Walking Between Dreams

Chapter 10

I was nestled in a blanket on the rough wooden, damp floor with sparse mold growing on the walls. The smell of stale water and fish drifted in the overcrowded room. In the corner of my eye I took notice of a dwarf stretching up to the sky and waking up the others with gentle kicks. I rolled over with the floor creaking and stood up while my hair stood up on ends from the static energy.

I took my hand and brush my hair while whispering, "Where are you going to?"

It was Gloin who glanced at me and he nearly jumped out of skin with his brown hair catching the moonlight. His long beard swayed with his grunt, "The question is what are you doing?"

"I just woke up, it looks like you are going some where," I probed with some hesitance.

The dwarf returned with hostility in every pronunciation, "To be honest I do not trust or like you. You are a shady character who avoids the truth."

Balin interjected, "That is enough Gloin. Since you are up, Mia, we can use your assistance."

"With what?"

"We are retrieving actual weapons unlike those common tools that Bard presented to us, earlier" Balin stroked his beard. This was news to me.

I stumbled over the blankets that lined the floor to the large door. I sneaked out to only gasp; spirals of stars plastered the dark background. Faint red stars flickered and wandered faster than any other stars. The brilliant lights twinkled and flickered like snowy reflections with clouds off in the distance. The sky told an untold story of thousands of years worth of history. The slight wind picked the dwarves scent of algae and fish.

The dwarves and I walked along the water's edge as we searched in Lake-town for an armory. I  weaved among the pack of dwarves until I reached the front and gazed at the houses and businesses. The wood squeaked quietly with each step, mice ran about the gutters of houses. Light shined through some of the window with women and men creating fishing nets and pottery.

I examined the area to find grumpy dwarves and a gang of pugs sleeping by an entrance of a house. The dogs appeared to by muddy but well-fed in a heap they laid in. When I stopped a few of the dwarves cut me off and continued onward after Thorin. I was left in the back with Gloin as he ignored my existence which I did not mind.

"I need to visit Vandrad for some more twine for my baskets," echoed a male voice in the empty alleys that jutted off of the main walkways.

I looked to the alleyway to see who it was and when I glanced back over my shoulder it was only Gloin and I. He stared up at me with large, brown eyes and I took a hold of his hand. He tried to remove his clammy hands, but I grasped with all of my strength.

"Young lady, why are you out so late?" asked the male voice as he came into view. He was a stout man with a black beard who swiftly plodded over.

I looked into the man's eyes while holding Gloin's hand and articulated, "I was looking for my husband and I found him. He left the house, so I drunk I had to come after him"

"I thought I needed to get more fish, dear," hiccupped Gloin as he tightened his grip.

"Ummm... No, I told you to go to bed, so you can get more fish tomorrow," I grumbled to the dwarf.

"Interesting, a human and a dwarf," examined the man.

"We have been happily married for three years now. We have a little girl named Dis who is two now. She is the sweetest thing, especially when she helps to braid my husband's hair and..." I rambled on as my eyes twitched to a shadow of a hat a few feet away.

The man cut in with a bored expression, "I need to start going or my wife will scold me for being late. I hope you have a good evening."

The man briskly walked around a booth that possibly sold food and disappeared into the night. I looked at Gloin and winked, "So, we are married now?"

He ripped away his hand and glared at me, "No, I am already married to a beautiful woman.".

I rolled my eyes and sauntered to where I noticed where the dwarves were at. I noted Bofur's hat ages ago as it moved from his motions.

I glanced down at all of the dwarved and announced as I walked off, "We should start going."

We continued along the walkway at a slower pace as the night wore on. Now some more in tact houses came into view with children toys on the doorsteps. There were no cracks on the windows with some daisies and violets growing in clay flower pots.

"I never asked you but I am curious now. Are you engaged or married?" asked Balin as he creeped up on me.

"Yes, engaged," I responded while looking down at his white head of hair.

Balin pressed on, "Who is the lucky man?"

I weighed my options and answered truthfully while straining my voice, "They are not a man but a woman."

"Do you want to talk about?" Balin noted with the tone of my voice.

"No thank you," I muttered as my gaze became fixated on Thorin's head at the front of the crowd.

After a few more blocks of wandering around we ultimately came across a small sign that had "Armory" written across in black print. The paint of the sign was a deep green that was worn away by time, Dwalin went over and pushed it a bit.

"Here we are finally here," declared Thorin as he made his way to the back of the two-story building.

We followed suit and saw a large window that overlooked the water. The sound of the waves vibrated more often giving proof the weather might change. Thorin only did a few hand gestures and the dwarves made a staircase out of themselves. I looked upon them with confusion and decided to be the lookout.

Thorin, Kili, and Fili were the first ones to enter the armory. It took some struggling but they were able to open the window with dust falling down onto my face as I looked up. They ran in and out with weapons that ranged from axes to swords to bow and arrows. The weapons were all human-sized, so the dwarves almost looked comical.

An axe fell from the window of the armory and I caught is with a stumble across the dirt covered planks. The weight threw me forward into Gloin who was turning with the blade of the axe cutting off the very ends of his baby hair on the top of his head.

"By Durin's beard, you could have decapitated me! Your acting like a drunken warg" mocked the dwarf as he placed more weapons into my arms.

I snickered, "Maybe if you would be taller I could hit your head. Then take you to the back and...".

"Stop talking, lassie," cackled Gloin as he cracked a grin.

"We need to keep gathering more weapons," gently reminded Fili with his golden hair reflecting some torch lights off in the distance.

Thud! A sword fell out of the window and onto the ground, damaging the wood. Thorin and a few dwarves scrambled down from the window and gathered in an organized formation. In the distance human voices could be heard as they came closer. We moved away as swiftly as possible with all of the weapon we could carry.

"Hey! Where do you think you are going?" screeched a man's voice from a far as we stopped in our tracks and turned around, "You will be punished for this."

I twisted to face a short man with chin length light brown hair that curled from the mists of the lake. Even the dwarves faced the man and did not attempt to run to safety. They stood a few feet away all staring at the scene with circular eyes and increased breathing rates.

The man aggressively took hold of my wrist and disclosed, "You and these dwarves are coming with me."

All of us trudged after the man with a few other male humans who wore long, battered coats. I had no idea where we were going and it could not be good.