A Perilous Road.
Chapter Six: Now or never.
The celebrations were in full flow. Words exchanged were hardly recognizable above the din of music and laughter. People sang and danced and not a soul stayed in their dwellings this night – it was as Kili had said earlier, perfect.
Slipping away from the masses they took a secluded pathway behind the marquees and then through the town square where dwarves filed in and out of taverns clinking goblets filled with fine wines and jugs of ale. Usually Kili and his brother would be beyond coherent by now, well and truly intoxicated. Tonight however, was different.
They made it through the crowds largely unnoticed, a couple of times they were grabbed by passing dwarves who dragged them to dance, but they politely declined, pretending to be drunk and heading home for the night. Sticking to the shadows they made it past the buzz and mayhem and down the trail towards the Blacksmiths. So close now, they were so close. After supper they had slipped out and hid their luggage behind some hay bales in the barn for practicality and fast escape, and Kili was glad of it now as he hefted the rolled up packages and fastened them onto the side of his pony.
They moved quickly and in silence, not daring to waste a second while they had the advantage. They had waited until their Uncle moved into one of the Marquee's with Dwalin and their Mother had been chatting to Balin before they slipped away. Kili's heart ached as he had taken that last look of his Mother, she would be so upset when she found out they'd left – and worried beyond belief. But he couldn't dwell on that now, it was not the time.
Fili looked to his brother and watched him fasten the loops of the bundle upon the pony, giving them a couple of tugs to ensure security. "Ready?" Fili whispered. Kili nodded and they both left the barn leading the ponies out by the reigns. On the way out Fili slipped the gold coins in payment under the iron kettle, Gloin would see it in the morning and probably curse them both to Hell for involving him in this. Hurrying out the barn Fili fastened the doors quietly leaving the remaining ponies in peace and slid the key under the door. This was it. Without speaking they mounted their ponies and took off up the trail which led into the forest. Fili wouldn't need the map for now as he knew these lands like the back of his hand but he had it folded and ready in his pocket for when they travelled in unfamiliar territory.
A mile into the forest they had finally left the din of the festival behind them and could hear nothing but the forest night life. Breathing a sigh of relief Fili felt his shoulders relax and released his iron cast grip on the reigns. He wasn't a fool though, he knew they had a long way to go yet, and the more distance they could put between them and the others the better.
Thorin left the ale marquee with another beverage and was actually beginning to wind down a little. It always took him a while to get into the mood, this was not truly his home after all, and he would only ever have one 'home'. But when he let himself go a little he did tend to enjoy himself, and the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains weren't half bad he supposed. There were some good folk in these parts. Of course it helped having his friends and family by his side, Dwalin and Balin were always great company and it was a joy to see his sister happy and having fun after so many years of hardship and heartbreak. And he didn't know where he would be without his Nephews, he'd played such a big part in their upbringing and they had unknowingly been the main reason he was able to find some kind of happiness in the Blue Mountains. Smiling to himself he considered how fond everyone was of the brothers. People were drawn to them, they both possessed a magnetism that was impossible to resist and Thorin had lost count of the times they had wormed their way out of trouble just from smiling. And of course a party wouldn't be a party without Kili and Fili.
Speaking of his nephews, where the Hell were they? And come to think of it they had been remarkably quiet for a festival night. Usually they would be at the heart of it, but tonight he'd barely seen them. In fact the last few days he'd barely seen them at all.
He understood of course, after finding out they had a sister only to learn she was dead must have been devastating for them and he had witnessed the grief they tried to hide daily. He'd tried giving them space and avoided discussing it as he felt that would've rubbed salt into the wound. But maybe he should have approached the subject, after all he loved them as if they were his sons and perhaps they had needed him to be more active in their grieving process. He'd been waiting for the right time however to tell them he was going to do some digging, speak to some other dwarf clans who lived further South, find out if any of them had heard of the name Liviel – anything to try and confirm the situation for the boys.
A heavy hand on his shoulder shook him from his thoughts and back into the moment. Dwalin was grinning at Thorin and gesturing to join Dis and Balin where they danced in the town square. Thorin shook his head and glanced around his surrounding, suddenly feeling an overpowering need to find his Nephews. Sensing his change in mood Dwalin frowned and pulled Thorin to one side. "What is it?" He asked whilst looking around himself to see if anything was out of place.
"Kili and Fili, when did you see them last?" Thorin inquired. Dwalin seemed to churn this over whilst taking a long pull of his ale.
"Hmmmph. A while ago I s'pose." He admitted. "I'm sure they're off dancing or slumped on a bench sleeping it off." Dwalin added with a smirk, but it soon faded as Thorin began pushing his way through the crowds towards his sister and Balin.
Kili yawned and felt his eyes droop. A splashing of hooves in a stream had him startling and almost falling off his horse. Aule, he was tired, way past tired. He yawned again and glanced at his Brother. Without even speaking Fili answered his question. "We'll stop after a few more miles." He declared whilst joining in on the yawning. They must have been riding half the night by now, most of it a gallop and it had only been the last mile or so they had slowed down to a gentle canter.
"Surely this is far enough for one night?" Kili complained.
"Do you think Thorin will stop until he finds us? They must know we're gone by now so we need to keep going until we find a spot that is secluded. I know of one but it is still three or four miles away." Fili explained. Huffing out an exhausted breath Kili stretched his neck. He could do this, he just needed to stop complaining and think of something besides his sleepiness. Deciding to change the subject, anything to keep him from thinking of sleep, he asked Fili something he had given a lot of thought to.
"What do you think she's like?" He asked.
"Who?"
"Livi." There was silence for a while and Kili began to wonder if he had even spoke the question out loud when Fili began to answer.
"I've imagined her to be kind but mischievous. A complete pain." Fili tilted his head and smirked, "Pretty much like you, just a girl." Kili laughed. He was the most mischievous out of the pair of them and his Brother was constantly having to get him out of trouble. "Also I've imagined I would want to look out for her, it's just programmed into me after years of looking after you. But she's older than me so I've kind of pictured her being bossy I suppose."
"You know it would be precious to see a girl bossing you around." Kili sniggered. "You know, another one besides Mother."
Fili threw something at Kili hitting him smack in the face, he had no idea what it was through his giggling. Eventually when he stopped laughing Fili spoke up again. "You know she is probably beside herself right now." There was no probably, of that he was sure.
"I know." He breathed.
The rest of the journey was made in silence until they reached the tiny cave system in which they would rest for the night.
"They came by this way earlier, said they were turning in for the night." An elderly dwarf in the town square explained. Thorin's hands fisted by his sides.
"How long ago?" He ground out. To his shame the Dwarf shrank away from him slightly at his tone. Breathing in deeply he tried to stay calm.
"About an hour or so." The Dwarf fidgeted nervously. Thorin closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Those fools! When he tracked them down he was going to kill them! He shook with rage. They had promised him, promised! He should have known better.
Spinning on his heel he pushed his way through the crowd but for the most part people moved out of his path, there was something feral in his movements, people could tell a ticking time bomb when they saw one. He heard Dis running after him, out of breath as she tried to keep up. "I'm coming with you!" She called. Thorin didn't slow down or even look at her.
"No you're not. You are staying here where it's safe."
"Thorin, they are my boys!" She yelled. He ignored her and made for the Blacksmith's, he didn't doubt for one minute that Gloin would know what had happened. That troublesome Dwarf had always had a soft spot for his Nephews and he was sure Gloin often encouraged their mischief. He felt a tug on his hand and spun around to let all Hell loose when he realized it was his sister. Dwalin and Balin trailed closely behind a little bewildered and frazzled. Thorin's heart broke as he noticed the tear tracks on Dis's cheeks. Her lip trembling almost broke Thorin. "I have to come look for them. This is my fault. I shouldn't have kept it from them!" Thorin sighed, taking a second to remember to speak gently to his Sister.
"This is not your fault. I will find them much quicker if you stay here. I cannot look for them and protect you at the same time."
"And who will protect you?" She asked. Thorin would have laughed if the situation hadn't been so dire.
"I will." Dwalin stepped forward. Looking over Dis's shoulder Thorin bowed his head in appreciation. It wouldn't hurt to have back up, there were plenty of nasty's out in the wild. Clasping his Sister's cheeks in his palms he looked her solemnly in the eyes.
"Please stay here, Balin will wait with you in case they come back. You need to be here to teach them a lesson if they change their minds and return." Thorin's attempt at humour was lost as more tears continued to fall.
"Ok." She whispered brokenly. Thorin kissed her forehead and headed for the Blacksmiths', glancing once over his shoulder to check she and Balin were headed towards their dwellings.
"What first?" Dwalin asked from beside him.
"We need ponies. This way." Thorin stormed towards the Blacksmiths', if that dwarf was at home he was going to wish he never got out of bed by the time Thorin was done with him.