"Damn that damnable wizard! Tells me to report back to him without so much as telling me where I should damn well find him! Well when I find him I am going to give him a piece my mind—ow!"
Having been so focused on grumbling and moaning to myself I did not even notice the branch from a tree jump out and attack my face. Well maybe it didn't attack me, I probably should have just watched where I was looking, but it still seemed to appear out of nowhere. How rude!
"Damn these damnable branches! And that wizard!"
The situation I found myself in was quite a predicament. After the exciting adventure at Dol Guldur, I decided that I really did need to report back to Gandalf, especially after what I had picked up, but the problem that I now faced was that I had no idea where Gandalf was. How was I supposed to report back to him without him telling me where to go? Okay, to be fair, he probably did tell me where I should meet him, and in all honesty, I probably did not listen to him, too excited with the prospect of another adventurous task.
A great sigh escaped my lips. I should probably just head to Rivendell. Gandalf was bound to pitch up there at some point and it really would be wonderful to see my friends again. It had been many years since I had last seen Lindallë and Árion. When Gandalf had first taken me to Rivendell I was nothing more than a scared and homeless child but they had taken me on as siblings would have, even though they were a good few hundred years older than me.
The weight of the blade against my side brought my mind back to the task at hand. For the past few days it was a constant reminder of the evil that dwelled within those forsaken ruins and it urged me on. The leaves beneath my feet crunched louder as I quickened my pace, the sound drowning out the beautiful symphony of birdsong. I knew I had to be quieter but my body refused to slow down. And I knew that I could not rest until I had spoken with Gandalf therefore waiting for him at Rivendell was not an option.
Think, Kristen, think! What was the last thing Gandalf said to you? Something about dwarves and dragons...and, uh...and—
"Hobbits!"
I quickly clapped my hand over my mouth. The birds around me quieted at the sudden outburst and I stood still, fearful that someone had heard me shout out loud, but soon the birdsong resumed and I carried on walking, now in a new direction.
Gandalf had mentioned that he was going to the Shire. For what, I don't know, but it sounded important. So if I followed the road to the Shire I was bound to bump into him. And if not, I could just ask someone in the Shire if they had seen the wizard.
~~~~~
For many days and nights I travelled, just enjoying my own company. This is the life I live and a life that I enjoy. One would think that it's lonely out on the road, travelling by yourself, but lying here and gazing up at the stars I felt content. I guess you could call it my home; the stars my roof, the land my foundation and my own company the heart of it all.
The cool breeze blew over me and the soft grass on which I lay welcomed me. As the stars came together to create a beautiful masterpiece I felt my eyes slowly close, a small smile making its way to my face as I drifted off to sleep...
"AAAAAAAHHHH!"
The sound of clashing metal and cries of battle in the distance brought me out of my deep sleep.
"Ugh!" I ran my hand over my face as I tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes. I looked to the sky and gathered that it must be early morning. The stars and moon were still shining bright but the sky seemed to be lightening ever so slightly in the far distance. I quickly jumped to my feet and retrieved my bow, notching an arrow.
I quietly made my way towards the sound of the battle. The battle seemed to be happening at quite a distance. I had no idea who or what it could be; no one usually stayed in these woods except for travellers, but whatever it was it better be good because I am not a happy person when awoken from my sleep.
Suddenly the sound of fighting ceased and I could only make out some talking but it was too far for me to hear what was actually being said. Up ahead the light of a big fire caught my attention. Deciding not to interfere too soon lest I be caught in a fight far larger than I could handle, I quietly snuck up to the opening and scaled up a tree to get a better view of all the action without being seen. As I peeked through the leaves my eyes grew wide in shock at what I saw.
"Never mind the seasoning; we ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away and I don't fancy being turned to stone," said one of the three enormous trolls.
I frowned. It wasn't normal for trolls to be this far into the woods and away from the mountains. But it wasn't the three hideous creatures that shocked me the most. It was the few dwarves being rolled around like a rotisserie chicken over the huge fire the trolls had made. Scanning the area I also saw that some dwarves dressed in sacks had been left to the side; probably saving them for dessert.
Suddenly my eye caught a small figure jumping up from the group.
"Wait! You are making a terrible mistake!" said the little person. He definitely wasn't a dwarf; he had no beard and wasn't as tall as the rest of them.
Some of the dwarves protested.
"You can't reason with them, they're half-wits," shouted a red-haired dwarf.
I couldn't see the face of the little person because his back was turned to me but he seemed to sigh in frustration. He continued to speak.
"I meant with the seasoning."
I raised my eyebrows. What was this little person doing? I wanted to rush out and help the dwarves but a part of me really wanted to see what was going to happen. I stayed put but kept my arrow aimed at one of the trolls, ready to attack at any moment.
"What about the seasoning?" said one of the trolls.
"Well, have you smelt them? You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up."
A soft snort escaped from me as the dwarves yelled out in protest. This little person really was putting on a show for everyone. But I still couldn't figure out his plan.
"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" asked a troll.
"Shut up and let the flurgabuburrhobbit talk," said the other troll.
Oh! So this little person is a hobbit! That surely must be the hobbit that Gandalf had mentioned and if it was then Gandalf must be around here somewhere. My eyes scanned further than the opening trying to find that wizard.
The hobbit continued going back and forth with the three trolls and suddenly it dawned on me what his plan was. Trolls obviously turn to stone when in sunlight so he was stalling, hoping he could distract them until the sun took them. Hobbits really are smart little people.
I knew that this was the right time to step in. I may not be able to fight all three trolls on my own but I could help in distracting them until sunrise. I could already see the sky lightening some more.
I let my arrow loose and it made its mark in the hand of the troll that was turning the dwarves over the fire. He let out a squeal (I never knew that trolls could squeal like that) and fell back, almost taking the other troll with him. The hobbit stopped speaking and the dwarves all quietened their protests, shocked at this new turn of events. They all turned their heads in an attempt to find the person who shot the arrow but I was camouflaged amongst the trees too well. During the chaos and confusion, I jumped from one tree to the next, making my way to the other side of the clearing, and let my arrow loose on the other troll, this time into his back. My arrows didn't do much harm on the thick skins of the trolls but as I jumped from one tree to the next, letting out a great multitude of arrows, their confusion grew to great frenzy. The trolls swiped their arms in front of their faces, as if swatting away some annoying bug, not knowing where the arrows were coming from. My heart pumped as I revelled in the adrenaline I was feeling up in the trees.
It wasn't until I had nearly gone through almost all of my arrows that I saw a pointy hat slipping through the trees. A smile made its way to my face. I would recognise that pointy hat from anywhere.
Gandalf suddenly appeared on a large rock, his booming voice reaching everyone within a good few miles of the area.
"The dawn will take you all!"
I rolled my eyes. Always such a showman!
With the raining of arrows now ceased, the trolls looked up at Gandalf in confusion.
"Who's that?" asked one troll to the others.
"No idea."
"Can we eat him too?"
Without another word, Gandalf struck the rock on which he stood. The sunlight poured through the opening and as the light touched the trolls they screamed and howled, their bodies contorting into weird shapes as their bodies turned to stone. After a few seconds the living and breathing trolls became nothing more than dead statues, doomed to remain there until the end of time.
I breathed out a sigh of relief. As the dwarves slowly broke free from their sacks I climbed down the tree, making my way toward Gandalf. I desperately needed to show him the blade which hung by my side. As I walked into the clearing I felt the gazes of the dwarves on me and silence fell on the group. I wanted to turn my eyes to the ground and cover my face; I hated being the centre of attention but I kept my head held high. The dwarves needed to know that I was not someone to be pushed over, I was after all the one that helped the hobbit in stalling the trolls.
As I made my way towards Gandalf I was stopped by a short figure. I looked down on who decided to stand in my way. He was taller than most of the other dwarves, with long dark hair and piercing eyes. He was definitely the leader of this company.
"Who are you?" he asked. His voice was rough and commanding.
I immediately didn't like him. Well I didn't like most dwarves in general; they were loud and rude, but I didn't like this one especially because I could already sense that he didn't appreciate me stepping in and helping them. Dwarves were a proud people.
"What's it to you?" I asked him. I folded my arms, challenging him to question me further. The other dwarves looked on in curiosity.
"You stepped into a fight that was not your to fight. We had everything under control."
"Oh really?" I raised my eyebrows. "If it weren't for your little hobbit's quick thinking and my archery you would have been a wonderfully roasted dwarf by now."
The hobbit let out a soft chuckle. I didn't even notice him behind Gandalf before. The dwarf looked none to pleased at being called out in front of the others. He looked back up at me with a quiet rage and opened his mouth to speak but Gandalf quickly intercepted.
"Thorin, let me introduce you to a close friend of mine; Kristen." Gandalf extended his arm to introduce me. "Kristen, may I introduce you to Thorin Oakenshield."
My eyebrows shot up. So this was the famed King under the Mountain? The shock was clearly evident on my face and Gandalf shot me a look that said, 'If you say anything offensive I will make sure that your next quest will be to clean the inside of a goblin's toilet.' So I kept my mouth shut and forced a tight-lipped smile onto my mouth.
"Pleased to meet you...king." Gandalf just sighed at my sarcastic remark.
Thorin grunted and then turned to the company.
"Back to doing what you were doing. Nothing more to see here."
As the dwarves went back to dusting themselves off and cleaning their weapons, I turned to Gandalf.
"Gandalf!"
"Kristen!"
Gandalf brought me into a deep embrace. Even though we both irritated one another to no end, we still had formed a deep friendship. At one point in my life he was all I had. He was almost like a father to me.
As I stepped back from the embrace I felt the weight of the blade once more.
"Gandalf, I have something important I need to—"
"Where did you go to, if I may ask?"
I rolled my eyes as Thorin interrupted me. I was about to turn on him but Gandalf just put a hand on my shoulder, calming me down.
"We will speak of your finding later," he whispered. He looked to Thorin. "To look ahead."
"What brought you back?"
"Looking behind. Nasty business; still, they're all in one piece."
"No thanks to your burglar."
Okay, this dwarf really was getting on my nerves! Stay calm Kristen, just stay calm. I don't think Gandalf will be too pleased if you skewered a dwarf before the day had even started. To take my mind off my raging emotions I looked up at the stone trolls.
"They must have come down from the Ettenmoors," I wondered out loud.
"Since when do mountain trolls venture this far south?" questioned Thorin.
Was this dwarf going to question everything I say and do?
"Oh, not for an age," said Gandalf, "Not since a darker power ruled these lands. In any case, they could not have moved in daylight."
"There must be a cave nearby," I said.
Everyone took to scouting the area and it was Gandalf that found the cave. The stench hit me like a ton of bricks. I put my arm to my nose, hoping to block my it from the hideous smell. After the initial shock of the stench, my eyes landed on the hoard that lay in the dark cave. There was gold and coin to be found in most holes and crevices as well as some weapons. I saw Gandalf talking to Thorin and figured that now would not be the best time to tell him of Dol Guldur. I would just have to wait.
As the dwarves scrounged around in the cave I left to go back to the trolls. Maybe my arrows hadn't turned to stone and I could retrieve them seeing as I had only one or two arrows left. As I scouted the area I was relived to find that my arrows hadn't turned to stone with the trolls. I was able to retrieve just about all of them. As I bent down to pick up one that had fallen quite aways from the trolls, a small hand appeared in front of me, holding an arrow. I jumped back, startled.
As I put my hand to my chest I looked down to find the hobbit.
"Wow," I breathed out, "so the legends are true. Hobbits really are light on their feet."
The hobbit just chuckled and looked up at me. His nose twitched.
"I just wanted to say thank you," came the soft voice of the hobbit.
"For what?" I took my arrow from his hand and proceeded to put my sheath of arrows back onto my back.
"For standing up for me. I don't fit in very well with the dwarves so it's nice to have someone appreciate what I did for the company." He looked down shyly at his feet.
"No problem...uh—"
"Bilbo, my name is Bilbo Baggins."
I smiled. "Nice to meet you Bilbo Baggins. I'm Kristen." I stuck out my hand for a handshake. As he shook my hand I looked into his eyes and I could tell that this was the start of a great friendship. "What you did, Bilbo, was very courageous and smart."
He looked down shyly at his feet. Before we could carry on further with our conversation, the shout of one of the dwarves captured our attention. They had just finished in the cave when the sound of crashing leaves and branches filled the air.
"Thieves! Fire! Murder!"
Suddenly a rabbit-drawn sled (yes, you heard right; a rabbit-drawn sled) came crashing through the bushes, its wild occupant shouting out absurd things. I couldn't help but laugh at the crazy man. Was that bird-poop in his hair?
"Radagast!" exclaimed Gandalf, "It's Radagast the Brown!
Gandalf walked towards the strange fellow and took him a few paces from the group. I followed close behind, wanting to partake in the conversation.
"What is the matter, Radagast?"
The wild look in Radagast's eyes told us that all was not well.
"The Greenwood is sick, Gandalf," he exclaimed. "A darkness has fallen over it. Nothing grows anymore, at least nothing good. The air is foul with decay. But worse are the webs."
My heart skipped a beat as he said that.
"Webs?" I asked, stepping forward, "What do you mean?"
Gandalf just put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"Spider. Giant ones. Some kind of spawn of Ungoliant, or I am not a wizard. I followed their trail. They came from Dol Guldur."
I just about nearly fainted as he said that. I had been there. I had been in those abandoned ruins without even realising that I could have been subject to the same horror my mother was. All the memories came flooding back and I tried to calm my breathing.
"I knew that something was not right within those ruins," said Gandalf. He turned to look at me with worry in his eyes. "That's why I sent Kristen out there to scout the area."
"Well about that..." I started. Gandalf just sighed.
"I didn't just scout the area," I dragged my toe through the dust on the ground as I avoided Gandalf's gaze. "I kinda went into the ruins."
Gandalf's face went white.
"What do you mean you went into the ruins?! I specifically told you to just scout the surrounding area, not to actually go in! It's too dangerous!"
"Well I made it out didn't I? But please, Gandalf, I need to tell you what I saw!"
Just as I took a breath to finally blurt out all that I had seen a howl was heard in the distance.
Oh come on! Can I not just get to my story?!
"Was that a wolf?" asked Bilbo with worry clearly evident in his voice.
"Wolf?" said one of the younger dwarves. He had blonde hair and was clearly related to Thorin, he had that same air of royalty about him. "No, that is not a wolf."
Suddenly a growl came from behind me. I quickly turned with my bow at the ready and shot an arrow straight into the warg's skull. It came crashing down into the company as another took its place. I let loose another arrow but it missed its mark as the warg leapt into the group. Thorin quickly withdrew his sword and sent it into the neck of the warg. So this dwarf king knew how to fight, eh?
"Warg scout!" shouted Thorin, "Which means an Orc pack is not far behind."
Gandalf turned to me with urgency.
"Your report will have to wait." He turned to the rest of the company. "We need to leave. Now!"
One of the dwarves appeared from the crest of the hill.
"We can't! We have no ponies!" he cried out.
I rolled my eyes. Those ponies must have bolted when the wargs arrived.
"I'll draw them off."
I looked at Radagast, surprised at the courage of the weird man.
"These are Gundabad Wargs, the will outrun you!" said Gandalf.
"These are Rhosgobel rabbits! I'd like to see them try."
My smile grew wider as I pictured Radagast using his unusually large rabbits to outrun those wargs.
I turned to Gandalf, the excitement evident on my face at the prospect of an exciting chase.
"Well what are we waiting for? We have some wargs to outrun!" I exclaimed
Author's Note: Wow! So that was a long chapter with a lot to take in! What did you think? How do you think Kristen's first meeting with the company went? Exciting stuff coming up!
Remember to please leave that vote or comment if you enjoyed this chapter.
Much love!