Nimera tiptoed quietly past the few sleeping dwarves still in the recovery hall, not wishing to wake them at such an early hour.
She yawned as she passed into the next hall looking around for any sign of the night healer, Bailor. The light flickering under his study door signaling his presence in the next passage.
Nimera knocked softly on the wood, hearing no sound from inside. She knocked again harder, surprised as the door pushed open.
She peeked inside "Bailor?"
The lanterns were blazing inside his study, books and papers strewn around his desk in his typical haphazard fashion. She walked over to the desk, skimming some of his notes. Next to the inkwell a mortar and pestle was precariously perched, the ingredients half mixed.
'He is around here somewhere.' She thought
Pressing further down the hall, Nimera veered off towards the back passage, going off her best hunch that he had returned for an ingredient in his tincture.
"Bailor?"
With a sigh she peered around the darkened hallway, unhappy she had walked all way on an incorrect assumption.
"Might as well save myself some trouble later." Nimera muttered, pressing her taper to the closest lantern until it sparked to life, repeating the process on the other side.
She moved to light the next row, suddenly catching sight of a figure splayed out on the flickering edges of the lantern light.
"Bailor!"
She turned him over, frowning as the bloody cut across his forehead came into view.
"Bailor, can you hear me?" She shook him gently
The old dwarf stirred slightly, but made no sign of hearing her.
Nimera sprang to her feet, turning back to the entryway.
A soft clink echoed out from the darkness. Nimera paused, drawing her knife as she stepped back closer to Bailor.
"Bailor?" She whispered, her eyes never leaving the darkened corridor "Bailor please get up."
The old dwarf lay motionless beside her.
The sound came again, the quiet rattle echoing through the silent passageway.
Nimera pointed the tip of her dagger towards the darkness "I know you are there, show yourself!"
The minutes drug into what felt like hours as she strained her eyes to see past the lantern light.
She scolded herself for revealing herself to them. If there was more than one they would know she was outnumbered.
Nimera gripped the hilt of the dagger tighter. 'Come on, show yourself you coward.'
A pained moan echoed through the passage as Bailor stirred behind her.
She reflexively turned to look at him, realizing her mistake too late. A dark shape leapt at her from the shadows, pushing her aside, knocking the dagger from her hand.
Nimera reached out, grabbing them by their cloak, trying to pull them back with her. The figure stumbled slightly, knocking them both backwards into the shadows.
Nimera stumbled on the slick stones trying to regain her footing, searching for the intruder in the darkness,
She brought her arms up just in time to ward off the blow from the figure. She fumbled slightly at the force before managing to swing her own fist out, hearing a satisfying grunt of pain.
Nimera scrambled towards the edge of the light as a hand latched onto her ankle, dragging her back. She kicked out with her free leg, striking something solid, the grip on her ankle disappearing.
She pushed herself up onto her knees just as a hard blow shattered across her chest. Nimera let out a shuddered breath as she fell back onto the damp floor, futilely reaching a hand out as the figure raced into the light and down the hall.
Nimera rolled onto her stomach, letting out a groan as she slowly pushed herself to her knees.
She sat for a moment, taking a few short painful breaths as she tried to refill her lungs with air.
"Bastard." She gritted, looking at the empty hall where the figure had disappeared.
She wrapped her finders around the hilt of her dagger, shuffling over to Bailor who was looking around blearily.
"Bailor." Nimera rasped "Stay here I'm going to get help."
Whether he understood or not she could not tell. It made no difference, she told herself, the old healer was not going anywhere.
The way back to the main wing seemed miles long as she hastily made her way down the passage, each shadow she passed seeming more sinister than the last.
Finally she reached the main hall. Nimera's eyes darted around the room, searching for any sign of the intruder.
Her eyes landed on one of the young apprentices making his way from the recovery hall. He stopped as he caught sight of Nimera, his eyes going wide.
"Dorvos.." Nimera beckoned him to her
"L..Lady Nimera…" He stuttered, glancing at the knife in her hand. "What…"
Nimera shook her head vehemently "Go..go find one of the guards,... tell them to send for Lord Commander Dwalin.."
The young dwarf simply stared at her.
"Go!"
Dorvos sprang back to life, racing from the hall.
Nimera sighed, limping her way over to one of the large shelves, scanning its contents for a moment before finding her quarry.
She sank back onto the edge of one of the nearby beds, shirking off her tunic using it to wipe the dirt from her arms before tossing it beside her.
She traced the marks across her forearm for a moment, before dipping two fingers into the goopy substance, smearing a small amount along the scrapes.
She lifted up the bottom of her small clothes, grimacing as she saw the dark marks blooming on her chest and side.
'Oh yes. Dwalin will be thrilled.'
She dipped her fingers back into the jar, sighing in relief as the cold substance touched her burning skin.
She lifted the other side of her undershirt, trying to catch a glimpse of her back.
Foot falls echoed in the hall.
Nimera tensed, her free hand clutching her dagger, just as Dawlin, Stonehelm and two Iron Hills guards came sprinting into the wing.
The small troupe came to a skittering halt as four sets of eyes landed on Nimera.
"Nimera!" Dwalin and Stonehelm said nearly in unison
Dwalin paused, glancing from Nimera to the dagger in her hand, before finally settling on the tunic laying on the bed beside her.
His face turned red as he looked at the dwarves beside him. "Are the three of you blind or do you have a death wish!" He boomed "Turn around this instant!"
The three dwarves snapped to attention, sputtering apologies as they turned away.
Nimera shook her head. "There is no time for decorum Dwalin." She pulled the tunic over her head "Stonehelm, there is a dwarf in the back passage that needs help, take one of the guards and bring him in here, Dorvos can help him."
Stonehelm nodded to the wall "Of course."
Dwalin frowned, taking in her disheveled appearance "Nimera what's happened? Are you hurt?"
Nimera pointed to the darkened entryway "I found one of the other healers in the back passage, he had been assaulted. Whoever had attacked him was still in there. They caught me by surprise from the shadows and managed to overpower me and escaped."
Dwalin's frown deepened "Did you see who it was?"
Nimera shook her head "They had extinguished all of the lanterns in the hall."
"Can you show me where they were?"
She nodded, pressing a hand to her side as she stood.
Dwalin paused, pulling her hand away as he lifted the side of her tunic.
He sighed deeply. "Well I hope you gave as good as you got."
Nimera shrugged as they entered the passage, Dwalin pulling one of the lanterns from where it rested on the table. "It is hard to tell in the dark, but I think I got a few good lumps in."
The back passage was flooded with light now, all of the lanterns burning brightly along the corridor.
Ahead Nimera could see the guard helping Bailor along, a rag pressed against his head.
Stonehelm was crouched at the end of the passage, examining the floor.
"Do you know what room they came from?" Dwalin asked her.
"When I heard the movement it sounded like it was coming from here." She pointed at the furthest door across from them.
"What is in here?" Stonehelm asked pushing the door open
"It is storage for our medicinal ingredients." She said picking a small vial of liquid off of one of the shelves
Dwalin and Stonehelm shared a look.
"Nimera, do you have the strength to meet with Thorin?" Dwalin asked reluctantly, "It is urgent he hear about this."
She nodded, starting back through the passage.
Nimera paused as Dorvos came into view
"Is Bailor alright?"
Dorvos nodded "He will recover in full. Took a good blow to the head, but I was able to stitch it back up."
Stonehelm turned to the guard "Has he said anything?"
"Aye my lord." the guard nodded "He said that someone struck him from the shadows, but he could not see his attacker."
Stonehelm frowned "Stay here and keep watch outside of the healing hall until I return."
The guard bowed "Of course Lord Stonehelm."
Dwalin looked at her suspiciously "Are you alright to move with haste?"
Nimera scoffed "Of course."
..
By the end of their journey Nimera was beginning to regret her stubborn choice. Her breaths coming as short wheezes by the time they reached the counsel chambers.
Dwalin turned to the guards stationed outside the doors "Go and tell whatever Lords that are in there who are not my brother to shove out."
The guards hesitated for a moment before quietly opening the door to the chamber. After a low conversation followed by a few indignant raised voices, the chamber doors opened again as three red faced Lords shuffled out.
Thorin stood from his chair as Dwalin entered, his hands splayed on the table in front of him. "Dwalin what in Mahal's name is the meaning of…"
He paused as Nimera shuffled in after him.
"Durin Nimera, what happened to you? You look like you've been pushed down a hill." Fili frowned
Nimera gave them a sheepish look, lifting the hem of her shirt displaying the now purpeling bruises "Busy morning."
"Why dont you take a seat." Dwalin pushed her towards one of the open chairs at the table.
"Nimera, what happened?" Thorin crossed over to where she sat
Dwalin looked down at her "Go on and tell them everything from the start."
"I came in to relieve the night healer this morning. But I found him unconscious in the back passage, he had been assaulted. I learned the assailant was still there hiding in the darkness. I called for them to show themselves to no avail. I was distracted when Bailor started to awaken, and they caught me by surprise and managed to overpower me and escaped."
"They were rooting around in the medicinal storage." Dawlin cast a glance at Thorin
Thorin's face darkened. He turned to Nimera "What exactly is kept in that room?"
"All sorts really, it is where everything we use for our remedies is stored."
Balin cleared his throat "Any poisons?"
Nimera's eyes widened in realization. "Nothing by itself, but some could be used to make poison with the right combinations." She looked to Dwalin "You think this is related to what happened on Durin's Day?"
Dwalin shook his head "I cannot say for certain, but it is too strong of a coincidence to ignore."
Thorin frowned, turning to Nimera "Is there a way to tell what has been taken?"
"We have a record of what is stored there and logs of how much is taken for treatments, but it will take some time to sort through them."
Balin sighed deeply "We must tread carefully. Clearly something is forming in the shadows, but until we can surmise what, we cannot allow fear to spread through the mountain."
"I don' like it." Dwalin grunted. He turned to Nimera "Send word to the rangers. We need their insight."
Nimera gave him a blank look "I…. uh…"
Dwalin sighed "I was wrong to tell you no, but now is not the time to be petty Nimera."
Behind her Kili coughed, attempting to cover up the laugh that had escaped moments before.
"..I cannot."
"Come now Nimera, this is no time for games." Balin frowned
"...I cannot arrange a meeting with Dovon… because they are already out scouting for me." Nimera admitted
"It was foolish to send such sensitive information in writing Nimera." Thorin frowned
She shook her head slowly, avoiding Dawlin's gaze "I did not send it in writing…."
Dwalin crossed his arms over his chest "Then how exactly do they know what has happened?"
"I…I told them…when I met them three nights ago..."
Dwalins eyes narrowed "After I told you not to!"
"I…"
"You betrayed my trust!" He loomed over her "I explicitly told you not to ride out alone and you ran off behind my back and did exactly that!"
"I will not apologize for doing what I thought was right!" Nimera stood to face him "We could not keep wandering around blind!"
Fili placed his palms on the table, drawing their attention "Nimera did not betray your trust Dwalin. She was not alone that night...Kili and I were with her."
Thorin rounded on him "You left the mountain unguarded!"
Fili held his gaze "Kili and I are not dwarflings to be locked up at the first sign of danger. You trusted us enough to face the dragon Smaug, and yet you would have us turn tail and run now?"
Thorin deflated slightly at his words. He pinched the bridge of his nose "That may be but it was still foolish."
"Aye, but it may have been our only chance to head this off at the pass." Kili stood beside Fili
Balin cleared his throat loudly "It would seem we are all both right and wrong in our own actions. What they have done, for better or for worse, is done. We can only hope that the rangers will be able to illuminate this darkness."
Dwalin gave a disapproving grunt
Nimera ignored his protest as she turned to Thorin "I will order an inventory of all the stock. If they did manage to take something we need to know quickly. "
Thorin nodded "Keep it quiet as best you can."
Nimera inclined her head, snatching her coat from under Dwalin's hand, shooting one last glare in his direction before slipping out of the hall..
…
Risti teetered on the ladder for a moment as she pulled a particularly heavy box from the shelf "Why on Arda would anyone want to steal herbs from the medicinal storage?"
Nimera shrugged, jotting down the label of the bottle in her hand "Perhaps they thought they could sell it."
"Well when they find whoever it is I am going to skin them for boots! This inventory will take days." Risti grumbled, passing the crate to the healer beside her. "We've been at this for two days and have barely made it through half of the shelves!"
Nimera rubbed hand across her forehead, her eyes beginning to protest reading any more in the dim room.
"Why don't we take a rest? The night healers can continue from here."
Risit sprang off the ladder "Thank Mahal."
Nimera rubbed her eyes as they adjusted to the brightly lit hall
She pulled her bag from the counter, nodding to the night healer Halvin as he passed through the hall.
Nimera looked to the entryway expecting to see Stonehelm in his usual place against the wall. Her steps slowed as she caught sight of Dwalin standing in the corridor.
She stopped in front of him folding her arms over her chest "My word Stonehelm you really have aged terribly."
Dwalin scratched the side of his neck "Alright fine I deserve that."
He fell into step beside her as she left the healing wing.
"Is Stonehelm alright?"
Dwalin nodded "Aye, the lads fine. I told him I could walk you back today since counsel broke off early."
"Come to keep tabs on me yourself?" She snorted
Dwalin stopped in front of her, blocking her path "I will not apologize for wanting to keep you safe… However I was wrong for not listening to your argument. I know ya can fend for yourself, but just because you can does not mean you should."
Nimera shifted awkwardly "I…I am sorry as well, I acted rashly. I do respect your counsel, but rash or no we needed answers."
He put a hand on her shoulder "It is in the past then, and in the past we will leave it."
She nodded
"Any luck finding what your visitor took?"
"No, but there are only a few sections left. We should know for certain by weeks end." She shook her head "Clearly there is something at play here but I cannot make sense of it. I cannot work out if all of these happenings are even connected."
Dwalin frowned, casting a wary glance at the dwarves around them "Until those rangers send word again we must tread carefully. If there is a plot at hand we are walking in the dark, and the next stumble could very well be our last."