painless wounds ;; the hobbit

the warning ;;

The wizard looked down at him, not fazed by his rude comments. "Where is your leader? I wish to speak with him."

"Who is asking?"

___

Inside a tent, the wizard introduced himself. "I am Gandalf." he breathed, "War is coming!"

In front of him stood Thranduil, the Great Elvenking, and Bard the Bowman, Master of Laketown. They both were very confused by the wizard's sudden interruption, though Thranduil didn't show it.

Gandalf sensed this and continued. "The Halls of Dol Gudur have been emptied. You are all in mortal danger!" The wizard looked troubled, very troubled, as he told them this news.

"What do you mean?" Bard asked. He was shaken by what the the wizard said.

Thranduil stood up from his makeshift throne, pouring himself a cup of water. "I see you know nothing of wizards. They are like winter thunder on a wild wind, rolling in from the distance." he looked sharply at Gandalf. "But sometimes a storm...is just a storm."

How poetic, thought Bard.

"Not this time." Gandalf insisted. "Armies of orcs are on the move. These are fighters, bred for war. Our enemy has shown his full strength."

Despite Gandalf's word, Thranduil was still not convinced. "Why show his hand now?"

"Because we forced him. We forced him when the company of Thorin Oakenshield set out to reclaim their homeland." The wizard walked out of the tent, and the other two followed. He turned to them. "The dwarves were never meant to reach Erebor. Azog the Defiler was sent to kill them. His master seeks control of the mountain. Not just for the treasure within, but for where it lies, it's strategic position. This is the gateway to reclaiming the lands of Angmar. If that fell kingdom shall rise again, Rivendell, Moria, The Shire, even Gondor itself will fall."

There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke. 

"These orc armies you speak of, Mithrandir," Thranduil began, "Where are they?"

___

Cyrille's POV.

Thorin looked surprised when Cyrille strolled into the mountain. "Hello." she said.

"I see you managed to climb the wall."

"Yeah, I didn't expect that." Cyrille stared at her blistering palms. "Well, I'm off to see Bilbo."

She found him, and all the dwarves in to armory. Cyrille hugged her old friend tightly, lifting him off the ground. "Cyrille?" he asked, as if he didn't believe it.

"Yes, it's me. You're so old now!" she remarked.

Bilbo was too dumbfounded to notice the insult. "Where did you go? Why are you here?" he began to rattle off questions.

"Sorry, Bilbo. They took me. They said...they said they would hurt you if I didn't come." she whispered into his curly hair.

Bilbo let go of her, dropping down to the floor. "Who's they?"

"The elves." Cyrille said sourly. 

"The filth!" Dori, one of the dwarves, called out. There were several shouts of agreement around the room. The dwarves seemed to be forgetting that she was an elf.

"They weren't actually so bad. I got comfortable. Eventually." she said defensively. "How'd you guys get here?" She gestured to Fili and Kili.

Kili shrugged. "Boat. Thank you, for saving us back then. We appreciate it."

"Well, it was mostly Tauriel."

"Tauriel...is she okay?" Kili asked, concerned.

Cyrille could tell he cared about her a lot. "She's headed to Mount Gundabad with my friend Legolas."

"What for?" Balin asked.

"To check if our suspicions are correct. We believe there is an army of orcs headed this way." Cyrille said. "They will probably kill us all."

Nobody spoke. Suddenly, Kili said, "She went with the elf boy?"

Cyrille laughed. "It's obvious that you fancy her, Kili. When she comes back, just tell her. Tauriel has taken a liking to you as well."

Kili's cheeks reddened. "Really?"

"Are you really that oblivious? Anyway, why has Thorin built a wall?"

"He's protecting his gold." Ori said. The dwarf looked very worried. "He's been infected with dragonsickness."

Cyrille said, "He doesn't plan on giving the elves or the men their share of the gold."

"Yes." Balin confirmed. "The past few days, we have been looking nonstop for the Arkenstone."

Bilbo suddenly started sweating.

"The Arkenstone...you haven't found it yet?"

"And it's driving him mad."

"There will surely be war, between the elves, the dwarves, and the men. Although regarding the orcs, we do not know." Cyrille said.

Every dwarf in the room gulped. Bilbo started fidgeting.

"Greed will soon be the death of him."