It was Bard, a bowman from Lake-Town. He fired an arrow at Ori but Dwalin was quick to interfere. Tensions arose as he slung another arrow into his bow, but it was Balin who saved them all with his quick thinking. With deceptively candor wit and a silver-tongue, he haggled a deal with the suspicious bowman: Bard would grant them access to the city in exchange for coin, doubled for the necessity of stealth. It was assumed that the Master of Lake-Town would not be kind towards those who had incurred the spite of Thranduil, even if they were just 'simple merchants,' as Balin claimed.
They clambered into his boat and he steered them deftly through narrow channels and high stone pillars. A particularly sharp turn took them all by surprise and Thorin turned his rage upon Bard, demanding to know if he was trying to kill them.
"I was born and bred on these waters, Master Dwarf," Bard said coolly. "If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here."
"Aye," Nadi said, nodding sagely. "I reckon there are caves beneath these waters. There are portions of the river that narrow out between the overhangs on either side. Deceptively calm on the surface, but I'm sure the rush of pressure underneath would be enough to suck up a body and deposit it miles from whence-"
"Nadi," Dwalin said. "Shut up."
"Smart woman," Bard said, with a slight upturn to his lips. "But no, that is not how I would do it."
"A whirlpool, then?" She asked excitedly. Bofur stomped on her foot and she quickly closed her mouth.
After the coins had been sorted and Gloin had begrudgingly deposited his fair share, they continued along the river in silence until they reached the port of Lake-Town. After a hushed exchange between Bard and the man on guard, a few citizens stepped forward and piled raw fish into each barrel, thus obscuring the shocked Dwarves. The smell was foul, but the feel of the slippery, slimy scales on their bare skin was worse.
They listened as the sounds of the city grew louder. It seemed as if they were approaching the city gates. Bard exchanged a few words with the gatekeeper, who was happily oblivious to the Dwarves cooped up beneath the fish in the barrels. Then a new voice rang out above them, one which was thick and venomous with distaste.
"Consignment of empty barrels from the Woodland Realms," it said. "Only...they're not empty, are they, Bard?" Bard said something and the man chuckled. "You're licensed as a bargeman. Not a fisherman. So. These fish are illegal. Empty the barrels over the side!"
Nadi's heartbeat quickened as her barrel shook from an outside force. She braced her hands along the edges as she was tipped sideways. The fish on top of her began to slide away into the water. Any second the top of her head would be exposed. And then all would be over for them.
"Folks in this town are struggling," she heard Bard say. "Times are hard. Food is scarce. And when the people hear the master of the town is dumping food back into the lakes, what then? What will you do when the rioting starts?"
There was a pause as Nadi held her breath. The man - Alfrid, she heard - seemed to consider this. Then, with a nasally growl, he ordered his men to abandon the emptying of the barrels. A voice called for the gates to be raised and they began to move again.
"Don't forget, Bard. The master of the town has his eyes on you. We know where you live."
"It's a small town, Alfrid," Bard called back. "Everyone knows where everyone lives."
What a fiery individual, Nadi thought to herself. Her barrel rocked by a sudden force and she realized that she had been kicked.
"I can hear you, Master Dwarf," Bard said and Nadi cursed herself. She hadn't realized that she had spoken out loud.
They arrived a few moments later at the bowman's house. Immediately his son ran out and alerted him to the fact that spies were watching the house. This prompted him to lead the Company in a new direction, one that required them to make their entrance through his toilet. Grimy and smelling of filth, they clambered out one by one into the relative safety of his homely shack. His children regarded them with wonder for they had never before seen Dwarves or Hobbits. Nadi immediately backed herself into a corner, so as to be able to watch all entrances and exits to the house. Thorin came and stood beside her. He cast a curious glance at her bulging cheek.
"Spit it out," he said, recognizing the look of mischief that was etched along her brow. She cast him an imploring glance before pulling a fishbone from between her lips.
"Raw fish oil is good for the skin," she said in response to his raised eyebrow. "The matron who told me about living food said...well, never mind..."
He sighed, shook his head, and then pointed at the window with his chin. "Do you know what that is?" He asked her. She turned and followed the direction of his gaze. There, mounted upon a tall tower beyond, was a well-made contraption that she assumed was used to fire arrows at a long distance.
"It's a bow of some sort," she said.
"No. Not just any bow. The Dwarvish Wind Lance. It was used once before, when the city was on fire and the dragon Smaug cast his terrible shadow upon the people of Lake-Town. It was the lord of the city, Girion, who rallied his men to fire upon the beast…"
"And then? What happened?" She asked breathlessly. Though he had told her many tales during her youth, this one was new. But there was something foul to it, she could tell by the darkening of his countenance. Bilbo came and stood beside her, his arms crossed tightly across his chest to ward off the cold. Thorin raised his chin and gazed down the bridge of his nose at the contraption, his lips parted in thought.
"'Twas only a black arrow fired from the Wind Lance that could pierce the dragon's hide," he finally said. "Not many were made."
"It must've missed its mark," Bilbo said. "Because the dragon did burn down the city, in the end. Right?"
"Ever the master of that which is obvious," Thorin said. He turned away from the window in disgust and spoke as if to himself. "Aye, Master Baggins. If the aim of men had been true that day, much would have been different."
Offended, Bard's son stepped forward and put forth the fact that the black arrow had, indeed, weakened the dragon's hide by knocking away a scale. One more hit, he said with a proud flush to his cheeks, and the dragon would have been killed. But Thorin would hear none of it. He turned to Bard and demanded the weapons that they had been promised at the beginning of their journey into Lake-Town.
Bard nodded and left to retrieve them. When he returned, the weapons that he laid out upon his table were unsatisfactory to the Dwarves. They cast them aside and crossed their arms, cursing Bard and crying 'sabotage' at the fruitless exchange. There was nothing that Bard could do to appease them, and yet he would not hear of them leaving the town, not with the spies watching his house. He begged them to wait until nightfall and, seeing the reasoning in this, they were forced to acquiesce.
"Thorin," Nadi said, switching to Khuzdul. Bard's ears perked up at the sound of the king's name, but nobody noticed. "I'd wager their weapon stores have been collecting dust, since the desolation of the dragon. And I'm in the mood for a little house cleaning. What say you?"
"I say you have the right idea," he said back and the surrounding Dwarves nodded their heads in agreement. After a few whispered words to his son, Bard rushed out of the house. Thorin watched him go, masking his intention with a cool expression. He waited until his footsteps had retreated down the dock and then said, "we leave now."
X
The Dwarves were not to succeed in their raid of the weapon stores. Kili, in his injured state, fell and crashed down the staircase, alerting every guard to their presence. They were dragged before the doorways of the Master's home and deposited, shivering and confusing, upon the snow-covered staircase. The Master burst through the doorway and cast a cold eye upon the Dwarves as his servant Alfrid branded them as enemies of the state, no-good, thieving mercenaries, common criminals. This set the Dwarves in an uproar that would have come to blows had not Dwalin stepped forward and in a proud, booming voice proclaimed Thorin as the King: son of Thrain, son of Thror - the leader of the Dwarves of Erebor. Nadi listened with a swelling heart as Thorin spoke on the days of old, when Lake-Town was the center of trade in the North: the bearer of silk trade ships, and chests overflowing with sparkling gems. In a rising voice, he promised to see to the resurrected glory of the town, to take back the mountain and shower Lake-Town with the wealth that had been stolen.
It was then that Bard reappeared. Having heard Thorin's name, he had researched his lineage in the old tapestries. What he found had shocked him and set a grave fear in his heart. He pushed through the cheering masses and demanded that they listen to him. Thorin would bring nothing but death and destruction upon them, as had been done in Dale. He warned that the awakening of the beast would bring about the town's demise.
"The blind ambition of a Mountain King," he added with a scowl meant for Thorin and Thorin alone, "so driven by greed. He cannot see past his own desire!"
"Nay," Thorin said. "I promise you all. If we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain."
"You have no right," Bard said, stepping closer. But Thorin did not cower beneath his gaze.
"I have the only right," he said in a low voice.
But the mind of the master of Lake-Town had been set. Already, he had begun to envision the rivers of gold flowing from the mountain. He was tired of the gout and disease and distrust that plagued his city. He figured it was due time for a real crown of gold to grace his balding head, as well as imported brandy in crystalline cups and enough money for him to fill a tub and sit in it. Besides, he figured, pretty money brings pretty women. And he had grown quite tired of the common type that often stood begging at his doorway.
He welcomed the Company with wide arms and proclaimed that theirs was a blessed journey. A feast would be thrown in their honor, yes, and they would be fitted with the best armor that Lake-Town had to offer. The crowd cheered for they, too, lusted after the comfort and abundance that the Mountain King had offered. They descended upon the Dwarves, reaching out to them with reverent touches and words of praise. Nadi laughed as she was bolstered up and carried along on their shoulders.
At some point, she glanced down and found a pair of black-rimmed eyes staring back at her from the outskirts of the crowd. The woman hesitated and then nodded, slowly.
It's time, Ana's eyes seemed to say before she turned and disappeared around a corner.
X
The feast for the Company was held in a dilapidated banquet hall at the edge of the town. It lingered long into the night, with all except for Thorin getting drunk on cheap brandy and warm ale. Nadi felt at ease amongst the people of Lake-Town, regal, even as they lauded her with praise and questions about her past. But it didn't escape her, the fact that they would have seen her killed had not Thorin promised them riches and wealth beyond their imagination.
So she held her tongue and kept her lips shut beneath a polite smile as they offered her heaping platefuls of salted pork and pickled eggs. Farther along the table, Bofur was laughing and entertaining the women with his raunchy jokes. He was the drunkest out of them all, and would no doubt feel the after-effects the following day.
She spotted Ana at the clapboard bar wedged into the corner of the banquet hall. Nadi waved a harried-looking woman over and pulled her down by her sleeve.
"That woman, there," she said, tilting her chin. "I'm willing to wager that she comes to Lake-Town, every once in a while. But none of you know who she is or where she comes from, just appears and disappears like a blustering storm. Am I right?"
"That you are," the woman said, glancing over her shoulder at Ana. "Do ye know 'er?"
"I'm getting around to it. A pitcher of brandy, if you will, love."
The woman left and then reappeared with a chipped pitcher full to the brim. Nadi stood with a sigh, grabbed the pitcher, took two swallows of ale from the cups next to her, and then carried the empty mugs towards Ana. She slid into the seat next to her and set the mugs down between them. Ana stiffened but did not speak as Nadi poured the brandy into the mugs. Her face was clear of its black mark and for the first time, Nadi realized that she was quite beautiful. A curtain of harsh black hair hung flushed around her face as if recently blown by the wind. Her eyes were a deep, watchful green and her lips were plump and pink as the glossy flora that hung about the riverbeds of Nadi's youth.
"I suppose a thank you is in order," Nadi said. Ana's eyes followed the amber stream of glinting brandy as it filled her cup, never once blinking. Her lashes were dark and full as a crow's wing. "For tending to my wounded leg. And then butchering the dragonling for the Company…"
"Did you forget that I cut you free of the spider's nest and protected you from the Orcs in the Woodland Realm?"
"I'm fickle with my praise, I'll admit that." Both mugs were full to the brim. Nadi cast the pitcher to the side as Ana picked up her mug. Before Nadi could move to lift her own, Ana had tossed her head and downed the entire drink in three swallows. Nad's mouth hung open in surprise before she shook her head and muttered. "And you're not fickle with your brandy."
"Swallow it fast and it'll mask the taste," Ana said.
"Right uh, well…" Nadi held her mug aloft in front of her, suddenly embarrassed at the fact that she would not be able to drink it as fast as Ana. Accepting defeat, she placed it back on the table and pushed it away. She crossed her arms and set her elbows down on the table. "I've been thinking, and I'd appreciate it if you'd lend me your ear, for a moment. I've figured something out about you...you could say that I realized it when we first met. See, you reminded me of somebody that I met long ago during my travels. Her name was Iree and she was one real mean woman." Ana's face was impassive, but her eyes betrayed her surprise. Nadi smiled. She had hit her mark. "I was told by my kin that Iree had a girl by the name of Ailee," Nadi continued. "Ailee was kidnapped by a group of Dwarves wandering through the forest. They kept her as a slave for many years before returning with her to Erebor. They were caught and reprimanded, but Ailee remained in the city of Dale. It was there that she gave birth to a baby girl, which she named Ana. But you…" Nadi stroked her beard as she studied Ana's face. "You're not her. If my memory serves me correct, that Ana died in the city along with her mother."
Ana said nothing. She had hardly moved an inch since Nadi had begun talking. Nadi took a sip of her brandy and savored it slowly, her eyes never leaving the other woman's face.
"But there was another," she said and Ana looked away. "Iree had another baby girl, one who shared a name with her late niece, one who the Bahndobihn brothers left behind when they took Ailee. So I wonder...what happened to that other baby girl?" Nadi's voice dipped an octave. "What happened to you ?"
It was unsettling, how little Ana blinked. Her wide eyes and constricted pupils seemed to have zoned in on Nadi, sucking her deep into the peridot irises. Her expression never changed, as if she was stuck in a permanent state of shock and Nadi wondered what it was that she had seen in her life that had inspired the look on her face and kept it frozen there.
"You are correct," Ana finally said. The only movement on her face was a slight curl on the corner of her lip. But whether it was amusement or distaste, Nadi could not tell. "Everyone in the village knew that Iree was my mother, even though she kept her affairs private. Preferred to keep us hidden away deep in the forests, so I've been told."
"I understand that," Nadi said, her mind on her own upbringing on the outskirts of the civilized world.
"Do you, now?" Ana said in the same indecipherable voice. "Well, tell me if you understand this: a group of hunters from the village found me by a river when I was a baby. I was half-dead, with strange markings upon my skin and surrounded by a bed of poisonous flowers. What do you think would drive a mother to abandon her baby girl in such a manner?"
"Your mother dabbled in dark magic. She used it to orchestrate my demise when we met. Would I be correct in assuming that you were an unwilling sacrifice for the sake of her craft?"
"It's what the villagers believed. She was a changed woman by the time they found me: a babbling recluse with an obsession with killing Dwarves. It was lucky that they found me and raised me in secret, away from her... insanity . Who knows what she would have done if she knew that I was alive? They tried their best, they did, but something was terribly wrong. Once so lush, their village came to experience droughts, famines, and plagues of the like that they had never seen before. And it all coincided with my arrival." Ana closed her eyes and let her head fall back just a little. She was stepped in memory, one that darkened her countenance and lay a sallow tinge upon her cheeks. Was it Nadi's imagination or had the space around her grown darker? "Do you understand, Master Dwarf? I had evil within me. My mother offered me up to the darkness beyond. It had laid its crackling, decaying fingers upon me while I lay vulnerable upon the river bank. But I fought it. Something within me rejected the cold clasp of the unholiness beyond. But still, I was marked and to this very day, I carry that touch of evil within me. I hear it calling to me, constantly, demanding that I submit to its craving."
Nadi watched in a trance as Ana's face shifted and began to take on a new form. A thick, pulsing blackness began to descend along her brow and stain her eyes. It crept along the spidery imprints of her veins as she took Nadi's hand and slid it along her cheek. Her skin - once so supple and bright - warped beneath Nadi's fingers and began to slip away. She was melting! Horror filled Nadi's heart as the skin on Ana's cheek disintegrated, revealing the pale and meaty muscle encasing the edges of her skull. She tried to pull away but Ana was strong, her grip iron and eyes black as coagulated blood.
"Can you imagine?" Ana growled. "Day in, day out fighting the beckoning of tainted spirits? Spirits that gnash their teeth in anticipation for your death so that they may take you and defile what's left within you? I cannot do it anymore. I am growing weak. Oh, so very weak, Nadi. Someone must take over this bleating vessel."
" I am not the one! " Nadi cried and yanked her arm back. The force of it knocked her off of her stool and she fell back onto the ground. Ana was on her feet in seconds. She loomed over Nadi with a frown deepening upon her blackened lips. There was laughter and shouting around them, and yet none seemed privy to the mysterious exchange between them.
"Oh, but you are!" There was an echo to Ana's words as if a hundred unseen spirits were talking with her. "I've known it ever since we met for the first time in the forest. Such a warrior, you are! Such warm blood and keen spirit! That's why I've fought to keep you alive! None but you are worthy of inheriting my burden, my woodland warrior!"
"Ana! Ana, no! Please!"
Nadi didn't know what she was struggling against. Indeed, she did not fully understand the true meaning of Ana's words. All she knew was that something was terribly wrong, and Ana meant to do her some grievous harm. But she was trapped beneath the cold gaze of the strange woman and some mysterious spell that turned her blood to ice and numbed her limbs. Ana bent down with her tongue on her teeth and pressed her lips gently against Nadi's forehead. Immediately, Nadi began to choke. Spittle flew out of her mouth and frothed at her lips as her eyes rolled back in her head. She put a heavy hand to her throat and gave a rickety gasp. It felt as if her body was slowly filling with an airy pressure, ballooning out at the edges until she was sure that she would burst. In a last-ditch effort to catch somebody's attention, she kicked out with her leg and knocked the stool over. She heard the sound of running and then someone else was looming over her. It was Bofur. He peered at her in shock before calling to Balin who rushed by his side.
"Mercy me, I think Nadi's choking!" Someone cried. Balin shook his head and stuck his arms beneath her shoulders.
"Agh, probably too much to drink, I'd wager."
He lifted her and set her back against the wall. Her hands were still clutching at her throat as her teeth churned desperately against their will. Her pupils dropped back down just in time to see Balin clasp his fist and thrust them upwards against her chest. She buckled over the impact and coughed up a mouthful of inky phlegm.
"There, there," Balin said. "That'll get you feeling better in no time.
Nadi did not respond. She looked around her wildly but once again Ana had disappeared.
"The woman," she said weakly. "The one that I was talking to. Where did she go?"
"Er..." Bofur said, scratching his head and looking around. "I'm not quite sure. She was here a moment ago. Quite a beauty, she was."
"No, no, no, Bofur, please. You had to have seen her get up and leave . She couldn't've just disappeared into thin air! She was just right there! "
She pointed and everyone looked at her hand. The rest of the Dwarves had gathered around her, along with a few curious onlookers. Her gaze dropped to her hand which was shaking terribly. But not only that. It was-
"Nadi," Gloin said. "Your hand's gone black. Did you knock over a glass of ink?"
Nadi snatched her hand away and quickly stuffed it beneath her shirt. She didn't want to see the thick webbing of black that had spidered its way across the back of her hand. It was too abnormal, like something caused by a disease. She knew then that she should tell them about Ana and all that she had experienced during the journey. But every time she tried to speak, her thoughts became distorted and caused her to feel terribly annoyed. She felt stuffed, as if something was inside her, spreading its wings against her innards. It was nothing like Iree's curse. She knew, intuitively, that she could speak. But, for some strange reason, the thought of doing so made her angry.
"I have to go," she said with difficulty. Bilbo appeared by her side and hurriedly shuffled a coat around her shoulders.
"I'll walk with you. You just need some rest, that's all. It's been a long night for all of us."
The sight and smell of him flooded her with warmth. Something about him was so pure, so homely that she couldn't help but feel safe in his presence. He slipped one shoulder under her arm and half-walked, half-carried her to the doorway, all while mumbling gentle words of encouragement in her ear. Finally, they reached the cabin that had been specially designated for the Company. He let her down gently upon her blankets and then perched upon her bed.
"Stay with me?" She asked in a quiet voice. He took her hand in his and pressed it to his lips.
"Oh, I'm not going anywhere, Nadi. You just rest your pretty little head and we'll see how you feel in the morning."
"Alright," she said, and then, "tell me a story. Anything, I don't care. Tell me all about your life back in the Shire-place."
He blew a stream of air out and then smiled. "Well, I suppose we'll begin at the beginning, then. That's a good place to start, I reckon..."
He talked long into the night, even as her eyes began to droop and soft snores bubbled from between her lips. Her dreams were finicky and frightening, filled with foggy black dreamscapes crackling with blue thunder.
Darkness or divinity , she heard a disembodied voice say, it's your turn to decide.
X
Ending Notes: I just love the friendship between Nadi and Bilbo. It's just so sweet and loving and gentle and pure. It's like he's her medicine in their crazy world.
Also, Emma Appleton as Renfri (the Witcher) was my inspiration for Ana.