The rain finally stopped and after riding several more hours they came to an old abandoned farmstead, the farm house was run down and in ruins. Adara hoped that her own farm would not meet the same fate as this one had. The company stopped near the house and waited.
"We'll stop here for the night." Thorin stated. "Fili, Kili look after the ponies, make sure you stay with them."
Gandalf walked into the remains of the house and looked around sadly. "A farmer and his family used to live here."
"Oin, Doin get a fire going." Thorin said.
"I think it would be wiser if we moved on." Gandalf stated returning to the others. "We could make for the Hidden Valley." Thorin began to get irritated with the old wizard.
"I have told you already, I will not go near that place." Thorin stated and walked around the house. Gandalf followed.
"Why not the elves could help us. We could get food, rest, advice." Gandalf said.
"I do not want their advice." Thorin retorted.
"We have a map we cannot read, and Lord Elrond could help us." Gandalf went on.
"Help, a dragon attacked Erabor, what help came from the elves. Orcs plunder Moria, desacrate our sacred halls. The elves looked on and did nothing. You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather, betrayed my father." Thorin stated with anger.
"You are neither of them. I did not give you that map and key to hold onto the past." Gandalf reminded.
"I did not know they were yours to keep." Thorn said rudely. Gandalf turned and shook his head and walked away from the stubborn leader of the company.
"Is everything alright, Gandalf where are you going?" Bilbo asked. Gandalf kept walking hastedly.
"To seek out the company of the only person who makes any sense." Gandalf stated.
"And whose that?" Bilbo asked.
"Myself!" Gandalf shouted over his shoulder, walking faster. "I've had enough of dwarfs for one day."
Thorin watched as Gandalf left the camp. "Come on Bofur, we're hungry."
"Will he come back?" Bilbo asked Balin, the old dwarf shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't worry Bilbo. Gandalf always comes back. I once made him so mad, he stayed away for four years and finally came back." Adara stated to the concerned hobbit.
"What did you do?" Bilbo asked her.
"I set his beard on fire." Adara giggled. "When he came back he told me he was giving me time to get out of my fire lighting phase. Come on Bilbo, let's help make camp." They walked together and laid out their bedrolls and then helped Bofur with the meal.
"He's been gone along time." Bilbo stated looking the way Gandalf had walked.
"He'll be back." Adara soothed.
"He's a wizard, he does as he chooses." Bofur stated filling two bowls with a thick soup. "Here, do me a favor and take these to the lads." He handed Bilbo the bowls and got after Bombur for trying to take more food.
Bilbo walked to the where the ponies had been put. Adara watched, she hoped Gandalf wouldn't be too stubborn. They need him. Adara smiled and decided to follow Bilbo, she wanted to see Fili. She hoped that Kili wasn't in an amorous mood. As she walked, she began to get an awful scent in the breeze. When she entered the clearing she saw Bilbo walking up behind Fili and Kili. She stopped when she got next to Fili. He and his brother were counting the ponies and looking off in to the distance.
"What's the matter?" Bilbo asked.
"We're suppose to be looking after the ponies." Kili stated nervously.
"Only we've encountered a slight problem." Fili continued for his brother. "We had sixteen, now there's fourteen."
"Daisy and Bungo are missing." Kili stated as he walked around the ponies.
"Well, that's not good." Bilbo stated. Adara looked about them and looking for clues to the disappearance of the two ponies. Bilbo noticed that there were trees moved and rocks that had been, basically kicked out of the way. "That is not good at all." Bilbo stated looking around rather scared. "You should tell Thorin."
"Nah, let's not worry him. As our official burgler, we thought you might like to look into it." Fili stated.
"Something big uprooted these trees, something possibly quite dangerous." Bilbo stated.
"That was our thingking." Kili stated.
"Hey, there's a light." Fili stated. "Over here." Fili stooped down and began to sneak through the brush in the direction he had been looking. "Stay down." He told the others. They all watched flickering fire light, then heard talking and laughing.
"What is it?" Bilbo asked.
"Trolls." Kili stated. Fili and Kili took off running closer to the troll encampment. Bilbo and Adara followed close behind. They stopped just as another troll was carrying two more ponies to their camp.
"They got Murtle and Minsy. I think they're going to eat them. We have got to do something." Bilbo stated still holding the bowls of soup.
"Yes, you should." Kili stated and began to push Bilbo toward the trolls. "Mountain trolls are slow and stupid and your so small, they'll never see. We'll be right behind you."
"If you get into any trouble, just hoot twice like a barn owl and once like a brown owl." Fili stated and they took the bowls and pushed him farther toward the trolls.
"You can't be serious. He looks scared, Fili." Adara stated worrying about Bilbo.
"He'll be alright, dearest." Fili stated. Then smiled at her. Adara could hear Bilbo tromping through the brush mumbling about the owls. "Aren't you two going to go with him." Adara stated looking at the both of them with her hands on her hips.
"He'll be fine. Trolls are stupid." Kili stated.
"Then why aren't you going too. Should be nice company for you." Adara stated and turned to follow after Bilbo.
"You can't go. You're a girl." Kili stated and instantly regretted his words.
"Well if you won't go. Somebody should." Adara stated and continued following Bilbo. She snuck up behind him and touched him on the shoulder, he jumped and turned his head toward her.
"Oh, Lady Adara, you startled me. You shouldn't have come. It could get dangerous." Bilbo stated.
"You too huh?" Adara stated and went on before Bilbo, he followed and they stopped at the edge of the encampment. They could hear the trolls.
"Mutton yesterday, mutton today and it looks like mutton tomorrow." One of the trolls stated.
"Quit you're griping. These ain't sheep. These is fresh nags." The second stated as he put the other ponies in the make shift corral.
"I don't like horse, I never have. Not enough fat on them." The third commented.
"Better than that leathery old farmer, skin and bones he was." The first added. "I'm still digging pieces of him out of my teeth."
Bilbo and Adara looked at one another. Then back at the trolls when one of them sneezed and the others commented about the sneeze. Soon the trolls began to argue.
"We need to go back and get the others, Bilbo." Adara stated.
"You go, I'll try to let the ponies out. I don't want to see any of them get hurt." Bilbo stated.
"I don't want them hurt either, nor you." Adara added.
"Just hurry back." Bilbo stated and headed for the corral. Adar shook her head and crept away then ran when she was out of hearing distance. She didn't stop until she found Fili and Kili.
"Bilbo needs help. There are three of them." She stated. She ran into the camp and grabbed her weapons while the Fili gathered reinforcements. She ran back and got to the troll camp just as Kili had burst in and told them to drop Bilbo. Fili and the others were close at her back. She drew a long sword and started swinging it at the trolls. Kili had already chopped away at one of the trolls.
The others came in weapons bared. They all fought hard, but were no match to the strength and size of the trolls. They were all put in bags, six on a spit over the fire. Adara they hung in her bag in a tree. Saying that she was for dessert. Bilbo got up in his bag and hopped over trying to persuade the trolls not to eat the dwarfs.
"They have parasites. They're riddled with them." Bilbo stated. The trolls were beginning to change their minds about eating the dwarfs, but Kili stated he did not have parasites. Thorin kicked him then he caught on.
"I've got tons of parasites." Kili stated as did the rest. Adara looked toward some huge boulders and saw Gandalf. She knew that Bilbo was just wasting time, trying to keep the trolls side tracked. Then Gandalf yelled and was standing on the biggest of the boulders and yelled at the trolls.
"The dawn will take you all." Gandalf yelled.
"Whose that, can we eat him too?" A troll asked. Then Gandalf slammed his staff into the boulder breaking a piece off and letting the sun hit the trolls. They instantly started to turn to stone.
The dwarfs and Adara all cheered for Bilbo. After everyone was out of the bags and upright again Thorin walked over to Gandalf who had just smacked one of the troll statues with his staff, smiling.
"Where did you go, if I may ask?" Thorin looked at Gandalf.
"Looking ahead." Gandalf stated.
"And what brought you back?"
"Looking behind." Gandalf smiled. "Nasty business, but you're still in one piece."
"No thanks to your burglur."
"He had the nack to play for time, none of the rest of you thought of that." Gandalf stated. Thorin had to agree. "They must have come down from the mountains"
"Since when do mountain trolls ever venture this far south?" Thorin looked at the trolls with disdain.
"Not for an age, not since a darker power ruled these lands." Gandalf stated and looked away, Adara could see that he was worried. "They could not have moved in day light."
"There must be a cave near by." Thorin stated and began to look around. The company searched and found a cave not to far from the troll camp. It stunk worse than the trolls themselves and was deep and large.
"It's a troll hoard." Gandalf stated. "Careful what you touch." Gold and jewels were strung around the cave haphazardly or in chests. Bones and refuse covered the floor of the cave, here and there were weapons armor and other items that had been taken from unsuspecting travelers, after they had become the trolls' main course.
"Seems a shame to just leave it lying around." Bofur stated looking at the gold. "Anyone could take it."
"Agreed, Nori, get a shovel" Gloin stated.
Thorin and some of the others lit torches and searched the cave. Thorin found several swords. One in particular caught his eye. "These swords were not forged by any troll."
"Nor by any smith among men. They were forged by the high elves of the first age." Gandalf stated.
Thorin looked displeased and went to return the sword he held to it's place.
"You could not wish for a finer blade." Gandalf stated and Thorn kept the sword.
After leaving the cave Gandalf went to Bilbo and handed him a dagger. "Bilbo, here this is about your size." Gandalf stated.
"I can't take this." Bilbo stated looking very uncomfortable.
"The blade is of elvish make, which means it will glow blue if orcs or goblins are near by." Gandalf stated.
"I have never used a sword in my life." Bilbo confessed.
"And let's hope you never have to." Gandalf said. "Remember this, true courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one."
"Something's coming!" Thorin stated. They all turned and waited, not knowing who or what would manifest itself. To Gandalf's relief he recognized Radagast the Brown speeding toward him on a sled pulled by large rabbits.
"Radagast the Brown, what on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf asked.
"Looking for you, Gandalf." Radagast stated. "Somethings wrong, something is terribly wrong."
"Yes?" Gandalf asked. Though Radagast tried to tell him what was the problem, Radagast looked as if he kept forgetting what he was going to say.
"I had a thought, it was just there on the tip of my tongue. Oh it's not a thought at all, it's a stick insect." Radagast stuck out his tongue and Gandalf removed a long stick bug from it.
After a few minutes he started to explain to Gandalf that the Greenwood was sick. Evil had come to the forests. "A darkness has fallen over it, nothing grows anymore, at least nothing good. That's not the worst it though, the worst is the webs."
"Webs?" Gandalf asked.
"Yes Gandalf webs, Spiders. Giant ones. They come from Dol Guldur." Radagast stated.
"Dol Guldur, is abandoned."
"No Gandalf, it's not." Radagast stated. "A dark power dwells in 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, the necromancer has come." Radagast looked as though he had seen a ghost or worse.
Gandalf gave him a puff of his pipe to settle his nerves.
"A necromancer, are you sure." Gandalf asked. Radagast handed him a sword wrapped in leather.
"That is not from the world of the living." Radagast stated as Gandalf undid the wrappings. Then a loud howl sounded.
"Is that a wolf, are there wolves out there." Bilbo asked.
"No that is not a wolf." Bofur stated.
Two huge wargs came running in and attacked them, Thorin killed one, Kili the other.
"Warg scouts, means a orc pack is not far behind!" Thorin stated.
"Orc pack?" Bilbo asked.
"Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?" Gandalf questioned.
"No one." Thorin swore.
"You are being hunted." Gandalf stated.
"We've got to get out of here." Dwalin stated.
"We can't, we don't have any ponies." Ori cried. "They bolted."
"I'll draw them off." Radagast stated.
"These are Gundabad Wargs, they will out run you."
"These are Rhosgobel rabbits, I'd like to see them try." Radagast stated and took off leading the orcs away.
The company ran and soon came to a clump of rocks, a warg jumped at them and they fought it off and then Gandalf called to them and led them into a deep cave. It was narrow and they nearly go stuck several times. Soon they came to the other end and to the dismay of the dwarfs Rivendell lay before them.