Chapter 4 - Bofur and Nori
Fili was getting ready for Citizen Day or as he secretly called it, Complaint Day. It was something Thorin had started when he had been king. It was one morning a week set aside for the people of Erebor to come directly to their King with their problems, concerns or news. When Fili had become King, he almost gave up these days, but he saw how beneficial they were. His people kept him supplied with information that reflected how the kingdom was doing. He would be a fool to ignore the genuine concerns of his people. Some came just to complain about silly, simple things, but often they informed him of larger issues without their realizing it.
During the course of two weeks, Fili had heard from fourteen separate dwarves about how there was a draft in one residential neighborhood that kept them from being able to heat their homes. He had sent Torsten to the neighborhood to inspect the stone and he had found a crack forming in the ceiling, which caused the draft. The crack was easily dealt with as it was still relatively small. Had the residents not complained to Fili on Citizen Day, they wouldn't have know about the crack until it was too late and causing major problems.
As beneficial as Citizen Day was, sometimes, it was hard for Fili to face.
Triel was Fili's official scribe. He sat at a small table, with several jars of ink and a stack of blank scrolls. Triel would record the names of every citizen who came to see Fili and what the purpose of their visit was about.
Fili was settled into his chair, and ready for the day when the door opened a few minutes early. That was unusual, but Fili was prepared to begin. He recognized the dwarf. His name was Brik and he was a healer in training.
"My King," Brik bowed. "Master Odstan has sent me to fetch you. Mister Bofur's health has taken a turn for the worse. Master Odstan does not believe he will live to see tomorrow."
Fili stood up. Citizen Day was cancelled. "Triel," he turned to his scribe, "I must go immediately. Please make my excuses. Either reschedule the appointments or record the reason for their visit. I will get back to each of them personally."
"Aye, my King," the scribe nodded.
"This way," Fili said to Brik. He led them out a back door, avoiding the crowd who had come to see Fili. They walked in silence for a while. "Has Prince Kili and Master Nori been informed?"
"Aye, my King. Others were sent to fetch them," Brik answered.
They soon arrived at Bofur's home. Bofur's eldest nephew greeted Fili. Odo, Bombur's oldest son was Kili's age. They had known each other as dwarflings, growing up in the Blue Mountains, but not very well, as the families were of different class ranks.
Odo bowed, "King Fili, thank you for coming."
Fili laid a hand on Odo's shoulder. "Just Fili, please. It's good to see you, Odo. How's Bofur doing?"
"Not well, but, when he's awake, he continues to smile. I believe he is quite at peace with his situation," Odo smiled sadly.
Fili walked into Bofur's room. He was sleeping in his bed. Once a hardy dwarf, Bofur was now small and thin. His hair and beard are as white as fresh snow. Fili chuckled quietly to see even in his advanced age, sitting on the doorstep of death, Bofur still wore his ridiculous hat. Fili could not remember a time that Bofur didn't wear the hat. It had been patched up so many times over the years, Fili wondered if anything of the original hat remained.
He quietly pulled a chair alongside the bed and looked over his old friend. Fili had once asked him how he lived such a long life. Bofur had laughed at him.
"The secret," Bofur had told him, "is to keep smiling."
Kili arrived, pushing an old Nori in a chair similar to the one Torsten used. Nori's eye sight was all but gone. Kili set Nori right next to Bofur's head. Blindly, Nori reached out to find his friend and Kili led his hand to Bofur's hand. Nori grasped it and lowered his forehead to Bofur's hand.
Bofur's breathing was shallow, but steady. Fili reflected on Bofur's life He was from the Broadbeam Clan, a clan of good dwarves who were always loyal to the Longbeards. They were often skilled craftsmen, but in the tough years that followed the sacking of Erebor, even families that had once been well off, like Bofur's parents, were forced into hard labor.
Bofur had a talent for wood craft, like his cousin, and had hoped to make toy maker his life's work, but that did not bring in enough income to support their family, so he went to work in the mines. The hours were long and the work was hard, but the pay was steady and Bofur was a good worker.
Bofur had always gotten along well with Prince Thorin and his family, although they had limited interaction. When Thorin had called on dwarves to help reclaim Erebor, Bofur and his family were the only dwarves who were not related to Thorin in some way to go on the journey. He had gone because of his love and respect for the exiled Prince. He went along for the adventure and the possibility of some gold at the end.
His loyalty to Thorin had been rewarded and Bofur was given the rank of Master of the Mines and he over saw all mining production and later he took over Bifur's toy stall in the market when Bifur had gotten too old.
Bofur was loved by all who knew him. He made friends where ever he went. But now, sitting around his bed, were the dwarves who knew him the best. Odo pulled up a chair and sat at Bofur's feet. Odo was the spitting image of his father, Bombur, only not quite so round.
"Don't sit so glumly," Odo said. "Uncle Bofur would not want that. He may never open his eyes again, but while he lives, we will speak of him and to him. I like to think he can hear us. Let stories of his life as told by the voices of his closest friends be the last thing he hears in this world."
Everyone said an awkward hello to Bofur. Fili heard Nori chuckle.
"I was just thinking," Fili said, "Do you remember when I was just a young thing of twelve, mother sent me on my own for the first time to take Thorin his lunch at his forge and I got so lost. I ended up in a part of the village I had never been too, right next to the mine entrance. You were just headed in to work and you found me and helped me find my way to Thorin. You never told Thorin I had gotten lost. You said that you had just run into me on my way to the forge and you thought you'd drop in to say hello. I was so grateful. Had Thorin or my mother known I had gotten lost, I never would have been allowed out of the house again."
Kili chuckled. "I remember that. I know that you've saved my life a number of times. Several times when I was growing up, you helped to get me out of terrible scrapes that I had manage to get myself into. And then, when we were at Laketown, just before the dragon came, and I was so sick from that poisoned arrow, you were the one to get the Kingsfoil that saved my life. Without you, Tauriel could have never worked her healing magic and I wouldn't have gotten to live, to marry her, or have my four sons. I owe my life to you, my friend."
For several hours, the friends sat together, retelling tales of their times with Bofur. Nori never let go of Bofur's hand and spoke very little, but kept his head close to Bofur's. Fili sent for some food at mid day and they continued to talk as they ate, except for Nori, who could not be persuaded to even have a sip of broth.
It was Nori who was the first to notice Bofur's condition change. His breathing became quicker and his forehead was furrowed. Fili watched Bofur carefully.
"Bofur, you old goat. Can you hear me?" Nori said.
Bofur opened his deep brown eyes. They were bright and clear. "Nori, I'm not deaf. Of course I can hear you," he panted slightly. He looked around to see Fili, Kili and Odo. "Fili, my lad, and Kili and Odo. How are my three favorite dwarflings?"
Fili wondered if Bofur might be losing his memories and still thought Fili, Kili and Odo were children, but the smile on his lips and the twinkle in his eye told Fili differently. How like Bofur to tease him.
"We're well, Bofur," Fili said, taking Bofur's other hand. "We were just remembering our favorite stories with you."
Bofur gave a wheezing chuckle. "There are so many great ones to choose from. It's been a good, long life. Soon I'll see my brother, my parents and my favorite cousin Bifur. I wonder if Bifur still has the ax in his head in the Halls of Mandos?"
Fili chuckled, despite the tears in his eyes.
"Odo?" Bofur gasped. His breathing was hard. "Make sure I'm buried with my hat."
Odo smiled and nodded. "I will, Uncle."
"Good. Don't let Mister Sticky Paws here take it," he looked fondly at Nori. "Take care my old friend. We'll see each other again soon, won't we?"
Nori squeezed Bofur's hands and laid his forehead on Bofur's.
"Fili? Kili? I'll tell Thorin, when I see him, what a fine job you are both doing. Continue to make him proud." Bofur closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I quite liked singing in Rivendell," he said. "The acoustics were great." He smiled and became still.
Fili had been holding his breath without knowing it. He let it out in a sob. They all sat together and mourned for their friend.
Nori's shoulders shook, but he never lifted his head. Fili watched the last of Thorin's companions and was surprised to hear Nori quietly laughing. "I won," he whispered.
Fili knew what was coming next and he alerted Kili to the situation. They both watched Nori as he took his final breath, his head still pressed against Bofur's.
Fili was having a hard time breathing. Nori was gone, too. "I'll bet you all the gold in the treasury that Nori and Bofur had a bet at who would live the longest."
Kili laughed through his sob. "I would not bet against you, Fili, because I'm sure you're right."
Even though he was dead, the position Nori's body was in looked very uncomfortable, leaning over in his chair, his head against Bofur's. Fili and Kili lifted him up and laid him next to Bofur. The old healer, Master Odstan came to them and silently noted the passing of both dwarves.
"We'll see to their tombs this afternoon," Fili told the others. "We can bury them tomorrow, if you wish," he spoke to Odo.
Odo only nodded. Kili and Fili hugged their friend and left.
"Kili, would you see to Nori's things? I'll go speak with the Tomb Keeper about their family's resting places."
They had planned on keeping the funeral small, but when word got out about the deaths of Bofur and Nori, many turned up to say farewell. Bofur had been very popular among the miners and the people who came to his toy shop in the market.
Nori had a small, but fiercely loyal group of friends. Fili could only assume that they had been a part of Nori's specialized spy and theft ring. Thorin, when he had been king, had appointed Nori to be a kind of specialized security guard. He kept watch over the kingdom, listened for secrets and plots and had thwarted several assassination attempts and major thefts against the king. Nori had his own team, but no one, except him, knew which dwarves were involved on that team. Even now, Fili had one of these special security/spy teams, but he only knew the head dwarf and his first assistant. They were among this crowd.
All of Bofur's many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews were there to say good bye to their favorite uncle. Nori had no family. He was the last of the Ri family. Dori had never married and several years ago, Fili's cousin, Gimli, had been able to confirm that Ori had died in Moria. Nori had never married either.
When Kili had gone to take care of Nori's possessions, he had found a letter written in Nori's hand, explaining what he wanted done with his possessions and money. All his wealth was to go to Bombur's children and grandchildren - divided equally among them all. His wishes would be seen to, Fili would make sure of that.
So Nori was laid to rest in a tomb next to Dori's. A beautiful obelisk had been erected in honor of Ori, since his body was at rest in Moria. Nori's tomb was in between his brothers.
It was the same for Bofur. He was laid to rest alongside his brother and cousin.
Fili was certain there was a big party going on in the Halls of Mandos. Thorin's company were probably welcoming back their two friends with much laughter and song. Fili wondered if Bofur would find a table to stand upon and sing his favorite songs once more. That night, Fili was sure he could hear Bofur's voice, distant and faraway, but filled with its usual cheeriness and laughter.