Chapter 9: Dark Foreboding

Thorin wasn't happy when he came from the meeting, he wasn't happy the following morning either which in turn made all of the dwarves on edge. He wanted to speak alone to the others first so Linshara left them to their devices and mostly aimlessly wandered around Rivendell, as Gandalf and Elrond had a meeting with a Lady Galadriel and a Saruman the White. Linshara assumed the latter was another wizard of Gandalf's order, while she wasn't quite sure who Galadriel was. It was a meeting she was to be called into later in the day probably to discuss everything again and to learn how confronting the dwarves with the truth went.

She thought back on the past several weeks and her time in Middle Earth. To say she wasn't changed and affected with events and people she'd spent time with would be lying. Gandalf, he was a friend she could almost say she fully trusted, almost like a mentor even, despite their vast differences. Elrond, it was as if a fellow Jedi was with her, a Seer. The fact he was an elf and used a wholly different way to utilize his abilities didn't matter. Those two made the pain of being stuck here and cut off from everything and everyone she'd known a bit more bearable.

The dwarves though, they impacted her the most. Almost as if there was one whom she could relate a part of her with. Young Ori made the scholar part of her feel alive again, their conversations always left her invigorated. Balin, old, kind and almost a father figure, something she'd barely remembered from her youth, before she'd joined the Jedi Order. Kili, young, cheeky, audacious dwarf that warmed her heart with his antics and inquisitiveness, almost like a younger brother, reminding her that she was still young.

A small smile etched itself into her features as she thought of Kili while she walked.

Bofur, sweet, cheeky and kind Bofur. He showed her she could still maintain her composure and control while allowing herself to laugh and be amused, to accept that she still felt, behind the guarded exterior. As her thoughts drifted to Fili, she realized that what he elicited was conflict. A conflict between fondness and fear. Fili was a spirit akin to her own, that much had become clear. A man who was torn between responsibility, loyalty and desire. He made her realize that she was too. While he advocated a measured approach, would it be enough to not lose herself to the Dark Side?

She stopped suddenly in front of set of step, sensing a presence. It was a dual one. One of tumultuous and repressed feelings mixed together. One governed by an extremely sharp mind and a fierce heart.

Looking up, she found the stormy blue eyes of the dwarf king. "Thorin."

He slowly descended the steps, looking every bit a king. "Linshara." He nodded in greeting.

~He's come looking for me…~ she thought as she waited for him to join her, "I take Lord Elrond has read the map?"

He clasped his hands behind his back, "he has." His tone was clipped and measured.

She fell into slow step with him as he lead the way into a more secluded area, "when do you wish to leave?"

There was a dark shift within him, she could feel it, "you will not be continuing with us, Lady Thannis."

~You feel betrayed…~

"I see. May I ask why?" She kept her tone even and neutral. Linshara had no intention of staying behind.

He turned to face her, while his face was a careful mask, his eyes darkened and she could see the rage in them. "You curried your way into this company with lies and deception. A traveller of the stars? Bah! You spun your trickery on Gandalf as well! I will NOT have it. You will not corrupt my men with your influence." His composure though, was slowly breaking.

Linshara raised an eyebrow, "I have done no such thing." Her eyes scrutinized him. The darkness in his presence grew.

"I see the way they regard you, you are distracting their focus. I will not have it." Thorin, growled. "I cannot order you away but from my Company, I can and I am."

Both eyebrows now raised, her head cocked to the left a bit, ~this isn't about my influence at all, is it?~

Quickly as the dark change happened, it passed. "I do appreciate all that you have done for us so far, I would even say we were in your debt, but this quest is too important to afford any more distractions. When we complete it, you may come to visit."

"What do the others say?" Linshara decided to poke.

"They do as I say!" He growled.

~They fought you…~

There was something gripping at his heart and mind, something he was only semi successful in fighting. This made her even more determined to not listen to his order. She would follow after them alone if needed. She promised Gandalf, she promised...Fili.

"Are you sure, Thorin? If you come across the Sith…" Was there any chance of swaying him beforehand?

He got into her personal space quickly. Massive, imposing and completely a king.

~A plagued king?~

"We will deal with him, as we have dealt with everything!" His tone was menacing.

Being on more or less eye level, due to her short stature, Linshara could clearly see his eyes. They were hard, angry. There had to be a way to break through that darkness. She knew that Thorin wasn't originally like this. When they started the journey, he was even pleasant at times, accepting of her.

She nodded once, "very well then." Perhaps placating would help.

He seemed surprised at her acceptance, almost as if he wished to fight more. Or was it his true core released from the dark grip?

"Thank you, Lady Thannis. I must take my leave now." His tone and expression changed as he bowed a little.

~He's...almost embarassed~

"Good journey, Thorin Oakenshield." She bowed in return.

He nodded a little and headed back up the steps. She watched after him before turning and heading to find Gandalf and the others.

It took her a good half an hour to figure out where they were. Granted, part of the delay was the fact that she kept her senses tracking the Dwarves, wanting to give them enough time to depart before she alerted Gandalf and went after them.

As she climbed a set of steps, she saw Lindir rushing ahead of her.

"Lindir!" She called as she jogged up.

The younger elf turned and bowed slightly, smiling, "my lady. I was going up to inform Lord Elrond of a development."

~He knows,~ she thought as she placed a hand of his forearm, "I know what's happened, I need to speak to them anyway, I'll inform them."

He seemed hesitant for a moment, but finally acquiesced. "Alright, my Lady. Thank you."

A small mutual bow and he turned and departed. Linshara nodded to herself more than to anyone and climbed the rest of the steps.

"Pardon my interruption," she announced herself, "thought you should know, the dwarves...they left."

She knew by Gandalf's lack of reaction he was aware of it. Galadriel seemed more surprised to see her this soon than her words. Elrond's face went from surprise to realization pretty quickly. It was Saruman who seemed most incensed.

"Ah, the star traveller, how is it that you know of this?" The White Wizard questioned.

~Greetings…~ Linshara heard the serene voice of Galadriel in her mind.

Linshara glanced over at the beautiful elven lady and nodded a little in response before turning to answer Saruman. "I sensed it and Lindir confirmed it as I was coming up. I take it you are Saruman the White?"

He bowed a little, "I am, my Lady."

"Master Linshara Thannis, of the Jedi Order." She bowed in return.

~You and Gandalf must follow them…~ Galadriel spoke again. "Galadriel of Lothlorien."

Linshara bowed a little again, ~we will.~

Gandalf nodded imperceptibly as if he understood the mental conversation before engaging Saruman in a discussion.

It was a good hour before Linshara and Gandalf could excuse themselves from the meeting, as Galadriel and Saruman both wanted to talk to them. Saruman wanted her to stay as well, to tell him more, which Linshara promised to do once the quest was done. Well, more so to get out of the conversation rather than actually share information. There was something about Saruman which unsettled her greatly. Galadriel on the other hand, she could see herself spending hours and hours talking with. When this was done, she would visit Lothlorien for certain.

Several times during the conversation, she saw the same image of a thunderstorm and a large piece of stone hurtling towards a group of the dwarves huddles on a narrow mountain path. The two quickly packed up what little belongings they had and departed Rivendell the same way the dwarves had.

Part of Linshara felt immensely sorry she was leaving, she'd enjoyed being in a Force nexus for this long. She felt envigorated and alive whilst there. Soon, they were hit with enormous amounts of rain and she was glad she had the warm cloak to wrap in which Arwen had given her. She was also really happy she could boost her resistance to the elements with her Force manipulation. As they traversed the perilous terrain, she kept seeing the stone image.

Gandalf seemed to sense this. "What do you see?" He asked over the sound of thunder.

She pulled her hood further over her face, "a narrow path on the face of the mountain and giant rocks hurling all over…" The fact the rocks were hurling towards the dwarves she left out.

Gandalf motioned for her to follow him down a narrow path, their clothes slightly sloshing as they rushed. "Did it look like stone people?"

She blinked, ~stone people?~ "I...I didn't see that far."

"Would you recognize the path?" He asked again as he held his hat from being blown off by the wind.

"I think so!" She yelled, huddling against a rock as the wind seemed to threaten to blow her away, it was that so strong.

It took them a couple of hours to find the location Linshara kept seeing, Gandalf seemingly having had an idea of what she'd been describing. Given they were both sturdier and more resistant than they appeared, it took them less time to reach it.

Linshara froze momentarily as she saw the path she'd been seeing in her mind before her. A sliver of fear etched itself into her heart, would they find injured or dead dwarves further up?

Slowly the wizard and the Jedi progressed the narrow path, holding onto the sides of the mountain as they reached what looked like a clearing. Linshara breathed a sigh of relief as they hadn't found any bodies or blood along the way. Did they escape the rock? Did it even happen?

She assumed they escaped, since the place was real and there. The dwarves weren't so she allowed herself to assume they'd escaped a nasty fate. Well only for a moment as Gandalf beckoned her into what looked like a cave.

The problem was, the cave had a large opening in the floor. There was Dori's cloak stuck under some stones and what looked like Kili's sword towards the edge of the cave.

Linshara looked down into the hole. She could see roughly thrown together scaffolding, wooden pathways and bridges and muted lighting below. The stench though coming from inside was terrible. She closed her eyes for a moment and opened her senses, trying to ascertain if the dwarves were in there. They were, and they were surrounded by small, twisted and disfigured creatures, full of hate and anger. So far though, they were alive, which made her sigh in relief.

She briefly sensed Bilbo and was surprised that he seemed to be separated from them. He was...on an underground lake?

Gandalf broke her out of her thoughts. "I'll go help the dwarves, you're smaller and easier to hide."

Linshara understood, "I'll find Bilbo."

The old wizard looked at her kindly, "good luck, my friend. We'll meet on the exit below if the Valar will it."

Linshara nodded, "I'll find you."

That said, they started their climb down. Down, into Goblin Town.