So sadly, I still do not own the wonderful world of Middle Earth, and I am still just as broke as I was yesterday.
Chapter Four: Raised by Elves?
Once Bilbo had been patched up and fed, they remembered that trolls can't travel in the sunlight; there must be a cave nearby. So they set out in search for their horde.
"What's that stench?!" Nori plugged his nose.
"It's a troll horde. Be careful what you touch." Gandalf said as he walked into the entrance of the cave.
"Seems a shame just to leave it lying around. Anyone could take it." Bofur said while kicking at a pile of coins. Gloin nodded.
"Agreed. Nori, get a shovel." Thorin walks deeper into the cave, careful not to stare at the hobbit as he passed him and his nephews who were watching the others bury gold with amused smiles. The king pulls out two dusty swords, handing one to Gandalf and keeping the other one.
"These swords were not made by any troll."
"Nor were they made by any smith among men." Gandalf replied, drawing the sword out of its sheath a few inches. "These were forged in Gondolin by the High Elves of the First Age." With the realization that they were holding Elven swords, Thorin starts to put his away in disgust. "You could not wish for a finer blade."
"He's right you know. If I'm right, and Adar would be very disappointed in me if I wasn't, those two blades are important to Elven history." Thorin looks at Bilbo shocked, slightly pleased to see that he was staring right at him. "Yours Thorin, is called Orcrist, feared and called Biter by orcs and goblins. The other one is Glamdring, the mate of Orcrist. Referred to as Beater by its foes. Both are mighty swords." Nodding, the new master of Orcrist hung it at his hip, pointedly ignoring Balin's amused smile, instead looking at the part of his Company that was burying treasure.
"We're making a long term deposit." Gloin said. Thorin shook his head.
"Let's get out of this foul place. Come on, let's go. Bofur! Gloin! Nori!" On his way out, Gandalf steps on something metallic. Brushing aside the leaves beneath him with his staff, he finds another sword. Smiling, the wizard exits the cave and heads over to where Bilbo is sitting. He hands the hobbit the sword he just found.
"Bilbo, here. This is about your size." He frowns.
"Well aren't you rude. I can't take this."
"The blade is of Elvish make which means it will glow blue when orcs or goblins are nearby." Gandalf argued. Clicking his tongue, Bilbo nodded. But instead of hanging it on his hip like the wizard had expected, the hobbit pushed himself off of the rock with a groan, and walked over to Ori, who held the sword handed to him like he didn't know what to do with it.
"I have never used a sword in my life." Ori stammered out, Bilbo smiled kindly.
"And I hope you never have to. Remind me next time we stop to start your training with it. Nothing hard, just tricks that should keep you alive. But if the blade ever has to see battle while in your hands remember this: true courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one." Ori nodded and slipped the sheath to hang on his belt.
"Something's coming!" Thorin yelled, immensely glad that they had had the foresight to break camp before looking for the troll's den.
"Gandalf-"
"Stay together! Hurry now. Arm yourselves." Ori slowly draws his sword and looks at it. He then follows the others, who have run off into the woods.
"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" Bilbo can't help but laughing at the sight of the of the old man riding a sleigh pulled by rabbits. So this was Radagast the Brown.
"Radagast! Radagast the Brown. What on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf exclaimed.
"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."
"Yes?" Radagast opens his mouth to speak, but shuts it. He opens his mouth again, but closes it again. He seems to have forgotten what he was going to say.
"Just give me a minute. Oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it. It was right there, on the tip of my tongue." He curls up his tongue and his eyes widen. "Oh, it's not the thought at all; it's just a little-" he pulls the bug off of him, "-stick insect!" Radagast and Gandalf go off a few paces and speak privately, but Bilbo can hear what they are saying despite their whispering.
"The Greenwood is sick, Gandalf. A darkness has fallen over it. Nothing grows any more, at least nothing good. The air is foul with decay. But worst are the webs." Radagast seems devastated.
"Webs? What do you mean?"
"Spiders, Gandalf. Giant ones. Some kind of spawn of Ungoliant, or I am not a Wizard. I followed their trail. They came from Dol Guldur." Gandalf looks surprised.
"Dol Guldur? But the old fortress is abandoned." The brown wizard shakes his head.
"No, Gandalf, it is not. A dark power dwells 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. I saw him, Gandalf. From out of the darkness, a Necromancer has come."
"A Necromancer. Are you sure?" Radagast hands something to Gandalf that makes him look concerned. "That is not from the world of the living." Bilbo misses the rest of the conversation when Fili tapped him on his shoulder.
"Back in the cave, you talked about an Ada. That's elvish. Who is he?" Bilbo smirked.
"Oh, no one much. Just Lord Elrond. I lived with him and his family for about, um, 11 years." Before anyone in the Company can ask him any questions, a piercing howl cut through the air.
"Please tell me that that is just a wolf," Ori whispers. Bofur shakes his head.
"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf." Suddenly from behind a nearby crag, a Warg appears; it leaps into the midst of the Company , knocking down one of the dwarves. Thorin unsheathes his sword and kills it using Orcrist. Another Warg attacks from the other side; Kili is quick to shoots it with an arrow, bringing it down, but it stands back up, only to be killed by Dwalin.
"Warg-Scouts! Which means an Orc pack is not far behind." Thorin shouts. Gandalf whirls around to face the king.
"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?"
"No one."
"Who did you tell?!"
"No one, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on?" The Grey wizard sighs.
"You are being hunted." Dwalin raises his axes.
"We have to get out of here." Ori's face falls.
"We can't! We have no ponies; they bolted." Radagast steps forward
"I'll draw them off."
"These are Gundabad Wargs; they will outrun you." Gandalf states, but the other wizard just smirks.
"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits; I'd like to see them try." Bilbo shoulders to the front of the group and kneels by the rabbits, brushing his hands against their heads, before closing his eyes for a few seconds.
"Still, you will find your path completely free of debris or anything that might slow you down, yet the wargs will have to run through the thickest roots." Radagast smiles at him gratefully and Gandalf hums, leaving the dwarfs very confused.
Bilbo and the others watch as Radagast bursts forth from the bushes, startling several wargs.
"Come and get me! Ha ha!" The group watches as the wizard and orcs disappear behind a hill.
"Come on! We must go now!" Gandalf yells." The Company rushes across the rocky plane. In the distance, Radagast is being chased by the Wargs. One of them crashes while trying to catch him. As they run across the plain, Thorin and Bilbo see the Wargs not too far from them, so they pull the others down behind a few rocks.
"Stay together." Gandalf whispers. Thorin looks up.
"Move!" They continue running, Bilbo managing to stay at the front of the group despite his busted ribs. Thorin stops them behind a rock so that they are not seen by the Wargs, but Ori starts to run out of the cover.
"Ori, no!" Bilbo yells, pulling him back.
"Come on! Quick!"
"Where are you leading us, wizard?" Gandalf doesn't answer. As the Warg scouts chase Radagast, one of them stops and scents the air. The dwarves take cover behind an outcropping of rock. The scout and his Warg appear on top of the outcropping, scenting the air. Thorin looks at Kili and nods; readying an arrow, Kili quickly steps out and shoots the Warg. The Warg and the orc on it fall near the dwarves, and the dwarves kill them. The sounds of their fight carry quite far; the other Wargs and Orcs stop chasing Radagast as they hear roars and screams from behind the rocks. The orc that seems to be in charge points to where the dwarves are just visible.
"The Dwarf-scum are over there! After them!" Bilbo pushes the others away from the rock
"Move. Run!" The Company runs through a grassy plain; Wargs begin to surround them from all sides.
"There they are!" Gloin yelps. Gandalf points to the side,
"This way! Quickly!" They run for a while longer, then halt in a clearing as they see Wargs on all sides.
"There's more coming!" Kili screams, notching an arrow.
"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin commands. Looking around, Gandalf sees a large rock; he runs toward it and disappears.
"We're surrounded!
"Where is Gandalf?"
"He has abandoned us!" Kili begins shooting at the Warg and the Warg-riders, killing some of them. The dwarves gather close to each other near the rock Gandalf disappeared by. As Yazneg and his Warg approach, the others draw their weapons.
"Hold your ground!" Thorin yells. Gandalf pops up from a crack in the rock.
"This way, you fools!"
"Come on, move! Quickly, all of you! Go, go go!" Thorin begins to push them down the crack, thinking that they just might live through this until he hears Fili's anguished cry of Kili. Turning around, Thorin sees his youngest nephew about to be pounced on by a warg.
"Kili! Run!" Thorin watches as the dog jumps. He sees Kili turn towards it in shocked terror; he was too slow to do anything. Kili was going to die.
But suddenly Bilbo was there, flying through the air as he tackles the warg mid-jump, killing it with his sword. He starts to pull the prince towards the passage, when the arrows start flying from the orcs. Using his arm to block an arrow that would've pierced the young dwarfs heart, Bilbo stumbled as he pulled the shaft from his arm, wincing. Finally they reached the crack and the hobbit shoves Kili down the whole before turning towards Thorin.
"Jump in, now!" He cried. The king shook his head.
"You go, I will follow." The hobbit growled.
"Without you there would be no quest to reclaim Erebor, and I intend to make you live to see it through whether you like it or not!" Bilbo turns toward the orcs before spinning back to the dwarf at his side, screaming at him to duck. The hobbit slashes at an orc behind him that had had his axe poised to behead Thorin. Sending an apologetic glance to the dwarf he pushes the king down, another arrow hitting his arm in the process.
Thorin looked up at the opening in shock from where he now laid sprawled on the cold dirt ground.
"BILBO!" He hears the younger ones scream, but can only watch as a large boulder that he could've sworn hadn't been anywhere near the opening, rolled down and blocked the entrance, effectively keeping them safe inside and Bilbo all alone outside. The last things that the dwarves saw was Bilbo dancing around the orcs that surrounded him, slashing and stabbing through them as if they were butter.
"NOOO!" Thorin jumped to his feet pushing against the rock uselessly. Several of the other dwarves joined his efforts but it was in vain, for the stone did not move an inch. Resting his head against the cool material, Thorin blinked back the tears that were forming in his eyes.
"It's no use, Thorin Oakenshield." The dwarves whirled around to see the wizard leaning on his staff his face troubled.
"You're a wizard! Can't you do something about this thing?" He gestured to the boulder. Gandalf laughed.
"Me? Beat Bilbo? You're crazy. He's powerful, Thorin, possibly even more so than I." The dwarves looked at him like he was the crazy one, but the old man just smiled. "If Bilbo doesn't want that rock to move then it won't until he is dead or he allows it to." The room fell silent, the only noises heard were the clashing of swords and the cries of pain coming from above. For several minutes no one said anything, all staring at the boulder that kept them from reaching one of their own.
Suddenly it fell silent above and everyone drew in a breath. Fili and Kili were the first to move, pushing against the boulder with everything that they had, Thorin and Dwalin right behind them. The rock creaked and rolled to the side, and out burst the dwarves. What they saw made them freeze.
The land was littered with orc corpses. Bilbo was pinned down with his back on the ground, the only thing keeping a sword from running him through was his own blade, braced against an indention on the orc's weapon. The metal was slowly coming closer to his chest until it was pressing right against it. Normally, Bilbo would have been able to push the beast off of him, but he had already been shot twice in his left arm, and the bruised ribs weren't doing him any favors. Quicker than anyone else could have moved, Kili had drawn his bow, notched an arrow, and sent it flying at the orc, hitting him dead on. Sliding out from under the body know pressed against him, Bilbo rolls to a kneeling position, rubbing his chest with his uninjured arm. He smiles cheekily up at them.
"Fighting with bruised ribs? Not my brightest idea." He only just manages to keep himself steady as Kili launches forward, and the hobbit catches him with a groan. "Woah, Kili, I'm fine!"
"But you almost weren't! We just had a talk about this not 2 hours ago! We can help you, you know! We aren't helpless!" Kili is pulled off of the hobbit by Thorin who stared down at the injured man.
"What was that? You were almost killed! Why didn't you just listen to me for once and jump down into the hole?" Bilbo pushed himself to his feet, eyes flashing.
"Because, oh great Thorin Oakenshield, I made a promise to protect you all, from yourselves, if necessary." The dwarf king's face turned slightly red.
"To whom? There was nothing on that contract about giving your life to protect us!"
"To Gandalf! He wishes you dwarves to live for as long as possible, and it would make my job so much easier if you all weren't so damn noble." Thorin whirled around to face the wizard, who looked as if he wished that he was anywhere else.
"YOU WHAT? OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS TO DO! YOU MADE HIM-" Gandalf scoffed.
"As if I can make Bilbo Baggins-Took do anything he doesn't want to. As I told you before, he's powerful." All eyes turned to the hobbit, who grinned sheepishly at them.
"I might have forgotten to tell you a few things." A elven horn sounded in the distance, causing Bilbo to wince. "But unless you want my Adar to go completely overprotective father over me in about, oh I'd say 3 minutes, then may I explain it to you all in the tunnel?" Thorin nodded, and wrapped an arm around the younger man, pulling him to his feet. He ignored how hearing his breath hitch affected him so. Allowing Bilbo to lean on him as they made their back to the hole in the ground, Thorin couldn't help but feel the muscles so poorly concealed by the hobbit's ripped tunic. He was not at all ashamed to say that he was disappointed when the burglar drew away from him to lean against the wall once they reached the tunnel.
"When I was seventeen," Bilbo began. "My mother took me to visit her old friend, Lord Elrond. After about a year of being there, we found out that there was a prophecy concerning me. I was powerful." He turned to Oin who was cutting off the material around his arm to see where the arrows had struck. "If you wouldn't mind just cutting the rest of my shirt away? There's something I need to show them, and I'll just put a new one on later." The healer nodded, and slid the knife through the rest of the fabric, before slipping the ruined shirt off of his torso. Thorin pointedly ignored looking at the very muscled body before him, choosing to stare instead at the golden necklace hanging around his neck until the hobbit started talking, again.
"These tattoos on my arms?" Bilbo pointed to them and allowed the others to see them before he continued talking. "They symbolize my powers; water, earth, fire and air. I stayed with Elrond and his family while I learned to master them, along with anything else I wanted to learn, like weapons, music, and languages, while my ma went back to the Shire. I will give you a demonstration of me fighting with powers next time we stop. For 10 years I lived there, growing close to the elves until I would consider them kin. Which means that while we are staying in Rivendell, for that is where this tunnel leads, please set aside your hatred of elves for the duration of our stay. They were not the ones who abandoned you; if we ever wander across the Mirkwood elves, I will gladly allow you to bad mouth them all you want. There are only a few elves from there that I am fond of, so by all means go right ahead. Anyway, I have another tattoo on my back, which by the way, if you ever receive a magical tattoo, pray that it doesn't hurt like mine did. That was excruciating. When Oin is done bandaging my arm, I will show you it." Once the white cloth was tied around his arm, which would sufficiently stop the blood flow until he could get proper medical attention, Bilbo unwrapped the bandage around his chest and turned around, causing the dwarves to gasp.
"It took us a while to figure out what they meant, but we finally did. While I am connected to all animals in Middle Earth during one of my journeys, I found out that I could literally connect with these animals, see what they see, enhance my senses. Eventually, I had merged with them enough that I could keep all of the senses, even when we weren't together. We knew of 4 of the animals that were on my back, but the large bird on the middle had us stumped. After several years of combing through books, we came upon an old wives tale about a firebird that could calm emotions with just its voice. It was a phoenix, a bird from the time when the Varda created our world, said to be a symbol of their chosen ones." Thorin couldn't stop himself from stepping forward and brushing his hand down his back, touching each of the animals before resting on the fire bird. He felt Bilbo take a shuddering breath from underneath him before turning around so fast that he didn't have time to remove his hand, which now rested on a firm chest. They stared into each other's eyes for several seconds, Thorin wanting nothing more than to lean down and take the hobbit's lips into his own, before Bilbo, much to the dwarf king's dismay, took a few steps back, looking uncertain for the first time since they had met him.
"We should go," he said slowly. "By now Adar will have reached the orcs, and seen that it was I who killed them; he was one of the ones who trained me, after all, he knows my style. It would not be wise to keep him waiting when he has no knowledge of whether I am alive or have been taken. He can be quite overprotective." After allowing Oin to rebandage his ribs, Bilbo searched through his pack for a short sleeve shirt, slipping into the dark green one that he found. He tried to put on his bag, but Fili pulled it from his hands, slinging it onto his back instead.
"You saved both my brother and uncle today: the least I can do is carry your things." Instead of trying to argue, Bilbo just nodded sleepily, leaning on Kili. They started their trek down the tunnel, Thorin's eyes never leaving Bilbo's back. Finally, after half an hour, they reached the end of the tunnel, the opening emptying into a courtyard.
"The Valley of Imraldis. It goes by another name in the common tongue."
"Rivendell," Bilbo sighed happily. "My home."
"Here lies the last Homely House east of the sea." Gandalf couldn't help but say smugly, for Thorin did not seem to care that he was in an elven kingdom; not if Bilbo was happy here. Dwalin, on the other hand, was a whole different story.
"This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy!" The wizard chuckled.
"You have no enemies here, Dwalin, son of Fundin. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself."
"Do you think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us." He argued. Gandalf just smiled indulgently.
"Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to Bilbo and I." The dwarves nodded, and fell silent as a dark haired elf walked up to them.
"Mithrandir." The elf bowed respectfully.
"Ah, Lindir!" Gandalf bowed back. "I believe that you will like who I am keeping Company with at the moment." Lindir raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? And who in your group of-" The elf caught sight of Bilbo, and his eyes lit up. "Bilbo!" He smiled, scooping the man into a tight hug. "We had heard of Mithrandir's crossing into the valley, but nothing of yours. Why are you with 13 dwarves and a wizard?" Bilbo frowned slightly.
"They are my friends and I have grown very fond of them." The lieutenant bowed his head. "Where is Adar? I need to speak with him."
"My lord Elrond is not here." Gandalf frowned.
"Not here? Where is he?" Suddenly, the Elvish horns from before sound again. The Company turns around and they see a group of armed horsemen approaching along the bridge. Thorin seems to snap back into himself, as if only now realizing that they were in the Company of elves.
"Ready weapons! Hold ranks!" He screamed, and the dwarves bunched into a tight circle, pulling Bilbo in with them. The horses circled around them a few times, before stopping, an one elf, who must be Elrond, slides off onto the ground, stalking over to Gandalf, eyes blazing.
"Where is my son, Mithrandir?"
"Behind you, Adar." A voice called from beside the horses, causing the lord to whip around before charging forward. Bilbo, who somehow managed to escape the hold of the dwarves, was standing a few paces in front of them. Elrond took one look at his son, who had bags under his eyes and a bandage around his arm before sweeping him into a hug, tight enough to jostle his ribs, making the shorter man suck in a breath. "Careful. My ribs are still healing." The elf pulled away so as to get a better look at the hobbit.
"My, boy, what have you been doing? You look terrible!" Bilbo snorted.
"You've known that I've looked worse. Now," he sent his father a meaningful look. "unless you want me to pass out right here in the courtyard, I would like to go inside, get healed, and then sleep for a week." Sending a glance to the dwarves, he turned back to the lord. "Oh, and these are my dwarves. We have traveled a long way and I'm sure that they will not object to a good bed, and even better food. I promise that they will be in their best behavior." They nodded fast, none to eager to upset the hobbit.
"Well, in that case, Lindir, please lead, our guests to the dining hall. I will attend to my son." The sons of Durin took a step forward.
"Where are you taking him?" Kili asked. Elrond smiled.
"He needs to be healed, afterwards he will have to rest." Bilbo looked at the second youngest dwarf in their Company .
"I really do need to sleep. I should be up and around in about, oh, I'd say, three days. Until then, I'm afraid that I won't be much Company ." Thorin took another step forward.
"And why is that, Master Baggins?" The hobbit rolled his eyes.
"It's Bilbo, Thorin, as I've told you multiple times. And during the past couple days, while fighting the trolls, and then later the orcs, I used many of my special abilities, none that are that noticeable but that wear me out all the same. Like using the air to shield you insufferable dwarves from arrows," he teased, but Thorin didn't move back. Bilbo sighed. "Look, as soon as I wake up, I'll come and find you guys, and stay with the Company at night for the rest of the time we are here, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Elrond wrapped his arm around the halflings shoulders, and started leading him away. Thorin was surprised to see how Bilbo seemed to stumble. How tired was he? Before they reached the door, Bilbo turned back around.
"Oh and Ori? When I wake up, I will start your training. There's no reason to carry a weapon without knowing how to use it." The dwarves watched as one their own walked off with an elf, the older ones barely stopping themselves from chasing after him and hiding him away from their 'enemy'. Gandalf chuckled.
"Well, this will be an interesting stay."
So I've been writing a lot over the past few days, so much that I even got my computer taken away at school (don't worry; I got it back). While I would love to post everything I have written so far, I probably won't be posting anything new to this story for a while, while I work on my other two stories. Sorry, love you all!
Reviews are much appreciated and I love to hear from you guys! :)