Star of the Mountain (Hobbit Fanfiction)

Chapter 22

Oreliell watched as Thorin's expression began to darken again.

No. No, no, no. Please-

"There's hundreds of them," Dwalin continued.

"Call everyone to the gate," Thorin grumbled.

Oreliell reached out to try and grab his arm.

"Thorin, wait-"

"To the gate! Now!"

Oreliell watched him walk away. Dwalin sent her an apologetic look before following after Thorin. Her hand clenched into a fist at her side, wishing that she was able to reach out to him.

"Oreliell?" Bilbo said softly. She glanced down at him. "Are you all right?"

"I will be," she replied after a long moment. "You managed to get through to him, Bilbo. We must pray that we can do it again."

As ordered, the company gathered at the gate. Several of the dwarves looked out at Dale, where they could see the people of Lake-town moving around. They seemed to be setting up camp and lighting fires for the evening.

Thorin came toward them, his face still shrouded in anger.

"Gather what stone you can," he demanded. "We must reconstruct the gate."

"What?"

"Thorin, what do you mean?"

"Do as I say," Thorin snapped. "The gate must be rebuilt to keep out the pests."

The company exchanged brief looks with one another, but slowly set to work. They lit several lanterns and began to gather whatever stone and rubble they could find. It would take a lot to fill the entryway.

The hours trickled by and the sun set over the land. They brought pulleys and rope and ladders, allowing them to continue to build up as they went. The process was tedious, but the dwarves knew how to work with stone. Oreliell moved stone where it was needed, following whatever directions were given to her by the others.

"Up it goes!"

"More stone over here."

"That's it."

Oreliell paused to look over the dwarves. While they were making progress, the company wasn't moving terribly fast. Oreliell could tell that they were hesitant about what they were doing.

"Come on, lass," Dwalin said, nudging her.

She sighed, lifting another large stone and setting it in place. She glanced up when Thorin emerged from the hall.

"I want this fortress made safe by sunup," he called. "This mountain was hard-won. I will not see it taken again."

"The people of Lake-town have nothing," Kili suddenly said. Oreliell looked back at him, noting that he had stopped working. Several other dwarves paused to look at him, but continued working, not wanting to risk Thorin's wrath. "They came to us in need. They have lost everything."

"Do not tell me what they have lost," Thorin said. "I know well enough their hardship. Those who have lived through dragon fire should rejoice! They have much to be grateful for."

"Grateful for what?" Oreliell asked, turning to him. "Kili's right, Thorin, they've lost everything. If we have the resources, we should offer them."

He turned to glare at her. She saw that more dwarves were slowing down to listen and watch.

"They have their lives, do they not?"

"Not all of them."

"Lass," she heard Dwalin say, trying to quiet her.