Chapter 1

(183 years later)

The lack of game on this particularly lovely night was rather disappointing. Why had she decided to go out, she didn't even like hunting. Boredom and exhaustion taking over, Ellethen grabbed a branch that had fallen from a nearby oak tree, sat down in a nook and began to peel and chip away at it with her carving knife. Only moments later she heard trees crashing and crunching in the distance. Something big, it sounded like, was making its way through the forest. Standing up, she walked cautiously in the direction of the sounds. Nothing prepared her for the beast that crashed through the brush in front of her.

Brutish creatures, trolls, and none too bright either. She rolled quickly to the side, covering her head as he stomped through the trees, but the ponies he held under his arms apparently demanded more of his attention than a scrawny half-elf. When the sound of his footsteps receded, she stood up and ran, weaving through branches and roots. Who knew how many more of them there were, since trolls didn't often travel alone, and she didn't think she could survive a multi-troll attack. Although, she did have to admit that their presence this far south was disconcerting.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, she looked to the skies, maybe the stars held an easy message tonight, but to no avail, her skill was in crafting and fighting, not in "fortune telling", as she preferred to call it. All of a sudden, she heard the sound of panicked horses nearby, most likely a group of travelers stopped to rest for the night. She reckoned that was where the trolls had found their meal. The trees started to crack and strain in the direction of the sounds, then turned and fled back in the direction the first troll had gone in; it was as good an indication as any that she'd better start running again. Who knew how many more of them there were? She took off toward the sound of the horses. If there were men out there, they had to be warned. Through branch and bush she darted, fast as her strong short legs could carry her. A dark shape suddenly stopped directly in her path and she barreled straight into it, toppling over. Grunts of pain followed as she attempted to free herself from whomever or whatever she'd landed on so roughly. When she looked down at the face of her interceptor, her gaze was met by a pair of dark eyes, the man's face rugged with a somewhat scruffy look, but there was something rather lovely about it. His long hair, as dark as his eyes, fell to about his shoulders. He was very young too, that much she could tell.

"Well, hello," she greeted, eyebrow raised and a slight smile on her face.

"Hi." His lips spread into a friendly smile.

She lingered a moment longer than was necessary before climbing off of him, an unfamiliar hand helping her to her feet. When she stood and realized that they were barely taller than she was, that was when it hit. Dwarves…two of them. The other was golden-haired with blue eyes, and every bit as handsome, though this one had a more regal look to him. He reminded her of a lion. Nonetheless, these were strange happenings for these parts, dwarves and trolls in one day…

There was one other with them, though it took her a bit longer to notice him. She'd come across these types of creatures only once in her travels. Hobbits, she knew them to be called; they were a simple people with large furry feet and curly hair who so very rarely ventured beyond the borders of their own lands, so what was one doing all the way out here, and with a company of dwarves, no less? This day couldn't possibly get any stranger, she thought to herself. The odd, bare-footed little man carried two full bowls of soup in his hands, but no weapon at his belt. His dwarf companions, however, she could see, were armed to the bone.

"Who are you?" she asked, keeping a hand on her blade just in case.

"Fili, my lady," said the golden-haired one, politely.

"And Kili," blurted the other eagerly.

"And Bilbo Baggins," the hobbit chimed in.

"Ellethen." Then she finally remembered the whole reason why she'd run like mad over here, the fall had apparently almost knocked it out of her. "It's really very nice to meet you all, but so far there are three trolls living in these woods, so you'd best get out of here."

"Trolls? But the ponies…" Bilbo sounded genuinely concerned, "Shouldn't we do something?"

Kili turned to him. "Yes, yes, Bilbo you should!"

"Me? No, no-"

"There's nothing to do about them now, you'll only get yourselves killed," she tried to interject.

"You're our burglar. They're so big and you're so small, they'll never see you coming," Fili continued.

"Burglar?" Ellethen was perplexed, she'd never heard the word burglar used to describe a hobbit before, and this one looked less deserving than most of that title. Still clutching the soup bowls, he followed the two dwarves into the forest. She rolled her eyes, left with no choice but to follow. They stopped a hundred feet away from trolls' clearing. Fili and Kili took the bowls from Bilbo and urged him on towards the not so distant troll fire.

"I'll go around, try and distract them if it comes to that," she said. These dwarves would be the death of her, she was certain. "As if dwarves haven't caused me enough grief already," she muttered to herself as she pushed through the trees toward the trolls' camp.

"We'll be right behind you," Kili said to Bilbo, reassuringly.

"If you run into trouble, hoot twice like a brown owl and once like a screech owl," Fili added.

Bilbo took a moment to process this last confusing instruction in his mind; a moment too long because when he turned back for clarification, the two dwarves had already gone, leaving the poor hobbit quite on his own. Still, he seemed to be able to gather his nerves and press on through the darkness toward the light ahead.

Staying as close as she could to Bilbo while also being able to keep an eye on the trolls, Ellethen watched as he stepped soundlessly through the trees and around the clearing to where the trolls kept the ponies. They'd apparently managed to tie up a makeshift carrel for them in the corner of the clearing. Bilbo tried to loosen the ropes but they were bound too tightly. It was then that he spotted the blade at the troll's hip. He knew he was crazy to even attempt it, but something had to be done. Still, with all his newfound- though uncomfortable- courage, his hands shook terribly and he found every step toward the troll to be heavier and harder than the last.

Ellethen could see him approach, but she could also see Will the troll turning to look in his direction simultaneously. She didn't have time to run to him, or throw him a weapon. Within the span of a second, she acted on instinct. Bringing her bow up from its place across her back, she notched an arrow, and fired straight at the unsuspecting creature. It struck true, straight into his right shoulder, causing him to pivot away from Bilbo. A piercing yowl of pain went up, which seemed to echo through the trees. She hoped that the sound would be enough to warn the others in their party of the danger, if Fili and Kili hadn't already done so. She brought her attention back to the injured troll, who had managed to pull the arrow out. The other two were examining the area around them thoroughly, glancing through the trees in her direction. Thankfully, Bilbo had managed to slink back out of sight.

"Who's there?" one of them yelled.

It was probably a stupid idea, but she had to do something. Hidden behind one of the trees, she cleared her throat loudly and spoke. "You give me your names, and I shall return the favour."

A moment of silence followed as she guessed they were trying to pinpoint where the voice had come from. When she heard a loud shuffling near her, she took the opportunity to switch trees, this time climbing up into the branches quietly. At the moment, she was glad she'd worn such dark colours.

Just then one of them spoke, "I'm William, and this here's Bert and-" William stopped mid-sentence as Bert grabbed his nose, squeezed and let go leaving him squealing and whimpering in pain.

"Food is not supposed to talk, William." Bert turned back to the trees, "So wha're you then?"

"I'm…a…uh…gribble! Something you've never tasted before in your life. I don't think you'd like me, no. Much too bitter." Hurry up, blasted hobbit! She wouldn't be able to keep up this charade for long. They would find her sooner rather than later.

"No 'arm in tryin'," said Tom.

"Maybe it's an acquired taste," Bert said. They seemed to have decided on a direction and were getting ready to charge.

She wouldn't have enough time to move, and if she did they would spot her instantly. It was then she saw Bilbo sneak forward again towards the back of the troll. "Just a quick question, uh…" she said. Keep their thoughts busy, maybe…?

"Yeah, wha'?"

A thought came to her then, the first one she could catch, though it may not have been the brightest one, nor the safest. "Are you stupid? Or is today a special occasion?"

"Wha' d'you say?"

"I mean, it seems to me that a half-wit gave you a piece of his mind, and you held on to it."

She assumed they'd understood the last part because they did not look pleased. With a roar of anger, Bert and Tom charged the line of trees, causing a chain reaction as they toppled over one by one. Ellethen was barely able to squeeze out before they flattened her, but not without injury; her ankle had gotten caught between two trees and twisted terribly as she'd freed herself. Pain ran up her leg inside and out. It felt as if the bark had scraped some of the skin off the side of her leg too. The fabric was torn and stained red. Just as well, she was now in the sight of three very upset trolls.