HOBBIT X OC - Elastic Heart

Chapter 13 ~ Laketown

I was surprised to find that no one even looked twice at me. Just as we reach Bard's home and enter through the door I see Bard turn and toss and apple down to a fisherman as he says, "You can tell the Master that I'm done for the day." 

Inside the house, Bard's daughters, Sigrid and Tilda, greet their father. "Da! Where have you been?" The littlest one calls as she runs to her father's arms. "Father! There you are. I was worried." His older daughter says as she also hugs her father. I stand there awkwardly before suddenly his older daughter turns to me and says, "Who's this?"

"This is Randír," Bard says to her before turning to Bain and saying, "Bain, get them in." I glance around the room before following Bain down some steps to the lower floor of the house, which is open to the water. After looking around, Bain knocks on the wall near the toilet three times. Dwalin's head appears through the toilet, which is open to the water below. I instantly cover my mouth to keep from laughing at him.

"If you speak of this to anyone, I'll rip your arms off." He says and I nod as I still stifle a chuckle. Dwalin raises the seat and begins to pull himself out of the toilet. Bain reaches out to help him, but Dwalin slaps his hand away, "Get off." Dwalin yells and I turn to Bain as I say, "Don't worry he's just embarrassed."

"Up there." Bain points up the stairs, and Dwalin goes up and I stay behind to help the rest of the dwarves out of the water. Bilbo pokes his head up through the toilet, looking flabbergasted, and Bain helps him out. The rest of the dwarves follow and head upstairs. "Da... Why are there dwarves climbing out of our toilet?" I hear Sigrid ask an I chuckle under my breath making Thorin narrow his eyes at me. "Will they bring us luck?" Tilda asks innocently and I find myself once again trying to stifle a laugh. I turn back toward the toilet just as Nori emerges from it with some leaves stuck to his hair.

"Come on Nori," I say as I lift him up and pull the leaves from his hair. When all of them are out of the water we all go upstairs and I see that they are wrapped in blankets, and their wet things have been laid in front of the fire to dry. Some of them shiver.

"It may not be the best fit, but it'll keep you warm." Bard says as Tilda hands a blanket to Bilbo who says, "Thank you very much." I smile at his manners. Thorin looks out a window and sees a wooden tower not far away. Atop the tower is a windlass, a giant cross-bow type weapon with four arms. Thorin looks at it in shock. "A Dwarvish Wind-Lance." I hear Thorin say and I follow his gaze out the window.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." I hear Bilbo say and I turn toward him right as Balin says, "He has. The last time we saw such a weapon, a city was on fire. It was the day the dragon came." Thorin looks sadly away as Balin continues, "The day that Smaug destroyed Dale. Girion, the Lord of the city, rallied his bowman to fire upon the beast; But a dragon's hide is tough, tougher than the strongest armor. Only a black arrow, fired from a wind-lance, could have pierced the dragon's hide, and few of those arrows were ever made. His store was running low when Girion made his last stand."

I feel a twinge of sadness for the dwarves before Thorin says, "Had the aim of Men been true that day, much would have been different."

Bard approaches Thorin as he says, "You speak as if you were there."

"All dwarves know the tale." Thorin lies and I instantly feel my head start to hurt.

"Then you would know that Girion hit the dragon. He loosened a scale under the left wing. One more shot and he would have killed the beast." Bain yells out and I admire his courage for sticking up to Thorin.

"Ha ha ha! That's a fairy story, lad. Nothing more." Dwalin says and I find myself walking over to him and glaring at him. He rolls his eyes before he turns away from me and back to the fire.