There were few people that Thorin Oakenshield trusted. He trusted his kin, but that was it. After losing the Lonely Mountain, the dwarves of Erebor were looked down upon by many races of Middle Earth and elves had a special place of distrust in Thor...
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Lord Korvon moved hastily down the corridors. He kept his head down, only acknowledging those he passed when they addressed him first. Thankfully no one questioned his hurried movements. He eventually came to an empty hall. It was lit only by a few torches, as it was rarely traveled, yet they provided just enough light. Korvon looked around, scanning either end of the hall and its shadows.
"Looking for someone?"
Korvon startled, jerking a little in surprise before placing his hand on his chest.
"Is that necessary?" Korvon said.
Baralin crossed his arms, unimpressed. He had been standing in the shadows of a small alcove.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"What did you do?"
"You're going to have to be more specific, Lord Korvon."
"When you approached me, you said you could find a way to turn public opinion against the elves. You said to trust you, that you had it handled."
"And I did."
"By stealing the Arkenstone? And kidnapping one of them?"
"Those were the first steps," Baralin said. "It was your job to shift the mentality of the council and the people."
"Well I underestimated their influence."
"Obviously."
Korvon flustered. He took a moment to collect himself and asked, "What about this morning, outside the mountain with the royal family?"
"What about it?"
"Prince Kili and Dwalin were injured, struck by magic arrows!"
Baralin appeared bored.
"How unfortunate," he said.
Korvon stopped.
"Unfort- what are you saying? Was that- was that you?"
Baralin shrugged.
"It was bad luck that I missed, honestly. If the guard hadn't gotten in the way, and if the elf hadn't interfered, I might have actually hit my target."
"Are you mad?," Korvon said. "None of this was part of the plan!"
"Not your plan," Baralin snapped. "You wanted something to frame the elves with, so I made the Arkenstone and Vedis disappear. However, I also had my own mission to complete."
A moment of silence passed between the two.
"What are you talking about?" Lord Korvon's voice shook. "What mission?"
"That is none of your concern."
"What mission? Korvon pushed.
Baralin pushed himself off the wall and stepped toward the lord. In response, Korvon took a step back, but Baralin closed the difference quickly. He glared at Lord Korvon, shoving his finger against Korvon's chest.
"This is what you signed up for when you enlisted my services. You asked for me to get rid of the elves. That's what I'm doing. But in order to do so, you must remove the infected parts too. You don't need to like my methods, you just need to stay out of my way. I'm sure you wouldn't want to tarnish your shiny reputation on the king's council, now would you, Lord Korvon."
"I would say it's too late for that." The two dwarves froze and looked down the dimly lit hall. Their eyes widened when Oreliell stepped out of the shadows, pulling a hood off her head. "The king is already suspicious. He knows that darkness has slithered its way into the halls of the mountain. But you know all about that, don't you, Baralin?"
Baralin pulled away from Korvon, smirking.
"Well if it isn't the lovely Oreliell," he said, waving his arms out in a mockingly grand gesture. "So wonderful to see you again after all this time. How have you been, lass?"
"I've had worse days," she said. "You've caused quite a lot of trouble around here."
He shrugged. "What can I say?"
"Perhaps you should start by explaining what your mission here in Erebor is."
"So you heard."
"Every word."
"Shame. Makes my business much more difficult. I suppose you're just another obstacle for me to get through."
He pulled a long sword out of its sheath. Oreliell could feel the dark magic radiating off of the steel. She studied Baralin for a long moment.
"You don't want to do this, Baralin."
"Oh, I'm sure I do."
Oreliell pulled out her own sword.
"The last time we fought, you lost."
"The last time we fought, I was forty-five years younger. I've grown stronger."
