"You need what now?" Bombur looked at Thorin with surprise.
"Wooden weapons for the boys." The king said once more.
"Aren't they a little young to be practicing how to fight? They've yet to learn all the names of the trades of dwarves let alone choose one to be interested in." The rotund dwarf folded his arms over his chest with a disappointed look. As a father, he knew when a child was strong enough to start learning to fight, and that was always after they picked a trade. They had to grow more into their bodies before they could properly learn how to wield a weapon.
Nori cut in before Thorin had a chance to reply. "Bombur, they are princes, they must learn early the consequences of fighting and before we go back to Ered Luin, in which I am certain you would approve of, they need to learn what fights to stand their ground in and others to walk away."
Bombur shook his head, "Very well. But remember to not push them too hard, they are small children after all."
Thorin nodded, turned on his heel and walked away, Nori trailing after him. They went back to the Prancing Pony, up to the room they shared with Fili and Kili where the two boys still slept in a pile of limbs. Yesterday they had ran all over Bree taking in all the strange and wondrous sights of what a "big village" was like. They had stayed up late listening to stories that Nori was fond of telling Ori, their eyes huge as they listened to everything he was saying. It wasn't until the first rays of dawn that the little ones finally fell asleep. It freed the adults to do a few things without having to reign in the children who grew more energetic by the passing hour.
The king took off his coat and draped it over the back of a rickety wooden chair. He had learned a lot about shapeshifters from Gandalf. His deal still held with Nori as the thief would help him train Fili into controlling himself. They had to start as soon as they could, if not it would be harder on Fili to keep his animal side under control. So they sat around the small table in the room and developed a plan. They would wait for Bombur to finish the weapons, take the boys back to Ered Luin by foot and take their time traveling. The secluded roads would be their route as they needed to push the little blond to his limits, make him change again and again, and they could not risk anyone seeing.
It only took a few days for Bombur to finish some wooden swords and axes, great craftsmanship that Thorin had no qualms with paying a little extra knowing full well these would last a great long time and the hard abuse that was required of dwarven training. While they gathered the rest of the things they needed for their travels back Bofur looked after Fili and Kili at the doctor's residence.
"I wonder how much the axe hurt." Kili whispered looking at Bifur's sleeping form.
"It's in his head. It would have hurt a lot." Fili said as if that was the dumbest question he had ever heard.
Kili reached over fingers about to touch the protruding axe when Bofur found them. "Ah! Don't touch that laddy!"
Bofur instantly picked up Kili pulling him away from his cousin. "You don't want to be hurtin' him any more now do ya?"
"No." Kili looked up at Bofur much looking like a puppy being held. "How come he's not awake? It's in the middle of the day."
"Because he needs his rest. Don't worry, he'll wake up soon enough and you'll get to meet him proper like."
The boy looked back watching Fili play with Bifur's beard. It was very long and so well taken care of for someone asleep all the time. Kili put his arms straight up slipping down out of Bifur's hold to run off with Fili leaving the injured dwarf alone. Bofur looked to his cousin then to the floor, his heart heavy. He wasn't sure if Bifur would ever wake up. If he did, would he be the same? He knew the old Bifur would have loved being around the little ones. He would have picked them up and spun them around, got them to laugh at every chance. Taught them new games and made them toys.
He sighed wandering off to find the boys. He had to keep up hope. It was all they had for Bifur at this point. As he walked away, Bifur's eyes started to flutter open.
At this time Fili and Kili had managed to find every room, poke at everything within reach and even managed to hide a good few things in fun. Then Fili started sneezing. A lot of sneezing.
"No, no, no." Kili fussed wiping Fili's nose with his sleeve. Worry in his young heart. "Don't get sick again."
"I'm okay." Fili sneezed hard enough for his head to start to hurt. "I-i-it's just a bad smell."
"A bad smell?" Kili looked around as if he could see what was causing his lion to suffer.
Fili sniffed, again he sneezed this time snot coming out to hang on his lip. He wiped it away before Kili could and pointed at a small door that was built into the floor. "It's coming from in there."
Kili went to the cellar door. He grabbed the iron ring and pulled on it as hard as he could as he stood on the door. "It's not opening."
"What are you lads doin' now?" Bofur came in as Kili continued to jerk at the iron ring making frustrated shouts.
"There's -ah- a bad smell -open!" Kili let go of the ring and stomped on the cellar door.
"A bad smell?"
"It's making Fili sick." Kili tried pulling at the ring again as Fili gave another great sneeze that sounded more like an explosion than a simple sneeze. "I won't let him get sick again!"
"Alright, alright." Bofur moved Kili to the side.
He opened the door easily. The miner had to grab the back of Kili's tunic to stop the child from running down the wooden steps. He pulled the boy up and onto his hip, going down to the dark space under the house. He swallowed hard. Bunches of pants that hung upside down from underneath the floorboards above them. There were racks of the bundles. At first glance they were like any other plant a doctor would keep for his medicines but the leaves were not good. The doctor, it would seem, dealt in poisons and toxins. Every plant in this small secret room was deadly.
Kili gave a terrible sound in the back of his throat as he hugged Bofur's neck. He buried his face into the dwarf's shoulder not wanting to look. Something in him shook with fear as he snuck a peek.
"Bad plants." Kili whispered.
Bofur held the boy tight. "Aye lad. Very bad plants."
The miner turned and ran up the stairs. He dropped the cellar door shut, the clap of the wood going down was quickly followed by a scream. Bofur's heart stopped. Their "good" doctor had a fistful of Fili's hair. Bofur dropped Kili to the floor and held up a hand as the doctor pulled out a knife.
"Fili!" Kili tried to get around Bofur who kept him back.
"Now, don't be doin' anything foolish." Bofur moved Kili behind his leg. "He's just a boy."
"A prince." He jerked Fili's head back making the boy scream. He pressed the blade harder into the exposed neck, the soft flesh pushing around the metal ready to split open at any movement. "That can be worth a lot of money. Don't you think? A lot more than keeping your cousin under, though, I have to admit, the free service of dwarves is quite the luxury."
"How did-"
"Your fool companions need to keep their tongues quieter when making requests. You never know who may be listening even in empty alleys."
"Why are you doing this? We have no money."
The human barked in laughter. "I'm no fool! Dwarves always have money, more than they know what to do with! You hide it away and need some coaxing to part with it. There are two princes if I'm not mistaken. I can take care of one with a spare to bargain with." His wicked gaze fell on Fili before flickering over to Kili with promise that neither would live if he had his way.
Fili shouted, he thrashed against the man. The boy's elbow smacked into a tender part just to the side of his knee making him loosen his grip a bit. The knife bit into Fili's skin, pulling across his neck. Kili screamed at the sight of red spilling from Fili. Bofur grabbed the knife he had tucked in his belt and charged at the doctor, a guttural roar of rage. The golden prince was tossed to the side in favor for blocking the incoming attack.
"Fili!" Kili ran to his brother, wrapping his tiny hands around the bleeding wound.
Bofur threw a punch, the doctor dodging it right to where the miner thrust the knife in his other hand stabbing him in the shoulder. The doctor took his own knife up high to bring it stabbing down on Bofur's head when something struck him from behind. It hit so hard it cracked his skull, crumpling him to the floor instantly. Bofur's eyes were wide as he watched in shock, Bifur awake, eyes wild as he took the heavy base of a candle holder and struck again and again down on the head of the human. The cracking of bone gave way to the sounds of wet tissue being beat only masked by the sounds of Kili crying.