Hi! How is everyone doing? I am so ready for sunshine and more me-time:) Me-time usually involves more writing, so hopefully you'll be seeing a lot me coming up to date!
Chapter 18
They heard the rushing sounds of bushes being swept aside or smashed under the weight of a fast-moving object. Trampling...crackling...rustling...growing louder and louder as the source drew nearer. The air started vibrating into full static mode, growing heavier the closer as the bustling sound, layering with the magnetic frenzy of Gandalf's presence, but wilder.
Was it more magic?
"Kyle!"
Kyle ignored the warnings behind him as he ran ahead of the others. He gripped the sword in his hand, weighing his wrist down from its ten pound blade, and the stringless bow in his other for good measure. He could feel the dwarves catching up to him in a wary crowd behind. Maia caught up and took his arm to pull him back, Lori trailing behind. "Kyle-" she started, but was interrupted by an exploding entrance from the bushes. Both Maia and Kyle were nearly run over by a stampede of…..rabbits?
"THIEVES! FIRE! MURDER!" screeched the intruder. An old man on a sled halted in front of the company in complete disarray, his expression still blazing crazily with adrenaline as he panted for breath.
"Jesus!" exclaimed Maia, recovering from a near heart-attack while everyone was staring at the newcomer in dismay.
Nope, not Jesus, thought Kyle, though the presence of this strange-looking old man on a branch-made sled vibrated nearly as strongly as it did in Gandalf's. Kyle and his sisters knew right away that it was another wizard before they even had a proper look at him in the heat of things. The next clue was long robes and hat, though they had all seen far better days with its faded brown fabric, filled with tatters and stains. Most of all, the long staff with the blue crystal that passed the old man's height by a foot.
"Radagast!" exclaimed Gandalf, confirming their guess as he sheathed his sword. "It's Radagast the Brown!"
Lori gasped, staring at brown wizard while tugging at Maia's blouse. "The wizard that talks to animals? He's here!" she whispered excitedly, while also turning her gaze at the herd of rabbits tied to the sled. She smiled wide, brown eyes twinkling as one of them scratched its floppy ear with its hind foot. "Bunnies!"
Gandalf stepped around the Dainsons and approached the old hermit called Radagast, who still had that crazed look frozen on his face. "What on earth are you doing here?" asked Gandalf, looking slightly suspicious.
"I was looking for you, Gandalf!" hissed Radagast, gesturing his hands wildly. "Something is wrong! Something is terribly wrong!"
"Yes?" echoed Gandalf, waiting patiently.
Radagast opened his mouth, then froze. He opened his mouth again. Then froze, frowning. "Just a minute, um...Oh!" he groaned in frustration. "I had a thought, and now I've lost it. It was right there, on the tip of my tongue..." The voice sounded numb at the last word. His eyes crossed as he stuck out a curled tongue. "Oh, iths thnot a thought ath all," he lisped through his tongue, while Gandalf leaned forward and lifted a hand. "Iths juth a s'thilly li'l..." His tongue rolled out and Gandalf plucked out a "...stick insect," finished Radagast, smiling at the grey wizard dropped the bug in his open palm.
Like the Company behind them, Maia's face pinched in disgust, while Lori said, "Ew!" and Kyle commented, "Cool!" with a smirk.
Radagast finally looked over at them, but his gaze fell on Kyle first. He frowned, still staring, and Kyle, who shifted uncomfortably under the stare, was now fully aware that the brown wizard had one bushy eyebrow down and one bushy eyebrow up, framing a large, owlish eye that rarely blinked but seemed so sharp that it pierced through Kyle's soul. His beard was mousy brown with gray streaks, a complete rat-mess-or rather, a bird-nest, after spotting white streaks of bird poop caking one side of his face-compared to Gandalf's, half a mustache going out one way and the other half drooping down, everywhere.
Kyle looked back at everyone else, meeting Maia's eyes briefly and Lori's, all looking as confused and uncomfortable as him. Why was the crazy-looking wizard staring at him?
"Radagast?" Gandalf said, glancing at Kyle, and then at the addressed.
Radagast blinked, seeming to come back to reality, and then inquired directly to Kyle with a tilted head, "Do-Do I know you?"
"Uh…" Kyle opened his mouth, completely thrown off by this question. He glanced sideways at Maia, who gaped in surprise at both her brother and the wizard. Lori could tell both her older siblings thought Radagast the Brown was loony. Looking back at the dwarves and Bilbo, they clearly thought the same thing.
Maybe he is, her inner-voice thought, glancing at his eccentric, twitchy state. With his matted hair and tattered clothes, invested with twigs and droppings, he did look like he slept in an animal hole his whole life. She doubted he even talked to many people, if at all. By Gandalf's description, he lived alone in "the vast forestlands to the East."
Didn't they call that a hermit?
After Maia shrugged in confusion at her brother, Kyle looked back at Radagast, shaking his head, "Uh, no...No. Sorry. I think you got me mixed up with somebody else."
"Who did you think Kyle was?" Ori was the first dwarf in the background to speak up.
Radagast didn't speak, but he kept looking at Kyle curiously.
"Radagast," said Gandalf, and the brown wizard glanced at him. A formal smile appearing on the gray wizard's face as he gestured to the siblings and the others, "I do not think I properly introduced the Company of Thorin Oakenshield." In the background, Thorin had lowered his sword and formerly nodded in greeting, while everyone else followed his lead. "The hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire, and this is Kyle, Maia, and Lori Dainson of Houston, Texas."
"Houston, Texas?" echoed Radagast, thoughtfully. Then he frowned. "Is that a village?"
"It's a city, actually," said Maia, giving a half-shrug, "though technically we just live a neighborhood on the country side."
"Oh." Radagast blinked, not seeming all there.
Definitely a hermit.
"They are from another world, Radgast," explained Gandalf. "Texas is their homeland. They seek a way to return to their world. That is why these young ones accompany us."
"Another world," murmured Radagast, fascination drawing his features as he studied the three. He did not sound the least bit suspicious or skeptical. "If that is true, then is that where that source of energy comes from? Do you not feel it, Gandalf? Has it to do with their crossing here?"
Gandalf chuckled uneasily, and said, "Yes, yes, I've been trying to make sense of it myself for weeks now."
"Excuse me, what?" asked Maia, glaring at the gray wizard.
Lori was confused. Was Radagast talking about the magical essence vibrating around the two wizards every time she, her brother, and sister felt every time they were close? Did they have that magical air around them, too, because they entered another world?
Before Gandalf would answer, Radagast's eyes widened and said, "Oh, yes! The trouble! Gandalf, I need to speak to you. Alone," he added more seriously.
The wizard nodded. "Alright." He turned to the Company. "Carry on with your business, for I shall attend another in the meantime."
Thorin's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but gave a nod as Gandalf and Radagast walked a measurable distance away from the dwarves. After sharing a skeptical glance with Dwalin, Thorin sheathed his new sword and walked away, muttering, "Wizards."
When everyone dispersed to retreive their supplies from near the troll cave, the Dainsons remained standing, staring after the wizards. Bilbo, Fili, Kili, and Ori stepped up behind them, looking equally as perplexed. The herd of rabbits shuffled right next to them, unnoticed by everyone except Lori, who took advantage of the elders' distraction and knelt next to rabbits.
"That...was really weird," said Kyle finally.
"What doesn't strike the brown wizard as odd?" said Kili, smirking. "He did not look entirely there." He touched the side of his head. "If you know what I mean."
"I hear that beneath that hat, he uses the top of his hair as a nest for birds," said Ori, "and that the pockets of his long coat were used as shelter for smaller creatures. He is a tenderer of beasts."
"You seem to know as much about Radagast as Gandalf," complimented Maia, glancing at Ori with a raised eyebrow.
"Not very much," admitted Ori, sheepishly. "Few seldom do about the five wizards, besides their reputation. The books never get it right, not compared to the truth. I just thought hearing it from Gandalf was much more reliable than aging records from a library."
"I'm more interested in why he thinks he knows Kyle," said Fili, sitting on a nearby rock, but frowning suspiciously in the wizards' direction as they were deep in discussion. Bilbo agreed.
Kyle shrugged. "Beats me. He probably just thought I was some other kid that looked like me...if he saw other kids at all."
"It makes sense, but you're right," agreed Maia. "One look at him, and Radagast clearly looks like he spends most of his time with animals...Lori!" she exclaimed, when spotting her sister kneeling on the ground near the herd of large, brown rabbits.
One of the rabbits curled up in her lap, head resting on the crook of her arm with closed eyes, Lori was stroking its soft, mirky fur when she looked up at Maia's tone.
"What?" she said. The rabbit rolled over in Lori's lap until its fluffy tummy extended to her hands. Stretching out like that, the rabbit looked a third of the little girl's size.
Maia thought it was so adorable that she forgot for moment what she had been about to say before. Something about 'don't touch, they might carry disease.' She smiled and knelt down next to the little girl, putting down her daggers. "Mind if I join you?" She reached out and started scratching the rabbit's stomach, causing the critter to relax and thump its hind foot into the air at Maia's rhythmic fingers. The girls giggled together at the sight.
"Really, you're not worried about rabies or anything?" teased Kyle, him and the other smaller men looking down at his sisters.
"Says the weirdo who thinks spitting out bugs is 'cool,'" pointed Maia, her eyes still on the rabbit she was petting in Lori's lap.
"Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go get our stuff." As Kyle turned to go, Kili started to follow.
"You're going to need a string for that bow, mate," he said. "Otherwise, it looks a little pathetic. It doesn't even have arrows."
"Gee, thanks for stating the obvious!" said Kyle, turning around to glare at Kili. "You happen to have any strings I could use to fix that?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Reaching into his coat pocket, Kili pulled out a bundle of string. He smiled wide. "I always come prepared."
Above their heads, they did not realize a silver-wing falcon perched on the branch, staring down at them as Kili showed Kyle how to attach the string to the bow, while Fili and Ori knelt next to Maia and Lori, complimenting on how well they won the affections of the rabbits.
The falcon was still as a statue and just listened.
"What did the brown wizard mean by what he said?" asked Fili toward the Dainsons. "He said he sensed a 'source of energy' from you..."
"I think Gandalf means magic," said Lori. "We can feel magic around them, too."
"Wait!" Bilbo stepped in, staring at Lori, and then Kyle, and then Maia. "Are you saying that you can feel Gandalf's magic? Why haven't you told me this?"
"We thought you felt it, too," said Maia, defensively. "We thought it was normal...besides the mark on the door you clearly hadn't seen a month ago."
Bilbo opened his mouth, then shook his head. "The dwarves saw it. Maybe I was not meant to see it, but this is something else entirely."
"So, you can't feel it?" Maia looked at them all. "Neither of you?"
Bilbo, Fili, Kili, and Ori all shook their heads. "But what about how Radagast felt a source of energy from you three?" pointed out Kili, while he was tying and stretching the string in Kyle's bow. "Even Gandalf admitted it. How would you explain that?"
"We don't know," said Maia, feeling frustrated. "A lot of weird stuff has been happening to us ever since we got here."
"Maybe it's got something to do with being in this world," suggested Kyle. "Could also explain our dreams. Maybe we're magical, like Gandalf."
"Oh, grow up!" groaned Maia, rolling her eyes, making the others laugh.
"No, seriously! I mean, who knows what other kinds of weird stuff happens here!"
"What if we had superpowers?" cheered Lori.
"We don't have superpowers, Lori," said Maia.
"But we might. How do you know?" Something in the little girl's tone seemed suggestive.
"We don't. That's the point. Anyway, it won't matter once we find our way home."
Though the young woman didn't see, Fili winced a little.
"Yes, you're right," nodded Bilbo. "But maybe Gandalf will have some explaining to do once his business over there is finished."
"I doubt it," grumbled Kyle. "He didn't even know how we got here, so why should he know about this?"
"You never know," said Kili. "Wizards are known to surprise you. They have wisdom that goes far back!" He managed to tied the knot of the string and cut of the end. Holding up the bow, balancing the tightness before handing it to Kyle. "There you go. Now it looks like half a weapon, at least. We're going to have to make spare arrows in the meantime."
Kyle groaned loudly and Kili laughed. He was terrible at making arrows, the first and last one he made took nearly an hour to perfect, and Kili knew it. The dwarf patted him on the back. "Don't worry, lad. The more you do it, the easier it gets."
Kyle just gave him the stink-eye. When he went to follow Kili, he noticed the silver falcon staring at him from the upper branch. It looked like it hadn't moved in hours, but its gaze was directed at Kyle like the barrel of a gun. Its chest had a black mark the shape of an eye.
Kyle narrowed his eyes back at the bird, but felt his skin crawl slightly.
Finally, he just looked away and started walking back to get the bags with Kili. "Stupid bird," he muttered under his breath, trying to ignore the feeling that it was glaring straight at his back.
"The Greenwood is sick, Gandalf." Radagast looked over his shoulder, making sure no one was eavesdropping, before continuing, "A darkness has fallen over it. Nothing grows anymore. At least, nothing good. The air is foul with decay. But worse are the webs."
"Webs?" Gandalf turned to face him, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Spiders, Gandalf," said Radgast, gravely. He shuddered, as though recalling a recent memory. "Giant ones. Some kind of spawn of Ungoliant, or I am not a wizard. I followed their trail. They came from Gol Guldor."
"Huh?" Gandalf, who had been pacing with thought, turned to face him again, frowning as smoke puffed from his pipe. "Dol Guldor?" he echoed, disturbed. "But the old fortress is abandoned."
Radagast shook his head. "No, Gandalf. Tis not. A dark power dwells in there, such as I have never felt before. It is the shadow of an ancient horror. One that can summon the spirits of the dead." His eyes grew hauntingly wide. "I saw him, Gandalf. From out of the darkness, a Necromancer has come." He shuddered and gasped aloud as his eyes became unfocused and afraid. Sighing, Gandalf walked up to him, but when he touched the brown wizard, Radagast jumped back into reality, eyes darting back and forth, before finding Gandalf nervously. "Sorry," he whispered.
Gandalf began wiping the handle of his pipe with his sleeve. "Try a little Old Toby," he suggested, before offering the pipe to his friend. "It'll help settle your nerves."
Without question, Radagast obediently place his lips over the handle and sucked in deeply. Watching, Gandalf coached gently, "And out," before the brown wizard swallowed his share, and with a calming sigh, out from his nose and ears came waves of Old Toby's smoke. Radagast looked completely at ease, savoring the soothing effects of the weed with a dazed look.
"Now," began Gandalf, recapturing his friend's attention, "a Necromancer...are you sure?"
Radagast said nothing, but reached into the folds of his long coat and pulled out a bundle, wrapped around the shape of a dagger. He handed it to Gandalf, who took it delicately and began to unwrap the cloth. When he opened it, revealing the artifact within, Gandalf's eyes widened at the blade. By appearance, it was sharp, lethal, and dark, seemingly normal by naive observers, but Gandalf knew its true nature. The very essence of its forgery made the roots of his beard rise.
When Gandalf looked up, Radagast eyed him darkly. "That is not from the world of the living," he said slowly.
Gandalf agreed. He did not like it, but he knew Radagast was right.
Radagast's eyes flickered up suddenly, and he froze. "Gandalf….we are being watched," he whispered. Jerking his head ever so slightly upward, Gandalf frowned and slowly started to follow Radagast's gaze, his eyes peering beyond the brim of his hat. The sunlight, peering beyond the green leaves of the forest, he had to concentrate before he noticed the thing watching them. Perched on a high branch above the Company, who had regathered and waited, was a falcon.
In its stillness, so motionless that it practically hid in clear sight, its speckled feathers shined like silver blades in the light, eyes narrowed like its beak, permanently drawn into a death glare, like all falcons nature requires. But this one was different. This one was not just a passerby; it was too transfixed on the Company, head scanning all moving in this forest area.
What drew Gandalf's breath was the black marking on the bird's chest, etched in black and deeply into its hide like a scarred tattoo. A symbol formed from the tongue of Black Speech. It was the shape of an eye. Mordor.
Dread settled in the gray wizard, while Radagast whispered, "A falcon of Manwe. That bird was there, back in Rhosgobel, preying on my furry friends as I watched the forest decay. Surely, it is not the same falcon from...?"
"No," muttered Gandalf, quietly. "Preserved with long life, but not immortal, like the ravens. Probably a descendant, but no less a spy."
"What does this mean, Gandalf?"
"It means that my fears have been confirmed," said Gandalf, gravely. His hand tightened on his staff. "It means that he has resurfaced….and we better hope that it is not us that he is after."
While Maia was cuddling a rabbit in her lap, Lori had scooted over to Ori and two were talking silently to one another, while she felt Fili sit next to her, smiling. He reached his hand over and started scratching the rabbit behind the ear, chuckling when it responded.
Maia laughed softly. "I honestly never pictured you being gentle with rabbits, considering what you do with them," she told him.
"Hey, just because I hunt them, doesn't mean I can't like them," he said, peering up at her. "Me and Kili had one once as a pet. Kili always had a soft spot for cute animals. Don't tell him I said that."
"Why not? S'not a bad thing. Anyway, it seems like you do, too."
Fili tilted his head. "And not you?"
"In Texas, I know this pet store that keep a large rabbit that breeds baby bunnies at least once a year in the summer. It also has cages of ducklings, chicks, and gerbils that they let us hold when there's no one lining up at the door. When we still had our farm, we had three rabbits. Two of them mated and had babies. My and Lori cried when we watched them be given away. They were so cute. Now..." Maia sighed. "Now all the animals are gone: rabbits, horses, cows, chickens, you name it. Couldn't run the farm anymore, so..." She looked up and found Fili staring at her, which she found herself smiling. "What?"
"Nothing, I just..." Fili paused, before looking off to the side. His eyes moistened. "I just like listening to you talk. About simple things, as if they held high importance in your life. I just like hearing your...like hearing you talk," he said instead, his voice wavering slightly at the end. "About your home. About something you love."
"Fili, what's wrong?" said Maia, softly. She took his hand that had been petting the rabbit, the little guy looking up at the them with twitchy whiskers. "You can talk to me."
Fili still didn't look at her, but his hand was trembling under her palm. "I couldn't save you from those trolls," he whispered.
"I thought we were over this, Fee. There was nothing you could've done. Not you, me, or anybody, except Kyle, Lori, and Gandalf."
"Exactly!" Fili then faced her, looking distressed. "Those trolls were not supposed to be there. They were just there out of inconvenience...but what if there's more of them to be around? What if something happens to you and I was helpless to stop it?"
Maia shook her head. "Look, you're beating yourself up and it needs to stop! Yeah, it sucked that we got punked by big-ass trolls, but we made it! We're alive, and we're going to be more careful next time. Besides, I'm more worried about you. You were the one that got knocked out. Is your head still hurting?" Oin had it checked out when they gathered the ponies back at camp, said it wasn't serious enough to be a concussion, but it leave a small bruise as the soft side of Fili's face.
When he shook his head, Maia continued with more enthusiasm, "Then you're still up for some training, right? When we have the time, I mean? It'll help me learn how to save myself and then you can sleep easier. Hm?"
Fili smiled a little, but it faded. "How badly do you want to go home?" he asked quietly.
Maia's smiled faded as her heart stopped. Oh, God. What is he saying? Seeing her expression, Fili quickly said, "I mean, I know you have family waiting in your world, worried about you, but...but if you had any other choice, what is it that you truly want that makes you want to go home? What if it was no accident that you, Kyle, and Lori were brought here?"
"I...Fili," Maia was shaking her head, her head jumbled together with all sorts of possibilities. She remembered the night in the farmhouse, back in Texas. She, Kyle, and Lori were huddled in the tiny office, trapped with a ghoulish monster close to breaking down the door, not knowing what else to do but wait for their death. Though, not quite. Maia had wished she and her siblings were some place else. Far away from the creature. She didn't know where, but it had to be anywhere else.
Did that wish lead them to Middle Earth? Impossible.
But it was an accident. Maia didn't mean it. She had just been praying fruitlessly to God to get them out alive, but she hadn't meant...not in her entire lifetime...to be sent into another dimension. It was just impossible.
Something told her that Kyle and Lori had wished the same thing...but Lori said they had landed in their dad's shire, like from his New Zealand photos in the office. Was the Lori the one who accidentally wished them into the Shire, but not the one in New Zealand? It made sense. Lori probably didn't mean it, but she hadn't been upset about it either.
Maia and Kyle, on the other hand...Maia felt violated, being sent here against her will with her grandparents back at home, worrying, and her mother still in a hospital bed, possibly needing to hear her kids' voices if she was ever listening. Violated, and yet at the same time, mesmerized.
She and her siblings was trapped in another world, but in another exciting world. She could no longer deny that she wished it never had happened, after everything they have seen so far, everyone they met. Bilbo, Gandalf, the dwarves...Fili. She wouldn't have met Fili if she hadn't made that stupid wish. Suddenly the world felt like it had a twisted sense of humor.
After that long pause, Fili waiting anxiously for her to say something, Maia finally chose her words carefully, not quite meeting his eyes. "I don't know how we got here," she said, "or why, but...whatever happened was an accident, Fili. I made a wish. Some random, desperate wish to be someplace else, safe from the situation we were currently at...I think we wished it at the same time, which explains why we're all here together, and it somehow brought us here. I know it sounds crazy, but it happened. Strangely, though, I don't regret it. I don't regret not knowing this place exists. This world full of hobbits, wizards, elves, trolls, dwarves...my mind's still trying to process all of it. It's amazing. You are amazing. All of you are. Back in my world, shit has been happening in our lives and I had been trying to plan for a better future...but I need to get back," she finished quietly. "Kyle and Lori need to get back."
"But what if it was up to you?" asked Fili, softly. "What if it was just your choice, for nobody else's sake? Would you have still wanted to go home?"
Maia hesitated. Her heart clenched in her chest like a fist. She knew exactly what he was saying...or at least she thinks she does, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to answer the question, because there had never been a time when it was just her. She loved Texas. She was born and raised there, even if her part of the state was little boring. It was Texas-forever for her.
"I don't know….I haven't been here long enough," she said honestly, "but I don't want to leave you."
She raised her eyes to meet Fili's blue. There was some sadness in them, but there was also tenderness as clear as day. It stole her breath away and made her skin tingle. Then there was also conflict, as though Fili were trying to find the right response to her words.
He bit his lip and exhaled, tightening his hand over hers on top of the rabbit in her lap. He was trembling...or was it Maia causing the trembling? She couldn't tell anymore.
Fili glanced briefly back at Kili, who had returned with Kyle, Bilbo, and the other dwarves with their bags and were arranging them. Then he turned back to her and began to say, "Maia?"
"Yes?"
"There's..." He looked nervous, losing his cool slightly as struggled with his words. Maia tried not to smile at how sweet it looked. "Maia, I-I need to tell you-"
He was interrupted by a loud howl that split the air from a distance, causing everyone to freeze in alert, including Gandalf and Radagast, who had been on their way back. Maia felt a fresh wave of alarm go through her body. Glancing at Lori, the little girl met her gaze with wide, scared brown eyes.
Bilbo stood up, nearby while assessing his belongings next to Kyle. "Was that a wolf?" he asked, sounding alarmed. "Are there...are there wolves nearby?"
"Wolves?" said Bofur, standing next to Bilbo with his axe-hammer clenched in both hands. His eyes were wide with caution, no hint of jest in them. "No, that is not a wolf."
Kyle frowned, walking up next to them. "Well, then what else could it-" Suddenly a ginger fur appeared from behind a boulder high above them.
"LOOK OUT!" screamed Maia, when the fur lunged from its hiding place and became the great shape of giant wolf, snarling the noises of an angry bear as it pounced down the hill and charged straight toward Lori, who was frozen in place.
Maia shrieked, thinking that the wolf was going to get Lori when Fili lunged forward without a second thought between the child and the wolf. The wolf had knocked down Fili, but Thorin leapt into action with a outraged roar, "FILI!" and immediately brought his sword-the Elvish sword-down upon the creature's head, cleaving into the skull with a loud squelch, killing the beast instantly.
While Thorin struggled to pull his sword out, glancing behind him before shouting, "Kili! Get your bow!", Maia saw another one coming up from behind him and Lori screamed loudly as the second wolf lunged-Only for Kili to leap up and fire an arrow into the animal's face before its teeth closed over his uncle's head. While the wolf tumbled forwards, it got back up to its feet and made to charge at Thorin, but Dwalin finished it off with a heavy blow to the head.
Everyone's heart pounding in fear, Maia was the first to move and grabbed hold of Lori, who was pale and trembling in shock. Kyle burst forward and fell to his knees right next to them, grabbing hold of both.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Maia gasped toward Fili, who nodded in wide-eyed reply as Kili ran to his side to check for injuries. Lori whimpered in her arms and buried her face in the crook of her neck.
"What the hell was that?" rasped Kyle, staring at the wolf's dead body. It was huge! Large enough to be a bear, its fur just as grizzly around the muzzle.
Thorin finally pulled his sword out with a grunt. "Warg scouts!" he growled, breathlessly. "Which means an orc pack is not far behind!"
"Orc pack?" choked Bilbo in disbelief, while Kyle exclaimed, "Are you kidding me?"
Gandalf stormed toward Thorin. "Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?" he questioned the Dwarf King.
Thorin looked stunned. "No one."
"Who did you tell?!" snapped Gandalf urgently.
"No one, I swear!" shouted Thorin, though his eyes were wide with alarm as Gandalf looked around him. the wizard looked toward the trees. The falcon was gone.
"What in Durin's name is going on?" said Thorin.
Gandalf faced Thorin in exasperation. "You are being hunted!"
The Dainsons all felt their breath leave them, terror filling their limbs. Hunted? By who? Was that wolf not there by coincidence? Thorin called it a 'warg scout.'
"We have to get out of here!" growled Dwalin.
"We can't!" Everyone looked up to see Ori and Bifur appear on the hill above them, looking panicked. "We have no ponies! They bolted!"
Bilbo groaned, remembering the ponies he released from the troll's pen. The rest must have followed. Kyle's head fell on Maia's shoulder as he groaned, "Son of a bitch!" They were going to have to run, but everyone knew they wouldn't make it. That warg was not only huge, but fast. They were dead.
Until Radagast stepped forward fearlessly. "I'll draw them off."
Gandalf whipped around. "These are Gundabad wargs!" he exclaimed. "They will outrun you!"
Radagast thumb-pointed his sleigh. "These are Rhosgobel rabbits!" he challenged with a hard glint in his eyes. He leaned forward. "I'd like to see them try."
Kyle looked at the wizard, gaping, then back at the rabbits. One of them scratched its ear with its hind foot. "He's not...I mean...will he?" he stammered.
Maia nodded with wide eyes, not quite believing it herself...but then again, she already knew he was nuts. "Oh, he will. He definitely will."
To Be Continued
I think I'm back to shorter chapters. Maybe not for long, but who knows? I'm a little out of it at the moment, but I hope it satisfies, because the next update will be action-packed. So this chapter was mostly meeting Radagast and learning of the dark stuff happening around them. Remember the falcon? I decided to make it my canon that this time of falcon can live a long lifespan like the ravens, maybe longer, but not immortal like the eagles.
Manwe Sulimo is the leader of the Valar. From research, he created the Great Eagles, which turned out to be immortal because Tolkien hinted that these birds, including some ravens and thrushes, are actually Maiar taking the form of birds and other animals (ahem, possibly Beorn). The wizards are Maiar in human shapes.
Maiar can also be corrupted, like Sauron was. This mysterious falcon may be bad news. If only Kyle knew how wrong he was to ignore this bird.
I enjoyed all the reviews you all are sending. I would like to personally thank PieAnnamay07, KeepingThemAtBay, KathyG, BloodyTink, lavnnadarc, Ridel, Princess Aziza, EvilBunny91, FleurSuoh, PagesFromtheBasement, shadow74236915, lizziecats (thank you for the PM last time:), jaydedangel69, Lightning-in-the-dark, Once, Empire14, loquacious gabby, MinightTales357, NonOfficialGACMember, drwatsonn, Noxy the Proxy, Alexma, jessisthebestduh, and many Guests for reading and reviewing my story so far. I needed to catch up on all you people, and I'm very grateful for the support.
Review soon, and I'll get back to you later! We've got wargs to run from;)