So here is the Third Part of the Siege of Erebor. Hopefully it meets everyone's expectations. I want express how sorry I am on getting this chapter posted so late. My father suffered a heart attack recently, and I had some health issues that needed to get taken care of. That is why this chapter is so late on getting out for you all to read.
Khuzdul.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit or LOTR.
Evening hours in the Healing Halls of Erebor...
Fili is sitting on the end of a cot in one of the many private rooms that the Healing Halls have in them. When Stonehelm brought him there from the battlefield, many of the healers and their assistants rushed to aid their injured king. However it was one of the head healers, Téla, who looked after the kings' injuries upon his arrival. Once his armor had been removed, Téla had removed the arrowheads and stitched the punctures closed before wrapping them.
Now, in the evening hours, Fili finds his wounds being looked over by Runila. He isn't paying attention to her cleaning his wounds, because Fili's focus is on the dark-haired nephew of his lying across the room from him. When Fili saw Kilian being brought in, he thought the lad hand only a deep cut on his hand. But when Téla removed the leather from the lads' hand, Fili was able to see what remained of the mangled hand. That sickening sight of flesh hanging from visible bones nearly caused Fili to throw up the pain remedy that he drank earlier.
"Fili?" Dwalin asks his king after walking away from Kilian's bedside. The captain of the guard had returned after taking Bofur to another room, where other healers and young Freya were waiting. Then had come in to see how young Kilian was doing.
"How bad is it, Dwalin?" Fili hisses out just as Runila applies pressure to a pad of cloth to sit over the wound on Fili's upper back.
"The healers need to remove his hand. There is no savin' it." Dwalin replies with a gruff voice.
Fili wipes his left hand over his face and lets out a deep sigh. 'How am I going to tell Kili?' he thinks to himself. A slight tug against the wrappings across his chest causes Fili to look over his shoulder at the young dam behind him.
"Your stitches are looking well, and there is no sign of infection, my lord." Runila says softly before picking up the small bowl from Fili's bed. Slowly she stands up from the bed and gives Fili a quick curtsy before leaving the room.
After watching the Runila leave the room, Fili looks back over towards Kilian is lying with only a cloth covering him from the waist down. "When is Téla planning on removing the hand?"
"As soon as possible. She doesn't want infection to set in. There is something else too." Dwalin steps in front of Fili to make sure that he has his kings' attention. "They are going to need a hot poker to cauterize the wound after the hand has been removed."
Fili's face pales slightly at the thought of a hot poker meeting the skin of his nephew's. Knowing that Kili and Tauriel aren't here to be by Kilian's side, Fili makes a decision. With determination in his eyes, Fili looks up at the old warrior who has been like an uncle to him.
"I want to be there when they remove his hand." Fili says while looking Dwalin directly in the eyes.
"Aye. I wasn't goin' to stop ya. They will need many of us to hold him down. Especially since Téla will not be givin' Kilian anything for the pain. She doesn't want to risk Kilian bleeding out too heavily if given a pain remedy." Dwalin answers back.
A gentle knock on the door causes both Fili and Dwalin, as well as the healer Téla and her two assistants, to look towards the door. They all watch as a patched up Balder and Bard II enter the room. Each of them are only wearing a light tunic, trousers, and boots. Yet, their bandages can be seen when light hits the tan cotton at a certain angle.
"What are you two lads doing in here?" Dwalin asks as he walks away from Fili, and moves towards the two newcomers.
"We are here to help." Bard II says with a determined look upon his face. He refuses to be intimidated by the old warrior. "Please. I owe my cousin that much. For you all are the only family I have left in this world."
"Let them in Master Dwalin." Healer Téla says as she moves away from Kilian's bedside. "We will need as many people to help keep Kilian stay calm and to keep him from moving around whilst I cut."
"Healer Téla." A red-haired dam calls out while trying to keep Kilian from sitting up. "He is waking."
Téla, Dwalin, Fili, Balder, and Bard II quickly make their way towards Kilian's beside as the young dwelf starts to wake from having passed out earlier from the pain.
"Master Dwalin, I will be needing you to hold his legs." Healer Téla says sternly before addressing the others in the room. "My lord. If you would be kind enough to hold him down by his shoulders. I will also be needing you to help keep him focused on something else, while we remove his hand. Balder, you work in the forge, yes?"
"I do." Balder replies sheepishly. He isn't sure why the healer is asking, but he is starting to get a nervous feeling in his stomach.
"Good. I need you to heat up that blade over there on table till it glows. I will be needing you to press the flat part of the blade against the stump after I have removed the hand. And you, King Bard, I ask that you help my lord keep Kilian calm during the procedure. Now get a move on."
Everyone hurries off to where Healer Téla told them to go. While they are doing that, Téla and her assistants start preparing themselves for the removal of Kilian's hand. Once they have on full aprons and have wiped their hands with ale, the healer and her assistants are ready for the removal of the crushed hand.
Fili and Bard II are standing at the end of the table, where Dwalin and Balder are now laying the half conscious Kilian on. Once Kilian is settled on the table, Dwalin makes his way down to the end of the table and places a hand on each of Kilian's legs. Balder, however, makes his way towards the blade that needs to be heated for the impending amputation.
"Irak'Adad?" Kilian mumbles out in a pain-filled haze.
"I'm right here, Bâhzundushuh." Fili replies as he brushes away some of Kilian's brown hair from the lads' sweat covered forehead.
"Whatz gonna happen to me?" Kilian slurs out as he closes his eyes and gulps loudly. He is afraid of what will happen next.
"You're going to live. But to make sure that you don't get sick from your injury, Healer Téla has to remove what is left of your hand." Fili replies softly as he moves to look Kilian in the eyes. "But don't you worry. I'll be right here by your side the whole time."
"Promise?" Kilian asks with such sadness in his voice, that it causes tears to begin to build in his uncles' eyes.
Fili leans down and presses a soft kiss to Kilian's temple before softly whispering his answer. "I promise, Kee."
Not wanting to break up the scene in front of her, Healer Téla clears her throat so that she gets Fili and Bard II's attention. "We are ready. I suggest you take up your positions so that we can get this done."
Everyone in the room goes quiet, and they all get into position for what is about to take place. Bard II takes hold of Kilian's left shoulder and arm. Fili takes hold of Kilian's right shoulder and bicep to help ensure that it won't move during the amputation. Dwalin holds tight to Kilian's legs and gives the healer a nod of his head to show that he too his ready.
Healer Téla steps up to the right side of the table and takes a deep breath before taking a sharp blade from one of her assistants. She takes hold of Kilian's lower arm, just below his elbow. Looking at the other assistant, she gives him a nod and waits till he has hold of Kilian's torso. Then she brings the blade towards Kilian's arm.
"Please don't cut it. Please." Kilian pleads to the healer before the searing pain explodes from his right arm. He lets out such a scream, that wouldn't surprise him if he woke up his dead ancestors from their eternal resting place.
Outside of the room Runila is holding a sobbing Rìka, who had crumpled to the floor at Kilian's first scream. With each passing scream, Rìka sobs that much harder against Runila's shoulder as the older of the two tries to soothe the younger. Runila tries hard not to flinch at each terrible new scream, but when she hears a high pitched hissing followed by a blood curdling scream, she can't stop the flinch. Nor can she stop the tears that begin to flow down her cheeks with the knowledge that it was most likely Balder who held the hot blade against his cousins' skin.
Many of the other wounded, who were lying close enough to the room, also flinch and cry quietly at Kilian's screams. And just like the two dams on the floor, many of them feel sorrow in knowing that one of their young princes has lost a limb in battle.
While all of this is going on, in another room in the Healing Halls, Freya is silently crying at the sight before her. She had tried all that she could, even when the other healers had given up, but there was nothing that would ensure his survival. Freya watches as Bofur takes his last breath with Aliena by his side, holding his hand.
Freya checks for a pulse on Bofur's neck, and finds none. Slowly, she backs away from his bedside. Not sure about what to do, Freya looks at Aliena.
"I'm so sorry." Freya hiccups out as the tears flow harder from her red-rimmed eyes. "I tried to save him. I tried, but his wound."
Aliena closes her eyes, which lets the tears flow stronger down her already damp cheeks. She knows that the young dam is trying to comfort her, and Aliena also knows that Bofur's wound was a fatal one. The old woman opens her eyes, and reaches a hand towards her husband's pale face. Gently, she brushes some of his grey hair away from his dirty cheeks. Then taking in a deep, shuddering breath Aliena tries to speak to Freya.
"There was..." Aliena stumbles out before taking another breath to speak again. "There was nothing anyone could have done. Bofur died an honorable death while defending those he loved most. I don't blame you for his death, Mizimith."
With the last word leaving her lips, Aliena lets out an earth-shattering sob and lays her head upon Bofur's exposed chest. The cloths that Freya and the healers used to try and stop the bleeding are still on the fatal wound, blood soaked. Blood had also pooled on the bed, and some has even left a small pool on the floor.
Freya, not knowing what else to do, leaves Aliena alone with Bofur's body in the room. Once she has made it out of the door, her sadness over takes her. She leans heavily against the wall as she sobs. She still doesn't know about her cousin Kilian, nor does she know that her cousin Brand and Dain are dead as well. As the last of her strength is sucked away from her sobs, Freya finds herself sliding down against the wall towards the floor. With her upper body leaning against the wall, Freya's vision becomes blurred as grief finally leads her to the land of dreamless sleep.
This is how Yuri and Nori find Freya an hour later. They had been tasked, by Fili, to retrieve all of the royal children and bring them home to the Royal Halls. Finding Freya the way they did has the uncle and niece wondering what all has happened. But neither is aware that Bofur has died until Yuri opens the door to the room, and sees Aliena asleep next to Bofur's pale, still body.
Three days later...
Over the last three days, Fili has had to officiate over too many funerals. Yet there is one that has left Fili feeling hollow. Just yesterday, in a private ceremony, Bofur was laid to rest down in the tombs. Even though Bofur had married into the royal family, the council refused to allow his body to be placed in side of the Royal Family tombs. So Bombur, Dwalin, Fili, Tanis, Nori, and Bombur's oldest children helped carve out a new tomb vault near the Royal Family's. It only took them, and several of Bofur's loyal customers, a day to complete the new tomb vault. It wasn't as immaculate as what should have befit one who had married into the royal family, but it would do for the time being.
The funeral took place in the evening, with Aliena and her children wearing black. Tanis and Raina had to help keep their amad from fainting to the ground if she was to become overtaken by grief. Many of the royal family, Bombur, and even two council members were in attendance and there was not a dry eye in the tomb vault. Once Fili had finished with the ceremony Dwalin, Nori, Bombur, and Tanis lowered Bofur's shrouded body into the rock casket, and placed a thick slab of rock to seal it closed. The outer walls of the rock casket were left blank till such a time warranted the chiseling decor that would honor Bofur's life. Even then, Raina had already started working on a full scale carving of her adad that would adorn his coffin lid.
Taking a deep breath from his chair in his office, Fili wipes away the tears that the memory has caused to flow down his cheeks. He tries again to focus on the matters at hand. Reaching at one of the many papers that lay on his desk, Fili picks up one that is a report from the Healing Halls on the tally of injured, sick, and dead. As he reads the report a soft knock from the door pulls his attention away from the paper.
"Enter." Fili gruffly says as he sets the report back down on to his desk.
Coming through the door is Nori, who is looking more tired than usual. His eyes have dark circles underneath them which betray that he hasn't been sleeping well. Slowly entering the room, Nori makes sure to close the door behind him before facing his king.
"Nori." Fili sits up straighter in his chair. "What can I do for you?"
Nori walks forwards till he comes to stand next to a chair that sits near Fili's desk. Proceeding to sit down in the chair Nori, clears his throat before speaking to Fili.
"I wanted to ask if you have seen Aliena lately." The former thief speaks clearly to see what kind of a reaction he will receive form Fili.
"Last time I saw Aliena was at Bofur's burial. Why?" Fili is starting to wonder what the once-thief now spymaster was getting at.
"The reason why I ask is because Bombur and his family have been taking care of the three kids. It would appear that Aliena hasn't been home since late last night. Now don't go into a panic yet. I sent Yuri to find out where she went. Well, it would seem that Aliena returned to Bofur's tomb vault and can't be persuaded to leave it. Or so Yuri told me briefly before heading back down there to keep an eye on the old lass."
Fili lets out a sigh before placing his elbows upon his desk and leaning his head into his hands. This information was not what he wanted to hear. On top of everything else he has to deal with, Fili isn't sure how to approach this new dilemma that has been brought to his attention. Letting out another sigh, Fili removes his hands from his face and looks at Nori.
"Will Bombur be willing to look after Tanis, Raina, and Bo till Aliena is able to?" Fili asks Nori as he begins to rise from his chair.
"I believe so. Bombur and his wife would never turn away their kin. But what are we to do about Aliena?" Nori asks cautiously.
"I don't know, Nori. Everyone grieves differently. Perhaps you should have one of your spies keep an eye on her for now. But if she begins to starve herself, let me know immediately. If I have to, I personally will interfere if it comes to that." Fili states with a slightly harsh voice.
"Very well. I will do as you command." Nori says to Fili before rising out of his own chair. "By the way, how is Kilian doing?"
"Healer Téla is optimistic that he will recover nicely over time physically. But it is the mental wound that she is concerned with." Fili answers as he walks towards Nori. "So far there isn't any sign of infection, so we should be counting our blessings for that."
"I noticed that Rìka hasn't left his side since she was allowed in." Nori chuckles out as he and Fili move towards the door together.
"She is a force to be reckoned with." Fili responds with a slight chuckle of his own. "Like her amad she is."
"Actually, I was thinking she is more like Thorin with how bossy she can be."
The two dwarfs leave Fili's office and begin walking down the corridor. They keep the conversation going as they walk aimlessly through the hallways.
"So it has come to my attention that Balder has locked himself in his forge again. Is he fighting with his lass again?" Nori asks the blonde king.
"No, they haven't been fighting." Fili states as he continues to walk. "More like Balder blames himself for Kilian being injured. From what Bard told me of what he witnessed, there is no one to blame but the Easterling soldier who took Kilian by surprise."
"Aye, but your oldest has inherited a lot of his personality from Thorin and Dis." Nori quips with a slight chuckle. He has witnessed through the years just how much young Balder took after Thorin when guilt or honor was involved.
"He has some of Sigrid in him too, Nori. It just has a harder time coming through the other personality traits he has inherited from my line." Fili states as he continues walking towards the main gates.
Nori, knowing when to step back from a discussion, silently follows Fili to their destination. He keeps a small distance between him and Fili as they head towards the stairs that lead up to the ramparts above. Once they have climbed to the top, Nori watches as Fili takes in the scene that lays before their gates.
The Easterling army has cut the heads off of every fallen dwarf and fallen man of Dale, and set the heads upon wooden pikes before the doors of Erebor. The heads of Dain and Brand sit higher than the others, as if to mock the inhabitants of the mountain. In the distance, the Easterling army has taken up residence inside of Dale's walls, while leaving a smaller force to sleep in tents in the valley between the mountain and the city.
"How long do you think the siege will last?" Nori asks Fili while looking towards the barely lit city of Dale.
"I don't know." Fili replies as he takes in the scene before him. The cover of night can't hide anything when the moon shines so brightly in the sky above. "Not long I hope. For we have enough in the food stores to last a few months at least, but with the added people of Dale, the Iron Hills, and so few from Esgaroth, it might only last half that."
"Let us hope tha' isn't the case." A new voice says from a few feet away on the rampart.
Both Fili and Nori turn to face the newcomer. Neither are surprised to find Thorin Stonehelm walking towards them. He is still wearing battle armor, as if he is waiting for an attack to happen at any time.
"Stonehelm." Fili says in greeting his cousin. "I am surprised to see you up here."
"Aye. I wagered tha' I would be useful and help keep watch, instead of waitin' around." The red-haired dwarf answers back. He looks down towards the ground to where Dain's head is at. "Those shiny bastards are gonna pay dearly for this insult to our dead."
"That they will." Fili answers quickly.
"But when?" Stonehelm asks confidently.
"When we can find an opening to exploit against them." Fili replies a bit heatedly. "I will not just rush out there without knowing if we can truly defeat them or not."
Thorin Stonehelm huffs a bit at being so harshly spoken too, but doesn't verbally speak out. Instead he turns away from Fili and Nori and walks back towards where he had been standing before their arrival. He isn't happy about having to sit about and wait, but he is not lord nor king here in Erebor. Fili is the King of Erebor, and as such the one in charge. So Thorin Stonehelm must get used to not being in charge here.
Fili and Nori had watched Thorin Stonehelm storm away from them with a bated breath. Both new that that Thorin Stonehelm was now Lord of the Iron Hills in title, but not with a home. Fili looks over to Nori and the spymaster pops an eyebrow in response. However before Fili can make a request of Nori, a soft squawk catches in his ears.
Turning back towards the valley for the source of the familiar squawk, Fili notices the glint of moonlight bouncing off of the black feathers of an approaching raven.
"Osiris." Fili whispers out softly in surprise. He raises his arm up for the bird to land on. Once the raven lands on his arm, Fili quickly unties the small, rolled up parchment from the raven's leg. He hands the parchment to Nori before turning his attention back to the raven. "What has taken you so long, my friend?"
Osiris clacks his beak and speaks to Fili. He tells the Dwarf King of Thorin's forces joining those of the Horse Riders, and of the Battle of Helms Deep. Fili listens, enraptured by the raven's tale and by the end of it Fili lets out a deep sigh of relief. Then the raven tells Fili something that sets the hairs on the back of his neck to stand straight up. Hearing that Mordor is planning to unleash a large army upon Gondor, has put Fili's senses on high alert.
"So what does the raven say?" Nori asks as he watches the interaction between his king and the raven.
Fili thanks the raven and allows it to fly inside and rest with the other ravens sheltered inside. Then he turns to Nori and tells the dwarf about all that has transpired so far. Then takes back the rolled up parchment from Nori. Silently, Fili opens it up and reads the scribbled writing.
"It's from Gandalf!" Fili says in shock and looks at Nori with a smile on his face. "He has returned, and is now the white wizard. He also states that Saruman is no more."
"What else does the new and improved Gandalf say?" Nori asks with a smile upon his face at seeing Fili so perked up by such good news.
"He asks that we prepare to help Gondor fight against Mordor. Gandalf fears that if Gondor falls, that the rest of Middle Earth will fall as well." Fili replies.
By this point neither dwarf has noticed that Thorin Stonehelm has walked back towards them. For he heard all that the raven had spoken to Fili, and he is itching to teach the Easterlings a lesson that they will never forget.
"Then wha' are we waitin' for." Thorin says to Fili and Nori. "If the white city needs aidin' then we need to be rid of our current problem first."
"Agreed." Fili says with a slight nod of agreement with his cousin. "Nori. I want you to wake bring those whom I trust to the council room. We have a siege to break."
Nori lets his smile widen at the request. "As you command." He gleefully says before rushing down the stairs to retrieve those who he knows will follow Fili to the ends of the earth.
So here is the end of the Siege of Erebor chapters. The rest of it will be mentioned in the Return of the Kings chapters at a certain point. I am doing this so that it all ties in with each other better than being done in blocks. Hopefully you all don't mind.
Also, I found it fitting for Nori to be the one who ends this chapter. He barely gets any screen time in my stories so I figured that I might as well use him. Hopefully this keeps you all satisfied till the first chapter of the Return of the King is posted.
Reviews are welcomed, cherished, and loved.
Selene