Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 2 of Seven Wonders. Thank you to all who left reviews, it really does mean a lot to me. I hope that you guys like this next installment. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

The Meeting

"My dear Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked the hobbit. He was standing next to Artemis who was busy watching what was going on around her.

"What's the matter? I am surrounded by dwarves. What are they doing here?" Bilbo demanded the old wizard.

"Oh they're quite a merry gathering, once you get used to them." Gandalf said offhandedly.

"I don't want to get used to them. The state of my kitchen! There's mud trod into the carpet, they've p-pillaged the pantry. I am not even going to tell you what they've done to the bathroom. They've all, but destroyed the plumbing. I don't understand what they are doing in my house. The only one that hasn't pillaged the pantry is this young woman right here. She at least shows some respect towards me and does not eat me out of house and home." He said as his voice showed his agitation of the dwarves being here in his home.

Artemis felt bad for the hobbit. That was why she had not drank or eaten anything in his home. She wanted him to have that respect.

Gandalf hummed at the thought. He already knew that she was polite. More polite than what he thought she would have been.

Ori came up to Bilbow with a plate in his hands. "Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt, but what should I do with my plate?" He asked politely.

Artemis had to admit at least one of the dwarves that was here had manners. Polite in some kind of way which she was glad to know, but she was not sure if Bilbo liked it.

"Here you go, Ori, give it to me." Fili said, taking the plate from the third youngest dwarf and threw it to Kili, who then threw the plate behind his back to Bifur who was standing at the sink. Bifur caught it without looking.

Dishes were flying around the room all going towards the kitchen. Gandalf had to duck to avoid getting hit. "Oh!"

Bilbo once again was trying to get them to stop. "Excuse me, that's my mother's West Farthing crockery, it's over a hundred years old!"

The dwarves at the table began to use the utensils on the table.

"Can… can you not do that? You'll blunt them." Bilbo said trying his best to get them to stop, but he hadn't gotten far with it. Oh no not at all. They were not listening to him.

"Oh, d'hear that lads? He says we'll blunt the knives." Bofur said, making a smart remark to what the hobbit said.

Artemis could not help, but groan. She had felt a headache coming on after seeing the dishes flying through the air and they still were.

Blunt the knives, bend the forks

Smash the bottles and burn the corks

Chip the glasses and crack the plates

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!

Cut the cloth and tread on the fat

Leave the bones on the bedroom mat

Pour the milk on the pantry floor

Splash the wine on every door

Dump the crocks into a boiling bowl

Pound them up with a thumping pole

When you've finished, if any are whole

Send them down the hall to roll

…

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!

Bilbo huffed into the kitchen in anger only to see that the dishes were neat and clean.

The dwarves and Gandalf laugh at Bilbo.

There were suddenly three loud knocks on the door causing Artemis to wince. Her headache was slowly growing worse and the loud knocks didn't do much good for her poor head.

"He's here." Gandalf told them.

They go to the door and Gandalf opens it.

Thorin enters the hobbit-hole. "Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. Wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door." He said gruffly.

Artemis shivered a little. His voice was powerful indeed. Something that she was not expecting since coming to this world.

"Mark? There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago." Bilbo clearly was not happy with what was said by Thorin.

"There is a mark. I put it there myself. Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf said, introducing Bilbo to Thorin.

Thorin had removed his cloak and handed it to Kili. He turned his attention to the hobbit that stood before him. "So, this is the hobbit. Tell me, Mister Baggins, have you done much fighting?"

"Pardon me?"

Thorin walked around the hobbit looking at him to see if Gandalf had truly done and lost his mind. "Ax or sword. What's your weapon of choice?" Thorin asked again. So far he was not pleased with what Gandalf had chosen for their fourteenth member.

"Well, I do have some skill at Conkers, if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant."

Thorin crossed his arms. "Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." Thorin said looking at Gandalf. He then noticed a woman standing next to him with long brown hair in loose curls and brown eyes. "And this? Why is there a woman here and you have yet to introduce her."

"Thorin this is Artemis Houston. She shall be our fifteenth member." Gandalf told him smoothly. If he was going to have to prove it to Thorin that Artemis could handle herself than he would.

Artemis stiffened when she felt his eyes on her.

"Tell me Miss Houston have you done much fighting?" He asked his first question that he had asked with Bilbo.

"Yes." She said softly. "Though I am a bit rusty."

"Sword or ax?"

"Dual swords." She stated, as she looked at him.

"I don't see how much help she is going to be if she is rusty with sword play, Gandalf."

"I brought her for more than one reason. She is from another world and her gifts are something to behold." Gandalf said, telling Thorin the truth. The only thing he kept hidden was she knew what happened at the end of this trip to reclaiming their homeland.

He turned his attention fully to Gandalf. "ANd her gift. What might that be?"

"She is also a wonderful healer."

"We have one healer already. We won't need another." He said in anger.

Artemis shivered when she saw his aura was a muddy red. Her gifts were becoming more and more stronger. She was afraid that Thorin's aura would soon enough turn black.

"Trust me on this Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror. You will need her gifts on this journey." Gandalf told him.

Thorin looked at Artemis. "She doesn't look like much, but I suppose I will have to trust you, Gandalf."

They go into the dining room.

Thorin was eating his meal.

Bilbo had brought some food to Artemis which wasn't much. "Here. You haven't eaten yet." He said softly to her.

Artemis looked at him. "Oh no. I couldn't." She said softly.

"Please. You look hungry and thirsty." He said, handing her a glass of wine with the food.

"Thank you." She said taking it from him. She had to admit so far this was not the way that she had wanted to spend her 25th birthday even though here it was April 26th and not September 13th.

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked Thorin.

"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms." Thorin replied.

"What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" Dwalin asked.

"They will not come." Thorin said, as the dwarves showed their disappointment. "They say this quest is ours and ours alone."

"You're going on a quest?" Bilbo asked, confused.

"Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light." Gandalf told the hobbit.

Bilbo brought a candle over to the table as Gandalf laid a map down onto the table.

Artemis finished eating and came closer so she could see as well.

"Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak." Gandalf said.

"The Lonely Mountain." Bilbo said reading the map.

"Aye." Gloin said. "Oin has read the portents and the portents say it is time."

"Ravens have been flying back to the mountain as it was foretold. When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end."

Bilbo turned and looked at them. "Uh. What beast?"

Artemis pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew what beast that they were talking about. She knew that Bilbo was most likely going to freak out due to this. All because not many dragons had been seen anywhere in Middle-Earth for a while.

"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely fond of precious metals…" Bofur began to say to Bilbo.

"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Bilbo snapped.

Ori jumped up. "I'm not afraid! I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the Dwarvish iron right up his jacksie."

Several of the dwarves shout causing Artemis to wince.

"Sit down!" Dori yelled at Ori pulling him down.

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just 13, and not 13 of the best, nor brightest." Balin said, causing shouts around the table. "Well 14 if you count Miss Houston."

"What did he say?" Oin asked.

Fili smacked his fist off of the table. "We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf."

"And you forget. We have a wizard in our company. Gandalf had killed hundreds of dragons in his time." Kili stated proudly.

"Oh, well, now, uh. I-I-I wouldn't say that, I…."Gandalf started to say.

Artemis gave him a look. She knew that he had never slain a dragon in his life.

"How many, then?" Dori asked, looking at Gandalf.

"Uh what?"

"Well, how many dragons have you killed? Go on, give us a number!" Dori said looking at him.

Artemis just shook her head as he hummed and nervously smoked on his pipe. Her ears were ringing due to the yells of the dwarves trying to argue about how many dragons Gandalf had killed.

"Shazara!" Thorin yelled in anger causing them to go silent.

Artemis rubbed her ears. He was louder than what she thought he would have been.

"If we have read these signs, do you not think that others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years. Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor? Du Bekar! Du Bekar!"

All the dwarves cheer except for Balin.

"You forget, the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain." Balin said, telling Thorin his concern.

"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Gandalf said twirling his fingers before producing a dwarven key.

Thorin looked at it in wonder. "How did you get this?"

"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safe keeping. It's yours now." Gandalf said, handing him the key.

"If there is a key, there must be a door." Fili said.

Gandalf points to the runes on his map with his pipe. "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls."

"There's another way in." Kili said with a smile.

"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle Earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and clever, I believe it can be done."

"That's why we need a burglar." Ori stated.

"Hm, a good one, too. An expert, I'd imagine." Bilbo said, thinking.

"And are you?" Gloin asked, looking at Bilbo.

"Am I what?"

Artemis wanted to smack her head. Bilbo had pretty much fallen into that one.

"He said he's an expert! Hey hey!" Oin said laughing.

Several of the other dwarves laughed.

"M-me? No,no,no,no,no. I'm not a burglar. I've never stolen anything in my life."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material. Miss Houston would seem more of the type." Balin said looking at the young woman.

Artemis's eyes widened. "Oh no, no, dear me. No, I can't even move out of my parents home without being caught." She said shaking her hands causing the gold bracelets she wore on her wrists to clang together.

"Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Dwalin said solemnly.

The dwarves began to argue again. This time about Bilbo not being able to fend for himself in the wild.

Gandalf stood to his full height casting a shadow onto the group. "Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar then a burglar he is." He said in a powerful tone causing them to stop arguing amongst themselves. He reverted back to normal. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of hobbit will all, but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the 14th member of this company, and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest, and he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself. You must trust me on this. You already trust me with the 15th member."

"Very well. We will do it your way." Thorin said.

"No,no,no."

"Give him the contract. Her as well."

"Please."

"Alright, we're off." Bofur said with a smile.

Balin handed the contract to Artemis first.

Artemis looked at Gandalf. Her brown eyes narrowed at him.

Gandalf nodded his head.

Artemis gave him a curt nod and signed her name not even reading the contract surprising them. "I will not need any kind of payment to help." She stated handing it to Balin.

Balin handed it to Bilbo. "It's just the usual summary of out of pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth."

"Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo stepped back a few feet to read the contract over.

Thorin leaned towards Gandalf whispering something to him and Gandalf answered back in a hushed tone.

"Terms: Cash upon delivery up to, but not exceeding one fourteen of total profit, if any. Seems fair. Eh, present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof including but not limited to lacerations… evisceration… incineration?"

"Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in a blink of an eye." Bofur said looking at Bilbo.

Bilbo looked breathless. "Huh…"

"You all right, Laddie?" Balin asked, looking at Bilbo.

Bilbo bent over, nauseous and pained. "Uh, yeah… feel a bit faint."

"Think of a furnace with wings." Bofur said.

"Air, I-I-I need air." Bilbo said, becoming worse.

"Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash."

Bilbo breathed heavily trying to compose himself as they looked on. "Hmmm… Nope." Bilbo faints crashing to the floor hitting his head.

Artemis winced.

"Ah, very helpful, Bofur." Gandalf looked at Artemis and pulled her aside. "You'll be able to help him, my dear, but you'll be tired afterwards. You will need no candles. So all you have to do is say the spells." He told her in a hushed tone.

Artemis looked at Bilbo then back to Gandalf.

"He will have a concussion with how hard he hit his head."

Artemis nodded her head before going over to Bilbo. She had long since taken her boots off bringing her down to 4'10 which made her taller than most of the dwarves except for a few of them. She brushed past a few of them before getting to kneeled down next to him. She placed her hand on his forehead.

"Gandalf what is she doing?" Kili was confused as much as the other dwarves were.

"You'll see soon enough." Gandalf said looking over at Artemis.

Artemis slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It had been a while since she had to heal anyone. But she did not want Bilbo to have a concussion when he woke. "Trean beannachdan agus slainte bi ar tu. Aiseirigh Dain'cecht agus bris seo mallacht. Mascail agus dibir bu airt. An solas de Awen cuidigh mo! Dibir seo tinne me! Dean as! Dean as! Dean as!" She said the spell. Her hands had begun to glow turquoise in color, as she healed the concussion.

The dwarves looked on in shock.

Artemis slowly opened her eyes and slumped back some. "He will need to be taken into the other room so he can wake up." She said tiredly.

"And what of you Miss Houston?" Balin asked, looking at her.

Gandalf picked Bilbo up and took him to another room to place him into a chair.

Artemis slowly tried to stand. Her legs were shaky. "I will most likely need to sit." She said trying to take a step forward, but her legs were not going to allow her.

Gandalf had caught her before she crumpled to the floor. "You did well, my dear girl." He told her before scooping her up into his arms and taking her into the other room placing her into a chair so she could rest and regain some of her energy.

"Gandalf?" Ori asked, looking at the wizard.

"Yes, Ori?" Gandalf asked, looking at the third youngest dwarf.

"What exactly was that?"

"My dear Ori, that was a healing spell. Miss Houston is a very gifted young woman. THis is one of her many talents that she has. One of the reasons why I brought her as the 15th companion."

Ori nodded his head. He returned to the table with the others.

Bilbo soon enough awoke and now was holding a cup of tea in his hands. He had noticed that Artemis was in the other chair looking more weary than he had seen her before. She was holding a cup of tea in her hands as well. "I'll be alright, let me sit here quietly for a moment."

"You've been sitting quietly for far too long. Tell me, when did doilies and your mother's dishes become so important to you? I remember a young hobbit who always was running off in search of elves in the woods, who'd stay out late, come home after dark, trailing mud and twigs and fireflies. A young hobbit who would have liked nothing better than to find out what was beyond the borders of the Shire. The world is not in your books and maps, it's out there." Gandalf said to Bilbo.

"I can't just go running off into the blue. I am a Baggins of Bag-End."

"You are also a Took. Did you know that your great-great-great-great uncle Bullroarer Took, was so large he could ride a real horse?"

"Yes."

"Well, he could. In the Battle of Green Fields, he charged the goblin ranks. He swung his club so hard it knocked the Goblin King's head clean off, and it sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit hole. And thus the battle was won, and the same time the game of golf was invented at the same time." Gandalf said.

Artemis stoods up. "I'll be out there in the other room if you shall need me." She told Gandalf.

"Be careful my dear."

Artemis nodded her head and shakely went back into the other room to be with the dwarves and allow Gandalf and Bilbo to talk.

"How are you feeling Lass?" Gloin asked, looking at her.

Artemis slumped into one of the empty seats that had a back on it. "Tired." She said softly.

"That is quite a gift you have." Bofur said with a smile. "You'll come in handy."

Artemis smiled a small smile. "I have more than that gift Mister Bofur. Much more and I am sure they'll be seen soon enough."

Bilbo walked down the hall.

"It appears we lost our burglar. Probably for the best. THe odds were always against us. After all, what are we? Merchants, miners, tinkers, toy-makers. Hardly the stuff of legend." Balin said to Thorin.

"There are a few warriors amongst us." Thorin replied.

"Old warriors."

"I will take each and every one of these dwarves over any army from the Iron Hills. For when I called upon them they came. Loyalty, honor, willing heart. I can ask no more than that."

"You don't have to do this. You have a choice. You've done honorably by our people. You have built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains, a life of peace and plenty. A life worth more than all the gold in Erebor."

Artemis knew that Thorin wouldn't give up. SHe knew that the dwarves couldn't hear them because they were far enough away, but she heard them because she was close enough to them. She saw Thorin hold up the key.

"From my grandfather to my father, this has come to me. They dreamt of the day when the dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice Balin. Not for me."

"Then we are with you, Laddie. We will see it done. Even she will see it done. She is behind you even though she does not know us." Balin said looking over at Artemis.

Thorin looked over at her. "She is a fool to join us, but her gift will help us. We will need it if one of us gets badly injured." He could not understand why this young woman would sign her life away to help them reclaim their home. She didn't even read the contract. He thought she was insane to do so.

Later on the dwarves were in Bilbo's living room next to the fire. All of them were smoking on their pipes.

Artemis sat next to Gandalf who was also smoking on his pipe. Artemis had pulled out her cigarettes that she always carried on her and was smoking one.

The dwarves began to hum and Thorin began to sing.

Far over the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep

And caverns old

We must away

'Ere break of day

To find our long forgotten gold

The pines were roaring on the height

The winds were moaning in the night

The fire was red, it flaming spread

The trees like torches blazed with light

Artemis listened sadly to the song. She looked over at Gandalf and could only hope that Gandalf had made the right choice in picking her. She slowly drifted off to sleep because in the morning the journey would begin.

XXXXXXXXX

This is the end of chapter 2. Please let me know what you think so far. I want to know how I am doing with my writing. Until next time.