The Gathering Storm. The Hobbit fanfic. A Thorin Oakenshield love story.

Chapter 31: A Quest.

"Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light." Gandalf said to Bilbo, as he pulled out a folded piece of old paper from his pocket.

Bilbo brings a candle to the table, where Gandalf has unfolded the old piece of paper, revealing it to be an old map and began to spread it out. Taryn leaned over to be able to see the map better.

"Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak." Gandalf said

"The Lonely Mountain." Bilbo said reading the map out loud.

"Aye. Óin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time." A red haired dwarf said that Taryn learned name is Glóin.

"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: when the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end." Said an older grey haired dwarf who is obliviously Glóin's brother.

Bilbo, hearing the word "beast," looks concerned. Taryn sighed to herself as she thought about the last time she had seen, heard, and smelt that beast. She watched as everyone around the table began to talk about the beast.

"Uh, What beast?" Bilbo asked with a concerned look on his face. He was wondering what this wizard had gotten him into.

"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals--" The dwarf with the silly hat named Bofur starts, but Bilbo cuts him off.

"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Bilbo said to Bofur a bit annoyed.

"I'm not afraid! I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the Dwarfish iron right up his jacksie." The youngest looking dwarf said as he stands up. Taryn had not learned his name yet but looked a lot like a younger version of Dori.

Taryn rolls her eyes as she listened to the young dwarf talk about Smaug. He obviously was too young to ever see the dragon. He had no clue how dangerous Smaug really was. Several dwarves begin to shout. Taryn shuts her eyes as she leans back in her chair. She puts her hands on the corner of her forehead and slowly begins to massage her temples.

"Are you okay lass?" Asked Kíli the young brunette dwarf that is sitting next to her.

"Yes I'm fine, thanks." Taryn said back to Kíli with a smile without opening her eyes.

Since her eyes are still closed Taryn does not notice Thorin watching her and Kíli. Even though they had been separated for 171 years he still didn't like the way his nephew was looking at Taryn. Of course Kíli did not know his uncle and Taryn had a past. He knew his uncle was suppose to get married back in Erebor, but he did not know what she looked like or that she was not a dwarf.

"Sit down Ori!" Dori said to the young dwarf as he pulls him back down into his chair. Taryn now knows what his name is.

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen, and not thirteen of the best, nor brightest." Balin said about the dwarves as he looks around the room.

The dwarves start objecting, saying things like, "Hey, who are you calling dim?" "Watch it!", and "No!"

"What did he say?" Said the older grey haired dwarf that has to be Glóin's brother.

"We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf!" Said the young blonde haired dwarf named Fíli.

"And you forget, we have a wizard and an elf in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time. And Taryn she is an elf, she must be highly trained." Said the young brunette dwarf named Kíli.