It was a longer walk from the western pass to the hunters' camp upon the plains of Forodwaith. By the end of it, Fili was supporting his weary brother as much as his brother was supporting him. After walking single file through the dark and narrow pass, they marched for more than three miles through wood and over hill. The hunters knew their path and did not need the light of sun to show it, but to Fili and Kili they may as well have been back in the dark tunnels beneath though mountain except that the air was much colder here and smelt of wet pine; and instead of walking on hard stone, they pushed through thick and heavy snow.
As before, the Dwarves struggled to keep up with their long-legged company. Eventually, one of their guards made signs that they should be given a ride on the sled with the baggage. Kili would have accepted the offer gladly, especially for his exhausted brother, but Fili saw the smiles on the faces of the Men around them and knew that it would hurt their cause if they showed weakness now.
Kili did not understand why his brother smiled and shook his head as if he did not mind the weary march, though his weight was growing heavier and heavier as he hung on Kili's arm. He did not argue, however, and they went on as swiftly as before. Their guard's concern did not extend to offering them a rest, however brief.
The long walk, at least, gave Kili time to think and to realize which people it was that had found them. The Dwarves of Ered Luin did not often trade with the Lossoth of the north, but he knew that Thorin had, on occasion, been forced to sell forged iron cheaply to the Men of the town who would carry it north to the Icebay and trade it there at a much greater price. It was all done second-hand and third-party, but now and again there would come back to the mountain a battered whale's tooth or a bundle of seal skins.
Though Fili scorned the tall folk in town, Kili had often gone down to speak with those wandering merchants, and he knew that the northern peoples were peaceful enough when they were dealt with honorably. Though, from what he had heard, they were also proud and dangerous when crossed. He could not remember whether it had been Betta or Harandir who had told him of the Lossoth tribe that had once rendered aid to a southern King long ago after his kingdom had been usurped. The rumors were promising, at least, that these Men would be willing to offer a little help to him and his brother once they had told their story.
At some point, the path curved north. They left the trees and walked along a narrow trail beside the northern wall of the hills that led to a gap that was cut so sharp and sudden it was as if the rock had been split in two by a stone giant's axe. The way was only wide enough for the company to pass in twos and threes, and by the time that Kili hauled his brother out from the tight pass, the night was fully dark. They looked down upon the snow-covered plain of Forodwaith, shining under the moon's full light. The wide open sky was scattered with stars, but it was the yellow stars on the plain that raised the hopes in Kili's heart. His legs felt like jelly and he wished for nothing more than to curl up in a warm bed and sleep until next week.
They made their way carefully down the narrow pass and as the company approached the camp along the sloping plain, Kili counted twenty low huts and two large shelters built within a wide circle of watch fires. Beyond the camp, the shape of many sleds could be seen, and what sounded like a whole pack of hungry dogs was barking there. A great fire burned in the center of the camp, and several of the huts glowed with the light of the smaller fires within them. About the huts there had been planted many forests of long spears growing out of the snow, and scattered through the camp, wooden frames had been built side by side. Upon them were stretched the skins of many animals, both large and small. Everywhere, there seemed to be hung heavy haunches of meat, prepared and left to freeze in the cold, night air.
It seemed more like a small town than a camp to Fili and Kili who had wandered the lonely lands for so long. They had not seen so many men together since leaving Ered Luin.
As the company approached the camp, Orn took a horn from his pack and sounded a long, low note that echoed across the plain. A moment later, the sound was answered by a higher note from the camp, and so the hunting party approached with being challenged and there were many men waiting to greet them.
The Dwarves followed the Men into the camp, and Kili counted at least thirty of the tall folk before their faces began to blend and he could no longer tell them apart. Many of the Men turned to stare at the Dwarves as they walked past, but most ignored them and went about their business. They greeted their returning friends, and congratulated them on the fine bear's pelt they carried. The young messenger jumped up from the sled, his strength recovered, and he ran off into the crowd, calling out to some friend of his own that he had seen. The men of the hunting party gathered around the fire, speaking and laughing as they took their evening meal. Kili watched them, feeling homesick, and he wished for the day that he and Fili would be welcomed home by their own kin at Ered Luin. He was tired of adventures.
Eventually, Kili tore his eyes from the spectacle of the camp, and he realized that he and his brother had been left almost entirely alone with only Orn and their guards still with them. Orn had taken their packs from the sled before it was drawn away, and now he gestured to the brothers that they were to follow him. He led them around the center of camp toward the largest shelter that was set somewhat apart from the others.
At the door, they stopped, and the two guards moved to stand on either side of the entrance. Orn made signs that the brothers were to leave their weapons outside and that the men would keep them safe.
Kili hesitated then, seeing the many weapons of the tall folk; he looked to his brother for guidance but Fili unbuckled his sword belt and set aside his axe. Reluctantly, Kili followed him, handing over his axe and sword and two of his small knives. He knew that Fili carried many more weapons than he had taken off, but as Orn made no move to search them – and there was no doubt in Kili's mind that the sharp-eyed hunter knew they had other weapons about them – Kili did not worry about digging out and handing over every small axe and blade that he carried. The disarmament was mainly ceremonial; two hungry, weary Dwarves were no threat to the many strong Men of the camp.
Once their weapons were set aside, Orn pulled back the blanket that covered the door and motioned for them to enter ahead of him. Their guards remained outside.
Inside, the hut was warm and bright, and it smelt of smoke and the thick musk of animals. A wide oval had been dug into the snow, and it reached two feet down to the dirt underneath. In the deep pit burned a large and cheerful fire. The rest of the floor had only been brushed smooth and covered with sand, but the fire had melted the snow and many feet had hardened it until the floor might have been laid with rough cut stone instead. The walls were hung, not with tapestries as they would have been in a hall of Dwarves, but with the fur-lined cloaks of the men of the camp and with many racks of iron tools used in the skinning and butchering of animals. The floor along either wall was lined with tightly-woven, lidded baskets. It was clear that this shelter was a workspace for the men to clean their kills when it was too cold to do the work outdoors, but a space had been cleared at the far end and the floor there was laid with clean, woven mats. Two men sat upon a bench speaking quietly, and they looked up when the Dwarves entered.
One of the men was very old, his face grim and lined with care. He was tired and seemed to have recently suffered long under a hard labor. His grey hair was braided back behind his ears and in his hands he held a short staff tied with the feathers of many birds.
The second man was not so old. His long, black hair shone straight and smooth in the firelight, and he seemed to be even younger than Orn, but when he turned his eyes on the Dwarves, Fili saw that he was old in mind if not in body. Here was the true Chief of these men, Fili guessed, and Orn had been only a captain of the hunting party.
The Dwarves entered the hut and approached the two men. The Chief stood up to welcome them. He was as tall as Orn, and just as proud, but there was more thought behind his eyes and less weight to his arms and shoulders. His skin was smooth and had seen less of the cold and sun than a hunter, but his face was lined with deeper concerns. The Chief nodded to Orn and then gestured for the Dwarves to sit on two folded skins that had been set out for the occasion. The shelter was not meant for official meetings of state, but the Lossoth made do with what they had so far away from their village.
The old man watched the brothers intently as they settled themselves as comfortably as they could on the floor. Orn sat also, but on a stool near to the old man, and he did not wait for the Dwarves to be seated or for the Chief to speak to them before calling his attention.
The Chief sat down and turned to Orn, listening and speaking in words that the brothers could not understand. From his tone, Fili guessed that it was not only the Chief who asked the questions here – Orn asked many things and the Chief was not always eager to answer him, but he was patient and firm in his answers. Here was being said the many things that Orn had wished to hear from the young messenger, but which had not been sent along with the message that he was to bring the Dwarves to camp. The whole tale of the finding of the brothers and their journey through the pass was but a little part of all that these two Men had to say to each other, and Fili watched anxiously, not knowing who spoke on which side. For his part, Kili paid little attention to words that he could not understand; he was warm, well-fed, and willing to wait for those in charge to remember him.
Eventually, the Chief had satisfied all of Orn's objections, and the hunter sat back and fell silent, frowning at the brothers. The Chief then moved to the edge of his bench to be nearer to the Dwarves, and he leaned forward with his arms resting on his knees, not hiding his curiosity when he looked at them.
"I am called Ix," he said, "and I am Chief of all men here. You will speak now, and I shall listen."
Before Fili could answer, Kili spoke up in surprise. "You know the common speech?" he asked, relieved to be finally understood.
"Your speech is not so common in these lands," Ix told him. "My people trade with the Men of the south, but we seldom have dealings with Dwarves. I do not think that you are here to trade with the empty hills. What brings you to where my people hunt?"
The Chief's words were spoken lightly and his face was open, but Fili saw the glint of a sharp mind behind those wide, dark eyes. He knew that he must take care in what he said, and in what he held back.
Fili smiled politely at their host and the old man beside him. He even smiled at Orn, though that seemed not to have the effect that he would have wished. "It was never our intention to bring trouble to your people, Chief Ix," he said. "I am Fili, and this is my brother, Kili…" Though his legs protested the treatment, Fili forced his aching body to stand and to bow to the Chief and, for good measure, to the old man also (though he did not know his rank or purpose). He sank down again with a sigh.
"We journeyed north upon an errand," he continued, "but we were overtaken by fog and lost ourselves in the haunted hills. We were captured by a troll and confined underground, then set upon by orcs and our supplies were lost. By the time we escaped and came out again upon the northern plain, we were in deadly straits, unprepared for the cold and barren waste. Luck sent your hunting party to us just when we would have given up all hope of life, and for that, we thank you, Chief Ix, and your captain, too." He did not have the strength to stand again, and so he settled for bowing to them from his seat.
"If we have caused you or your people any trouble, we will gladly pay you what we can to make up for… for that…" Words failed him then, though he might have gone on much longer if he were not so very tired. Ix was watching him intently and, though he still smiled at them, his eyes were angry.
"You speak well for a Dwarf," he said, "but know that I am no ignorant savage. I have treated you as guests in my camp, not as prisoners, and I have allowed you to speak openly with your brother beside you. I do not separate you one from another for interrogation as I would my captured enemies. And yet you lie to me and hide your true intentions."
"I have told no lie," Fili insisted. He looked around and suddenly the many tools upon the wall seemed less like tools and more like weapons that he was too weak to wield.
"Perhaps not," Ix said, though his voice was little softened, "yet you have concealed the truth from me, and that is suspicious." He gestured to Orn who took from Kili's pack the lamp that Magha had given them. "I know this workmanship. It comes from under the mountains. How did you come by it?"
"We did not steal it, if that is what you mean," Kili answered.
Fili put his hand on his brother's arm to stop him saying anything else that might anger the Men. It was true that he had not yet told any lies regarding their journey, but they walked a thin line if they meant to conceal the many secrets that they had. Ix had sharp eyes, and he saw more than he let on.
"If your people do indeed know these hills as well as I think you do," Fili said, "then you must know of the folk that dwell in the mountains and under them…"
"I have heard rumor of the gnomes," Ix said, nodding. "They are a secretive race, but so too are your own people."
"We are," Fili agreed, "but we are not thieves. That lamp was given to us by one of those that you call gnomes. She traded with us for the lamp and the food that we carry. As you say, they are a secretive people, and I was reluctant to speak of them without their leave. The one that we met was kind and showed us a way out from under the mountain when we might otherwise have been trapped forever."
Ix frowned at them. "Your reason is good," he said. He gestured to Orn to put back the lamp. "But there is something else that you hide from me. What is it?"
Kili glanced at his brother, wondering what he would say, but Fili's mouth was shut tight and he refused to answer, not knowing what Ix had already guessed. Much had changed in him since the early days of their journey when he felt free to reveal Betta's quest to any passing Ranger. She was gone now, and her body was washed away, but still, Fili refused to break his word to her. He would not tell her tale nor speak her name to a stranger. Kili knew that his brother was right, but he also saw the growing anger in Ix's eyes. They would not be forgiven a second time.
"If we hide anything," Kili said slowly, and felt his brother's eyes on him, "then it is through no choice of our own. We made a promise to one who is not here that we would not speak of it. Would you have us break our word to her?"
Fili swallowed the grief in his throat and prepared himself for the Chief's anger. Kili had chosen his words carefully, and wisely, but that did not mean that they would satisfy the tall Man who questioned them. Ix stared hard at the brothers, and there was no less anger in his eyes, but the old man at his elbow leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. Ix frowned, listening intently and nodding.
The old man sat back again, and Fili looked more carefully at him. He had paid little attention to that half of the pair, thinking that he was only an advisor or ceremonial chaperone to their meeting. It seemed that his role was more important than Fili had first guessed. Whatever he had said, it seemed to calm the Chief's anger and when Ix looked back at the brothers, his expression was kinder and more tolerant of their refusal.
"You may keep your promises… for now," he said. "But I think that in future days, you will be better willing to speak to me, and you will wish that you had trusted more."
Fili frowned and looked at his brother, but Kili only shrugged, not understanding the meaning behind Ix's seemingly ominous words.
Then, Ix sighed and sat back on the bench. "We are not here to discuss what will be tomorrow but to decide our course yet today. What would you have me do?" he asked. "The Black Hills belong to no man, and yet my people come here often and it is my duty to see that they are kept safe. You say you offer payment, but it goes against our laws to charge a prisoner for the food he eats and the fire that warms him. Are you prisoners? If so, then judgment must be passed."
"I hope that you will not hold us captive, Chief Ix," Kili said, uncertainly. "If we have broken any law of yours, it was not willfully done."
"You raised weapons against my people."
"We raised our weapons against men who approached us with weapons in their hands, and who called out harsh words that we did not understand," Kili explained. "An honest Dwarf who fears for his life will take up his axe to defend himself and his kin, but your captain will tell you that though our weapons were raised, we did not attack, and we laid them down before we approached your men." Kili knew very well that it was Fili's caution that had prevented the fight he would have started, but he kept that to himself.
Ix turned to Orn and questioned him again. The hunter shrugged as he spoke but answered honestly, and what he said must have agreed with Kili's version of events because when Ix turned back to them, he nodded and he said, "You speak the truth. But still, you have not answered me. What would you have me do?"
Fili wet his dry lips, not knowing what more needed to be said. He searched his thoughts for a compromise. "We would like not to be prisoners, yet still we are in need of your assistance. You say that your people have traded with Dwarves before. Why not trade with us now? Think of us only as wandering merchants in the wild. We have little to offer but will gladly pay for passage with your company for as far as you will take us west and south."
The old man had sat mostly with his eyes on the fire, but Fili thought he saw a smile hidden behind the man's withered hand.
Ix considered the offer, thoughtfully. "In two days' time, we return to our village upon the eastern shore of Forochel; yet, the southern road is not ours to take."
"Then take us only as far as you will," Fili said. "Any distance will be closer to our home than where we are now." His words were desperate and his face tired. His shoulders sagged low, and Kili looked at his brother sadly.
"Please," Kili said to the Men. "My brother is injured, and we are both weary of the hunger and cold of this land. We have too much grief and too little to offer you, but what we have is yours if you will help us." Fili looked at him but did not speak.
"I think that you are an honest man, Chief Ix," Kili went on, "and I will not insult you by bartering back and forth over payment like a cheap buyer in the marketplace. Whether we are guests or prisoners, we are in your power and what we have is yours to take in trade or by force. Here it is."
With that, Kili emptied his pockets onto the mat before them. He laid out the coins and beads and the raw gemstones that they had looted from the corpse of Grahn. Back when both brothers still had their packs, they had carried coins from Ered Luin, but those were long gone upon the hills where the troll had captured them and their baggage had been lost.
As Kili laid out what he had, the old man murmured and made a sign with his hand. Ix, who had been looking eagerly at the gold when it was revealed – and who had even reached out his hand to take up a coin –heard him and was dismayed.
"These coins did not come from any Dwarf's forge," he said, frowning at the treasure.
"Our own money was lost upon the road. These, we found in the tunnels under the mountain," Kili admitted. "But they are not stolen. They lay free for any to take who found them…"
"I will touch no treasure that comes from that black land," Ix said, drawing back his hand. "Only dragon's gold lies there and that is cursed!"
"There is no dragon in those caves," Kili protested. "Would we not have seen sign of it?" He was amazed and looked to his brother to agree, but Fili was frowning to himself. He remembered the tale that was written on the back of Betta's map, and the words that Magha had let slip about a killed dragon and a pearl. He remembered, too, the glimpse that he had had of an island in the midst of the drowned cavern with stones like the raised scales that lined the back of a…
"Fili?"
"This is all that we have," Fili said. "If you ask for payment, there is nothing else."
Kili shook his head and put his hands in his pockets. He had given up hope but suddenly he felt something tucked into the bottom corner and folded in a scrap of cloth. Something that he had almost forgotten…
"There is one other thing we have," he said, and looked anxiously at Fili. "I do not know whether it is of any value to you… and I do not know whether my brother will part with it now…"
Fili looked at him, confused, and even Ix raised an eyebrow and leaned forward again. Kili took the bundle out of his pocket. He had carried it there for so long that, almost, he hesitated to uncover the thing, remembering the effect that it had had on his brother's mind. He feared that Fili would be angry with him for keeping it a secret.
He unfolded the cloth and set the thing upon the mat beside the golden coins. It was the pearl, the fair sea-jewel that had so long ago fallen out of Betta's heirloom box. It was this strange stone that had been the cause and now the conclusion of their long journey and which had, for the past two weeks, lain unnoticed and unthought-of in Kili's front coat pocket.
"By my father's beard!" Fili whispered. "Kili, how did you…!" He reached out his hand but stopped himself before his fingers touched the pearl. His hand shook and his heart beat hard against the walls of his chest. "I thought that it was lost under the snow."
"No, Fili," Kili said quietly. "I took it from the snow on the same night that you cast it away. I meant to tell you the next morning, but after the cave collapsed… my mind was full of other cares, and you seemed so much more yourself once you thought it gone. You were much happier with…"
Kili did not say her name, but Fili was not listening. He stared at the pearl. It had held so many colors in the short time that he had carried it: purple, blue and black. It had glowed in his mind during his darkest dreams, but it seemed that the long, cold march north had cleansed the stone of its power and made it new. Beneath the many translucent layers, the pearl shone red with the warmth of the firelight, breathing it in and spinning it out again in shimmering color that was both beautiful and treacherous to his heart. It was Betta's jewel; was it not right that he should keep it, in memory of her?
Kili touched his brother's hand, and Fili looked away, but he took back his hand and held it close.
Ix, too, stared long at the pearl, marveling, but he was no less afraid to see it than Fili. The old man watched his Chief closely for some time before speaking gently to him. Ix nodded. He was afraid, but his face was calm. A question that had long been asked within himself had finally found its answer and the path had been laid plain before his feet.
"You offer this strange stone to me?" he said, a line he had rehearsed often in his dreams.
Fili swallowed his grief and he nodded. "It does not come from under the mountain," he said. "It was brought here from the southern coasts by one I loved and lost. I cannot say that it is mine, and I would not like to give it up without her permission, but she is gone beyond such cares. Yes, I offer it to you, if you think it worth the cost of our lives and the price we must pay to get home."
Ix frowned and appeared anxious for the first time since their meeting. "No," he said. "No, I cannot take this thing…"
Fili hung his head in despair. They had no other payment for their passage. He had failed to bring his brother home. He had finally and truly failed.
"No, I will not take this thing from you," Ix said again, clenching his fist and sitting up tall and proud. "Not if your offer comes to me constrained. It would bring upon my people a curse greater than they or I could bear."
He smiled, seeing the confusion on the faces of the Dwarves. "Perhaps you do not understand," he said, but when his eyes met Kili's he saw a glimmer of recognition there. "Or, I think, you understand me all too well, for I do know from whence this stone has come. It is a treasure that has lived long in the ancient tales of our tribe… it is the Dragon's Stone!"
Even Orn seemed to sit up taller at that, and he watched intently, though he seemed not to know their speech.
"I cannot take this thing," Ix repeated, "but I will purchase it from you with the aid that you ask for and more. I offer you in trade, food to eat and warm skins to wear, also a place on my own sled when we return to Forochel. I offer to shelter you here now and in our village upon the shores of the great Icebay where you will stay as my honored guests until you find means to return to your own land.
"All this, I offer you to buy your stone, and one thing more I will give you, something that you neither looked for nor asked for but which, I think, you will value greater than any gold or jewels of the earth." Ix reached into a pouch at his side and took out something very small, small enough to hide in the palm of his hand. He laughed at the brother's identical expressions of amazement. "I know that a Dwarf's love of gold is great, and this is such a little thing, is it not?"
He set it down on the mat beside the pearl and other treasures. Fili saw it, and his heart leaped into his throat. Smaller than the pearl and carved of gold, he would recognize that bead if it sat upon a mountain of treasure in the middle of a dragon's hoard. Cursing hot into his beard, he snatched it up and shook his fist at Ix.
"Where is she?" he demanded, jumping to his feet and forgetting his former weakness. "How dare you keep her from me?!"
Ix was not offended by Fili's anger. "Perhaps if you had trusted more, you might have had this sooner," he said, and then he spoke to the old man at his side. The man stood up and spoke kindly to Fili making many bows and gestures that he did not understand.
"This is Elm, our healer," Ix explained. "He has spent two days fighting against death on behalf of your companion. Follow him, and I promise you that your questions will be answered, but I will keep your brother here with me. We have much to say to each other, he and I, and I would have some surety of your good conduct once you have seen…" He fell silent then and shook his head.
But Fili was too eager to question the Chief's words. Hope had flared up in his heart and the fire consumed his reason. Betta was alive, and she was here in this camp! Impossible! But he hurried after Elm, leaving the hut without a look or a word to his brother. He thought of nothing but of seeing her again.
Kili watched his brother go and only after the blanket had fallen back over the door and he was left alone with Ix and Orn did he turn to the Chief and ask what his brother had not.
"Is she alive?" he said.
Ix looked at him, pityingly, but he did not answer.
Oooh! Almost! Will it be a happy reunion, or one filled with grief and sorrow? I guess we'll just have to wait and see ;)
Calin: Awww... Thank you! So glad you like! I often suffer from crippling self-doubt (especially immediately after posting a chapter) and it's good to hear from you and other readers that you are enjoying the tale.
-Paint