The Hobbit: An Unexpected Discovery

Chapter Seventeen: No Place Like Home

It was the darkest night Fae had seen for a long time, she could practically smell the evil in the air. Bilbo and Serethiel were peeking over some rocks on a high ledge, watching Azog and his Warg Scouts run along a ridgeline not far away, occasionally stopping to smell the air in their pursuit of the Company. Not finding anything, the hunting party continued on their way. Suddenly, Serethiel heard a snarl from the side, and ducked behind the rocks, pulling Bilbo down with her.

"What?" he mouthed but Serethiel shook her head and placed her finger on her lips in a shushing motion as the growl sounded again. Bilbo's eyes widened in fear. They peeked around the side of the boulder and saw a large bear watching Azog from another pile of rocks, snarling softly. They quickly snuck away back to the company as the bear let out the almightiest roar.

They leapt down the rocks to where the dwarves and Gandalf were waiting to hear their spy report.

"How close is the pack?" Dwalin asked instantly, not giving them a moment to catch their breath.

"Too close. A couple of leagues, no more, but that is not the worst of it." Bilbo replied as Serethiel sat on a rock, brows furrowed.

"Mana na-ha? Mana na-ha tye cen? (what is it? what is it you saw?)" Fae questioned, laying her hand on her cousin's shoulder. Serethiel opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Dwalin.

"Have the Wargs picked up our scent?" he asked panicked

"Not yet, but they will; we have another problem." Bilbo said, equally as stressed

"Did they see you? They saw you!" Gandalf shouted.

"No, that's not it." Bilbo started. Gandalf smiled and turned to the dwarves.

"What did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse. Excellent burglar material." He announced. The dwarves chuckled loudly in appreciation of Bilbo. Bilbo looked at the elves exasperated that no one was hearing him out.

"Will you listen- Will you just listen?" he shouted.

"N-DÍNEN! (BE QUIET!)" Fae yelled, drawing the attention of both Gandalf and the dwarves back to them.

"I'm trying to tell you there is something else out there." Bilbo said. The dwarves looked around worried and Gandalf and Fae stared at each other.

"What form did it take? Like a bear?" Gandalf asked, not breaking eye contact with Fae.

"Ye..." Bilbo started before pausing and looking curiously at Gandalf. "Y- yes. But bigger, much bigger."

"You knew about this beast?" Bofur called as Gandalf turned and walked a few steps away. Fae followed after him quickly.

"Mín sinte nia hi radag. (we knew about this beast)" Fae said. "Whime onlime sí tye ruce-o mana lótesse túl? (Why only now are you afraid of what may come?)" Gandalf looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Im na-ruce. Ni faila cil-ana tán-ha hi. Tye sinte-o hon feuime-an nauco. (I am afraid. I just choose to show it now. You know of his hate for dwarves.)" Gandalf replied. Fae nodded with a smile on her face.

"Mal tye sinto-o hon mel an nen ar Serethiel (but you know of his love for me and Serethiel.)" she replied softly. Gandalf nodded and turned back to the company.

"I say we double back." Bofur said

"And be run down by a pack of Orcs." Thorin argued, looking the dwarf up and down.

"There is a house," Fae blurted out, causing Gandalf to wince. "it's not far from here, where we might take refuge."

"Whose house? Are they friend or foe?" Thorin asked, stepping towards the two. Gandalf looked at Fae and sighed.

"Neither. He will help us, or he will kill us." Gandalf replied sorrowfully. The dwarves looked at each other in dismay whilst Thorin looked at Fae, begging her to have another option but she just shook her head.

"What choice do we have?" he asked her quietly, looking around as a roar split the night behind them; it was the bear.

"None."

The company ran through plains and across streams.

"Come on!" Gandalf yelled as the Company ran through a forest, Azog and his Orcs racing along only a few leagues behind them. Azog urged his party on with shouts of black speech which chilled the company to the bone. Both groups stopped suddenly when an ear-splitting roar sounded nearby.

"This way, quickly!" Fae yelled, jumping over a log and overtaking the wizard. As the dwarves panicked and ran, Bombur looked on in shock until he was pulled along by Bofur.

"Bombur, come on!" As they exited the forest, Fae spied the house surrounded by a hedge in the middle of a plain.

"To the house! Run!" she called. The Company ran across the plain; Bombur, the fattest dwarf, outran all the rest of them in his fear. They ran through a gate in the hedge.

"Come on, get inside!" Gandalf called. They ran to the front door of the house; it was closed. Bombur, who reached the door first, threw himself against it but fell flat on his back when the door didn't budge. The rest of the dwarves caught up and began throwing themselves against the door, trying to open it. Fae looked back as a massive bear broke out from the edge of the forest and ran toward them.

"Open the door!" she yelled, grabbing Serethiel's hand.

"Quickly!" Thorin called, pushing through the dwarves who were pressed against the door, and managed to raise the exterior bolt, opening the doors. The entire company bolted inside the house and tried to slam the door shut, but the bear had already gotten its head in the door. As the bear roared and tried to push the door open, the dwarves yelled and strained to close it. Bilbo pulled out his sword and pointed it unsteadily at the bear. Gandalf and the elves looked on in apparent amusement. The dwarves yelled as they pressed against the door.

"Come on, lads!" Dwalin called. With a final heave, the dwarves managed to close the door and drop the bolt across it. They sighed in shock, fear, and tiredness.

"What is that?" Ori whimpered

"That...is our host." Fae said. The dwarves and Bilbo turned to her in bewilderment.

"His name is Beorn, and he is a skin-changer." She continued as she walked through his house to where her room was. She yelled in triumph when she saw it was exactly as she left it.

"Serethiel!" she called. "Our room is the same as whence we last came." Serethiel grinned.

"Thank god. I left my favourite dagger here." She said and Thorin looked at them confused.

"Room?" he asked and the elves nodded. Oin checked his hearing trumpet to make sure he had heard them correctly.

"Beorn is an old friend of ours." Serethiel explained sitting on the kitchen table.

"Sometimes he's a huge black bear; sometimes he's a great strong man. The bear is unpredictable, but the man... can be reasoned with. However, he is not over fond of dwarves." Fae said, picking up an apple and eating it. The dwarves looked at each other in dismay. Ori peaked out a crack in the door.

"He's leaving!" Ori exclaimed as Dori pulled him away from the door.

"Come away from there! It's not natural, none of it. It's obvious: he's under some dark spell." The dwarf spat venomously.

"Don't be a fool." Fae retorted. "he's under no enchantment but his own. Alright now, get some sleep, all of you. You'll be safe here tonight." The dwarves started to spread out through the house. Gandalf turned to the elves and whispered accusingly to them.

"I hope." The elves just grinned and gave him thumbs up before skipping to their bedroom.