Chapter 4: Newsflash


Kíli woke up in a tent. It was a nice tent, but not one he could remember going to sleep in. Slowly he turned his head, trying to take in his environment and blinking at the lamps that illuminated the place. Next to him, on another cot, was Fíli, fast asleep and wrapped in bandages, but from the movement of his chest he was alive. Something tight loosened in his chest, a gust of a sigh escaping him. Then his attention was drawn to another cot, a little further away. Thorin, clad only in his under-shirt, was lying on that bed, sweat soaking the fabric, beading on his pale yet flushed face and leaving his hair in almost greasy tangles. It was a sight Kíli could have done without. His uncle was strong and seeing him laid low like this was... terrifying. A rustling sound drew his attention to the flap that served as a doorway, through which Óin had just entered.

"Ah. Yer awake at last." the old dwarf hurried over, taking a mug and a cruet from a tablet. The cruet had steam rising from it's depths. Kíli was sure it was a tea of sorts and if he remembered right – from previous instances of falling ill and being in Óin's care – it would taste disgusting.

Seeing the face he made only made the sadistic healer chuckle.

"None of that, lad. Drink that, and don't 'cha dare spit it out."

"th' appned once." Kíli croaked as he let himself be helped into a sitting position. He felt a little weak, but not as bad as it could have been. His arm though... well, it was in a sling and he dreaded finding out how bad that truly was.

Obediently he drank the foul stuff, and gulped down the water that Óin offered him afterwards.

Despite just having woken up he felt exhausted. His gaze trailed over his relatives.

"What's wrong with them?" the drinks had helped with soothing his parched throat, making speaking so much easier, much to Kíli's relief.

"Fíli has some broken bones. I am keeping him sedated, so he doesn't feel the pain and won't move around that much." at Kíli's alarmed look Óin rolled his eyes "He's fine. Or will be. It's just easier if I don't have ta listen to his whines."

Kíli knew that this was not the only reason, for Óin would never sedate someone for a shallow motive like that, but he appreciated the try at soothing his worries.

"Thorin's got it worse. His wounds have caught an infection and he's running a fever. We got it under control, it's already sinking." Kíli nodded numbly, feeling a little overwhelmed with the information but he go the basics. Not well, but will get better. Got it.

"What about the rest?" the question had been niggling in the back of his mind and had come to the forefront now that he was assured of his families survival.

"All alive and well, mostly. Minor scratches and bruises. Bifur lost his axe." Óin cackled at that, almost gleeful. Kíli wondered what happened but was sure the story would be told and retold several times. For now he was more curious about the rest of his companions.

"The Ri's have banded together with Balin. At least Dori and Ori, who knows what Nori is really doing. The worst injury was a stab wound, that's been stitched up. Didn't hit anything important, Mahal bless. Dori doesn't even seem to feel it all that much, he's been lifting and carrying stuff whenever needed." the healer showed a displeased frown, but Dori was one of the strongest and most stubborn dwarrows and was more than a match to Óins pestering nature.

"Balin is currently keeping an eye on the negotiations too. Can't be too careful." Kíli nodded. Balin would want to fill Thorin in, when the king woke up, and for that he had to have all the information.

"His brother is standing outside, looking menacing. He lost an ear, got too close to one of those goblins." Kíli chuckled. If anything it would make Dwalin look even more fearsome.

"I'm pretty sure Nori has been wrangled into helping Balin keep an eye on the others, like Dain and Thranduil." again a sensible choice. Nori knew how to blend in, if he wanted to.

"Glóin is also involved with the negotiations, keeping an eye on the finances and is also looking into possible trade options to get us through the winter." Right. Winter. They would need food, firewood and shelter. Erebor could harbour them, but food was probably already running low and they would have to see if any close settlements would spare some of their stock to fill their pantries.

"What about the Ur's?"

"Bombur is happy supervising the distribution of the food and cooking to his hearts content." Óin rolled his eyes, and really, that was not much of a surprise "Bofur has been helping him, and I think he spend quite some time with the humans, entertaining the children. Bifur sometimes accompanies him. He seems to enjoy it almost as much as the small ones and is relearning how to speak in common." that was incredible to hear. Bifur had lost his ability to speak common, even if he was still able to understand it, during the battle of Azanulbizar. It had created an obstacle for the dwarf, whenever he encountered outsiders. Bilbo had warmed up to him rather quickly though, Kíli remembered fondly. They both held a passion for flowers that other dwarrows, himself included, simply couldn't understand. It almost seemed like they held entire conversations, simply by picking up random greens and sometimes started to laugh without any reasonable excuse. Aside from strange looks they had left the pair to their own devices.

Speaking of...

"What happened to Bilbo?"

At this Óin looked away, his shoulders slumping a little.

"Lad..." Kíli's eyes widened in face of the sombre tone Óin had used and the way he avoided eye contact.

"What? What is it? Is he injured? Where is he?" Kíli could barely remember the time inside Erebor, but he knew that the hobbit had encouraged them several times to eat, drink, take a break, nap or simply keep warm. They had all been affected by the gold and Kíli shuddered as he remembered the haze he had been walking though the entire time. It had lifted on the ramparts where Bilbo had very nearly been thrown over to his death. Stomach churning he anxiously wiped his uninjured hand over his mouth.

"He's fine lad... but he's still banished. Dain's guards are keeping him out of the camp. Bofur said he saw him in the human camp carrying firewood."

"So... he's with the humans? With Bard?" At least he wasn't alone. That was good.

"No." or not.

Óin frowned towards the small fire that warmed the tent.

"Apparently Bilbo made his own camp, near the entrance of Erebor." Kíli felt his heart twist at the information.

"Alone?" he whispered and looked up to Óin, hoping for contradiction. It was not safe to be alone, even if the battle was over and he was near their camp. Maybe Gandalf...?

"Yes. Alone." clearly Óin was about as happy about that as Kíli felt about it.

"Two guards looked into his camp last night. He seems to be uninjured, as far as they could tell, and he was ready for battle." Kíli's lips twitched in spite of himself. Bilbo? Ready for battle?

"We should go and get him." he said, already trying to swing his legs out of bed to get going, no matter how weak he felt.

"Can't, laddy. So long as Thorin doesn't officially rescind the banishment, him entering our camp would mean his death."

Kíli felt himself deflate at that, frowning over to his unconscious uncle.

"Well.. hurry up and make Uncle feel better then." he muttered petulantly. It was bad enough that they had stood by and let Bilbo be treated like that, gold sickness or not. But Kíli could remember hearing Bilbo's voice on top of Raven Hill, warning them of the trap that he and his brother had nearly walked into. As it was it had come close to being their demise, and they had been to busy fighting for their life to apologize, atone and ask for forgiveness from the hobbit that had only wanted to prevent war.

It was well past the time they picked up on their slack and brought Bilbo back. Kíli would never forgive himself if he couldn't make amends somehow, be it only to equip Bilbo as well as he could if the hobbit wished to return to his homeland.

Grumbling he laid down, shooting another look towards his Uncle. Thorin had better get well fast. Patience had never been Kíli's strong point.


Notes:


Had some time left yesterday so here we go. Day 4, Chapter 4. I wonder how long I can keep up :P

Anyways, time to move some other players :)