The next day, the company rode through a muddy forest as it rained. The cold sky water made them cold, wet and miserable.

"Here, Mr. Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori asked, looking up at the sky. Even though he had his cloak on, it didn't shield his body from the cold, wet rain. Gandalf glanced over his shoulder. Alrún rode behind him. Mizim shook her fur off of water the best she could without throwing Alrún off. Her white paws were now dark brown with mud.  

"It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done," he said. Dori sighed in slight irritation. "If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard." Gandalf said. Bilbo looked at him through the droplets of water that clouded his vision.

"Are there any?" Bilbo asked. Gandalf looked back at him.

"What?" He asked.

"Other Wizards?" Bilbo clarified. Alrún now glanced back at the Hobbit.

"There are five Wizards," She said. Bilbo and Gandalf looked at her in surprise. She looked up at the wizard. "What? I've done my reading." She said and looked forward again. Gandalf chuckled slightly, looking forward again. Out of everyone in the Company, Alrún was, by far, his favorite.

"Alrún is correct," he said. "There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman, the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards," he had a look of forgetfulness. "You know, I've quite forgotten their names." He said.

"Alatar and Pallando are the Blue Wizards." Alrún said. Mizim huffed in amusement again. Gandalf chuckled again and nodded.

"And who is the fifth?" Bilbo asked.

"Well, that would be Radagast, the Brown." Gandalf said. 

"Is he a great Wizard or is he, more like you?" Bilbo asked. Gandalf looked slightly offended.

"I think Gandalf is a very great Wizard, in his own way," Alrún said. She smiled up at him. Gandalf gave her a grateful smile. "So is Radagast. He is a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others." She said. Gandalf nodded.

"He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the East," he said. "And a good thing too, for always Evil will look to find a foothold in this world," he glanced down at Alrún. "You are very knowledgeable about the Istari, my dear." He said. Alrún smiled.

"Like I said. I've done my fare share of reading." She said.

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

About an hour later, the Company arrived at an old, abandoned farmhouse that was in ruins. Thorin and Alrún turned to the Company.

"We'll camp here for tonight," Thorin said. "Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them." He said. As they unmounted and unpacked, Gandalf looked over the ruins of the house, touching the walls.

"A farmer and his family used to live here." He said, more to himself than to everyone else.

"Oin, Gloin." Alrún said. Oin looked at the young woman.

"Aye?" He asked.

"If you would be so kind as to get a fire started." She requested. The brothers nodded.

"Right you are." Oin said.

"I think it would be wiser to move on," Gandalf said. Alrún and Thorin made their way to the Wizard, Mizim following. "We could make for the Hidden Valley." Gandalf said. Thorin walked past Gandalf, not looking at him.

"I told you already, I will not go near that place." He said. Anger and hatred laced his voice. Gandalf sighed in slight irritation.

"Why not? The elves could help us. We could get food, rest, advice." Gandalf said. Thorin turned and glared at Gandalf.

"We do not need their advice." He said. Alrún gently took Thorin's hand. He looked at his lover and his expression softened slightly.

"Gandalf does have a point, Thorin," she said. Her eyes bore into his, silently requesting that he listen to her. Thorin nodded, letting her know to continue. "We have a map that we cannot read." She said. Gandalf nodded. He pointed his thumb slightly in the way that the Hidden Valley most likely was.

"Lord Elrond could help us." He said.

"Help," Thorin said, as if it were a joke. Alrún sighed. She knew that Thorin hated the Elves. She did not particularly like them, but she held no hatred towards them. "A dragon attacks Erebor, what help came from the Elves? Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls, the Elves looked on and did nothing," he walked up to Gandalf. "You ask me to seek our the very people who betrayed my grandfather," he glanced at Alrún, "Alrún's protector, and betrayed my father." He said. Alrún sighed and walked up to Thorin and stood in front of him.

"Thorin, you are neither of them," she said, anger laced her voice slightly. "I do not think that Gandalf gave you that map and key with the intention that you hold onto the past." She said. He glared at Alrún.

"I did not know they were his to keep," He snapped at her. Mizim stepped in front of Thorin, growling slightly in warning. Alrún placed her hand on Mizim's head, stroking it. Mizim relaxed and backed off a little, but still glaring slightly at Thorin. Thorin's expression softened. "Alrún, my love. Have you not forgotten what the Elves did? They looked on while our home burned to the ground." He said. She sighed in anger.

"I do not blame the Elves for leaving," she said. Thorin looked slightly hurt. By this time, Gandalf had stormed off and left the Company for a short while. "Thorin, he did what he did to protect his Kin." She said in a softer voice. Thorin sighed and glared at the ground. He then looked up at her, anger filled his eyes.

"Are you saying that you would have left with them if you had not been there?" He asked quietly. Alrún shook her head. She placed her hands on his cheeks.

"No," she said in earnest. "I would have rushed down to help get our people to safety." She said. Thorin moved her hands away from his face in anger. Mizim barked and growled in anger, pushing her way between Thorin and her Rider. Thorin payed no mind to the White Wolf.

"Do not lie to me," he growled. Alrún looked at him, shocked. Hurt filled her eyes. "I know you would have left to save your own skin." He said. He stormed off to rest of the Company. Alrún turned to him.

"Thorin," she called. He continued walking. "Thorin!" She called out again. Her cries fell deaf to his ears. She looked down. Tears filed her eyes. She hoped that Thorin would understand her reasoning for not hating the Elves. A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked to the side and saw Bilbo.

"Don't worry," he said. He smiled slightly. "He still loves you." He said. Alrún scoffed and turned to look at the ground. The tears now fell freely.

"And how do you know that, Master Baggins?" She asked, her voice cracking and weak. Bilbo smiled in sympathy.

"I know that he still loves you, because if he didn't, I wouldn't be feeling a sharp glare of two eyes boring into my back right now," He said. Alrún looked up and glanced over the Hobbit's shoulder. Ture to his word, Thorin was glaring at Bilbo. His eyes met hers, and his expression softened. His heart ached at seeing tears fall down his beloved's cheeks. It hurt even more to know that he was the cause of it. She looked at Bilbo again. She smiled slightly. Bilbo smiled back. "Give it time. This quest is putting a lot of stress on the both of you, I can tell." He said. She smiled and gave Bilbo a hug, much to the surprise of the Hobbit.

"Thank you, Bilbo," she said quietly. Bilbo returned the hug, smiling. Alrún pulled away and placed her hands on his shoulders, smiling. "I am proud to call you my *'ugmal." She said. Bilbo chuckled. He looked slightly confused.

"Your what?" He asked. Alrún chuckled.

"'Ugmal means friend in Khuzdul, the Language of my People." She said. Bilbo smiled and nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind." He said. Alrún smiled and patted his shoulder. She made her way to the Company. Bilbo smiled and straightened his vest. He noticed that Mizim was still standing there, looking down at him. He stared back at her, his eyes filled with fear. Bilbo's head reached Mizim's chest in height. Mizim then huffed and lowered her head. Her pink tongue rolled past her lips to give a wet kiss to Bilbo's cheek. She then followed after her Rider. Bilbo chucked.

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

It was now nighttime. Bombur had prepared a dinner of soup, and the dwarves were eating it. Mizim was no where to be found, for Alrún had told her to go after Gandalf and make sure that he was safe. Reluctantly, Mizim followed her Rider's wishes and bounded off just before the sun fell beyond the horizon.

Bilbo looked out and into the dark, feeling anxious.

"He's been a long time." He said. Bofur, who was serving the soup, looked up.  

"Who?" He asked.

"Gandalf." Bilbo stated. Bofur chuckled.

"He's a wizard! He does as he chooses," he handed him two bowls of soup. "Here, do us a favor and take this to the lads," he said, referring to Fili and Kili. Bofur looked at Alrún. She met his gaze and walked over. He handed her two bowls. One for her and the other for someone else. She looked at Bofur quizzically. He smiled. "Take that bowl to Thorin. He'll forgive you, with some food, some sweet words," he nudged her a little bit. "And a few kisses as well." He said, wiggling his eye brows slightly. Alrún's eyes widened and she playfully slapped his shoulder, chuckling. She took the bowls and walked over to where Thorin was, sitting a little ways away from the fire. His head popped up at hearing foot steps. Alrún gave a gentle smile and held one of the bowls out to him.

"Hungry?" She asked. Thorin took it from her, nodding in gratitude. She sat beside him, giving them a little space. She sighed. She really didn't feel like eating. She let her spoon sit in the soup. "I'm sorry," she said, quietly, but loud enough for Thorin to hear. He turned his head and looked at her, confusion clear on his face as to why his One was apologizing. "I was out of line earlier," she glanced at him. "I apologize, *Melhekhul." She said. Thorin's expression softened. He set his bowl down and stood, prompting Alrún to do the same after setting her own bowl down. Thorin then took her hands in his own.

"It is not you who should have to apologize, amrâlimê," He said. Alrún looked at him. "Tis I, who should apologize. I should not have snapped at you like that. Please, forgive me." He said. She looked up at him. In a jolt of action, she had wrapped her arms around Thorin's neck and pressed her lips to his. Thorin's arms snaked around her waist, holding her close. Their lips molded together, as if they were made to fit. They pulled away, breathing heavily. Alrún's eyes were still closed. She gently laid her forehead against Thorin's.

"Of course I forgive you, Thorin," she breathed against his lips. She opened her eyes. They bore into Thorin's sky blue eyes, searching his eyes, for what, she did not know. "Men lananubukhs me, Thorin." She said quietly. Thorin smiled.

"I love you as well, Alrún." He said. Just as they were about to connect their lips together again, Fili and Kili rushed through the forest, breathing heavily. Alrún rushed over to her nephews.

"Fili, Kili, what's the matter?" She asked. The brothers looked at their aunt.

"Trolls." Kili said. At this point, the whole company had surrounded the young Dwarfs. Thorin frowned.

"Trolls? Where?" He asked. Fili looked at his uncle.

"Not too far from here. They took a few of our ponies." He said.

"We sent Bilbo, as the Burglar, to get them back." Kili said. Alrún's eyes widened.

"You did what?! Bilbo won't stand a chance against the trolls!" She shouted. Kili looked at his aunt. He held up his hands in surrender.

"No, no! It's alright, Aunty! Mountain Trolls are slow and stupid!" He defended. Alrún looked up slightly, tilting her head. She nodded.

"Well that is true." She said. Kili nodded.

"Bilbo's so small they would never see him," Fili said. "We also told him that if he ran into trouble to hoot twice like a barn owl and once like a brown owl." He said. Alrún looked at her nephew and shook her head, her eye brows meeting in confusion.

"What's the difference?" She asked. Before they could answer, she unsheathed her sword, walking forward. Fili and Kili looked at each other. They rushed to catch up to her.

"What are you doing, Alrún?" Fili asked. She looked straight forward.

"I'm going to help Bilbo." She said.

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

Back with said Hobbit, Bilbo was running around, trying to dodge the three trolls.

"Come here, you little," Tom, the larger of the three trolls, caught Bilbo by the legs. "Gotcha!" He shouted, holding Bilbo upside down in the air. "Are there any more of you little fellas 'iding where you shouldn't?" Tom asked. Bilbo shook his head.

"Nope." He said, trying to catch his breath. William, the shorter and dumber of the three, pointed at Bilbo.

"He's lying." William said. Bilbo shook his head the best he could while hanging upside down.

"No I'm not!" Bilbo shouted.

"Hold his toes over the fire.  Make him squeal!" William shouted. Kili, followed by Alrún, ran out of the bushes. Kili cut William's leg, making the troll howl in pain and fall down.

"Drop him!" Kili demanded. Tom looked at Kili.

"You wot?" Tom asked. Alrún thrust her left hand up, causing a sharp spike of rock to come shooting out of the ground. Tom and Bert stepped back quickly to avoid being impaled by it.

"He said," she lowered her hand, causing the spike to go back into the ground, glaring at the trolls. "Drop him." Tom growled and then threw Bilbo at Kili. Bilbo landed on Kili, knocking them both over. The rest of the Company came charging out of the bushes, yelling and brandishing their weapons. Alrún gave a yell of her own. She, along with the others, began fighting the trolls, hacking, slashing and hammering their legs. Alrún slashed her sword and sent spikes of rock up to stab the arms of the trolls. As the Company fought, Bilbo took the chance to grab William's knife, which he had been trying to get before he was caught. Bilbo used the knife and cut the ropes of the corral that the ponies were kept in, freeing them. This. however, didn't go unnoticed by Tom, who growled. The Company stopped fighting when they saw the trolls holding Bilbo by the arms and legs. Kili's eyes widened.

"Bilbo!" He shouted. He tried to run to the Hobbit's aid.

"No!" Thorin shouted, placing his arm in front of his nephew, stopping him.

"Lay down your arms, or we'll rip his off!" Tom threatened. Bilbo stared down at the Company in fear. Thorin looked at him in frustration before planting his sword into the ground. The others threw their swords and weapons down as well. Including Ori, who, adorably so, threw down his sling shot. Alrún shot a glare up at the trolls. She slowly walked forward. Thorin looked at her.

"Alrún, what are you doing?" He hissed. The trolls tilted their heads. Bert smirked at her.

"Wot, you got a death wish, girl?" He asked. Alrún lowered her head and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were no longer blue. They, instead, were a silver color, almost white. With a gust of wind, nearly throwing the entire Company back, she moved her arms to take water out of the boiling pot of stew the trolls had been working on before they were so "rudely" interrupted. Creating a whip made out of the water, she struck the wrists of Tom and Bert, causing them to yelp in pain and drop Bilbo. Dropping the water, she made a funnel of air,she gently sucked Bilbo into it before gently setting him down. Thorin and the rest stared at her in awe and amazement. Once that was done, Alrún's eyes stopped glowing and returned to her normal blue ones. With a groan, she fell to her knees, feeling as if all her energy had just been sucked out of her. Thorin was about to rush to her side, but was stopped when Bert slammed his foot down in front of him, halting Thorin's movements. Thorin glared up at the Troll. Bert gave an evil chuckle.

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

More logs were placed on the fire by William. They had several of the Dwarfs, Dwalin, Bofur, Dori, Ori and Nori tied onto a spit. Tom and Bert were slowly turning the spit, roasting them, alive, over the fire. The rest of the Company, Thorin, Kili, Gloin, Bombur, Balin, Oin, Fili, Alrún and Bilbo were all tied up in sacks and put in a pile near by. Alrún had regained her energy. She found that it only took a span of three minutes to regain her energy.

"Don't bother cooking them," William said, looking at the dwarfs who were on the spit. "Let's just sit on them and squash them into jelly." He suggested. The dwarfs kept giving shouts of protests, going deaf to the ears of the three trolls.

"They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage." Bert said, sprinkling said seasoning over the dwarfs. They spat as the seasoning was applied.

"Is this really necessary?!" Dori shouted as he slowly turned. William turned his head in thought.

"Ooh, that does sound quite nice." He said.

"Untie us, you monsters!" Gloin shouted from the pile.

"Take on someone your own size!" Oin demanded. Alrún sighed and shook her head. It was useless to argue against the beasts.

"Never mind the seasoning," Tom said. "We ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away, so let's get a move on. I don't fancy being turned to stone." He said. Bilbo's eyes widened at hearing this. An idea struck him.

"Wait! You are making a terrible mistake." Bilbo shouted from his place in the pile. The trolls turned to look at him.

"You can't reason with them, they're half-wits!" Dori shouted.

"Half-wits? What does that make us?" Bofur argued back. Bilbo managed to stand up, hopping a little to stop and stand in front of the Trolls.

"Uh, I meant with the, uh, with, uh, with the seasoning." Bilbo clarified. Bert narrowed his eyes at Bilbo.

"What about the seasoning?" Bert asked.

"Well have you smelt them?" Bilbo asked, moving his head back, gesturing to the dwarfs. "You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up." Bilbo said. Alrún looked at Bilbo, an offended look on her face. The dwarves began to yell at Bilbo, calling him a traitor. The ones in sacks, except for Alrún and Thorin, tried to kick him. Tom narrowed his eyes at Bilbo.

"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" Tom demanded.

"Shut up," Bert said, kneeling in front of Bilbo. "Let the, uh, flurgaburburrahobbit talk." He said. Bilbo nodded in mock thanks to Bert.

"Uh, th–the secret to cooking dwarf is, um.." Bilbo said, stuck on what to tell them. The others kept shouting at Bilbo, pleading with him not to tell them.

"Yes? Come on." Bert said, getting a little impatient.

"It's, uh.." Bilbo said, wracking his brain for an idea.

"Tell us the secret." Bert demanded. Bilbo nodded in exasperation.

"Ye–yes, I'm telling you, the secret is," he looked to the side in thought. The Dwarfs looked at him, falling silent. "To...skin them first!" Bilbo shouted. The Company exploded into curses and shouts again. Alrùn's eyes widened in horror. Okay, now she was really worried.

"I won't forget that!" Dwalin shouted in anger, pointing at Bilbo from his position on the spit.

"Tom," Bert said, smirking slightly. "Get me the filleting knife." He said. William looked at Alrún, tilting his head. She glanced at him, then looked away. She was afraid that he knew who she was.

"What a load of rubbish!" Tom shouted, catching the attention of everyone. "I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all." Tom said.

"'Old on a minute," William said. His brothers looked at him. His eyes were fixed on Alrùn. "Isn't that the Half Elf Half Dwarf girl who has those powers?" William asked. Tom and Bert turned their attention to her. Her face paled. Bilbo saw Gandalf slipping behind some trees nearby. Tom smirked.

"You're right," he walked over and picked Alrùn up. She squeaked in slight fear. Thorin's eyes widened.

"Alrùn!" Thorin shouted, trying to get out of his sack. Fili and Kili did the same. Willian held Alrùn above his mouth. She tried not to gag at the stench.

"Do you think that if we eat 'er, we'll get the same powers?" He mused. The two others smirked and nodded. Bilbo had to act fast. So, he said the only thing that came to mind.

"Not, not that one, she's, she's infected!" He shouted. William whimpered and looked back at Bilbo, still holding Alrùn upside down. Tom looked back at the Halfling, his eyes narrowing.

"You wot?" Tom asked. Bilbo nodded frantically.

"Yeah, she's got worms in her ... tubes." Bilbo said. William yelped in disgust and tossed Alrùn back into the pile. She landed on Bombur, who helped to soften her landed. She rolled to a stop next to Thorin. He glanced at her, worry in his eyes.

"Alrún, are you alright?" He asked. She nodded, breathing heavily.

"Yes, I'm fine," she stared at the fire. "I'm worried though. If they know who I am and what my powers are," Thorin's eyebrows met in confusion. She looked at him, worry clear in her sky blue eyes. "I can't help but think if the trolls know, then who else knows?" She asked, her mind drifting to darker forces that would love to use her powers for evil. She thought of Azog and what he wouldn't do to ensure that possibly the strongest being in Middle-Earth was dead. In the time that they had been talking, the other Dwarfs had agreed to what Bilbo said, claiming they had parasites as big as their arms.

"You think I don't know what you're up to?" Tom asked, gaining the attention of Thorin and Alrùn. "This little ferret," he poked Bilbo. "Is taking us for fools!" He shouted. Bilbo looked slightly offended.

"Ferret?" He asked. Under different circumstances, Alrùn would have burst out laughing at what Bilbo had been called.

"Fools?" Bert questioned.

"The dawn will take you all!" A familiar voice shouted. There was a harsh growling going along with it. Alrún smiled in relief. Gandalf and Mizim appeared on top of a large rock above the clearing. Mizim's lips were pulled back into a snarl, showing her white fangs.

"Who are they?" Bert questioned. Tom shrugged his shoulders.

"No idea." He said.

"Can we eat 'em too?" William asked hopefully. Mizim and Gandalf stepped to the side as Gandalf stuck the rock with his staff, splitting the rock in half, allowing the sunlight of dawn to pour into the clearing. When the sunlight touched the trolls' skin, they began turning into stone amidst loud screams and howls of pain. Within seconds, there were three stone statues of trolls in the clearing. Alrùn smiled in relief as everyone else began cheering and laughing. Bofur's face split into a huge grin as he laughed.

"Oh, get your foot out of my back!" Dwalin grumbled.

It was now morning and Alrún was currently fixing her hair, which had fallen out of its clip when she was tossed to the side by William. Thorin walked up to her. He placed his hand on her back. She jumped and turned.

"Thorin," she let out a breath of relief. Thorin was about to ask her something when Alrún held up her hand. "I know what you're going to ask me. And no, I don't know what happened back there, with my powers." She said. Thorin smiled lightly and kissed her forehead.

"I was just going to ask if you were alright." He said.

"Oh," She said and lowered her head in slight embarrassment. Thorin chuckled and kissed the side of her head. He looked at Gandalf who walked to one of the troll statues and thumped it with his staff with a pleased smile on his face. Alrún was met with a blur of white and happy whines. She laughed and stroked Mizim's head.

"I'm alright, Mizim. Thank you for coming back, my friend." Alrún said, thanking her life long friend.

"Where did you go to, if I may ask?" Thorin asked Gandalf.

"To look ahead." He said.

"What brought you back?" Thorin questioned again.

"Looking behind. Nasty business. Still, they are all in one piece." He said, referring to the Dwarfs.

"No thanks to your burglar." Thorin said. Alrún walked over, Mizim at her side.

"Bilbo had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of us thought of that, Thorin." Alrún said. Gandalf nodded to her in agreement. Thorin sighed lightly. The three turned to examine the statues of the trolls.

"They must have come down from the Ettenmoors." Gandalf said. Alrún looked at the Wizard, her eye brows meeting together in confusion.

"Since when do mountain trolls venture this far south?" She asked. Gandalf shook his head.

"Oh, not for an age, not since a darker power ruled these lands." Gandalf said, his happy smile and voice turning to ones of dread and worry. Alrún, Thorin and Gandalf shared a meaningful look between each other. Alrún looked at the statues.

"They could not have moved in daylight." She said.

"There must be a cave nearby." Thorin said, turning and looking around.

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

Just as Thorin suspected, the Company found a cave nearby. Alrún had told Mizim to keep watch outside the cave, letting her know to come and get them if anything happened or if anything was approaching. The cave was full of treasure that the trolls had been hoarding, for possibly weeks or moths, if Alrún had to guess. But not all of it was treasure. There were dead bodies laying around. The stench of death and rotting flesh filled the air as the Company walked in. Alrún covered her nose with her hand, wrinkling her eyebrows and coughing in disgust.

"Oh, what is that stench?!" Nori complained.

"It's a troll hoard," Gandalf replied, leading the way. "Be careful what you touch." He warned. As they walked further into the cave, many of the Dwarfs coughed and retched at the pungency. Halfway into the entryway, Bofur stepped on some gold coins. He looked up and saw other treasure in caskets. Bofur nudged the gold coins with his boot.

"Seems a shame just to leave it lyin' around. Anyone could take it." He said. Gloin, who was standing next to Bofur, nodded.

"Agreed," he turned to Nori. "Nori, get a shovel." Gloin said. The rest of the company, including Alrún, Thorin and Gandalf ventured further in. While exploring, Thorin found three swords covered in dust and cobwebs sitting in a basket. Setting the torch that he had previously been holding down, Thorin picked up two swords. The third one was still sitting in the basket. Gandalf and Alrún approached Thorin.

"These swords were not made by any troll." Thorin said. He handed one of the swords to Gandalf, keeping the other for himself. He picked up the third sword. The third sword did not have as much cobwebs on it as it did dust, meaning that it had been collected rather recently from a poor fellow who had stumbled upon the Trolls. Thorin handed the third sword to Alrún, who nodded to her lover in appreciation. Gandalf examined his sword, pulling it out of its sheath a few inches.

"Nor were they made by any smith among Men." He said. Though the hilts and the sheathes of the three swords were covered in dust and had lost their shine over the years, the blade themselves remained as if they had been newly made. Beautiful, shining, and possibly still sharp. Alrún blew the dust off of the hilt and sheath of her sword, coughing as she did, and swatting the dust away with her hand. With the dust mostly gone, Alrún could see the true beauty that was the sword's sheath. The sheath was a deep black color, almost as black as the darkest night. The pommel and the hilt were silver. Intricate designs were carved into them. Near the end of the hilt, was an emerald that was placed into it. More designs curved around the emerald. Alrún carefully pulled the sword out of the sheath, now getting a better look at the sword.

Alrún's eyes widened in realization.

"These were forged in Gondolin by the High Elves of the First Age." She said. Realizing that the sword he held was of Elvish make, Thorin started to put his sword away in disgust.

"You could not wish for a finer blade." Gandalf warned the Dwarf. Thorin heeded the Wizard's warning and reluctantly kept the sword. He drew the sword out of its sheath, looking at the fine craftsmanship that the Elves were known for. Thorin made his way to the opening of the cave, examining the sword further by light of the torch.

A little further away, Bofur, Gloin and Nori had dug a good sized hole. They filled a small chest with treasure. Golden coins and gold goblets. They then placed the chest into the hole and began to bury it. Alrún, who had now sheathed her new found sword and threaded the sheath through her belt, walked up to the opening of the cave. She glanced down at the three Dwarfs, as did Dwalin. Gloin looked up at the soon-to-be-queen and the warrior.

"We're makin' a long term deposit." Gloin said. While Dwalin rolled his eyes, Alrún chuckled and shook her head lightly.

"Let's get out of this foul place," Thorin said. "Come on, let's go. Bofur! Gloin! Nori!" He called out. As she was making her way outside, Alrún stepped on something metallic. Gandalf stopped next to the woman. Brushing aside leaves beneath the two with his staff, they found a sword. Alrún picked up the sword and pulled it put of its sheath to look at the blade inside. She looked up at Gandalf.

"Do you think this is about his size?" She asked. Gandalf met her gaze. He smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I do believe that it is." He said. The two made their way out of the cave, Alrún still holding the sword. She made her way over to where Bilbo was sitting outside the cave, Mizim laying next to him.

"Bilbo." She called out. Bilbo looked up at his name being called. Mizim's tail began to wag as she saw her mistress approach.

"Hmm?" He asked, standing up and meeting the woman.

"Here. This is about your size." Alrún said, handing Bilbo the sword she and Gandalf had just found.

Bilbo took the sword from her hand. He looked up at her, preparing to give it back.

"I can't take this." He said, shaking his head. Alrún looked at the Hobbit in the eyes.

"The blade is of Elvish make which means it will glow blue when Orcs or Goblins are nearby." She said. Bilbo looked down at the sheathed sword then looked at the woman again.

"I have never used a sword in my life." He said. Alrún nodded.

"And I hope you never have to. But if you do, remember this: true courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one." She said. She smiled kindly. Bilbo continued to look at her, then glanced down at the sword. There was a sound of something rushing through the trees.

"Something's coming!" Thorin shouted.

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