Insanity | A Hobbit Fanfiction

Chapter 31

After the Company managed to coax the giant turtle back into the Lake, they were faced by the problem of the /massive lake surrounding them./

Zephira suggested hopping back into the barrels and floating, which was quickly shut down by everyone.

Nox offered to fly above the Lake and search for a boat, but Zephira refused to let her go off on her own lest she be shot down by elves or orcs or whatever else was out there.

"I am not letting you get filled with arrows just to find a boat!"

"I can avoid arrows, Zephira!"

"Oh?" The witch shot back. "What happens if someone catches you unaware?"

"Then I- Zephira, watch out!" The younger witch tackled her to the ground just as an arrow shot overhead.

Zephira rolled to her feet, and her hand went to her hip to grab her sword, but she paused when she saw the longbow.

Swords don't do well against those.

"Don't move." The man said, arrow aimed at Zephira.

"I won't." She assured him, and raised her hands in surrender.

"You're a witch."

"And you're a man."

"Why are you with a bundle of dwarves?"

"Travelling," she said, more blunt than she meant it to be.

"We are simple merchants," Balin began to explain.

"I know where these barrels come from." The man said, eyeing the chipped barrels floating in the water.

/Oh, dear.../ Nox bit her lip. /This was going to be difficult./

It in fact proved to be less difficult than imagined, but far more expensive.

When the Company came up short in coin, and Gloin argued with Balin over how much he should pay, Zephira opened her mouth to snap at him.

Then, they saw it.

The Lonely Mountain.

Zephira's mouth snapped shut as Gloin's small bag of coins hit the table. "Take it!" He said eagerly.

Zephira saw that there still wasn't enough, although Balin was too distracted by the Mountain and memories to notice.

She quickly threw down a handful of coins, which no one saw, and stomped away.

Except Kili saw.

Or maybe he imagined it, the pain radiating through him made his vision fuzzy and hearing muffled.

Speaking of which, the wound left from the arrow shouldn't be affecting him this way.

Sure, it should hurt like hell, especially after it /ripped up half his thigh when he jumped into the goddamn barrel/, but not this much!

A wave of nausea rolled through him, and Kili closed his eyes.

Bilbo noticed the dwarf slumped at the side of the boat and frowned, but said nothing.

-•-

Kellain was sitting alone, curled up into the smallest ball she could manage, arms over her head, as though to protect herself.

She was clutching at her head, eyes squeezed shut so tight it had to hurt.

It did hurt.

/Everything hurt./