Since coming back to this story, I've been flying through it. It's awesome to be able to get so far ahead. I'm constantly re-reading and editing though, so it's still going to take me awhile to upload occasionally, especially as we've got a big race coming up for us and have to travel interstate.
These next few chapters are probably my favourites at the moment. Lots happening.
Enjoy
Valisilwen and Rilien soon found Radagast and Gandalf at Rhosgobel.
"Gandalf!" Valisilwen hurried to his side.
"We need horses," he said, clambering to his feet from the sled, grabbing Valisilwen for balance, causing her to wince slightly.
"What? Gandalf, where are you going?" Radagast demanded in bewilderment, looking at the greay wizard as if he had gone quite mad.
Gandalf looked at Valisilwen urgently. "We need to warn Erebor. They have no idea what is coming." Valisilwen furrowed her brow and glanced sideways at Rilien who was staring at Gandalf himself. "I saw them with my own eyes, rank upon rank of Moria-Orcs." He turned to look at Radagast. "You must summon our friends, bird and beast. The battle of the mountain is about to begin."
Radagast's eyes went wide but he jumped on his sled and hurried off to do Gandalf's bidding.
"I'll source us some horses," Rilien said turning to hurry away.
"No." Rilien and Gandalf both looked at Valisilwen in surprise and concern at the firmness and conviction in her voice. "I know something that is faster."
oOOo
In the ruins of Dale, Bard looked around as the people prepared for war with the dwarves who refused to lend them aid or give them what they were promised by Thorin. He looked over the hills surrounding Dale, where lines and lines of Mirkwood elves were standing, waiting patiently for the word to attack from King Thranduil.
The Mirkwood prince was right, it did not take long for people to hear that the dragon was gone. Thranduil had seemed to appear at the right time to provide aid, but it seemed all he wanted was something he was owed before the dragon had taken the mountain as its own.
There was a commotion to be heard outside the building he was working in. He hurried outside to see what it was, a great wolf was running through the streets, causing people to scream in fear and run. The Great Wolf, coloured an ominous black and white, would have easily outsized a large pulling horse used by the farmers that ploughed the fields surrounding the lake.
At first, he grabbed a bow from inside the door, until he noticed two people riding on the back of the Great Wolf. One he recognised as one of the elves who had helped to clear the town, a friend of the Lady Ranger.
"Let me through!" the other person mounted on the back of the wolf shouted. "Make way!"
The wolf skidded to a stop, flinging the elf and grey bearded man from its back before disappearing down another street. The grey bearded man, who wore grey robes and a very well-worn looking, grey pointed hat, looked around at the elves marching through the street and men drilling with swords with grave concern, while the elf seemed more concerned about the whereabouts of the wolf.
"No no no!" Alfrid shouted approaching down the stairs, apparently upset by their appearance and not having noticed the Great Wolf but a moment ago. "Oi! You, pointy hat!" The man and elf turned to look at him, the elf's eyes narrowing when he realised it was Alfrid, causing Bard to smirk slightly, knowing how the elf was feeling. "Yes, you. We don't want no tramps, beggars nor vagabonds around here. We got enough trouble without the likes of you. Off you go! On your horse."
Valisilwen appeared from around the corner then. "I'm otherwise engaged, Alfrid. Be quiet and sit down," she said as she strode towards him, startling him, before pushing him down onto the step as she walked up them.
Bard was baffled for a moment, unsure of where she had come from. "Who's in charge here?" the grey haired man demanded of no one in particular, as he moved to follow the Ranger.
Bard walked towards them. "Who is asking?"
Valisilwen turned to face him. "Bard, this is Gandalf the grey," she introduced hastily. "He has some information you will need to hear."
"Is the King Thranduil here?" the elf asked of Bard.
"Yes, he arrived shortly after we did," Bard replied, motioning towards the encamped Elven King's direction.
"We will need to speak to him too," Gandalf said looking at the elf. He nodded before looking to Bard, who pointed in the direction of Thranduil's tent on the outskirts of the town.
They were soon inside Thranduil's strategy tent, Bard noticed how the Ranger seemed to be quite offput by something, although what he wasn't sure. She did not look at the Elven King, instead looking at the table between where she stood and the King.
"You must set aside your petty grievances with the dwarves. War is coming!" the wizard began, drawing Bard's attention to him. He furrowed his brow in confusion at the proclamation. They were doing their best to avoid war with the dwarves. "The cesspits of Dol Guldur have been emptied. You're ALL in mortal danger!"
"What are you talking about?" Bard asked, still further confused by the mention of Dol Guldur.
"I can see you know nothing of wizards," Thranduil said with a smirk. "They are like winter thunder on a wild wind rolling in from a distance, breaking hard in alarm. But sometimes a storm is just a storm."
Bard screwed up his face, Thranduil's words made just as much sense to him as what the wizard had said.
"That attitude is going to have the rest of your face ripped apart, my lord..." Valisilwen growled under her breath. The Elf King looked to the Ranger incredulously, as did Bard. She had some guts to speak to King Thranduil like that, everyone knew of his temper and the wrath he could impose on those who put him offside.
Gandalf held his hand up to the Ranger and looked at her pointedly, before turning back to Thranduil. "Not this time. Armies of Orcs are on the move. And these are fighters! They have been bred for war. Our enemy has summoned his full strength," Gandalf explained.
Thranduil appeared unmoved, unlike Bard who understood everything that was said by Gandalf now. He looked at Thranduil expectantly. "Why show his hand now?" Thranduil asked, his voice still making his doubt evident.
"Because we forced him! We forced him when the company of Thorin Oakenshield set out to reclaim their homeland. The dwarves were never meant to reach Erebor. Azog the Defiler was sent to kill them, but none counted on Valisilwen still existing, let alone being there to stop their attempts." Bard couldn't help looking at the Ranger in awe. "His master seeks control of the mountain. Not just for the treasure within, but for where it lies, its strategic position."
They began walking from the tent, following Thranduil as he led them to a spot where they could clearly see the gates of Erebor.
"This is the gateway to reclaiming the lands of Angmar in the North. If that fell kingdom should rise again, Rivendell, Lothlorien, the Shire even Gondor itself will fall!"
"These Orc armies you speak of, Mithrandir, where are they?" he asked motioning around them.
Gandalf fell silent, unable to answer. Bard looked between the pair, he felt way out of his league, but for some reason he trusted the wizard more than the Elf King. Perhaps it was because the Ranger seemed to trust the wizard more.
oOOo
Valisilwen stood outside the tent with her arms folded across her chest. Gandalf was still trying to convince Thranduil to put a stop to the nonsense that they had arrived to Dale to find.
"Since when has my council counted for so little? What do you think I'm trying to do?" Gandalf demanded of Thranduil.
"I think you're trying to save your dwarvish friends," Thranduil shot back. Valisilwen swore she could hear the disdain dripping as he said it. "And I admire your loyalty to them, but it does not dissuade me from my course. You started this, Mithrandir. You will forgive me if i finish it."
Thranduil exited the tent, stopping beside Valisilwen for a moment but not looking at her. "You would be wise to watch your words, Ranger. My hospitality will only extend so far, even for someone Lord Elrond considers kin."
Valisilwen ground her teeth together and let the slightest of growls from her throat. She fought back the urge to let the wolf out.
Thranduil continued on and spoke to one of his elves. "Are the archers in position?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Give the order. If anything moves on that mountain, kill it!" he said, looking towards the gate. "The dwarves are out of time."
Later that night, Gandalf sought out Bard with the assistance of Valisilwen and Rilien. "You, Bowman!" he shouted, calling Bard's attention to him. Bard sighed before looking up, no doubt guessing why the wizard wanted to speak with him. "Do you agree with this? Is gold so important to you? Would you buy it with the blood of dwarves?"
Bard sighed. "It will not come to that. This is a fight, they cannot win."
"You don't know the nature of dwarves, do you, Bowman?" Valisilwen muttered, before her attention was drawn to another presence in the room. It was a strange aura that she had felt a couple of times before, slightly dark around the edges. She glanced around wildly trying to figure out from where it came.
She was soon snapped from her thoughts by a familiar voice. "That won't stop them," Bilbo said appearing in the doorway. "You think the dwarves will surrender, as Valisilwen says, they won't. They will fight to the death to defend their own."
"Bilbo Baggins!" Gandalf exclaimed in relief. Valisilwen looked down and smiled at Bilbo, before noticing the dark aura had disappeared as well. She found it curious but thought nothing of it as Bilbo hurried into the room to greet them.
xo
Krayzee