The Warrior and The King

2. The Night Ride

During the night the rain stopped and a warm sun dried the party as they ate a hurried breakfast and packed up their camp. The warg howls they had heard the previous night were on all their minds, but the day passed without incident. At midday Gandalf turned off the road onto a wide path that followed beside a swift running stream and the way started to climb into the foothills of the mountains. As the sun began to dip into the west the path opened up into a kind of grassy meadow, ringed round one side with fir trees and the other with tall, sharp rocks. To Gandalf's eye it looked an ideal campsite, and it had seen use by other travelers as the presence of an old fire ring attested. The mountains marched upwards behind them and they could see the path they had travelled for some distance, nothing could come that way without being seen. Thorin called a halt for the night and the Dwarves busied themselves setting up camp.

Fili was setting the picket line for the ponies with his brother when he looked up and saw a rider on the path coming towards them. A large, black horse followed by a big, rangy dog, he could see the rays of the setting sun glint off the rider's golden hair. "There's a horse coming this way!" He cried to the others. "An Elf, maybe."

"Not an Elf, I think." Gandalf said thoughtfully as he came up between Kili and his brother. "But certainly welcome company!" He stepped forward as the rider drew her horse up, smiling under his bushy beard. "Kaylea Wolf, you are a sight for sore eyes!"

They could all see now the rider was a woman. She smiled at the wizard as she surveyed him and his companions. "I have found you in odd company before, Gandalf the Grey. But none quite so strange as this."

The woman who rode into their camp was a striking figure indeed. Thorin thought her the fairest woman he had ever seen. Though not an Elf she had the grace of that people, but there was a hardness to her the Fair Folk lacked. As if the beauty of Luthien Tinuviel herself had been poured over a core of thrice-forged steel. She had the appearance of a fell fighter and was armed with many weapons – sword, bow and knives, all bearing the signs of much use and expert care. Her close-fitting black garments of leather and heavy cloth would not have looked out of place worn by a man but were obviously made for her, tailored in a style he had not seen before. Her hair, shining like polished gold in the evening light was gathered in a tight braid down her back. She rode a tall, clean-limbed horse black as midnight. What Fili had taken to be a dog was actually a large black wolf not much smaller than a warg, wearing a wide collar. The wolf had stopped at the edge of the clearing, waiting and watching the company with evident interest. Both rider and horse bore the signs of long travel. Kaylea looked over the company, her glance returning several times to Thorin. He and the other Dwarves were staring at her curiously, her appearance was so unusual they were all taken aback. Thorin was the first of them to move next to her horse beside the wizard. He felt his heart leap when his eyes met those of this warrior woman, like he was connected to her somehow, although he had never met her. Thorin felt it must be just because he thought her so beautiful but it felt deeper, her eyes seemed to look right into his heart.

"This is the company of Thorin Oakenshield", Gandalf was saying. He indicated Thorin, who inclined his head as Kaylea's grey-blue eyes returned to meet his."Kaylea Wolf is a great warrior from a far country across the sea. She has ridden to Middle Earth's aid before and is well known to the Rangers of the North. You would do us a great honor if you will travel with us, my lady."

"Perhaps I shall," Kaylea answered. "I have hurried to catch you to say there is an orc pack on your trail, from the look of it they have been following you for several days."

"We heard warg howls last night," Thorin replied, suddenly serious. "How many and how far back are they?"

"A little less than a league, my lord. There are more than two score, unless I miss my guess. They have been keeping their distance, for some reason of their own. I expect they will wait until full dark before they come closer."