Iree sat tall upon her kitchen chair. In her hand, she held a single porcelain teacup. It rippled as she twirled her finger along its walls, watching the surface passively. She removed her finger and the water became clear, revealing the bunch of dark-green leaves at the bottom. Just barely she could make out the image of a pack of Dwarves upon its surface. They were heading her way. She could tell by the native foliage and the sight of the Misty Mountain that they were but a day away.
She smiled. Nadi was with them, that poor unfortunate Dwarve. Revenge would be sweet and consuming, and irreversible.
X
The White Warg lowered its great head to the ground and snuffled amongst the leaves. It growled low, the vibrations of its sound shaking its wet lips. The Pale Orc bent forward and sniffed the freshly churned leaves. The Dwarves had done well to hide their tracks, but their putrid scent was no match for his nose.
He grimaced in delight. Revenge would be sweet and consuming. And irreversible.
X
Gandalf left Rivendell in a hurry. A strange time had fallen upon them, indeed. The news of the Necromancer was concerning, and he hoped that the Dwarves had had the good sense to keep moving and not wait for him. Hesitancy would spell their death. He followed their tracks to the Misty Mountain where he found, upon spying, that the Goblin King had been slain and the Goblins were in a disarray. Galadriel had warned them that a solitary Witch had taken up residence beyond the Misty Mountains. She did not know who she was, but she did sense that her powers were vile and growing.
"Go," she had said in her deep and lovely voice. "Find the Dwarves. Quickly, now."
X
"Go on, Nadi, sing it again!"
Nadi exhaled grandly and puffed out her chest. The Dwarves chuckled at her exaggerated pantomime and she strut alongside them, mimicking their earlier ordeal.
"There was a maid named Ballah Sue
A sight to behold, for me and you
Her eyes were bright and water blue
And she was bored with nothing to do
She traveled wide, past rock and tree
To an old, run-down city
To a tavern with Ale for free,
Much to the luck of you and me
She saw a Warrior in vicious stance
And thought she'd ask him to a dance
Impressed by his long sword and lance.
She said, 'My dearest gent, reach in my pants!'
The Warrior did never tire
As a layman played his lyre
He was her only true desire.
But he threw her in the fire!"
The Dwarves cheered wildly at her song and clapped her smartly upon her back. Bilbo blushed at the rowdy lyrics and yet he too was inclined to laugh. The relief that settled amongst them was palpable, and though the day had been long and they were tired, the ridiculousness and subsequent safe flight that had taken place beneath the Mountain had raised her spirits.
Nadi was particularly happy to have found the Hobbit safe and sound. While they walked she fussed and braided at his hair, and shook him merrily about the shoulders until he was quite dizzy. Kili watched all of this from his place at the back of their line, never saying much, and hardly laughing. What he did not know was that she had barely slept those past few nights and thus did not have any frightful dreams. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles, and her arm was still clutched uselessly to her side. But she felt happy and driven and brave.
"I made it all up myself, you know, on the spot," she said as she undid a braid from the back of Bilbo's hair. He had never seen her so giddy, and the little smiles that fluttered on her lips warmed his heart. "You see, I had already had the gemstones in my pocket. All I needed Bofur to do was take them out and toss them in the fire."
"Hence the lines, 'my dearest gent, reach in my pants' and 'he threw her in the fire?'" Bilbo said with a smile. She laughed and smacked Bombur on the shoulder.
"Aie! Sorry, Bombi, maybe one day!"
The large Dwarve said nothing, busy, as he was, munching on a leftover sausage.
"That was very clever," Thorin said gently, looking back at her over his shoulder. "I would have never thought of it myself."
"Well I do not think you would have subjected yourself to such a raunchy display," Balin said smartly.
The image of her King singing songs of a bawdy woman in a grand old voice while bearing his chest to the Goblin King crossed Nadi's mind, but she felt it best to keep that image to herself.
"Is it true, what Bifur said? That the Goblin King mistook you for a man?"
Nadi gasped and swung around upon Bifur. "You do not even speak the Common Tongue! How did you-"
"With a lot of hand gestures towards...certain regions," Bilbo offered quickly.
"You're learning our language," Bofur said with a wink.
"The nonverbal parts of it, yes," Bilbo responded.
"Ah, those are the only ones that matter, laddie," Dori said.
The Company laughed. They continued in jovial spirits as they passed through the sparse forestation that receded from the Mountain in a wide berth. The day was fair and they did not yet know of the enemy that stalked them from further behind.
"Nadi," Bilbo thought to ask at one point, "What are we going to do about your broken arm?"
"I'm sure Gandalf will be able to fix it when he gets here," Ori offered in a sweet voice. "I heard that Wizards can do anything!"
"We should plan on never seeing Gandalf the Grey again," Thorin said.
"Agh!" Nadi hocked and spit as she walked alongside Fili. "No matter. If it doesn't heal itself properly we shall cut it off! And I shall be known as 'Nadi, the One-Armed Slayer of Dragons!"
"And slayer of hearts," Kili muttered beneath his breath. Either Nadi did not hear him or she chose not to.
They traveled onward towards the base of yet another grand Mountain. Beyond lay their destination. Once they had crossed it, their eyes would once again grace the expanse of their homeland. This set them at a quicker pace and Bilbo wondered, not for the first time if their journey was almost at an end.
They entered into a particularly dense grove of trees and the soil beneath them became jagged with rubble. Nadi had fallen into a peculiar silence. She often stopped and started, glancing about her as if she did not know where she was.
"Are you okay, lassie?" Dwalin asked, upon noticing her odd behavior.
"No," she said, "something's terribly wrong." She was thinking of the Witch, Iree, but she could not tell why her image had settled itself in her mind. Every footstep became heavier and heavier and she wished that they would turn back.
"I do not like this path," she muttered carefully to Thorin. He had stopped and considered her briefly.
"Why not?"
"I cannot explain. I think we should change our route."
"Tell me, why?"
But she couldn't explain. The familiar feeling seized her throat and she carried on, silently choking beneath her vest. The base of the mountain was closer now, obscured by a particularly dense patch of trees.
"We're almost there, I can feel it!" Dori said, rushing forward.
The trees opened up before them and they stopped. Before them stood a small, dilapidated castle. Its windows were bare of glass and it stood at a tilt as if sinking into the ground below it. Its porch was wreathed in berry bushes and young trees whose vines crept out towards their feet.
"I know these berries," Nadi said curiously and bent down to observe the thick, spiny vines. Famished, and having noticed the juicy purple berries hanging from the leaves, the Dwarves rushed and began to gather them by the handful.
"Wait! Stop!" Nadi commanded and they froze in place. "These berries are poison, as are most of the vegetation here. Look," she said, holding a branch out to Thorin, "They're sister plants to the Blackberry bush. Their thorns are thinner and sparsely placed. See here, too, that the stem is slightly striated. They've strangled out the native Blackberry population."
"Native?" Thorin said, "They were brought here?"
"Probably by whoever lives in that castle there."
"Why would someone intentionally plant poisonous berries?" Bilbo wondered out loud.
"They must have wicked intentions."
Nadi stood rooted to the spot, her gaze traveling along the height of the castle. "I don't think we should go any further," she said quietly. She had seen these plants in someone's garden once before. No one took heed of her as Bofur had come around from the back of the dwelling and proclaimed that it was dark inside and that it must be empty. Nadi shook her head.
"I don't think we should go any further!"
"Why not?"
She knew the person that had taken up residence in the castle. She could see her face clear as day in her mind. If they went any further, they could be walking into a trap set by the woman who had cursed her years before. She looked at Thorin pleadingly and shook her head again. All breath left her as it usually did whenever she was on the verge of speaking about her encounter with the Witch. Thorin looked at her for a moment in confusion before turning away.
"Night will be falling soon. We will take shelter here."
The Company moved away but Nadi remained still in the same spot. Kili turned and called to her but she refused to move. She stood there with her lip trembling, still clutching the withered branch. "What is it?"
She looked away and squeezed her eyes shut. What to do? She couldn't warn them about her instincts. Indeed, she couldn't say much of anything at all as her curse had struck her mute. She'd have to do something drastic to divert them. She dropped the stem and ran towards Thorin. Before he could stop her, she had grabbed his fur coat and was attempting to drag him backward.
"Have you gone mad?" Bofur cried and the Dwarves descended upon her. Dwalin grabbed one arm and Balin grabbed the other. Together they heaved her backward and threw her to the ground.
"How dare you lay your hands upon your king?" Thorin thundered. She stood up quickly and was at him again. Her fingers pried desperately at his vest and succeeded in dragging him forward a few feet before a thundering blow sent her hurtling towards the ground. She looked up at him in shock, her mind reeling from being struck, but she stood up on wobbling legs and reached for him again.
Please do not go, please do not go, PLEASE DO NOT GO, she begged him with her eyes but he shoved her backward, his face alight with rage. Fili rushed forward and put his body between her and Thorin, his strong arm wrapped protectively around her chest.
"Never in all of my life have I encountered such treachery from a Dwarve! Am I to understand that you no longer wish to be a part of this Company?"
"I do not…" she choked, but she couldn't finish her sentence. I do not want you to go on lest you fall victim to the Witch's trap, she had meant to say but her voice failed her and she stood there gaping like a suffocating fish. "No...I do not-!"
They all stared at her in surprise. Even the Hobbit could tell that, by striking out at her King, she had committed a grievous and uncharacteristic offense. Thorin's features softened as he moved towards her. They held each other's eyes for a tense moment, and for once Thorin seemed unsure.
"You?" He growled, as if to say 'of all people?' "Nadi, daughter of Sadi, daughter of Fadi. Niece to the late Kadi. You wish to abandon us now when we are so close?"
She shook her head. No, no, no, that is not what I want. You cannot go on! But Thorin mistook her silence and he turned away from her in disgust. "Leave, then."
"My lord," she whimpered. He turned suddenly and thrust her backward.
"Leave, now, from whence we came! I never want to see your face again. Fili, Kili. Let her take no further steps with us. She's made up her mind."
Nadi lunged forward but she was caught in the arms of the two brothers.
"Thorin, please," Kili said and the Hobbit rushed forward.
"She'll die out there," he said urgently but Thorin paid him no mind.
"Let all who oppose me join in on her exile."
Nadi screamed as the others hauled her back. She kicked and thrashed and struck out with her fist but their joint power was simply too much for her. They deposited her, cursing and crying, farther back in the grove from whence they had come.
"You must go," Kili said in a broken voice. He glanced back at the Company visible through a break in the trees. They were moving away and closer to the castle. "I fear what he will do if you try to stay." He unslung his quiver and bow from his back and handed it to her. "Take these. Remember what I taught you."
"Kili!" she cried but Fili pushed her back.
"Go now," Kili said, glancing fearfully over his shoulder. "This quest is not for you. But I will find you again one day. If we make it."
He pushed her again and she stumbled back, clutching her broken arm. There was nothing more that she could do so she turned on her heel and ran as fast as she could, back down the path that they had taken.