Chapter six - Winter's weapon
Winter helped the Dwarves to get rid of their ropes, while overhearing Gandalf and Thorin talking.
"No thanks to your burglar." Said Thorin bitterly.
"He had the nerves to play for time, and not the best of you though of that." Said Gandalf, raising an eyebrow.
Thorin walked away slowly, looking at the trolls, with a puzzled look on his face.
"Since when do mountain trolls venture this far south." Said he.
"Not for ages, not since a darker path ruled this lands." Replied Gandalf, seeming to realise something.
"They could not have moved in daylight." He continued.
"There must be a cave nearby." Concluded Thorin happily walking elsewhere, being followed by the company.
"What does he mean?" Bilbo asked Winter.
She noticed Bilbo seemed to be covered with something slimy, that did not smell nice, but preferred not to mention, since it probably had something to do with the trolls, she herself was in desperate need of a warm bath, along with the rest of the company.
"I don´t know, maybe a place to sleep?" She wished out loud.
They went into a dark cave, that smelled terribly, making some of the members of the company gag and cough, in a nauseated way, Bilbo placed his shirt in his nose, making some of the others follow his action, the ground was made of a dark mud, that went up to everyone's knees making it hard to walk while messing their clothes, and flies were flying making a loud buzz.
Winter felt like running away, but Thorin lit a torch, making her see the reflexion of gold coins on the mud, followed by precious gems of emerald and ruby, then reaching the end of the cave, they found treasure chests covered with spider webs, but full of gold and silver coins, and swords forged by the Elves of the first age according to Gandalf.
Those Trolls Winter meet in woods certainly did not seem smart enough to acquire such items in a respectable manner, they probably had a taste for shiny things, and using their strength stole them, many of the dwarves buried some of the gems, as a long term deposit, in the mud, while Winter was disappointed to not be able to carry as much gold as she could.
Gandalf gifted a small sword to Bilbo, it was his size and seemed to fit him perfectly although he was taken back by his new gift.
"I never used a sword in my life."
"And I hope you never have to, but if you do, know this, true courage is not about knowing when to end a life, but when to spare one." Replied Gandalf.
Before leaving the cave something caught the attention of Winter's eyes, she found a flask made of glass, it was very small, but carved in a very specific manner, swirling its way to the bottom, where it could protect the chemical integrity due to the shape,and the glass was very thick so it could protect it's substances from temperature changes, she only saw something like that before in her mother's house, she grabbed it and decalicadely place on her purse.
"I suppose this flask it's more lethal in your hands than a sword." Said Thorin with a smile on his face.
"Indeed." She replied with a smirk on her face.
At that moment a noise came from the woods outside, whatever it was, was moving fast, making the Dwarves assume a fighting position, Thorin grabbed Bilbo's arm and pushed him behind him, while Kili did the same to Winter.
But what appeared was a man with an odd appearance, he had a long grey beard, and was wearing what seemed to be a mess of fabrics made with pieces found in the woods, it was clear he was a wizard like Gandalf, but his nature seemed much more raw and ancient, he rode a carved piece of wood, with rabbits attached to its ends.
"Radagast!" Said Gandalf happily.
The old friends talked, out of reach from the curious ears of the rest of the company, but they knew that if two Wizards were meeting it meant something somewhere was going wrong.
Winter waited impatiently hoping at some point, someone would talk about a place to sleep or take a bath, almost losing her temper with everyone's smell, while there were waiting for Gandalf to finish his conversation, looking at the floor, she found small yellow flowers, that she knew very well, Rhodiola rosea, she knew the moment she drank tea from those plants, her spirits would lift and she would have more energy, something she desperately needed after days without her morning coffee.
She grabbed the plant and they went back to camp, she made tea for everyone keeping the rest in one of the flasks, and after a while of convincing the dwarves, that she was not trying to poison anyone, the funny tasting tea seemed to warm everyone from the inside out, soon they were all more calm and rested, even Balin was mentioning how good it was to have her in the company.
But while they kept their guard down, something was getting closer to them, Orcs appeared in the horizon, squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes, running very fast, holding swords and axes ready to strike.
Thorin ordered Winter and Bilbo to run back to the Troll cave, and they did, not looking back, too scared, they went in hearing loud noises of Orcs screams and swords clicking and they walked back to the end of the cave.
"Should we help?" Asked Winter, her voice trembling.
"I am sure they will return." Said Bilbo reassuring her.
And so they did. bringing all of their belongings leaving their ponies behind, but there still seemed to be Orcs outside, but something else was attacking the Orcs, one of them fell on the inside of the cave, with an arrow on his neck, his blood gushing on Winters pale skin.
Thorin got the arrow out analyzing it for a second.
"Elves." He said.
She did not know what Elves were, but if they killed Orcs they must have been quite horrid, they were trapped, until Winter saw something in the Dark of the cave, it was the leaves of the Aglaonema plant, and she knew they very much need sunlight to live, she looked around but there seemed to be no way out.
She looked at the deep mud at her feet, it seemed fresh, like it had been formed due to a recent rain, the cave must be deeper then it seemed.
"Follow me." She said.
She took a deep breath and submerged herself in the mud, the cave had an opening on the back of the wall, even though it was covered by the mud, they could get through.
They found their way out to find a hidden city, full with waterfalls, and houses that looked straight out of a fairy tail, with tall roofs and carved walls.
"Where are we?" Asked Winter, amazed by her view.
"The Last Homely House East of the Sea, otherwise known as Rivendell."
Thorin did not approve of their new situation, but Gandalf assured him he would get the answers they needed for continuing their quest, they walked closer to the city, with Thorin being quiet and observant, Winter was still afraid, if that was home of the Elves she did not want to be there, she stood by his side walking in the stone path, holding his arm.
At the entrance however they were greeted by the first Elve she ever saw, making her let go of Thorin's arm, he was the fairest creature she had ever laid eyes upon, he was very tall, about six feet, with pale skin, high cheekbones, dark eyes, very long hair, he was wearing long robes and spoke softly, but she did not hear his words, she felt Thorin's hands holding onto her, seeing how bewitched she was, he was concerned.