Chapter 4: Misty Mountains cold

Authors note: Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites! I love how many of you are eager to meet Thobera again and trust me when she is introduced she will not disappoint you. And like Thorin she is changed a lot. But in the meantime I have to follow the movie until the point when she is introduced, and then other extra scenes will be added to make it more interesting. In the meantime enjoy!

Thorin remained in the hallway of the Hobbit hole in silence. Across from him also sat old Balin who sat humming any old tune to himself quietly. Thorin stood leaning his back against the wall with his head low in constant thought. He knew that in the other room, Gandalf was trying to change the Hobbit's mind about the quest. Thorin still had a serious doubt that bringing Bilbo along would help them in any sense to retrieve their gold. But Gandalf would not back down. And neither would Thorin back down on Gandalf, for he needed that Wizard more than he cared to admit. Without him, the quest could not succeed.

But now Thorin just thought he was wasting his time waiting for the young Hobbit to make up his mind on whether he would join them or not. He obviously wasn't too keen from what he had read on the contract. This was obvious to everyone when he fainted, and it wasn't just Bofur's straight-to-the-point comments that caused him to collapse. It was the entire concept of not being in the comfort of his own home, his own bed, content to live out the rest of his days in peace. That was something Thorin and the other Dwarves did not have. They had been forced out of many homes due to the evil that was now rising in the world. Whether that be the monstrous Dragon Smaug or the Orcs and Goblins that had now festered in Moria. There was no such thing as peace in the mind of Thorin Oakenshield. Not since the day that Erebor fell. And that peace would not be restored until he had claimed his rightful kingdom back and brought peace among his fellow Dwarves and kin.

Thorin could hear the slight murmurs from within the other room. It was the voices of Gandalf and Bilbo. The conversation was quiet but Thorin could tell by the tones of the voices that Gandalf was having no such luck on trying to persuade the Hobbit to join their quest. Thorin admired Gandalf's determined spirit but often found it unnecessary. They could not force Bilbo to sign the contract, nor could they shove him out of his front door and command him to go with them. He barely knew any of them, hadn't expected anything like this to happen to him and obviously wasn't the kind of fellow who would love to get his hands dirty. But Thorin would ride it out as always and let fate take its course. But it seemed with every time fate had a part to play with Thorin, bad things usually happened.

Thorin's attentions were raised when Bilbo marched proudly out of his living room and walked down the hallway past Bifur who sat alone staring at the wall in a world of his own. Balin had also noticed him leave and both Dwarves knew what this meant.

"It appears, we have lost our burglar," Balin announced breaking the silence gazing up at Thorin and occasionally looking away rather distantly. Thorin turned his head in the direction of the elderly Dwarf and listened closely as he continued. "Probably for the best, the odds were always against us. After all, what are we? Merchants, miners," Balin then turned his head to where Bifur sat and noticed Bombur approach his cousin, surprisingly, offering him some food "tinkers, toy makers. Hardly the stuff of legend."

Thorin gazed down encouragingly at Balin "there are a few warriors amongst us," he hinted with a hopeful glint in his eyes.

"Old warriors," Balin added knowing full well what the heir of Erebor was implying. Balin was once a warrior. He had fought many battles and watched in grief at all of the bloodshed of his kin as he lived on and they died fighting. He had witnessed things which would stay, imprinted as a scar, in his memory for the rest of his life.

"I will take each and every one of these Dwarves like an army from the Iron Hills." Thorin explained with that glow of determination written all over his face. "For when I called upon them they answered. Loyalty. Honour. A willing heart. I can ask no more than that."

Balin stood up from his sitting position and gave a little protest to Thorin. He wasn't protesting about the quest, just Thorin's ambitions. "You don't have to do this," Balin replied "You have a choice." Thorin watched as a very small hint of pain briefly washed over the elderly Dwarf's face. He knew that Balin would be loyal to him to the end, but it still did not help the way Balin felt about the quest. He had become a wise Dwarf throughout the long, hard, ongoing decades and always followed his heart. But sometimes his head questioned his judgement which often inflicted negative thoughts upon him. "You've done honourably, by our people. You have built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains. A life of peace, and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor."

Thorin listened to the elder Dwarf and watched as he spoke of the honour he had brought among his people. Thorin didn't share Balin's high opinions of himself. He knew he could give his people a lot more than just a life in the Blue Mountains. He wanted to give them everything he could, for he cared passionately about their existence and wanted to be remembered as a fair and just king who devoted his entire life to his kingdom. Just as a noble king should. Thorin saw why Balin doubted the quest. For there were only thirteen of them who had opted for the quest. Some, just simple commoners who had devoted their lives to their king, or others who sought the rewards the quest would bring upon them. And then there were others, such as Balin, who believed in their leader and would follow him to whatever end. Thorin admired every single Dwarf in his company for their loyalty and knew he could rely on them in a time of peril. But the Hobbit on the other hand, was a different matter entirely. He didn't know where Bilbo's loyalties lay. He knew so little about him, and by the impression he had been given this evening, it didn't seem as if he could trust the Hobbit entirely.

"From my grandfather to my father," Thorin began holding the key Gandalf had bestowed upon him in front of Balin "this has come to me. They dreamt of the day that the Dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice Balin." Thorin then finished off to the not so eager Dwarf "not for me."

Balin finally came to terms with what Thorin was saying and glumly nodded his head in response. "Then we are with you laddie," Balin replied standing up before Thorin and patted him encouragingly "we will see it done."

Thorin smiled down at the elder Dwarf, of whom he looked up to as a father-like figure "thank you Balin."

"Your grandfather and your father would be so proud of you," Balin gazed down at the floor "though your ruling is not as theirs was. As you are much more compassionate towards your people in a time of need. You do not need to prove yourself to be as they were, you should rule in your own way."

"I know Balin," Thorin replied encouragingly "I am not doing this to prove anything to anyone. I am merely doing what my grandfather and father could not. I will re-claim Erebor and bring peace to our people. I may not rule like my ancestors, but my grandfather's gold will not be mine to keep. For I will not have a sickness for gold like he did. Each and every member of this company will have their fair share of gold as a reward for their loyalty and I shall use the rest to help the people who are in need."

"Then you are doing what your grandfather did not," Balin looked away "I still remember all of those people who were left homeless and hungry all of those years ago after his rapid demand for gold." He then gazed over to Thorin and gave him such a look he had never done before "and I remember a particular person who stood up to him. The same person, as I recall, escaped the death penalty and never showed her face in Erebor again."

Thorin's eyebrows arched suspiciously as Balin gazed up at him giving him an 'I know what you're thinking' gaze. Just then Gandalf appeared from the other room and walked, rather solemnly, past them. Gazing down at Thorin with a slightly remorseful look in his eyes.

"He will not sign," Gandalf explained.

"Suspected as much," Thorin muttered "we will leave at dawn tomorrow. We'll give Mr. Baggins till that time to confirm his decision, and if he does not consent, we will continue this quest without your burglar."

"Understood," Gandalf nodded bowing slightly before Thorin "now if you'll excuse me, I need a good long smoke of my pipe to settle my nerves."

Gandalf then excused himself and made his way down the corridor to seek his own solitude, only to be bombarded by Dori again with his sophisticated talk and yet another pot of tea. "Mr. Gandalf, may I tempt you with some earl grey tea?"

"No, thank you Dori," Gandalf said politely "you already offered me tea this evening and like I said before, I am not in the mood for tea." Gandalf then patted the Dwarf on the shoulder and continued down the corridor moodily "Just a good long whiff of old Toby."

Thorin and Balin soon turned their attentions back onto each other. Thorin's thoughts still pondered on what Balin was saying. Did he mean that Dwarf woman he had helped escape all of those years ago? Oh, what was her name again? Tho-Thobera! That was it! Thobera daughter of Dulin. Who could not forget the uproar she had caused in the halls of the king the day she was brought before the Dwarf lords. She was the only Dwarf woman to ever make a stand against the king, and, not to mention, live to tell the tale. He hadn't thought of her for a good while, but he still wondered what had happened to her. Her fate was either death or still in exile. But Thorin had heard no word of her being caught or killed so he presumed she was still alive. But why was Balin bringing her up now?

"I know what you did Thorin," Balin broke Thorin's trail of thought rather surprisingly "all of those years ago."

"What?" Thorin asked pretending to act oblivious to what Balin was saying when really he got the hint of what he was actually implying.

"I never mentioned it before until now," Balin continued "but I know it was you who spared the life of that Dwarf woman and helped her escape the dungeons, no thanks to myself for suggesting it to you."

"It was a long time ago Balin," Thorin looked away crossing his arms with a small sulk on his face "I was a rebellious young Dwarf back then."

"Are you saying you would not do the same now?" Balin queried "you took a shine to her despite her insults towards your grandfather and committing treason upon your house."

"I would if it were under such circumstances," Thorin explained "but as I recall there is not such circumstance. Thror is dead and so, as I suspect, is my father. What does it matter that I spared the life of a single Dwarf woman all of those years ago?"

"It matters greatly," Balin added "it helped make you into the man you are today. Without such compassion and pity towards a single Dwarf, you would not have fully understood the simple act of humility and compassion and you would probably not have cared so much for the people as you do now. Sparing the life of Thobera helped change you for the better. I can only hope it changed her also."

"Do you know of what happened to her?" Thorin asked turning his head back to Balin curiously.

"That I do not know," Balin began "the lass was a troubled Dwarf woman on the run from her own kind. I suspect, if she made it out alive, she made for Laketown and beyond. But we are talking about almost a hundred years ago. A lot has changed since then." Balin then muttered under his breath but Thorin still heard him "more for worse than for better."

Thorin placed a comforting hand on his companion's shoulder and gazed down at him with sincere eyes. "By what ever power I have, I promise you that I will do what ever it takes to reclaim Erebor and restore peace to our people."

"That I am sure you will do laddie," Balin then placed his own hand on top of Thorin's and shook it encouragingly "for my faith in you will never fade."

Thorin grinned taking his hand off of Balin's shoulder and turned his head as many Dwarves from down the corridor entered the main living room where Bilbo and Gandalf had their little discussion about the quest not long before. Thorin and Balin soon followed and shortly afterwards, all thirteen sat near the fire smoking their pipes in a rather uncomfortable silence. It was so unlike them to be this quiet. Perhaps it was a way of preparation for their epic quest up ahead. Or perhaps it was a sign or fear and uncertainty of the quest. For Balin probably wasn't the only one to have doubts about the quest. And now their burglar had turned them down. This quest wasn't turning out well so far, and it hadn't even begun yet.

It wasn't until Thorin began to hum a familiar tune that the other Dwarves also go involved. Soon every single Dwarf began to hum the exact same tune as Thorin and when Thorin began to sing, his gaze went distantly thinking about the whole reason why he had taken this quest in the first place. And of course the other Dwarves also joined in the song, but this was no merry tune like before. This was a song on the quest which they were about to enter.

Far over the misty mountains cold,
To dungeons deep, and caverns old,
We must away, ere break of day,
To find our long forgotten gold,
The pines were roaring on the height,
The winds were moaning in the night,
The fire was red, it flaming spread,
The trees like torches blazed with light.

That night, many of the Dwarves, or even Gandalf, did not sleep much at all. The constant dwelling thought plagued on all of their minds. They were about to take on a quest which would require crossing many dangerous territories, venturing into the unknown, and coming face to face with the eyes of many enemies. It had affected Thorin Oakenshield more than anyone else. For the biggest burden remained on him. He was after all their leader, a hard hearted warrior completely loyal to his people. And the lingering visions of how he came to be on this quest played over in his mind. He had visions of Smaug taking Erebor, killing innocent lives as he went. Another vision bestowed on the Elves and their king Thranduil as they stood there and watched and then turned their backs as his people fled for their lives. Lastly another vision taunted him about when he became a pauper prince in the towns of men and trained vigorously to become the fierce fighter and noble warrior he was today. Balin was right; he had changed greatly over the coming decades. He was a lot more determined than he was back then, and a lot more hard hearted. He would die for his people if it would bring peace and order about his fair kingdom. All he ever wanted was to live in peace for the rest of his life. And he would fight to re-claim that peace that Smaug had taken away from him, along with his grandfather's precious gold. He would re-claim Erebor. And he would not go down without a fight!

And so their journey would begin. But the question was now; would the reluctant Hobbit Bilbo Baggins change his mind? Would he join them on their quest? Or would he stay at home and act as if the Dwarves had never turned up on his doorstep?

Authors note: I know this chapter is a little shorter than the others but blame the last chapter for being way to long. Anyway A few more chapters and Thobera will be in the story. I mentioned her here to make sure that Thorin remembers her after all of those years. As you may have also noticed I extended the scene with Balin and Thorin also to make it longer and more interesting. I should update soon! In the meantime… please review! Thank you all very much!