~Four~
~Welcome and Unwelcome Encounters~
The beginning of their quest quickly took an awfully eventful turn, starting with a run-in and feast with some trolls - with the trolls about to eat the dwarves. Luckily, Bilbo distracted them, and Gandalf made sure the sunlight reached them, turning the trolls to stone.
"Ugh, what's that stench?" asked Nori as Gandalf led them into a cave.
"It's a Troll-hoard. Be careful what you touch."
Hoard indeed - the cave was full of gold and jewels.
"Seems a shame to just leave it lyin' around," remarked Bofur, touching a pile of gold coins with the toe of his boot.
Thorin was examining some cobweb-wrapped swords. "These swords were not made by any Troll."
"Nor were they made by any smith of Men," Gandalf remarked. "These were forged in Gondolin, by High Elves of the First Age - you could not ask for a finer blade," he quickly added when Thorin went to throw down the Elivsh weapon. Then the wizard turned to Dahlia, handing her one of the swords. "My Lady."
"Thank you," she said as he passed her the blade.
"Let's get out of this foul place." Thorin led the way out of the cave.
Their next encounter was more of a welcome one - it was with Gandalf's friend Radagast the Brown, one of the other five wizards. Though he came baring news of a growing dark power.
A sudden, distant howl grabbed their attention.
"Was that a wolf?" asked Bilbo, appearing startled. "Are there wolves out here?"
"Wolves, no, that's not a wolf," said Bofur.
The howls quickly became growls as the group found themselves cornered by Wargs.
Thorin struck the first one in the neck with his new sword.
"Bet you're glad you kept the weapon," Dahlia remarked. "Even if it is Elvish."
Kili shot the second with an arrow, Dwalin finishing it off with his axe.
"Warg scouts - which means an orc pack isn't far behind," announced Thorin.
"Orc pack?!" yelped Bilbo.
"And these aren't just any Warg scouts - these are Gundabad Wargs," informed Gandalf.
"Gundabad?" cried Dahlia. She shared an urgent glance with Thorin. Azog.
"Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?" Gandalf demanded of Thorin.
"No one."
"Who did you tell?!"
"No one I swear! What in Durin's name is going on here?" he demanded.
"You are being hunted."
"Hunted?" cried Fili. "By who?"
"I do not know exactly, but clearly an old enemy."
None of them noticed the third Warg closing in and sneaking up on them, not until it was too late.
Dahlia gave a startled cry as she was suddenly knocked over by the giant animal and pinned to the ground. The creature's teeth and claws slashed - she felt a burn in her lower abdomen and gave a pained scream.
"Dahlia!" The Warg was run through by Thorin's elvish blade. Thorin himself dropped to his knees beside her, wincing at the large bloody gash in her side. "Fili, Kili, help your aunt." The brothers supported her between them, helping her to her feet.
"We have to get out of here," cried Dwalin.
"We can't, we have no ponies!" updated Ori. "They bolted!"
"But we can't outrun them on foot!"
"I'll draw them off!" said Radagast.
"These are Gundabad Wargs, they will outrun you," cried Gandalf.
"Well these are Rhosgobel Rabbits-" A challenged flashed bright in the determined wizard's eyes. "-I'd like to see them try."
"Stay together," urged Gandalf. "Move!"
The company was running across the relatively barren rolling hills, meaning little cover for them. But the Orcs and Wargs luckily and thankfully seemed mostly distracted by chasing Radagast on his sled.
"Come on, Auntie Dahlia," Kili urged. "Just a little further." She couldn't run very fast, understandably, but not ideal for their current situation.
"Uncle, she's losing a lot of blood," Fili called to Thorin as the group ducked behind a wall of rocks.
"Thorin, stop - you know what you have to do-" She panted. "You have to leave me behind."
"Don't you dare speak like that. Don't you dare even suggest-"
"I'm only slowing you down. It'll mean death for us all."
"No, Dahlia." He remained firm.
"Oh, curse your stubbornness, Thorin Oakenshield!"
Suddenly, her feet left the ground as Thorin scooped her up into his arms, prepared to run while carrying her. "Kili, Fili, cover us. Where in Durin's name did Gandalf go?"
"Down here, you fools!" Gandalf peeked up from behind some rocks where the others found the ground caved inwards, offering cover.
"Where are you leading us?" Thorin demanded.
The wizard, however, remained silent.
The hole in the ground turned out to be a long tunnel within the rocks. They followed the passageway until it opened, revealing-
"Is it just my loss of blood, or is there a castle in the mountains over there?" Dahlia asked, squinting.
"The Valley of the Imladris," Gandalf announced. "In the Common Tongue it is known by another name."
"Rivendell," breathed Bilbo.
"You were leading us here all along." Thorin turned to the wizard. "To seek refuge with our enemy."
"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring upon yourself. And Lady Dahlia is badly wounded - here she can receive help."
The elves of Rivendell turned out to be very welcoming, but Thorin still kept his guard up - you could never be too careful around Elves, as he saw it.
And, as he had guessed, Lord Elrond did not give their quest his blessing. He firmly advised against it.
Thorin found Dahlia in a room in a far wing of Elrond's home, bandaged up and fast asleep.
"Forgive me, My Love," he whispered to her in Dwarvish. "But I hope you will understand."
He slipped one of the rings off his fingers and tucked it into her hand outstretched on the sheet. Then he pressed a tender kiss to her head and crept out of the room.
When Dahlia awoke, she felt remarkably well for having been the victim of a Warg attack.
She found that she was lying in an unfamiliar room. She vaguely remembered their arrival at a palace - Rivendell, Bilbo had called it - but the memory was fuzzy due to her wounded state.
Something was tucked into her hands - a ring. One of Thorin's rings.
It was far too large for her own fingers, but he had left it with her, but why?
Feeling strong enough to move, she got out of bed and began wandering the halls - the very quiet halls. She knew her friends, and knew that it was much too quiet. Perhaps they were all asleep.
She found Gandalf chatting with an Elf lord, and an elf guard. "Gandalf."
"Ah, My Lady. How are you feeling?"
"Remarkably well, all things considered."
"Ah, that would be the quick workings of elvish medicine."
"Where are the others?"
"Lady Dahlia Ironfoot, this is our host, Lord Elrond-"
"Gandalf."
Gandalf's face fell and he sighed. "It seems they have continued on."
"Continued on? Without us?"
Gandalf nodded gravely. "Lindir here just notified Lord Elrond and I of the company's sudden departure."
She cursed in Dwarvish - cursed Thorin. Curse you, Thorin Oakenshield! How could he?How dare he. "I'm going after them."
"Good. So am I."
Yikes, Dahlia is NOT going to be happy when she's reunited with Thorin! And if anyone knows the Tolkien Dwarvish translation of 'My Love' and could let me know, I would really appreciate it! :) I tried to do an internet search but quickly became confused!
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed as always! :)
