"Ered Luin..2 weeks before Durins day
The sun was shining down upon Thorins halls as children were running around in excitement as Durins day drew closer. They were dreaming of the great feast that was to come filled with lovely cakes, the beautiful lights , sweet delicacies that were light as air, perfectly roasted meats, singing, pies, dancing, more cakes....yummmm. In one such home there was dreams of more than just food..they were dreams of the new life that was to come.
Tia was stirring a pot of stew over the fire thinking of all that had transpired today. Earlier Dis, Amari, Kita, Grawlin and even Tohlm came over to her home to help straighten, clean, and just make ready for the company that should be arriving any moment. She decided that it would be best if they stayed in her home..after all she had the available rooms..Tohlm even offered up his room if need be, while he went to stay at Dis' home. She felt relief that her home was clean once more...the blessing of having such good friends and family. Tia couldn't believe Amari had come to help..after all she was very pregnant too. Amari claimed she was fine..but it seemed not as fine as she thought..right now she was back home in labor..giving birth to Dwalin and hers child. Dis, Grawlin and Kita were with her , leaving Tohlm to help Tia greet Bofurs parents whenever they arrived and to help watch over Griegur who currently was walking around the living room being entertained by his uncle.
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Across the way in the village:
Screams could be heard all the way outside of Dwalins home as Amari was groaning in the bed of the upstairs bedroom..trying to not push at that moment...per Dis. Earlier while helping to clean tias home before company arrived , Amari's baby decided to come at that time..two weeks earlier than expected. Dis who was acting as the mid-wife for this had told Amari that the baby was in the wrong position to be birthed..so no pushing yet. After telling her this Dis sent Kita out into the hallway to wait with Grawlin, who was pacing back and forth in worry over hearing his momma in pain. Whenever Dwalin left he had told Grawlin..who was 10 years old" You are the man of the house while Im gone..so watch over your mother and sister..keep them safe." so now he was pacing outside the door in the hallway waiting on any word on what was going on in the room...now Kita joined him.
After sending the girl out Dis turned back to Amari..breathing deep she picked up the sheet as she looked into her eyes "Now just keep breathing..Im going to have to go in and turn the baby into position..dont push till i tell you too." Amari nodded as Dis begun. It was excrutiating..she could feel the baby being shifted inside...soon the awaited words she longed to hear finally sounded.
"Now Push! Push!" Amari groaned and pushed with all her might. "Once more. Push!" screaming loudly Amari heaved one last time and was rewarded with a feeling of the baby leaving her body and into the world...the child voiced its displeasure at its new world with such gusto that anyone passing by could hear. The moment Kita and Grawlin heard the cries they rushed into the room with joy as they went to greet thier new sibling.
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Tias home
Tias thoughts were interupted by a ringing of the bell from the shop door..signifing that company arrived..and she could hear Tohlms voice shout out as he headed down below to answer as she went to the living area with Griegur. She could hear some banging, stomping of feet and voices making thier way up the stairs towards them.
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Tia had only met Bofurs mother twice..once at the wedding and once when she was a little dwarfling of five. It was a one of those days when Bofur was working late into the night , toiling over a special order for Gloins son, Gimli. Tia had snuck out of her family quarters while Tohlm and Ognir (her adoptive father) slept peacefully in thier beds and made her way to Bofurs workshop to visit him this late at night...all she wanted was to see her Bo.She ran down the halls as quiet as she could making her way to Bofurs work area..as she got near to it she heard voices..one was Bofurs and the other was a womans. Slowly she crept closer, peaking around the corner she saw a lovely older dwarf woman with hair of dark brown pulled back in a tail with many plaited braids falling down her back...talking to her Bo who was smiling up at the woman. Tia leaned out further around the corner and stumbled slightly..alerting the two of her presence.
"Tia lass? What are yeh doing outta bed at this hour?" Bofur got up from his chair making his way over to the little girl. Tia whimpered thinking she was in trouble now as her head bowed down and tears began to form in her eyes as she sniffeled. Bofur picked her up and held her in his arms as she clung to his neck..crying."Ah lassie..dont yeh cry. Its alright. Yeh shouldnt be outta bed at this hour."
"Bofur..who is this child?" the womans voice was deep yet soft and filled with curiousity as he turned to her.
"This is Tia..Ognirs daughter. She comes down to see meh ..but neveh this late." he held Tia as he sat down in his chair, then eased her away so he could wipe her tears from her face. Bofur saw her eyes wander over to the woman who was becoming more curious of the child. "Tia..i like teh introduce yeh teh me mother Beryl." Tia remembered her manners and smiling at the woman held out her hand to shake, which Beryl did while chuckeling at her.
"Nice to meet you momma Beryl." Bofur couldnt help laughing at hearing her call his mother momma.
"Beryl..just Beryl little Tia." she spoke kindly."Now whatcha doing outta bed child?"Tia started to sniffle again as she buried her face into Bofurs shoulder.
"I couldnt sleep..monsters under my bed took my Bo and I wanted my big Bo to make em go away."Bofur smiled at the thought of her wanting him to chase away her monsters for her to get her doll Bo back...she peeked out of his neck seeing niether of them mad at her..they just were smiling and it gave her a bit more courage. "Why you out of bed?" Beryl laughed at the temerity of the girl.
"Well..I knew me son here hadnt eaten yet..so I brought him dinner." Tia giggled at her as she looked at Bofur..placing her tiny hands on either side of his face trying to look stern as she spoke in her sweet voice.
"You need to eat Bo..so you can be big and strong just like your daddy." they both laughed loudly at her trying to look serious..but she couldnt hold it long before she too joined in with peals of laughter echoing around the shop room. Eventually they ate the food that Beryl brought..even Tia had some before she fell asleep in Bofurs arms. Bofur carried the child back home..signaling for her father to be quiet, not waking her up as he carefully put her to bed.
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The front door opened at that moment snapping Tia out of her memory of Bofurs momma..as the very woman she was just thinking about walked in. She hadnt changed in all those years..still looked the same now as then.
"Tia! Oi...hows my sweet daughter in law doing?" Beryl swept into the room rushing over to her..but paused briefly upon seeing Griegur who was trying to crawl into Tias lap at that particular moment..getting shy at the sight of strangers."Uh..Tia?" Tia smiled over at Beryl as she lifted the tyke into her arms comforting him.
"Momma Beryl." Beryls eyes jumped to Tias and her smile got wider ..remembering what she used to call her as a child."May I introduce you to your grandson Griegur." she noticed the womans eyes going wide at the mention of grandson..giving Tia a questioning look.
"Why didnt Bofur mention him?" Beryl looked behind her seeing her husband Rawfur coming in with Tohlm right behind him...then back to Tia who was softly laughing.
"Wellll...thats because he doesnt know about him..yet." she saw Beryl and Rawfur giving her a look of..explain.."I found him outside of my shop in the bushes three months ago. His mother just left him because he's half elf and half dwarf..she didnt want him.But...I..I do. So hes our son now." she felt tears welling up in her eyes and she tried to not let them fall...until she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder...looking up into Beryls eyes seeing compassion and understanding there , broke her at that moment. She let go and cried..cried over Griegurs mothers heartlessness..cried over being scared about having twins..but most of all she cried over Bofur not being there with her. "I dont know if he will love him...Im so worried that he wont want him...I want him back momma..i miss him so much like there is a hole inside of me." all of Tias worries came flooding out as she sobbed into Beryls shoulder. Somewhere during Tias sobbing Griegur allowed Rawfur to hold him who eased away from the women ..allowing them to talk privately.
"Its alright luv. He is going to luv Griegur. How could he not luv that boy..those dark curls and those beautiful blue eyes. He may not be blood but if yeh say hes yurs then hes yurs." that earned Beryl a smile. "Just remember this...Yeh may have not brought him into this world..but by Mahal yeh can take him out. Blood, family does not make." Tia laughed..then the rest joined in. Beryl clapped her hands as she stood up swiftly." Now let me see me grandson. Come here me boy and lets see those muscles." Tia smiled big as Griegur let her hold him as she tickeled his belly making him sqeaul in delight.
It was at that moment that the front door slammed open, starteling everyone there, as Kita ran in with a whooping shout throwing herself into Tohlms arms as she crowed ...Its a boy! Its a boy!..momma is doing great and so is the baby! ..there was cheering and clapping of happiness as the girl caught her breath.
"Whats his name?" Tia asked her overjoyous apprentice.
"His name is Tahlin." she stood tall and proud as she announced it to the room. Tia looked down at her bulging stomach as her thoughts raced to Dwalin who missed the birth of his son..and to her Bofur who was going to miss seeing his children coming into this world also.
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King under the mountain-poem
The king beneath the mountains,
the king of carved stone,the lord of the silver fountains,
shall come into his own!
His crown shall be upholden,
his harp shall be restrung
his halls shall eco golden
to songs of yore re-sung.
the woods shall wave on mountains.
and grass beneath the sun;
his wealth shall flow in fountains
and the rivers golden run.
The streams shall run in gladness
the lakes shall shine and burn,
all sorrow fail and sadness
at the mountain kings return!
Edge of mirkwood-late afternoon
The late afternoon sun shone down upon four women ..an elf and three dwarvish women..who stood looking down at the meandering river before them as one slowly knelt down..an elf..to inspect a smearing of blood on the rocks. The other three just watched her with many questions in thier eyes as her brows drew together with a look of worry...sighing one of the dwarven women with fiery hair stomped her way over to her.
"Tauriel...whats going on? I know the king didnt order you to escort us..he would never do that for any Durin..so spill it...please." Kechi added the please so she wouldnt offend the only help they had recieved from this realm. Tauriel kept examining the spot as she answered the woman.
"Your right. He didnt order me to help you three...he did order me out." she paused as she looked up at Alysi briefly." I saw a friend of yours...his name was Kili." she heard thier gasp and held up her hand to quiet them so she could finish speaking." He was in the dungeouns below..but now hes gone..escaped...and hes wounded" she glanced over to Alysi noticing how her eyes were getting wide and filling with tears that threatened to fall any moment. "You love him dont you mellon?" Alysi nodded...Tauriel sighed deeply in understanding." He was shot in the leg with an arrow as he was helping to free the others..." she saw the look of horror and quickly clarified before they blamed her or the other elves." Not by one of or own but an orcs arrow...a morgul shaft." she turned back to the bloody spot upon the rocks as she remarked." Looks like they are heading to Laketown...and so are the pack of orcs trailing them. We need to hurry..he will not last much longer" she made to move when suddenly she hears something coming up behind them. ..spinning swiftly with her bow and arrow readied she sees Legolas standing there pointing his own bow at her. "I thought you were an orc." she replied in elvish not lowering her weapon just yet.
"If I were an orc you four would be dead." his voice sent shivers through her ..not of fear but of longing of what could never be...as he lowered his bow and took a step closer to her concern evident upon his face. "Tauriel, you can not hunt thirty orcs on your own." her smile that she gives him makes his heart speed up a bit as he tries to hide his longing for her..the desire to kiss that sweet mouth of hers that each time it moved into a smile drove him crazy.
"But we are not on our own." he looked at her as astonishment crossed his features at what she was hinting at.
"You knew I would come?" she smiled once more as she lowered her eyes briefly in aknowledgement over his assessment...he took a breath as his voiced flowed with a pleading note in it." The King is angry, Tauriel. For six hundred years my father has protected you, favored you. You defied his orders, you betrayed his trust." her heart fell a little bit that he would hate her too like his father..but she knew she was doing the right thing in this. "Come back with me, he will forgive you." he hoped at least..but her words wiped that hope away.
"But I will not. If I go back, I will not forgive myself." she turned from him and the three women who was watching the exchange between them with held breaths..to stand at the cliffs edge over the water. "The king has never let orc filth roam our lands. Yet he would let this orc pack cross our borders and kill our prisoners..." they could hear the anger in her voice. " and my friends." his eyes flew to hers in shock at the mention of friends.
"it is not our fight." he stammered out as she spun around looking at him with disbelief over what he said. In that moment he felt a pain in his heart that maybe he just destroyed all hopes or dreams he ever had with her.
"It is our fight. It will not end here..you know that. With every victory this evil will grow." she steeled herself knowing her next words would deliver tha final blow to any hope of love with him..but she had to say it."If your father has his way, we will do nothing. We will hide within our walls, live our lives away from the light and let darkness descend." he saw a light come into her eyes with a fiery passion of what she believed in as she stood proud and strong before him." Are we not part of this world? Tell me, meleth nin ( my love),.. when did we let evil become stronger than us?" she saw his eyes widen at what she had called him by mistake..she meant to say friend but in her passionate speech she didnt censore her words and it slipped out. Legolas took a shaky breath as he moved closer to her ..hope flaring within him at her slip up..seeing her slight trembling as he approached her ..frozen in fear.
"Do you mean it? What you said?" he now stood in front of her ..hearing her heart racing, sounding as if it was a horses hooves pounding the earth under it...praying to hear the very words he had always longed to hear falling from her lips once more.
"Of course.." she stuttered as she pretended to misinterprit what he was asking her." it is our fight. We can not follow blindly someone who is being blind himself to the ongoings around us." she saw his hand move to her face..cupping it as he peered intently into her eyes.
"Tauriel...do you love me?" his voice whispered..begging to be answered
" Yes." she lowered her eyes as the admission was torn from her..hanging in the air between them for him to crush if he so chose.
She felt his hand move away from her face and a finger curled under her chin raising her eyes to meet his...looking up she saw him lean down towards her and then suddenly his lips gently swept across hers...tentively.Almost afraid she would cringe away from him he brushed his lips over hers allowing her to retreat from him if she chose..instead he felt her return his kiss softly. He leaned away briefly and saw her heart bared before him...he felt his own heart singing as he saw her love for him being returned in kind.
Without hesitation he pulled her to him as he deepened the kiss letting his lips ..his tongue show her how he felt for her...hearing her moan into his mouth as her hands held tightly to his shirt..holding him close which further intensified his desire for this astounding woman in his arms. They probaly would of kept going..progressing further in thier expression of love for one another..but there was a discreet cough coming from behind them. They parted to glance at the forgotten dwarves ..Tauriel blushed profusely at the women who just smiled hugely..and Legolas just raised his eyebrows in annoyance of the interuption.
"Sorry to interupt..but we really need to get there as soon as possible. Kili is going to die if we dont." Legolas stared at Alysi in confusion of who she was talking about...it was Tauriel who answered.
"He is the dwarf who was shot by the orc arrow" he felt a moment of jealousy washing over him..thinking she may prefer the dwarf over him..but her next words quelleing it and filling him with relief." Hes also Alysis love...her betrothed." he saw the look in all the womens eyes and knew he had no choice but to defy his father also and help these stubborn women..especially if he didnt want to chance losing his love over something like this..he inclined his head in agreement. They all smiled at him knowing he was disgruntled about this but still willing to help..as they all began descending the cliff ..heading for Lake-town in the distance.
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2 Days before Durins day
The lake was eerily calm as the barge moved across it ...mist swirling all around the dwarves who sat in uncomfortable silence ..the only sound was the water lapping at the boats sides as it glided over the still waters...suddenly a large stone jutting out of the waters comes into view of the travelers who watch with horror as it loomed before them.
"Watch out!" Bofur hollered out in fear as thier guide masterfully eased the boat away from the stones..manuevering quit skillfully past many more that stood out amongst the waters surface.
"What are you trying to do? Drown us?" Thorins voice was laced with anger at the bargeman who just looked down upon the dwarf..raising his eyebrows at the insinuation of being dishonorable.
"I was born and bred on these waters Master dwarf." the disdain evident in his tone as he spoke down at Thorin."If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here." he turned his attention back to the task of safely guiding the boat through the dangerous waters..ignoring his passengers. Bofur heard some angry exchanges between the others..something along the lines of throwing the man overboard..glancing over to him to see if he heard them..saw the smirk on Bards ( bilbo said that was his name) mouth but otherwise pretending that he wasnt listening. Balin walked around amongst them all gathering thier coins so Bard would get paid for smuggeling them into this town unseen..that being part of the agreement when they boarded this vessel earlier this morning.
"How do we know he wont betray us?" Dwalin asked ..suspicous as always...as he walked over to Thorins side.
"We dont." his just as suspicous and warily watches Bard as he keeps looking ahead. Balin counts the coins in his hands..then recounts as concern enters his eyes.
"Theres..umm..just a wee problem. Were ten coins short." Thorin looks over at Gloin whos doing a fine interpretation of innocence as Thorin stares at him pointedly.
"Gloin, come on. Give us what you have." Thorin sighs ..waiting for the tight fisted dwarf to give it up..who keeps up the act of innocence.
"Dont look at me. I have been bled dry by this venture!" he gestures with indigitly as he looks away." What have I seen for my investment? Naught but misery and grief and..." he notices the others attention is caught by something in the distance..peering in the same direction they all are he sees the mist parting briefly giving them all a glimpse of the lonely mountain close by.
"bless my beard." gloin suddenly takes out his coin pouch out of his jacket..handing it swiftly over to Balin." Take it. Take all of it" they hear Bilbo clearing his throat as Bard quickly approaches them.
"The money quick. give it to me." he holds out his hand ..a look of urgency apparent.
"We will pay you when we get our provisions, but not before." Thorin spoke smugly at Bard..believing he had the upper hand...which was shattered almost immediately at Bards next words to him.
"If you value your freedom, youll do as I say." he saw Thorin bristling at his comment and rushed to clarify before he angered the dwarf any further." there are guards ahead." they all peer at the port coming into view as unease settles over them. Thorin sighed heavily then looked back at Bard with a questioning glance of ..what now...seeing Bards eyes shift around then lighting up as an idea comes to while staring at the barrels. " Quickly now..get in the barrels...And keep quiet and still." with alot of muttering and grumbling they hurry and do as they are told.
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The barge slowly makes its way down the lake..closer to the gates of town..loaded down with many barrels filled with fish..and dwarves that are hidden under thier slimey wet cover. Bofurs moans could be heard from under the foul smelling fish as they were pulling closer to the gates.
How am I ever going to get this stench out of my clothes..gag..thank Mahal tia isnt here to see this..or smell this. I dont think ill ever eat fish again.he thought to himself while shifting noisely in his barrel. As he moved and moaned at this predicament he felt his barrel being kicked by Bard with a stern admonishment of "Quiet! were approaching the toll gate." Bofur became very still as they pulled up to the gates..hearing a man shout out to the oncoming boat to halt..inspection check it appeared. They all could hear Bard and the man conversing briefly and just as it seemed they were about to make it through another voice joined in. It was harsh whiney nasal sounding voice filled with contempt directed at Bard.
"Consignment of empty barrels from the woodland realm. Only theyre not empty are they Bard?" the company becomes nervous hearing his words..fearing the worst." If I recall correctly, your liscensed as a bargeman. Not..." the man picks up a fish from one of the barrels,,not noticing he uncovered Gloins eye..who stares in horrorr that hes about to be revealed any second. "..a fisherman." Bard tries to keep the mans attention on him and not looking down..by trying to reason with him.
"Oh, come on, Alfrid. Have a heart, people need to eat." Alfrid sneers at Bard as he tosses the fish in his hand into the water.
"These fish are illegal." he motions to some guards standing there as the dreaded words are spoken. "Empty the barrels over the side." He smiles smugly at Bard seeing disbelief evident on his face at this turn of events...and worry. Bard thinks hard and tries once more to reason with the weasely man before him.
"Folk in this town are struggling. Times are hard. Food is scarce." Alfrid sneers at him as the guards begin to empty a barrel over the side..uncovering Bombur a little bit..who sees the water coming into view. He holds on praying that Bard can stop them before the hiding dwarves are revealed for all to see.
"Thats not my problem." Bards mind moves fast as the last possible solution comes to him.
"And when the people hear the master is dumping fish back into the lake? When the riots start? Will it be your problem then?" he see Alfrids eyes narrow as he realizes Bard has a point and not wanting the events Bard speaks of happening he holds up his hand for the guards to stop..walking off the barge back to thier posts. Alfrid moves closer to Bard..his foul breath rolling into Bards face..his voice full of anger and contempte at being out smarted by a river rat like him.
"Ever the peoples champion, hey ,Bard? Protector of the common folk. You might have thier favor now, bargeman, but it wont last." with that he spins around stalking off the boat leaving the fish and stowaways on board as Bard steers his boat through the open gate into town.
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The barge slowly makes its way through the town finally coming to stop with a slight bump..alerting the travelers that thier smelly confinement was almost over. Bofur hunkered down in his barrel a bit hearing the stomping of boots coming over to him..unsure of what was happening next when suddenly he feels something hit his barrel..tipping it over to spill him and the fish out onto the barges deck. Sputtering and trying to rid his mouth of the horrid taste left behind..he glances over to the others who some are getting the same treatment while others pop out before it can be done to them..growling at the man who then walks over to another man giving him a coin.
"You didnt see them, they were never here." bard looks away briefly at the dwarves then his eyes go back to the man." The fish you can have for nothing." Bard then turns to Thorin."Follow me." he turns and walks away with the company following behind as he leads them thruogh town along warped wooden walkways that had seen far better days. As Bofur cautiously looks around him ..wearily watching his surroundings he notices a young boy run up to Bard with concern evident as he spoke to him.
" Da, our house! Its being watched." Bard glances back to them and his shoulders fall momentarily as he figures out what new course of action he will have to persue now. Bofur notices his eyes glance to the water..got a bad feeling about this..really bad feeling..he thinks as Bards lips press into a white line at what he was about to say.
"Into the water." they all look at him in disbelief ..then at the water in disgust, seeing something floating on the water that didnt bear to be mentioned...then anger back at the insane human. Bard sighed at them."Look you have really two choices now...either get into the water or go back the way we came revealing yourself to the master and possible imprisonment..forever." Thorin snarled at Bard as he turned to his companions .
"Do it." turning back to glare at Bard ." This better work...bargeman." he began to ease himself into the freezing water as the others followed his lead..huffing at the cold water enveloping them. Bard points in the direction for them to go as him and the boy make thier way in that direction along the walkway..as they slowly swim keeping themselves hidden under the walkways ..approaching thier destination...trying not to think about what they are swimming through. Eventually they make it to a wooden structure that sits close to the water and they wait in the icy waters for the signal of its safe to sound. Bofur looks over seeing Kili grimacing in pain briefly before hiding it once more and he becomes worried for him..knowing this refuse water isnt good for the wound..leaving it open for infection to set in.
A knocking upon wood calls his attention back and peering up he sees Dwalin growling at whomever was up there as he pulls himself out of the water and through the hole above. Bofur swims over ..pulling himself up - out of a toilet- gross- trying to not shudder over it...definitely not going to be part of any bedtime stories i tell to my future children..he thinks to himself as he follows the others up some stairs into a house. Approaching the room he hears a childs voice speaking out.
"Da, why are there dwarves coming out of our toilet?" she seems perplexed as a younger girl gets hopeful.
"Will they bring us luck?" Bofur just shakes his head as he laughs at the thought..dwarves bringing luck when if they appear in your dumping box..theres a good one...as he just keeps moving along into a warm room and over to the fire crackeling in the corner.
After a bit Bard leaves the room briefly only to return with some dry clothes in hand...passing them around to the sopping wet dwarves and hobbit..in a gesture of guilt for making them swim in that muck below.
"They may not be the best fit, but theyll keep you warm." As he is passing them out Thorin looks out the window noticing a large ballista on top of the towns tower.
"The dwarvish wind-lance!" his voice is filled with awe as he softly whispers to himself..Bilbo and Balin hears him, moving over to his side as they too glance out the window.
"You look like youve seen a ghost." bilbo stares out at it..not really sure exactly what hes looking at.
"He has." balin whispers to him." The last time we saw such a weapon the city was on fire. It was the day the dragon came. The day that Smaug destroyed Dale." Bard glances over at them briefly when he hears the word Dale..and tries to listen to thier words." Girion, the lord of the city, rallied his bowman to fire upon the beast. But a dragons hide is tough, tougher than the strongest armor. Only a black arrow fired from a wind-lance could have pierced the dragons hide. And few of those arrows were ever made. The store was running low when Girion made his last stand." Balin took a deep breath as Thorin turned to him with pain in his eyes over the memories of what had transpired on that fateful day over one hundred and seventy years ago.
"If the aim of men had been true that day, much wouldve been different." Thorins voice filled with longing and pain briefly then he noticed Bard watching him closely..walking over to him he harshly spoke. "You took our money. where are the weapons?"
"Wait here." Bard left quickly back down some steps that led below as Thorin turns to the others speaking in hushed tones before the man comes back.
"tomorrow begins the last days of autumn." His solemn tone brings the seriousness of it all closer to home.
"Durins day falls the morning after next. We must reach the mountain before then." Balin looks at Thorin for a moment ..then Kili interjects.
"And if we do not? If we fail to find the door before that time?" Fili looks over at his brother as he answeres the question for everyone.
"Then this quest has been for nothing." with the words hanging over the group they hear Bard returning with a wet sack and throwing it upon the table with a loud thunk as they all gather around the table. He began to unwrap it revealing them as Thorin reaches over picking up one of the items.
"Whats this?" disgust appearent in his tone. Bard glances over at him in confusion as Kili also reaches over picking one up to examine also.
"Pike hook. Made from an old harpoon." he sees Kili holding out another thing at him."Thats a crow bill, we call it.Fashioned from a smithys hammer. Its heavy in hand, I grant. But in defense of your life, these will serve you better than none." hoping they understood.
"Its a joke." Bofur says as they all throw down the mishapened weapons back onto the pile. Bard rushes to reassure them before they get to angry.
"You wont find better outside the city armory. All iron forged weapons are held there under lock and key." He doesnt see Dwalin and Thorin exchange glances as Balin turns to Thorin knowing what was inevitablely going to happen.
"I say we leave now." as they all nod thier heads in agreement Bard steps in thier path blocking it.
"Your not going anywhere." He sees eyes narrowing in his direction and he hurries to finish."there are spies watching the house in every dock and wharf in the town.We must wait till nightfall." he breaths deeply in relief as they go to sit down reluctantly..no one noticing Kili wincing as he sits down..except for Fili and Bofur who says nothing. Bard steps outside to pace for a short time...mumbling Thorins name to himself..trying to recall where he heard it before...then it dawns on him as he looks at the mountain and realizes who he is. he turns to his son ,who had stepped out to check on him, with urgency in his words he tells him to not let them leave the house..not knowing that Thorin hears him..he rushes off further into town.
As soon as Bard leaves Thorin turns to the company ..looking them all in the eyes. "We must go..there is no time to waste." seeing determination written on his face they all quickly get up ..pushing past the boy as he tries to stop them...and they quickly, yet quietly sneak thier way towards the armory as night begins to make itself known across the floating town.
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It was late at night and Kili was skulking in the city armory along with some of the other dwarves from the company..staeling weapons to aid them in reclaiming the mountain. As they are collecting from the walls and shelves Thorin hands Kili some to carry down to the others..noticing his flinch of pain as he moves..he stops him breifly."You alright?" Kili straightens his features to cover up the pain as he remarks back to his uncle.
"I can manage. Lets just get out of here." he turns from Thorin and begins to walk down the stairs he feels his wounded leg give out from under and dropping the weapons he falls down the stairs..making a horrendous noise..waking the people of the town up from thier slumber. Outside the rest of the dwarves who were waiting for them hear the noise and try to run ..being stopped by several guards from thier escape, while inside they hear other guards capturing the others.
A/N: this is the way i see Beryl..Bofurs momma