Book Two: An Unexpected Journey
Chapter 7: Life Around Camp
Notes: Welcome to Book Two: An Unexpected Journey!
The rolling hills that were still recognizable to me slowly were left behind by mountains. I had always seen them in the far distance and admired their beauty when I lived among the hills and trees, but it was quite something else to ride a pony up the steep, rocky terrain and not have a heart attack. My amazement of such a landscape was quickly replaced by me holding onto the reins of my pony for dear life.
The end of the first day of travel was coming to a close though as it got darker and darker out. It was decided it was best to make camp for the night and allow the horses and ponies to rest. A few of the dwarves prepared a fire and brought out some food, but most went to bed right away. I was completely tuckered out after all the riding, so I did find a tiny spot where I could lay down on my bag and fall asleep…which did not go very well.
Certainly while growing up I knew how to cohabitate with plenty of other people living in the space around me, but the past few years I had a room to myself with the loudest thing being the wind coming through my drafty windows and whatever sounds from the streets. I most certainly was not prepared to try and sleep through dwarvish snoring, aggressive rolling around, and disturbing sleep talking.
Eventually I got up and snuck over to the fire where Fili, Kili, Balin, and Gandalf were still awake talking amongst themselves and keeping watch.
"Evening gentleman," I yawned. "I assume I get to look forward to many more noisy nights such as this on the journey?"
Balin chucked, "I'm afraid so, Deary. You'll get used to it."
"Or go deaf like Oin," Fili snickered.
"Aye, I love those options." I took my pipe from my pockets and started packing it with tobacco. "I don't think I've struggled with getting a good night's sleep in my entire life. I didn't expect dwarves to be quiet sleepers, but goodness, it's a wonder we don't have creatures from miles around finding their way to us."
"If they do, they will find a good fight," Kili said, nudging his bow with his feet.
"Oh of course they would, have they ever seen a cranky hobbit before?" Gandalf joked, giving me a knowing look.
"Isn't that the truth." I lit my pipe and sucked in the sweet smoke then sighed. The sound that immediately followed was a distant howling and snarling that sent a chill down my back. I had never heard anything quite like it, definitely not wolves or coyotes. I lowered my voice and said, "What the actual hell was that?"
Everyone else paused to listen for a moment as well but the answer was unanimous, orcs. The sound woke up Thorin, and he immediately got up, drew his sword and walked off into the night by himself.
"Where is he going? Should we go after him?"
Balin reassured me and said, "He's just going to scout. He has more of a reason to hate orcs than any of us so I'm sure he needs to set his mind at rest."
"I don't think anyone particularly likes orcs, from what I've heard." I blew out smoke rings and stared off in the direction he went in.
"That would be accurate but it is something different for Thorin. After the beast took Erebor, King Thror, Thorin's grandfather, attempted to take back the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moira. Unfortunately, the orcs had already had the same thought and were there before us, prepared and knowing that others would follow. Armies, no, legions of orcs had invaded the land and were led by Azog the Defiler. The pale orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin." Balin took a moment and hesitated, then said, "The cruel monster started with the king…and took his head."
My stomach dropped and I removed my pipe from my mouth.
"Thorin's father, Thrain, was driven mad by grief and disappeared. Killed, taken prisoner, wandered off and died? No one knows. But without a leader we were sure that defeat and death was going to overcome us. We did still have a leader though, and I'm glad I got to see him that day. Our young prince found the bravery and or stupidity to face Azog, and when he did so, he did so alone while the rest of us fought the rest of the orc armies."
Kili mentioned, "His namesake came from that battle. He welded nothing but a branch from an oak tree as a shield."
"Indeed he did. And with that branch and a stray sword he was able to teach that creature that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. We rallied our troops and pushed the enemy back until victory was ours. Though, celebrations were not had, for the dead tipped the scales beyond grief. So few of us survived that many of us wondered if we were in fact amongst the dead. Every single dwarf that is currently living knew someone who died in that battle, including my son, Thorin's brother, Dwalin's father, and so many more it would be impossible to mention. However, if it wasn't for Thorin surely none of us would have even lived to see daylight. I swore to myself that day that anywhere my master went or wanted me to go, I would follow. He is the only one I could call king of my people, King Under the Mountain."
Even with all the imagination in the world I knew I couldn't even begin to comprehend that sort of battle, so much violence, blood, and death. In my tiny world the craziest I ever saw were some bar fights that had gotten out of hand, but a battle like what Balin described was impossible to picture. I couldn't help but admire Balin's devotion to Thorin, and now I could understand why he felt that way about his master.
I cleared my throat and asked, "What about the pale orc? Did he die?"
"They swept him off after Thorin cut off his arm, too much of a coward to die in battle like a real warrior. It must have perished from its wounds ages ago."
"That's a relief. I don't think I'd ever like to meet such a horrible monster, I'm sure it would eat hobbits like me for breakfast."
"Perhaps second breakfast, but certainly not first," Gandalf stated.
I chucked and went back to my pipe, and once the howling faded away I was able to enjoy the sounds of the night.
Eventually Thorin returned from his scouting and went right to bed. Balin was not far after and Fili and Kili eventually gave up and went to sleep as well. I stayed up with Gandalf who asked questions about my family since it had been so long since he had seen everyone. I told him that my sisters were married and leeching off of their gentle husbands, my brothers were either thieves or recluses, and both of my parents had perished years ago. Some of the news surprised him, but very little of it did. That seemed to be a common theme with Gandalf.
"Where were you expecting I'd end up? Among my sisters or my brothers?" I inquired, sticking my toes closer to the small fire.
"I always knew you had a better head on your shoulders than the rest of your family. I wouldn't have ever offered them a spot on this adventure. I pictured you living off the land though, not in town working at that tavern."
"I never pictured that for me either," I sighed. "I belong to the land, I feel so grounded in places like this where I'm surrounded by earth and trees and can feel the air on my skin. I had nowhere else to go though. And I wanted to try and belong in Bree just because people told me I couldn't. They hated my family and I guess I just wanted to show we could be more than criminals. I'm sure that doesn't surprise you."
"Not for a moment, my dear. Though I do wonder, what made you change your mind and come? I was waiting for you to show up on the road, but you did seem pretty determined when I left you in your room last night."
"Well," I took a deep breath and picked up a rock to fiddle with it, "I did end up read through the entire contract. I must admit it was surprisingly well-done even though it was impossible to read in sections due to bad handwriting. Reading through it made the entire thing feel real. And…I think I had the moment that Balin had mentioned. He said during his story that he had a moment where he looked to Thorin and just knew that's where his loyalties would always lie. I suppose I had something kind of similar."
"Hmm, I am astonished by how much changed over the few days I was gone, especially since Thorin does not frequently get along with strangers."
I laughed lightly and shrugged my shoulders, feeling the rock in between my fingers. "What can I say? I'm just so charming."
"There's a bit of magic in all of us." He stretched out his long limbs. "I think it's time to put this old man to bed. Goodnight Miss Lydia."
"Goodnight Gandalf."
He rolled over onto his side and it seemed like it only took him moments to fall asleep. I would have enjoyed having the quiet of the night to myself, but the rattling snoring of dwarves made that impossible. Figuring that maybe staying close to the crackling sound of fire would help me drown out the constant snowing, I curled up on the hard ground and closed my eyes.
Last to rest and first to rise. I could not emphasize enough how unnatural it was for me to struggle to get sleep no matter the temperature or noise. I have slept on stone, on sopping wet grass, and in snow but the noise of the dwarves was a ring of hell.
With the sun barely over the horizon I got up and walked over to the edge of the cliff. It was a small area with some large pine trees that had still managed to grow. From us being up so high there seemed to be a constant cool breeze, but the air smelled so fresh. The orange and pink sunrise was surrounded by dark clouds, so I could smell the rain that was coming.
I took a deep breath and united my hair to shake out anything struck in it from the traveling we had done so far. Considering how bad my sleep was, staring out on the hilly and mountainous sunrise was the best way to start the day.
"Good morning Miss Lydia," I turned and Thorin joined me at the edge of the cliff, "did not think you'd be the first one awake."
"I didn't think I would be either." I pulled a stick from my hair and tossed it off the edge. "I think I'll need to drink something stiff before bed from now on, I was not prepared for that."
He nodded and looked off into the distance, his eyes scanning across the horizon. He was still scouting, looking out for the orcs.
"I know the sound of orcs were nearby last night, were you able to sleep well?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "About as well as usual."
"Well, I suppose if they knew we were here they would have already attacked right? So that's a good sign?"
"Potentially."
"Then take a moment to enjoy the beautiful morning. What's the fun of a grand adventure if you don't take a few moments to appreciate it? After all, after you take back Erebor you'll want to reflect on these times and want to remember them."
"Speaking from experience?"
"Oh yeah, I just helped reclaim a kingdom last week. That's why Gandalf had to have me join." I rolled my eyes. "Hobbits are just the masters of having laid-back lives. There's always time for a smoke and to appreciate nature."
"Dwarves do not appreciate the same things that hobbits do."
"I've noticed, but I'm certain that we're not as different as we seem."
As he stood there I felt like mentioning the letter he had left me. I wanted to tell him how much I appreciated it and how much I wanted to plant a kiss on his handsome face. I knew it would only make him uncomfortable so I decided to leave it and just enjoy the time I was spending with him. Though, I did want to make something clear.
"I hope you know that I have no ill feelings about the whole contract thing since you resolved the issue with Master Ferdinand. I really appreciate you fulfilling your promise on that one, it made it really easy to say my final goodbye to that bastard."
"Of course," he nodded. "You didn't punch him?"
"No," I sighed. "I did insult him up, down and sideways but decided that physical assault would make me no better than him. I tried to be the 'better person'."
"Hmm."
"You think I should have punched him?"
"Absolutely."
"Well damn," I laughed, tying my hair back up. "Guess I'll regret that for the rest of my life, not taking the final moment to knock Master Ferdinand on his ass."
"You do not need to call him that anymore. You have no master."
I looked up at him, caught off guard by the comment. Even though he was looking out at the view, I still gave him a smile. "It does feel good to be free, not gonna lie."
When he looked back down to me and gave me the tiniest ghost of a smile, my face heated up so hot I thought it was going to melt. He was just so damn handsome with his carved stone features and streaks of silver in his long hair. He was like no other creature I had ever seen before and just looking at him made me as giddy as a child.
I quickly reigned myself back in, reminding myself that he was a king after all. So, I cleared my throat and pulled my cloak tighter around my shoulders.
"Anyway, I wanted to make sure I thanked you for that before getting too far into the journey, so again, thank you. And, uh, are we heading out right away this morning or will we wait for everyone to wake up on their own?"
"Don't mention it," he nodded. "And it's best to wake everyone up soon so we can get riding. With the rain coming it will be a miserable day for traveling no matter what so it's better to get started sooner rather than later."
"Oh, I would love the pleasure of going around and waking everyone up after the slaughter on my senses that happened last night," I grinned evilly. "I think I'll be starting with Bombur, the real villain of the evening."
"Enjoy yourself."
I cracked my knuckles and went back to the group and wreaked havoc upon the main culprits from the night before. I sang hobbit morning songs to them as I ripped off blankets, rolled them around, and jumped on top of them.
I felt like Thorin had given me my retribution once again.
