A Shot in the Dark (Thilbo - Bagginshield)

Chapter 10

When Dwalin finally awoke, the first thing he did was reach for his hammer.

Instantly, Bilbo leaped back and out of the way as the Dwarf swung it out without restraint around himself. He pushed himself to one knee as another hand went to one of his axes while the hammer was swung overhead. It was not until he finally got to his feet and his eyes were clear and open, did Dwalin finally seem to realize that he was no longer being attacked.

"Burglar," he greeted as his dark eyes singled out the Hobbit. "What happened?"

"You were knocked out by a falling rock," Bilbo replied, having decided to lie in order to save Gollum. It was, admittedly, a difficult decision to come to. But he knew that if he told the truth then Dwalin would end up killing the little scavenger whether out of common sense or a bruised ego. And he couldn't let that happen...

"I was knocked out... by a piece of rock," Dwalin repeated slowly, staring at him.

He nodded and held up his bloody handkerchief as proof. "Yup. Hit you on the head and knocked you clear out."

Dwalin just stared at him. 'Stared' was the polite way of terming it.

"Do you feel better?" he asked, attempting to break the awkward air that was growing between them.

"I'm fine. It will take more than a pebble to take me out," the Dwarf scoffed, finally sheathing his weapons once more.

Bilbo bit his lower lip and tried his best not to smirk. "Maybe not take you out for good, but it did knock you out for awhile there."

Dwalin just gave him another 'stare'.

"Do you think we can find the surface from here?" he continued speaking, ignoring the look. The Dwarf really had nothing on Gandalf when the wizard was angry.

"... Yes. I can lead us out from here. I think it will be easier from this point on," the warrior admitted, scratching at his head where some of the blood that he had missed had dried up.

Bilbo felt vaguely disgusted. He had a feeling that blood was going to stay under the Dwarf's finger nails for the next few days.

"We should get moving then if you're up to it," he pointed out, trying to ignore his revulsion. The bathing habits of Dwarves were none of his concern. "I don't like lingering here. This place makes me uncomfortable."

Dwalin grunted and sheathed all his weapons but his hammer. "Agreed. Let's get moving before another 'rock' falls on me."

Bilbo bit his lip to prevent himself from snickering. No one ever told him Dwarves were so insightful. It was just another new fact to add to his ever-growing list.

"Which way are we going?" he asked, carefully putting his body between Dwalin and the rock where he had dragged the unconscious Gollum behind. He had tied the scavenger up with some rope he found on Dwalin; but he didn't know how long it would hold, or when the little termite would awaken and cause more trouble. All he could do was try and get Dwalin and himself away as soon as possible.

The warrior rolled his shoulders back and raised his face to the ceiling. He sniffed the air a few times and then tapped the ground with the tips of his boots before giving a firm nod.

"To the east now," he declared, hiking his hammer up to rest on one broad shoulder, and then swiftly moving towards their destination.

Bilbo followed the Dwarf without complaint. "How do you Dwarves understand mountains so well?"

"We were born to the stone, burglar, and it is in the stone that we spend our lives. We learn to listen to her voice before we ever use our own. Learning to navigate through a mountain is as easy for us as it is for them rangers to go through a forest," Dwalin replied with a snort.