Chapter 8: New Nightmares Chapter Text
Gandalf knew he could not stay in Erebor much longer. He was a guardian of Middle Earth; he could not stay here and live among the dwarrows (and three hobbits). He also needed to see what became of the Shire. The messages from Lord Elrond, and the Rangers, had assured him that the orcs were gone, and only Hobbiton had been attacked.
Almost as if they were looking for something…
Gandalf had entered the hobbit's room, when he heard a terrible pain-filled cough.
"Bilbo?" he walked in to the darkened room. The light from his staff showed the source of the coughing. "Bilbo!"
The hobbit was sickly pale and sweating under his blankets. Gandalf rushed to his side. He could feel the heat radiating off the hobbit. Bilbo needed a healer.
Bilbo's eyes were half-lidded, "Gandalf?" he asked weakly.
"I am here Bilbo. What has happened in the short time since I last saw you to make you so sick?"
"I don't know…" he paused , coughing a bit, "there was a woman, she said her name was Taz-" he was cut off by another coughing fit. He continued on a completely different topic, "keep Frodo and Sam away from me…" he trailed off before passing out.
"Bilbo!" Gandalf took the hobbit into his arms, running out into the Royal Hall.
"HEALER! I NEED A HEALER!" the guard pointed over to a building, not far away, carved out of the side of the mountain. Gandalf brought the hobbit into the healers' ward.
Oin looked up from something he was working on, "Gandalf!" he quick came over to the wizard, gasping when he saw Bilbo's condition. Silently he led the way to an isolated cot and had the wizard lay the hobbit down.
Barking orders, Oin and the other healers got to work on bringing down Bilbo's fever.
"Gandalf, what has happened?" Thorin had entered soon after the wizard.
"I found Bilbo in his room in this condition."
"What do you mean? Was he sick earlier, and we just did not see?"
"No, come with me." The wizard turned to the door and stared walking away. Thorin was torn; he looked back to the sick hobbit. Should he follow the wizard or stay with his sick friend.
He followed the wizard. No matter how much he wanted to stay with Bilbo, he would only get in the way right now; the only clear choice would be to follow Gandalf.
Thorin had to run to catch up with Gandalf, the wizard was already in the Royal Halls.
"Stop!" his voice boomed out. Dwalin froze his hand, which was on the handle of the door to the hobbit's room. Dwalin, Balin, his nephews and the little hobbits looked over to see Gandalf and Thorin running to them.
"Uncle?" Fili asked.
"Fili, Kili, take the boys to the library. I will come talk to you later." His oldest nephew nodded, sweeping Frodo in to his arms. Kili picked up Sam, and they left for the library.
"You cannot enter." Gandalf told Dwalin and Balin. "Bilbo has fallen ill. I believe that he has done so at someone else's hand."
"Could this be an attack on Thorin?" Balin questioned.
"I know not at this time. I must check the rooms to be sure. Until I find the cause, none of you are to enter." The dwarves nodded. The wizard entered Bilbo's room.
"Dwalin, gather the others, take them to the library. Don't let the princes or the hobbits leave your sight." The tattooed dwarf nodded then left. Thorin turn to his chief advisor.
"Who would able to attack from within our halls? The Royal Halls are strongly guarded."
"We will address those issues later." Thorin told Balin.
Gandalf exited the room, handing something to Balin saying "Bring this to Oin." He then entered Thorin's room.
He left, very quickly after he entered, with a grimace. He moved across the hall to his nephew's room.
Gandalf was in their room for a short time before he returned to Thorin. The king could feel a quiet rage boiling in the wizard.
"There was no attack on the line of Durin." He said simply.
No attack on the line of Durin… then it was an attack on Bilbo alone. Thorin took a deep breath, trying and failing to calm himself.
"How did Bilbo fall ill?"
"The powder on his pillow, Bilbo is having a reaction to it. It comes from a flower in Mirkwood. It doesn't affect dwarves or men. Whoever attacked my burglar did not wish him to be found till it was too late."
"And no hobbit has been in Mirkwood long enough to be exposed to the flower..." Thorin trailed off. "Oin and the healers have never treated a hobbit before. Even after the battle of five armies; the elves had treated Bilbo."
"Yes. It appears as if they will have to again."
Thorin and Gandalf went to the library.
Nori was guarding the door. "Are you sure you want the little ones to know?" he asked stopping Thorin, "I saw the burglar before I came here; he was not faring very well."
"They need to know. What would happen to you if you could not see Ori or Dori, and now one would tell you why? We cannot do that to them." Nori nodded, holding the door open for the king and wizard.
Frodo and Sam sat together on the ground next to Fili, Kili, and Ori. Bofur was sitting in a chair them carving into a piece of wood. Dori was talking with Dwalin, Bifur, and Bombur in Khuzdul.
Gloin and Balin were nowhere to be found, they were most likely with Bilbo and Oin.
Everyone looked up when Thorin and Gandalf entered.
"Uncle, what is going on?" Fili was the first to speak up.
"Bilbo is sick." He heard Frodo and Sam gasp. Thorin bent down to their level, looking them both in the eyes. "Do not fear boys," he said in the same voice he used to talk to his young nephews when they were scarred as children, "Bilbo is going to be fine. He is stronger than anyone gives him credit for. Do you think he took you boys all the way here just to get sick? He hasn't even seen all Erebor has to offer. He isn't going anywhere." Thorin ruffled their hair, it calmed the boys down a bit.
"Can we visit Uncle Bilbo?" Frodo asked holding Sam's hand.
"I'm sorry boys, you can't." Thorin realized that they were on the edge of tears, "We don't know if Bilbo could get you boys sick as well. If you got sick as well, Bilbo would severely punish us all."
The little hobbits nodded, moving closer together.
"I am going to go see Bilbo now, Fili and Kili are going to take you to their room. I will make sure Bilbo gets better." They nodded again, following Kili and Fili out of the library. Dwalin followed them.
Thorin stood to his full height. "Whoever did this must be found. Bilbo was poisoned by someone in Erebor, I trust only our company right now. It appears we need the help of elves." Thorin paused. Elves. He shuddered in disgust. "Dori, Bifur, Bofur, prepare the ponies, Dwalin, Balin, Fili, and Kili are staying in Erebor. I want the rest of you on guard duty with Dwalin for now. We must let no harm come to those hobbits. Our burglar would skin us alive with his letter opener."
Thorin knew he did not have to order this for everyone of his men were very protective of the boys.
He left the wizard and his men, making no stops to get to his hobbit.
The Healer Ward was quiet. He could here Bilbo coughing from the door.
Balin was sitting next to Bilbo's bed, the fire lamps setting an eerie scene. There was a wet cloth on the hobbits flushed face. His body was shaking, with coughs and shivers. The poor hobbit looked as if he was dying.
But he wasn't. They could heal him.
Upon seeing Thorin walking over Balin stood up offering the king the seat.
"Thank you."
"Oin doesn't know what to do." The white dwarf informed him, "he can only treat the symptoms." Balin patted his arm before leaving the King Under the Mountain to his thoughts.
Thorin took Bilbo's hand in his own, letting his other hand rest on the hobbit's flaming cheeks. The hobbit's skin was burning under his palm.
Azelon had been pushing Thorin to marry his daughter, and the dwarven council had been pushing him to marry, make his own heirs. He had heirs; he had no need to marry. Before, he would have sooner given the Arkenstone to the tree-shaggers before he listened to the council. Now… he had to change that statement. If Bilbo would survive, get better, wake up even… he would hand Tharnduil the Arkenstone with the all the gold under his mountain. If only his hobbit would live.
He replaced the cloth on Bilbo's head with a fresh one, and then he returned his hands to their previous position.
"Th-thorin?" the king's head shot up, Bilbo was staring at him with half-lidded eyes.
"Bilbo." He rubbed calming circles into the hobbits hand with his thumb.
"Frod-" he started to say, only to be cut off by a painful coughing fit. His voice was raw and scratchy.
"Shh…" the king hushed him once the coughing had died down. "They are fine. Kili, Fili, and the others are watching them. Bilbo let out a shaky breath and nodded. "You are going to be okay." Thorin wasn't sure if that was meant to comfort Bilbo or himself.
"Cold." Bilbo said very softly, shivering again.
Thorin understood, wordlessly he got in the bed with the hobbit. Dwarf medical cots are made for only one dwarf (a mother and small/newborn child at the most), so Thorin had to pull the shivering hobbit against his chest. He gently ran his fingers through Bilbo's curly blonde hair. He could feel Bilbo relax against him; burring his face in Thorin's warmth.
Over Bilbo's head he could see the door. Standing in the door were his nephews and the little hobbits. If they brought those hobbits any closer, so help him, he would banish them all the way to the Blue Mountains.
"See Sam, Uncle Thorin is protecting Mr. Boggins." He could hear Kili talking to the boy in his arms.
Frodo said something so softly Thorin couldn't hear.
"Oh, he's keeping Bilbo warm. Uncle Thorin did this for us when Kili and I got sick." Fili explained to Frodo.
Thorin smiled softly. He did do this when either of his nephews got sick.
"We would get better right quick afterwards." Kili said ruffling Sam's hair.
Thorin stayed with Bilbo the rest of the night. The poor sick hobbit threw up twice, and was coughing almost constantly.
The ponies were ready at first light. Thorin was riding with Bilbo in front of him.
The boys waved good bye from the front gates, Thorin could see little tears in their eyes. He decided then, he would do everything in the world (even walk into Mordor, if he need to) to bring Bilbo back to the hobbits.