No one's pov

Bard docks his barge. After looking around, he knocks over one of the barrels, and a dwarf falls out along with a pile of fish. Bard continues knocking over barrels while ash helps the dwarves to their feet. He reaches for Dwalin's barrel, but Dwalin pokes his head up through the fish.

"Get your hands off me." He tells him with a voice filled with venom. "Dwalin. Daro." Ash said to him sternly. He didn't understand her but from the glare she had he knew it meant to be quiet.

The remaining dwarves and Bilbo struggle out of their barrels, looking greasy and slimy from the fish. The dock keeper looks on in shock. Bard approaches him and slips him a coin.

"You didn't see them, they were never here. The fish you can have for nothing." He tells him. The dock keeper nods and Bard leads the Company away, giving the simple order "Follow me.".

As they stride through Laketown, a boy runs out to Bard making the company freeze. "seldo?" Ash says. Bilbo looks at her slightly concerned. There were no elves here.. why was she speaking elvish when she knew no one understood her?.. and why was she so pale?..

"Da! Our house, it's being watched!" The boy yelled. Bard looks at Thorin and the company. He then gets an idea. He tells all of them to swim in the water, under a house he pointed at, wait at the hole and they would get them in.

Bard and his son then walk along back to their house. As they walk, a fisherman in a boat sees them and drops his eyepatch over one eye, then knocks with his staff on a wall nearby. Upon this signal, two boys run from the wall, and one knocks over a contraption which causes a hammer to hit a bell. At this signal, another man lights a match to light his pipe. He turns and looks at two men in a fishing boat right next to Bard's house, and they nod and switch their poles to the opposite sides of the boat than before. They do this just as Bard and Bain get to their house and enter through the door. Just before Bard enters, he tosses an apple to one of the fisherman. "You can tell the Master that I'm done for the day." He says.

Inside the house 2 girls smile at the sight of bard. "Da! Where have you been?" The youngest asks. "Father! There you are. I was worried." The eldest says. Both daughters run to their father, and they hug. Bard then hands his bag to The eldest. "Here's something to eat. Bain, get them in." Bard orders his son. Bain nods and goes Bain goes down some steps to the lower floor of the house, which is open to the water. After looking around, he knocks on the wall near the toilet three times. Dwalin's head appears through the toilet, which is open to the water below.

"If you speak of this to anyone, I'll rip your arms off." He tells the boy. Dwalin raises the seat and begins to pull himself out of the toilet. Bain reaches out to help him, but Dwalin slaps his hand away. "Get off."He says. Dwalin crawls out of the toilet and Bain tells him to go upstairs.

Bilbo pokes his head up through the toilet, looking flabbergasted, and Bain helps him out. The rest of the dwarves follow and head upstairs. "Da...why are there dwarves climbing out of our toilet?" Bard's eldest daughter asks, looking even more confused when an elf appeared. "Will they bring us luck?" His youngest daughter asked, making ash smile at her childish wonder. "Mind introducing me to your children bard ?" She asked. "Ah yes.. this is my eldest Sigrid, my son Bain and my youngest Tilda." He said.

Tilda waved happily and ash smiled, tucking her wet hair behind her ears so she could see. Her headdress almost fell over her face yet she fixed it. Tilda almost squealed in happiness. "Oh! Your an elf ! Can you do magic ? Are you a princess ?" She asked. Ash could only help but smile as Sigrid picked up her little sister, to the little ones dismay and bring her to bed.

Very soon Sigrid and Bain went around taking the company's coats and clothes. When Sigrid offered to take ash's and to give her some of her own she reluctantly agreed, but when she was changed and gave her filthy and wet clothes to Sigrid she noticed a leather piece she had around her old clothes was still around her waist. She didn't question it and asked politely if she could help hand out the blankets.

The company thanked them as they did. When everyone had a blanket ash went to thorin who was staring absentmindedly out a window. She said something to him in elvish but realised her mistake and asked "is something wrong?". He didn't respond to either. Everyone was now quiet as they warmed up. The fire crackled and she barely heard thorin mutter "the dwarvish wind-lance..". He was staring at a small wooden tower, not to far away, with said weapon perched on top, slightly rusted from the cold icy weather and lack of care.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Bilbo comments as he sips on a hot drink.  "He has. The last time we saw such a weapon, a city was on fire. It was the day the dragon came." Balin said. Thorin looks sadly away, and ash went slightly pale. Then balin began "The day that Smaug destroyed Dale. Girion, the Lord of the city, rallied his bowman to fire upon the beast. But a dragon's hide is tough, tougher than the strongest armor. Only a black arrow, fired from a wind-lance, could have pierced the dragon's hide, and few of those arrows were ever made. His store was running low when Girion made his last stand.".

"Had the aim of Men been true that day, much would have been different." Thorin said. "You speak as if you were there." Bard said as he walked over to him. Ash nudged thorin, making sure he fixed his mistake. "All dwarves know the tale." Thorin said. Bard's son, Bain stood up and said to thorin "Then you would know that Girion hit the dragon. He loosened a scale under the left wing. One more shot and he would have killed the beast.".

Dwalin chuckled and told the boy "That's a fairy story, lad. Nothing more.". Thorin, changing the subject quickly, said to bard "you took our money, know where are the weapons?". Ash opened her mouth, about to say he'd spent the money on the fish to hide them, but thorin gave her a death glare, making her mouth slowly shut and making her feel like a child that had broken something.

"Wait here." Bard said. He goes down the stairs to the lower part of the house. After looking around to make sure no one is watching, he pulls on a rope hanging off a small boat and pulls up a wrapped package that had been hidden underwater. He goes back to the company and lays it out on the table. The dwarves gather around the table. Bard glanced at ash but she quickly tilts her head in the direction of her blanket, he could see the handle of a sword sticking out. He nodded and looked back, slightly surprised to see the dwarves shocked faces.

"What is this?" Thorin asks, holding up some sort of spear. "Pike-hook. Made from an old harpoon." Bard replied. "And this?" Kili asked, holding up what looked like a large hammer. "A crowbill, we call it, fashioned from a smithy's hammer. It's heavy in hand, I grant, but in defense of your life, these will serve you better than none." Bard once again explained. Thorin and Dwalin look disgustedly at each other.

"We paid you for weapons. Iron-forged swords and axes!" Gloin yelled. "It's a joke!" Bofur yelled as he throws his weapon back on the table, and the other dwarves follow suit.

"You won't find better outside the city armory. All iron-forged weapons are held there under lock and key." Bard tells them, trying to keep there composure. Thorin and Dwalin look at each other out of the corners of their eyes, hatching a plan without words. "Thorin." Balin begins. Bard looks up at the mention of the name Thorin, as if the name sounds familiar to him. "Why not take what's been offered and go? I've made do with less; so have you. I say we leave now." Balin said, making sure the others heard him. "You're not going anywhere." Bard told them bluntly. "What did you say!?" Dwalin practically yelled. "There's spies watching this house and probably every dock and wharf in the town. You must wait till nightfall." Bard told them.

The dwarves reluctantly calmed down and relaxed. Kili slowly day down and winces in agony.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

{Stop!}
Daro!

{a child ?}
Seldo?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoy. Next chapter should be up in less them half an hour {hopefully}

Lil'nightfury