MASQUERADE

Chapter 2

The night of the banquet was pleasant and glittered with thousands of stars, the forgotten souls smiling down on the celebrations that were due to take place. The great halls of Erebor were decorated with glowing lanterns, paper streamers and a band was already in place and tuning their instruments. Bilbo fidgeted nervously amongst the crowd of guests, he had managed to slip in relatively unnoticed by many of the Company members. He wanted a moment to see what had been done with Erebor in his absence. He was quite impressed, most of the grime and dirt had been removed and the halls were lively, not cold and dead had they been during his last memorable visit.

Bilbo adjusted his mask thoughtfully; the fur was making his skin tickle in a strange way. The same could be said about the soft soled boots Beorn had lent him. The hobbit had a strange feeling that the skin changer was trying to be involved as much as possible, except he could be overreacting. That twinkle in Beorn's eye was clearly due to it being full moon in a few days. Bilbo glanced about his person, he didn't recognise anyone there and he realised, of course, that this was the point of the exercise. He smiled. Kili and Fili did love to have a good time.

A large, rounded shoulder collided with Bilbo as someone made their way through the crowd, nearly knocking him clean off his feet. The person gasped and turned back to face him. "Forgive me" the voice said, revealing a male dwarf. "I was merely in a hurry to find my brothers and I accidentally knocked you over"

"No harm done, I've endured much worse. Please think nothing of it, my good dwarf" Bilbo said sincerely, bowing low.

"Mister Baggins?"

Bilbo started, tilting his head at the fellow he'd nearly been knocked over by. "I beg your pardon" he said kindly. "Have we met?"

"Of course we have" came the reply. "This whole mask business is dreadful; mine is much too thick and is masking my voice not to mention my face! It's me! Dori!"

Bilbo let out a noise of recognition and was soon grasped in a welcoming hug by the older dwarf, who was chuckling at him. Dori was wearing a soft green mask that had darker green spots all over it and reminded Bilbo a great deal of the frogs in Brandywine River back home. A frog for Dori? Well both could be quite grumpy if the situation called for it and it rarely did.

"A frog mask Dori?"

"Aye, I don't quite understand why my brothers suggested such a creature – frogs are such mopey creatures you know" Dori said, his voice muffled by the heavy porcelain.

Bilbo coughed pointedly; perhaps it was best not to mention the silent complaining that Dori had employed from the second they set foot in Rivendell. Dori rocked back onto his heels, fingers tucked firmly into his suspenders.

"I must say though, your mask is certainly different to what I was expecting" Dori said. He beckoned to Bilbo and began leading the way through the crowd and to a corner where they could talk in private. Dori had been around many of these dwarves long enough to know that they would not easily trust an unfamiliar hobbit, despite his crucial efforts in the quest that reclaimed their home. "Although now I think about it" the white haired dwarf continued. "The irony of your mask is quite amusing indeed"

"I couldn't agree with you more laddie" came another familiar voice, one that Bilbo had very much missed during his absence.

"Balin!" Bilbo greeted warmly turning to shake hands with the snowy haired dwarf.

The royal advisor Balin was dressed very finely that evening, in long glittering black clothes and a heavy, fur coat. Balin's mask curved with his smile lines upon his face and left his mouth free. The nose of the mask looked like a curved beak, extending over the tip of his dwarvish nose. He was wearing an owl mask, decorated with smooth brown feathers and pale red fluffy down. Bilbo smiled, now that was Balin for certain.

"It is good to see you again Balin" Bilbo said upon releasing the handshake. "Things are peaceful about Erebor it would seem"

The old dwarf chuckled. "Far from it Master Baggins, the political climate is most torrid at this point in time and I am sure that Thorin would agree"

"Then why a massive party at such a time, surely that would invite trouble?"

Dori snorted derisively. "Bah!" he said. "There is always time for a good party, even if there are assassination plots afoot dwarves will party until dawn"

Bilbo raised an eyebrow and he could almost sense Balin doing the same under the feathery mask he wore. It would seem then that nothing had changed and he smiled. It was nice to be back.

-x-

Nori was a master spy. He was the spy of Erebor. He had a certificate to prove it.

But he found himself thoroughly confounded as to how he had found a pair of muddy, human-sized footprints in the kitchens. Bombur had called him there only moments prior, all of a flutter and his large ginger braid flopping about as he gesticulated wildly. Nori was about two steps away from having a massive headache as the cook ranted about in a panic, running about the great kitchens to check if anything was stolen from the feast. All he wanted was a night off to enjoy himself and, perhaps, find a nice shadowy corner with a dwarf lass, Nori rather thought he had earned as much.

But nooooo.

He escaped from the kitchens later, finally figuring out that the human traders that Bombur had dealt with early that morning had been travelling in wet weather and finally having calmed the rotund dwarf down. Now he raced through the hallways, pulling his mask down over his face as he did so. Unlike the other dwarves Nori was quite pleased with Kili and Fili's idea, running around in masks was something he was very used to and, to a point, something he rather enjoyed.

He was so focused on getting back to the party that, as per usual, he was not watching where he was going and ran head first into another dwarf, falling back onto his backside.

"So sorry!" he apologised in Khuzdul. It was always safer to speak Khuzdul; some dwarves could not or would not speak Westron and as such were left confused when addressed in said language.

"Not a problem" the stranger replied. "You are in a hurry so you best be off"

Nori glanced over his shoulder and offered the strange dwarf a hurried thank you before sprinting away to join the party. He caught a glimpse of a furry mask with long, spirally whiskers before the stranger disappeared from sight.

-x-

Balin was sitting with Dori and Bilbo, the three of them deep in discussion about how much tobacco to put in one's pipe to achieve the best smoke rings when he spotted a dwarf headed their way. A second glance brought a smile to his lips when he realised it was not a dwarf at all, but a dwarf woman dressed in the utmost finery available. Her mask was golden and covered in shiny strands of hair, decorated with teeth at the jaw of the mask. With that in mind it was very easy for Balin to deduce who she was and what she wanted. He coughed and turned to his friends.

"It would seem that the Lady Dis is rather keen to meet you my dear Bilbo" Balin said, smiling conspiratorially at Dori.

"Who?"

"Dis, Kili and Fili's mother" the frog masked dwarf said. "Thorin's sister and the true brains behind the line of Durin"

Bilbo let out a nervous squeak but could not escape before Dis appeared before them and lifted her chin. She then did something many dwarves would have found strange, except that Balin was not most dwarves. She bowed low to Bilbo and murmured a prayer in Khuzdul. The Hero's Prayer.

Dori raised an eyebrow in Balin's direction. It was strange indeed for a member of the royal family to say the Prayer over another dwarf but to say it over a hobbit was downright unheard of. Dis could incite the wrath of a few dwarves for such an act. She had always done what she chose though, this Balin knew well as he had been her tutor for years before the quest.

"You must be Bilbo Baggins" Dis said politely. "I wanted to talk to you personally"

"How did you know who he was?" Balin asked curiously.

Dis sat herself down in an abandoned chair with a mysterious chuckle. "I have my ways Balin, as well you should know"

"Indeed"

"Actually it was rather easy, I searched for the most uncomfortable person here after my brother and since I know what mask he is wearing it is not hard to discern which one was Bilbo" Dis said airily, turning to the hobbit. "You have my thanks oh hobbit" she said politely. "Were it not for you I would most certainly be burying my brother and sons, I am truly grateful to you"

Bilbo shifted slightly. "I did my duty as a member of your brother's company Lady Dis" he said formally, bowing his head.

"Nonsense" she scoffed. "None of the other dwarves dared to place themselves between a horde of orcs and my family, no offence intended you two" she added, pinning her gaze on the other dwarves at their table.

Bilbo chuckled nervously. "It is a shame your brother does not view it in the same way my Lady"

Dis' stance stiffened. "Yes a true shame" she murmured. "Unfortunately my brother inherited our father's accursed stubborn streak and love of the Arkenstone, you still have it I wager?"

The temperature dropped about the table, suddenly it was very cold and Balin lit his pipe so he would not say something he regretted. Quite personally he would be glad to never see that stone ever again. It caused more trouble than it was worth in his humble, well-informed opinion. Dis clearly agreed for when the hobbit nodded and went to open his mouth she interrupted him by holding up a hand.

"I do not want to know where it is, you could throw it into the fires of Mount Doom for all the care I have for that stone" Dis said haughtily. "In fact if I catch sight of it in the halls of this castle again you can be rest assured that my sons will be nowhere near it. Furthermore Thorin will get a taste of the knuckle dusters Dwalin gifted me for my coming of age. I will not have my boys taken from me like my father and my grandfather before him"

Bilbo was looking at Dis, wide eyed (well as much as Balin could see, the little hobbit's mask allowed very little in the way of holes for his eyes). Then he chuckled. "You are truly worthy of the lioness mask you wear Lady Dis, protecting your cubs till the very end" he said.

The princess laughed. "And you are worthy of yours little hobbit" she said gently. "A vicious defender to your very core"

-x-

Thorin was casually drinking from his tankard of ale, Dwalin at his right, when he noticed Nori slip into the dining hall. He lifted his head to one side, asking the spy a silent question and when said spy shook his head he relaxed mildly. One could always count on Nori to make sure that no threat would pass through the gates of Erebor. Thorin chugged the rest of his ale and wiped his chin delicately. Dwalin was muttering under his breath, readjusting the horned mask he wore with a grumble. Like himself, Dwalin was not pleased with the idea of a masquerade banquet.

Thorin could not blame his old friend, people in masks made him jumpy just as much as the next dwarf. It reminded him far too strongly of those who would seek his demise. He did, however, have strict orders from his nephews to enjoy himself or else. He snorted to himself. He wasn't scared of those two pipsqueaks. Their mother was a different story. But Thorin rather thought it was nice to let go at this moment, even if he was scanning the crowd voraciously searching for a certain person to show up.

"Are ye looking for the hobbit Thorin?" Dwalin asked knowingly.

"Of course not" he lied smoothly, a habit borne from years of practice when he had been trying to escape from the Erebor council as a child. "Merely ensuring that everyone has a good time, old friend"

Dwalin scoffed at that. "Right" he chortled. "And Bofur's as straight as elven arrow" when Thorin looked scandalised Dwalin waved him away. "You saw the way that he looks at some of the lads" he pointed out. "Besides, old friend, you should not compromise your enjoyment for the sake of others"

"Well . . . I . . ." Thorin sputtered. He really needed to work on grasping his words the last few days. He was no better than Bifur and his babbling.

"Right" Dwalin said, slamming down his empty tankard. "We" he pointed at the two of them and fixed a serious look upon his face. "Are going to get another tankard of ale and then you are going to go and mingle with your guests. Got it?"

"Anyone would think I wasn't king" Thorin mumbled grouchily. "Lead the way"

"That's the spirit!"