Dwalin and the Pearl

Chapter 12

Dwarves are at home deep in the earth, in our caverns and mines. Underground, I can use scent, sound, and the slightest vibrations of earth and air to track anyone who seeks to hide from me. But out in the fields and forests with their riot of noise and color, wide open to the endless blue vault of sky overhead, following someone is a bit more challenging.

Not impossible, of course. Sometimes it's as easy as stopping a farmer and asking if he'd seen a dwarf pass by. Farmers always notice strangers, and despite their suspicions they are often willing to provide information that will make an outsider go away. They become especially willing to help when you promise to make an outsider stay away. So I pretended to be a thief-taker and assured them my quarry would be locked up for good, if only I could catch up to her.

It seemed that Var was heading for the Tower Hills. She was moving fast and resting only briefly, but I could tell by the remains of her small campsites that I was gaining on her. If my luck held, I would find her within another day.

But why was she going there? The Tower Hills lie west of the Shire, near the sea. The place got its name because the elves built three tall towers there, probably so they could conduct some weird elf magic. Smart dwarves would give the place a wide berth. I had no idea what kind of dwarf Var was, anymore.

On the third day, I found her. I almost blundered right into her, pushing my way through the bushes all leafed out in fluffy green spring foliage, twigs crackling endlessly beneath my boots. This is the trouble with trees-they're always shedding branches and throwing out roots, causing a racket and tripping you up, and making it impossible to creep up on someone.

I crouched behind a tree as she knelt by a forest stream, drinking out of her cupped hands. She took off her traveling pack and rummaged through it, removing something. When she turned, she held a dagger and something wrapped in cloth. With the dagger, she scored a rune in the bark of a tree. Then she sat down at the foot of the tree and unwrapped the cloth. It held some bread and a bit of cheese.

It was only polite to let her finish her meal before I confronted her. I wasn't just watching her to watch her. There's not much opportunity to learn a person's deepest secrets just from the way they chew their food. Besides, her head was hanging down, so I couldn't see her face very well. Her shoulders were hunched in, her elbows resting on her knees. She wiped the back of her hand against her eye. I guess she was tired. I knew I was.

When she was done, she packed up the dagger and the cloth, and slung her pack on her back. She started walking in my direction. When she got close enough, I leapt out and grabbed her, twisting her arm into a secure arm-lock.

"Hello, Var. Going somewhere?"

She shrieked and struggled. I had her pinned to me, her back to my front, with her one arm twisted up behind her. It was tricky to hold her without doing any damage-I hadn't had much experience in the non-damage-doing area, and she was fighting me with every bit of strength she had. Her comments were mostly along the lines of, "Let me go," "Stay away from me," and "Why have you followed me?"

I answered the last one. "You owe me an explanation."

"That's the last thing I can give you," she said, panting. She was wearing herself out, kicking her heels at my shins and throwing her head back in a futile attempt to connect with my nose. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone? I told you I was trouble. Why can't you listen to me?"

"Tell me why you're so much trouble. Just explain it, and I'll go." I didn't bring up the matter of our night together. Somehow, it didn't seem gentlemanly. "What's so difficult about that?"

She went limp, letting her head fall back against my chest. I could see tears sliding back towards her temples. "Because you can't know. The fact that you don't know is the only thing that can keep you safe. Keep you alive."