Hey guys! Chapter 18 up! Yay! We're getting closer and closer to Erebor now! Can't wait for it!

Review response;

Dinosaur Imperial Soldier – Of course Violet is going to meet Bard's children. How could I have her go to Laketown and not have her at least see his children lol! As for how they slip past the guards, you'll have to read on.

Guest – For your review on the previous chapter concerning Violet's appearance, I made a mistake in saying she looked like her mother when, reading back, realise that I indeed put her looking like her father, except with her having her mother's black hair. So I will correct it now. She, she does not have a beard or fuzz on her face like Beorn, she has smooth skin. She has her father's grey eyes as well as his facial features. She also has her mother's short stature, which puts her at Kili's height, maybe a few inches taller. I hope this clears up any confusion I may have caused.


Laketown

While Bilbo and the dwarves were hiding inside the barrels, Bard had me crouch on the ground and covered me with a blanket he has on the barge. Soon enough, the barge stops and I hear the man's footfalls leave the barge and thudding on the wood of shore. Peeking out from beneath the blanket, I see him walking over to someone.

"Shh, what's he doing?" I hear Dwalin ask.

"He's talking to someone." I reply as I'm watching him.

After a few moments, I see Bard point back at the barrels while talking to the man.

"He's. . .pointing right at us!" Biblo hisses.

Bard then shakes the man's hand.

"Now they're shaking hands!"

"What?" Thorin growls.

"That villain! He's selling us out." Dwalin accuses.

I just smile all through this. From where I am, I can see the crane's lifting a net of dead fish over the barrels and suddenly empty right on top of Bilbo and the dwarves. I have to bite my tongue as I hear the groans and grumbles of the males. I duck back under the blanket as Bard comes back aboard once the fish have been emptied and he sails on once more.


As we ware getting closer to Laketown, I hear the dwarves continue to grumble before hearing a thud of Bard's boot hitting one of the barrels, so I know he's kicked one of them.

"Quiet! We're approaching the toll gate."

There's silence for a while as the barge begins to slow down.

"Halt! Goods inspection. Papers, please. Oh, it's you, Bard." I hear a kind, male voice speak up.

Bard's walks past me to the edge of the barge, assuming towards the man who just spoke. "Morning, Percy."

"Anything to declare?"

"Nothing, but that I am cold and tired, and ready for home."

"You and me both." There's silence again and then a thud, which I am assuming is a stamp for the papers, before the man speaks again. "Here we are. All in order."

Just as I think we are in the clear, a new voice speaks up, a nasally and whiny voice.

"Not so fast."

Peeking out of the blanket, I see a short man who has shoulder length, greasy, black hair, yellowing teeth and is wearing black robes and a hat. Behind him are a few guards.

I see he has some papers in his hands, which I am guessing he had taken from the other man, who I see now is taller than the new man, but shorter than Bard with thinning and grey hair.

"'Consignment of empty barrels from the Woodland Realm.' Only, they're not empty, are they, Bard?"

He tosses Bard's papers to the wind and approaches him, with some of Laketown's soldiers behind him. I carefully shuffle back inside the blanket as he steps closer to where I am hiding.

"If I recall correctly, you're licensed as a bargeman, not a fisherman."

As he says this, he picks up one of the fish from a barrel and holds it up to Bard. I hold my breath, praying that the dwarves and Bilbo don't get found.

"That's none of your business." Bard answers.

"Wrong. It's the Master's business, which makes it my business."

"Oh come on, Alfrid, have a heart. People need to eat!"

"These fish are illegal." Alfrid throws the fish he was holding into the water, then commands the soldiers. "Empty the barrels over the side."

"You heard him. Into the canal. Come on, get a move on."

My eyes go wide as the soldiers, lead by their captain, move to comply, beginning to tip the barrels. I almost jump up to stop them until Bard steps in.

"Folk in this town are struggling. Times are hard. Food is scarce."

"That's not my problem." Alfrid replies.

"And when the people hear the Master is dumping fish back in the lake, when the rioting starts, will it be your problem then?"

I watch as Bard and Alfrid stare at each other intensely for a few seconds, and I can tell that Alfrid is thinking hard about this, then finally Alfrid raises his hand to the soldiers.

"Stop."

The soldiers stop tipping the barrels over and return to the buildings. I breath a sigh of relief.

"Ever the people's champion, eh, Bard? Protector of the common folk? You might have their favor now, bargeman, but it won't last."

Alfrid walks away.

"Raise the gate!" the other man, Percy, calls out as Bard stands back where he was before.

I duck back under as the gate blocking our way is raised.

"The Master has his eye on you; you'd do well to remember. We know where you live." I hear Alfrid call out.

"It's a small town, Alfrid; everyone knows where everyone lives." This remark almost has me laughing.


When the barge stops, Bard pulls off the blanket covering me.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

I smile and nod. "Never better. Had a good time watching the others being dumped by fish."

"Don't say one word, Violet!" I hear Fili say to me as he and the others get out of their barrels.

I just grin as I watch everyone grumbling away, obviously not very happy with being dumped by dead fish. Poor Bifur looks mortified, a fish stuck on the axe in his head. I just giggle as I pull it off, causing him to grin and nod his thanks to me.

"You didn't see them, they were never here. The fish you can have for nothing." Bard says to the dock keeper. He then turns to us once everyone is free and waiting. "Stay close."

He walks on with us following behind.

"What is this place?" Bilbo asks.

"This, Master Baggins, is the world of Men." Thorin replies.

"Keep your heads down and keep moving. Quickly now." Bard says as he stops and urges us on.

"Halt! Oi!" a voice suddenly shouts.

We all look up to see guards heading their way.

"Come on, move!" Throin says to us.

We take off running, but are soon cornered by another guard. The dwarves begin to attack the guards, and quickly knock them out with pots, pans, and mops. Some of the townsfolk help us to hide the unconscious guards just as another, the captain from earlier, appears. He has a look around but doesn't see anything amiss.

"What's going on here?" The guard asks. "Stay where you are. Nobody leaves."

I'm kneeling behind a stall, Kili half covering me, half sprung ready to jump, a heavy pot in one hand, his other protecting me.

"Braga. Hello." I hear Bard speak to the guard.

"You. What are you up to Bard?"

"Me? Nothing, I'm looking for nothing."

I hear one of the guards stir, which causes the woman of the flower stand to purposely knock over a plant-pot, which lands on his head, knocking him back out again. Braga hears the noise and goes to investigate, but sees nothing.

"Hey Braga, your wife would look lovely in this."

Peeking around, I see Bard holding up a revealing piece of clothing, which looks to be some underclothing.

"What do you know of my wife?"

"I know her as well as any man in this town."

I have to bite my lip and hide my face in Kili's shoulder to keep from laughing aloud as Braga growls at Bard and storms off, the other guards following. Bard sighs before he walks away, us following him through the streets.

As we turn a corner and a young boy, looking to be fifteen maybe sixteen years of age runs over.

"Da! Our house, it's being watched."

Bard looks around for a moment, thinking of some way to sneak us to his house.

"I have a plan. . .but I do not think you will like it."

"Is it any better than your fish plan?" Thorin grumbles.

Bard tilts his head slightly as he looks to the Dwarf King. "That all depends."

"On what?"

"On how well your swimming is."

This causes the others to look at each other in apprehension, before Thorin sighs and nods.

"We have no other choice."

Bard nods as he tells us the plan.


After swimming through the freezing lake, under the wooden bridges so we're not caught, we arrive at Bard's house and wait for Bain's signal. I just roll my eyes as I listen to the complaints of the dwarves of having to climb out of a toilet. I'm almost tempted to blurt out a comment until Bain's knock sounds on the walls above. Dwalin makes his way up first.

"If you speak of this to anyone, I'll rip your arms off." I hear Dwalin growl to the boy.

Next, Bofur lifts up Bilbo, allowing him to get a grip on the toilet and pull up, Bain helping him out. Thorin gently pushes me forward to go next and Bofur lifts me up, letting me pull myself up and climb out without Bain's help. I smile and thank him anyway before he points up the stairs.

I walk up and see we are in a small house, kitchen, dining and living area in one. A set of stairs going up to what I assume are bedrooms, and a small bedroom set aside.

"Da, why are there dwarves coming out of our toilet?" A teenage girl asks.

"Will they bring us luck?" A little girl then asks, her eyes shining with so much excitement, it's hard for me to not smile.

"Sigrid, could you take Violet to your room and find her a dress to change into?" Bard asks his daughter.

She nods and leads me up the stairs and into her room which has two beds, a wardrobe and a small dressing table. She hands me a towel which I use to dry my hair.

"Here, this might fit you well enough." Sigrid says with a smile as she hands me a plain, simple blue dress.

I smile back as I take it from her. "Thank you, Sigrid."

She nods as she leaves me to change. I strip out of my sodden breeches and shirt and into the dress, which apart from the slight tightness on the chest area, is a perfect fit.

Once I am ready, I leave the bedroom and back downstairs as the dwarves are drying off. I thank Sigrid as she hands me a mug of tea before sitting on a sofa by the window, Thorin stood beside me while looking up. Looking up at him, I see him pale slightly. Before I can ask what is wrong, he mutters to himself.

"A Dwarfish Windlance. . ."

I stand and look out of the window to see, atop a tower, a crossbow type weapon with four arms. I immediately recognise it as the Windlance mama use to tell me, the stories she heard from her own grandmother.

Bilbo, who is sipping a hot drink from a mug, looks at the wind-lance too. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Balin joins us. "He has. The last time we saw such a weapon, a city was on fire. It was the day the dragon came." I look from him to Thorin to see him look away sadly, I don't say anything as I know he is thinking back to that terrifying day. I look back to Balin as he continues his story. "The day that Smaug destroyed Dale. Girion, the Lord of the city, rallied his bowman to fire upon the beast. But a dragon's hide is tough, tougher than the strongest armor. Only a black arrow, fired from a wind-lance, could have pierced the dragon's hide, and few of those arrows were ever made. His store was running low when Girion made his last stand."

"Had the aim of Men been true that day, much would have been different." Thorin says, pain filling his voice.

"You speak as if you were there." Bard says as he approaches.

"All dwarves know the tale."

Bain stands beside his father. "Then you would know that Girion hit the dragon. He loosened a scale under the left wing. One more shot and he would have killed the beast."

Dwalin chuckles from behind them. "That's a fairy story, lad. Nothing more."

Thorin strides up to Bard. "You took our money. Where are the weapons?"

"Wait here."

Bard goes down the stairs to the lower part of the house. Thorin, Balin, Fili, and Kili talk quietly together.

"Tomorrow begins the last days of autumn." Thorin informs them.

Balin nods "Durin's Day falls morn after next. We must reach the mountain before then."

"And if we do not?" Kili asks as he looks to the other three. "If we fail to find the hidden door before that time?"

"Then this quest has been for nothing." Fili answers.

A small smile appears as I hear this. I would not say that this quest has been for nothing. I would not have met such amazing friends, neither would I have met the love of my life, the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. Glancing at Kili, I see him looking to me, a small smile gracing his own face, I smile back, knowing that he is thinking the same as I.

Bard returns and lays a package on the table as the dwarves stand around it. Even though I don't use weapons, I stand next to Kili curious at the weapons. Bard loosens the wrappings and reveals a couple of hand-made weapons. The dwarves look at them in shock, then pick up the weapons and look at them in disgust.

"What is this?" Thorin asks.

"Pike-hook. Made from an old harpoon."

"And this?" Kili asks while holding some sort of hammer.

"A crowbill, we call it, fashioned from a smithy's hammer. It's heavy in hand, I grant, but in defense of your life, these will serve you better than none."

I notice Thorin and Dwalin look disgustedly at each other.

"We paid you for weapons. Iron-forged swords and axes!" Gloin exclaims.

"It's a joke!" Bofur cries out before he throws his weapon back on the table, and the other dwarves follow suit.

"You won't find better outside the city armory. All iron-forged weapons are held there under lock and key."

Thorin and Dwalin look at each other out of the corners of their eyes, I can tell they're hatching a plan with that one look.

Balin turns to the Dwarf King. "Thorin. Why not take what's been offered and go? I've made do with less; so have you. I say we leave now."

"You're not going anywhere."

Dwalin turns to the man. "What did you say!?"

"There's spies watching this house and probably every dock and wharf in the town. You must wait till nightfall."

Hearing this, we all begin to settle down. Kili, leaning on a pole, looks like he's in pain and he slowly slides down the pole and sits on a couch. Wincing, he examines the bandage on his leg while making sure no one is looking. He seems to not notice me watching him from the other side of the room. I know there's something seriously wrong with his leg. Even with it not being looked at as properly as I would have liked it to have been, it still should not be causing so much of a problem. His face grows paler every second, which has me worrying about him, but I cannot show or try to help thanks to his Dwarven pride. I make a mental note to keep a very close eye on him for the remainder of the journey and no matter what he says or does, step in if it gets any worse.


Oh no, Vi's concerned for Kili, and as we know, she has every right to be. Damn dwarves and their stubborn pride. Let's hope things go alright for them. . .okay. That's this chapter done, I will be working on the next one soon. Please keep leaving your lovely reviews and see you next time. xx