But now Ilúvatar sat and hearkened, and for a great while it seemed good to him, for in the music there were no flaws.
But as the theme progressed, it came into the heart of Melkor to interweave matters of his own imagining that were not in accord with the theme of Ilúvatar; for he sought therein to increase the power and glory of the part assigned to himself.
To Melkor among the Ainur had been given the greatest gifts of power and knowledge, and he had a share in all the gifts of his brethren; and he had gone often alone into the void places seeking the Imperishable Flame.
For desire grew hot within him to bring into Being things of his own, and it seemed to him that Ilúvatar took no thought for the Void, and he was impatient of its emptiness. Yet he found not the Fire, for it is with Ilúvatar.
But being alone he had begun to conceive thoughts of his own unlike those of his brethren.

- Excerpt from Tolkien's Morgoth's Ring, the tenth instalment of The History of Middle-Earth. A piece from the Ainulindalë, the Great Song, recited by Pengoloð to Ælfwine.

Chapter 5: A fool of an Istari

There were many paths that led into the Misty Mountains, and many that passed over them. But most of the paths were cheats and deceptions and led either nowhere or to bad ends; and most of the passes were infested by evil things, like Orcs and Wargs – at least, according to Gandalf; the Wargs didn't sound that evil to Solana – and dreadful dangers, like steep drops and thin walkways that could crash down into the abyss. The party, helped by the wise advice of Elrond, the knowledge and memory of Gandalf, and Solana's Point Me spell, took the right road to the right pass.

Long days after they had climbed out of the valley and left the Last Homely House miles behind, they were still going up and up and up. It was a hard path and a dangerous path, a crooked way and a lonely and a long. Now they could look back over the lands they had left, laid out behind them far below. Solana could spot the Shire in the far, far distance, and suddenly wished she'd taken the time to paint or draw the inside of Bilbo's Hobbit-hole in her photo album.

It was getting bitter cold up there, and the wind came shrill among the rocks. Boulders, too, at times came galloping down the mountain-sides, let loose by midday sun upon the snow, and passed either luckily among them, or, more alarmingly, over their heads. The nights were comfortless and chill, and the dwarves did not dare to sing or talk too loud, for the echoes were uncanny, and the silence seemed to dislike being broken – except by the noise of water and the wail of wind and the crack of stone. However, Solana had an appropriate lullaby, as always, that she sung whenever they were going ever an especially dangerous part. Its words creeped the dwarves and even Gandalf out, but inexplicably, they felt like their very souls were a raging sea that calmed down after hearing the song's last words.

"A gentle breeze from the Lonely Mountain,

"Softly blows over lullaby bay.

"It fills the sails of boats that are waiting –

"Waiting to sail your souls away.

"It isn't far to the Lonely Mountain,

"And your boat waits down by the quay.

"The winds of night so softly are sighing –

"Soon they will ferry your souls to sea.

"So close your eyes on the Lonely Mountain,

"Wave good-bye to the lights of day,

"And watch your boat from the Lonely Mountain,

"Ferry your souls away from lullaby bay."

It was a creepy tune, its creepiness enhanced by the echo that sounded from below them; as if a choir of ghosts sang from Udûn, beckoning them to come to their realm.

(A/N For those of you who don't know, Udûn is Sindarin for Hell, and Quenya for Underworld. My theory is that, just like in Christian religion, the 'bad' spirits go to Udûn (which was the main fortress of Melkor, the 'bad' Vala) and the 'good' spirits to… somewhere else. I haven't figured that part out yet. Tolkien never specified a Hell or Heaven, if you're wondering.)

Over the course of the days in the mountains, Solana saw Gandalf grow worried, and knew herself that the safe time wouldn't last; like calm before the storm. She didn't know it at the time, but her thoughts would be proven true to the letter.

All was well for a three days, until they met a thunderstorm – more than a thunderstorm, like a thunder-battle. Solana knew how terrific a really big thunderstorm can be down in the land; especially at times when two great thunderstorms meet and clash. She had seen one of them at Hogwarts once, when everyone was allowed to go out at night by the professors and watch it. It had been majestic.

More terrible and majestic still are thunder and lightning in the mountains at night, when storms come up from East and West and make war. The lightning splinters on the peaks, and rocks shiver, and great crashes split the air and go rolling and tumbling into every cave and hollow, and the darkness is filled with overwhelming noise and sudden light. The only reason that Solana had for not whipping out her photo album and the art kit she had gotten from Lord Elrond and painting it was the fact that they were high up in a narrow place, with a dreadful fall into a dim valley at one side of them.

There they were sheltering under a hanging rock for the night, huddled together, the only reason that they weren't shivering from head to toe being the fact that Solana had cast warming and impervius charms on them to keep them from catching a cold or a fever. When she looked out in the lightning-flashes, she saw that across the valley gigantic golems were out and were hurling rocks at one another for what seemed like a game, catching them, and tossing them down into the darkness where they smashed among the trees far below, or splintered into little bits with a bang. Solana remembered Gandalf talking about them; they were this world's giants. Though, why either Ilúvatar or the Valar decided to create them was beyond her.

Then came a wind and a rain, and the wind whipped the rain and the hail about in every direction, so that an overhanging rock was no protection at all. Solana didn't have the willpower needed to hold up a wall that could stand against such assault, or anything like that – sure, she could manage it for a short time, perfect for in duels, but Transfiguration was never her forte – and thus they were soon getting pelted and their ponies were standing with their heads down and their tails between their legs, and some of them were whinnying with fright. They could hear the giants guffawing and shouting all over the mountainsides.

"This won't do at all!" Thorin said suddenly. "If we don't get blown off or struck by lightning, we shall be picked up by some giant and kicked sky-high for a football."

"Well, if you know of anywhere better, take us there!" said Gandalf, who was feeling very grumpy, and was far from happy about the giants himself. It was one of the large differences Solana had noticed between Dumbledore and Gandalf; the latter could get grumpy, while Dumbledore was, at most, disappointed. She snorted at the thought, suddenly imagining Dumbledore talking down one of the Giants like they were in school and he was their teacher. "I'm very disappointed in you, Mr. Huge. And you, Mr. Enormous, I had thought better of you."

Solana snorted once more and tuned back into the argument; apparently, Fill and Kili would go to look for a better shelter. They had very sharp eyes, and being the youngest of the dwarves by some fifty years they usually got those kind of jobs. "There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something." Had Thorin said on one occasion. "You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after." So it, unfortunately, proved on this occasion.

After a few minutes of thunderstorm-gazing, Fili and Kili came crawling back, holding on to the rocks in the wind. "We have found a dry cave," Kili announced, "not far round the next corner; and ponies and all could get inside."

"Have you thoroughly explored it?" Asked Gandalf just when Solana spoke up to ask the same; they both knew that caves in mountains often housed dangerous creatures. Where do you think the Mountain Troll got its name from?

"Yes, yes!" Fili said, though everybody knew they could not have been long about it; they had come back too quick. "It isn't all that big, and it does not go far back."

That, of course, was the dangerous part about caves: it's difficult to know how far they go back sometimes, or where a passage behind may lead to, or what is waiting for you inside. But now Fili and Kili's news seemed good enough. So they all got up and prepared to move. The wind was howling and the thunder still growling, and they had a business getting themselves and their ponies along. Luckily, it wasn't very far to go, and before long they came to a big rock standing out into the path. When Solana stepped behind, she found a low arch in the side of the mountain. There was just room to get the ponies – and Bombur, for he was just as wide – through with a squeeze, when they had been unpacked and unsaddled. As they passed under the arch, it was good to hear the wind and the rain outside instead of all about them, and to feel safe from the giants and their rocks. But the Istari took no risks. They lit up their wands, and by their light they explored the cave from end to end.

It seemed quite a fair size, but not too large and mysterious. It had a dry floor and some comfortable nooks. At one end there was room for the ponies, and, within a minute of entering, they were chomping happily on pieces of hay. Solana had forgotten to cast the Impervius on the clothes, so she – instead of Oin and Gloin's idea of lighting a fire and drying them there, the pyromaniacs – cast drying charms on everything. They made their blankets comfortable and, in Gandalf and Thorin's case, got out their pipes and blew smoke things, which Gandalf turned into different colours and set dancing up by the roof to amuse them. Solana got out her photo album and art case and, after casting a spell on the rock in front of the entrance that made it see-through for her alone, started painting the lightning, accompanied by Gandalf and the dwarves' talking. They nodded off, one after the other, until Solana was the only one left. It took an hour, but eventually her painting was completed, a masterpiece if she said so herself, and she put her stuff away in the ponies' pack before turning in for the night.

Oo0oO

Much later, Solana was awoken by the shuffling of feet. When she turned to check, she saw that a crack had opened at the back of the cave, and was already a wide passage. She was just in time to see the last of the ponies' tails disappearing into it – with her photo album! Of course, she gave a very loud yell of rage, one that woke up the dwarves and Gandalf.

Out of the crack jumped ugly monsters Solana recognized from Gandalf's tales as goblins, big goblins, great ugly-looking goblins, lots and lots of goblins. With weapons. Shiny, pointy, sharp weapons. So, Solana did the logical thing to the goblins who had stolen her precious photo album.

She opened fire before they could take more than a single step in their direction.

Now, one has to realize that 'lots and lots of goblins' are a lot of goblins. Not just a lot of goblins, a LOT of goblins. Six to each dwarf, not counting the two for her – Who did they think she was? Some meagre maiden in need of a knight to save her? – and the eight for Gandalf.

Therefore, it says quite a lot that she was able to cut down – for that's what she did, using different varieties of cutting hexes – half of them before the dwarves and Gandalf were able to stand up and join the fight.

Thirteen dwarves and two Istari against around forty goblins wasn't really a fair fight, especially when the goblins had Solana's photo album. Within a minute after entering, the goblins were slain, the hole they came through still open, and all was quiet once more. That is, until they noticed Solana wasn't with them anymore.

"That fool of an Istari!" Gandalf cursed as soon as he figured it out, before following Solana down the goblin-made path, accompanied by thirteen dwarves who didn't really know what the wizard was talking about until a minute and a single turn later, when they stumbled upon a gigantic cave, with barely-supported wooden structures along the walls. Then, they suddenly understood.

A goblin city. A large one.

And Solana had charged right in.

Review Replies!

RealityInk: An excerpt from the book;

More clearly than all else there shone forth in the middle of the door a single star with many rays.

"There are the emblems of Durin!" cried Gimli.

"And there is the tree of the high elves!" said Legolas.

I rest my case.

HomeByTwilight: I wanted to write the part with the trolls, but it just wouldn't come. I tried it three times but every time it was just so bad that I stopped and had to start over. And Hermione was, indeed, one of those annoyingly heterosexual types. I did say 'crush' instead of 'girlfriend', didn't I? But don't worry, I'll reveal the girlfriend(s) she had in a later chapter.

Also, about Bard's kids… The line between Tolkien-Canon and Jackson-Canon has blurred over the years since I have read the book – it's why I forgot Tauriel wasn't Tolkien-Canon. Well, that, and the book I read was in Dutch, thirty years old, and only readable because of a few strips of scotch tape.

Noxy the Proxy: How could it be difficult to follow when I'm writing it close to the book? I would assume that it would be easier, wouldn't it?

6UnTalentedArtist9: There's a lot needed to offend me, and 'a lot' isn't reviewing. 'A lot' is flaming my story, myself, my mother, my grandparents, and calling my dog a cute, fluffy puppy on top. If you do all that, then you offend me and I'll probably kick your digital butt in either a debate or a multiplayer game afterwards.

SpikeySugarBomb: …True, true. However, RainbowScaled!Smaug is a bit out there without being on crack. Remember Smaug? Big, hulky, glaring, mad Smaug? Do you think he'd be as awesome with rainbow scales?

Thank You to all reviewers, as always.