Dear Reader,
I apologize beforehand if my handwriting is sloppy in this post, for I am writing inside a barrel. Room is scarce, and there is little to no light. You may ask, "Why in the world in Dwalin in a barrel?" Well, it's rather confusing if I go ahead and tell you, so I'll start at the beginning. Shortly after the eagles rescued us from the goblins and Wargs, they flew us to safety, far away from them. We travelled for a few more days, and I was about to complain when Gandalf announced we would be visiting his friend. He looked pretty worried, so when he told us not to speak out of turn or lose our tempers, I was a little afraid of this "friend." It turns out this friend was Beorn the skinchanger. I have heard about him some in stories, but I only recognized his name. Gandalf ordered us to all come in pairs, and Balin and I partnered up. After a few dwarfs had already gone down the path, we went, and it was a quite pleasant path if I do say so myself. There were flowers and bees buzzing around everywhere, and it wasn't until I saw the large man talking to Gandalf did I remember my manners. I bowed so low my beard caught the ground, and Balin kept bowing, so I did too. We bowed and bowed until Beorn starting laughing. Then we went, slightly embarrassed, to stand beside the other dwarfs. I was a little afraid of Beorn at first, but he was actually pretty kind for what I've heard about him. He let us stay at his home, he gave us all the food we could imagine and told us wonderful stories. He warned us not to go outside after dark and I assume none of us did, because in the morning we were all still there, but Beorn was nowhere to be found. When Beorn came back, we started off on our journey again, and he supplied us food and ponies! (My pony was white with brown speckles; I think Beorn knows how much I like ponies.) He also told us not to stray from the path and don't touch water from a river. Mirkwood lay ahead of us. When we reached its entrance, the ponies were sent back, Gandalf left us, and we travelled on foot. I wasn't too sure how well far we would get without the help of a wizard. But, everything was good for a few days, the food was lasting and we weren't tired yet. Then, the food started disappearing. (I blame Bombur.) Suddenly, I wished Gandalf were with us again. We found the river, and Bilbo saw a boat. We used rope to reel it in, and we went across. I was stuck in the last trip, with Bombur. Just as we were getting out a beautiful deer flew over us. I ducked, but Bombur lost his balance and fell in. Several dwarves rushed to help him, and by the time they got him out, he was already asleep. We figured out what the river does. Most of the food was gone, and we started starving, so when we saw a deer on our fifteenth day in Mirkwood, Bifur, Balin, and Gloin tried to shoot at it with their bows, wasting the last ones we had left. Hungry, lost, and tired, Mirkwood seemed to never end. That, and I was stuck carrying Bombur, who hadn't woken up yet. When he does, he's going to get an earful from me. Anyway, we were so hungry and desperate that when we saw a light in the forest, we forgot Beorn's warning and ran towards it. I saw elves, eating and dancing. The hobbit rushed into the party, when all the lights when out and the elves disappeared. That happened a few more times when we all started running. The next thing I remember, spiders kidnapped us, and that is not a pleasant thing to experience. Once again, we were made to listen the many different ways we were going to be eaten. Then I felt myself being cut loose. Mr. Baggins had come to save the day! After we defeated the spiders, I struggled to find the path. I found Balin and a few others, and soon enough all of us were camping out in pitch-blackness. We were all trying to get to sleep when I remembered something.
"Where's Thorin?" No sooner had I said that than elves poured out from the trees, and captured us. I wonder how many times we've been kidnapped on the course of this adventure. We were brought before the Elvenking, and after none of us would tell him why we were in Mirkwood, he locked us up. We stayed there for a few days, none of us telling the reason for our adventure. It wasn't all that bad because they gave us food and the cells were comfy enough. What really surprised me was when Bilbo showed up outside my cell door. He had a plan to escape, and I wasn't sure how it was going to work, so for the most part I went along with it. Then I was locked in a barrel. So here I am now.
Safe Journeys,
Dwalin