Hello everyone! There's a new chapter! Thanks to DarkerEvening for his ideas of Hope.

Good reading!

Chapter 4: The World Ahead

As the sun came up, Hope woke up and rubbed her eyes a little. She yawned and stretched her arms, letting out a sigh. She almost touched the ceiling, reminding her that she was in a small house that wasn't suitable for her size. She was still in Hobbiton in Bilbo's Bag End house.

She noticed that Alaric was already up. He too had almost hit his head on the ceiling.

"I'll never get used to it," he grumbled. "Gandalf said humans rarely came to the Shire. I understand why."

"Good morning to you too," Hope said warmly. "Where are the Dwarves?"

"They are already up and ready to go," said Alaric.

Gandalf joined them.

"Good morning."

"Good morning,"said Hope and Alaric at the same time.

"Our Dwarf friends are waiting for us at the Green Dragon Inn, it's an inn in Bywater, just east of Hobbiton. Mounts are waiting for us. And I even brought you travel capes."

"Too kind," said Alaric.

"Do you know how to ride a horse?" asked the wizard.

Hope looked dazed, shaking her head.

"I've never ridden a horse."

"So have I," Alaric replied, though he wasn't much of a riding champion either.

"I planned a pony for Lady Hope," replied the magician smiling.

"It's Hope," insisted the Tribrid. "Just Hope."

"Is Bilbo up too?" asked the Headmaster.

"Not yet," replied Gandalf. "He always has a choice. But we must not linger. The Dwarves await us."

"I've the feeling that Thorin is not the type to be patient," replied Alaric.

"He is a Dwarf who has been through a lot in his life," explained Gandalf.

"He could still be a little nice," Hope pointed out.

They arrived in front of the inn indicated by Gandalf. Thorin and the Dwarves attached their equipment there to their mounts. Hope saw that the Dwarves rode on ponies. She figured riding one would be easy for her, since she wasn't used to riding.

Gandalf had chosen for Alaric a gentle gray mare. Slightly anxious, he mounted it. The mare remained motionless.

"I think I can do it," said Alaric a little uncomfortable.

"You don't have horses where you come from?" asked Thorin suspiciously.

"We have other means of transport than horses," explained the Headmaster who was trying to control his horse.

"What other way of traveling than horses could there be?" wondered the leader of the Dwarves.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Hope replied as she walked towards her pony.

Thorin walked away from them, grumbling.

"We're taking two people with us who don't know how to ride a horse," he exclaimed under his breath.

"We hear you," muttered the Tribrid.

"Hope," Ric told her, urging her not to seek conflict with the Dwarf.

Hope ends up getting on her pony. Due to her size, it was quite uncomfortable, but she didn't weigh much for her to carry. She wouldn't risk falling.

Once installed, Gandalf handed them traveling cloaks. A red one for Hope and a gray cape for Alaric.

"I got the horses, ponies and cloaks from a merchant who owed me a favor," Gandalf told them with a mischievous gleam.

Hope put the cape on her, couldn't help but touch the fabric and notice how soft it was.

Even Alaric felt it.

"It's very sweet! I had never touched a fabric like this before!"

"These capes were sewn by the Elves, they will keep you warm and dry," the Wizard assured them.

"Elves?" wondered Hope, realizing that those Elves must be magnificent to be able to fashion such a cloth.

"Other world, other creatures," said Alaric impressed.

Later, the Company had already started. Gandalf and Thorin led the troop of travelers into a vast forest. So far, neither Hope nor Alaric had fallen off their mounts. Even if the Tribrid was left behind by the others, which suited her well enough. She didn't have to listen the unpleasant comments of Thorin who grumbled to see two people who didn't know how to ride a horse. Thorin was the only Dwarf Hope couldn't sympathize with. The other Dwarfs, somewhat childish, were smiling, funny and friendly. And their leader was just the opposite.

She had learned the story of Erebor and the Dragon Smaug who had taken over their kingdom. Nevertheless, Thorin could be courteous to the two otherworldly visitors.

The other Dwarves were betting on Bilbo's arrival on their journey.

While Hope was still wondering about the Hobbit's coming, she heard Bilbo's excited voice running towards them.

"WAIT! WAIT!"

The Company of Dwarves stopped to see an excited Bilbo running as fast as he could, holding the big parchment that was the contract Balin had given him the day before.

He ran over to Balin and handed him the contract.

"I signed it!"

Balin took the parchment and checked it with his pocket glasses, while Hope and Alaric gave him beaming, encouraging looks.

"Everything appears to be in order," declared Balin, greeting the new arrival in the troop. "Welcome, Master Baggins, to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield."

The other Dwarves cheered enthusiastically, while Thorin continued on his way, ordering coldly:

"Give him a pony!"

Embarrassed, the Hobbit replied:

"No, no, no, no. That…that won't be necessary. Thank you. I'm sure I can keep up on foot. Yeah, I…I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know? Even got as far as Frog Morton once…"

All the Dwarves ignored him and two of them picked him up and put him on a pony.

Shortly after, Thorin was riding at the head of the Company while Gandalf had taken up the rear with Bilbo, Hope and Alaric.

They found that Bilbo was uncomfortable on his mount.

"Don't worry," Hope told him kindly. "It's easy to ride the pony. Even I am not a horse riding champion. Ponies are easier to ride than horses. I'm glad you're with us."

Soon after, purses of money were tossed between the Dwarves, leaving Bilbo perplexed.

"What's that about?"

"Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up." answered Gandalf matter-of-factly. "Most of them bet that you wouldn't."

"I was sure you would come," added Hope warmly, grabbing a bag of money that a Dwarf threw at her.

"Thank you," Bilbo replied to the Tribrid and turning to Gandalf. "And what did you think?"

"Well…" Gandalf broke off when he caught a bag of money thrown by a Dwarf. "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second."

Bilbo eyed his new friends with relief, then began to sneeze loudly.

"Are you all right?" Hope asked him.

"Oh, it's horse hair." Bilbo said, reaching for a handkerchief. "Having a reaction."

Then, noting that he had no handkerchiefs, the whole company was arrested.

"We have to turn around."

"What? What's the matter?" wondered Alaric.

"What on earth is the matter?"added Gandalf annoyed.

"I forgot my handkerchief," Bilbo lamented.

"We can't turn around," objected Alaric. "We have come too far to go back."

Then Bofur tore a piece of fabric from his outfit and threw it at the Hobbit.

"Here! Use this."

Bilbo grabbed it in embarrassment, holding the piece of cloth in his hand as the Dwarfs looked on mockingly.

"Move on!"said Thorin without worrying about this inconvenience.

Everyone resumed their journey. Compassionate, Hope stayed close to Bilbo who still held the piece of cloth in his hand, as if afraid there were parasites on it.

"We'll say it's a handkerchief,"she said.

As all rode through the woods and meadows, Gandalf again spoke to the Hobbit.

"You'll have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs, and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire. But home is now behind you. The world is ahead."

"Yes, and a whole new world for me," Hope added to Bilbo.

When night fell, the Company was sleeping on the edge of a cliff overlooking a long ravine. Hope and Alaric had a hard time sleeping due to having to lie on rocks. And it didn't help that Gloin was snoring a little too loudly. As he slept, tiny flying insects were sucked into his mouth each time he inhaled, and they were expelled as he exhaled.

Disgusted, Hope walked away and stared down the cliff, still keeping control of her magic, not wanting it to explode in front of everyone. She couldn't afford to have a fit and turn into a wolf.

After a moment of meditation, she joined the Dwarves. Most were sleeping. Only Balin, Fili and Kiri were awake. Gandalf was smoking his pipe as he stood guard. And she saw Bilbo give an apple to his pony.

She wanted to join him when a cry echoed throughout the cliff and disturbed the tranquility of the night.

Alaric, who couldn't sleep because of Gloin's snoring, jumped up.

"What was that?" Bilbo asked anxiously as he approached Fili and Kili.

"Not an animal," answered Alaric.

"What's that?" Hope asked, assuming the cry wasn't far from them.

"Orcs," Kili answered in a small voice.

"Orcs?" cried the Hobbit with bewilderment.

"What are Orcs?" asked Alaric.

Even Hope was puzzled. Thorin had risen, and stood on the lookout.

"Throat-cutters," answered Fili. "There'll be dozens of them out there. The lone-lands are crawling with them. "

"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots of blood." Kili added.

"So, throat-cutters monsters," declared Alaric.

"What we heard was not far from here," Hope remarked intrigued.

But to their great surprise, the two brothers burst out laughing.

"You think that's funny?" an angry voice exclaimed in the dark.

Now Thorin had turned to the two Dwarves, not at all amused.

"You think a night raid by Orcs is a joke?"

"We didn't mean anything by it." said Kili who had stopped laughing and had become serious again.

"No you didn't. You know nothing of the world!" snarled Thorin as he walked away from them.

As the Company leader had walked away grumbling, Balin joined the two Dwarves.

"Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs."

"And what would it be, just curious?" asked Hope.

Balin then said:

"After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain… King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first."

"The Orcs," Alaric supposed.

"Yes," agreed Balin with a sigh. "Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs… led by the most vile of all their race: Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc… had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began… by beheading the king. And he threw his head at Thorin's feet."

Shocked, Bilbo, Hope and Alaric turned their heads to Thorin, aware that he had been through some very difficult times since the loss of the Dwarf Kingdom in the Lonely Mountain.

Balin resumed his story:

"Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing. Taken prisoner or killed… we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death… were upon us. That is when I saw him. A young Dwarf prince… facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe. His armor rent… wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield."

"That explains the name of Thorin Oakenshield," said Alaric respectfully.

"In their fight, Thorin, after fending off Azog's attacks, managed to grab a sword and sever the Pale Orc's hand, disarming him, while the enemy fell to the ground, screaming in pain, agony and humiliation. Azog the Defiler learned that day... that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied... wand drove the Orcs back. And our enemy... had been defeated. But there was no feast... nor song that night... for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then... there is one who I could follow. There is one... I could call King."

Thorin turned, all the Dwarves now awake as he subtly bowed in recognition to the wondering looks everyone was giving him.

Thorin walked towards the fire with Hope and Alaric reassessing their opinion of him.

"And the Pale Orc?" asked Bilbo. "What happened to him?"

Thorin replied curtly:

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago."

At his words, Balin and Gandalf exchanged a skeptical look, which had not escaped Hope and Alaric. They realized they weren't sure of Thorin's claims.

On another cliff, on the other side of the Valley, stood a group of Orcs who were spying on the Company of Dwarves.

Their leader Yazneg spoke to the others:

"Send word to the Master, we have found the Dwarf-scum!"

And done here. I hope you enjoyed. Hope and Alaric will gradually discover the creatures of Middle-earth. See you soon for a new chapter.