The King And The Dragon

The Farmhouse

We all wake up and start again. As the day grew on, I started to recognize the trail.

It's one of the trails I've taken once on my return home after a quest. Gandalf's leading us towards Rivendell.

Then, the sky decides to rain.

I'm fine with the rain. However, some of my companions apparently are not.

"Mr. Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori asks, grumpily.

"It is raining, master dwarf." replies Gandalf. "And it will continue like this until the rain is done. If you wish to control the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard!"

I smile a bit and ride up to where Fili is. He sees me and smiles at me, sweetly.

"Are there any? Other wizards?" Bilbo asks from behind us.

He's always full of questions. Sometimes curiosity can be a bad thing.

"There are five of us." Gandalf answers. "There are the two blues,... you know I can't quite remember their names. Then there's the leader of our order, Saruman the White."

I never really liked Saruman. He always seemed to be hiding something in him. There was always a touch of evil behind his eyes.

"And the last one?" Bilbo asks.

"That would be Radagaust the Brown." Gandalf says.

"Is he a great wizard, or is he more like you?" Bilbo asks.

My mouth gapes open due to Bilbo's rudeness. "Bilbo Baggins!!" I exclaim, causing him to looks down in shame.

"I think he's a very good wizard, in his own way." Gandalf elects to ignore Bilbo's comment. "He prefers to live alone, with the exception of the his animal friends. He enjoys the company of animals instead of people. He lives in the forest of Greenwood to the East and a good thing, too.

"Evil will always try to have a foothold on this world."

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We all ride on and the rain decides to stop. At this, my companions cheer, happily. I just roll my eyes and chuckle.

We stop at an old farm house that looks like it was abandoned years ago.

"We will camp here for the night!" Thorin shouts.

That's strange, usually we camp close to nightfall. We still have a few hours until nightfall. Gandalf and Thorin talk and it looks like they're both mad.

What's going on with Thorin and Gandalf?

"Where are you going?" Bilbo asks an angry Gandalf who's walking very quickly to his horse.

"To consult with someone who has any brains other than Saphira!" Gandalf says, almost literally fuming.

"And who's that?" Bilbo asks, confused.

"Myself, Mr. Baggins!!" Gandalf snaps. "I've had enough of dwarves for today."

He gets on his horse and rides east. If he was really leaving us, he would go west. East is Rivendell.

"Is he coming back?" Bilbo asks me.

"One can never tell with Gandalf." I answer.

"Does he disappear all the time?"

"Well, he comes and goes at will. He is a wizard, you know."

"Come on, Bofer, we're all hungry. Make us dinner!" Thorin demands.

He's angry, too. What did him and Gandalf talk about?

I take the saddle of Shado and she goes to graze the tall grass and weeds.

"Saphira!" Bofer calls. "Come here for a moment, will ya?"

I nod and walk over there. "What is it?" I ask.

"Do you think you could..." Bofer trails as he points to the pot over the fire pit.

I smirk. "Must you ask?" I ask, smiling as I fill the pot with water from the little stream of clean water next to us.

"Pays off to have a half Elf in your Company, doesn't it?" I ask Bofer, while I put the pot back over the fire.

"It sure does, especially when that half Elf is a friend." he answers, friendly.

I look away from the pot, look at the dwarf, who's smiling at me, and smile back.

We are all sorted to do our jobs. Fili and Kili watch the ponies, except for Shado, she's perfectly capable to take care of herself and also she's a horse. I am to cook the food, since I'm the only one who can really cook. And the rest of the Company set up camp.

I make soup. And after I pour the roast beef and vegetables into the pot, I leave it cook for a while.

And while it does this, I pull out my drawing pad from my saddlebag, lean against the saddle, and think of what to draw.

And the first thing that comes to mind is the night sky from last night.