Date: TA 2879
Thorin: 133 years old
Lina: 130 years old
Red light filtered over the land as the sun began to sink below the horizon. The last of the people who'd ventured beyond the gates today raced back in, allowing the gates to shut tightly behind them. Lina watched as the human guards began to take their places on the walls. They were wielding strong dwarven bows and equipped with fire arrows. If the wargs dared to approach during the night, to attack, then the humans would let fly the flaming arrows.
During that day the dwarven warriors had taken the time to lay out a plan of attack. Kira, as the most experienced warg fighter, had taken the lead on strategy and planning. For once, Lina was glad not to be in command of something. It left her free to make sure her young nephew, and Thorin's heir, stayed alive. The hunt was going to be dangerous, and it was possible that some of them would not come back if things did not go as they hoped.
The dwarves had made use of the local forge to sharpen their weapons and make any repairs necessary to their armor. Their gear was still in good shape as it had been thoroughly checked before the caravan set off. However, none of them wanted the wargs being able to find a weakness.
Kira had given each warrior their assignment. Fili and one of the other dwarves would act as trackers. With the group setting off as soon as the sun lit the sky, they needed those with the sharpest eyes following the pack back to their den. Kira was heading up a small band of close combat melee warriors. They were going to be positioned directly in front of the den's entrance to drive back whatever attempted to escape. The archers among them would set fires in a ring around the den, keeping the flames between them and the wargs. Positioned on boulders or up in trees, the archers would be in a position to pick off any wargs who were not in the den at the time of attack or came back during the attack. Lina and Dwalin would each head up a small group who would try to collapse the den. The den, if it contained any wargs of any great size at all, would be more than large enough for the line breakers to use their hammers. That was if they ended up having to enter the den.
Lina did not really want to think about having to go into the den. If they were forced to enter the den, some of the melee warriors would stay back to guard the archers while the rest, Kira included, would follow the line breakers in. Entering the den would put the dwarves at a significant disadvantage. For one, they had no idea exactly how many wargs they were up against. For another, warg dens had one entrance and multiple passages leading deeper in. There might only be one of two if the den was as small as they hoped. If it was any bigger, well, Lina only hoped they could get enough fireballs down inside while they worked to collapse the den. She would have given just about anything for her earth shifter right then. His magic could at least find the den's weaknesses even if it couldn't bring the roof down.
Now, despite what has been said of dwarves to this point, dwarves are not heroic creatures. They are brave, yes. Strong, most definitely. Yet, as in the past, Men most often are those who slay the dragons or other beasts which have taken possession of a dwarven treasure. So, you see, dwarves are not by their nature terribly heroic, or at least not in the legendary sense. Love of treasure is what drives dwarves to perform the most heroic feats, or at least to attempt them. Many of the dwarves who remained in the following of Thror, Thrain, and Thorin had not seen any amount of treasure since fleeing Erebor. What little wealth the settlement in the Blue Mountains possessed was only in more common metals, poorer quality stones, and a little silver. Gold had not been seen in the halls of these dwarves in many years.
Lina desired, as did her companions, to bring the first gold back into the halls of the dwarves. Though they pitied the frightened humans, the chance at gold was what was driving them. Sympathy and pity did not keep the dwarves strong. Nor did it put food in the mouths of their young. Certainly the town was not the wealthiest town by any means, but even they possessed far more gold than the dwarves of Belegost did at that moment. It was this desire to rise from poverty that drove the dwarves into this mad venture of destroying a warg den.
As the sun sank behind the horizon and the torches were lit, the dwarven warriors took what rest they could. The merchants had volunteered to wake the warriors at the first hint of the sun's return for they too desired gold. Lina had started to lay back against the wall when she noticed her nephew playing nervously with the knife in his armguard.
"You should get some rest, youngling," she told him.
"How can I?" he asked softly. Lina drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"What exactly is troubling you?"
Fili was silent for a time as he tried to sort out his thoughts.
"I've never killed anyone or anything," he replied finally. "I guess, maybe, I'm worried about who might die tomorrow. Kira said she lost two dwarves the last time she went up against wargs."
"Her group was also ambushed last time. This time, we will be ambushing them. That should cut down on casualties," Lina pointed out.
"'Should'?"
"Death is something we must learn to face, Fili. You've heard the stories we tell of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. All of us have worried about who is or is not coming home when everything is said and done. However, dwelling on what might be distracts you from what is happening now. You take what moments of rest you can, leaving the future to sort itself out. Anyone desiring to earn their living with the strength of their arm must learn that lesson and learn it well." Her voice fell silent as she watched the young dwarf process what she had said.
"Have you ever felt like this?" he asked finally. Fili looked up at her, his blue eyes questioning.
"A very long time ago, on the night before the Battle of Azanulbizar. Thorin found me sitting by myself, afraid of losing everyone I loved. He said something to me that made me realize if you truly love someone, they will never leave you. It does not matter what happens to their body. That may indeed die. However, their memory, if kept alive in you, will keep them alive. Hold the ones you love close in body while you can, but be willing to let those bodies go when their time comes. Your memories of those you love will keep you both alive." Lina rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. A small smile appeared on his face as he gripped her hand.
"Good night, Fili," Lina whispered. She squeezed his shoulder before returning to her bedroll. The night was to be a short one, and the next day would be long. There was nothing more she could do for Fili.
Lina did, however, watch him for a few moments longer. With a soft sigh, the youngling leaned back in his own bedding. A few moments later, she heard the quiet sound of his breathing as he slipped into slumber. A fond smile curved her lips upward as she drifted off to sleep. He would do just fine.
A nudge at Lina's side woke her up with a jolt far earlier than she would have liked. Dwalin nodded to her as he moved to awaken Fili. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Lina stored her bedroll and other gear before donning her armor. Her knives were tucked into their proper places over her body.
It was difficult for her hide a smile as she watched Fili storing his own knives. He had more knives than she did even. There were the two knives in his boots, one in each armguard, at least two more inside his coat, and one very obviously displayed on his hip. His long sword was strapped across his back, kept out of the way until the fighting began.
Once the dwarves were armed and ready, Kira began to lead them out into the town square. A number of the townsfolk who'd heard about the dwarves' intentions had gathered around to see them off. Lina had a very brief twinge of guilt shoot through her as she gazed around her. The people were terrified. Mothers clutched their children to their breasts. Husbands held their wives close. The guilt passed quickly as she glanced at her comrades. Scars could be seen on all but Fili. Her people had lived a hard life, too hard a life to go up against wargs for free.
The sun began to shine higher in the sky. One of the guards above the gate gave the signal. The wargs had vanished with the darkness.
"Good luck to you," the headman told them. "We anxiously await your return."
The dwarves bowed solemnly in response. Then they turned and trooped out of the settlement. Fili and the other tracker took a moment to locate the direction the wargs had ended up going. They signaled their companions. The hunt was on.
The trail led the dwarves further into the hills, into an area far rockier than the land around the town. A couple times the trackers lost the trail and they all had to pause. Kira rocked back and forth impatiently every time they were forced to stop. She was anxious that the band would be caught outside in the dark. If that happened, there was no telling what would happen to them.
Relief always suffused the group once they were able to move again. At least in moving the dwarves felt they were getting somewhere in their mission. Shortly before midday, the trackers brought the warriors to a halt. There was more evidence of warg activity in the area they were about to enter. They were drawing near the den.
As quietly as they could, the armed company crept forward, keeping a sharp eye out for any stray beasts. Before long, they could smell the stench of the beasts. Just over the edge of a rocky outcropping, they found the entrance to the den. One warg was just slinking back into its hole. A check revealed no additional openings in the earth. With a nod, the warriors spread out enough to set their fires in a ring around the entrance. Archers were booted up into trees or onto the highest rocks they could find all around the den.
As close to simultaneously as they could, the dwarves lit the fires. A ring bloomed up from the earth. The scent of fire brought two wars rushing from the den. The archers picked them off quickly. More wargs began to appear. All were smaller than some Lina had seen, but she did not want to get within range of those teeth or claws. Kira's band was kept busy. What the archers did not manage to bring down, she and her people were forced to fight. Lina and Dwalin broke off from the fight with their bands, searching for the best way to collapse the den.
The den was solid from the exterior. It had literally been dug into the hard earth. The entrance sloped sharply downward, offering no view from the exterior of the interior's design.
"Kira!" Lina shouted over the tumult. Her friend dispatched the warg with a slash across the throat and nodded her understanding. They were going in. Lighting the torches at their belts, the warriors drove the wargs back into their den. Several of the warriors, those previously chosen, stayed outside the den, guarding the archers.
Dwalin was the first into the den. His hammer crushed the skull of one warg as it turned on him. The other warriors went in next. Lina followed at the end. She was the only other line breaker in the group. If things got bad, the dwarves were going to need an escape route.
So far things were going as well as could be expected. One dwarf had been seriously injured and left with the archers for safety. There was only one tunnel inside the den. It was down this tunnel that the dwarves chased the wargs. Lina wondered vaguely why these wargs were so small.
She got her answer as the tunnel opened into the only chamber the den contained. The dwarves stopped short of the tunnel's end as the wargs came to bay. Rising up from the hard packed floor of the den was the largest warg in the den.
"Aulë protect us," one of the dwarves gasped. Even Kira looked slightly pale at the sight of the warg.
The warg was easily twice the size of those around her. Massive scars ran over her powerful form, attesting to her prowess in combat. A rumbling growl grew from her throat, heard clearly over top of the others. She was the pack mother. A litter of warg pups only a few weeks old could be seen beneath the milling bodies of the older wargs. The dwarves had run right into a birthing den.
The warg let out a terrible howl, sending the others into a frenzy. One or two of the dwarves nearly lost their minds at her cry. The remaining wargs took heart and began to advance on the dwarves.
"Throw the fire!" Kira screamed to her kin. Lina lobbed a blazing ball of pitch into the writhing mass. The others followed suit. Howls of pain erupted as the burning material spattered over the wargs. The fire frightened the pack mother enough that even she drew back.
Dwalin began breaking through the line of wargs at the tunnel's mouth. Kira followed in short order. The den echoed with cries of pain, both from the wargs and from the dwarves. One dwarf went down, a massive claw having gone through his head.
Lina watched in horror as the pack mother turned from the dwarf she had just killed and focused on Fili. The young dwarf leapt clear of her vicious swipe in the nick of time. His sword flashed in the torchlight, drawing blood from her paw.
The howl seemed to shake the earth itself. Suddenly every warg in the den focused on Fili. He had wounded the pack mother. One warg rammed Fili from the side, sending him sprawling on the hard ground. His sword skittered under the feet of the advancing beasts. A knife produced from his coat kept the warg from doing any serious damage as it sank into the creature's throat. He was on his feet in an instant, a knife in both hands.
Lina and Kira raced to the young dwarf's aid. Kira's sword cut down several wargs from one side while Lina's hammer shattered the bodies of those on the other side. The pack mother snarled as the two female warriors appeared before her, defending the male who'd wounded her. Kira managed to distract the pack mother long enough for Lina to give Fili her own two long knives. They were of more use in a melee than his throwing knives or shorter daggers. He accepted them just in time to cut down a warg flying at him.
With the pack mother's attention diverted, the remaining dwarves were able to cut through the smaller wargs with relative ease. The pack mother, however, would not go down so easily. Her jaws took out two more dwarves before Fili dove in behind her and hamstrung her. The massive creature collapsed as her hind legs gave way. Within a few moments, the fight had come to an end.
The surviving dwarves broke into two groups. One group went through the den, tunnel, and area just outside the den, making sure the wargs were all dead. The other group searched for their dead and wounded. Of the twenty-five dwarves who had attacked the den, only six were dead. One had died outside and five had died within.
Sleds were constructed from the rough vegetation surrounding the den. These were used to carry the dead, the two dwarves too wounded to walk, and the heads of some of the wargs. They all agreed that they could not bring every warg head back to the settlement. It was decided that only the pack mother's head, the heads of four of her older offspring who had likely been the ones surrounding the town, and the bodies of her newest pups would be taken back to the village. If those body parts and the bodies of the dead did not convince the headman of the veracity of their claim, then nothing would.
Wounds were bound up as best they could before they began the journey back to the town. Darkness had fallen by the time the weary band reached the settlement.
"We are victorious! The beasts are dead!" Dwalin called to the guards on duty. There was the sound of great commotion behind the gates before they flew open to allow the dwarves entrance.
The dwarves entered the town with their burdens, and the people came flooding out of their homes to see them. Lina helped her kin place the heads and bodies of the wargs in a line for the headman to see. The people drew back in fear as two of the dwarves lifted the pack mother's head from the pile. Shock and awe shone of the faces of all those present as they stared at the dwarven warriors.
"You have more than earned your reward," the headman whispered, gazing with horror upon the pack mother's head. Two men appeared from the building behind him, laden with leather pouches. These were presented to the dwarves for inspection.
Lina felt her spirits rise as she gazed for the first time in many years upon the shine of gold. It glittered in the light of the torches, captivating her for a moment. She was willing to bet that she and her people had just earned more gold in that day than any of the dwarves in Belegost had seen in the last century.
Fili rested his hand one his aunt's shoulder and smiled. The dwarves of Belegost would have gold once more.
A/N: I hope you can forgive the late chapter. I saw The Hobbit for the third time today. I now have a nice outline for once we get into the actual events of that tale. For now, we have a few more chapters before getting there. Hope you enjoy this chapter. It's certainly longer than the last few I've posted.