The Waterdancer

Chapter 7

Once we were untied, I approached Gandalf, who was inspecting the Troll statues. "Where did you go if I may ask?"

"To look ahead." he told me.

"And what brought you back?" I asked.

"Looking behind. Nasty business. Still, they are all in one piece."

"No thanks to your burglar." I said with raised eyebrows.

"He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that."

I nodded, giving the Hobbit his credit. "What was it?" I asked.

"What?"

"What was it that you shoved up the noses of the Trolls?" I elaborated.

"I did no such thing. I only showed up just in time." the Wizard said.

"But...I don't understand, if it wasn't you, who was it then?" The Wizard had a twinkle in his eye, and I saw him glance at none other than the Waterdancer, who just came walking out of the bushes.

Before I could ask exactly what happened, Gandalf began to discuss the Trolls. "They must have come down from the Ettenmoors." he said.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Since when do Mountain Trolls travel this far south?"

"Oh, not for an age. Not since a darker power ruled these lands...They could not have moved in daylight."

I looked up in realization. "There must be a cave nearby." I gathered the company together, and not but a few minutes later, we found the Troll cave.

"What's that stench?" Nori grimaced.

"It's a Troll hoard. Be careful what you touch." Gandalf warned. As we went further into the cave, I could see chests full of treasure lying around. Moving past the gold, I managed to find stored weapons.

"These swords were not made by any Troll." I realized, admiring the design of one, and handing another to Gandalf.

He inspected it with a mutual admiration. "Nor were they made by any smith among Men. These were forged in Gondolin, by the High Elves of the First Age." Rolling my eyes, I nearly shoved the sword back into its place to rot. "You could not wish for a finer blade." Gandalf persuaded.

Reluctantly, I looked back at the sword and pulled it a couple of inches from its sheath. It truly was a fine blade. It was light in hand, and perfectly balanced. Unable to resist, I took the sword and belted it to my waist. "Let's get out of this foul place. Bofur, Gloin, Nori!" I called, and I made my way out of the cave.

I walked out to see the Hobbit talking with the Waterdancer. I overheard him asking about the stories about her. She gave him straight, simple answers about what was true and what wasn't. "How did you learn to master your abilities?" he asked.

"Believe it or not, it was actually Gandalf. He took me to a safe, isolated place in the mountains. There, he taught me everything I know." she happily told him.

"So, Gandalf is like your father, in a way." "More like my grandfather, really. There isn't anyone in the world that could have replaced my father." she said.

So, that was why she came with us. From what it sounded like, Gandalf was her savior of some sort, and it seemed like she would do anything for him. The story still wasn't very clear though. Gandalf saved her from...something, yet she obviously idolized her father. I was gathering that he was a good man, but if he loved her that much, then why is she here of all places? Why did Gandalf have to "save" her and not him? I had quite a few pieces of her story, but none of them added up to a conclusion. I looked at the Elf, as if I could decipher her just by looking at her. Then I heard something in the distance.