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THE COMPANY OF DWARVES, GANDALF, MARISTELA, AND THEIR HOBBIT had settled for the night on the edge of a cliff; it had been almost three days since they had left the Shire. As Glóin sleeps, tiny flying insects get sucked into his mouth every time he inhales, and they are expelled when he exhales. Bilbo watched in disgust before he pushed off of the ground and walked around, Maristela watched him for a moment before focusing back on sharpening her dagger.

Most of the Dwarves were sleeping soundly but Fíli and Kíli were seated near the fair lady, Fíli watching Maristela's quick skill of sharpening the unique dagger. "That's no ordinary dagger," Fíli pointed out quietly, his brother turned to look at the blade in Maristela's weapon. "It was a gift to me by someone you may not care to know," Maristela replied to him, she noticed the way he smirked. "Is there someone waiting for your return?" Fíli asked making Maristela roll her eyes.

"It's all I have left of my mother," Maristela told the brothers who immediately dropped the teasing grins from their faces. "How did she?" Kíli asked cautiously while Maristela glanced at Gandalf who was staring off into the distance with a solemn expression. "She stood toe-to-toe with an Orc known as Mauldra. He was the predecessor of Azog the Defiler," Maristela answered him before her eyes hardened, "Mauldra wanted to burn a village in Rohan to the ground but my mother stood in the way."

"And Mauldra?" Fíli asked further. "It's believed that he perished in the battle but whether that is true or not, I do not know. However, should Mauldra ever stand before me, I will strike him down with no mercy," Maristela seethed before she took in a deep breath to relax. Before the brothers could ask anything further, a scream echoed through the night air and Maristela tensed at the familiar sound of a Warg's screech. Bilbo rushed over to Fíli, Kíli, and Maristela with a worried expression, "What was that?"

"Orcs," Kíli told him as Maristela moved to stand by the cliff edge, her Elf eyes focused on the vast environment; locking on the very beast she heard screeching through the night. Attica moved from his spot to lay by Maristela, he curled up and waited for Maristela to lay against him; she smiled when Attica's tail wrapped around her as a safety blanket. Another scream echoes through the night and Thorin, who was dozing, jerks awake upon hearing it.

"Orcs?" Bilbo inquired further, his knowledge of the beasts lurking wasn't extensive. "Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them," Fíli taunted, he was taking the chance to mess with Bilbo without thinking about the childish antics. "They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood," Kíli added once he caught on to his brother's teasing tone. Bilbo looks away in fright; Fíli and Kíli look at each other and begin laughing.

"You think that's funny?" Thorin asked harshly causing his nephews to stop laughing, "You think a night raid by Orcs is a joke?" Maristela turned her head to look towards Thorin who was glaring down at his nephews. "We didn't mean anything by it," Kíli replied to his uncle in shame, The other Dwarves had awoken from their sleep upon hearing the conversation. "No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world," Thorin scolded before he turned to stand at the edge of the cliff, looking over the valley as Balin walked over to Fíli, Kíli, and Bilbo.

"Don't mind him, laddie," Balin said to Bilbo who turned to the wise Dwarf, "Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf Kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first." Maristela remembered the battle, She wasn't an overly present fighter in Thror's attempt to take back Moria but she was one of the warriors killing off any Orcs that tried to stray from the battle into the nearby villages or homes.

The Battle of Azanulbizar took many Dwarf lives and the Orcs were led by Azog the Defiler himself, The pale Orc was a force that not many were eager to battle. "Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs led by the most vile of all their race: Azog, the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King," Balin explained to Bilbo whose eyes had widened, Maristela remembered the calls of ravens upon the death of Thror. 

"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," Balin continued as Maristela turned her gaze to her father, She knew that he had spoken with the crazed Dwarf that was Thrain; It was how he got his hands on the Key to the Secret Passage into the Lonely Mountain. "That is when I saw him; a young Dwarf Prince facing down the Pale Orc," Balin expressed, his eyes glancing towards Thorin whose back was turned.

"He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armor rent... wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield," Balin told the Company and Bilbo, "Azog, the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken." Maristela turned her eyes to Thorin, a new sense of respect and pride for the Dwarven King flowing through her. "Our forces rallied and drove the Orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, no song that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived," Balin looked around at the others as he spoke.

"And I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call King," Balin spoke with pride as Thorin turned away from the view beyond the cliff; the entire Company was awake and standing in awe, staring at him. Thorin walks between them towards the fire, his head high as the others process what they have learned. "But the Pale Orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo asked what they all wanted to know, Maristela was anxious to know their belief as she believed differently.

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago," Thorin seethed out but Maristela had doubts about that. The Pale Orc would not give up so easily, not when his entire existence was dedicated to ending the line of Durin. The Company eased back into their bed rolls, their minds ticking over what Balin had told them but Bilbo found himself moving closer to Maristela. "Have you had many encounters?" Bilbo asked Maristela who looked up at him. "Yes, I've had many encounters not that those have survived to tell their own tales," Maristela told him.

"You're worried, Master Baggins," Maristela pointed out as Bilbo looked out to the starry night sky. "I'm only a Hobbit..." Bilbo replied with doubt in his tone. "Bilbo, you are so much more than just a Hobbit," Maristela told him with a reassuring smile when he looked at her. "You may hold doubts about yourself, Bilbo but trust my words when I say, you have much promise. And I look forward to seeing you flourish," Maristela told him before she turned to look at the sky, Bilbo smiled at her words before he relaxed on his own bed roll; all falling asleep for the night.

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The next morning, the Company rides their ponies ─ with the exception of Maristela upon Attica's back ─ through a muddy forest as it rains; they all look cold, wet, and miserable despite the hoods of their cloaks covering their heads. "Here, Mr. Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori asked Gandalf who gained a smirk from his daughter who knew he could do nothing about the rain.

"It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard," Gandalf replied to Dori ignoring Maristela's teasing grin as she looked forward again. "Are there any?" Bilbo asked the Wizard. "What?" Gandalf hummed. "Other wizards?" Bilbo inquired. "There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman, the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards; you know, I've quite forgotten their names," Gandalf answered him fondly.

"And who is the fifth?" Bilbo asked when he noticed that Gandalf hadn't mentioned the last of the Wizards. "Well, that would be Radagast, the Brown," Gandalf replied while Maristela thought fondly of Radagast, She considered him her uncle despite his more crazed personality. "Is he a great Wizard or is he... more like you?" Bilbo asked making Maristela laugh especially seeing Gandalf's expression of offense to Bilbo's question.

"I think he's a very great Wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the East, and a good thing too, for always Evil will look to find a foothold in this world," Gandalf expressed before glancing at his daughter. "But there are few who carry gifts of magic," Gandalf told Bilbo while Maristela smiled softly. "Like who?" Bilbo asked with interest. "It is something you will see," Gandalf answered him as they continued on their path.

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Meanwhile, Radagast runs through a forest. He examines a dying plant with a frown, "Not good; not good at all." As Radagast continues running, there are many dead animals lying around only hurting Radagast further. Radagast plucks a mushroom and puts it in his bag, he feels and tastes the sap of a tree which appears to be infected; he grows more and more worried. He whistles and his bird appears, lifting his hat, The bird and its mate land in their nest upon Radagast's head.

Radagast gasps and runs over to a familiar hedgehog his niece adored lying on the floor; it appears to be dying. "Oh no! Sebastian! Good gracious, where is Maris when needed?" Radagast exclaims before he rushes through the forest towards his home, Rhosgobel. Radagast attempts to cure Sebastian with remedies that Maristela had left with him, using magical techniques but to no avail. Sebastian's familiar surrounds him, Radagast demanding them to move back from the sick animal.

"I don't understand why it's not working; it's not as if it's witchcraft!" Radagast exclaims before an expression of realization appears on his face, "Witchcraft. But it is. A dark and powerful magic." Hearing a noise, Radagast looks up and sees several giant spiders crawling up the side of his house, he hurries to brace the door shut with a bench. Sebastian suddenly croaks, gasping for air before the breath leaves him; a distance away riding upon a Wolfhound, Maristela felt an ache in her chest making her frown.

Radagast runs over to his staff and pulls out the blue stone embedded at the top as the small rodents and other animals in his flee to safety from the giant spiders lurking outside the small home. Radagast cradles Sebastian and whispers a spell while holding the blue stone to the hedgehog's muzzle, "Lerya laman naiquentallo. Sí a hlare ómaquettar. Na coilerya en-vinyanta. Sí a hlare ómaquettar. Na coilerya en-vinyanta. (Free the animal from the curse. Now hear words of my voice. Be its life renewed)."

The spiders begin to break through the thatched roof, Radagast has entered a trance-like state as his spell grows more and more powerful, and darkness falls over the house. A black, inky shadow is slowly extracted from the hedgehog and into the stone. Suddenly, Sebastian gasps for air and wakes up, light returning to the area; the spiders crawl off of the house. Radagast cautiously puts Sebastian down before rushing outside, he watches as the spiders disappear off into the woods leaving behind webs.

"Where on this good earth did those foul creatures come from?" Radagast asked out loud, his birds flew down to him and he conversed with them. "The old fortress? Show me!" Radagast instructs before climbing upon his sleigh pulled by Rhosgobel Rabbits. As he proceeds through the forest his niece adored, it becomes more dark and gloomy, covered in cobwebs. An old, ruined fortress is seen in the distance; all light is torn from the world as he comes closer to the darkness that lurks.

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Rosemary Speaks

When I was writing this, I was rewatching Lord of the Rings and I cannot get over my love for Aragorn; He is so damn amazing. And of course, Pippin and Merry's friendship is sweet.

Anyway, how was this chapter?

Some more insight into Maristela.
Plus, some original plot aka Mauldra the Orc.
What's a hero without their own villain?

And some Radagast watching, Sebastian the hedgehog is so damn cute!

See you in the next chapter!