Spirit Bound

Secrets and Luck

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit or any of it's characters. Everything belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson. However, do own Ashlynn and her story.

Chapter 18

Recap: I roll my eyes and flip Alfrid off "Well, may the odds be ever in your favor, getting rid of us."

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Bard pushes the boat through the icy water of Lake-Town. Eventually the boat bumps against a platform. Bard tries to inconspicuous as he kicks over the dwarves' barrels one at a time. My cousin snickers as the dwarves climb out of their barrels and glare at her. Bard looks over at the two of us and helps us get onto the platform without falling into the water. We silently thank him with a nod of our heads. Bard quickly whispers to a random fisherman who's untangling his nets on the dock. He hands the fisherman a gold coin. The man gapes at the gold coin as if it's priceless. Bard motions for us to follow him. We weave our way in between the poorly built houses trying not to be seen.

A young boy, no more than twelve or thirteen years old, come running up to us yelling "Da! Da!"

Bard motions for us to stop. "What's is it, Bain?" he asks quietly.

'So this is Bard's kid. Huh, his looks exactly as he does in the movies'

Bain looks worried as he lowers his voice and whispers "Da. Our house. It's being watched."

"Well shit" Jo mutters to me. I nod in response. Bard looks thoughtful for a moment.

Time-Skip----------

I follow my cousin up the squeaky stairs that lead up to Bard's house. Bard stops at the front door and pulls out an apple from an inside pocket of his jacket. He gives a shrill whistle and the two men sitting in a tiny fishing boat look up at us. Bard tosses them the apple and says "You can tell the Master I'm done for the day."

Bard opens the door to his house and is immediately greeted by two young girls. One being no more than ten years old and the older one who looks about sixteen. The younger one jumps up from her place a the small table and gives Bard a tight hug and exclaims "Da! Where have you been? The older girl gives Bard a kiss on the cheek and says "Father! There you are! I was worried."

Bard smiles back at the girls and gives them each a kiss on the head. "Here, Sigrid" says Bard, handing the older girl a bag. He then turns to look at Bain. "Bain, get them in." he orders. Bain nods and runs off to the toilet to help the dwarves sneak in. Jo grabs my arm and jerks her head in the direction that Bain ran off in. I grin at her, know exactly what she's thinking.

'Hey, let's go make fun of angry dwarves that just got covered in raw fish and had to climb out of a toilet, what fun. Right?'

We sneak down the hallway, occasionally peeping into a few rooms until we find the toilet. Bain looks up at us as he knocks three times on the wall to signal to the dwarves. The two younger girls join us. Dwalin was the first one to appear in the toilet. Bain holds out a hand to the large tattooed dwarf.

Dwalin has a very angry look on his face. He glares at Bain and slaps his hand away. "If you speak of this to anyone...I'll rip your arms off" Dwalin threatens.

Bain holds his hands up in surrender and points up to the main room "Up there" he informs Dwalin.

Sigrid looks a bit confused. "Da? Why are there Dwarves climbing out of our toilet?"

Jo and I snicker quietly as the younger girl peers into the toilet, looking hopeful. "Will they bring us luck?" she asks.

Jo and I help each of the dwarves that come up through the toilet.  We lead them up to the main room where Bard is handing out some blankets and dry clothes. I wrap a blanket around Jo and myself. There isn't enough blankets to go around. I smile gratefully at the younger girl whose handing me a cup of tea. I think he name is Tilda. I usually don't drink tea. I'm a hardcore coffee lover, but I accept a steaming hot cup of tea anyway. I take a small sip if the hot liquid and glance out the window. Thanks to a few years of taking forensics in college, I immediately notice Thorin staring emotionally out the window at a partially destroyed guard watchtower with his arms crossed.