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 Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2015 3:54 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:50 am
It seemed, to Thorin Oakenshield, that his life had become very strange since his younger brother had brought home a hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins. It wasn’t as though his life had been anything resembling normal before Bilbo’s arrival but things had definitely taken a more unusual turn. Where his days had once been occupied almost entirely by the inner-workings of ensuring his herd’s survival and quality of life they were now full of less pleasant ordeals. Things like learning of a skinwalker’s arrival on the mountain and one of his nephews nearly dying only to be saved by some mysterious circumstances. Suspicious was the word for it but his sister had been adamant in insisting that it was simply a miracle and there was simply no arguing with Dis. And while Thorin couldn’t blame the accident on Bilbo, it was definitely linked to his arrival. For such a little fellow he seemed to bring a lot of ill-fortune in his wake.
The incident in question had happened months ago and since then life had resumed more normal operations. The market had opened and had brought a dragon mare seeking to buy armor which Dis and Frerin had gone out of their way to neglect to mention until after they had left. It had also brought an amount of trade to the dwarves that they hadn’t seen since Erebor was lost to a dragon army. It was something to be celebrated and so Thorin had decided to take a special trip down to roam the markets. He could get a feel for how well they were doing and look for something suitable to bring back to his family and the hobbit. As he wandered through the acres of dwarves and other soquili peddling wares for trade as well as those browsing for a good deal he came to the rather sobering conclusion that while the numbers rivaled those at Erebor the goods were not anywhere near the same quality. Things were not as well-off as his council had led him to believe.
Still, he kept weaving his way through the stalls clinging to some hope that things would be better the closer he got to the guarded dwarven areas. They didn’t, but Thorin still managed to find something: carrots. They were bright orange and almost as long as his head, probably longer than Bilbo’s especially if you counted the greens. He ordered several pounds be sent up to his personal home and offered up a diamond as payment. After some consideration he also requested that the seller throw in a few seeds. He seemed to recall someone mentioning that Bilbo was looking to make a garden of his own. Thorin didn’t know if this was still a plan or if the hobbit had even started yet but the gesture would surely be appreciated. After making his purchase he continued to wander a bit longer in hopes of finding something more suitable for his sister at least. He would hear no end to bringing home carrots instead of jewels if he couldn’t find at least an ear cuff to appease her.
Alas, Thorin could find nothing finer than those jewels she already wore, the ones that she had been wearing in the attack, fine sapphires and gold from Erebor. Admitting defeat was never easy but in this case it was necessary. Wasting no more time browsing the market, Thorin returned to see to the other affairs that needed his attention that day. He didn’t return home until well after dark and, as expected, his sister had teased him about the carrots until his patience wore thin and he snapped at her to hold her tongue. She had responded by laughing fitfully as she wandered away. Thorin had been forced to wonder if she had been born into the world simply to torment him.
The next two days passed largely without incident. He handled his duties with ease and was pleased that the year hadn’t taken any particularly disastrous turns. It made for lighter work and fewer meetings of the council. It lightened the weight on his shoulders that had settled there when they had lost the mountain. Two nights after his trip to the market he even managed to catch Frerin and Dis as they were sharing a meal with enough time to join them. He had excused himself to go enjoy a proper bath for the first time in what felt like months. He had removed his armor and even the Arkenstone so that the water would not damage them before slipping into the chilly water. It would have been more pleasant in the day time but he was seldom around while the sun was up.
He didn’t know how long he had allowed himself to soak in the water, long enough for Dis to call out a warning that he would turn himself into soup if he stayed any longer. He had simply shaken his sodden head and climbed out of the pool. He would sleep near one of the eternally lit fire pits that night to help his thick coat dry and the thought of being warm and clean was enough to make him smile slightly.
The look vanished from his face as he bent to collect his things. His leg-guards were there but the Arkenstone… He flipped both pieces of armor over in case he was remembering wrong and had removed the stone first. It wasn’t there. He searched the bushes, the long tufts of grass, even the patches of weeds nearby, anywhere that the jewel of his people could have rolled and gotten lost in. His panic was rising as each place turned up empty. His heart seized in his chest as he looked towards the fires where he could see the outlines of his family. He prayed, honestly prayed, that this was some poorly conceived joke that his nephews were pulling on him as he galloped over to his kin.
“Where is it?” He bellowed as he drew close enough to be heard.
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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:19 am
Frerin had been laughing merrily around the fire exchanging stories with Dis when her lads had shown up. They had brought a small satchel of herbs for the fire that made the smoke pleasant to breathe in. The humans that cultivated the plant called it pipe weed or pipe tobacco and Frerin, like many of his dwarvish kin, quite enjoyed it. They had no pipes for which to smoke it in but adding it to a fire had a similar if more mild effect than a human’s pipe would. He had wanted to use it immediately since it had been so long since any of them had enjoyed a smoke together. Dis insisted that they wait for Thorin, who was currently stewing in the bath. None of them had thought to invite the hobbit. Bilbo was such a little, fussy fellow that it had just been easily accepted that he likely wouldn’t enjoy the sensation of the smoke.
After close to an hour’s wait Dis finally called out to their brother in her none to gentle teasing way. Frerin, Fili, and Kili all enjoyed a good chuckle over it before going back to swapping stories. Not ten minutes had passed before Thorin came thundering over, which struck Frerin as odd. Dis hadn’t said why she wanted him to hurry up but Frerin still let out a cheer welcoming Thorin over. Kili joined in enthusiastically making both Dis and Fili chuckle warmly.
‘Where is it?’ The laughter died off at Thorin’s enraged, booming voice and looks were exchanged.
“Where is what?” Kili asked when Thorin’s eyes landed specifically on him. He hadn’t done anything today, or even in the last week, and he wasn’t quite foolish enough to specifically take anything of Thorin’s.
Dis didn’t like the way Thorin was looking at her son any more than Kili did. She started to clear her throat to divert his attention but the sound caught and she began to choke. She had thought something looked odd about Thorin when he had come running over and now she knew what. “Where is the Arkenstone?!” She gasped a look of absolute horror settling over her handsome features. She hadn’t meant to raise her voice but the words had still come out far louder than what was considered polite.
“Gone!” Thorin lamented not lowering his voice any. “Kili, did you take it?” He didn’t like accusing his nephew but it needed to be done. He needed to know, for sure. If the lads didn’t have it… Thorin didn’t want to think about it. “Kili, where is it?” He demanded.
“I don’t know!” Kili insisted just as loudly as Thorin. “Why would anyone take it? It belongs to our family!” Much to Kili’s displeasure no one had an answer for him besides the obvious, the jewel’s worth went beyond that of measure. There were plenty who would want it for any number of things. The longer the five spoke the louder their voices became until Kili was pretty sure that the entire mountain would be able to hear them. That didn’t quiet them any.
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Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 8:53 am
Bilbo sniffed at the air. There was a familiar smell that tickled at him. It was tantalizing in its familiarity, but weak enough that it was hard to place. He stood there sniffing a moment longer before he realized what it was, pipe tobacco! Now that was an indulgence he hadn't enjoyed for some time. He knew dwarves to be far more solitary than the gregarious hobbit usdia he normally lived with, but he couldn't help himself. He began to trot over to the source of the delightful smell, hoping the dwarves would be feeling generous and allow him to partake.
Just as the smell was getting strong he paused. There were raised voices. He easily identified them as belonging to those of the line of Durin, Frerin and his family. Normally this would have heartened him, as he considered himself to be on good terms with most of that group. Today, however, they sounded agitated by something. The loudest voice among them was that of Thorin. Bilbo hadn't interacted overly much with the bristly leader, but Thorin had given him an orphaned spirit-touched rabbit for him to raise. Rosemary had ended up bonding with him and becoming his familiar, and Bilbo was endlessly grateful to Thorin for having introduced them. He seemed like a fair enough sort, if a bit distant and hard to reach.
As he had these thoughts, Bilbo found his hooves carrying him quietly closer. He wasn't sure if he was attempting to listen in or wanted to offer some sort of assistance. Whatever the reason, concern and curiosity brought him nearer to the confrontation.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 9:04 am
Dis was the first to notice the new presence in their group as Bilbo found his way over to them. It wasn’t surprising that he’d come over with how loud they were all being and she assumed that their shouts had disturbed him. His presence gave her an idea, though, and without dismissing herself from the conversation she marched over to Bilbo. She wished that she could find it in her heart to offer him a reassuring smile so that she didn’t startle him but it was no use trying. The best she could do was wipe the scowl off of her face and hope that that was enough to not send Bilbo fleeing for the hills, he always seemed like such a wee, skittish thing.
“Bilbo dear, you haven’t seen anyone lingering around that shouldn’t have been here have you?” She asked managing to keep her voice somewhat gentle at the very least. “They may have been carrying the Arkenstone with them.”
“That’s the jewel Thorin wears.” Fili added not certain that any of them had ever told Bilbo the proper name or what its meaning was. He was hopeful that his mother was on to something. It was clear that none of their line knew what had happened to the stone, but Bilbo had been away from them when it was taken. It was a slim chance with as large as the estate was but he may have noticed something. “It was taken.” Fili glanced a bit anxiously toward Thorin, he hadn’t moved from the spot but Fili could feel his temper from there. His jaw tensed as he looked back to Bilbo. For their friend’s sake Fili almost hoped Bilbo hadn’t seen anything. As much as he wanted to see the Arkenstone returned to its rightful place, he didn’t want to risk Bilbo to Thorin’s hot temper.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 10:37 pm
At first Bilbo thought that Dis was chastising him in a roundabout way. He was indeed lingering around somewhere he technically hadn't been invited to. Soon, he realized it was much worse than that. He didn't know the full story of Thorin's gem, but he had witness Thorin grow prickly over much lesser problems. It was clear that this jewel was of great importance to him, based on his level of wrath at his family.
"I haven't seen anyone about that isn't normally," he said apologetically. "Are you certain you haven't just..." He was about to suggest that Thorin had misplaced it, but quickly thought better of the idea. "No, no strangers that I've seen," he added uncertainly.
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 9:21 am
Fili winced visibly as Bilbo started to make a suggestion that would win him no favors. Beside him he could see Kili starting to shake his head with widened eyes. Thankfully Bilbo seemed to have sense enough to not finish the thought, he only hoped that Thorin had either missed the comment or wouldn’t take offense to the implication. One look at the sour expression on his uncle’s face let him know that they weren’t in luck. Fili braced himself for what was to come.
“Yes I am certain I haven’t misplaced it, master hobbit.” Thorin spat, finding it easy to guess what their guest was getting at. He did not appreciate the implication that he would be so careless as to misplace something so priceless as the Arkenstone. It belonged not just to him but to his family. It was something far too significant to simply forget where it had been placed and there were few times when Thorin placed it anywhere. It belonged around his neck and now it had been taken. Not by his kin.
“And where were you so recently, Master Baggins?” Thorin asked doing nothing to hide the suspicion from his voice. Bilbo had been permitted into their home and was able to pass the guards as he willed it. It wasn’t a leap that was difficult to make.
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