Last Chapter this year! Strange to say that somehow.
We're still going a bit slow at the moment, but no worries, there will be loads of action coming soon. I know that a lot of you are waiting for more hurt/whump but please bear with me ;)
Once again thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter and a special little note to elufuir: Ich hab die Nachricht natürlich verstanden und danke Dir viel, vielmals für deinen Kommentar! Falls du Tumblr hast, schreib mich mal an wenn du magst :)
I hope you'll all have a very Happy New Year and celebrate with friends and family!
Amazement was drawn on Noris features, while Bofurs eyes gleamed with curiosity and Bombur looked utterly spooked. The three dwarves sat by a low burning fire, watching Mount Gundabad in the far distance after the sun had set only a few hours ago. They were listening to a conversation between Thorin and Gandalf, who stood next to the most beautiful horse that either dwarf had ever seen. It was a white stallion, still very young and gleaming silver in the moonlight. Though neither of them had ever ridden on a real horse, they recognised one of royal lineage and knew, that this was no ordinary horse.
It was, in fact, Shadowfax, a young steed and descendant of the legendary Felaróf, belonging to the line of Mearas, that roamed the vast grasslands of Rohan, only to be ridden by Kings and Princes of Men.
An unusual friendship however had been formed between Shadowfax and Gandalf, not too long ago, thus the wizard was the only one not of royal blood, to be allowed to ride a Mearas.
Thorin did not seem to care about the horse at all, eyeing it suspiciously. As usual, he wasn't fond of anything he had to look up to.
"And you can get there within a day?", he asked, still not convinced that this horse was as mesmerizing and fast as Gandalf had described it.
"I can not but Shadowfax can and he will. He agreed to bring me there."
"That's-", Thorin struggled a little to find the right words, feeling incredibly stupid to be talking about a horse like that. "-very generous of him."
"He knows you're doubting him", Gandalf remarked.
"It's a bloody horse in Durin's name, what do you expect me to do?", Thorin muttered.
Dwarves had never been interested in horses or any type of mount in that respect, since they had never much needed them. Horses could not be held in mines and mountains and no dwarf travelled too far usually.
Gandalf smirked quietly, before he swiftly mounted Shadowfax, staff in hand.
"I still doubt that he will come", the wizard noted, earning himself a low grunt from the King of Thorin's Halls.
"Explain the situation to him. Explain it thoroughly."
"He already declined your call for aid once, I don't see why he should change his mind."
"Because this is no dragon he needs to face now", Thorin answered, folding his arms across his chest. "He hates orcs as much as I do. There is no need for him to ignore my call for help this time."
"Well", the wizard turned the horse to a north-eastern direction. "Let us hope you are right."
"We'll travel towards the old fort in the Grey Mountains. Tell him to meet us there."
"I shall", the horse reared and dashed off into the night.
"What on earth was that?", Bofur asked, as Thorin strode past them, back to the ruins in which they camped.
"Just a horse", Thorin replied grimly.
On the following morning, the three dwarves and Bilbo packed their belongings. They had spent five days at Rhosgobel, curing their wounds, practising their skills and even teaching the hobbit and Ori a few fighting techniques. Fílis bite had healed nicely and though the wound was still visible and would leave a nasty big scar on his body, Radagast was content to let him travel back to his kin. Kílis dislocated arm was mended and he could even fire arrows again and fight properly. His ribs remained a little sensitive though and Radagast had shown him how to apply a bandage to support it.
The wizard and Bilbo curiously watched as the brothers once again tugged all the weapons they carried neatly into various parts of their clothes, effectively turning themselves into walking and talking armouries. Fíli and his throwing knives and axes, the two swords and the massive battle hammer on his back, Kíli with bow and arrows, his sword on his side and various daggers. And then there was Ori next to them, trying to look as fierce as they did, when he tugged his slingshot in his belt.
"You look about ready", the wizard remarked, shaking his head a little. Even though the boys had driven him around the bend in the last few days, he had started to like them a little and felt a bit weary to let them go.
Bilbo had been the most pleasant guest, never complaining. Whilst Ori had been cleaning one side of the house, Radagast had tried to mess up the other side again, brushing dust and dirt back inside the house every now and then, only to find the place spotless again when he returned at night. Kíli and Fíli however had proven to be proper pests, not only trying to hunt Radagasts beloved furry friends for dinner and building mouse traps everywhere but also trampling through the forest like a herd of moose, not caring about flora and fauna at all. Yet Radagast had grown fond of them. Their good humour, the dwarven sturdiness and never-ending enthusiasm impressed the wizard and he got a little teary-eyed when they stood on the glade to say their goodbyes.
It was Fíli who addressed the wizard, speaking as the leader of their little company and now, back in full armour and with only a few scratches remaining on his face, the young dwarf looked like the royal heir he was.
"Thank you, Radagast. We wouldn't have come very far without you in these last days and we will be eternally grateful for everything you've done."
"Bah", the wizard waved his hand, trying hard not to cry.
"The house of Durin is in your debt and should you ever need help, call upon us and we will answer."
Kílis chest rose with pride, not only because of the remarkable words of his brother, but also because of the mention of his line of blood. Radagast prattled something incomprehensible in his beard.
"Since we have nothing of value on us to repay you with, we made these for you to think of us."
Now Radagast couldn't hold back the tears anymore, for all four of them suddenly produced a little stone figurine each. The ones that the dwarves held were small squirrels, carved beautifully and in great detail. Bilbo held a small stony dormouse. Every toe on every paw, every whisker and every little ear had been sculptured with so much love and skill that the wizard stood speechless for a while. For even though Fíli and Kíli were of noble descent and Ori was a mere chronicler, they were all dwarves and knew how to work with stones and diamonds.
They handed them to the wizard, who couldn't even form proper words. Considering how badly the brothers had behaved in the past days and how many times Radagast had been close to cursing and bewitching them, he hadn't expected anything like this.
"Please keep us in good memory, even though we might have been a little… difficult at times", Fíli smiled apologetic and was thus utterly surprised, when the wizard suddenly pulled him close for a hug. It felt a little awkward, for Fíli had never been hugged by a big person before and needed to stand on tiptoe but he gladly returned the kind gesture, as did his brother, Ori and Bilbo when Radagast turned to them.
When they finally set off, they looked back at Rhosgobel many times, waving and smiling. Ori sniffed a little and was comforted by Bilbo.
They marched with a quick pace for a while, enjoying the cool morning air and the shelter of the forest. Neither of them seemed worried about wargs or orcs, they travelled high spirited and eager to get back to the company. Around late noon, they camped at the Old Ford on the banks of the Anduin and Bilbo, even though he had only learned it from books himself, tried to teach the dwarves how to fish.
They sat in line, each of them on a different rock and held their self-made fishing rods into the flowing waters of the Anduin. It didn't even take fifteen minutes, until Kíli became utterly bored. He began poking his brother and poor Bilbo with the rod and skipped rocks, occasionally complaining that this was a waste of time and they should move on.
Ori, who was sitting closest to Fíli managed to dodge Kílis fishing rod successfully and concentrated well on his task, though he didn't really know what he was doing. It wasn't until something tugged at his cord, that he moved again.
"Lads! Lads I think- I think I caught something!"
"No way!", Kíli burst out and even Fíli craned his neck.
"Good! Very good!", the hobbit beamed. "Now carefully pull it out of the water!"
Ori tried, very carefully at first but nothing happened.
"A little more strength! Come on!", Kíli exclaimed.
The chronicler pulled harder, then harder once more and all of a sudden a large trout leaped from the water, glistening silver in the slowly setting sunlight. The dwarves stared in awe, Ori being so mesmerized that he didn't watch where the fish was going. Only a mere second later did they hear a loud swash and Kíli and Bilbo both burst out laughing, trying to pull poor Fíli out of the water again. Ori stood on his rock, blushing madly with the fish dangling from the cord.
This is the story of how Ori caught the first and only fish in his life and how Fíli, Durins glorious heir, took an involuntary bath in the river Anduin, after being smacked with said fish.
By nightfall they had made a small fire, Fílis coat and jerkin hanging from a low branch to dry and he sat close by the flames with a blanket over his shoulders, warming his naked toes. The fish was roasting above the fire and the three dwarves and the hobbit were chipper and chatty as usual.
"So, what's the route from here?", Kíli asked, looking at Ori who still had to get used to being this important all of a sudden.
"Just up the river really", he replied quietly. "Getting to the mountain is not hard. It will be difficult to find them though, once we're there."
"Thorin will surely leave some marks for us to find them", Fíli remarked, poking the fish to check if it was ready.
The scent of the roasting fish wafted through the cool night air, making their mouths water and they all grew a little impatient, sitting there with a growling stomach. It was Bilbo who first heard the low rustling in the brushwood. He quickly looked around but couldn't see anything.
"D-Did you hear that?", he chirped up.
"Oh please", Kíli muttered. "No more wargs."
The rustling grew louder and the dwarves looked at each other, completely startled.
"Quick, grab your stuff and get behind that rock there. If it's more wargs, we might be completely outnumbered!", Fíli ordered and they quickly gathered their belongings and disappeared behind a massive rock by the banks of the Anduin. They carefully peered around to watch the campfire.
Nothing happened for a while, before a massive shadow suddenly emerged from the brushwood. It wasn't the shape of a warg but bigger and bulkier and it moved slowly.
"What is it?", Bilbo whispered.
"That's a bear", Kíli replied surprised. "And a massive one!"
The bear sniffed the air, clearly drawn to the camp due to the overwhelming scent of the roasting fish. He didn't mind the fire much, as he destroyed the little wooden rack with one swift movement of his huge paw, sending the fish flying.
"Oh no!", Kíli exclaimed.
"Stay low!", Fíli growled at his brother but was completely ignored.
"No way! It's trying to steal our supper!"
And with that, the youngest quickly climbed the rock, quietly and unnoticed by the bear that had turned to the fish already.
Only a split second later, a deafening roar echoed through the woods and the massive animal furiously spun around, an arrow sticking in its backside. Kíli stood on the rock, bow and arrow ready again.
"Oi! Paws off our food!"
"Oh great", Fíli muttered quietly. "Now it's angry."
And angry it was. The bear roared once more and rolled right towards the rock on which the young dwarf stood, still facing the beast bravely. Kíli did not move an inch even though the animal was about three times his size and obviously in a very bad mood. His brother wasn't sure whether it was bravery or stupidity that kept Kíli in place, but he knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against that monster on his own.
Fíli appeared besides his brother, both swords drawn and it took a short while until even Ori gathered the courage to climb up the rock and fumble for his slingshot.
At the sight of three armed dwarves, the bear suddenly stopped midway though, causing the youngsters to blink puzzled. No ferocious animal had ever halted at the sight of weapons before.
They were completely astonished, when the animal slowly began to back away, still keeping an eye on them but not in the slightest keen on attacking them anymore.
"What is going on?", Fíli asked but nobody could answer him.
The bear then suddenly turned around, picked up the fish and rushed off into the woods. The dwarves just stood there for a while, quickly accompanied by Bilbo who didn't understand anything anymore and watched the bear disappear in the darkness of the night.
"Did that bear just back off because of our weapons?", Fíli asked again, only to receive a shrug from Ori and a low "Glad he did" from Bilbo.
The three of them listened up, when Kíli jumped off the rock and began to pick up his belongings, shouldering his quiver and putting his coat on.
"What are you doing?", Bilbo asked.
"Going after him!", Kíli explained.
"Oh no. No no no, you stay here. Be glad that beast is gone!", Fíli ordered but his brother didn't listen.
"That beast has our supper!", the youngest explained and off he went, following the bear into the thick brushwood. Ori and Bilbo looked at each other, quickly gathered their belongings and rushed after Kíli, leaving Fíli with his mouth open for a while, before he rolled his eyes.
"Brilliant", he muttered as he quickly put his shoes back on, grabbed his coat and jerkin and followed the rest of the small company into the pitch-black woods.