Or a warrior." He glanced at Gandalf, and a cheeky spark appeared in his eyes. "I'm not even a burglar."
There was a round of quiet chuckles, but then Thorin's attention was stolen, it seemed, by something over Bilbo's shoulder. He strode forward with as much strength and speed as his wounds would allow, until he stood at the edge of the rock, looking out towards the northeast.
Liante followed the path of his eyes and saw, above a sea of trees and beyond a shimmering lake, there was a mountain. It stood alone; a single, defined point that dominated the far horizon.
The Lonely Mountain.
"Is that what I think it is?" Bilbo asked in astonished awe, drawing him away from his thoughts.
"Erebor," Gandalf declared with opulent grandeur. "The Lonely Mountain. The last of the great dwarf kingdoms of Middle Earth."
"Our home," said Thorin, so quietly Liante almost didn't hear him.
A small bird flew past their heads, its little wings flapping frenetically. Oin pointed at it and said with excitement, "A raven! The birds are returning to the mountain."
"That's not a raven, Oin," Gandalf laughed. "That's a thrush."
"We'll take it as a sign, regardless," said Thorin, glancing down when Bilbo moved to stand beside him. "A good omen."
Bilbo nodded. "You're right. I do believe the worst is over."
'Not really.' Liante thought darkly, knowing that they still had Smaug to deal with at the end of this. Smaug will be a much greater challenge than a pack of Orcs. Liante wasn't sure what will happen should the dragon smell his scent and make the connection to who he is. Dragons were Morgoth's greatest war beasts in the War of Wrath, and Ancalagon was the greatest of his kind in the First Age.
But they'll aren't at Erebor yet, they still have miles to cross.
They rested for a day, needing it after being captured by Goblins, escaping Goblin-Town, and then Azog's attack. It was was mid-afternoon when their luck took a turn for the worst. Somehow the Orc party had caught up with them, the howls and cries of the pack causing the company to quickly pack up their camp and begin moving again.
As dusk began to creep over them, Thorin ordered Bilbo to do some scouting. His renewed faith in Bilbo's burglar abilities was clear to them all, and he offered Bilbo an encouraging smile when the poor Hobbit blanched when he was told of his duty. Nonetheless, he scampered off towards the north in search of a better vantage point.
It wasn't long before he returned, an expression of profound terror on his face. His chest heaved as he came to a stop.
"How close is the pack?" Dwalin demanded at once.
"Too close; a couple of leagues, no more. But that's not the worst of it."
"Did they pick up our scent?"
"Not yet, but they will. No, we have another problem."
"Did they see you?" Gandalf demanded. "They saw you!"
"No, that's not it!"
Gandalf smiled. "What did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse; excellent burglar material." The Dwarves murmured in agreement, but Liante was watching Bilbo's growing agitation.
"Will you- Will you just listen?!" Everyone quietened. "I am trying to tell you there is something else out there!"
"What form did it take?" Gandalf asked slowly, as if already knowing the answer. "Like a bear?"
"Y-Yes," Bilbo replied, "but bigger. Much bigger."
"You knew about this beast?" Bofur queried accusingly. Gandalf didn't reply, but instead turned away to think about their options. Bofur turned to Thorin. "I say we double back."
Thorin dismissed the idea immediately. "We'd be run down by a pack of Orcs," he stated gravely.
Gandalf suddenly whirled around. "There is a house," he said, "not far from here where we might take refuge."
"Whose house?" Thorin questioned harshly. "Are they friend or foe?"
"Neither," the wizard stated. "He will help us or he will kill us."
A heavy sigh left Thorin's lips. "What choice do we have?"
As if answering the dwarf's question, an ear-splitting roar echoed through the night air, causing each member of the company to jump and reach for their weapons.
"None," Gandalf stated glumly.
"We need to move." Liante said seriously, and after receiving several nods of agreement, the dwarves took off with Gandalf leading the way and Liante at the rear in case something attacked them.
They ran for close to an hour near constantly, pausing for a few seconds every few minutes to listen out for any sign of their pursuers. As luck would have it, the next time they paused the snarls and barks of the Orc pack were drowned out by the bellow of the bear. It would seem they were being followed by not one but two parties.
"Move, come on!" Gandalf yelled, and they began running again. Thorin had to yank on Bombur's beard in order to snap the Dwarf out of his fear-induced stupor.
They broke the line of trees and came upon a large plain, the view uninterrupted but by a cosy, walled house made of stone and wood.
"To the house! Run!" Gandalf shouted.
They sprinted across the field, hearing the pounding of heavy feet closing in on them.
Liante, being much faster, sprinted right for the door and slid to a halt, spotting a wooden bar which kept the door sealed. He pushed it up and opened the door, holding it open as the Company rushed through and as soon as the last one was in, he shut the door.
Barely a second later it rattled with the force of an impact, the bear-creature throwing itself bodily against the wood. A number of Dwarves surged forward to secure the door, leaning their weight against it to make sure it didn't break.
There was one more heavy slam, and then some disgruntled huffs, and finally the slow padding of the bear as it slunk away.
"What is that?" Ori breathed, staring wide-eyed up at Gandalf, who of all of them looked among the most composed.
Amusement flashed across his features. "That... is our host."
And I think I'll have it end here. Hope you've enjoyed the story thus far. We are now in the Desolation of Smaug part of the Hobbit trilogy. I don't know if Liante will confront Smaug, still trying to figure that out or if he should leave to investigate Mordor and see if Sauron has returned, but then he'd miss the Battle of the Five Armies.
Still trying to work out what's best.