There and Back Again

Chapter Ten: Flói, Son of Frár

After a few days of rest and waiting to see if any of the dwarves had survived the night time raid by orcs, Thalia soon found herself back on the road again with Beorn acting as an escort for her and the twins. 

The Lonely Mountain seemed to grow closer with each passing day and Thalia found herself thinking more about what would happen when she saw Thorin again; it had been years and she had no idea how she would explain. 

There had not been a sniff of orc since they had left Beorn's house and Thalia was grateful for that; she had no weapon to fight with and she regretted losing her sword now more than ever after the battle. 

The fire crackled as Thalia finished serving dinner, her eyes constantly sweeping the trees around them since she had not seen Beorn since they had stopped for the night; it was starting to worry her since he did not usually stay away for so long. 

Theo was practically asleep in his dinner and Samara was eating hers slowly; the twins were exhausted and looked ready to fall asleep at any moment. 

Sitting down to eat her own food, Thalia could not help but notice how quiet it was and she hoped that Beorn was alright; she felt on edge and she wished that she knew what was happening. 

The sound of movement made Thalia turn quickly, her eyes searching the forest trying to see what was happening; but with so little light left but the fire it was hard. 

Suddenly a dwarf came rushing through the woods, he came to a sudden stop upon seeing Thalia and the twins before looking back wildly trying to find the beast that had chased him. 

"Who are you?" Thalia demanded getting to her feet, she was not in the mood for this right now and she could only hope that this dwarf would have answers for her. 

The dwarf was rather stocky and his brown hair seemed to have once resembled a mohawk that was now a tangled mess upon his head; his blue eyes stared towards the small group wondering what was going on. 

"Flói, Son of Frár my lady..." the dwarf said introducing himself with a low bow, he recalled her from the company that he had been traveling with from Rivendell.

The woman and her children had been guests of Master Gloin, they were guests of importance that had been sent away just as the fight had taken place; the dwarves had been quickly overrun by the orcs. 

Thalia nodded her head, she had a feeling that she recognised him from somewhere and she hoped that Beorn had not scared him too much when he had been chasing him. 

"You were one of the dwarves from the delegation," Thalia remembered suddenly, she was relieved that they had run into someone that was from that group; she had feared them all dead by now after the attack that had happened. 

Flói nodded his head, he slowly moved closer to the fire realising that Thalia was an ally and that he would be safe here; his eyes still glanced into the trees around them trying to spot the beast. 

"The others?" Thalia asked gently, her eyes flickering to the twins knowing that they did not need to hear this; she already had her suspicions and she hoped that she was wrong. 

Flói looked down at his hands, he had lost many a friend during that fight and even Master Gloin had been one of the many that had not been able to escape from the fight. 

The silence that he gave to her question made Thalia's stomach turn even more, her worst fears were about to be confirmed and she shed tears for those who had died; she could only hope that their deaths were swift. 

"Many died, what was left scattered to the wind to escape," Flói confirmed shaking his head, he would say no more in fear of upsetting Thalia more than needed especially with the children around.