~Chapter 14~
As everyone readied for the trip up the mountain you felt uneasy. Thorin was acting stranger than normal, more aloft like he was above everyone. 'Just showing off for the people of lake town I guess. He did have to look Kingly if they were going to help us.' You thought to yourself as the company marched down to the boat. As you helped load supplies into the boat you saw Thorin stop Kili from getting on "Not you. You are injured and will slow us down."
"I am going to be there when the doors open, and when we look upon the halls of out forbears…" protested Kili.
"Kili, rest and join us when you are healed." Ordered Thorin as he continued to load the boat. Oin gets up and climbs out of the boat "I shall stay; my duty lays with the wounded." You were very surprised at the king. You had seen Kili this morning and he did look paler then normal. You hoped it was just a cold, something that would pass quickly after a good night's rest. Fili spoke up to his uncle "We've grown up on stories of this mountain. Stories you told us. You cannot take that away from him. I will carry him if I must!"
"Fili one day you will be king and you will understand. I will not forsake this quest for one dwarf." Thorin states coldly. At this Fili climbs out of the boat as well. Thorin catches his arm "Fili don't be a fool. You belong with the company."
"I belong with my brother." He refutes pulling away from his uncle and going to his brother. You tried to speak to Fili but the town's band started to play and the towns master gave a speech that drowned out your words.
Throughout the climb up the mountain you tried to talk with Thorin. But no matter what you tried to bring up he would brush you off or pretend as if he never herded you. About midway up the mountain you gave up on your attempts to talk with him, instead you talked with Bilbo a great deal. While you helped him up difficult parts of the climb you two talked about his garden a great deal. "My nasturtiums will have taken over the pathway and walls by now, the rose bushes will need trimming and my poor snapdragons will be completely buried under everything else." Bilbo say solemnly as you help him up a steep ledge.
"Sounds like a gardener's work is a bed of roses." You said jokingly. Bilbo smiles a little at your play on words, encouraging you to continue. "Okay. What do the letter 'A' and a flower have in common?" you ask with a clever smile. The hobbit's brow furors in thought as he thinks of the answer. "I do not know. What do they have in common?" he responds. You can barely contain your laughter "They both have Bee's after them!" you say between gasps of chuckles. After a few good laughs, you walked in comfortable silence.
Around noon, everyone set down their packs and takes a break for lunch. You sit on top of a large bolder and look out over the Long Lake towards Lake Town. You nibble on some bread but nothing calms the knot of uneasiness. Letting out a sigh of frustration you stand and unfurl your wings. You had been offered a full pack of supplies but you refused and only took a small bag of food for the hike up the mountain. "This is wrong." You say aloud as you slid off the perch. You walk over to Thorin sternly "I will return with Oin, Fili, and Kili when he is healed. My feathers are on end something isn't right." The company gives you a hesitant worried look. Thorin's face shows anger and disagreement. Before he can say anything to try to make you stay, you take off hard and fly back to the town.
It does not take you long to return to the town. Reaching out with your sensitive ears you listen as you fly over and eventually landing on the roof of the house they are staying at. You knock on the door and it is forcefully pulled open by the bargeman that spoke against Thorin yesterday. Your face is still stone frozen with a look of concern and commitment. He says nothing and stands aside for you to enter. You do and head straight for Kili, ignoring the gasps of the three children as you passed them. "Oin what is wrong with him?" you ask quickly as you sit on the edge of the bed Kili is laying on. Fili comes up from behind and hands Oin a bowl of water and a rag. He gives your shoulder a comforting squeeze.
"An Orc arrow in the leg possibly poisoned. I do not know for sure. I will have you go for herbs that will help him, give me a moment." He responds as he examines the younger ones' wound. Kili is passed out but his face is tight with pain and agony. You brush a few strands of hair from his forehead and hold his hand for a few moments until he calms down.
You stand from the bed and turn to face the man and his family. "Sorry I haven't introduced myself. I am Icarus and I am the skin-changer that has been traveling with the company of Thorin Oakenshield. And you are the one I should be thanking for getting them into the town and harboring Kili and Oin in their time of need."
"I am Bard and these are my children; Bain, Sigrid, and Tilda." He says.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all." You say politely and bow a little, with wings slightly relaxed behind you. Oin still isn't ready to tell you what herds he needs, so you talk with Fili by the window for a while.
It is nice talking with him without his brother hovering over both your shoulders. You two talk about the hike up the mountain and how Thorin was acting. It concerns everyone greatly. Both of you tried to get a comfortable conversation but with Kili sick and the whole other part of the company on the mountain going to fight a dragon, everything felt more stressful then normal. Suddenly Kili starts to cry out in pain and thrash about. Quickly Oin calls us over and they both hold him down while you quiet his out cries. "I need Kingsfoil that is the only thing that might save him." Oin says to Bard as he searches through his cupboard.
"We have nightshade and feverfew…. Kingsfoil? It's a weed we feed to the pigs." He says confused.
"Pigs? Weed? Okay I'll be back shortly." You say quick as you rush out the door with feathers puffed. Jumping off the balcony ledge you fly high and up using your eyes to search for the floating stables. You feel the tension in the atmosphere change as the mountain growls and the ground seams to shake under you. You can see Orcs starting to climb over the rooftops. You fly down on to the boards of the town and continue searching on foot hoping they did not see you. Coming across one of the tiny stables, you rip the Kingsfoil out of a pig's mouth and start to make your way back to Bard's home and Kili.
Rushing through and around the small board streets in the town and orc tackles you from the roof top and throws you into a wall of fishing nets that falls on top of you. Your wings instinctively try to flap them off but only get more tangled in the process. More orcs leap down and start encircling you. The first orc approaches with its blade drawn when suddenly an arrow flies in and kills the orc nearest you. Legolas and another she-elf come into the area weapons drawn killing any orc in sight. The horrendous monsters screech and die quickly and the surviving ones are called off and away. Once they are scattered away the she-elf turns towards you. She makes no moves to help or detain you. Keeping steady and weary eye contact, you struggle to helplessly untangle yourself. Legolas comes to your aid and cuts the nets, freeing your wings. You two exchange a look of gratitude before both elves rush off in the direction of the orcs. You take quickly to the sky in the other direction and fly back to Kili and the others.
As you land, it is very noticeable that the orcs broke in. The door has been kicked in and the roof has an orc shaped hole in it. The house inside is chaotic, table and chairs over turned and broken dishes everywhere. However, all the dwarves are alive and so are Bards daughters. Bard and his son on the other hand seem to have gone. You effortlessly turn back over the table and the benches near it, along with the other chairs around the house, making walking room available again. Walking over to the two girls, you give them a warm and comforting look, "Are you young ladies alright?" you ask gently. They aren obviously very shaken up but both give you a nod yes. You smile and respond. "Good. We might need some help in a moment with our dwarven friend, could you gather clean bandage or cloth we can use to cover his wound?" As if on cue, Kili starts writhing in pain on the floor, where he lay with Oin and Fili beside him. Patting the table top as you round it to help you say, "Help me lift him up here were I can see him."
The three of you lift him up onto the table and you leave them to hold Kili down. Accepting the bowl of water from one of the daughters, you tear the Kingsfoil and soak it briefly in the water. Cutting away the ruined pants, you reveal the poison arrow mark. It is festered and oozing grossly. "Hold him still!" you order and he starts to thrash more. As you prep his wound, you think carefully about an Elvish healing incantation you learned during your time in Thrandril Forest. It was used on you when they capture you in the first place, and it might be the only thing strong enough to stop and reverse the poison. The magic you used on Thorin after the Orc and wolf attack can only be used when the heart is failing and or extreme physical injuries, and Kili's condition is not that dire it is mostly painful. "Here I go." You say pressing the soaked herb into the infected flesh and start reciting, "Menno o nin na hon i eliad annen annin, hon leitho o ngurth." Repeatedly you say this until Kili's screaming and thrashing stop. He looks at you in a haze with glossy eyes. Your hands start faintly glowing with your own magic and he lays back exhausted. After a few minutes of elven chanting and hand glowing you pull your hands away feeling spent. Oin takes your place at Kili's leg and Fili helps you sit down by the window. All feathers are slightly ruffled and both of your arms have patches of fluff on them. Sighing deeply you address Oin, "That was the strongest elven incantation I know. He will not sleep long but he won't be able to walk on that leg until tomorrow."