Chapter 6
Contract Negotiation
When she next saw Oakenshield, he was hunched over a large bowl of stew, with a plate full of food in front of him. She plunked a half-pint of ale in front of him, and stood to the side. Her company seemed to already be deep into discussion of what they were going to do and she needed to get caught up.
Quickly grabbing a storm lantern and placing it in the center of the table, then leaning over and lighting the candle inside, just as Gandalf spread out a map. Reading aloud, "The Lonely Mountain," quickly searching her memory for where she'd heard that name before.
"Aye. Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time." A red headed stocky dwarf answered, pointedly avoiding looking down her top as she was still leaning over to view the map.
The dwarf next to him continued, and Iris assumed this was Oin, "Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end."
Ah, yes, she'd been but a small faunt, before that horrible winter, when she last heard the tales of Erebor, "Is there not a dragon living in that mountain?"
The dwarf with the funny hat, the one that felt more and more familiar spoke up, "Ay lassy, that would be Smaug the Terrible, chieftest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborn fire-breather, teeth like razers, claws like meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals—"
"Yes, I know what a dragon is." She waved him off, reeling from his description, it was the same her mother had given time and time again.
A very young dwarf (but he had to have been of age) jumped up and made a ridiculous statement of being willing to take down the dragon, before his brother pulled him back into his seat. While the other dwarves shouted around him.
After Oakenshield pulled them back into order, and then whipped the excitement for the adventure back up again, Gandalf presented a key to Thorin. And she found herself being asked if she was a good burglar.
"Me? Of course not, I'm a Hobbit. The most I've done is pinched a few pies as a faunt. And perhaps some tubers. Well, and those mushrooms last week." She gave a cheeky grin, "However, against a dragon?"
Balin spoke up, "Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves."
She tried not to feel insulted, she wasn't helpless, she did go on walking holidays from time to time.
Standing abruptly, Gandalf seemed to take over the entirety of the room, "Enough! If I say Iris Baggins is a burglar, than a burglar she is." He sat back down again. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company, and I have chosen Mistress Baggins. There's a lot more to her than appearances suggest, and she's got a great deal more to off than any of you know, including herself. You must trust me on this."
Oakenshield opened his mouth again, "Very well, give her the contract Balin."
Balin reached into his clothing and pulled out what looked like a long folded up contract, then handed it over to her, "It's just the usual summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth."
"Funeral Arrangements?" Okay, she did bulk a bit at that, while keeping half an ear on the whispering of the idiot and Gandalf. Oh how she wished she had an umbrella in her hand, to wack him over the head with.
She took a few steps into the hall for better light while she read, reading some of it out loud to herself, "Cash on delivery, up to one fourteenth, but no more of total profit, if any. Good, but unneeded. Present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof including but not limited to lacerations … evisceration … incineration?"
The funny hatted one looked positively cheerful as he spoke up, "Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye."
She glared at him.
"Think furnace with wings."
"You master dwarf, can cut that out right now. I am not some faint headed Bracegirtle that you can intimidate. However," she turned to look at Balin, "I assume you are the one to speak to about changes to the contract? There are a few things in here that I can not agree to."
Oakenshield butted in, "All members of the company signed this contract, you will do the same."
"Master Oakenshield, you will do well to read what you put your name to then, if you agreed to some of the terms in this contract. As would the rest of you. Of course, since this was written with a non-dwarf in mind and is worded as such in many places, I expect your contract was in fact very different. Now Master Balin, may I have several minutes of your time in my study to confer"
"Of course Mistress," when he got up, he may have cuffed Thorin in the back of the head lightly as he passed. "Please lead the way."
"Mistress Baggins," Balin took the comfortable seat that she offered him, "you had some issues with the contract?"
"It's Iris, please Master Balin," she took a seat at her desk, "and yes, there a few things in my contract that must be discussed and adjusted."
"Then please call me Balin, Iris. What areas do you need adjusted?"
"First and foremost, in this contract, there states that I will be available for the needs, as they see fit, to any member of the company. I am not a plaything, nor am I toy to be played with. Master Gandalf wishes me to be a burglar for you, and so I shall, but my job is contracted for the end of the journey, not before. I will help in battles, cooking, foraging and even hunting of small animal. I will assist in the making and breaking of camp. I will not be a bed warmer." She watched the shock on his face. "I take it, you did not write that clause into the contract?"
"Of course not, we would not expect anyone to do such a thing. In our culture, one does not have relations until they are ready to wed."
"Excuse me?" She sat up ram rod straight and looked him directly in the eye, "Your marriage ceremony is the act of love? Well, that just raises more questions than answers." Not that she was going to expand on that.
"Yes, until we celebrate the joining of two souls into one, a dwarf stays celibate. It is why, in most cases, we do not get into a relationships outside of our race. In only the past hundred years, there have only been a few cases of dwarves courting another race." He felt the need to be honest with her, his very soul spoke to him to share. "In this case, it means that if we have need of an item, and we have no other way of procuring it, we would ask you to assist in obtaining it. Perhaps we can reword how it is placed in the contract. I agree it does not sound correct, when coming from a race that does not share our methods."
"Please, Balin. Although your people may follow other ideals, there are those that would take advantage of it. Those that would not follow through with your beliefs."
"I will make the necessary changes to that portion, to word it clearer. What else do you believe needs changes?" He was already making notes to the side of contract, intending on rewriting the entire thing, instead of just making additions.
She closed her eyes for a moment, "Funeral arrangements, I can understand that for your race, being put to the stone is a blessing. Even if it is being placed in the nearest cave. However, for hobbits, we must be placed in the ground. Yavanna wishes her people to nourish the land as it has nourished us in life. All I ask is for a simple hole, and covered with dirt." She opened them again, "Though, if you could place some stones with me, it would be appreciated." A concession as her life was a combination of both, not that she shared that with him.
"A simple change mistress. Again, something we should have thought of. Our Lords wife's children would have different rites." More notes.
"The Stone Father blessed the Green Mother. It is only right we work together." She gave him another small smile. "There are two more things, before I will be able to sign good sir. The first is the matter of food. I know that it is not mentioned in the contract, and I know most if not all other races only eat three meals a day, more likely two while on the road, in the morning and eve. However, hobbits are built differently. Our bodies need a different amount of nourishment. A typical hobbit eats six to seven times a day. In times of strife, we can cut down to four, but it will take a toil on our bodies."
"I have never needed to eat quite as much as a my fellow age mates; probably because the Valar knew that I would be needed to leave the Shire some day. My mother was much the same; however, I must eat at least four times a day to maintain a healthy energy, three to keep going, but it will cause me slow some. Any less and I will start losing drastic amounts of weight, in such a way that I would be useless to the company with a few months time."
"We could not promise that much food everyday Mistess, Iris. There will be times that food will be scarce."
"I understand that Master Balin, however, what I am stating that for an extended period of low food, I will mostly not survive. What I need, is a concession that if things become difficult, the attempt will be made to acquire food at the earliest convenience as to ascertain survival. We do not even need to discuss this with the other members of the company, except for whomever is the cook."
He nodded, "Would you be able to go short periods on low rations if needed?"
"This is not to get to the rest of the company, unless I choose to share it." She waited for his agreement before continuing, "No more than a few weeks, I have seen what happens to hobbits that do not have access to food. It can get quite dangerous. My mother and papa gave their portions to me during the Fell Winter, as did most of the adults for their faunts. We lost a third of our population that winter, to wolves, orcs, illness and starvation. Even now, we are still recovering from the loss. If you look at some of our older people, you will see where even though they've gained their stature back, the illness lingers. It seeps into our bones, makes us weak and susceptible to great sickness. Those that bounced back, were never quite the same."
"We'll do what we can for you Iris. I will speak to Bombur to make sure that something is set aside in the morning so that you can carry it on you for the day. We won't be able to stop for meals, but we won't stop you from eating while we move."
She wiped at tears that she hadn't realized ha fallen initially, "Much appreciated. I would not wish it on my greatest enemy." Taking a deep breath, "And my final issue, which for a hobbit, is simple, but from what my mother told me as a child, it may be one for you. My share of the treasure. I wish full options of distributing my portion as I wish. Also, it is not 'Up-to and including', if there is treasure to be had, and I understand, that if we fail, there will not be, it will be a full share. If I choose to give it to a vagabond on the side of the road, that will be my choice, since I will not be able to get it all back here."
He nodded his head, "You assume there will be a great bit if we win?"
Laughing softly, "We are going to Erebor, the greatest of the Dwarven kingdoms. It had enough gold to attract and keep a Dragon, Balin. I am no fool, there will be a mountain full of treasure."
"Aye, Iris, there will be treasure. Though the wording for the one fourteenth share is the same in all contracts. This is encase there is some expenses that are much larger than we have upon us at the time. However, I will put a clause in about you being able to distribute it as you please. I assume that you plan on returning here in the end?"
"I am the head of my family Master Balin, as am I fourth in line for the Thainship; may the Lady give blessing nothing happens to my uncles. Unless my Heart is found, I will have to return. Which is why will be staying for another day. I do need to set my affairs in order."
"May I ask why you did not do so before now?" he questioned.
"I do believe I answered that earlier this eve for you," she nodded her head towards the door, "the wizard did not appear on my step until this morning. That was when I was asked to join and was informed you all would be descending upon my home this evening. I barely had time to acquire enough substance for you all for the next few days and cook such a large meal."
He leaned forward in his seat, "I recall you saying that, though Gandalf told us weeks ago that you agreed to this. Why would he tell us differently?"
"He expected me to a proper Hobbit, and most likely of believed that you would need to trick me into joining you. I fear to think of what would have happened if you all had descended upon my home without so much as a by-your-leave. It would have been a fiasco. There would have been no food available, as I only usually keep enough this time of year to last a week. And you all would have broken into, by misunderstanding, a single woman's home. Do you have any idea how frightening that would have been. Your brother does not make the best of first impressions, just judging him on looks alone. Though, in his favor, he is a kind soul, hidden behind that gruff exterior."
"Don't let him hear you say that, he believes he hides it well." They both laugh a bit. "Mistress Iris, if I may borrow your desk for a bit, I must take some time to rewrite this for you. As I expect you also have things to get together. Will you need any assistance in packing for this journey? If so, I recommend either speaking to our resident Tinker, Bofur," he took in the small flinch she had to that name and filed it away for a later time, "or my brother. Either would be able to give advice."
"I will speak with Master Dwalin, we have at least had a few moments to speak before this." She stood and made her way to the closed door, motioning to her desk. "I shall leave you to your work then, Balin." She then left the room, to see a gaggle of dwarves huddled down the hallway, attempting to listen in, without getting close.
"Shoo, you will find out soon enough." She laughed to herself and turned down the hallway. Turning back after a few moments, "Oh, Master Oakenshield, your advisor will need you in a while. Please be available when he does." She turned again and walked off.