Adventure Is Calling

9. Wee Little Bug

After everyone had been rounded up, they ventured further beyond the farmhouse and Bilbo retold his daring deeds to Joanna who had admitted she hadn't witnessed any of it. She gasped when he reenacted his confrontation to the trolls and laughed when he described the others reaction when he claimed they had worms.

"Look! Over here!" Gloin announced and when they stepped out of the tree line, Joanna spotted a large cave.

As they neared it, almost everyone started gagging and Joanna stopped at the mouth of the cave, shaking her head. "Nope... I am a baker and I refuse to ruin my sense of smell over a troll hoard."

Joanna instead sat a little way off in the woods, reorganizing her pack and laughing when she heard Bofur and Gloin agreeing to hide the treasure. Bilbo, Fili, and Kili stood more near the mouth of the cave and Joanna watched in interest as Gandalf emerged from the cave to approach Bilbo, something that looked like a sword in his grasp. A hand suddenly dropped on her shoulder and she jumped up with a squeak, whirling around. Thorin stood behind her, his arms held up in surrender and it wasn't until then that she noticed she was holding the frying pan from her pack out in front of her like a sword.

"Sorry!" Joanna blushed, letting the pan drop to her side.

Thorin nodded with a hint of a smile tugging the corner of his mouth. "Remind me never to sneak up on you, but I'm here to return this."

Joanna frowned at the dagger he held out to her, for a moment not recognizing it. "Oh... I don't know, it will probably do better in your hands than mine."

Thorin laughed, a low rumbling, but still placed the hilt in her hand. Instead of letting go, he wrapped his hand around hers, showing her how to hold the blade, her heart starting to thump at an unnaturally fast pace. "If there is anything that Gandalf said that couldn't be more true, is that I should never underestimate you."

"Or my cousin." Joanna affirmed, and when she saw the doubt in Thorin's eyes, she took her other hand and laid it over their clasped hands. Thorin stared at them for a few long seconds, a furrow in his brow as if he pondered something. "Bilbo is just like me, Thorin. He's even better than me."

Thorin scoffed at this, but before he could say anything there came a loud crashing through the undergrowth behind them. Thorin whirled around, throwing his arm across her torso and pushing her back towards the rest of the company. "Something's coming!"

"Stay together!" Gandalf called as they came into view. "Hurry now! Arm yourselves!"

The company dashed back into the woods and arranged themselves in a line, Thorin having nudged Joanna to stay behind him. They tensed as the noise became louder and Joanna looked around with wide eyes, pausing when she spotted Bilbo holding a sword of his own. Joanna jumped when a sled came hurtling into view, led by...rabbits?

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" the rider yelled as he pulled to a stop.

Joanna couldn't help but stare in wonder at the man before her. More on the shorter side, his stout frame was shrouded in bundles upon bundles of brown clothing-streaked with mud and what appeared to be bird poo. Even his long, gray-brown hair sported a streak.

"Well if it isn't Radagast! Radagast the Brown. What on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf cried in greeting, stepping forward. So, this was the fifth wizard Gandalf had talked about, Joanna squinted her eyes as she assessed him.

"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."

Joanna glanced at Thorin in concern and saw that a frown marred his face, but Gandalf drew back her attention. "Yes?"

Radagast opened his mouth, but seemed to stutter, as if losing his train of thought. "Oh, just give me a moment. Um, oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it. It was right there, on the tip of my tongue." He paused, his lips smacking as if he tasted something foul. "Oh, it's not a thought at all... it's a silly..."

Joanna gave a little squeal of horror as Radagast opened his mouth and a bug started to crawl from off his tongue, Gandalf reaching over to pull it out. Joanna hated nothing more than she hated bugs. Couldn't even stand to think of their skittering legs and beady eyes. Grabbing the two closest to her-which was Thorin and Dwalin-she hid behind both of their bulks until she was certain Radagast and Gandalf had walked away. Letting out a sigh of relief, she released the death grip she had on their furs and met their amused expressions with a glare of her own.

"You can face three fully-grown mountain trolls, but the sight of a wee little bug is what scares you?" Dwalin barked with a laugh, Thorin chuckling along.

"Don't you laugh at me!" Joanna planted her hands on her hips. "When you wake up covered in spiders after a callous prank thrown by your dim-witted cousins, you wouldn't be too fond of them either."

She stormed past them, shaking off the hand Thorin laid on her arm to stop her, and made it to Bilbo just as a howl ripped through the air.

"Was that a wolf?!" Bilbo exclaimed, grabbing Joanna's hand. "Are-are there wolves in these parts?"

"Wolves?" Bofur murmured, setting his pipe aside and pulling his weapon free as he stood. "No, that is not a wolf."

Joanna's looked towards Bofur, but when she happened to glance up, she screamed. The giant, wolf-like form leaped from the boulder into the midst of the company, knocking Gloin to the ground. Joanna watched as Thorin killed it with a clean sweep of his sword, and she let out a cry in warning as another appeared on his other side. But before it could reach Thorin, Kili let an arrow fly and brought it down. Yet it was only stunned, for with a shake of its head, it leapt back up, only to be finally put down by a blow of Dwalin's axe.

"Warg-Scouts!" Thorin shouted, stomping to Joanna's side and grabbing her arm. But he didn't pull her anywhere like she expected, only held on to her and kept her at his side. "An Orc pack can't be far behind."

"An Orc pack?" Joanna shivered, staring off into the woods as if she could discern their shapes.

Gandalf came storming back into the clearing, heading towards Thorin. "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" he demanded.

"No one," Thorin replied.

"Who did you tell?!"

"No one, I swear!" Thorin shouted. "What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted."

"We have to get out of here!" Dwalin exclaimed.

"We can't!" Ori came running back into the clearing. "We have no ponies; they bolted."

"Oh no!" Joanna exclaimed. "Poor Myrtle!"

Thorin looked at her, exasperated, but Radagast stepped forward. "I'll draw them off."

"These are Gundabad Wargs," Gandalf scoffed. "They will outrun you."

"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits; I'd like to see them try!"