Daughter of The Darkness

Chapter 4

Thorin and his company set off early the next morning. Last night had been a bit of a set back- they had lost their burglar. Nevertheless, the company carried on. They laughed and talked with Thorin in the lead. Their ponies trudged along carring all the gear and tools they needed for dispatching a dragon and reclaiming a long lost mountain home.

Gandalf tagged along too but kept an eye out for the spirit in the shadows. He knew she was there somewhere, hiding in the trees like a bird.
In fact she was not following the company, she was chasing Bilbo throughout the forests of the Shire. For a hobbit he was pretty fast but he kept on dropping the odd bit of equipment that he dropped off the top of his pack. Every now and again Elfreda would stop and pick some up- she would give them to Gandalf later. Bilbo found the trail of the dwarves, with a little unknown help and running up them, out of breath and trying to get the attention of Gandalf.

"Wait...Wait!" he tried to shout. Luckily, Elfreda was further ahead and using the special owl signal that Gandalf taught her. Gandalf looked around and noticed Bilbo. He pulled gently on his horses reins- Gandalf was far too tall to ride a pony- causing all the others to stop too. Thorin turned his around to see the problem.

Bilbo ran up to them "I signed it!"

Balin rode up to him and received the contract. The older dwarf looked it over and nodded " welcome to the company of Thorin Oakensheild Master Baggins"

Thorin overlooked the whole going on and smiled- his plan could finally get underway with full capacity. "Give him a pony." he ordered. With Bilbo reluctantly on a pony the precision stated off once again. With all the company on horse back, Elfreda ran on ahead to find her own steed, a black blanket appaloosa, climbed on and rode off. It felt so good to be free!
They all traveled like this for several days, even in the pouring rain. Every time they stopped and all of them were asleep, Elfreda would come out of the shadows to talk to the wizard. They would often talk hours on end- like old friends, catching up after a very long time apart. But eventually a dwarf would stir of hear the call of nature and wake, so Elfreda would leave and get some rest before morning.
The next day, after a long ride, the company arrived at an abandoned, broken down building. They untacked the ponies and got a fire going. Gandalf was uncertain of this place. He took Thorin aside and told him, his concerns. They argued, an i the ed Gandalf stormed off.
"Where are you going?" called a concerned Bilbo
"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense." Gandalf replied angrily
"Who's that?"
"Myself, master Baggins!"
With that, the wizard went away. Not far away, but far enough to get dwarves out of his head. There he bumped into Elfreda, his head fuming. She slowed him down and asked him what was wrong. All Gandalf did was grumble and groan about the idiocy of dwarves. Elfreda looked at him, her deep blue eyes burning into the back of his skull.
"Sit down and have some supper, you'll feel better"
He took the food gladly. As he ate, he explained his bad feeling about the place where the dwarves had set up camp. Elfreda had taken her hair out of her braid. Her long hair flowing like a shining river to the bottom of her rib cage. She listened intently as he let his opinions out. Elfreda has always been a found and patient listener- in her youth she often listened to the Ents tell long and slow stories. She listened like a child being read a bed time story, sat cross legged on the damp grass. After Gandalf had finished his supper, Elfreda stood up.
" Do not worry, I will watch them from afar tonight- if I need you I will call" she reassured "if indeed there are trolls out there, I know how to work around those dumb slow minded beasts"
From where she laid her things on the ground, she picked up her bow and arrows and strapped them in a quiver behind her back. She then wrapped a belt around her waist and sheathed her sword inside. Elfreda picked up her green clock, and, whilst fastening it around her, said farewell to Gandalf. The woman walked towards the camp when she heard two dwarves and a hobbit debating what to do about trolls...