From the beginning, I suppose

Chapter 8

Bilbo was puffing contentedly on his pipe when the shriek of an orc echoed across the valley, stirring many of the company to their feet.

"Do orcs normally come this far west?" He inquired to Gandalf around the stem of his pipe as another shriek echoed, waking Thorin, who had been napping off to the side.

"Don't worry of them, Master Baggins. Any attack by them would be swift and painless. Quick and quiet, no screams" Kíli said solemnly, the mischievous twinkle in his eye only revealed by the flickering campfire.

"You think you're so clever. I happen to know that the Ezuhkhalam are anything but sneaky. We can obviously hear them, and they're over a league away." Bilbo retorted, letting slip the Khûzdul word for orc without thinking.

"Aye. You think that is funny?" Thorin growled from where he had risen to his feet. "You think a night raid by Orcs is a joke?" He had obviously missed Bilbo's slip-up.

"We meant nothing by it." Kíli developed a sudden interest in his boots as he muttered a regretful excuse to his uncle.

"Of course you didn't. You know nothing of the world." Thorin snarled, turning away. There was pain evident in his eyes for those who chanced to look

Fíli and Kíli looked very put out. Balin noticed this and spoke to comfort them. Bilbo remembered where this led and settled himself a comfortably as he could against the trunk of the tree he was occupying, relighting his pipe with a quick strike of flint against steel (one of his purchases from the night before).

Balin launched into the tale, capturing the enraptured attention of eleven dwarrows and a wizard. Bilbo's eyes, however, were fixed on the object of the story, who sat stony and silent next to his pony as Minty grazed contentedly, obviously not fazed by the orc pack in the distance. He rose again as Balin wrapped up his story and all attention was directed to the king-in-exile.

Bilbo swallowed around the lump in his throat and asked the same question he had the first time around. "And the pale orc? Azog? What happened to him?"

Thorin bared his teeth in a fierce sneer. "Slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth-" The dwarf bit out the word with venom enough to slay a dragon. How ironic. "-Died of his wounds long ago."

Bilbo glanced at Gandalf, who averted his eyes, chewing on his pipe stem distractedly. The wizard knew otherwise.

The others settled down to sleep, spreading bed rolls.

"We heard orcs, so we may as well set a watch. Who will take first shift?" Balin asked as he spread his own roll.

Thorin opened his mouth to reply, but Bilbo was having none of it, cutting off the dwarrow before he could utter a sound. "I'll take first watch. I'll wake Dwalin at moonhigh." The last part was a lie. He could sleep on horseback, and trusted Maha to do as he should while his rider slept, so he had long since decided to take the whole night. He had many things to think about anyway.

Stunned silence fell over the camp at the hobbit's words. Ori looked around, unable to locate the hobbit.

"Up here Ori." Bilbo dropped a twig on the scribe's head, causing him to look up.

"I'm too lazy to get down, so I'll keep watch from up here for now." The rest of the company had figured out where the hobbit had spoken from him and were all scrutinizing him. Thorin's mouth still hung open from when he had attempted to volunteer.

"Master Burglar, I daresay that it would only be detrimental for you to take any watch tonight. You think nobody would notice your outing last night?" Nori commented from across the campfire.

"I didn't expect it to go unnoticed, but I must insist that after such traveling as you lot have done, you may want a break." Bilbo retorted smoothly, meeting the thief's eyes levelly.

"Mister Boggins--"Kíli started, but Bilbo was having as little of it from the prince as he was from his uncle, which amounted to a grand total of nothing.

"Don't try to argue. Unless one of you wants to climb up here and drag me to my pack, I'm not going anywhere. I have signed the contract, now let me prove my conviction." Bilbo blew a smoke ring lazily, drawing a low chuckle from Gandalf. "And it's Baggins."

"I daresay that there is no swaying a hobbit once his mind is made up. I assure you he will not run off in the night." The wizard chortled.

Bilbo felt Thorin's eyes on him as he relaxed back against the solid bark of the tree and blew another smoke ring.

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Thorin watched as the halfling settled his back to the tree once more.

"Halfling." Thorin paced up to the tree, swinging up to a low branch.

"Hmm?" Was the noncommittal reply he got.

"Why do you insist on this?" There was more steel in Thorin's voice than he had intended.

"Because I wish to prove my allegiance. Is that so hard to believe?" The hobbit didn't look at Thorin, instead opting to pull a small notebook and jot something in it.

"Not so much, but I still wish to know your motives." The dwarf pressed stubbornly.

"I just told you my 'motives' as you so eloquently put it. No need to be redundant." The halfling clucked his tongue in mock-disappointment.

"You-- oh blast it." Thorin growled under his breath. And he thought dwarrow were stubborn.  

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Khuzdul Dictionary --

Ezuhkhalam   -->  Literally "Hate Elves", seeing as  Orcs are the twisted and corrupted reanimated corpses of Elves.