𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐈𝐂 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 // 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘪 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯

~ four ~

The morning that followed was so peaceful and beautiful that I had forgotten that we were on a very fatal quest. I woke up to the mountains coated with mist. The sun beamed through the peaks. Birds filled the sky with song. I felt at ease.

As if it were routine, the dwarves awoke, packed up camp, and saddled up the horses. I followed their actions, assisted in any way possible, and avoided any disruption.

We continued along the trail through forests and meadows, it was a different beauty I could never find in The Shire. It was open and free. We spent a few long days traveling through never ending forests and meadows. We camped wherever we could manage to stop and rest.

"We will set up here. Oin and Gloin set up a fire," commanded Thorin. A quaint yet battered farmhouse rested on a hill to the left of the trail. It seemed like an ideal place to take refuge in. It looked empty.

"A farmer and his wife used to live here. Shouldn't we keep going? We can find refuge in the Hidden Valley. The elves may be able to help us," said the grey wizard named Gandalf. I hadn't spoken to him yet. I've only heard stories about him and his magic. He carried a large staff and wore a very long grey cloak. A grey beard stretched down his face and chest. He was quiet but seemed very wise. He looked after us.

"I will take no charity from those elves. They wouldn't help us anyway," bickered Thorin. "Fili, Kili watch the horses."

Fili and Kili trudged along and disappeared behind some thick trees. I stayed close to Bilbo that night, still not knowing my place. I could tell he was unsure of his place as well. We helped around with dinner and kept the fire going. The evening was very quiet except for the quiet mumbling between the dwarves and the crackling of the fire.

"Bilbo, Adina, take these to Fili and Kili," said Bofur. He handed us two bowls of a soupy substance. I followed closely behind Bilbo as he weaved through the trees, branches, and bushes. We found the two dwarves intensely staring off at the horses.

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

"We started with 16 horses... now we have 14," Kili answered. The sound of branches snapping, along with deep, slow voice and heavy footsteps rattled the trees. All four of us ducked. A massive, pale grey giant clumsily trampled through the woods. He held two horses in his arms and communicated to the two other creatures.

"Great. Trolls," sighed Fili.

"Ah yes, Mr. Burglar, I believe this is where you step in," Kili said while patting Bilbo on the back. "Off you go. If you are in trouble hoot once like a barn owl and twice like a brown owl."

Before Bilbo could protest or ask questions, he was pushed off into the way of the trolls. I watched him as he crept around trees and quickly hid to stay out of sight. He was quite good at it even though he didn't have the slightest clue as to what he was doing. We waited for several moments. After time too much time had passed, we began to grow anxious.

"We need to move in," Kili said. Fili and I nodded in agreement. We followed the path Bilbo created that lead to the trolls. Once we reached the campsite, we found Bilbo dangling from the hands of one of the witless creatures. I panicked and reacted without thought.

"Drop him at once!" I jumped out from behind a bush and commanded. I held my rusty sword, that I had found in an old box at home, towards the giant.

"Oh, darling, what makes you think I would do anything like that?" Asked the troll. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kili flying through the air. I watched a flash of steel as he sliced through the troll's upper calf.

"You heard the lady," Kili said through gritted teeth. "Drop him." I gave Kili a slightly annoyed look, trying to express that I was handling the situation just fine.

As the troll crippled, Bilbo began to plunge to the ground. Kili dove from where he was standing to cushion Bilbo's fall. Not long after the fighting began, the other 11 dwarves joined us in combat. I had never felt more powerful in my life. I had finally gained my confidence. I let the weight of the sword lead my actions. Swing after swing, I felt the momentum of the blade take over.

I joined a group of dwarves to take on one of the three trolls. I ran and slid under a fist that flew towards me. The troll followed through and knocked the sword from Kili's hand. The fist returned but was heading for Kili this time. I leaped in front of the fist, brought my sword to eye level, and watched the troll's knuckle submerge into my blade. I retracted my sword and listened to the troll scream in pain. I looked back at Kili to flash confident smirk because I truly did have that situation under control. All he did was wink and pull out a bow from the back of his cloak. He immediately returned to action and fired arrow after arrow. He didn't miss. We continued to fight until we heard a deep bellow.

"Enough! Put your weapons down!" a troll proclaimed. The troll who spoke stood with Bilbo's right arm and leg while the other troll held the left limbs. Everyone lowered their weapons and waited for the trolls to decide our fate. The trolls made their fire bigger and hotter. Five dwarves were chosen to be roasted first. The rest of us were tied into sacks so we couldn't escape.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Bilbo claimed. "You need more spices and you uh must uh-skin them first!"

The dwarves protested due to the fact they really had no idea what Bilbo was trying to do. I focused my attention elsewhere and let Bilbo ramble on. I looked to find my own way to get everyone out of here. I rolled myself away from Thorin, who was now trying to bite his ropes, to a rock. I maneuvered myself out of sight. I rubbed the coarse fabric up against a sharp rock and broke free. I crawled through the shrubs to find Gandalf at our camp looking around for us. I raced to him and explained everything that had just happened. Before I could finish, he took off. He knew exactly how to get them out of our predicament. He wandered to a peak facing down to the troll camp. With such a simple movement, the boulder he stood before cracked down the center, revealing the sun of dawn. Before I could even understand what was happening, the trolls turned to stone.