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For two weeks, the Lossoth had camped beneath the Black Hills, and they had had a more successful hunt than any Orn could remember. Indeed, since moving from the Forodwaith into the high hills, they had found so many fat, slow moving herds that even he had been forced to admit that their good fortune was due less to his own skill in tracking and belonged instead to some blessing of the land. They had hunted so well that they were hard pressed to fit all the meat and furs onto their sleds and had the day before cut down trees and set to building spare flats that might be loaded up and dragged behind.
But that was not why Orn was here now, and not why he frowned to himself as he led his small party onto the plain some miles from the main camp. They had moved back onto Forodwaith to prepare for the long journey home, and these extra days should have been spent with every able man at work preparing their meat and supplies, but Ix had other plans. Orn did not trust the strange, half-dead woman that Ix and Elm had brought back from the hidden valley, and he had not liked it when Ix ordered a search party to go out each morning on the hunt for her missing companions.
Orn thought it a foolish errand. Any companions of hers would be dead by now or they would be alive and armed, a threat to the hunting party. He had said so, and Ix had heard his council, but he had not agreed. And so, Orn had volunteered to lead the search. He was the best tracker and the strongest. Men or women or the elk in the valley, he did not care; he was a hunter and it was not his place to doubt the orders of his Chief.
Not that the search for men would interfere with Orn's hunt for more game. Already, two of his party had taken down a small, black bear and had stayed behind below the pass to prepare it for the evening meal. Orn had taken the rest of his men south around the perimeter of the valley, but they had seen no sign of any two-legged beast upon snow or stone.
They were on their way back, marching steadily about the northern rim of the plain, and Orn was thinking of the hot meal and well-earn rest that awaited them. He was not surprised that they had found no other men in this valley; he did not regret that they would not be bringing more dying strangers back to camp to drain the healer of his herbs.
Orn sighed. He did not blame Elm for doing his duty by the woman, even if it had worn down the old man almost to the death in his struggle. It was the healer's calling to battle for life against death, but Orn had seen the woman and her wounds when she was first brought in. She had been half a ghost already and Elm labored long over the past two days with little to show for it. If it were Orn himself lying in her bed, he would have gladly chosen death and gone to meet his ancestors upon the western hunting grounds. What good was a hunter too weak to hunt? What good a life unless it were lived upon the open hills, throwing the long spear and tracking the beasts?
It was Elm's duty to heal the woman, and it was Orn's duty to obey his Chief. And to teach the younger generation to do their duty as well.
"Look there, what do you see?" he asked, putting his hand on the shoulder of the young hunter beside him.
Ix had asked Orn to take Bram on the hunt, and Orn had been glad to do it. The lad had proved himself many times over. He was a quick study, swift-footed and strong-armed, but also eager to obey his elders. He would do well, in time.
Bram looked where Orn was pointing. "The slope of the hill is steep," he said, "but it is far out of the shadows of the mountain. If the sun shines too hot after a heavy storm, the snow may fall and bury anyone under it."
"That is true, but what else?" Bram frowned and shook his head. Orn smiled. "You see the color of the sky? That is the Forodwaith. It is different from the sky over the hills or over the southern lands. If ever you are lost in the high hills, you will know that color and find your way onto the flat plain."
"And on the plain," Bram said, "it is a straight walk west to our camp."
"Not an easy path to lose," Orn said, smiling. He saw the way that Bram held tight to his spear with both his hands. The weapon was a gift presented to the young hunter after he had returned from his night in the hidden valley. Orn respected the boy for being proud, but you cannot throw a spear with two hands.
He reached out to correct the lad, but before he could speak, a sharp crack echoed through the woods and high over their heads. It was like the sound that the frozen trees made when they burst from the cold in the dark hours of the night, but it was not night and the air was so very cold. Orn looked up and saw upon the ridge, much to his surprise, a short and hairy creature standing upon two legs. A Dwarf!
The Dwarves came seldom to the northern lands, and Orn had only seen them once before in a merchant's caravan. For a moment, he doubted his own sight, but the Dwarf had seen the hunting party and was looking down at them with equal surprise. He pulled his axe from the frozen tree and turned to run away.
"Stop!" Orn called, taking up his spear. "Stay where you are!"
But the Dwarf did not hear him, or he did not understand. He disappeared down the other side of the hill and Orn hesitated to follow. He had seen no sign of any company upon the plain, but this Dwarf had slipped in past his notice. There was no knowing how many of them might have been hiding under the snow or in secret caves, waiting to ambush a wayward hunter. And yet, Ix had ordered the party out to search for just such a stranger as this, and here he was.
"Take care," Orn called to his men. "We will see what this creature is up to, but let him make the first challenge." He nodded to them and they started warily up the hill.
Orn was first to the crest and stood looking down. He was relieved to find only two Dwarves waiting for them. The one that he had seen before was dark-haired and stood ahead of his companion, a fair-haired Dwarf with braided beard who seemed slow to raise his weapon. Both were clearly half-starved and unprepared for the cold weather that they would face in the northern lands.
Orn looked around quickly, but the open plain was empty and there was no sign of any other Dwarf or cover under which they might hide.
"What do we do with them?" one of the men behind him muttered.
"Leave them be," another answered. "Our hunt is nearly over. Let them do as they will once we have gone."
"And if they lead more of their kind here?" the first man insisted. "They are Dwarves. They care for nothing but their gold. If we let them stay, they will breed with the rocks and make more of themselves. These hills will not be safe for honest men to hunt…"
Orn let the men talk as he surveyed the Dwarves, considering them as if they were only another animal on his hunt – and one that he must capture alive. Their axes and swords were not made to be thrown and, though the fair-haired one carried a bow on his back, there was no sign of arrows or spears among their baggage. It was clear to any man with eyes to see that these two were no danger to him or his men, but care must be taken. Ix wanted the strangers brought back alive. Whether he had said strange men or strange Dwarves did not matter to Orn.
He nodded to himself, his mind made up, and then he held up his hand to silence his men. "I will have a closer look at these two," he said. "Any man who is afraid to go with me may return now to the pass, and I will not hold it against him."
Orn started down the hill toward the Dwarves. Bram hurried along without hesitation and one by one, the other men followed. It was as he expected. Even Dorn who had spoken against the Dwarves was not willing to be thought a coward.
"If this goes badly," Orn said to Bram, "you will not stay and fight." The young hunter looked up at him with dismay. "You will run back to Ix and tell him all that you have seen," Orn ordered. "That is your task here. Do you understand me?"
Bram nodded and his dismay was somewhat lessened. He was wise enough to know the importance of his errand and to do as he was told.
Satisfied, Orn turned his attention back to the Dwarves and saw that they had raised their weapons, though even the dark-haired one had not stepped far from the protection of the large stone at their backs. He was ready to fight, and Orn did not prevent them when two of his own hunters traded their spears for their arrows and took aim. Whatever else happened, his men would not fire without orders, and Orn hoped that there would be no need for him to give that order…
.
The dark-faced hunters approached the Dwarves slowly, spears and arrows ready in their hands. Kili raised his axe and was determined to go for the leader first, but Fili frowned as he watched the man who walked ahead of all the others and was the only one who had not raised his spear. He held his weapon at his side and seemed less surprised that the other men that there were Dwarves in these hills.
Fili could see the tension in his brother's body and knew that Kili was all too eager for a fight and that he was just foolish enough to strike the first blow of this battle. Fili also knew that the fight would be over the moment that blow was struck. He counted seven full-grown men plus the young hunter, and he knew that no amount of courage would save their lives if the open plain became a battle field. They would be slaughtered before they could swing their swords.
He heard the creak of Kili's boots in the snow and saw him shift his weight as he prepared to run forward. Fili put out his arm and took hold of his brother's sleeve. "Kili, wait," he said softly. "We must not start a fight that we cannot win…"
"We have not started this fight," Kili said. "Those arrows are not for show. I would rather strike first in a losing battle that stand and wait to be killed. Did you not hear them speak? They are making plans against us."
"And here I thought that it was I who mistrusted Men the most," Fili said. He held tight to his brother's arm and pulled him back. "If they wanted us dead, they would have shot us from the top of the hill. There, they had the advantage. Down here… well, there is less advantage. But I would like to know who they are, and where they have come from. Most of all, I would know if there is any food or shelter there that they might share with us."
Kili hesitated, hearing his brother's words. They spoke to his empty belly and cold hands more than to the sense in his head. When Kili looked at his brother, he could see the dark circles under Fili's eyes, his sunken cheeks and weary gaze. As willingly as he would have wielded his blade to defend his brother's life, Kili knew that that was not what Fili needed now.
Hadn't Betta said once that the day would come when Kili would take care of his older brother?
Fili was watching him anxiously, and Kili nodded. He set down his axe in the snow and stepped forward, holding out his empty hands and very aware of the two arrows that followed him as he moved. He kept his eyes on the leader.
"We do not wish to fight," he said. "Will you not put down your weapons so that we may speak as friends?"
The leader of the men frowned at him and did not answer. The other hunters had begun to mutter amongst themselves again, but Kili smiled and did his best to hide his anxiety. There was no sign that the men understood his words and he had yet to hear any one of them speak in the common tongue.
After some time, the leader raised his arm and silenced his men once more. He spoke, but in a language that Kili had never heard before. He looked back at his brother, but Fili shook his head.
"We do not understand you," Kili said. "Do none of your folk know the Westron speech?"
The leader only frowned thoughtfully. He turned to the young hunter beside him and spoke for some time to the lad, giving many orders that neither Dwarf could understand. Finally, after he had finished speaking, the young man nodded and turned to go. He gave the Dwarves one last, long look, and then jogged away toward the western hills. He soon disappeared among the snow and trees.
"They are summoning men to kill us," Kili muttered. To his surprise, he heard his brother laugh. He looked back to see that Fili had put away his sword and was leaning heavily against the stone behind him.
"I do not think so," Fili said. He sighed, feeling the cold deep in his bones. He looked up at the leader who was watching them curiously, and he smiled. "What now?" he asked, knowing that the man did not understand. "I would barter with you for our lives, but you do not know our speech."
Kili frowned at the men again. Though most of the hunters had set their spears upright in the snow, the two men with their bows still held arrows ready and the leader stood with arms folded over his chest. His seemed to be as uncertain what to do next as the brothers were.
Not knowing what else to do, Kili took another step forward and put his hand on his chest. "I am Kili," he said. He gestured toward his brother behind him. "This is my brother, Fili," he added, "and for however long you leave us alive, we are at your service." With that, he bowed low until his beard almost dragged in the snow. When he stood up again, he was surprised to see that the leader was smiling.
The man put his hand to his own chest, mimicking Kili's gesture, and said, "Orn." But he did not bow or say anything more than that. He looked back and forth between the brothers with a puzzled expression, and then called back something to the hunters behind him that most, if not all, the men found amusing. They smiled and several laughed. Kili scowled and stumbled back to his brother.
Fili felt his pride pricked by the tall men's mockery of Kili's introduction, and he remembered with anger the laughter of the men in the town beneath Ered Luin, but he forced his face to remain steady and did not respond. To his dismay, one by one, the men turned their backs on the brothers and started off along the path that the young messenger had taken, following the line of hills toward the western wall. Lastly went the leader with the two bowmen walking behind him and looking back at times.
Kili watched them go, and felt his heart sinking down into his boots as he saw their only chance of rescue abandon them to the cold. "What do we do now, Fili?" he asked, helplessly.
Fili shook his head, but before he could answer, he heard a shout and looked up to find the leader had stopped only a dozen yards from them. The two bowmen were still at his side, but Orn gestured to the Dwarves and pointed west as if he were inviting them to follow.
He did not wait to see whether they would accept the invitation or not but turned his back again and entered the trees with his men.
Kili looked at his brother. "Well, do we follow them?" he asked.
Fili grunted as he stood up from the stone and pulled his pack onto his back again. "What choice do we have?" he said. He let Kili take him by the arm and help him as they limped as quickly as they could along the trail of the tall men. "I only hope that they intend to feed us, too, and not merely to watch as we starve…"
.
Though Orn had no reason to love Dwarves, he was not cruel. He did not take on the brothers as captives, but treated them only as well-guarded guests until he had reason to do otherwise. He did not do as some of his men would have wished and bind their hands or take their weapons. His orders were only that two of his men would be always behind the Dwarves with their bows at the ready, and Orn himself stayed close to watch them, but other than their guard little notice was taken of the two additional folk that marched with the hunting party back to the western pass.
It was over a mile of hard struggle and exhaustion for the Dwarves to keep up with the quick pace of the long-legged men. Kili did what he could to help his brother, but Fili's strength was failing. The march was hard and they were both grateful to finally hear Orn call out a greeting, and to hear the distant call answering him.
Soon after, they left the trees and found themselves in an open glade within sight of the western pass. Two men were there, waving to the hunting party, and there was a large fire and the great carcass of a beast lying in the snow nearby. The bear's thick haunches were already tied to a pole and suspended over the fire. The scent of cooking meat made Kili's mouth water, but he and his brother were led to a tree apart from the main camp and they sat down with their guards on either side, watching as the men finish preparing the meal.
Once more, Fili was afraid that they would be left to starve. He watched the Men speaking together, laughing and pointing at the Dwarves. Kili was glad that he did not understand the words they spoke. He did not think that it could be anything very polite, considering the way that several of them were holding their hands at Dwarf height and then gesturing toward their faces as if combing out long beards the way that a woman would comb her long hair. Kili scowled and looked to his brother instead.
Fili's arm was still sore, but the wound was healing as well as could be expected. The brothers spoke together quietly, wonder what their fate would be. They were both caught by surprise when, a short time after, Orn approached them with two bowls of roasted meat and two mugs of a steaming herbal brew.
Orn sat with them a short time, eating and drinking his meal while the two men who had guarded the brothers went off to seek their dinner. Neither Orn nor the Dwarves spoke to each other, but the curtsey of the hunter took off the edge of the biting insults of the other men. Kili took from his pack one of the few lichen loaves that they had left and offered it to the captain. Orn accepted the food, but looked at it with a strange expression and returned it without tasting it. He only smiled and went back to eating his own meal; soon after, the guards returned and Orn left them.
As hungry as they were, Fili and Kili both ate slow and politely refused the offer of a second helping when one of the other men - who had not been among those making jokes - arrived to retrieve their bowls and cups. They both knew that after their long hunger, they would be sick if they ate too much of the rich meat and soup.
After the meal, the hunters sat around the fire and spoke together. Fili watched as Orn walked among them, speaking to each man in turn and listening to all that was said to him. He was impressed and did not need to understand the words to know that here was a good leader well-respected by his men. Several times, it seemed, Orn was defending the Dwarves and cooling the anger of the Men who did not like their new company.
Fili sighed to himself. There was a time, before the darkness of Erebor had returned to overshadow his heart, when Thorin had been as quick to laugh and as Orn among his men.
For the most part, the Dwarves were free to do as they pleased, to walk about the small glade and to go into the trees to relieve themselves. Of course, one of their guards was always nearby wherever they went and, in the end, they were content to sit and lean against a tree near enough to feel the warmth of the fire but apart from the men. They spoke together of the past and pondered what their future would bring.
"They do not seem to mean us harm," Kili said, watching their two guards as they stood and talked and seemed almost to have forgotten the brothers.
"I do not think they do," Fili said, "but whether they mean to help remains to be seen."
Kili frowned and looked down at his empty hands. "But what else would they do? Wish us luck and leave us here when they break their camp? They treat us well enough, and I have not heard that they deal in slaves in the northern lands…"
"I would not think long on it, Kili," Fili said quietly. "Whatever our fate, there is little we can do to change it now. We should rest while the future seems yet fair and worry about fate tomorrow."
Kili nodded, but he thought of his brother and could not be comforted by mere words. Fili's wounded arm was healing and they had both suffered equally the hunger, cold and poison of the cavern, and yet Fili was still weak and growing weaker, weighed down by sorrow. He still grieved for Betta.
The hunting party had been at camp for nearly two hours, and the sun was tipping toward the horizon. Fili and Kili leaned against each other and were dozing when suddenly one of the guards beside them jumped to his feet and called out a challenge into the shadows beyond the fire. Fili woke with a start and reached for his sword, but before he could draw his weapon, he heard a second voice answer the guard. It was a young voice not yet deepened to manhood, and when the owner appeared, he saw that it was the young messenger that Orn had sent away.
Orn hurried the boy to the fireside and gave him food and water and many questions, but the answers he received were few and did not seem to satisfy him. Not for the first time, Fili wished that he could understand the strange language of the north.
As soon as Orn had heard all that the boy had to say, he ordered his men to break up the camp. The fire was put out and the remaining meat was stacked onto their only sled. Other supplies were packed up, a spare shelter and some other tools; Fili and Kili were allowed to lay their packs among the baggage, and a place was made for the young hunter to ride where he might rest after his long run. Once everything had been packed up, four of the men took hold of the long ropes that hung from the sled and they started forward, drawing it along behind them.
The party set out westward toward the narrow pass though the western wall, and the Dwarves were not forgotten. Once more, they marched among the men at a quick pace with their two guards at their side and Orn looking often back at them, a dark look in his eyes.
Thank you all for your kind comments. Believe me, I am battling chronic procrastination, not wanting this to end.
To Liv: I am glad that my story is good enough to tempt you from your silence. Like many writers here, my only reward is in the reviews that my readers leave behind. It is the highest complement that you would think this is publish-worthy, but until the Tolkien estate releases their death-grip on the story rights, we must be content to read unauthorized fanfics on the sly ;) A sequel is pretty much assured... as long as I can come up with a cohesive plot... stay tuned :)
As always, thank you all so much for reading! Thank you twice, those of you who are reviewing! The next chapter is nearly ready already and it will be a good one ;)
-Paint