Middle-earth, and all who dwell within it, belongs to Tolkien. I am grateful to him for growing this beautiful garden in which our imaginations can play. Please review!

The sun rose the next morning on a bustling campsite. By the time Fili stepped out of Elm's hut, most of the other shelters had been dismantled and the skins that had been hanging up were taken down. The mounds of buried meat were dug out of the snow and were wrapped and strapped to the sleds in preparation for their long journey; the barking of sled-dogs could be heard echoing for miles around, running over the flat plains and echoing high up into the hills. Fili had been sent out of the hut yet again so that Elm might manage Betta's bandages and see that she was wrapped and bundled in as many spare clothes as could be found. She would ride on Ix's sled, and Fili was glad to give up his promised place so that she could be comfortable. He and Kili would take whatever cramped corner was left to them.

But he did not stand idle for long. There was too much work to do and soon voices were shouting for him and he was being directed to lift and carry, to pack and tie. His weapons were returned to him, and Kili's too, but the other supplies that they had brought with them out of the hills were buried somewhere among the piles of meat and fur and tool and cloth of the Lossoth. Though Fili tried to do his fair share of helping when asked, for the most part, he simply stayed out of the way. The Lossoth were not used to looking down at shorter folk, and he did not like to be tripped over.

In the end, he was left to stand next to Elm's hut – the last to be taken down – and rose up on his toes to search the bustling crowd of Men for a familiar, dark-haired head. Where was Kili in all of this mess? Surely he had not proven himself more useful than Fili had done?

"There you are, brother!"

As if he had heard his brother's thoughts, Kili came hurrying toward him from across the camp, dodging between sleds and men. Kili's smile was wide and his step was light, but he seemed tired and there were dark circles under his eyes. If Fili did not know better, he would have thought that there was a new limp to his brother's left leg… and had he had that scrape below his eye yesterday?

"I should have known I'd find you here," Kili said, glancing toward Elm's hut.

"Well, I thought that you had wandered off and would miss our ride," Fili said, laughing and slapping his brother on the back, but he really had been worried. "Where have you been, Kili?"

"Oh, here and there," he said with a shrug. He carried a sack over his shoulder and shifted its weight. It was not very full but from the bend of his back, Fili guessed that it was heavy.

"You should add that to the pile," he said. "They would not let me carry anything but the clothes on my back and my weapons. All our other things are buried somewhere over there." He gestured to one of the larger sleds that was hitched to nearly twice as many dogs as the others.

"Ah… Well, Ix knows about this," Kili said, putting down the sack but tucking it somewhat behind his boot. "It will ride with me." He smiled but could see that his brother was about to ask more questions. He saw a familiar hilt hanging from Fili's belt. "Brother, is that my axe, or are you only happy to see me?" he said, laughing, and took back his weapons.

A loud horn call startled them both and prevented Fili from asking his questions. They looked up to see that even Elm's hut was gone, wrapped up and tied to a sled – the shelters of the Lossoth packed up much smaller than the oilskins and rods that the brothers had carried from Ered Luin. Fili thought to himself that he must learn how they were made, but later. Most of the Men stood already beside their sleds and all that was left was to check the harness on the dogs and set out.

"We should find our places," Fili said, and quickly explained to his brother the arrangement that he had made so that Betta might ride more comfortably.

Kili readily agreed to it, but said only, "I am sure that we will be told where to sit. I would like to see Betta before we set off, for I doubt that there will be much chance for talk until we stop for sleep at the end of the day."

Fili led the way through the crowd that seemed a chaotic melee, but it must have had some sort of order to those that knew how to look. They found Elm, as expected, standing with Betta, but she had already been laid between the top rails of Ix's sled upon a pile of freshly tanned furs. Several thick belts held her in place and a blanket of sealskin was laid over her to protect her from the flying snow. She was wrapped in a cocoon of furs and only her face was visible, but a hood was above her head to protect her from the sun and cold wind. The day would prove far colder than the one that had come before it, but the brothers found themselves rapidly growing used to the northern weather.

"You look very snug in there," Kili said, looking down at her.

"I hate it," she answered, but good-naturedly enough. "I can hardly move at all."

"That is the point, I think," Fili said, smiling.

A second horn-call sounded and the Lossoth who were not yet ready to ride began moving toward their sleds. Elm made impatient signs that the Dwarves should do likewise, pointing them farther down the line, but Fili did not go yet. He knelt down on Ix's sled and kissed Betta once before he stood again.

"I shall see you again when we stop for the night," he assured her. "Stay warm, but do not hesitate to tell Ix if you are the least bit uncomfortable. There is no honor in suffering for a few extra miles of travel."

She smiled at him. "I will speak up if need be," she said. "But there will be no need. Kili… there you are. Where have you been?"

He did not answer her question; he only knelt down and, like his brother, kissed her, but on the cheek. "Take care," he said. "We will be at the village in no time, and from there it is a short distance home."

Fili saw her smile tighten, but she said nothing to that. He guessed that she would have much to say regarding the nature of her home and where it might be found.

"You take care of yourselves," she told them. "Your places will not be nearly so comfortable as mine."

Ix arrived then with a man and woman beside him, and the brothers said their farewells to Betta. The two hunters with Ix were the drivers of the sleds that would carry the brothers west. Their loads must be balanced and so the hefty Dwarves could not ride together; they would forget that small trouble soon enough once the dogs were set running and they were trapped, cramped and pressed into tight corners, fighting the sickness of the motion of the hills as they sped along.

On his sled, Fili found himself tucked between a pile of meat, each flank frozen to the hardness of stone, and a bundle of fresh skins that still smelled of the oil and blood that seasoned them. The many rods of one of the Lossoth' shelters were tied on either side of the sled to lend support to the top rails and guard the heavy load. Most of the other sleds – those that were not carrying Dwarves, anyway – had their front beds full and also pulled small, wooden flats behind them piled with the additional bounty of a very successful hunt.

Many orders were given and the last of the hunters stepped onto their sleds. The sun was high in the sky when the horn sounded for the third and last time. The dogs leaped up, barking and pulling at their lines. Ix gave a shout and his sled sprang forward. Fili looked ahead, but he could not see Betta; he watched as her sled shrank away into the distance, but not for long. The line of sleds followed one after another and soon his own driver shook the reins and they were off.

Fili felt a great jolt as the sled picked up speed, swifter than a running pony. He felt dizzy and looked back to see the smoking remains of the Lossoth's great campfire was already only a thin spire rising up in the distance, blending into the grey haze of the horizon. The dug up pits and piles of ash, the churned snow where the dogs had lain, the blood stains on the ground, all would soon be covered over by wind and storm. In a few days there would be no sign left that any had dwelt there, Man, Dwarf or Dog.

.

Upon the cold ground of Forodwaith, those that were not quick were dead, and the sled dogs of the Lossoth had been bred for speed. They swiftly left the shallow valleys below the hills and found the flat plain; there, the animals were given their leg, and their speed and the cleverness of the Lossoth sleds were such that Fili almost forgot that he moved at all. Only the moving line of the mountains on his left hand told him that they were riding hard into the west. Upon his right, the flat plain hardly changed at all, but when he lifted his head above the mound of meat to look ahead, his face was struck by a hard, cold wind, and he could not open his eyes against it.

He ducked down again and looked at the faces of the sled drivers that rode alongside them. They each wore a leather mask with narrow slits for their eyes to look through. Their heads and necks were wrapped in hood and scarf, but even though he had ducked out of the wind, Fili could feel the icy fingers of it creeping under his clothes and down his back. The wet snow under the runners was smooth but when the sled turned, a soft spray of it shot up and brushed his arm and bare cheek, making him shiver. He wished for one of the heavy cloaks of the Lossoth.

Huddling deeper into the thick fur that he had been given to cover himself – and which was already damp from the spray of the snow and his own sweat – he struggled to keep his knees from knocking against the icy block of meat beside him. Already he felt cramped and uncomfortable, but there were many hours of daylight left, of this sitting and doing nothing. At least if he had been riding a pony, he might have held the reins in his hands and looked ahead, keeping an eye out for danger. Now, he looked down at the wooden slats beneath his feet and felt useless. He could not even sleep, and he hoped that Betta had a better, more comfortable place.

Around him, the Lossoth rode on, and now and again, a man or woman among them would shout out to a friend or two would drive their sleds close together and speak back and forth. Fili's own driver seemed to be close friends with another woman who rode near to them, and he could hear them laughing back and forth from under their masks, delighting in the free air and open land before them. This was their home; his was far away.

Fili sighed and looked up at the infinitely variable white clouds that painted the blue sky. He felt more than a little uncomfortable with so much openness around him and longed for the closed walls and low ceilings of his uncle's halls.

A flash of faded blue caught his eye and Fili looked left to see his brother's familiar hood. The color was nearly gone and hidden under the dust of long travel, but he smiled to see that Kili was fast asleep. He could almost hear his brother's snores above the whistle of the wind and the whisper of sled runners. Only Kili could sleep at such a time, cramped and with the constant motion swimming around his ears. Already, Fili could feel his head spinning and his neck beginning to tighten. And still, he was tempted to face the cold wind once more, to search the sleds for Betta's pale face, but Ix was first in their long line and Fili's driver had hung back until they were nearly last.

He sighed and settled back into his blanket, trying to do as his brother had done, but even with his eyes closed against the blinding white, he could still see the land burning before him. They had two days more of this desolate place, and two nights hunkered down against the cold, before they reached the frigid Icebay.

.

Fili did not know how many miles they travelled that first day while he fell in and out of sleep fitfully on the hard bed of the sled. They made their night's camp in a hollow of the flat plain between the spurs of two hills, but the Lossoth built only their two largest shelters and in them the whole hunting party lay together – men, women and dwarves – with no fire and only their shared bodies to warm them. On the second day, they would ride beyond the limits of the hills, past the gap between Angmar and the northernmost of two small bays that flanked a narrow peninsula beneath the main body of Forochel. It was by the shores of this middle bay that Ix's tribe had built their village.

That night, Betta grew feverish again. The pains of long travel had settled in her arm and upon her brow, and Fili spent most of his night bathing her forehead with cool water. The brothers lay one on either side of her, and Elm was with them also. He gave her bitter herbs to help her sleep, but she was only a little improved when morning rose on them again.

Yet they could not delay. Her cheeks still hot and her body shaking, Betta was once more loaded onto Ix's sled. The shelters were packed up and Fili was put back with his same, silent driver. He knelt on aching knees and with a sore back watched Ix ride away. The brothers shared an anxious look before they, too, were whisked up onto the open plain, and then Kili settled in for another long day of sleep while Fili resigned himself to wakeful watching.

Another empty day passed, and another cold, sleepless night. Betta's fever grew no worse, but it was not better either. Fili worried over her, and Kili worried over his exhausted brother. Ix approached them once and spoke with Elm in words that neither dwarf could understand. He left without speaking to them, but Fili saw that the man was anxious, too, and his anger softened as he remembered that the closer they came to the village, the lesser were Ix's powers to help them. Once they arrived, Betta would be at the mercy of Ix's uncle, the true Chief of this people.

At midday on the third day of their riding, Fili felt a sudden change in the air. He frowned and sat up, twisting the kinks out of his neck, and as he lifted his head above the musty smell of his own sweat and the sweating pelts that covered him, he caught a whiff of the sea, of salt and fish, and he heard the lonesome cry of seabirds overhead.

They still had many miles to go, but as he sat back again, but he could feel the worry lessening in his heart as he remembered how often and how happily Betta had spoken of the sea. Surely the sight of it must do her some good if nothing else could.

Himself, Fili had never seen the sea – unless you counted a brief glimpse of the waters of the Gulf of Lune that he passed by once in his youth. There were only elves in Forlindon, and the dwarves had no reason to go that way, but Fili had felt the wind often as it sailed over Ered Luin and carried with it the rain and summer storms to green the eastern lands. They would soon reach the end of their westward journey and once again lay more than one night upon the same ground. Perhaps they might find a proper bed to lie upon…

The sun had sunk almost to the horizon and, as it fell, painted the sky in orange and purple. It was evening when the sleds arrived upon the shores of the ice bay. Fili had not realized that he had begun to doze until the loud cry of his driver woke him with a sudden start. He sat up and heard all around him the voices of the other Lossoth as they laughed and sang at the joyful return to their home. Ix's horn sounded and was swiftly answered by a call from far ahead. Fili rose up in his seat and looked ahead. He could see the small silhouettes of round houses and, beyond them was a strange, flat plain that shone in the sun, reflecting back the glow of sunset in dazzling light.

It was the frozen sea! Fili shielded his eyes against the glare. The sleds had slowed as they approached a ring of low hills around the village and he had to hold tight to the rail beside him to keep from being thrown off as his driver turned suddenly and swept onto a narrow road between two large drifts.

They came out again and saw men and women running out to greet them. Doors were thrown open and fires were lit. The air was full of voices and songs that Fili did not understand. As soon as the sled stopped, he dragged his stiff body over the rail and fell into the snow. Stumbling through the crowds, he searched for his brother and Betta. Meat was being carried hand-to-hand and into shelters while the skins were unrolled and admired before being hung again so that they might finish their curing. Fili wore a fur hood much like his brother's, and so he was not hindered in his search but many eyes turned to stare at the Dwarf as he shuffled past.

When, Fili found his brother, Kili was standing, staring dumbfounded at the unintelligible commotion. There had been thirty hunters in Ix's party, but three times that many men and woman had rushed out from the village to welcome their friends and family home. Kili held tight to the sack that he had carried at their setting out and Betta's pack, too, was in his arms; at his feet were the few other things that the brothers had of their own and Betta's father's bow. Fili took up what was there, but before he could wonder where they should go now, Orn approached them out of the crowd and called to them. His gesture made it clear that they were ordered to follow him.

"Where is Betta?" Fili demanded, but Orn did not look back or answer. Fili knew that he could not argue; he could only hope that the Chief of this village was as understanding as his nephew.

The brothers were led through the center of the village and nearly every eye turned to stare at them as they passed. A small parade of young children gathered and followed behind them at a good distance. They shouted and sang songs at the visitors until an elderly woman called out to them, and then they scattered and ran away laughing among the many huts.

As they continued through the village, the dwarves stared around them; it was a town like none that they had ever seen before or would ever see again. Each building seemed built entirely of snow except for the chimneys which were fashioned of dried mud and what seemed to be straw. Long lines of tanned leather were hung from hut to hut or from pole to pole, and blankets were laid atop the rounded roofs of the houses and piled high with ropes of weeds, salted by the sea and drying in light of the mid-winter sun. There were many spears here, as there had been in the camp, but also fishing poles and woven nets and even a few canoes that had been pulled up from the water for repairs.

In the center of the village was a large shelter, many times larger than the largest hut that Ix's party had built upon the Forodwaith. It was built nearly square, and its walls were of snow. A wide open space lay before the house and many Lossoth were gathered there to watch the visitors arrive. Fili looked back once before he was led through the doors, and he saw the many stern, dark faces that watched him. If his people were so grim, then the Chief of this village must be even more so.

The snow-walls of the shelter were very thick, but once inside, Fili was surprised to find himself standing in what might almost be a human home in the south. Near the entrance, the floor was layered with the dried sea weeds, and their rough stalks knocked the snow from his boots. Beyond the weeds, the floor was covered with woven mats of the sort that they had seen before, but these were dyed with many colors and their patterns were subtle and fair. The walls inside the snow huts were built with wooden supports, layered with tanned hides and hung with painted seal skins like tapestries. One either side, a great chimney rose up, built of mud bricks and weed. Two fires burned there, but so carefully were the chimneys shaped that there was little smoke in the room. Even the Eldar would have been curious to learn the skills of the Lossoth whose primitive appearance belied the clever and resourceful race of Men.

Fili and Kili were both well-practiced by now in the art of speaking to Lossoth Chiefs. They were both struck by how like to their first meeting with Ix was their situation now as they were led forward toward a bench upon which sat a grim and frowning Man. He was much older than Ix, but not so old as Elm, and his chest and shoulders were broad. On either side of him sat an old man, and each were so alike in face to Elm that Kili guessed these were the brothers that Ix had mentioned.

A dozen or so other men and women were there, standing on either side of the house and murmuring to each other as the Dwarves were brought in.

Kili stared openly at the tall folk, marveling at their animal hide clothes that were sewn with such skill and dyed with many strange symbols and patterns. They wore feathers in their plaited hair, and men and women alike had painted their dark skin along their cheeks and eyes. Fili looked only at the Chief, waiting to hear whether Ix's agreement would be upheld or whether they would all be thrown out into the snow. Also, he was determined to know where Betta was being kept.

As the Dwarves approached, the Chief looked up and then stood up to face them. He crossed his arms, and only then did Fili realize that this was the man that Ix had spoken of. Like Betta, the Chief had lost his arm. It had been taken off just above the elbow but the stump was remarkably smooth and unscarred. The healer had been skilled who had cut him there. Several bars were marked upon the Chief's arm, whether tattooed or painted, Fili could not say, but he looked at the man with greater interest and respect.

One of the women who stood nearby stepped forward and made a gesture toward the Chief. "Asaktakut Tanu," she said. "Intukastmaq."

Fili glanced at his brother, but Kili only shrugged, and so he stepped forward and bowed. "I am Fili, at your service," he said, "and this is my brother, Kili." He looked around, but the Chief was silent and the people around them only looked on without speaking.

Feeling twice as anxious as he had before, Fili stepped back to his brother's side and wondered whether he should not have kept silent as well. Had it been rude of him to speak?

To his relief, at that moment, there was noise behind them. They looked back to see Ix had finally arrived. His cloak was full of snow, but he took it off and handed it to a man who stood near the door, then he strode forward, not looking at either the Dwarves or the crowd that watched them. He took his place at his uncle's side. A few words were exchanged between the two of them, and Fili swore that he saw the hint of good humor in the elder Chief's eyes, but when those eyes turned back to him, they were as hard as chips of black coal.

"This is Tanu, Chief of the Takut-Lossoth," Ix said formally, and then proceeded to translate between the brothers and his uncle.

For the most part, however, there was little for Fili or Kili to say anything. Ix knew all their tale and could tell it well enough without them. It was only when Chief Tanu wished to ask them a question or to hear some part of the story from them that the brothers were called upon to speak. Beyond that, they stood silently by, hearing themselves spoken of in a language that they could not understand. The stone faces of the people watching them gave no hint as to how their story was being taken or what would be the final decision. If Ix could not convince his uncle to uphold the deal that he had made, Fili did not know what would become of to them – and what would happen to Betta who could not survive being turned out into the cold.

After the last of their tale had been told, the long debate began. Several of the men and women spoke up, arguing this way or that with Ix while the Chief sat and listened. Elm's brothers spoke also, though Elm was not there, and still, the dwarves were not told what was said. Finally, when the most angry of all the voices seemed to be winning out, Ix stepped forward and took from his pocket the Pearl. It shone red in the firelight and seemed almost to glow against his dark hand. Even Fili who had carried it for weeks was dumbfounded by the beauty and power of the stone.

The group fell silent and Chief Tanu leaned forward. Ix spoke then, long and careful. Fili did not know what words he said, but he heard the strength in his voice, the certainty that his choice had been right and his deal well-made. There was no doubt in Ix's heart, and no hesitation in his speech. As he talked, Fili could see a change come over the faces of those that listened. The angry were soothed, the anxious comforted, and Chief Tanu seemed even to smile a little.

Ix's speech ended and he stepped back again, and the room was silent until the Chief stood up. His voice was gentle but commanding, as powerful as his nephew's, and he took the pearl from Ix's hands and held it up, demanding – Fili guessed – whether anyone would yet disagreed with the actions his heir had taken. No one spoke. It was decided. Ix smiled and for all his former confidence, he was visibly relieved.

The pearl was handed over to Elm's brothers, and wine was called for, also two stools so that the Dwarves might sit down. Several of the men and women approached them to say a few polite words, but Fili only smiled and bowed, knowing that he would not be understood. Kili, of course, made many flourishes and spoke back at them, but he chose his words carefully, not knowing for certain whether some of these fine people might not know a few Westron words.

Fili shook his head at his brother, but he was watching the Chief. Ix had taken his uncle aside and they were speaking together. There was a whole history behind the way that those two faced each other, but Fili saw only a fraction of it as Tanu put his hand on Ix's shoulder and smiled and nodded and then left the room. Ix watched his uncle go, then turned and approached the brothers. As he walked, he took two shallow bowls from one of the women who was handing them out, and he gave them to his guests. They were full of a sweet, red wine which Kili drank gladly.

"It seems that my choice has been deemed wise enough," he said. "Not even Elm's brothers could argue against me once they saw the pearl. And the evidence of your journey was more than any man could cast aside."

"I do not know how much evidence we gave," Fili said, setting down his bowl, "but if it has worked out well for you, then I am glad. Where is Betta?"

Ix laughed. "I should have known that your comfort would not be in wine or song," he said. "It is well. I would not have waited half so long before asking for my wife." Ix called to a woman standing nearby and spoke with her for a moment.

"This is Ahn," he told the brothers. "I have many things to attend to here, but she will show you to my hut where your companion is waiting for you. Elm is there and my wife, Mino. I said that I would shelter you in my village, and here you will stay under my own roof until you find means to return to your land."

Fili stared at him, touched beyond words by the man's generosity. "I thank you," he said, bowing low. "I am at your service, yours and your family's, for all that you have done for us."

Ix shook his head. "I have done only what I promised to do, and what it was right for me to do for you," he said. "Go now, and be quick. The snow has already begun to fall and you are not dressed for a storm."

Fili and Kili bowed to Ix and to the remaining men and woman in the house, then they followed Ahn outside. Sure enough, a light veil of large flakes had begun to fall. Only where the fires had been lit and upon their own coat sleeves could they see it, for the night was dark, but in many places, groups of men and women were working, gathering in the weed that they had laid out to dry or stretching the skins from the hunt. Songs were being sung and voices called out one to another. The mood was glad as the whole village celebrated the safe return of their hunters.

Many eyes turned to watch the Dwarves pass, but this time, Fili did not mind them. His thoughts had turned to other things, to the south and to the Blue Mountains, his home. He would send word to Thorin and surely his uncle would send them ponies or a wagon, some means to get back more swiftly than walking, but would Betta return with them?

After all, were these not her people, descendants of her ancestors? She would not be welcome among the Dwarves, but here in the north she might find friends and family. Ix would look after her and Chief Tanu was a one-handed man. Who better to teach her how to survive and thrive with her own injury? Indeed, Fili could think of no reason why she would wish to leave, and it pained him to think that his love would not be reason enough to keep her by his side.

They reached Ix's hut, a snow shelter like the others, built with wood and skins on the inside, and Ahn announced them at the door. Ix's wife was a short woman with thick, strong arms and a cheerful face. She greeted them in the Westron tongue and, though she was not as fluent as her husband, she could understand their questions and answer them. Elm was there also, and Betta, too. She had been given a soft bed and more of Elm's bitter medicine. She was as weak and pale as she had been when Fili had first been reunited with her, but she smiled when she saw him and held out her hand. He took it and sat down beside her to tell her all that had happened during their audience with the Chief.

That night, as he slept beside her, he knew that it would be Betta's choice whether she would stay or go, and shouldn't he have known by now that he would have little to say in the matter.

As you know, we're on the homestretch now. I put up a new poll on my profile that I think you'll all be eager to add to. When QtF is over, what should I write next? I think that I already know what most of you will say ;) but we shall have to wait and see...

-Paint