After Thorin left for town the next day, his nephews were left on their own. Fili was eager to explore the area.

"Uncle said this was some kind of abandoned farming community," Fili cheerfully told his brother as the two of them stepped out of the front door of their little stone home, "He says it wasn't here when last he was in this area. The Humans must have built it after the dragon came."

"I wonder why they abandoned it," Kili speculated aloud just as a blast of cold winter air assaulted them. They both huddled in their thick coats for warmth. They found themselves facing the lake shore which was only a few yards away.

And then he saw it. "Oh Kili..." Fili breathed as he gazed to the north. Emotion swelled within him. He had heard the stories from his uncle. He had imagined it in his mind. He had dreamed of it since he was a dwarfling.

"Erebor..." Kili breathed beside him and Fili knew his brother was feeling the same emotions. The mountain was massive and its majestic snow-capped peak filled the foreground. They could almost run to it. Fili found himself entranced by the view.

"Fili!" came a call from behind them, breaking them of the mountain's spell. The brothers whirled to see Ori hurrying towards them from around the cluster of houses, "It's really nice to see you both up and about. But are you sure it's okay to be out here in this cold? My brothers said it was going to snow today."

"We're fine," Kili said, "We wanted to get a better look at the place."

"It's really not much to look at," Ori said, "There are eight houses and a few empty buildings that I think were used to hold animals. I think there are a few overgrown fields and orchards but they are covered in snow now."

"I wonder why the Humans abandoned this place," Fili mused aloud, "Isn't Lake-town struggling?"

"Yes, Dori said they don't have enough to eat," Ori said, "I'm not sure what happened out here, but it doesn't seem like anyone has lived out here in decades."

Fili felt intrigued by the mystery. One glance at Kili told him his brother was interested as well.

"I can show you around, I guess," Ori said with a shrug, "I have a little free time."

"Did everyone manage to get jobs in town?" Kili asked as the two of them followed Ori passed the cluster of houses.

"All except Balin," Ori responded, "He can't work in the forge so he has taken to telling the townsfolk the tales and legends of our people as a story-teller... And myself. Seems the master of Lake-town doesn't think there is much use for a poet or a painter."

As they passed the houses, they found themselves surrounded by a vast expanse of open, snow covered land. The snow was up past their ankles as they crunched through it. Wooden posts poked out of the snow every so often. Remains of fencing, Fili figured.

"Come on I want to explore the forest a bit," Ori said, "Dori and Nori left me with a bit of chores to do before they get home tonight but I thought a stroll in the forest would give me some inspiration about a poem I'm working on."

So the trio of young dwarves headed off across the snow swept field. On the horizon, Fili could see the tree line of a mixed conifer and deciduous forest. Towering evergreens like pine trees and furs mixed with leafless oak, birch, maple, and beech. As they crossed into the woods, Fili could see clumps of snow clinging to the trees around them. He gazed around at the still trees and felt the embrace of the majestic beauty around him. He knew Dwarves weren't supposed to be too partial to the forest, but he couldn't help but feel the effect the winter wonderland had on him.

Fili's thoughts were interrupted by a coughing fit as his brother doubled over a bit.

"Are you sure you two are alright?" Ori asked, glancing back at them as Kili took in a few slow pain wracked breaths.

"Yeah," Kili gasped, "Just a little sore, that's all."

Fili rubbed his brother's back comfortingly while he recovered himself. He felt uncomfortable himself. His stomach churned in pain and he was fighting off a lingering wave of nausea. But he wasn't going to let that get in his way.

The three of them wandered through the forest for the better part of the day. They began to move away from the settlement and as they did, Fili began to get a bad feeling. The pleasant feeling of being in this beautiful forest was slowly being replaced by a nagging feeling of impending doom. The fresh mountain air was beginning to feel stale and eerie. But the urge to explore was stronger and Fili found that youthful curiosity won out over his intuitions.

"Look, berries!" Kili suddenly exclaimed, shaking Fili out of his worries. Glancing up, he saw Kili and Ori rushing over to a snow-covered bush bearing big plump blueberries. As Fili moved to join them, a shadow from above stopped him and made him glance up. The sky had suddenly dimmed as dark black rain clouds began to rush in.

"We should get back," Fili said as he watched Kili and Ori pick the berries and began gathering them up in their coats, "It's getting late and Uncle will be back soon."

"I'll bet he's bringing back another loaf of bread," Kili argued, only half paying attention to Fili as he continued to pick the blueberries, "Think of how good it will taste with some blueberry preserves on it."

"Kili, you don't know how to make preserves," Fili pointed out, "You don't know how to cook."

"You know how to cook," Kili replied, giving his brother a big of a pout and a hopeful look, "And I happen to know that Master Baggins knows a thing or two about food crafts."

"How do you know?" Ori asked, "About Bilbo, I mean."

"Asphodel told me," Kili said with a shrug and Fili raised a brow at that. The hobbits and Brenna had come over often to help care for the two of them while Thorin and the other dwarves worked and Fili couldn't help but notice that his brother enjoyed talking to the young hobbit maiden.

Kili saw that look Fili was giving him and rolled his eyes, "Look don't you think Thorin deserves a treat every now and again?" he asked, motioning to the blueberry bush again, "Think of all he has done for us."

Fili couldn't argue with that. He was well aware of the lengths Thorin had gone recently to keep them alive. He was slaving away in town just to try and earn enough to feed them, and Fili was all for any chance to repay him. He finally shrugged off his worries and concerns and joined his brother and his friend in picking the blueberries and he couldn't help shoving a few into his mouth. They were succulent and unbelievably sweet.

Kili walked around the bush and moved out of view while Fili and Ori continued to gather up the blueberries. "Make sure there is enough for everyone," Ori said as the two dwarves used their coats to gather the berries up, "Thorin isn't the only dwarf who would appreciate a treat. In fact, I'll bet Bombur knows how to cook just as well as those hobbits." Fili chuckled at that. "I think we may have to see who is the best chef in the company," he joked, "Bombur or the hobbits."

"We could have a blueberry preserves cook off to see whose is best," Ori agreed, "Dori can cook too, after all."

"What do you say, Kili?" Fili called happily, "You'd make the perfect judge."

There was no answer. "Kili?" Fili repeated. Nothing. Fili was instantly alert, scanning the area for his little brother. Kili wasn't anywhere to be seen. Worry and concern began to well up inside of the blonde Dwarf.

"Kili?" he called out again into the increasingly windy forest.

"Here, Brother!" came a distant call. Fili let out a breath of relief as he hurried towards his brother's still cheerful response. Fili was reassured when he found Kili knelt over in the snow, grinning eagerly as he dug into the snow.

"I found mushrooms!" Kili exclaimed, "Lot's of them. I-" suddenly, Kili was cut off as the ground beneath him suddenly gave way and he sunk. Fili watched in horror as his brother disappeared from view as a huge hole opened up under him.

"Kili!" Fili exclaimed, hurrying over as snow and soil were excavated up into the sky and he heard a distant thud and yelp from below.

"Ori!" Fili called as he knelt down at the edge of the hole and strained to peer inside. Ori was by his side in moments.

Kili had fallen a good 30 feet below and as the dust cleared, Fili could make out his brother's still shape lying on a bed of rocks far below.

"Kili!" Fili shouted, "Kili!" no response. Kili lay on his side with his face buried in his arms, shielded from Fili's view. His right leg was twisted in an odd angle and Fili thought he saw spots of blood on the rocks beside him.

"What do we do?" Ori asked in fear, "I think a storm is coming, should we climb down there and get him?"

"He's too far down," Fili said, trying hard to steady his panicking thoughts. Kili wasn't moving. He could be hurt bad. He could even be dead, Fili couldn't tell. He had to think, he had to do something. His brother needed him.

"I'll stay with him," Fili told Ori, as he suddenly heard the crash of thunder, "You go back and get help."

"Okay..." Ori said hesitantly, getting to his feet, "Don't worry, Fili, I'll be right back."

Ori took off running at full speed while Fili was left laying on the forest floor trying desperately to get a response from his brother...