IM SOOOO SORRY! A lot as been going on in life lately and I would have completely forgot about this story if not for your guys comments and asking for updates.
Please enjoy this chapter I don't know when I'll get the next one out ....                TRACKHER.🛤️🏆

We had reached a nice little wooded area near the border of the Shire, the trees shade offering the company a small bit of protection from the sun's harmful rays. Conversation turned quickly from making bets to discussing when it’s safe to assume the hobbit would not show.

    “Honestly this was a waste of time,” one of my companions said from not far behind me. “If we had known the halfling would refuse the company could have met up somewhere closer along our journey, cut our travel time down quite a bit I reckon.”  

    “Yet we did not know,” the companies wizard addressed calmly. “And we still do not, for our young Hobbit may make an appearance yet.”

    “Well I say if he’s not here by the time we leave Hobbit territory, you get me my money,” Nori exclaimed impatiently. “I have no intentions to wait an entire journey before  receiving proper pay.”

    Murmurs went around the company, many agreeing with Nori’s statement or complaining about the hobbit who had housed them just hours before. I had just prepared myself to call them out of their rudeness, after all the halfling had acted as host to 14, not including herself of course, unexpected and rowdy guests without an inkling as to why for the good portion of the night. However before I had gotten the chance a shout from behind resounded through the wooden clearing.

    “Wait! Wait!.” Turning in the saddle I watched Bilbo’s stout figure race across the path we had trod just moments before. Calling our ponies to a halt, we allowed the racing Hobbit the chance to catch up. Panting heavily as he arrived he took a breath, hands on his knees, before standing straight and waving the contract I had left for him up to Balin. “I signed it!”

    Balin, taking out his pocket glass, carefully looked over the parchment before humming in satisfaction. “Everything appears to be in order.” He announced to the rest the dwarves, “Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield.”

    Cheers rang through those of us who had won the betting pool, Thorin being the only one not in good humor. His unimpressed expression spoke volumes of his disapproval. “Give him a pony,” he grumbled unhappily. His gold chain necklace swaying as he turned back around and spurred his mount onward, fully expecting the rest to follow.

    “No, no, no, no,” Bilbo started his usual rounds of protest. “That-that won’t be necessary, thank you, but I-I’m I can keep up on foot. I-I-I’ve done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. I even got as far as Frogmorton onc-WAGH” The young princes cut the poor hobbit off with a swiftly executed act of teamwork. Gripping the back of Bilbo’s shirt he was hauled up and unceremoniously plopped a top the, up til that point, riderless supply pony.  

    “Word of advice Master Baggins.” I called to him from my position in the center of the caravan , “The more one protests ,the less likely one is to get their way while in the company of dwarves. Now I do hope you suppress that habit of waking after sunrise, we wouldn’t want a repeat of today's events later on, now would we?”  Said hobbits ears went a deep cherry in color as he squeaked out a ‘yes ma’am’ and turned to make conversation with the resident gray wizard.

    “Come on Nori, pay up.” Ori’s voice sounded, a bit scoldingly as the boy hesitated. “Go on!”

Nori, sending a bag of coins over to Oin, whom he had betted against, set off the chain reaction and within moments money was being tossed from one dwarf to another.  Catching my pay, which had been grudgingly been thrown in my direction, I measured it in my hand.

“Now Gloin, I may be a dwarrowdam but this does not mean I am daft.” I rolled my eyes as he wince, knowing he had been caught, “Your light, I suggest you give the total of what was promised.”

A mutter of “darned women and their absurd senses,” however in the end I received the full amount of that which was owed.

Our journey continued, making good travel time. Far better than what I had made on my trek toward the Shire, as we were indeed traveling in the direction I had come from. Though I did stop a few time to simply gaze at the scenery, which was not a pleasantry I will get whilst traveling with the son of Thrain.        
     However such things as daylight only last for so long before a pause in any expedition where eminent.

Sliding off my chestnut pony with professional ease, I took off the riding gear and set him loose, knowing he would return if I were to call. “Eiki,” I turned to face Ori upon his address, “if you don’ mind my asking but how come your pony is so well trained compared to ours.”

“Why that would be because of my mother.” I explained patiently to the younger dwarf, “I may have taken up my father's profession as blacksmith, but according to the villagers those horses were my mother's passion. She trained them up and would give lessons to the younglings on how to properly ride.” I sighed fondly at the story, “ahh, what I would have given to meet her.”

    “She sounds wonderful lass.” Dori called to my left, as he unrolled his bedding not too far from the fire Bofur was readying.

    “Indeed she does,” I smiled a bit, “unfortunately she passed when I was just a babe. I can remember no more of her than a gentle smile and what few pictures Father keeps around the house.”

    “Ah, m-my apologies. I-I meant nothing’ by it.” I smiled softly at the boys sheepish words, not yet willing to meet my eye after bringing up something so sensitive.

    “It's quite alright,” I leveled my voice as I began to unpack what would be needed for the night. “It was a simple question, you could not have know, else you wouldn’t have asked. Now let us move you away from the edge Ori, I have a feeling you boys tend to roll.” I said this casually and shooed him away from the cliffside and closer to the fire where Bombur and Bifur where preparing the evening meal. Watching the two of them keep the rest of the hungry dwarves at bay while Bifur simultaneously smacked Bombur’s hand before he could give it a ‘taste test’ as I heard him defend above the complaining company.  

    “When it is ready you will be called!” Thorins voice boomed from across the camp, “ ‘til then find something of use to occupy yourselves.” With that last statement of irritation, the leader of our company turned and found himself a solitary spot overlooking the valleys below.

    “Don’ take it to heart lads,” Dwalin called to the disgruntled men now dispersing across the area. “Thorin ‘as never been the cheery type, bu’ once he gets some food and rest he’ll go back to him’s usual self.”

    “Aye, take it from those of us experienced in the matter,” Balin added onto his younger brothers statement with humor evident in his words.Laughing lightly under my breath I found a sturdy overhang to sit under, settling myself in I awaited the call for supper. Sensing someone slide down to my right, I looked over to find Oin sitting a bit away one leg straight while the other bent to the degree he could comfortably rest his arm against it.

    “Ah, I must apologize, ma’ lady, for my brothers slights against you this past while. He means nothin’ by it, truth be told you remind him of his wife and you being on a potentially dangerous quest... Well it does nothing for  the companies nerves.”

    “Its fine, Master Gloin’s actions are perfectly reasonable.” I nodded along understanding his point however, “ he will soon learn that I am indeed my own person and can well take care of myself. Though such change in judgment must be earned and thus I will wait until he figures such out on his own.” I smiled a bit at the dwarf next to me, “as I doubt having a dwarrowdam tell him what to think would do anything for the situation. Yet I do hope he will apologize for trying to swindle me out of my winnings in a bet he had insisted upon.”  

    Whatever reply Oin may have had were cut off by a distant screech, causing poor Bilbo to jump out of his skin, nearly startling the pony he was standing beside. The chilly night air did little to help the poor halflings skittish nature. “What was that?”

“Orc’s.” Kili responded looking a bit off into the distance, watching as the second screech sent Thorin jolting up from his previous relaxed position.

“Orc’s?”

“Throat cutters. There’ll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them.” Fili explained with a hint of mirth in his eyes.

Though the boys couldn’t hear him I just made out Bifur’s remark of, “Taiskhi azafr shaikmashâz zanid.”  I couldn’t help the soft snicker that followed the comment. (Translates roughly to “They look like big rats” said in Khuzdul as Bifur’s head injury with the axe prevents him from speaking common tongue) Noticing this he nearly beamed in pride at earning a ladies smile with a simple comment.

Unperturbed or unaware of the actions of his elders, killi continued on for his brothers statement. “They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone’s asleep.Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood.”

Panicking , Master Baggins looked left to right frantically as if expecting to be slaughtered that very moment. Missing my scalding, yet amused, look in their direction the two Durin brothers shared a single thought through eye contact and nearly fall to their backs in humor.

“You think thats funny do you?” the sudden hardness in his voice startling us all, we watched as Thorin turned to berate his nephews. “You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?” his volume steadily increased with each word keeping the company on its toes.

“We didn't mean anything by it…” the response came out far to sheepish, nearly making me question if this was truly the young prince I had met just a day ago. Opening his mouth as if to say more he was quickly shut down by his uncle's back slowly retreating to the cliffs edge.

“No, you didn’t. You know nothing of the world.” watching his old friend walk off like that, and sensing the tension in the air, Balin made his way to the two downtrodden dwarves.

“Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs.” already sensing the impending story I walked closer and sat down within an implied story circle about the elderly dwarf. Others slowly joined me, receiving a knowing look from the storytellers brother, we all settled down. “After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria.” a sad sigh escaped his lips as he continued on, “But our enemy had got their first.”

Closing my eyes I could almost picture the battle of Azanulbizar, as its story had been told many times for it's bound to be a fight of legends. Thousands of warriors on each side  gathered in front of the gates of Moria, a intense battle ensues as brave soldier raise their axes and clubs raised with the battle cry.

“Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs, lead by the most vile of all their race: Azog, the Defiler.”an image of a pale white beast swinging his way through the legions of dwarves became clear in my thoughts. “The great Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King.”

Nearly flinching at the image playing through my head, the beheaded king being held before all his subjects. A sensation of fear and loss stretching through the battlefield causing them to slowly give ground, defeat was evident for the people of Durin. The Pale Orc then turning his attention to the distressed Thorin, seeing only another in the royal line to destroy.

“Thrain, Thorin’s father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That…” he paused for effect, “is when I saw him: a young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armorrent… wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield.” the feelings of pride and courage in Balin's voice brought us all an inch closer, excitement rising in our company's ranks, much as I picture it had done for the warriors of that day. “Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But their was no feast, no song, that night. For our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived.”

Slowly my mind wandered back into the present as my friend next words hung over, not only myself, but the Durin boys who had only ever seen Thorin as their grumpy old uncle. Just as I remain far less in awe of the man then his long time kinsmen.

“And I thought to myself then, their is one who I could follow. Their is one I could call king.” it was then, that the next king under the mountain made his way to our little group, walking directly between us as the amazed gazes of his companions followed him. Poor Bilbo, being the curious Hobbit he was, broke the awed silence.

“But the Pale orc? What happened to him?”

“He slunk back into the hole whence he came.” Our company leader  did not wait for anyone else’s thoughts on the matter, “that filth died of his wounds long ago.” following him back to the fire dinner was served out amongst the group.

It wasn’t long before all the stew had been finished off, Bombur made sure of that. Tensions had lessoned with a full stomach and I found myself calling my Pony back from his wanderings as the light dimmed, though I trust him to return when called, I do not trust the creatures of the night. Humming as I re-braided my hair for the night, having not done so the day before, I allowed the music to play within my mind as I brushed down my steed.

“Eiki? That you humming over their?” blinking back out of my trance I turned to find the smallest of our company.

“ah , yes it twas Master Baggins. I tend to do so when things get a bit too quiet for my liking.”

“Well I understand that” the sudden voice of Bofur had us both tuning to face him. “I must admit, I take pride in my musical talents. Yet I can't quite put ma finger on that particular tune.”

“Oh ho? What do we have going on here?” this time we had no need to turn as the commenter and one other  made his way in our direction.

“Dwalin! Oin! Just in time” Bofur greeted the two happily, “I was just trying to place a tune our lady here was hummin’”

“Wa’s this about a Loon?”Oin called bringing his ear trumpet up into place.

“Not  loon, a Tune! You do know what music is right, ya deaf ol’ man?” Our hatted companions head flew forward as it was smacked by Dwalin. “Oi! Whats that for?” by this time the rest of the company had come to investigate.

“You seemed like you deserved it” as the too looked like they were about to square off, no one bothered betting on the winner for this one, I stepped in.

“Alright their boys, enough its getting late, we ought to be settling in and not riling up.”

“I know. Why don’t you sing us a song then, mother used to do it all the time before bed.”

“Great idea young apprentice” Fili and Kili patted Ori upon his shoulder in congrats. “That would certainly settle everyone down.”

Ori blinked in confusion turning to the younger of the brothers “Aren’t I older than you?”

“Shh, details details. Let's not discuss them now.” turning back to the company, as Dori stomped over to his youngest brother and grumbling about ‘bad influences’ and ‘Impolite’ the Durin boys grinned “all in favor of a Lullaby!”

    ””“Aye”””   came the response from most of the group, it was obvious my say in this was not wanted, though I was more amused than anything. However the elder members of the group disagreed.

“We are warriors not children! Would you prefer me to look around for a cave bat under your pillow as well?”

“Make it a Warrior's lullaby then.” Fili protested, “come on now it would be like having a little piece of home to start out our journey.”

“May sooth our burglars midnight nerves at that.” Kili continued, moving to stand by said Hobbit.  More arguments ensued until Thorin cut in.

“Let the Boys have their way.” he sighed shocking us all until, “we have a women on the journey, may as well put her to good use.”  most the company stared at him in shock while others silently agreed.

I payed no mind to this as Balin placed a hand on my arm, “Don’ worry about him Lass, I’ll speak with him. He- he just needs time.”

“I know Balin,” I say while patting his hand, “his respect is to be earned, I simply wished he realized that sentiment was mutual. But if this keeps up I think it's best If i simply return home, it's in this direction anyway.”

“I pray its not needed, you are a good asset to this company, he will come to realise this soon enough, i'm sure of it.” with that last statement my old friend walked off to speak with the would be king alongside his sibling.

“Sooooo…” turning to my left the three youngsters stood before me, “does this mean no song?” looking at the three of them, in their genuine disappointment, I sighed.

“Very well, but only because I am outnumbered.” turning about I found my way to the beddings and sat on my pillow and pretended I hadn’t seen their not so subtle cheers and high fiveing. “A warrior's lullaby hu?”

Blushing Fili said “It was just a joke…” earning a nodd from Ori, Kili however.

“Really? I was looking forward to that.”

“Well then, let's get started. Though I do intend to keep it short and not go through the whole thing, As Sleep is something I would rather not give up simply for your entertainment.” After a round of Nods I decided to begin, though my voice wasn't all that elegant, and was Indeed a bit rough from all my time in the forges, us dwarves were never really concerned about about such things less we sounded like a dieing warg.

“I saw the light fade from the sky”

“On the wind I heard a sigh”

“As the snowflakes cover my fallen brothers”

“I will say this last goodbye”

This was a song I had learned from my father, who told me it was passed to him by my mother, who was taught by my great grandfather who had participated in one of our history's great wars. It was one of the few things about my mother that were known to me.

“Night is now falling”
“So ends this day”
“The road is now calling”
“And I must away”
“Over hill and under tree”
“Through lands where never light was shone”
“By silver streams that run down to the Sea”

“Under clouds, beneath the stars”
“Over snow one winter's morn”
“I turn at last to paths that lead home.”
“And though where the road then takes me”
“I cannot tell”
“We came all this way”
“But now come the day to bid you farewell”

“Many places  have been”
“Many sorrows I have seen”
“but I don’t regret”
“Nor will I forget”
“All who took that road with me”

.......

Smiling at their disappointed faces I sighed, “that's all for now boys, best be off to sleep.”