The Half Breed Ranger

Chapter 25: Small chance

As the Barge boat sailed over the lake, the dwarves were talking among themselves as Oin silently worked away on trying to keep Amanda from bleeding out while Kili tried to keep her awake. 

" How is she holding?" Thorin asked as he walked over and looked down at Oin.

" I cannot find the source of the bleeding. She is losing to much blood." Oin said as he continued to look around her wound to find the internal source of the bleeding. Amanda looked up at Kili with tired looking eyes, her face pale white from the lack of blood that was no longer running in her veins. She was clearly unaffected by Oin roughly poking around in her wound. Which was a sign she was slowly beginning to shut down.

"Doesn't she have a potion in her bag to stop the bleeding? Can't we use that?" Fili asked as he spotted her bag around her. Oin shook his head.

" The medicines in that bag are foreign to me. I don't want to risk using a poison on her instead of a cure." Oin told him as he continued to work away.

" Watch out!" Bofur called as large stone pillars appeared in front of the barge. The man easily avoided the pillars of stone with skill.

" What are you trying to do, drown us?" Thorin asked in a grumble as he look up at the bargeman with a glare.

" I was born and bred on these waters, master Dwarf. If I wanted to kill you I would not do it here." He informed Thorin as he pulled and pushed the steering pole. 

" Oh, I've had enough of this lippy lakeman. I say we throw him over the side and be done with it." Dwalin hissed as Bilbo shook his head quickly with his arms crossed over his chest.

" Oh, Bard, his name's Bard." Bilbo told them as if to scold them. 

" How do you know?" Bofur then asked Bilbo with curiosity.

" Uh, I asked him." He returned as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole of middle earth. Meanwhile, Kili held Amanda's head on his lap, caress her cheek as he continued to asked her questions and whisper thing to her to keep her from slipping into a sleep.

" You should have told me, Amanda. You should have told me you where wounded." Kili whispered to her as she grunted in return to him, unable to form words. "But your going to be alright now. Oin is going to fix you all up." Kili said lifting his gaze up to Oin who just looked at Kili with an unknown expression on his face.

"Bless my beard..." Gloin spoke as Kili looked up to see what everyone was staring at and saw the Lonely Mountain appear from behind the thick fog. Kili looked down to Amanda with a smile. 

"Amanda, Look. The Lonely Mountain." Kili whispered as Amanda looked up but could only see a blob on the horizon. 

" Everyone get in the barrels." Bard spoke quickly after receiving the money which the Dwarves owed him. 

" Amanda cannot go in one. She must keep on her back." Oin said as Bard looked around and quickly picked her up bridal style. He walked up to the stern of his boat and placed her gently so as not to hurt her. He then pulled a large sheet out and covered her with it. He placed some other rags under the sheet to make it look less body shaped and more just like some sheets piled together.

"There, now hurry." Bard said as the dwarves quickly jumped into a barrel each along with Bilbo. Once in Bard went back to the steering the boat as the approach some docking area. Bard had a quick exchange between another man before shaking his hand. The dwarves believed that he was betraying them when in truth it was not so. Suddenly fish came piling into the barrels which held the dwarves and Bard once again began to sail towards Laketown. He slowly sailed up to the large gates as a voice rang out through the bitter cold air. 

" Halt goods inspection, papers please.... Oh it's you Bard." The guard called out.

" Morning Percy." Bard answered back as his boat slowed down to a stop in front of the gate.

" Anything to declare?" Percy asked.

" Nothing, but that I am cold and tired and ready for home." Bard spoke as he walked over to Percy and began to talk to him. Meanwhile Amanda lay under the sheet trying hard to keep herself from drifting into a sleep. She could hear the distance fuzz of arguments between two people. Time did not seem to slow down, it only sped up faster than normal. As if her life was slipping through her finger and she could not stop it even if she tried. Before she knew it the blanket was ripped off her and the shining of the sky blinded her. Oin looked down at Amanda as she dazed off.

" We must hurry." Oin said as Bard walked over to them.

" Here, give her to me." Bard spoke as he reach down and picked her up into his arms.

" Follow me." Bard said after he paid off a man. Bard then walked through Laketown heading toward his home, carrying the limp Amanda in his arms. Compared to him, Amanda was the size of a small child so she was easy to carry. Just then a younger looking boy ran up to Bard with a worried look.

" Da, our house. It's being watched." The young boy said and Bard nodded and told the Dwarves which way to go as he and the boy walk a different way to his house, while still holding Amanda. Bard handed Amanda carefully over to the boy who held onto her with no difficulty as Bard picked up some items. They wrapped Amanda in a blanket and his her face slightly so she was unrecognizable as they walked up the stairs to his house. Bard whistled to two men in a boat and throw them an apple.

" You can tell the Master I'm done for the day." He called before walking into his house. 

" Da, where have you been?" A small girl walked up happy to see her father returned. 

" Bain, put her on the bed." Bard told his son as he hugged his daughters.

" Bain, get them in." He told his son who ran down stairs.

" Da, who is this?" His eldest daughter asked as she walked over to Amanda who now lay on the bed. She looked to be in a daze, almost like a trance as Oin rushed up the stairs and over to her. Soon everyone was huddled around the fire with blankets and other rags over them. Kili sat next to Amanda and Oin finished his work. 

" Is she going to be alright?" Fili asked as he walked over to them as Oin sighed and washed his hands.

" I have done what I can." Oin began as he turned to face them, "But the blade hit some organs and she lost a lot of blood." 

" She will be alright though?" Kili asked with fear in his voice.

" In truth, boy." Oin said as he looked around the silent room.

" She has a 10% chance of survival." He told them all. No one uttered a word as the news slowly sunk in.