As promised, barrels. And also, Things Are Said.
Bilbo did not return to see Kili for two days, for he was very busy passing messages back and forth between the other dwarves, and their cells were quite a bit apart, so that it took a long time just to make the trip from one to another and back again, and of course he needed some time for himself to burgle food and eat it, and also to sleep. It was a wearying sort of way to live, and some days he felt he could not bear it any longer, but of course there was hardly much choice about that unless he could plan an escape.
When he did go back to see Kili, he followed the very same guard bringing another heavily laden breakfast tray, but this time, when she had exchanged morning pleasantries with Kili and left, Bilbo stayed behind in the cell. And though it made him a little nervous to hear the key twist in the lock behind him, the dwarf guard was to return at lunchtime, and a few hours in a locked room seemed bearable — the dwarves, after all, had been locked up for a full month, and seemed none the worse for it, though of course they were all very grumpy indeed.
"Mr. Baggins!" Kili said, when Bilbo had revealed himself. "Should you not be on the other side of the door?"
"I thought I should spend the morning with you, if that is all right," said Bilbo. He supposed it did not matter at this point whether it was all right or not, for now that the guard had left, there was nothing else for it but to stay. But Kili nodded and looked quite happy, or at least as happy as he ever did, which Bilbo could tell by a certain lightness in his eyes and the slightest of smiles on his lips.
"It is quite all right," Kili said. "You may share my breakfast, if you like." This was said shyly, but Bilbo was still very pleased that Kili himself had made the offer, even if Bilbo was no dwarf and thus exempt from all the rules that governed Kili's interactions with other dwarves.
"They certainly do give you a lot of food," Bilbo said. "I am surprised you are not as fat as Bombur by now!"
Kili made a peculiar noise then, and looked quite astonished at himself afterwards; Bilbo thought much later that this might have been the first time he had ever heard Kili laugh, and maybe even the first time Kili himself had heard it. "I do not eat all of it," Kili said. "I suppose they are so rich here that giving me two rolls when one would do just as well is of no import."
"Oh," Bilbo said, halting his hand as he reached for a roll, "but will they not be suspicious if you eat all your breakfast today, when usually you do not?"
"I can satisfy myself with just a bit of sausage and cheese, so you may eat your fill. The lunch will be quite as big again as the breakfast; you needn't fear that I will go hungry."
Bilbo was quite grateful to share Kili's breakfast, and though the food was no different than what he had become quite adept at stealing, it tasted all that much better for being shared with a friend. Bilbo was also delighted to leave his ring off for a while, for he had begun to fear just a little that if he left it on too long, he might disappear altogether and never be visible again.
They chatted lightly while they ate, though they kept their voices down to a whisper and a wary eye on the door, for it would not do to be caught unawares by a visit from a curious elf wondering at a two-sided conversation coming from a room with but one occupant. But even so it was still the most enjoyable few hours Bilbo spent during his entire stay within Mirkwood, and he felt very well-fed and warm and indeed, even briefly content.
Kili was quite keen to hear what little news Bilbo had to share about Thorin and Fili, and even eager to hear any news of the other dwarves, though there was really very little to discuss other than how grumpy each of them was, and Thorin in particular. "The elves do not let them out but to bathe," Bilbo said, "and then but once a week, and the dungeons are quite deep within the underground caves, so they cannot even see the sun."
"Dwarves are quite comfortable in caves, Mr. Baggins," Kili said. "And can live for months underground with no sight of the sky. But it is just as well the elves do not know this, for surely they think this captivity is far more oppressive than it truly is."
Bilbo agreed it was better for the elves to believe this, though he did not see how that helped them out of their predicament. And this thought then reminded him to ask if Kili had agreed to take a walk with the elf guard, and if so, if he had seen anything of interest that might help towards an escape.
Kili had indeed gone for the walk, though only because Bilbo had asked, but he did not think he had seen very much of interest, "though there is a river," he said, "which they use to trade with the men of Lake-Town, but it is always guarded, and I did not see any boats, just ferries that the men used to deliver barrels of wine and fruit," and he did not see how they could steal a ferry out under the noses of the men.
Bilbo agreed that even with his ring, he could not steal a ferry, for the ring would turn him invisible and anything he carried, but not things he merely touched. "But wait," he said, "did you say barrels?" For he had seen many barrels in the wine cellar, but had given no thought to where they came from and whence they went once they were empty. And now, finally, a germ of an idea was sprouting in his mind, and he began to grow quite excited, and could hardly wait for the guard to return so he could begin to determine if there was any merit at all to his plan.
He explained it to Kili — for he was so excited that he could not hide it, and Kili demanded to know what it was he was thinking about. Upon hearing Bilbo's idea, Kili was quite dubious, but had no better suggestions. "Though," he said, "I do not envy you having to convince Thorin." Bilbo did not envy himself this task either! But as this was the only real idea he had devised, he hoped Thorin would be sensible should it prove to be something they could carry out.
As it turned out, Thorin was none too keen on the idea at all, but Bilbo had determined it should work, and as he had not a single other suggestion for spiriting away 13 dwarves and a hobbit, he was unusually stubborn about it, and at last Thorin agreed.
And so it was a few nights later, when the elves were mostly occupied with one of their very frequent feasts, and Bilbo had the good fortune to find the butler and a guard in a drunken slumber, that he stole the dungeon keys and freed the dwarves, one after the other, and brought them to the cellar. He then scurried away as quickly as he could to the room where Kili was being kept, but then he encountered a problem, for the guard's keys did not work on Kili's door! Bilbo realized with some dismay that he had only ever seen the she-elf unlock Kili's door, and she was nowhere to be found, and he was not brave or foolhardy enough to sneak into the great feast and try to find her and her keys there.
He grew quite agitated then, for he was eager to be gone, but there was nothing to do for it but delay a little longer. So he rushed back to the cellar and uncorked Nori, who was very much surprised to be let out of his barrel so soon after he had been packed into it, and they hurried quickly back to Kili's cell. Nori was quite a good thief in his own right, quiet as any hobbit and an excellent lockpick, but the whole way there Bilbo fretted that they should surely be seen, and that would be the end of that.
Luck remained on their side, or perhaps it was simply that all the elves were at the feast, for they encountered not a single soul on their way. Nori picked the lock in less time than it took Bilbo to even wonder how it should be done. They then hustled Kili out as quickly as they could, though Nori did get a good look at the room and he exclaimed in amazement that Kili had been living very well, and it would be better if the other dwarves never heard of it, for their accommodations had been far less luxurious. Bilbo hissed furiously at him to be quiet, and they crept sneakily back to the cellar and were very relieved to find the elves there still asleep, the other dwarves all safely in their barrels, and the plan still alive.
One thing Bilbo had learned on this adventure was that every time he thought to himself, "Well, that was certainly the worst day I have ever lived," he was sure to live another that was even worse. And so it was that day, for the 24 hours that next followed proved to be quite the worst of Bilbo's life, even though he had been captured by goblins and nearly starved to death in the forest. But that trip down the river, clinging desperately to the outside of a barrel, was certainly the worst experience he had ever had. It made him feel no better that the dwarves had arguably had it worse, for at least Bilbo spent the intervening evening on dry land and managed to burgle a meal; the poor dwarves were stuck in their barrels the whole time and did not have even a single bite of food, plus they had been considerably tossed about within the barrels and all emerged very bumped and bruised and dazed.
Bilbo let Thorin out first, and it took the dwarf a very long time to even be barely civil to him, though in the end he acknowledged that as they were all safe and not permanently injured, he really had no cause to complain. Most of the other dwarves were not yet capable of coherent speech, but lay insensible on the shore of the lake, blinking up at the twinkling stars.
"Come," Bilbo said. "We should not stay here, for men or elves may wander by to see that their barrels are safe," and at this all the dwarves groaned, for they would happily have spent the rest of the night not moving at all. Reluctantly, they began to struggle to their feet, far more slowly than Bilbo would like, but Bofur explained that Bilbo was lucky any of them were moving at all, and Bilbo just must be patient.
But while the older dwarves were still shaking some sense into their heads, Kili staggered to his feet and stumbled over to Thorin, where he fell rather unsteadily to his knees. Bilbo groaned, though only in his mind, for he did not even want to consider what punishment might be deemed suitable for the month they had just lived, and no-one could argue that they had not had some very bad luck indeed — though they had some good luck, too, or they should not have escaped at all.
But Thorin just looked at Kili with bruised and tired eyes, and he said simply, "I believe those barrels were more than sufficient punishment for anyone."
Kili did not argue, and only frowned a little bit, but he stayed kneeling at Thorin's feet, and his eyes were dark and uneasy. Then he reached into his overcoat, the Elvish leather still pristine even after a day stuffed in a barrel, and pulled out the folding bow the elves of Rivendell had given him. At this, an excited murmuring ran through the dwarves, but Kili paid them no mind, and handed the bow to Thorin.
"The elves," he said, sounding troubled, "knew who I was. They knew what I was. They tried to persuade me to forsake you. The king himself offered me a place within their halls, if I would but reveal your goals and foreswear my people."
Thorin frowned, but his eyes were unfocused and far away. "And did you tell them of our quest?" he asked, his voice very soft.
"No! I am no elf-friend," Kili said, looking quite offended. "I am a dwarf. My loyalty cannot be bought with soft beds, or rich foods and pretty trinkets."
"No," Thorin said. He held the bow loosely in his fingers, turning it around and around in his hands. "I am sure it cannot be. It is just-" And here he sighed, very wearily, "I would not blame you if you had. Certainly the elves have treated you with far more compassion than your own people."
Kili frowned quite fiercely at this, but he did not speak either to confirm or deny Thorin's statement.
Finally Thorin sighed again, a very long and heavy exhalation, and he reached out to place the bow gently back in Kili's hands. "This has come to you twice, and I should be a far bigger fool than I am if I were to ignore such a sign. Keep it, and we shall all hope that when the time comes that you must use it, your arrows will fly straight and true."
Kili looked quite dumbfounded and even a little overwhelmed, but he accepted the bow with trembling fingers and stayed kneeling at Thorin's feet until Thorin clapped him gently on the shoulder and said, "Our burglar is quite correct. It is not safe for us to remain here. Come, let us make our way to Esgaroth and see what sort of a welcome they can offer to the returned King Under the Mountain."
Without another word, Thorin started off, and the other dwarves followed with slow, shaky steps and not a few backward glances at Kili, who stood still with the bow gripped tight. Fili alone did not move forward, but stood in place gazing after Thorin with a speculative expression that he soon transferred to Kili. Of course, such a serious look could not last long on his face, and soon enough it turned into a brilliant smile.
"Come!" he said cheerfully to Kili, tugging on his arm. "Lake-Town awaits! You shall have plenty of time once we are safely within to play with your magic bow."
Kili stared at him blankly for just a moment, fingers clenching around the bow, but then a familiar scowl of irritation settled across his features. "I have told you already," he said, "it is not magic."
"Yes, yes, so you have said." Fili tugged on Kili's arm again to pull him forward, and the two fell into step with a natural, easy rhythm, with Bilbo trailing only a pace behind. "But I prefer to believe it is. It will make a more exciting story. Don't you agree, Mr. Baggins?"
"I think," Bilbo said, "that I have had quite as much excitement as I can handle for one adventure. I would be very happy if the rest of this journey was utterly boring."
Kili scoffed and Fili grinned, altogether too happily in Bilbo's opinion. "I do not think there is very much chance of that!" Rather gloomily, Bilbo was forced to concede that Fili was likely correct. But still, the immediate future looked much brighter than the immediate past, and so it was with a light heart that he followed the dwarves down the path that led to Lake-Town.
Extra special thanks this time to my beta SapphireMusings for helping me through a particularly tricky bit. And again to DH for reading and making me take out all the parts that were wrong (as well as a word he insisted Tolkien would never have used, alas).
Thanks to everyone who takes the time to drop a note - even the short ones make me very happy.
