Elves and Dwarves (part 2)

Sneaking in

"You can tell the Master that I'm done for the day."

Inside the house, Bard's daughters, Sigrid and Tilda, greeted their father.

"Da! Where have you been?" Tilda asked

"Father! There you are. I was worried." Sigrid said

Both daughters ran to their father, and they hugged. Bard then handed his bag to Sigrid.

"Here's something to eat. Bain, get them in."

He then turned to his daughters.

"Do we still have some Lotus flower powder?" He asked

Sigrid nodded.

"They are in the cabnet. Why?"

"Please go and fetch it. Tilda come here."

Sigrid ran towards the cabnet and grabbed a goldern brimmed draw-string bag. Running back to her father, she disposed of the bag in his hand.

Bard gave a nod in thanks. Pulling back his jacket revealing a shivering Draco, he placed her fragile body down on the old worn couch that was sitting by the fireplace.

Opening the draw-string bag he pulled out some of the herbs and began to crush it together to form a green paste that he then fed to Draco.

As Bard saw to Draco, Bain went down some steps to the lower floor of the house, which was open to the water. After looking around, he knocked on the wall near the toilet three times. Dwalin's head appeared through the toilet, which was open to the water below.

"If you speak of this to anyone, I'll rip your arms off." Dwalin growled

Dwalin raised the seat and began to pull himself out of the toilet. Bain reached out to help him, but Dwalin slapped his hand away.

"Get off."

"Up there." Bain said as he pointed up the stairs, and Dwalin went up. Bilbo poked his head up through the toilet, looking flabbergasted, and Bain helped him out. The rest of the dwarves followed and headed upstairs.

"Da...why are there dwarves climbing out of our toilet?" Sigrid asked

"Will they bring us luck?" Tori asked

Nori emerged from the toilet with some leaves stuck to his hair.

.....

The dwarves were all wrapped in blankets, and their wet things had been laid in front of the fire to dry. Some of them shivered. Draco lay in the arms of Thorin as he sat the closest to the fire in an attempt to warm her up and rise her temperature.

"It may not be the best fit, but it'll keep you warm." Bard said

Tilda passed out blankets, and Bilbo thanked her when he received one.

"Thank you very much." he said with a warm smile.

Thorin looked out a window and saw a wooden tower not far away. Atop the tower was a windlass, a giant cross-bow type weapon with four arms. Thorin looked at it in shock.

"A Dwarvish Wind-Lance."

Bilbo, who was sipping a hot drink from a mug, looked at the wind-lance too.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Bilbo said worried

"He has. The last time we saw such a weapon, a city was on fire. It was the day the dragon came." Balin explained

Thorin looked sadly away as a flashback consumed him. He could still hear everything around him including Balin's narrating in the background.

-Flashback-

Smaug is attacking the city of Dale. He blows fire, destroying buildings.

"The day that Smaug destroyed Dale. Girion, the Lord of the city, rallied his bowman to fire upon the beast." Balin said

The city was in flames, but a man in armor, Girion, lead a group of archers in shooting at the flying dragon.

"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." Balin said

Girion ran to a rack holding three long, heavy, black arrows, each made of metal and at least 4 feet long, and grabbed one. He turned and loaded it into a Dwarvish Wind-Lance, and drew the arrow. He turned the wind-lance, aiming for the dragon. It was difficult to see the dragon because it was flying swiftly and because the air was full of smoke. Girion fired, and the arrow hurtled through the air. It hit the dragon in the chest but bounced harmlessly off.

"His store was running low when Girion made his last stand." Balin said

Girion grabbed another black arrow into the wind-lance and fired. This arrow too found it mark, but bounced off the dragon's chest.

-End of Flashback-

"Had the aim of Men been true that day, much would have been different."