The Navigator

Home of a Skinchanger

"So you are the one they call Oakenshield." Beorn looks at Thorin, who nods. "Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"

"You know of Azog? How?" Thorin asks.

"My people were the first to live in the mountains, before the Orcs came down from the North. The Defiler killed most of my family. But some he enslaved. Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him." Beorn explains. Vistial sees the scars left from manacles.

"There are others like you?" Bilbo asks.

"Once there were many." Beorn replies.

"And now?"

"Now there are only two." All the heads of the Company cast glances at Vistial, who ignores them. "You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn."

"Before Durin's Day falls. Yes." Thorin responds.

"You are running out of time." Beorn explains.

"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood." Vistial explains.

"A darkness lies upon that forest. Fell things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the Orcs of Moria and the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need." Beorn says.

"We will take the Elven Road. That path is still safe." Gandalf states.

"'Safe'? The Wood Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous. But it matters not." Beorn says.

"What do you mean?" Vistial asks.

"These lands are crawling with Orcs. Their numbers are growing. And you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive." A silence fills the house before Beorn spoke again. "I don't like Dwarves. They're greedy and blind. Blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own. But Orcs I hate more. What do you need?"

~~~

"Thank you, Beorn." Vistial says as she mounts her borrowed horse. The tall man nods.

"The young one. He likes you, no?" Vistial follows Beorn's eyes to Kili, who had been staring at her. He gives her a wink, sending the girl into a blush.

"I don't know. He hasn't told me." Vistial says quickly. Beorn laughs.

"Safe travels, little one. May you discover your purpose." Vistial watches the man walk away. What did he mean? "Go now. While you have the light. Your hunters are not far behind." The Company tears across the landscape, quickly arriving at their destination.

"The Elven Gate." Vistial looks up at the huge forest.

"Here lies our path through Mirkwood." Gandalf nods.

"No sign of the Orcs. We have luck on our side." Dwalin reports as he dismounts.

"Set the ponies loose. Let them return to their master."

"This forest feels...sick. As if a disease lies upon it." Bilbo says. "Is there no way around?"

"Not unless we go 200 miles north. Or twice that distance south." Vistial states as she dismounts as well.

"Vistial is correct. We will be run down before we passed by. And Durin's Day will have passed as well." Gandalf says. The wizard disappears into the forest for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Vistial looks down into chocolate brown eyes.

"I'm fine." Vistial smiles. Kili smiles back.

"Not my horse! I need it!" Gandalf appears, shouting.

"You're not leaving us?" Bilbo asks. The Hobbit looked devastated.

"I would not do this unless I had to. You've changed, Bilbo Baggins. You're not the same Hobbit as the one who left the Shire." Gandald comments.

"I was going to tell you. I found something in the Goblin tunnels." Bilbo says, fiddling with his pocket.

"Found what? What did you find?" Gandalf insists.

"My courage." The Hobbit says proudly.

"Good. Well, that's good. You'll need it." Gandalf quickly mounts his horse before looking at the Company once more. "I'll be waiting for you at the overlook, before the slopes of Erebor. Keep the map and key safe. Do not enter that mountain without me. This is not the Greenwood of old. The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion. It'll seek to enter your mind and lead you astray. You must stay on the path. Do not leave it. If you do, you'll never find it again. No matter what may come, stay on the path!"

"Come on. We must reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin's Day." Vistial says, taking the lead.

"Let's go. It is our one chance to find the hidden door." Thorin nods to the girl. "Lead the way."